Poland Day 3- Old Town, Krakow

Day 3- Polish love color and it's very evident in their churches and pottery. We did not take pictures inside of the churches, as it wasn't allowed, but I did include some links to beautiful images I found online.

First we walked through the gate, then through the Cloth Hall. Nothing too exciting even though this is aparently a very popular destination. Lots of stalls of vendors selling junk we didn't need or want.
St. Francis Basillia (?)  Included a 10 min audio guide for free that was really well done and told a lot about the church. The kids all got one as well, and really enjoyed it and it helped them. This church was beautiful. No pictures inside, but you can see an image of how colorful and gorgeous it is here. Then we got to go to adoration with the exposed Blessed Sacrament.

Then we went to St. Mary's in the square. Walked in and Mass was still going on. Therefore, we went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Then we went back to St. Mary's. There's an entrance to the church to pray, then there's an entrance for tourists who have to pay. We went in to pray. We got to walk through Holy Doors while here. During the year of Mercy, if you walk through Holy Doors, say the Creed, think about the Lord's Mercy, pray for the Pope's intentions, and receive the Eucharist, you get a plenary indulgence. We were able to do all but receive Communion. This Church was beautiful from what we could see. We stayed in the prayer area and prayed and looked around while praying. We weren't that interested in paying to see the rest. We also got to go to adoration here. There is a famous altar piece that is beautiful and I believe was lost/stolen during WWII, but we did not pay to go see it up close. Again, as you can tell, lots of color.

Afterwards, we sat in the square for a while and heard the trumpeteer of Krakow. Legend has it that the firemen would climb the tower and blow the bugle to sound a fire alarm, or if an enemy was attacking. Once, when the city was under attack, a man sounded the alarm, and was either shot by an arrow, or had his throat slit mid-melody. So to this day, they stop in the middle of the tune.  The kids loved listening to it. It plays in each direction.

Then we headed to Wawel castle, with a stop in St. Peter's and St. Paul's. We got to pray in the Blessed Sacrament chapel while here. As we were exiting, they had some very graphic anti-abortion pictures. We ended up having a long discussion about abortion. We weren't exactly ready, but it opened up the door.

We finally arrived at Wawel Castle. We were too late to visit the treasury and other things (That are free on Monday, but only until 1pm), but we were fine with this. We then went in Wawel Cathedral, where yet again, we got to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. It was just after 3pm, the time of our Lord's Death, so we lead the kids in a decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet (Their attention spans were done at this point in the day, and we were lucky to get one decade!) We could have paid to see the crypt and bell tower, but we decided not to. We later regretted this when we found out John Paul II said his first mass in the crypt. We also could have paid for an audio guide, but realized it after the fact. I love audio guides, so was a bit disappointed. Truth is, by this point in the day, we were pretty tired and warn out.

Afterwards, we walked out of the castle and down to the Vistula (the river). There is a legend of a dragon in the dragon's cave that Hannah knew all about and wanted to tell us about, so we went down to find the cave. It was closed up, but there were some awesome rocks to climb. The kids spent a good 45 min climbing them and having a blast, while I sat with our stuff and people-watched. Then we headed back, grabbing ice cream on our walk to keep the kids walking without complaining. Eggy burritos for dinner with discussion of concentration camps, Oscar Shindler, and how everyone is important and God made everyone for a reason (The kids' conclusion after discussing more about the camps). Then baths and bed for exhausted kids.

A daddy and his girls

The Cloth House in the background

St. Mary's Basilica. The tower on the left is where the trumpeteer still plays every hour.

Wawel Castle

How Beka rolls on vacation.

Wawel Cathedral. So many different styles for one church!

Yes, she just had surgery two weeks ago. She looks so grown up with the side ponytail!

Our family with St. Pope John Paul II

Climbing on the rocks of the cave of the fire-breathing dragon

It breathes fire about every 5 minutes. 

Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

Poland-Day 2 Bastei Bridge

Day 2- We left Dresden, and went to the Bastei Bridge- a rock formation that towers 194m over the Elbe River. There was a bridge built in 1824 to link all the rocks together. It was about an hour from Dresden, then Krakow was 5 hours from there. We had all intentions of just seeing the bridge, then leaving, and making it to the 7pm Mass at the Shrine of Divine Mercy for the Divine Mercy Mass (It was Divine Mercy Sunday). However, we had gone to Mass the night before in Dresden just in case we didn't make it. This was wise, as the bridge was so amazing we spent longer than we thought, and did not make the mass.

