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! :)

Best Friend's Night Out :)

Hey All! :)

DeDe and i had a great time tonight! :) We went to applebee's and had a nice, and funny dinner! With lots of chatting and commenting on our interesting waitress :) lol good times! :) then we went to culvers to get ice cream and headed over to her house to hang out. We had lots of fun and took hillarious pictures! (More to come at the bottom!)

Overall today was a good day! My mom had a Bagolitas http://www.bagolitas.com/ and Norwex http://www.norwex.com/norwex.php?lng=7&cnt=223 party with lots of wonderful ladies over at our house :) Judith and i helped make lunch and shopped around. I got a super cute purse for 50% off! Regularially $68 and i got it for $33 :) i am sooo happy! I love purses!

Then after that Judith and i were invited over to Sandy and Ashley Suchy's house to watch movies for the afternoon! We watched "Ghost of Girlfriends Past" and "21". Ghost of Girlfriends Past wasnt that great but it was alright i guess, and i got to watch about a hour and it looked really good! So i am hoping to get to watch it someother time :)

Then i headed over to pick up DeDe and we had a great time!

Oh my goodness! I leave for NCYC in 4 days! :) i am so excited! :) Oh yeah! And i went and got a wall charger for my ipod for the trip :) haha im prepared! I cant wait!

Right now i am just cuddling up with Lilly so i can spend some time with her :) She is such a cute puppy!

Life is going good right now :) i am really happy! :) Thank you God for such and amazing life that you ahve set before me! :)

God is Good! :)

Haha Nice Pics huh?!?!? :)

haha :) love these pictures! :)

So as you can see we had a great time! :) I love you DeDe! Your such an amazing friend! :) actually a sister :) love you!

Lord-

Thank you so much for giving me great friends and great times :) You truly bless me day after day and i am so thankful. Help me to continue to do your will, and help me to be open to what you have in store for me at NCYC in 4 days :)

Amen

"I will love you lord with all my heart"

"Bring me joy bring me peace, the chance to be free, bring me everything that brings you glory"

"Everything lies on hope now, everything lies on faith somehow, and when the world has broken me down, you love sets me free"

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!

Long day and mixed emotions...

Im thinking im gonna be using my blog more often. Hopefully it helps me vent...

Today was a long day and it just seemed to drag on. School was boring, and i couldnt seem to focus. My head was in the clouds and it really was horrible. Im struggling with AP English, i have been working so hard and it doesnt seem to be going anywhere. We are starting a new book today and i just couldnt focus on it and it didnt make sense. Ahhh i need prayers! :(

Everything seems to be just stressful and crazy! Im worried about my ACT's and i am afraid of not getting into college. College is so close, and i feel like i have to do sooo well for them to accept me into a college. And then after that comes scholarships, student loans, debt... and its just soo much! :(

Im sorry that this is a post about all sad things i know its not very uplifting, but i dont know what to do. Im trying to be the best person i can be but it doesnt seem to be working. I mean people come to me for advice and i can help them and i feel good about it i just wish that people would be accepting about my views and how i feel about things. YES I KNOW IM DIFFERENT! So what?!?! :(

Please pray for me i really need it. I want to be helpful to others, and i just want to be a good role model. I want to focus, i want to do well, i want to get into college. I know its a lot of i wants but they are goals and things that i really need to accomplish.

Lord please help me..

Love!

P.S.- To all you active bloggers out there would you please post my blog link on your page or spread the word? I would like to get more followers and dont worry blog posts will get more and more inspiring, uplifiting, and God centered :) Please promote! Thanks bunches!

Peer Leadership! :)

Hey all! :) For those of you who dont have me as a friend on facebook... I have news! :) My youth minister asked me and two of my lovely friends Christene and Liz to be peer leaders on the 10th grade confirmation retreat this weekend :) We leave in a little over 3 hours :) (not that im counting or anything!)
It seems that God realy wants me on this retreat because i prayed soo hard about it and everything with my work worked out! :) I am so excited and i cant wait! :) I am giving a talk on Saturday morning about Priorities- How to keep God in your life when you are super busy. So im going to post it on here :) let me know what you think! :) Email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com for responses i would love to hear them! :)
God Bless,
Ashley

Priorities Talk

As teenagers are lives a full of things that we choose to do and things that we have to do. Alright so now I want to know what things that you guys choose to do in your life? Okay sounds good! What are something’s that you have to do in your life? (Go off of the things that they chose to do and the things they have to do)

Now off of that list you did (or didn’t mentioned, fit this to what they answered) what is the number one thing that should be shaping our lives today and should be something we do, is making time for God. How many of you feel that making time for God is something that you SHOULD do? (Please be honest!) Okay.. and how many of you are unsure exactly how God is going to fit into your life with how hectic our lives can get? Okay..

