Back to School Feast : Fix Your Eyes

On Saturday night before we moved Anna back to college we had our yearly back to school feast.  

It's a night that we make really special for our girls - well for our whole family. 

It is important to us that we knit our hearts together before a new beginning. Since we are all in education, we all have our first days and we all have a new start - new hopes and dreams, new ideas, new thoughts, new experiences to look forward to... and this night is all about taking the time to start together, to pray, to ponder scripture (and often a song), eat really yummy food and sip on something wonderful. 

This year: 

I had it all set up outside on the porch and definitely went for an autumn look and feel. 

Their special gifts were waiting for them at their place settings. 

We served pork fajitas with grilled peppers, onions -- so so good! 

I also made homemade watermelon lemonade. 

So delicious and easy to make are watermelon ice cubes: I just chopped up the watermelon that was not in the lemonade and froze it in little squares. So fun! 

After dinner the girls opened their stars. 

After all of these years they are growing quite a collection of stained glass stars. 

Then it was time for dessert (homemade apple crisp) and our theme for the year: fix your eyes on God. We talked for a long time about how the work we do in our schools is important but that we need to remember the purpose. We need to literally stop during the day and fix our eyes on something that will remind us that God is with us; directing our steps. A few things I want to remember from our evening: 

• What is the wisdom of this world? A lot of "wisdom" seems to revolve around being in control and being the master of your own destiny. 
• Power and wisdom seem to be found in self-determination and control. 
• How different is that from the message of the cross, which reveals to us God's own wisdom! 
• When Jesus chose not his own will but the will of his Father, he showed us the surpassing wisdom of handing over control to our loving God 
• We are naturally inclined toward that "wisdom" of the world that urges us toward control and independence. And so sometimes even our attempts to surrender to God are tinged by that dirve. 
• When we hand over control to our heavenly Father, we can trust that, in his goodness and his love, he will take care of us and bring the best out of any situation. 
• So this year, let's take one more step closer to a full surrender to God. Let's make just a little more progress toward living according to the surpassing wisdom of God. 

We also listened to this song: Click HERE

The very next day drove Anna back up to college with a very full car. We spent the day moving her in to her new dorm room and then went to Mass just before we left. I'll never forget the last words the priest spoke in his homily. He said, "unit yourself with God and you will be exalted." It felt like he was speaking just to us. (It was a very small gathering: just our family and about 10 other students) 

Exactly what we are discussing and teaching our girls the evening before. 

Back to School Blessing 2021

Back to School Blessing 2020

Back to School Blessing 2019 

Back to School Blessing 2018 

Back to School Blessing 2017 

Back to School Blessing 2016 

Back to School Blessing 2015