We all LOVED the bridge and rock formation. It was a great start to the day, taking a good 3 hours walking through the rocks. The rock formations are breathtaking. It is said that it use to all be under a large sea bed and this is what is left behind. The other great thing was that it gave all of us something "fun" to do for the day instead of 5 hours of driving, and it made the kids a bit tired for the 5 hour drive. After visiting the rocks, we got some ice cream for the kids, a coffee for Jon and a cake (due to low sugars) for Aimee.

We were able to make the long drive to Krakow with only one stop to stretch legs and use the bathroom. We found our apartment and parking, which was a struggle to some degree. I said in my last post it was not a place I would recommend. We made the reservation through booking.com. I normally have great experience through the rentals. This one said all children 6 and under stay free. When I entered our numbers, booking charged me for the two under six, so I booked for 4 and immediately sent the owner a message verifying that we had 6, and was this ok. He said not a problem, let him know a few days in advance. I let him know 5 days in advance, then again 2 days in advance when I heard no reply. He replied to that message telling me parking was available. Also, it said that our card would be charged prior to arrival, and the fee of parking was included in the total.

When we checked in, he had his friend show us the apartment. NOT what we were expecting. There was a bed made up, and blankets laying out for another. He said they did not know we were a party of 6, so only had 4 pillows. We said that was fine, as we brought our own. After he left, we realized there was a set of sheets for one pull out couch, but those sheets 1- did not fit that couch, and 2- there was none for the other couch. We made due, using duvet covers to cover the beds, and the duvets as blankets themselves. When we pulled one of the couches out, it was so incredibly gross I about gagged. They had three gross mattress in a balcony area that we used one of to make the nasty, sagging couch a bit better. There was also only 4 bath towels and 1 kitchen towel for our 5 night stay. I put fresh socks on one morning, and by the time we left, the bottom of my feet were b;ack. The rug was covered in spots. The apartment had the potential to be really nice, but they didn't try very hard. Broken pieces were just laying in corners. Good thing was it was super cheap (you get what you pay for!) and it was super close to the downtown area. Also, we were asked for cash when we arrived. Thankfully I had read a review from 3 days before we left that said they expected cash and didn't charge the card like it said, so I was prepared. Parking was in a guarded lot a block away, and we had to pay them, so it was not part of the rent. The apartment met our needs, but I was very excited to go to our next hotel that was spotless and clean.

Day 1: Reservations and Day 1
Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

The bridge that was built in 1824 from the other side of the rocks.

From the bridge looking down at the rocks you can walk through.

Looking how far down it goes.

Stretching their legs at the rest stop.

Poland-Reservations and Day 1

Knowing that our time in Germany and Europe is ending pretty soon, I set out in January to plan one trip we'd been wanting to make-Poland. I wanted to get to Krakow before World Youth Day, so I planned for April. I knew it'd be rough, because I had a personal trip planned for the end of April, but we went for it anyway.

Things we did before we left-made reservations at Auschwitz and at Shindler's Factory, an apartment in Krakow, and hotels in Dresden and Boleslawiec. I will not share the Krakow apartment, as I would not recommend it. But I will share hotels.

Dresden apartment was wonderful. Easy parking behind the hotel that was suppose to be €6, but we were not charged. It had an optional kitchen, but we did not know this when we booked the hotel. Their website does have information about it though. We had this booked for 5, and asked for a cot for the 2yo. There wasn't a cot, but the bed was plenty big for the 3 girls to share, and our son had a single bed alone. There was also a couch that looked like it could fold out. Apparently breakfast may have been included, but again, did not know this, so we had cereal in our room for breakfast.

The Boleslawiec hotel, Hotel Ambasada, was a fancy hotel with a huge super king bed, and 4 single beds. We really enjoyed it. It included a nice huge breakfast.

Important things we packed, that I'm sharing because it's good info if you stay in apartments-kitchen scrubbies and soap, kitchen towels and washcloths (because they always seem to give ONE kitchen towel for you to use all week!) and a few regular washcloths because Europeans don't use them apparently. I wish we had packed a few extra blankets and towels, as our apartment was crap and lacked on linens (not even really enough for the beds, but we made do) and only gave us 4 towels for 5 days. Note to self, you get what you pay for. I don't recommend the apartment where we stayed.

