Living the call...

I know that my last post was less than encouraging.  It was a little depressing but it gave me an outlet to express my frustration at the time.  That's what a blog is for, right?

Well, tonight, after a meeting with the CRE teachers at church, I have to say I have something a little brighter to write about.  I know that the bigger picture of being a pharmacist is to help people when they are sick, to be an ear for those who need to talk about their illness, and to be a resource of answers for those with questions.  Hopefully, I will be able to do all this from the business that my father started.  But in addition to my calling to be a pharmacist to help my patients, I think that it is also to support my family so that we are able to fulfill God's other calls to us for service.

We have been very blessed to be apart of the St. James Parish.  Eddie has been blessed with the position of Youth Director, it is a part time position, but nonetheless it helps to buy the groceries from time to time.  We have also had the opportunity to meet wonderful teens who have a lot to teach us and a lot that we can help them learn.  They've all come with outstanding parents!  We couldn't do any of the things that we've done in the last year without them.  They get the kids where they need to be, enforce the values of our faith at home, volunteer to chaperon and to provide dinner for 40 kids some nights.

In addition, I believe that Eddie might, possibly have found his niche in the world.  Since his experience at Steubinville, he has been on fire!  He has a new blog where he is sharing all of his thoughts on our faith. He has new ambitions to fulfill in Youth Ministry.  It is refreshing for him to have such a big voice in our religion and faith these days.

Back to my original inspiration for this blog though.  I'm sitting here making powerpoint lessons for our Confirmation class.  I'm realizing how much I have learned from this whole experience in Youth Group and now in Confirmation.  A few things I've learned:
1.  It is a lot of work to make lesson plans.  Props to you teachers out there!
2.  Teenagers are mean!  They stare at you like you're talking to a brick wall sometimes.  Even had candy thrown at me last year.  But this is all ok!  It just draws attention to the areas in ministry that need improvement.  If they look like they don't care what you're saying, then they probably don't.  There is something I should be doing differently to get their attention and keep it.  Also, if they're throwing candy at you, you should probably be praying for them.  And also, give them the attention they are looking for. Whether that be praying with them in the hall way, talking with them one-on-one, or telling their parents.  Either way, it highlights the areas that need attention.
3.  I seemed to have missed a lot of this during my religious education!  I have learned more in the last year than I think I ever learned as a Catholic kid.
4.  I'm not sure where, but we are losing our Catholic kids at some point between 8th grade and adulthood.  Where are all the Catholics in their 20s?
5.  God has a plan.
Anyway,  I'm hoping that these things will come with more knowledge and more answers in the next few years.  I hope that Eddie and I will continue to have this opportunity to fulfill this call in our faith.
If you ever have the chance to be a CRE teacher, I highly recommend it!  It isn't always rewarding (i.e. when you're looking at 10 brick walls), but if nothing else, you can walk away from the experience with a great knowledge of our faith and maybe, just maybe, you were able to get the attention of one student.

It's been way too long, friend!

It has been a while since my last post.  It has been a pretty busy summer!
I've been working at my dad's pharmacy this summer and I have actually enjoyed the experience.  Granted, my dad can be difficult to work for... but this seems true for most kids working for their parents.  They hold you to higher standards than the other employees, but I guess it is only to make you better at what you do.  Anyway, I feel like I've learned more about his business and more about retail pharmacy in general.  I've gotten to do a lot of counseling and it has been nice seeing his patients that remember me from when he opened the store 11 years ago.
Other than working, I've been taking a class the PCCA Institute in Houston, TX.  It is an advanced compounding course that I took online and then went to the lab portion for 2 days last week.  I got to see their amazing training facility and make several dosage forms that I had no previous experience with.
After the lab, I flew to Florida to meet Eddie and my mom in Destin for my friend's wedding.  She had a beautiful wedding on the beach.
We've had a pretty exciting summer, lots of traveling, or driving anyway.
In addition to this, Eddie and I have been working on getting organized for Youth Group and the Confirmation class that we are teaching this year.  We have some exciting events planned for our amazing group of teenagers!  God willing, it will all work out and we will be able to recruit even more Catholic kids to strengthen their faith.
Oh!  Almost forgot!  Eddie took a group of our Youth members to Springfield, MO to Steubenville!  It was an amazing experience and the kids that went came back renewed with the Holy Spirit.  The conference has a way of making an impact on the teenagers who attend.  We're so excited about the 2012 Steubinville!  We already have it on our calendar and hope that we can take 50 kids with us!