Goodbye "Fun" and Fair

Jarod and Cheryl serving rice dressing and roast beef.

Last weekend was our annual church fair. Richard and I keep busy helping out where necessary on Saturday night. For him that meant working at the Coke booth. For me, it meant collecting money and calling numbers at the Bingo table. 

Mrs. Anna serving rolls and
Richard closing and bagging plates.

On Sunday we helped serve lunch. Nine hundred plates of rice dressing, roast beef, sweet potatoes, cold slaw, and rolls. It takes a small army, but we had a great crew this year. Two plates are served at about the same time. Richard, whose job was to close the plates and move them to another area, stayed especially busy. 

Another way that we pitched in was to head the Silent Auction. That was really my job and I set everything up early Saturday. 

These items were donated for the auction. Add to these the cross that Richard made and the quilt I made, See Such Fun. Every item was made by a local but well-known artisan. Well-known except for Richard and me, of course. 

Though I don't know how much money the fair raised, I can say that I'm happy with the auction. The items would usually sell for much more, but the auction wasn't advertised as it was added only a week or so before the fair. One artist donated her work and suggested the auction, and in only a few days we had items from several people. I'm excited to find out how well the fair fared. 

See Such Fun (62" x 62")

St. Therese of Lisieux

Know what I've been up to? Babysitting for the summer, quilting (yeah!), and a few projects for our church. This year marks the 90th Anniversary for the Church of the Little Flower. The Little Flower refers to St. Therese of Lisieux, who wrote about and practiced what she called "the little way."

She believed strongly that not everyone could become a great saint, one whose name will forever be remembered.


She practiced and wrote about how the small, everyday duties of life could be one way to achieve heaven. Rather than just wash dishes because the dishes are dirty, wash them because doing so is a way to serve the others in the family. Take on chores that no one wants to do, so that your love for others is manifested in your duties to them. By loving the ones around you, you are loving Christ Himself.

Many of our parishioners have spent the year learning about and trying to take on some of the teachings of St. Therese. Some of the ways we have done this include: 

• reading her autobiography
• studying and discussing her teachings
• reviewing her quotes, which are published in the weekly bulletin
• discussions of her life and the lives of her family
• giving her a more prominent role in the life of our church

So far it has made a difference in our lives here at the Marcotte lot. Richard and I have found opportunities to share St. Therese's life with our children and grandchildren. 

We've also found that by being mindful of the little ways we can show love to each other has allowed us to be less critical and disagreeable with each other. Hopefully our behavior will influence others in our lives who watch us. 

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from St. Therese:

"Love proves itself by deeds....The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."