Day 1-We got on the road by 10am, which was my goal. We drove to Dresden and checked in to our hotel. It had great parking behind the building and was very nice and cozy. The ONLY complaint was there was no coffee in the room. :) We drove in to the downtown area, parked in a garage and attended Mass in the Cathedral in Dresden. It was Divine Mercy Sunday, the day that 8 years ago, I entered the church. Mass was in German, but we understood enough of it to follow along. Jon had downloaded the readings on his ipod, so we all shared the ipod to know what the readings were. Afterwards, we walked around until we found somewhere to eat dinner- an american style restaurant called "Alex". It was decent, but took forever and our food was not made the way we ordered, We left after 9pm to head back and get some sleep for the next day of driving.

We did not get to see much of Dresden, but what we did see was very beautiful. If we have the chance, I would love to go back and see more of it, and would easily stay in the same hotel.

Here are all of the other blog posts:

Day 2: Bastei Bridge
Day 3: Old Town, Krakow
Day 4: Salt Mines and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
Day 5: Shindler's Factory and Shrine of Divine Mercy
Day 6: Auschwitz Memorial

This Year's Homeschooling Journey

This year, I have really struggled with homeschooling. I haven't found the passion I use to have. I've felt overwhelmed, tired, burnt out. It has been all school year that I have felt like this. Many people I know have put their kids in school this year. That has been hard for me as well. Yet, I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we were not suppose to be doing that. I knew God had called us to homeschool, and He wasn't calling us away, just because He was calling others away. My husband so kindly reminded me that many people don't always like their jobs (in an office, etc), and I tried to find some solace in that.

I tried (That's the operative word here) to give up complaining for Lent. Ok, let's be honest. I tried to complain less for Lent. In doing so, I've really tried hard not to complain about homeschooling, or the 2yo that creates complete mayhem throughout our school day. And you know what has happened? My heart is shifting again.

I'm realizing the reasons I do love homeschooling. Like hearing H read to the toddler today. Or coming down stairs at 7:45 to find the older two are almost completely done with their individual work, and we can actually attend Mass at lunch time on a Tuesday. Or listening to them take in where Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are on a map, because that's where the Canaanites came from. Or jumping for joy because one finished Dr. Doolittle and another read Sarah Plain and Tall in one day. Or when I walk in to the living room like I did last week, and find everyone together, as they tell me "We're doing our school work". Like a picnic.

God has shown me this Lent why He has called me here, and I am where I belong. 

I think some other things have helped as well. I found out I had severely low Vitamin D, and got that taken care of. Hello Germany and the land of no sun! 

I also took on a position for an organization that I am very fond of. This organization has me working many hours doing what I love-administration work. It feels like a 'job' that I am able to do from home, while homeschooling, and it gives me that purpose that I felt I was missing. It's funny, because when approached about the job, I was very unsure, but I had a peace, I felt God was saying "If I've called you, I will make a way." And He has, and it has been one of the biggest blessings in my life this past year. 

You know the verse in Ruth 1:16 "But Ruth said, 'Do not press me to leave you and to stop going with you, for wherever you go, I shall go, wherever you live, I shall live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God." She was talking to Naomi, who had a different God than her, but she was a dedicated friend to Naomi. I was reading "You Can Understand the Bible" last night and it said "Like Mary, Ruth was a kind of co-redeemer... Ruth's bond...expresses the same state of soul, the same essential core of the spiritual life, the same secret of sanctity, as Mary's fiat "Be it done unto me according to thy word." Both of these should be my prayer. Whatever God wants of me, let it be done. Even if that means homeschooling. I am so thankful and glad that He has helped me find the joy in homeschooling again, and that I am noticing more of the little reasons that I know this is where I'm suppose to be. It's still a struggle at times, but I"m definitely in a better place.  

Dublin, Ireland

This weekend, we had the amazing opportunity to fly to Dublin, Ireland. In November, I was able to score round trip tickets for all 6 of us for €187 (including one checked bag both ways). I booked this apartment. It wasn't 5 star by any means, but it worked well enough within our budget. The location was wonderful. The best thing about Ireland- Everyone spoke English!

