NCYC & Changes

Hey All! :) IM BACK! :)

Sooo many people have been asking me about NCYC and how it went...and man Kym was totally right.. you cannot explain it. But im going to try my best!

-We arrived at about 3:00 pm in Kansas City. Got to the hotel quick to change and drop off our stuff and then headed to the conference center.
- General Session I walked into and seeing everyone and all the music by John Angotti made me cry, along with my jaw dropping... Unbelieveable!
-Went to different workshops, such as A Catholic Comedian who was hillarious!, and to Mark Hart the bible Geek! :) Both amazing!
-General Sessions continued to raise the bar :)
-Jason and Crystalina Evert Spoke on Saturday night which brought me to tears... They are my idols and their message is so powerful and so true! Look up Jason Evert on youtube, you wont regret it!
-Steve Arigsano, and Jesse Manibusan were AMAZING emcee's :)
-I MET JASON AND CRYSTALINA! :) I completely freaked out and was in awe by them! :) I got a picture with them too! Plus Crystalina gave me her email adress and said that they would send me copies of their books to give out at my purity ball, and that i should let them know the dates to speak (If they can fit it in their busy schedule)
- Went to Reconciliation and Adoration
-Heard amazing teen speakers! My Favorite was Philip Ryan, he had an inoperable brain tumor which eventually just went away, along with other miracles from God... Sooo amazing!
-Took part in mass with 21,000 other catholic youth! Communion took 40 mins, and there were 140 clergy men persiding! :)
-HAD AN AMAZING TIME! :)

NCYC was so unbelieveable and so wonderful. I learned so much, the major one being that I am not alone! There are so many other Catholic's just like me! :) Completely blew me away!

Thank you for all who donated time, money and prayers for me and our delegation over the trip! They helped so much! Thank you all for this amazing opportunity!
 Here are some pictures.... :)

Now on to the changes aspect of this blog.... Here is a note that I wrote and posted on my facebook, hopefully this gives you the jist of what exactly went on... :

'Hey Everyone!
It has come to my attention that many of my status updates about my faith have been taken the wrong way. To some it was considered "Shoving it down peoples throats". I would like to apologize for those coming off that way. I honestly did not mean for the status' to come off in the wrong was and i am very sorry that people felt that way about it.


To me my faith is SO VERY important, and i just wanted to inspire and help others. I did not mean for it to be taken as me forcing people to be just like me. I know everyone is different that is for sure.



It has also come to my attention that lots of people still really enjoy reading my posts etc... well you people are in luck! :) I am going to continue blogging about more faith oriented things, inspirational things, struggles, life, God, Catholocism, my life, and so much more on my blog! :) I hope that all of you read it, by your own choice. Please visit www.highschoolcatholic.blogspot.com to read all that i have to say.



To me i just want to proclaim God's amazing message to the world, but i dont want to frusturate/irritate or hurt anyone in that process. I sincerly apologize if you were offended or hurt by any of my posts, that was not my intention.



If you choose so please let me know what you think of my blog posts! That would be soo appreciated to see that they are reaching someone and that someone actually gets something out of it. :) Please feel free to comment here, on my blog, message me with any questions/comments/concerns and email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com.



Thanks and God Bless All Of You :)'
 
So this blog is going to be my life, and i really hope to keep up with it! Sometimes its hard to sit down and take time to type and all of that, but honestly I dont just do it for me, i do it for the people that i can reach, help and hopefully inspire. Thank you so much for your loyalty to reading my blog and all its contents. And i apologize if i have offended anyone of you as my readers.
 
ON A LIGHTER NOTE!!! Since at NCYC i had a wonderful opportunity to stock up on a few books (6) my youth minister and I are doing a social experiment :) We are both going to read the same book, but we divided it up into chapters. Going every other chapter, so i am the 1st! :) I will post my interpretation of the chapter on my blog here, and then she will post her interpretation of the next chapter on her blog. I am really excited and glad that Kym came up with the idea! :) So please visit Kym's Blog to see her interpretations as well as mine on here. I can definately tell you that you will for sure get lots of things out of Kym's blog, she is an amazing mom, wife, Catholic, youth minister, smart, funny, and truly an inspiration to many. I hope you like our soical experiment! Let us know what you think, comment here or email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com :) 
 
Lord---
Thank you so much for all you do for me and my family. You truly bless me on a daily basis, and you open up doors for me in all different ways. Thank you for the AMAZING experience at NCYC, let us all be the light in the darkness, shining for all to see. You are an amazing God, who does so much because he loves me and all of you. Please continue to bless my writings here, and the eyes and people who read them. 
In your name,
Amen 
 
God Bless,
And please let me know what you think! :)
LOVE!
Ashley

Missouri Bound...... :)

Good Evening everyone!!! :) This is going to be my last blog post for a couple of days. Because if you havent noted, haha in my past blogs, I am leaving for the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Kansas City, MO!   I am so excited and so blessed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHzh0nIeJQY  <-----NCYC Promo on youtube :) Well worth watching!

