Thanksgiving Shenanigans

First off, I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has been so complimentary of my previous posts. I've gotten so many sweet messages from readers, and I'm just really blown away by the support I've received. So if you're reading this. . . THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU!

Man it is so crazy how quickly this year is slipping on by. Thanksgiving has come and gone just like that, and there is less than a month until Christmas. . . LIKE HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! I'm so excited that this year is going by rather quickly, but at the same time I'm feeling anxious because 2014 is going to be a year filled with lots of changes! However, now is not the time to worry about all the things to come. Now is the time to live in the present and concentrate on what I have to be thankful for this holiday season. 

Right now I'm thankful that God let me have such a lovely Thanksgiving break! I did a lot of awesome stuff over the break, so here is a list of all the shenanigans I was up to last week: 

1.  Movie date! Texas experienced some pretty bad weather last weekend, so all of the fun activities my sister and I had planned got cancelled. So we decided to go see the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. It was really great spending some one on one time with my little sister. I hope that we'll be able to have some more fun times like that before I leave for college, because I'm really going to miss her :(

   

   Just in case you can't tell. . . my sister was really excited to see Catching Fire! 

2. Adventure into the City! My friend Erin and I went to visit our friend, Tj, who is being treated at hospital  30 minutes away in the city. I felt really awesome and independent driving to the city without my parents, so that was rad. . . ANYWAYS, it was really great to see my friend Tj, and find out that he is doing a lot better!(Keep him in your prayers please!)  
   
   Oh, but the fun did not stop there. Erin and I realized that there was a cathedral 5 minutes away, so we stopped in to have a look around. We were immediately amazed upon walking into the church, because it had such a beautiful  altar. Probably one of the most beautiful altars I'd ever seen. What I loved about it, was the fact that there was a statue of Momma Mary right above it. Like the whole thing was just beyond beautiful. . . just thinking about the cathedral takes my breath away. I'm so happy that Erin and I got to check it out!
   
   
3. Thanksgiving Potluck! My church hosts an annual Thanksgiving potluck. Usually I don't go because I have to help my Mom prepare for Thanksgiving, but this year my Mom didn't need help I guess so I got to go! I met up with some of my youth group friends beforehand, so it was really nice to catch up with all my cool Catholic friends.  It really made me wish that I had been able to go to the potluck in years prior, because I had such a pleasant time. Like who doesn't like getting to eat an extra Thanksgiving meal and hang out with cool Catholics!?
4. Thanksgiving! Our family friends came over and celebrated the day of thanks with my family and I. We don't get to see them often because they live a little over an hour away, so anytime that we get to spend with them is always lovely. The family has a daughter my age, Chelsea, and a son my brother's age, Dylan, so we always get a long very well. 
   
5. Sleepovers! Every Thanksgiving my best friend Chelsea spends the rest of
   Thanksgiving weekend with us, which is always one big party. Chelsea is really goofy, and I'm really goofy, so when you put two goofballs together you know shenanigans and fun are bound to happen. Chelsea is a year younger than me, so it was also kind of bitter sweet this year, because I know it will be so weird next year at Thanksgiving when I'm the one coming home from college. I've known her since I was 9 years old, so it's really awesome that our friendship is still the same after all these years. 
   
6. Soccer! I had a tournament the day after Thanksgiving, which was not something I was looking forward to at first, because I really don't like having tournaments the day after a major holiday. . .BUT, I realized that having a tournament the day after Thanksgiving wasn't so bad. I mean that gave me an excuse to eat anything I wanted, because I knew I would have 3 soccer games to burn off all that turkey, pie, and stuffing. Praise God! 

It's safe to say that I had a fantastic Thanksgiving break, but now that it is over, it's time to focus on the new liturgical year. We are now in the season of Advent, a time in which we solidify the foundation of our Faith, and prepare to live another year in a way that is pleasing to our Lord. I'm so grateful that God granted me such a peaceful break, so now it's time show my appreciation by working hard not only in this season of Advent, but also, for the rest of the year to grow in my relationship with Christ. 
For Advent I decided to challenge myself, by setting aside time everyday to meditate on the readings for the day. I've also been reading the blog of this really awesome priest, who writes about things to think about after reading scripture. The combination of scripture and the blog has allowed me to be less distracted during prayer. It's really crazy, because I wasn't expecting the addition of daily scripture to effect my day to day life that much. . . but it really has. I find myself being more positive, and my thoughts more directed towards Christ. I'm really happy that I've found zeal for scripture! Praise God, for He is WAY to good!
Try to challenge yourself this Advent to do something extra, so you can grow in your relationship with God and give Him thanks!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, and that everyone is preparing their hearts for Christmas!


Praying for y'all!

-Al 

P.S.

Here is the link to that Priest's blog I'm reading! Enjoy!

http://fralfonse.blogspot.com

Leave room for Jesus

For the past 2 years I have debated starting a blog. When this idea first popped into my head, I thought that a teenager starting a blog was something that only happened on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. I decided to sit on the idea for a while, and instead start journaling as often as my little heart desired. Journaling was all fun and games. . .until I became obsessed and filled up my comp book and notes section of my iphone.
So here I am world! I'm taking my little old comp book to the next step. I am now a blogger. 

I've found that coming up with ideas for things I can write about is not as hard as I thought it would be, however; I have also found that coming up with an introduction blog post is not that simple. So I decided to google it. . . because that's what you're suppose to do when you want to find out the answer to something right? So here are some responses on what one should do when writing an introduction blog post: 

1. Invite the reader in
2. Be exciting
3. Be personal
4. State facts. 
5. Anecdotes.

Well one thing is for sure: Google did not help me at all. 
But you know what? That is totally fine. Because there is no right way to blog. Sometimes you post something great, and sometimes you post something not so great. So I'm just going to do me, Allie, and be secure in the fact that I will always write the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So now on to bigger and better things! You're probably wondering what a "Cathlete" is, so I'll go ahead and explain what that is and what you should expect from this blog. 
Cathlete, comes from the words Catholic and Athlete…Catholic + Athlete = Cathlete. 
I chose to title my blog "Life of a Cathlete," because my life is all about Catholicism and select soccer. For many years my life was just soccer, which was great because soccer is my passion and what I excel at, however, when I got into high school my parents pushed me to be involved with other things so I could be a more well rounded person. I tried getting involved with some great organizations, but nothing seemed to fit. I later got in touch with my Catholic Faith, something I neglected most of my life, and through the grace of God found myself in Christ. 

(My reversion back to the Catholic church is a lot longer story than what I just told you, so I'll probably talk more about that in a later post…)
I've learned a lot about myself because of Christ, and have been blessed with the great opportunity to showcase the talents God gave me on the soccer field. It is certainly not easy to balance my faith and my sport, but I manage to do that and still have time for normal teenager stuff. Sometimes that means staying up a little later, attending extra practices, showing up to school events a little late, finishing my english essay instead of hanging out with friends, and much more. Quite often I hear people say "I want to be close to God, but I'm just really busy right now and don't have time." I'm sorry to say this, but that's an excuse. If I can play on two select soccer teams, take advanced classes, participate in clubs at my school, and be an active member at my church, you can do some prioritizing and make time for a relationship with God. 

I hope that my blog will be a testimony to all, that one can be a devoted son or daughter of God, AND have other passions and interests! God is calling each and every one of us to pursue Him in the same way that He pursues us every second of everyday. So let us all be on fire for Christ. Let us all learn how to be a better version of ourselves. Let us all learn how to balance our schedules. Let us all learn how to leave room for Christ. 

Until next time.


-Al