Praise the Lord, we had no issues flying out of Germany. After arriving, we took the airport shuttle- a double decker bus- to within a 10 minute walk to our apartment. We easily found our apartment, thanks to the large red clock hanging outside of it. We put our things down, and headed to Lidl to grab some groceries. It was a 2 minute walk to the grocery store. After grabbing groceries, Jon made a delicious spaghetti type dinner with mixed veggies and cookies for dessert. Dublin is an hour behind us, so we put the kids to bed right after dinner.

The next morning, we got up and I walked across the street to get scones at the bakery while Jon made eggs. Then we head to the Guinness Storehouse. Guinness beer comes from Dublin and one of the things most well-known about the city. The storehouse is huge. We went back and forth on doing this tour, because of the price, and some people said it wasn't worth it. We all loved it and the kids kept saying that was their favorite part to begin with. The museum is very well done and the kids loved seeing what hops looks like, the huge indoor waterfall, and learning the 5 ingredients in the beer. Half way through, we stopped at their coffee shop, where we ate some Irish sausage rolls that Jon and I thought were delicious. We also got to go through a sensation experience where they got to smell the different ingredients in the beer, and where mom and dad got to learn how to drink it to appreciate every one of the flavors. The tour ended with Jon and I getting a Guinness and the kids each getting a soda of their choice. Even if you are not a fan of beer, this was a great experience in my opinion.

Then we headed over the the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). If you are not familiar with the 1916 Easter Rising, watch Michael Collins. We rewatched it prior to coming, which made this jail even more interesting. We got a fabulous tour of the entire jail, including the courtyard where 9 of the men of the Easter Rising were executed. I was concerned about how the kids would handle some of this, but we had a lot of open conversation and I think they handled it very well. We all learned so much from this tour and it was very fascinating.

We went back to the apartment where Jon made grilled cheese and salami sandwiches, carrots, and something else for dinner. Kids headed to bed, and we watched a movie on the ipod before heading to sleep.

Saturday morning, we headed to the Dublinia museum. This is a museum about the history of Dublin, all the way back to the Vikings. Before going, I had shown this video to the kids. It was very interesting and informative and made us want to learn more. Funny enough, this video is shown in bits and pieces throughout the Dublinia museum. This museum is FABULOUS and completely made for kids. Lots of hands-on activities from dressing up in Viking clothing, guessing what the cures were for certain illnesses, writing your name in Viking, picking up phones to listen to different explanations, and so much more. Also, every sign had a very brief description, then somewhat more detailed, then very detailed at the bottom. This was great for parents. You could get the gist of the exhibit if the 2 year old was being crazy, but if everyone was entertained, you could get all the details. There is also a lab about archaeology on the third floor that the kids spent almost an hour in.  Everyone told us to go here, and I'm glad we did! At the end, we sat in their coffee shop, while Jon and I drank a coffee and the kids had a snack from our backpack to tide them over. The ticket to the Dublinia can include a combo ticket to Christ Church and there is a walkway from the museum to the church, so we went there afterwards.

This church was nice because it had a children's treasure search. They were suppose to find different things in the church, which kept them very entertained while walking though it. We also got to go down to the crypt. In the video we watched, they mentioned that the crypt use to be rented out, to store wine, and even at one point, a pub was down there. We all got a kick out of thinking about a pub being in the crypt. Also, we had learned that St. Lawrence's heart was here and Hannah was very excited about that. We thought we found the cage that protected it, but did not see the heart. When we asked, we learned that unfortunately, it was stolen in 2012!

Afterwards, we sat outside the church to eat the rest of our snack. During this time, an Irishman stopped to talk to us. I believe he was the security guard for the church, but he had me laughing. He was so nice, but was going on about the Irish government, and this and that. It was just fun to see his personality.

We were going to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral, but decided it wasn't worth spending €6/adult to go see another Protestant Church, even if it was possibly where St. Patrick gave his first baptism. We headed over to Dublin Castle and paid to do the self-guided tour. The castle also had a scavenger hunt for the kids. They had so much fun looking for the different items while Jon and I read the adult guidebook and we were all very happy with our experience here.

To end our trip, we took the kids to Murphy's Ice Cream at the recommendation of a friend. Definitely a great decision. So many fun flavors and you can try any of them, as many as you want. I ended up with Raisin and Gin and Honeycomb Caramel while Jon had Caramelized brown bread ice cream that was delicious.