Honestly guys I felt that God was there only if I absolutley needed him, or as a last resort, I didn’t feel that I needed to pray to him or even have a prayer life. I thought that my life is totally fine so then why do I need to talk to God? I was busy enough as it is and I basically put God on a shelf and said “I will get to you later God” and knowing me I can tend to be somewhat of a procrastinator, not gonna lie! So for many years God was sitting on that shelf collecting dust. I went to mass, but only because my parents made me, and I thought it was an absolute waste of and hour of my time, but guys I didn’t know what I was missing out on!

Alright so now since I shared a little bit of my story with you I want you guys to know that I have not always been the way I am today, as you most likely noted in my little story. And I bet that some of you can relate to that old Ashley huh?! But here is where my story changed. God was “moving his way” off of the shelf and into my heart, but too bad it so long for me to realize that he was just sitting there waiting!

Gonna be honest with you guys right now, Talking to God and having a relationship with God is soooo AMAZING! But like I said God was sitting there waiting for me and I never realized it. I thought that only the “Good” and “holy” catholics were the ones who prayed, went to mass, and received all of those sacraments. And I definitely felt uncomfortable talking about God, because I didn’t give it a chance. Until one day I realized that we arent alone! God is always there for us, weither you have turned your back on him or maybe he is a casual friend. HE IS STILL THERE!

Now don’t get me wrong guys I am super busy as well, and the way society portrays our world is that we are a go go go generation. Always doing something! But now is the chance to CHANGE that. Think about when was the last time, if ever that you sat down with out and ipod, or a cell phone and just talked and prayed to God? For most of us not too often, because the time we have is limited.

Now I want to take a look at your list of priorities… where does God fall in that list? Im not going to tell you what is good or bad about where God is on that list because truthfully I don’t know what is right and what is wrong! I am not the person to judget at all. I just want you to look at that list and maybe once you have thought about it you will want to change where God falls on that list.

Because when life gets crazy and you just want to give up who are you going to turn to? Think about that, when you are on the brink of falling apart and giving up who is there to comfort you?

God is that shoulder to cry on, that hand to hold and the only person that you can truly rely on to get you through.

Pray to him, talk to him, cry with him, and believe in him. Life gets crazy, but God created this world, he created you and me and everything! If that’s not the person to talk about the things in your life that you are facing than I don’t know who else is better! 



So please pray with me,

In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen. Good and loving Lord thank you so much for bringing all of us together on this retreat this weekend. I know that you have amazing plans for all of us! Please help everyone in this room to know you Lord and to pray and talk to you. Help them to know that you havent abandoned them and that you are standing right there with your arms wide open ready to take them in. Please open all of our hearts to hear you this weekend Lord, and bring us closer as one community of faith. Life gets hard and we work so hard at so many different things, but help us to know that in the end, you are the prize, the one thing that we should be working towards is to knowing you. In your name we pray, Amen.

Family Vacation :)

Good Morning all!!! :)

We are in South Dakota! :) After our long, but enjoyable 13 hour car ride (including rest stops, and lunch and dinner haha)! :) Im just getting ready for the day, today we are headed to a museum about dinosaurs etc, crazy horse and then to Mt. Rushmore! :) I am so excited!!!!! :) Just waiting for everyone else to finish getting ready, lol i have been up since the crack of dawn :(

Yesterday was a long but pretty fun car ride and time with the family :) The badlands are GORGEOUS! :) and we had soo much fun! :)

Some quotes from yesterday:

-"I am a mix of Jesus and Fergie"-Alex talking about his singing
-"I say we go by the kick it rule, before you pick up any rocks you kick it first to see if it moves, if it moves dont touch it!"- Dad at the Badlands
-"Im gonna bring my rubber bands to shoot at mountian lions if they attack us!"- Alex "Alex there arent any mountian lions"-Noah "THEY ARE ROCK LIONS!"-Dad
-"ASHLEY LOOK BUMBIES!!!"(Judith trying to say bambi's refering to deer on the side of the road)
and so many more! :) lots of fun! :)

Cant wait for today! :) Here are a few pictures, and to look at all of them visit my facebook page at....    http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Alex+Walz&init=quick#/album.php?aid=2039722&id=1349927745