My Diet Starts on Monday

       This is my last week of summer.  I feel like the end of summer is similar to New Year’s Eve, I look back and realize I haven’t accomplished anything I intended to.  I had meant for this summer to be a season of growth spiritually, physically, and domestically.  I wanted to strengthen my faith, body, and homemaking skills.  Unfortunately, I allowed myself to slip into the mindset of putting off ‘til tomorrow.  However, last night I stayed up until about 3:30 am watching videos from the Steubenville conferences on YouTube and my enthusiasm for my faith was rekindled.

picture via shh fit happens

       I had for the most part wasted my vacation in a fog of sleeping til 2 in the afternoon, pinning crock-pot recipes, and watching every episode of King of the Hill, The Office, and Downton Abbey I could find.  Well, last night my web surfing led me to crash land on the hard shore of reality.  As I watched the women’s sessions given by Jackie Francois (now Jackie Angel), Leah Darrow, and Mary Bielski I saw with clarity that I needed to get my relationship with God back on track.  I had drifted away, become complacent, and allowed our relationship to be pushed to the back burner. 

       I have been living a lukewarm lifestyle.  I stopped going to daily mass, I haven’t been to confession all summer, and I haven’t been investing in my prayer life.  I was putting off my faith and doing just the bare minimum.  These videos, these women, reawakened me.  I realized that we have to continually feed our souls with the LORD or we become sluggish and lazy in our faith.  It’s like exercising, when you are in the zone working out everyday you feel great but if you skip one day at the gym it becomes infinitely more difficult to go back.

       The beauty is that it is never too late or too early to start.  It is really tempting to put off the responsibilities of growing my faith until I get back to school (and the Catholic Terps), like a diet that “starts on Monday”.  Instead, I decided to harness my current excitement and start today. I bought the 54 day novena book that Jackie talked about for my kindle.  I began praying the novena this morning for the intentions of my future husband, as well as prudence and wisdom in my relationships.  I have never prayed a novena before (Mama Mary and I are still getting to know each other) so I figured go big or go home, right? 

       I am really excited to get back into the swing of things and really focus my attentions on Christ.  I feel like a lot of my life has been going through the motions and I am ready to put genuine love into my actions.  I can’t wait to experience this novena and to share those experiences with you!

       How has summer affected your faith life?  Have you ever been to a Steubenville conference?  Have you ever prayed a novena?  Let me know about your experiences!  Comments? Questions? Suggestions?  Drop me a line in the comments below!