We headed back to the apartment, dropped our bags off, and left to head to Mass. We went to St. John Lane, about a 3 minute walk from the house. The Church was beautiful. Very few children, possibly because it was the Saturday evening Mass. We really enjoyed it. Afterwards, the sweet lady in front of Jon turned and told him "Don't ever stop singing. You have a beautiful voice." and carried on a lovely conversation with us. As we went to leave, the priest was very kind to us, asking each of the children's names and recognizing that they were all Biblical. We loved our Church experience. We went back, had dinner, put the kids to bed and packed up. The next morning, we had plenty of time to get out of the apartment and make it to our bus stop to catch the shuttle back and thankfully, everything went great flying back as well.

All in all, we loved Dublin. The city itself was sort of dirty, but the people were so incredibly nice and kind and friendly. I have not felt so happy on a vacation in a long time as I did this one. They were just full of joy and kindness. And the fact that they all spoke English took away the stress. The kids even got to watch English speaking cartoons on cable, which hasn't happened in 3 years!

The kids loved that we were driving on the left hand side of the road on the bus, and they loved sitting on the top of the bus, in the front seat, seeing everywhere we were driving. We did not go outside of Dublin due to expenses and lack of car seats and time. If we were here longer, we would likely be heading back to Ireland. We loved it.

Below are pictures, and at the bottom is a price breakdown for those wanting to do a similar trip.

In the kitchen helping daddy cook

Our dinner the first night in the apartment

at the top of the Guinness Storehouse

Three of the kids with their sodas

Jon and me with our Guinness

Abby and Daddy with their drinks

The neat indoor waterfall at Guinness

We also learned about the art of Coopering- making barrels.

The Catholic Church inside Kilmainham Gaol, where a wedding took place the night before a prison was killed.

Abby in front of one of the jail cells

The modern area of the jail.

Zach and Jon dressing up in the Dublinia 

Christ Church

The kids and me at the gate of the Dublin Castle

Eating Murphy's Ice Cream

Price breakdown for anyone wanting to consider a similar trip:
Plane tickets €187
Apartment €427
McDonalds in airport on the way, and on the way back €50
Parking at airport (purchased online before going) €20
Airport shuttle roundtrip (2 adults, 3 children) €35
Grocery store €93
Scones €7.50
Guinness (purchased online before going) €43 family ticket
Guinness coffee shop €15
Kilmainham Jail €10 family ticket
Dublina + Christ Church €32.50 (this was family ticket for 4, plus 2 more children's tickets)
Dublin Castle €19
Souvineers €43
Murphy's Ice Cream €24

Total: €1,006 or $1,096

Called to Serve

I mentioned in my last post that a common theme on my heart lately has been the things of this world and the spiritual things that truly matter. There has also been something else that I'm really working on: Being a servant. In my home. I have known for a while that my spiritual gift was serving, but had never paid attention to using that gift at home until recently.

Two weeks ago, I went on a women's retreat, where the theme was "Divine Mercy". I learned a lot from this retreat (more at another time) but one of the stories that stuck with me was this. I believe it was St. Faustina, but I could be wrong. (Told to the best of my memory)

One night, she had gotten in to her pajamas and gotten in her bed, when her roommate said "Sister, would you get me a drink?" She got back up, got dressed again, and put her boots on. There was no kitchen in their house (convent) so she trucked across the muddy grounds to the kitchen and got the sister a drink. But then she realized that she had tracked mud in to the kitchen, so she had to clean it up as well. Then she got back to the bedroom with the drink, and there was Jesus. He told her "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do for me."

This struck me so hard. All I could think of was my husband. Many times we get in bed and he asks me "Will you turn off the lights?... will you go cover the kids up?.. Will you go check to see why the child is crying?" And so often, I say these same things, and many times, he does them for me, and I don't do them for him. After the retreat, my goal was to be more of a servant to my spouse.

However, this weekend, we were so incredibly blessed to go on a marriage retreat. In doing so, we talked about our children and how they apply to our marriage a lot. I realized there are many things I don't do for our kids, because well, I don't want to. I don't like it. I'm lazy. It's boring. It's gross. I hate doing it, etc. etc. But that's NOT what God has called me to do. If my children are not the "Least of these" then who are? Oh man, I have so much work to do! My new prayer is "Lord, please remind me to be a servant to others, so in doing so I will serve you."

And amazingly enough, as I was working on this, this video came across my feed. Sums it up perfectly.

