Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 9, 2012, 12:31 am
GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT! I have a problem with perversion. When I say perversion I mean a preoccupation with sex. Seeing sexual images in my head. Masturbating. Pornography. Phone sex. Objectifying both men and women. GROWN men and women just to be clear. When I say perversion sometimes it conjures a...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 11:51 pm
My friend Ally sent me this today. Made me very emotional. I didn't write this or have any part in it's creation. Just sharing it. ~DEATH~ WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO EXPLAIN IT .. A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to Leave the examination room and said, 'Doctor, I am afraid to die....
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 8:00 pm
I was watching a series of programs the other night about the seven deadly sins with Fr. Robert Barron. It's called Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Lively Virtues. I don't remember which sin he was talking about but two things he said have lodged in my brain. The first was about giving to the poor as far as...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 5:17 pm
I think for Lent this year I need to give up something major. I have been thinking about this over the last few weeks. I have been thinking about giving up junk food. Or cursing. But what keeps going through my head is "give up video games". The thought of that makes me nervous. Not because I can't ...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 2:38 pm
So I went on my first real job interview yesterday. I say first "real" job interview because I've ever really had to go through much to get a hair dressing job in the past. It was a good experience for a few reasons. Yesterday I kept feeling like I didn't really want to go to this interview. I reall...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 12:40 pm
I just had a very interesting reaction to something I wrote. As I typed the words "Lord please man those towers guarding my heart with your angelic army" I started crying. I don't know why. It is like God placed those words in my heart and mind. Such a powerful emotional reaction. The relationship I...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 11:57 am
I am blessed with a vivid imagination. When I pray I often see images in my mind. The often make me laugh as I am a child at heart, so many of the things I see are somewhat comical and sliiiightly immature. But they help my prayers become more real to me. This morning while praying"Father, Teach me...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Feb 8, 2012, 10:37 am
... morning and the prayer at the end of the daily meditation really struck me. ... that video games are a hindrance to my spiritual development. Not only do they take ... could be using to learn more about my faith but they feed part of my heart and brain that really needs to be deprived of f...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 31, 2012, 1:49 pm
Leading up to my best friends funeral yesterday I was going through many different emotions. From anger to sadness to being numb to everything. After yesterdays funeral I was feeling much lighter. Like a burden had been lifted. And it was lifted. Celebrating him helped me a lot. But I naively believ...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 31, 2012, 11:37 am
The message at the funeral I attended yesterday was very powerful. I'm going to share some of what I got out of it. This is not necessarily an accurate recount of what Pastor Cherry said but it's how my mind and heart interpreted it. First of all discussing why we are co upset and distraught when so...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 30, 2012, 7:42 am

Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 30, 2012, 7:39 am
Went to bed last night a little scared, worried, sad and angry. All centered around going to the funeral of my best friend today. I woke this morning with a strong sense of peace and knew immediately that it's God's presence that's bringing me this peace. It's something I would not have felt had I g...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 29, 2012, 9:38 am
I made a video last night called "I Lost My Mojo" describing how empty I feel. I am asking God daily to fill that emptiness with Him. But at the same time , in the back of my mind, I have a desire to smoke weed. Not that I actually think it would help me in any way but just because I want to. "Why n...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 29, 2012, 9:26 am
When people die sometimes the people that were closest to the deceased have some hostility towards those that weren't around. People who had been out of touch for a long time or people who were kind of in and out of their lives. I'm not sure what that's about, psychologically, but I think it's impor...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 28, 2012, 9:26 am
