
Hubby with the grandkids…

Vincent leads a Junior Legion of Mary in our home for the grandchildren…
As it gets close to Thanksgiving, I like to post this little story about Attitude. It is important to remember that no matter what we are going through, we have control over our thought processes.
It isn’t easy at times, it can be a fight just to remain above water, but when we cry out to God for help, let us also thank Him for all we go through because He WILL come. And He will help us to have a proper attitude through it all.
And when it comes to just the little things in life that bug us, let us remain cheerful. These are such sweet offerings we can give back to Our Lord who has given so much to us!
And now an update….
I would like to give you an update on a couple of things I have asked you to pray about…
I have gone for tests about my health, and….. they have found nothing wrong! So, even though it is perplexing…I take it as a great gift and an answer to prayer…thank you!
A little more perplexing is our dear Rosie who entered the convent about a month ago. Rosie has struggled with her health through the years but had been stable for quite some time before she entered the convent.
After she entered, she quickly spiraled downhill health-wise. The Benedictine nuns were overwhelmingly supportive and worked with her. But it became evident to Mother, after some serious symptoms that even made a run to the emergency room a necessity…that Rosie needed to come home.
So…we are picking her up today. Please continue to keep our Rosie in your prayers.

Rosie smiling through the convent window. 🙂
And now, My Little Story About Attitude
Life is 90% attitude and 10% circumstance. I like this saying. I use it on my children when they are giving into their “stinkin’ thinkin”! If it was my quote I would change it a little. Life is 90 percent attitude, coupled with faith, and 10 percent circumstances. We DO have choices on how we react to what life is dishing out!
I am very grateful that I have had some people in my life that have made a powerful impact on me because of their awesome attitudes, especially in the face of adversity! Today I would like to write about 3 of these people.
I met Kay when I was 18 yrs.old. She is a middle-aged German woman who always had a smile on her face and a ready laugh. Young people were attracted to her like a magnet. She was always available to talk to and had good, sound advice for the problems of youth. I was one of those people that was immediately attracted to Kay. I wondered how she managed to stay in a good mood…all the time!
ONE DAY Kay told me her story. She had been married and had 2 lovely daughters. She and her husband lived next door to Kay’s best friend. Life was going along great until one dark day when Kay found out that her husband was cheating on her…with her best friend. Not only was Kay heartbroken, she was incensed!
Kay is a strong German woman…emotionally and physically. You didn’t want to get her enraged! She took out her gun. She went behind some bushes and pointed the gun at her best friend. Kay wasn’t being dramatic. She was cold, dead serious. Fortunately she had one sane moment when she realized where this action would take her. Jail didn’t look too good. So she pointed it at her own head, once again took a second look at what she was doing (she was a Catholic), put the gun down and walked away.
She then began her journey groping her way out of her gloom. She lived on a dairy farm and every day she would go to milk the cows, pain and bitterness shadowing her every step. Through gritted teeth she would murmur bible quotes like, “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it” or “Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice”! Slowly, slowly, it began to change her frame of mind. The cloud began to lift!
When I met Kay she was a dynamo of joy and strength. She had a love for life that was coupled with compassion because of what she had endured and overcome. Her situation hadn’t changed but she sure had! I lived with Kay and her daughter for about a year. I learned a lot from her. She was a true example to me of overcoming difficult circumstances through prayer and simple steps of changing one’s attitude.
Then there is Jim. Ten years ago Jim was a Harley Davidson guy. His way of life and his habits were quickly destroying him. One day Jim got into a terrible car accident!
He woke up from it and was not able to move his limbs! Jim was now a quadriplegic. He couldn’t move anything below his neck except his right hand – and he could only move that a little.
Now, when you go into Jim’s room it is quiet with no movement. It is usually dimly lit. Jim is laying on his back…and that’s pretty much it. It kind of gives one the feeling of walking into a tomb. Silence…stillness…solitude.
But it doesn’t end there. When Jim starts to talk you begin to see something very much alive! Jim will tell you, with his eyes sparkling, that he is happier now than he has ever been! It’s really quite astounding!
You see, since Jim had his accident, he became a Catholic. Through one of our Legion of Mary members who came to visit him often in the hospital, he converted. He now uses every ounce of his suffering for his wife (who left him after the accident), the conversion of his children and for the many families who have befriended Jim from our parish. He has many of our pictures up on the wall so he can pray for us all! He has a deep and incredible purpose in his life now and he knows his sufferings are like gold in the Eyes of God, if borne properly!
