Yup. It is me; still breathing. Out of hiding at last. I hope that you and yours are 
having a very blessed Christmas season.
This has been a challenging Christmas season in Casa Kehoe. My dear husband was and is the only deacon on board (for Christmas) at our parish for the 6th year in a row. The poor guy never really had a day off. To make matters worse, he was in charge of year end inventory (as per usual) at his day job.
So it has been over 6 years since we have been able to be with our children and grandchildren for Christmas. We will be going to Ireland to visit our daughter and her family in a few weeks, and we were with our son and his family for Thanksgiving. But it would be nice…
But I am not whining. Honest. I knew what I was getting into when I gave my permission to the bishop for my favorite deacon to be ordained.
At least it proved to be a fruitful time for me, as I had plenty of time for taking a self inventory. The result? It is time to make some radical changes. Hence the reference to New Year Resolutions Revolution.
Why Revolution. What I need is a radical change. A transformation of body, mind, and soul. As John the Baptist said, He must increase; I must decrease. (Jn 3:30)
Since I am weak when it comes to staying the course, I am going to go public with my resolutions. At the very least it will be a much needed lesson in humility.
Here goes. Gulp.
- Pray more. My prayer life is pathetic. I just have to make the time to sit in the presence of God, no matter how busy or tired I am, throughout the day. As St. Paul exhorts: pray without ceasing.
“All highest glorious God, cast your light in to the depths of my heart.
Give me right faith, firm hope, perfect charity, profound humility, with wisdom and truth
so that I may do what is truly your holy will.” (Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi)
- Surrender More. Turn myself—and all of my troubles, worries, and needs over to God. As the first antiphon from today’s Office of readings says, Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you. For a lovely reflection on surrendering to God read this post from Dr. Tom Neal.
- Love others more. This means being a better wife, mother, daughter, friend, and yes, blogger. The plan is to blog at least once a day (Monday-Friday) starting now. It is so easy to become overwhelmed by work and illness. It makes for an easy excuse to retreat from the world. Heck even hermits have people over for dinner in their hermitage. We need to start offering hospitality to our friends again.
- Eat less. Since the body is as integral to being human as the soul, I am going to shed a few pounds this year. Think of it this way: losing weight is an outward sign that Jesus is increasing while I am decreasing. I hope. That is my story and I am sticking to it. Heh.
The bottom line is that I am going to work on, with God’s grace, being a true muscular disciple of Christ Jesus.
It is time to fix my gaze on the Cross, so that I do not lose sight of heaven.
Related: Be Afraid by Thomas J. Neal, Ph.D.
A Deacon's Wife 
May God bless you both! I too am the only Deacon in our Parish, and I think that I have had maybe three days off since ordination in October. It has been such a joy to serve! God will reward you for your sacrifices! You are both in my prayers.
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Thank you for your prayers. It certainly is a blessing to be the wife of a deacon, and I know that my husband also feels the joy that you do. I will keep you in my prayers. God Bless.
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This post surprises me, because I tend to think that you are so much closer to glory than I am. Yet, I am continually learning that each wretched human being is fighting the good fight. Press on.
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