Material versus Spiritual

I feel strongly that sometimes, God puts a theme or topic on your heart, or in your mind. Something for you to chew on, soak up, and think about a lot, and often for you to work on. The common theme on my mind and heart lately has been the material and earthly things of this world versus the spiritual things. What do I mean?

On Sunday mornings, sitting at church, receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, my mind is on Him. I want nothing more than to walk out of that building remembering that He is in me, and that everything I do should bring glory to Him. That anything else doesn't matter. 

Then Monday rolls around. My kids are a hot mess of not wanting to do school. So I'm trying to find a new way to make the science lesson come alive, and therefore skipping religion. I need a new jacket so being the thrifty person I am, I check all these sites for the best deal. My friends are posting all of these great links on Facebook that I just have to read. Especially because many of them are spiritual things, I'm sure they'll help me improve my spiritual walk. But the truth is, these are all distractions. The posts I read, I'll usually forget within minutes of reading them. The jacket, I don't really need. And when is science more important than teaching my children the faith? These are all things that are taking me away from Our Lord. I am so busy with all of these things, I can't take the time to spend 10 minutes to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet or read the readings for the day. 

I've pulled up about 7 tabs of things I want to read from Facebook, and interestingly enough, one was about yesterday's readings. The first one really struck home with me:

Romans 14:7-12 Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord,and if we die, we die for the Lord;so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.For this is why Christ died and came to life,that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.Why then do you judge your brother or sister?Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;for it is written:As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

I found it interesting that today's reading was talking about He is Lord and every tongue shall praise Him. That our soul purpose is to live for the Lord. I realized, it's not just my tongue that should praise Him, it's my actions, how I use my time. How I respond to things. 

We have some changes in the coming year. It's hard to not worry about these changes. What will happen, how will it work out, where will we end up? But, none of that matters if I'm focused on the here and now. The here and now, spiritual side of things says to pray about it and tell Our Lord "Jesus, I trust in you!" 

When I'm talking about the material and earthly side of things, it is in so many areas. Being focused on clothes, how I look, what I say, where I go, what I do, what I think of myself, the people I spend time with, etc. It's so easy to be pulled in to these things that take so much focus in our world. It's like the pinterest ladies who always have these great crafts or foods made. I look at them and want to think "Oh, that's awesome! I should do that!" and then I get so lost in the trying to do all these things, that I've lost my spiritual focus. Or I want to have everything put together, like some of these homeschool bloggers do, and that doesn't matter. What matters is that my kids are learning. Whether it's in books, or through experiences, etc. (Side note, I'm personally REALLY struggling with homeschooling right now!) 

I think back to so many of the Saints. Some were very poor, and yet, they found all their joy in the Lord, and suffered so many things to be united to His suffering. They never cared about Facebook or their clothes, the politics of this or that, the things that did not matter. They were not focused on the material, earthly possessions, but on the Lord. 

Another great example is all of these wonderful blog posts I'd love to read, because I'm sure they'll have great information or encouragement.... But what's really the point? Is it going to help me grow in my spiritual life? Will I remember it 10 minutes from now? Or is it just my way to connect with someone?  oh the irony that I'm writing a similar blog post. Truth is, it's so I can look back on this and be reminded of it more.

The reason I feel the Lord has brought this phrase to my heart lately is because I have been missing out on the real spiritual. The sitting down with my children and reading a good book together, studying a Saint together. Spending time in prayer and in my Bible, or reading a book that will help me grow. I have really made some changes in my life lately because I was doing so much "for the Lord" that I was neglecting my first priority and gift from Him, my family. I was stuck in the earthly doing that I was neglecting the spiritual loving I should be doing. I'm so busy with the planning, I'm not enjoying, like the photographer behind the camera, so busy clicking the photo he isn't enjoying the moment he's in. 

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that it's a real and difficult struggle. I have the desire to focus on the Lord and seek the spiritual things, and to not get drawn in to these things, but then I am so quickly drawn to them and forget about the Lord. It's like a diet. You know you shouldn't have that chocolate, but then, in a moment of weakness, when you aren't thinking about not eating it, you eat it. Not that they are evil or a sin, but they are distracting from God. As my husband so kindly pointed out "The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Prayers is so important in overcoming the material temptations of this world. 

This is not to say the things of this world are not important, but that it's important to keep the Lord the priority.