A Walk in Soul Garden

Hello dear ones!

May this short but reflective and insightful piece of work,

rekindle flames of love

depths of compassion

and child-like kindness

in YOU.

The beautiful work of art, is another piece by Lyn Snow, entitled "Reflection".
See how its almost like a mirror image when you draw a line in the middle of the picture?
May we also mirror God's image and love to those we meet on our way.

Enjoy yet another scoopee... =)

May this LENT be a different one.

God guide you.

Be loving, Compassionate and Kind

In our busy lives, we let life carry us away on a never-ending road filled with the responsibilities of a day filled with the responsibilities of a day-to-day existence.

We often forget that there is more along the way than just bills to pay,
phone calls to return, and errands to run.

There are people in our lives who need to be hugged,

who need to be loved.

There are people in our lives who need their accomplishments

noticed and praised.

We need to remember how fragile hearts can be,

how quickly a soul can grow weary, how fast a spirit can break.

We forget that a heart is like a garden that needs to be tended and nourished

with what only another heart can give.

Love and appreciation, devotion and honesty.

-Tracia Gloudemans

Being true to your heart... =)

Dear Scoopers!

A Valentine's Day Special!

Our Very Own Scoop Shop is offering a "Rose-flavoured" ice-cream today, with a story from a great story-teller, Max Lucado. =)

A gentle reminder that we should be true to our hearts as

LOVE transcends all.

Jesus loves us, no matter how we may look...Let's love our kids/teens as He did too, and not turn away from them because they are not what we expected them to be...

we may be in for a suprise. =)

Enjoy!

The People with the Roses

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell.

With time and effort, he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding.
Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting--7:00 p.m. at the Grand Central in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.

I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened...

A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were as blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small provocative smile turned her lips, "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured.

Almost uncontrollably I made one more step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was quickly walking away. I felt as though I was split in two. So keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld mine.

And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.

I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

-Max Lucado, Stories from the Heart (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Books, 1996)

-Watercoloured Rose from www.lynsnow.com

Embracing LENT

Dear Scoopers,

Hmm, ice-cream may be considered an indulgence to some during this period of lent...but @ The Scoop Shop, we aim to share the goodness of what the cream can offer!

Here's some almond nibs and cookie crunch for you to chew on, and share with others.

May this Lent be a different one for you this year. =)

Living Simply During Lent

I once was visiting a beautiful home, finely furnished with exquisite furniture, lovely artwork and impeccable décor. However, the heavy draperies around the windows blocked most of the natural light in the rooms, and left an atmosphere of heaviness and, quite frankly, suffocation. Although the home was beautiful I couldn't wait to leave and enjoy the freshness and plainness of the light and air outside.

I can't help but think, as we enter into this season of Lent, about the "heaviness," the complications of everyday life, that have the potential to snuff out the fresh light and air of Christ in our lives.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about living simply. Obviously Lent is a time for penance, reflection, renewal. It's a time for introspection and consideration of things eternal. What I'm proposing this Lent is paring down life, getting rid of the 'heavy draperies' so that things eternal can shine into our daily thoughts and lives.


First, attain mastery over time.

The clock should not be our god.

It is true we need to watch the clock to make it to work, keep our dentist appointments,

and get to Mass on time.

Take time to get at eye level with your child and really listen. Make time for 'date night' with your mate. Do one thing at a time. Do not worry about work when you are home with your family or your home projects when you are at work. Think about the one thing you are currently doing and do it well. (Kreeft bluntly tells his readers to stop "octopussing" — trying to do eight things at once. I might add that some of us are likely even "jellyfishing.

" Did you know some jellyfish have hundreds of tentacles?)

Slow down and here's the biggie: pray... without watching a clock. God is the creator of time, reminds Kreeft. God can multiply time, but first we must offer our time to Him. And it is good to remember that God cannot be outdone in generosity. He will take our sacrifice and bless us a thousand fold. A good place to start this Lent is going to Confession and attending other Catholic devotions such as Eucharistic Adoration or Stations of the Cross.

Like the Nike commercial advocates, "Just do it."

Second, live more naturally.

Go to bed earlier and get up earlier, following nature's cycle of darkness and light. Kreeft says this aids in simplicity because the things people do in the morning are usually simple things — walking, praying, and tidying up. And the things people do in the evening or more complicating (or time-wasting) — busywork, attending parties, watching television. Spend more time outdoors (yes, even in the winter!) Breathe in the fresh air. And take walks frequently. Kreeft writes, "[When you walk] you will begin to recapture the natural rhythms of the body...It attunes us with the earth and air...It is a symbol of life, the road to eternity... And it gives us an opportunity to think."

Third, recognize that often less is more.

Don't just give up sweets this Lent. Take less food. Chew it slowly. Savor its flavor deliberately. Enjoy it more. We've all seen women who have overdone it in the jewelry and make-up departments. They have baubles and beads on every limb, and layers of gold or silver around their necks. Heavy eye shadow and lip color emphasizes their faces. Who can deny that this actually detracts from a woman's natural beauty? Contrast that image with simple cleanliness and light makeup, a plain cross necklace and a pair of simple earrings on a female. One young woman I knew in college gave up make-up for Lent. Less truly is often more.

Fourth, decrease expenses.

We don't need half of what we want anyway. Love of money is the root of all evil. See what you can do without.

Fifth, embrace silence.

Kreeft calls silence "the unknown power source...the great untapped resource." He says that silence is more, not less than noise. Cultivate inner silence by eliminating outer noise. Turn off the television. Skip the radio in the car. Listen more. Talk less. God speaks to us all the time, but often with the cacophonic sounds intruding into our lives we just don't hear Him.
Simplifying life truly is like pulling back or even taking down thick draperies in a stuffy, dark room. In removing the fabric that blocks luminosity we will find more light, more freshness, and quite likely more room for God.

Theresa Thomas, a freelance writer and columnist for Today’s Catholic resides in northern Indiana with her husband David and their nine children. She has been home schooling since 1994.

This article originally appeared in Today’s Catholic and is used by permission of the author.
Edited specially to make it more bite-sized...
http://www.catholic exchange. com/node/ 69585