Tonight has been all about getting my ducks in a row! :) Getting money, packing, finishing up some make up homework : /, praying, blogging, making lists and still prepping! :) Even though it may seem like its a lot, its pretty well worth it! :)

Right before bed tonight will be my last time praying the NCYC Novena, sad but definately exciting and reasurring :) God has really watched over me and preped me for this trip :)

----So and 9:30 pm, with a candle lit and music playing, please join me in prayer over myself, my family, our delegation, our chaperons, all 21,000 participants, the bands, key note speakers and all of the people who make this possible. And also praise the Lord who makes this all possible, the one that got us to where we are today and is defiantly not finished with us yet ---

All prayers are sooooooo appreciated :) Thanks in advance! :) I know this sounds a lot like my post last night, I guess I am just in awe and really excited to be going :)

I woke up this morning and I thought... TODAY IS MY FRIDAY!!! :) Got ready for school in a wonderful mood, made it through all of my classes anxiously awaiting, got home, went to the bank, packed and all that fun stuff and now I am here :) Updating you all, waiting for Glee to start, then to watch a little blog feature about my amazing friend Kami on the Fox 9 news! :) All I know is that they are featuring her family and her blog :) Cant wait to see her! :) I love you Kami!

AND THEN..... its off to bed for me! :) Hopefully I can sleep! haha I have to be up to church by 4:45am and then we are headed to Eagan, MN and hopping on the coach bus for 6 hr's and 45 mins to Kansas City :) Its gonna be great! :) Man soo excited!!!

Please pray for all of us, and join me from your own homes/places you are at at 9:30pm tonight for prayer :) 

May God Bless You All, and May He Keep You Safe :)

Thank you all so much!

God Bless,

LOVE!,

Ashley

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for you to prosper, not to woe, plans to give you hope and a future"- Jeremiah 29:11 :)

Each and Every One Of Us, Is A Wondrous Work Of Art. Signed By The Hand Of God.

Hey all! :)

How are you?!?! :)

Right now, I am taking a break from my homework (well actually i am pretty much done!) to take some time to blog about whatever tends to be on my heart.

Today is like my thursday! :) Tomorrow is my last day of school for the week and then thursday morning i am off to NCYC :) It is so hard to put into words how I am feeling about taking this trip, but let me tell you every morning and throughout the day I wake up asking myself "Is it thursday YET!?!?" So you can tell I pretty excited :) I am taking this trip with Super amazing people from my church! :) They are such blessings, with such wonderful hearts for God, and a will to follow him and also the Catholic faith. We are all ready to dive head first into what God has planned for us!


This is most of our delegation from St. Henrys! :)                                                  More

So above are some pictures of multiple people that are in our delegation! :) Sadly i am missing 2 people :(

We are all really excited and cannot wait to go :)

''Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.' Prayer, formed by the liturgical life, draws everything into the love by which we are loved in Christ and which enables us to respond to him by loving as he has loved us. Love is the source of prayer; whoever draws from it reaches the summit of prayer.''

 

NCYC - the largest single gathering of Catholic youth in the country - encompasses a wide variety of opportunities to learn about and experience the Catholic faith.

I cant even begin to process how i feel right now :) Soo wonderful! And i definately want to thank all of the people/famililies/and orginizations that donated money to me and my delegation for this trip! Thank you soo much! :) It cost roughly $450 and my family and i did not have to pay a cent of it due to the generosity of others :) Thank you soo much!
I feel that God truly wants me at this conference, he has made ways for me to get through so many obstacles to get to where i am today, all set to go. He has provided me with so much that i have needed, and i know that with all of the things that God does for me i will be forever thankful :) 

 

God is sooo good! 

Each night before i go to bed, i light a candle, turn off the lights, turn on one of my favorite songs "Hope Now"- By Addison Road, and pray the NCYC novena :) Its such an amazing feeling :) Then i go to bed praying my rosary like normal and i just feel at peace. 

My wonderful youth minister Kym tells me that she knows God wants her with us at St. Henry's, and me being inquistive i ask 

Well how do you know that??

And she answers.... "Its just that peace that you feel when you pray, you can just know once you feel that." 

So now every time i go to pray (which is a lot) but i mean the in depth prayer i wait for that peace, that knowing sign from God that this is all part of his plan for me. I have no idea what his plan is for me but whatever it is i cannot wait to find out. Our father up in heaven has great plans for each and everyone of us :) And now that i just said that it reminds me of the responsorial psalm at mass this past sunday sung but the childrens choir.... 

"Each and every one of us, each and every one of us, is a wondrous work of art, is a wondrous work of art. Signed by the hand of God" :)

I would really appreciate prayers for my trip if you feel called to pray for me and my delegation. :) Right now i just feel completely blessed by all the things that have been done in my life and so thankful. Its so amazing :) Please pray for me and my delegation, also our Chaperones: Kym and Kurt. :)

Your prayers are super appreciated by all! :) I hope to post another blog tomorrow night as a pack and get ready :) 

Thanks so much for taking time to read this and time to step into my God filled life :)

YOU ARE SOO LOVED!

God Bless!

LOVE! 