Physically, Jim’s quality of life had changed dramatically but his outlook is incredible. Now He has faith, hope and joy. Interiorly, Jim is a new man! There are people who visit him and walk away shaking their heads because of the irony of it. When I talk to Jim on the phone I get tingles in my spine, realizing what an awesome guy he is! He is an inspiration to all.
The last but certainly not the least person I’d like to talk about today is someone quite close to me – my husband, Vincent. Here’s a man who has an attitude with a Capital A. He told me that he tried to be in a bad mood once, but didn’t like it!
Here’s just a small example.
Our home is unique. It is built with a lot of used material and lumber and rock left over from Vincent’s jobs. It took us five years to get it barely to the point of being livable. It is made up of mostly block and rock and we built it when we had time and money (both of which have a way of not showing up at the same time!) Vincent worked on it after a hard day’s work…..for five long years. The house still had a lot of finishing to do but we finally moved in! Happy Day!!…considering we had been living in a one-bedroom little home with 7 children!
Vincent had finally and painstakingly finished our little Cathedral ceiling. It had sat there with insulation exposed for 3 years. He took some old pickets from a fence, planed them, varnished them and placed them in the ceiling! It was beautiful!
Shortly after, in 2003, we had a fire that could have taken some of our lives! When the firemen arrived they violently swung their axes into that nice cathedral ceiling! We gasped! Oh no! Not the cathedral ceiling…we waited so long for it!
They then began to heap the debris up into a pile when Vincent spotted something! It was his long lost wallet that still contained $500.00. He pulled it out of the mound, grinned and said a one-liner we’ll never forget, “This is my lucky day!” 😛
He always amazes me. It is difficult in this day and age to be the sole bread winner of a family of 13. I’ve seen him go through some pretty terrifying circumstances. When the dust settles or even before it does, he rises smiling, looking at the bright side of things, thanking God for everything He has given him! What an attitude!
When my dear husband is gone, he will certainly be remembered by his undying good attitude! Circumstances do not deter him. He knows he is a Child of God and he relies on his Faith to get him through! What a witness he is!
Did you know that researchers have determined that the average person thinks over 40,000 thoughts each day? Wow! That’s a lot of thoughts scurrying through our minds. If we analyzed these thoughts I wonder if we would discover just how much is negative self-talk. The exciting thing about it is that we CAN change our thoughts and in turn our destiny. How?
A wise woman once said, “I figure that practice makes perfect! I know people who, though they did not have a natural knack for music, started piano lessons and practiced every day. After 2 or 3 yrs. their fingers moved across the keys easily and their music sounded sweeter each time they played. If you ask them how they do it, they would answer ‘Practice. I have practiced so much that it comes second nature to me.’ Our life is like that. If we practice thoughts of joy and thanksgiving it will become easier and easier to have a good attitude, even in adversity.”
I am still practicing and learning these things. I will always be a student educating myself in the Book of Life. I’m really thankful for the people in my life that have led the way for me and continue to be a tremendous example of the power of an attitude.


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Dear Leane, I thank you for your blog and ever encouraging words. I do hope you feel better even though you know there is nothing seriously wrong and will pray for dear Rosie’s health. God bless you, Mary
It is very difficult to be having health challenges. I will pray for you and Rosie!
Prayers especially for poor Rosie! I always enjoy this article!
What?! Rosie is home?! When you wrote that you had taken her to the convent I spent a good two hours wiping tears from my eyes. I forwarded that email to some ladies, and placed a few calls, hoping that they would take you and yours into their hearts for awhile. You hail from where I am. I don’t know if any of these women knew you back when – I certainly don’t recall ever having made your acquaintance – I mentioned to some that you were from here. I wanted you and yours to receive some of God’s love from this place. I don’t have the proper words to proffer my heartfelt thanks to you for sharing your family. Here I am, once more wiping away at the tears. Maybe you will be amazed – kindly please share this with your family, who just might be, too. Perhaps you have prayed on occasion for those of us, and this place you left behind, Leane. 😊
Dear Melanie, You are kind….and you must be Canadian, too! 🙂 Thank you for your encouragement. It is very much appreciated. <3
I’m not sure what kind of health issues exactly either of you are dealing with but I had health issues that were debilitating for over 15 years and only because I was desperate and several people suggested I try to change my diet that I stopped eating gluten and dairy and several other allergan’s and my health significantly improved!! The same happened with my then 14 year old daughter. Praying for you both. Even if doctors dont find a food connection please prayerfully consider doing an elimination type diet for a month or 2 and see if you see improvement!!