I've never been to a funeral. At least not since I was a teenager. All the years I was smoking weed I never dealt with the death of any of my family members or my friends. I've never seen the body of someone I loved put into the ground. In a way I'm glad I haven't because I don't know what to expect...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 26, 2012, 7:51 pm
I wish I had the chance to say I love you one more time to my friends face. That's all I think when I hear this song.I guess the funeral is my opportunity. I love you K.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 26, 2012, 10:11 am
The sun in this picture is our heart. The clouds and the contrail passing in front of the sun are our sadness. Our sins. The clouds/darkness may be all around us and actually pierce our hearts sometimes but the warmth and light of our hearts and God persist.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 26, 2012, 10:06 am
I just read this in a daily email I get from Fr. Richard Rohr. He quoted it from an unknown source. Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 25, 2012, 5:05 pm
I think some people perceive crying and showing emotion as weakness. Actually I don't think it I know it for a fact. They think when people break down it means they are literally broken down. I see it differently...being someone who cries when I feel the need. I think people who allow themselves to ...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 24, 2012, 11:31 pm
My sadness has given way to anger. I know, logically, that this is normal but it is confusing. There are some things that I really am mad about but not sure if the level of anger is appropriate. I will not be reacting or expressing the anger since I am not sure it is real or if my brain is doing ang...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 24, 2012, 7:26 pm
I just returned from a friends house where pictures were being looked at. Pictures from the last few years of their life. I realized how much a part of their life I wasn't. This was by my own choice for the most part but it was a very strange feeling. This friend and I used to be attached at the hip...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 24, 2012, 1:15 pm
I find myself obsessing over not having a suit to wear to a funeral I will be attending soon. It is a ridiculous thing to be worried about. I can't control what pops into my head.  I can, however, control how I react to the thought. The way I choose to react is that it doesn't matter what I wear it...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 24, 2012, 11:34 am
These photos from the church on the grounds of The Franciscan Monastery reflect God's beauty through man's hands.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 24, 2012, 1:03 am
Some of the bonsai trees at The National Arboretum in their full autumn glory taken inside to preserve it...I assume.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 23, 2012, 10:41 pm
The stumps of these tree are awe inspiring. The movement I see in them, though they are still, is beautiful. I see movement between the tree that God created and the manipulation of God's creation by men. 
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 23, 2012, 10:26 pm
I've cried many times in my life for many different reasons. The bad news that I've received over the last few days elicited a cry from me today that I have never heard from myself before. I've heard people wailing on news reports before. At funerals or at the scene of the death of a loved one. I al...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 22, 2012, 8:59 am
I woke this morning, once again, to a manic feeling. Trying to figure out whether or not it's time to leave my current job. Wondering if  I need to be doing something completely different, which I vote yes on, or if God wants me to stay in my current profession and just do it in a new place. Whethe...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 22, 2012, 8:49 am
Another person that I knew only threw a friend died today. Yet again I have such a strong feeling of sadness for her family. Such strong emotions for someone I barely knew. Something is definitely changing in my life. When I was smoking weed I had people die that I should have had feelings for and I...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 21, 2012, 10:09 pm
This nest is right outside the visitors entrance to the Franciscan Monastery. The lone flower under it caught my eye.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 18, 2012, 11:38 pm
Today I went back to the Franciscan Monastery in NE Washington DC. I walked down into the wooded area on their property. It was a windy cold day. Not the kind of day I'd usually want to be sitting outside but that's what I did. Went down to where there were benches and just sat. Listening to the win...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 18, 2012, 10:03 pm
More shots from my trip home from my parents house. The first I thought looked like cotton. The second is right as I was getting on the highway. The specks in the pic are from the dirty windshield. The third is of the same scene I posted a few days ago but the tower up on the hill is more prominent....