Prepping For NCYC 2009- "Christ Reigns" Kansas City, MO

NCYC NOVENA

To be prayed for the nine days preceding NCYC, beginning on Tuesday, November 10, 2009.

Lord Jesus Christ, Risen Savior, King of Kings, Son of God, Son of Man, I come before you just as I am, acknowledging my sinfulness and my personal weaknesses. I know that without you I am nothing, with you, I am everything. I place myself in your presence. I bring to you my prayers, my wants, my wishes, and my desires.

Lord, I believe in you; increase my faith. I trust in you; strengthen my trust. I love you; let me love you more and more. Guide me by your wisdom, correct me with your justice, comfort me with your mercy, protect me with your power.

Lord, enlighten my understanding, strengthen my will, purify my heart, and make me holy. Give me good health in body, soul and spirit.

Help me to rise above my human weaknesses, and to continually grow stronger in my faith and belief in you. Help me to conquer anger with gentleness, greed by generosity, and apathy by fervor and caring. Help me to forget myself and reach out toward others. Make me prudent in planning, courageous in taking risks. Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity, and forever attentive to you and your will for me. Let my conscience be clear, my conduct without fault, my speech blameless, my life well ordered, and my love for you unending and unwavering. Let your Holy Spirit dwell within my heart. Allow me to experience your Father's love.

With praise and thanksgiving, and with the confidence of knowing that you hear my pleas, I also place before you the following needs.

(Pause to insert your own particular needs and intentions.)

And most especially, I pray for our pilgrimage to the National Catholic Youth Conference. Keep us in your care during our travel, during our stay, during our waking, and during our sleeping. Let our time and efforts be productive; our words and our actions filled with compassion, care, and love.

Allow me to be a bearer of your peace; allow me to be your hands, your feet, and your voice. Teach me to speak your words to those who need to hear you. Teach me to reach out to those that need your touch. Teach me to walk confidently down the paths you have set before me, even though I may have no idea where they lead.

Father, I abandon myself into your hands, not only during this pilgrimage, but for the entirety of my life; do with me what you will. For whatever you may do, I thank you. I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creation... I wish no more than this, Lord. Into your hands I turn over my soul, my mind, my life, and my entire being.

I love you, Lord and I praise you. I shall follow as your disciple every day of my life. Through your Spirit and your church, continue to teach me your ways. I desire to live in you, with you, for you and through you, now and forever.

Amen.

Compiled by Matthew Robaszkiewicz 2009, National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry
 
NCYC novena :) praying it every night! :) Its so amazing and i cant wait!
 
LOVE! :)

Friday The 13th....wasnt bad at all! :)

Hey All~! :)

Just wanted to post an update!
Today was an overall good day! Things are looking up for lots of people in my life, including me! :)
Im so glad that school is done for the week and i only have 3 days of school for me next week! :) I leave for NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) on Thursday morning! I am so excited! We leave at 4:45AM from our church (roughly) and have to be to Eagan to get on the nice coach bus with our whole delegation to ride 6 hours and 45 mins to Kansas City, Missouri! :) I am sooo excited! For more information check out http://ncyc.nfcym.org/ 21,000 Catholic Youth! :) Please pray for my delegation, and me too please! I want to be open to God and his plans for me :) I cant wait!! :)

Today after school Judith and I rode up to St. Cloud with Jeff and Ryan Michaelis to pick up dad, and then Judith and i took dads car to Noodles for dinner. A quick stop at Barnes and Noble, then to movie gallery to rent movies :) We had a great time! :) Now we are relaxing and watching What Happens In Vegas, its pretty hillarious! :)

Tomorrow morning my mom is having a bunch of friends over for a Bagolita's and Norweks party, i am excited to get to see my mom's friends and family :) i love them! :)

Then working on homework i bet in the afternoon...not soo fun. We are starting Frankenstein in AP English..not looking forward to that at all! :(

Then.......IM GOING TO DINNER WITH MY BESTEST FRIEND! :) I am so excited! We are going to Applebee's (One of our signatures! haha) I cant wait to spend time with her and chat. We are both so busy and i am so happy to get to talk to her :) yay!!! :)

She is my best friend :)

I love her :)

This is what love looks like :)

Haha :)

Love you DeDe! :)

"Trust In the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And lean not on your own understanding"

"Friendship is one of the ways that God shows us how much he loves us"

LOVE!

Silentathon Is THIS FRIDAY!

Hey All!

Just a little note to say that i really need donations for this weekends silentathon to go towards my trip to NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) in November.
I will be staying silent from 6pm friday nigth until 7 am saturday morning. This will be held at my church St. Henry's. Throughout the time I will be making blankets for new mothers, community work, reflecting on my trip, and most importatly spending time with God. I know for the people that know me i am a very loud person, but this is something that i am going to do, and i will do. :) If you would like to come up to church and visit me during this time feel free too. If you can donate in anyway possible let me know email me at volleyball_chick31@tds.net, facebook me, comment here, call me, etc. And if you are not willing to donate please keep me in your prayers :) Thanks so much!
God Bless,
Ashley