I so appreciate all your encouraging words, Leane, but I admit to feeling a bit green-eyed when you talked about your husband. My husband is the exact opposite. I rarely hear one positive word come out of his mouth and it is extremely exhausting as I find myself having to take up the slack, as it were. I try to be uplifting and help him see the brighter side of life, but it’s like he is so used to being this way, he can’t get himself out of it. I pray for him every day and have consecrated him to Our Mother Mary and I trust totally in her and her Son. Also, I want to say how sorry I am Rosie is having health problems. I will keep her in my prayers today. Thank you as always.
Thank you, Leane. I’m going to start practicing TODAY to change my attitude. Praying for your continued health and for Rosie to feel well soon. Monet
Thanks for the time you take to share such encouraging words with us daily. I’m sorry to hear about Rosie. I’m sure it is a hard cross to bear. My 3rd grade daughter is reading the story of St. Rose of Lime right now and your situation makes me think of your daughter living as a tertiary. God’s will be done. Prayers for your family
Glad you are better! But very sorry for Rosie… Maybe her vocation is that of your dear friend Mary Elizabeth who past away, I don’t know…. We hope and pray she will recover soon. Health of the sick, pray for us!
How do you always know what I need to hear? 😉
I am praying for you and Rosie! God is gracious! I will pray for a clear direction for her. And for help in determining the root cause of her health issues. That is always so stressful, which of course just makes it all that much worse!
God bless Rosie! I hope she is not too disappointed in her loss but will see God’s providential hand in it all. There is some consolation when God makes it abundantly clear what He desires of us, but it is hard to let go of our dreams, nonetheless. Many prayers.
Whatever is wrong, with you and Rosie, it will be significantly improved, if not cured all together if you just eat the foods off the “yes” list and do not eat the foods on the “no” list.
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Thank you for this! I was raised in a unbelieving, pessimistic, unhappy home. It is so much a part of the foundation of who I’ve become even though I am a Catholic now – somehow I’ve incorporated the “trust no man” and “Jesus is your only friend” into a verification of what I’ve always felt: can’t trust anyone, romantic love is a myth, bad things will always come with the good – now it’s because God wants us to suffer.
But I try to pray the Rosary everyday. I’m trying to see that my life is my opportunity to work off Purgatory. That many of my crosses are my own doing when I failed to do the will of God. Other crosses are for me to detach from people and the world and love Jesus completely.
I’m sorry for your health issues. I have had all kinds of little things that pointed to a depressed immune system that I was able to trace back to a lot of emotional upheaval and turmoil in our family over the last decade. I won’t list it all here. But, some of it was helped by removing certain things from my diet. But there’s this whole thing about cortisol levels, adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalance. I don’t know how old you are … but I’m 51, and there are certain things that can happen at this age. Dr. Berg on youtube has some ideas … I don’t agree with everything he says, and I think some of his advice is extreme. But there’s this concept of resetting your system by just really eating a ton of vegetables and avoiding all non-whole foods. Maybe you’re already doing that.
And as other’s have said, it appears that Rosie’s calling may be different from what it appeared to be. I wish you all God’s blessings and my prayers.
An absolutely wonderful story on attitude. Thank you very much.
I will pray that both Rosie’s and your health will be on the mend.
God bless!
Leanne – What a wonderful piece. I am such a Martha I make myself overwhelmed with thinking of the things that need to be done. I will pray for Rosie’s health that she finds out the triggers to what her condition may be and give her comfort. I am sure she is upset with leaving the convent. If you ever have to come up to NW PA region, I’d welcome visitors. God Bless, Shelly
Thank you for this beautiful removerr. I’ll be praying for you and your family, especially Rosie.
Leane, I am so glad to hear that the doctors didn’t find any glaring issues. I will continue to pray that you find relief from whatever is ailing you. I’m sorry that Rosie had to leave the convent. I will also be praying for Rosie!
Thank you all for your kind words and for your prayers….it means very much to all of us. I will post an update in the future. Please know I pray for you, too…all my friends here on this site! We are in this journey together and must support one another. 🙂
I am catching up on some posts that I missed. We heard about Rosie and are praying for her. And I thought I was the only one who lived with walls and roofs undone for years until the “time and money” came together. Your post made me laugh and smile and be thankful.