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 18, 2012, 5:39 pm
These photos represent the different ways people see the Catholic church. The first represents the clear view of what the church is and what it stands for and is about. Those that take this view see the good and the bad in the church and the people in it. The middle two represent the view of the chu...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 18, 2012, 10:55 am
Some of the statues at The Franciscan Monastery.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 16, 2012, 11:26 am
I am writing this to request that anyone who reads this please pray for my father. I want so badly for him to feel God's love. To feel His presence. I pray he will see the good in himself instead of the negative. To learn to accept himself, flaws and all, and understand that flaws don't make him a b...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 16, 2012, 10:34 am
"Uproot the tangle of my vices." This is a small part of a prayer I say every morning that has a huge impact on me. When I am out weeding the garden in my backyard in the summer there is ivy that grows through my fence from the neighbors yard. I grab it and yank it as hard as I can hoping to kill it...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 15, 2012, 6:36 pm
I wrote a post a while back about how I didn't feel anything as far as my relationship with God. After I wrote that post I started feeling it was necessary for me to go to reconciliation/confession. I felt that there were things that were keeping me separated from God. Confessing my sins to God thro...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 13, 2012, 10:39 pm
To find this one solitary rose still blooming out in the bitter cold was very symbolic to me. Of what, I'm not sure.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 13, 2012, 10:59 am
More twisted shapes. Gnarled. Like us humans. The difference with tow of these is that we are allowed to see what's inside of the gnarled shape. To possibly see what caused it and the beauty that exists inside.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 13, 2012, 10:48 am
"Steer me from stereotypes and snap judgments Lord Jesus" This is yet another prayer in a long line of prayers my mama sent me. I've been praying it quite often but ended up concentrating on it this morning. I was blessed with another image created by it in my mind. I'm driving in a car and there ar...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 11, 2012, 9:54 pm
Lenny gets very thirsty on our road trips as is evident from the tongue wagging in the first photo. The second is of him zonked out after the trip and the third is him resting in the big comfy chair in th computer room at my parents home. It was a great trip.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 11, 2012, 7:25 pm
This gnarled tree is beautiful to me. There is beauty in everything. Even the most twisted people have something beautiful to offer. This is on the grounds of The Franciscan Monastery.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 10, 2012, 7:55 pm
Two of the many mosaics at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC. The first is of Jesus and the second is of St. Jude.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 10, 2012, 2:36 pm
I made my first trip to the Franciscan Monastery in NE Washington DC yesterday. As I pulled up this was the first structure that caught my attention aside from the actual church. The white spots are snow flakes. It was flurrying while I was there. The shots are from outside the gate and inside the p...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Through My Eyeballs - Jan 9, 2012, 10:39 am
Two more shots from a church my mama and I visited when I was on vacation.
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 9, 2012, 10:31 am
"Lord purify my heart and mind". That's how a prayer starts that my mother shared with me many months ago. It appealed to me immediately. I committed it to memory. This morning as I concentrated on that first line I saw an image in my mind. The image of a man sweeping out the corners of my mind ans ...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 6, 2012, 11:01 pm
My mother has had a hard time sleeping since this has been going on as I'm sure many of Tina's friends and family have as well. I can't do anything to help them except to offer up this simple prayer.Keep in mind I'm no minister or priest when reading it. Forgive me if it isn't very eloquent. I ask G...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 6, 2012, 10:06 pm
I think I always feel a little empty after I leave my parents house. After I leave an environment where I am loved unconditionally. Today the feeling is heightened with the knowledge that my godmother died. Someone who also loved me unconditionally. Just as I am. The urge to just get high and not th...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Jan 6, 2012, 5:46 pm
My godmother passed away today after a long drawn out illness. As I drove home today from my vacation I was torn. Part of me prayed that God would let her hold on long enough for me to see her one more time. Part of me wanted Him to end her suffering and let her finally rest in peace. Thankfully He ...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Dec 31, 2011, 12:13 pm
Blessings come in many different forms and what may not be a blessing in our eyes may be in other peoples. The most recent blessing for me was getting to spend Christmas with my Godmother and her family. I hadn't been able to see her since she got out of the hospital many months ago. It was like ol...
Comment - Like

Garrett J. posted an article on Livin Mi Life - Nov 1, 2011, 4:10 pm
The song "Sweet Love" by The Commodores has always made me emotional. I always have a strong reaction to it. I am sitting here listening to it this afternoon and when it got to a certain part I started to cry. I cried because it was the first time I really heard the lyrics. Heard them in my soul. "I...
Comment - Like