Janet K. Warren
Welcome!
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Books
  • Weddings
  • Funerals
  • News
  • Blog
  • Contact

Ordination

6/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Happy Monday! It’s a cloudy day and raining on and off here in the resort town of Cobourg, but yesterday was a beautiful sunny day at Elcho Church in Wellandport for ordination!  Pretty much everyone drove from rain, into our sunshine.  It was a wonderful service!
I am so thrilled to have become a priest.  I even used my priestly powers to bless a palliative this morning. It was nice to be able to provide comfort in that way.
I am also thrilled to say that my good friend Dawn and her mother drove all the way from Newmarket to see me be ordained.  It was so nice of them to come from so far away.
As I said, it was a beautiful day.  The windows and doors of the church were open to the lovely breeze. At one point, a bird flew into the church.  It just circled three times and went on his merry way.
There were four ordained as priests and seven ordained as deacons.  Our little church is continuing to grow and what a wonderful; group of people we are attracting. Everyone is so very loving, giving and supportive.  We each have our own little ministries, drawing on our own skills and God given talents.
Some of our members just stick to weddings and are just marvelous at it.  Some have chapels in their homes and do their work there.  My interest is in working with elderly and palliatives. I spent some time with a palliative just this morning.  It is a wonderful little elderly lady, who is losing her battle with cancer.  I did not know her before she was palliative, but I understand that she loved to laugh.
It is nice to find out about the people you have the honor of sitting with.  There was another lady I had spent some time with who passed just last week.  She graduated high school at the age of 83!  How determined she was to go back to school and finally graduate. There are so many stories with these folks and unfortunately, sometimes, they have receded too much into dementia to get the story and those are the times that are quite sad. I met one elderly lady at one of the facilities I have been in, who was looking for her mother. This lady said that she couldn’t manage without her mother and was sure that she was there, somewhere. Heartbreaking. There isn’t much you can do, but listen to what they can tell you.
I was telling the administrator at the Extendicare this morning that as I get to know the folks at the facility, it will be more challenging to watch them become palliative.  It is one thing to sit with someone that you don’t really know, waiting to be called home, I think, but time will tell. For some, I imagine, passing is a blessing, as I have always believed that quality of life is much better than quantity. I also imagine that it is easier to deal with a palliative who is elderly and led a long and happy life than to deal with a palliative who should have had a long and happy life ahead of them.
Dear me!  I didn’t want this blog to be a downer!  I was just remembering the ordination yesterday and still feeling that I am walking on air.  Full of the  Holy Spirit, that I get to share with everyone.  It is wonderful!
Well folks, I guess that’s it for today.  I have tidying up to get done and a book that won’t read itself!  God bless you all!

​
0 Comments

Retreat

10/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Happy Sunday! It’s a dull day outside today, but it is a retreat day for me, so a nice cup of tea, purring cats and quiet music accompany my quiet contemplation of my upcoming ordination.  It is a time to reflect on my direction and what it all means to me.
I’m taking a break and blogging at the moment, because the washer and dryer are a distraction, so I shall fill the time with chores, until the house is quiet again.
Last night, I even hauled the tarot cards to see what they would tell me.  I am not a tarot card reader per se, but I was given a set some years ago and every now and then I get them out to see what they tell me.  I just did the three card reading--perhaps I will do a full reading tomorrow, when I have some quiet time before Cavan returns from his conference weekend.  Last night, I drew the three cards which show past present and future.  I don’t remember what the card for the past was, but then it’s in the past anyway, isn’t it?  The present card was ‘sorrow.’  Hm, that could mean lots of things that I haven’t really dug into yet, but the card for the future was ‘victory.’ Well, that’s impressive.
So, victory I am taking as I am going in the right direction. In addition to my upcoming ordination for deacon, I have a few other things lined up.  I am committing to the priest course. It has a lot more reading, but reading is one of my favorite things to do.  That ordination will be in June and with the liturgical calendar, the color is red, so my chasuble will be red--my favorite color-- it must be a sign!  As a deacon, I will wear a dalmatic and the color in the liturgical calendar for this upcoming ordination is white.
Also lined up, I have some connections locally.  I have always been drawn to the aged.  My closest friend is 90, though, and yet I don’t consider her to be old.  She is more mobile than me and, I have discovered that every night she does toe touches and can actually still put her hands flat on the floor!  I can only get my knuckles on the floor.
There is an Extendicare facility just down the street from me and I have been in contact with the administrator there.  There are no paying positions, but I can work as a volunteer.  I have also been in discussion with Northumberland Community Care and they have friendly visitors, where I can visit with seniors in their homes.  They also have hospice training, where I can be trained to visit people who are near the end of their life, and hopefully, offer some support, if only to hold their hand for a little while or listen to their stories.
I remember when my mom was nearing the end, much of my family was at the hospital, but while I was there, I was the only one sitting close to  her and holding her hand.  I hope it was of some comfort.  I still feel badly that I wasn’t there when she actually passed, but I had driven for five hours to get to her and I had to sleep.  When I got the call, I did return to the hospital and kissed her goodbye on her forehead.  I did the same with Cavan’s father.  I know that some people have difficulty with dead bodies, but to me, it is just the vessel that held their spirit while they were here.  Nothing to be afraid of.
This will be my victory--to be able to offer even a little comfort to the forgotten in long term care homes and hospices.  It’s selfish really, because it will make me happy.  I pray that it will also offer some comfort to those I shall have the pleasure of meeting.  I welcome their stories.  People have such amazing lives.
Well, dear friends, I hope that you find your victory in life and that you won’t be near 60 years old like I am, when you find it!  God bless!
0 Comments

