Christmas photo

Here is the Christmas photo of my family that we sent to all our friends and family. We used a tripod and a timer- the first time I've ever done that. After a lot of tries, chocolate coaxing for Liam, and patience from my husband, we got a good one! 

New Bead!

This bead looks much better in real life, and is about a half inch big.
I am always excited and nervous to create a new bead. This time I made a depiction of the Resurrection.  I was inspired by the stained glass windows at my church, St. Ignatius in Hickory, Maryland. Stained glass windows have always inspired me to create new designs because they usually are rich in Catholic symbolism.  Ever since I started going to St. Ignatius, I've wanted to create replicas of their stained glass windows.  A few weeks ago, I went to the church on a week day afternoon to take pictures of the windows.  A funeral was about to begin in about 20 minutes, but I had plenty of time to take pictures. So, I started taking photos, but I couldn't get the pictures to turn out. The sun was coming in too bright, blurring the images.  I sat down to try and sketch out a few designs, but my sketches were looking pretty pathetic. Then, an angel disguised as a man in an acolyte's garb with a long gray beard came up to me and without even asking me what I was doing, asked, "Do you need some help with that?"  "With what, drawing?," I asked confused. He said, "Wait here a minute. " He came back a moment later with an entire book of the history of the church and in it was a drawing of each stained glass window with an explanation! I was blown away! He said, "Here, have it." I thanked him, thanked God for that miracle, and walked out a very happy woman.

So, here is a photo of my new bead. I was very nervous because after spending a lot of time making it, you never know if the proportions are going to come out right, or the colors are going to be the same after baking. But I am happy that it turned out pretty well. 

Here is the bead meaning for it. I took it right from the book I got from my angel acolyte. The resurrection is depicted by the empty tomb, the rising sun of the early morning, the empty cross and the burial linens blowing in the breeze.

Starting to get it together

Well, my plans for my new website are finally getting underway. I have some great pictures and now it's just a matter of building a website from scratch. Wow, what an undertaking for someone who not tech savvy.  Let's just say it's taking me longer than I would have liked. Hopefully it will be ready by December. 

I am also working on replenishing my bead supply. Last night I remade my bead with the Christian symbol of the fish on it. I chose a gray background with a black fish. It reminds me of what it may have looked like when the first Christians wrote it with paint or chalk on a stone wall.  I finished all the cutting and poking of the beads today. That was a very easy design so it didn't take too long for the finished product. 

Tonight during my Holy Hour in Eucharistic Adoration, I used a new book to say the scriptural Rosary. It took a lot longer, but I got so much more out of the mysteries this time.  As I prayed the Glorious mysteries tonight, I was filled with hope. Hope for Christ's Return, hope to one day be united with Christ in heaven and hope for our country amid a changing time. 

May Christ fill you with hope during this upcoming advent season.  

Please leave your prayer requests in "Comments". 

My first blog

I always vowed I would never blog, but now that I have an excuse to start my own blog, I'm more than happy to begin. The purpose for this blog is not to show off my excited life or my holy lifestyle or my excellent writing skills (although any of those would easily work for me- ha!). The purpose of this blog is to supplement my website (www.clayrosaries.com) with tidbits about me, the rosary making process, and to offer up prayers for those in need.