by pattyptakkogutek | Dec 30, 2019 | inspiration
As we are busy packing up the decorations, taking down the tree, and wrapping the figurines from the crèche scene, we cannot lose sight of the holy day that we haven’t even celebrated yet. That is the feast of the Epiphany, ending the official 12th day of Christmas....
by pattyptakkogutek | Dec 23, 2019 | inspiration
You CAN take it with you, and you SHOULD take it with you! I’m talking about all the love, peace and joy that you experienced over this holiday season. Take it with you into this upcoming New Year. Think of all the love that people showered on you in the days leading...
by pattyptakkogutek | Dec 16, 2019 | inspiration
Christmas Note to Self The celebration of Christmas gives us that reflective moment to consider our own birth and our own “reason” to be here. Do you know your earthy “mission?” “What’s my purpose in life?” I asked the void. “What if I told you that you filled it when...
by pattyptakkogutek | Dec 9, 2019 | inspiration
This Christmas season brings many traditions. One of our seasonal traditions is the giving of material gifts, representing the gift of love that we are all called to partake of. Yes, believe it or not we are all gifts to one another. This advent, this time of refocus...
by pattyptakkogutek | Dec 2, 2019 | inspiration
We are now officially in the “Christmas Season” bringing with it the joys, stresses, anxieties, anticipations and disappointments that can come with any overinflated, long awaited “buildup”. Commercially, we only have a few short weeks to prepare for this upcoming...
by pattyptakkogutek | Nov 23, 2019 | inspiration
The coming weeks are filled with traditions that bind us together as a family, friends, neighborhood and/ or people “walking each other home”. Many of these traditions, are created around the dinner table sharing memories, laughs and love while enjoying the fruits of...
by pattyptakkogutek | Nov 18, 2019 | inspiration
Gratitude, being the lynchpin for a happy life, is the official celebration kicking off this holiday season. We should take a page out of the Pilgrims playbook. They understood the power of gratitude. If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank...
by pattyptakkogutek | Nov 9, 2019 | inspiration
I’ve never looked to Dennis the Menace for spiritual inspiration, but in this cartoon, he nails it! Dennis is with his friend looking up at the starry night sky, pointing upward he ponders, “If heaven is that pretty on the bottom, think how it must look on TOP!”. We...
by pattyptakkogutek | Nov 4, 2019 | inspiration
“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use, as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. In its...
by pattyptakkogutek | Oct 28, 2019 | inspiration
“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Yes, we need faith and enthusiasm to get the most out of this journey called life. We are here to delight in the world finding joy in daily life, no matter...
by pattyptakkogutek | Oct 21, 2019 | inspiration
We live our lives with many unknowns. Two big ones we sometimes push aside are our last day and our first day. The last day being our last day on earth, how and when we will leave this world. And the first day in heaven, what will we find when we get to the other...
by pattyptakkogutek | Oct 14, 2019 | inspiration
Charlie Chaplin’s quote, “a day without laughter is a day wasted”, is seen at many food and drink scenes! What makes a “day worth living” for you? What makes it a “good day”? It’s a great question to ponder. Knowing what makes a good day for us will allow us to...
by pattyptakkogutek | Oct 8, 2019 | inspiration
This fall, Joe and I had the opportunity to travel to Norfolk, VA, never realizing that the Naval Station at Norfolk is the largest naval installation in the world! Before our boat harbor tour began we found this incredible tribute to our Veterans – The Armed Forces...
by pattyptakkogutek | Sep 30, 2019 | inspiration
Hopefully we get into the habit of daily prayer. But what happens when your daily routine changes, maybe an illness, vacation or too many things on your “to do” list? At least for me my daily prayer is pushed to the back allowing my pressing issues grabbing my time...
by pattyptakkogutek | Sep 23, 2019 | inspiration
On vacation this summer Joe and I were frustrated with the slow pouring salt-shakers! (Just one of our bad habits!) Taking matters into his own hands, Joe switched the tops of the salt and pepper-shakers giving us the “fast pour” on the salt. Salt is one of my four...