Prayer

9/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Happy Monday!  It’s a rainy day here in the resort town of Cobourg--the perfect day to catch up on chores, before I head into the city tomorrow.  Tomorrow, I get to spend the afternoon with my oldest daughter and although I lived in Toronto for nearly 30 years and she has been there all her life, we are going to pretend to be tourists and take the double decker bus tour and go to the Ripley’s Aquarium.
So, onto today’s topic of prayer.  My earliest memory of my mother was making beds with her in the morning and then kneeling on the bed to say morning prayers.  I am guessing that I was about 2 at the time and it instilled two things in me--the necessity of a made bed, and daily prayer.  And, yes, to this day, I need to make my bed every day and I still say prayers.
I generally say my prayers at night, as the end of the day is a great time to give thanks for all that I have and ask for forgiveness for any known and unknown transgressions.  I also slip in a request for all beings on this earth to have peace in their heart and soul, that will prompt all to share all the food and water, because I know that there is more than enough to sustain all in the world.  I also have to throw in a request for a windfall and I don’t mind working for it.  Millions of my books selling would be fine, or a simple lottery win would suffice.  I have so many people and charities that I plan to share with.
I never really got into morning prayer, although now that I am retired, there is no longer the excuse that I can’t fit it in before work.  I have thought about this often and feel that I am missing something by not having morning prayer, but then remembered that I actually do.  My morning routine includes work at my computer for a bit even before my daily exercise routine and shower.  At my computer, I do two main things.  I post Bible quotes on Twitter from daily e-mails that I get and I post a prayer on my Facebook business page.
The prayer rarely comes directly from me, I should point out, but before I post the prayer, I have read through several.  I always read the prayer from Daughters of the Creator, and I used to publish that one, with some modifications.  Lately, however, I have been finding some wonderful prayers on the http://www.lords-prayer-words.com website.  This site has prayers for pretty much anything you can possibly imagine--prayers for thanks, forgiveness, wellness, success, exams, new job, job interview, etc.  It is a great site.
So, at night I do my heart to heart prayer, and in the morning, I do a more specific prayer that I share with anyone who is in need of a prayer that aligns with the topic I have found that I need for the day.
The one thing that I truly regret, however, is that I did not instill praying in my own children.  They did attend Sunday school and we actually had a birthday cake at Christmas for baby Jesus.  But they never saw me pray and regretfully, I never spent the time at the end of the day to teach them to pray, so it has not become part of their daily lives.  This is quite unfortunate I think.  That isn’t to say that they do not believe in God and are not spiritual, but they don’t have the same daily connection that I have.  
Perhaps it is never too late. I will be ordained as a deacon for the Community Catholic Church of Canada in November and they will be attending.  Perhaps it will remind them of our roots in the church.
Well, my dear friends, I have other chores to get to.  I pray that you have a gentle week.  God bless!
0 Comments

    Author

    Hey folks!  I decided to blog from my author page rather than from my book series page, because although I should shamelessly flog my books, I don't.  I blog about all kinds of stuff.

    Archives

    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    23andMe
    Allan Gardens
    Allergies
    Ancestry
    Animals
    Anniversary
    Apple
    Autoimmune
    Autumn
    Barbeque
    Bible
    Birthday
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Blogtalkradio
    Book Marketing
    Books
    Book Sales
    Bronner's
    Bus Trip
    Busy
    Busyness
    Calling
    Canada Day
    Cancer
    Car
    Careers
    Cats
    Challenges
    Challenging
    Chaplain
    Children's Books
    Christ
    Christian
    Christian Books
    Christianity
    Christmas
    Church
    Circle Of Life
    Community Catholic Church Of Canada
    Concert
    CPAP
    Critics
    Deacon
    Death
    Decorating
    Dexterity
    Diet
    Dieting
    Encouragement
    Essential Oils
    Exercise
    Facebook
    Fall
    Family
    Family Day
    Father
    Father's Day
    Fatigue
    Final Wishes
    Footprints
    Frankenmuth
    Friends
    Gardner Museum
    Gift
    Goals
    God
    Goodreads
    Grilling
    Happiness
    Heritage
    Homily
    Independence Day
    Instagram
    Jesus
    Job Hunt
    Job Hunting
    Keto
    Ketosis
    Labor Day
    Labour Day
    Lazy
    Life
    LinkedIn
    Linux
    Manchester
    Memory
    Mother
    Mother's Day
    Moving
    MS
    Multiple Sclerosis
    MyHeritage
    New Year
    Ordination
    Organization
    Overdoing
    Painting
    Paleo
    Palliative
    Parenting
    Paris
    Patriotism
    Perennial
    Pinterest
    Please
    Prayer
    Prejudice
    Preservatives
    Priest
    Priesthood
    Projects
    Reading
    Religion
    Reorganization
    Resolutions
    Rest
    Retire
    Retirement
    Retreat
    Sadie-hawkins-day
    Seniors
    Sermon
    Sick
    Single Mother
    Smoker
    Social Media
    Spring
    Summer
    Talent
    Tenebrae
    Thanksgiving
    Thank You
    Theatre
    Tow Truck Driver
    Traditions
    Tragedy
    Travel
    Twitter
    Valentine's Day
    Volunteer
    Volunteering
    Weather
    Weddings
    Weight
    Wheat Belly
    Whole30
    Windows
    Workout
    Writers

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly