Story about waiting for the right guy and embracing singleness

As a chastity speaker, I encounter many girls and women from all walks of life. I have found that no matter what church or high school I am at, there is one thing that always brings all of us together, one thing for which we are desperate. Each woman has a desire, a yearning, an ache to be known, to be pursed, and to be loved.

Each woman tries to fulfill this longing to be loved in her own way. We often turn to men and relationships in our desperate attempts to be fulfilled. We give our hearts and are often left disappointed or broken-hearted. We are left feeling unsought. We think it must be us. We are either “too much” or “not enough.” We hide our true self and are only someone who we believe is desired by men.

I know for myself when I was in high school, I tried endlessly to be loved, and at a very high cost, the cost of pieces of my heart and dignity. It was my senior year of high school when I finally made a decision to take ownership of my faith and make God more then just someone I spent time with for one hour on Sundays.

The decision was the first step and then I slowly, one by one, let go of the things I tried to control in my life. I am not going to lie; it was a hard transition. I had to change my social life, let go of some friends, and stop dating guys for whom I knew I was settling. In the end though, I was rewarded a thousand fold.

For the first time in my life I figured out who I was and what I was about. I no longer was just following the crowd, but following God and I found my purpose. It was such a freeing experience. So many people falsely believe that following God is limiting them in their happiness, and is just a bunch of rules to follow. When in reality when I was following what I thought I wanted and needed, I felt in chains.

God had totally transformed my life by my senior year of college. I was in a good place and I was ready to love and be loved the way God created love to be. I was ready for a good Catholic man to come into my life, so I trusted in God’s plan and waited one year. Two years. Three years. Four years. Five years.

I waited five years. Many times when I would pray I would say, “Ok God, I am ready. You can send him anytime.” There were moments of frustration, anger, and sadness. I didn’t understand why God didn’t think it was time yet, especially when I had to watch so many girls around me find the man God had for them. I knew that God was faithful though, and that just like with everything else in my life, God had a plan and I had to trust. He knew the desires of my heart.

Growing up you learn about the vocation of marriage and the vocation of holy orders, but what about the vocation of singlehood? Singlehood is a very important vocation, and you can thrive in it or barely survive in it. I remember being in a Christian bookstore and seeing a book titled, “If Singlehood is a Gift, Where is the Gift Receipt?” I knew, however, the saying, “You attract what you put out there.” If I wanted a holy man on fire for God, I needed to be trying to be a holy woman on fire for God.

So instead of sulking at home and thinking I was destined to be an “old maid” I got out and did some incredible stuff. I got to do some missionary work, taught Confirmation, was a RCIA sponsor, did chastity speaking, volunteered at a children’s hospital, started a girl’s group in youth ministry, did detention ministry, and attended the Theology of the Body Institute to further my education. I went to Catholic conferences, Christian music concerts, and young adult groups. I was working on myself while doing things that I loved, and falling deeper in love with Christ.

I committed myself to God through daily prayer, daily mass, adoration, confession, spiritual reading, and journaling. Someone once told me, “God loves you exactly as you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.” I felt like in those five years God was calling me to go even deeper. Even though maybe I felt like I was ready, God was preparing me for his bigger plans. God was my center. He was my #1. I may not have had a boyfriend on Earth, but I had the King of Kings pursing me and fulfilling my desire to be loved.

When I least expected it, God sent the man I had been praying for all those years. He is everything I asked for and more. He encourages me, inspires me, challenges me, supports me, and loves me on my worst and best day. He alone does NOT satisfy me though. Being in a relationship was not the answer to all of my problems, and is not source of my happiness. God still is my #1. The thing I love most about my fiancé is that God is his #1 as well. We both love each other with everything we have, but know that if we were to make each other #1 we would crush the other person and fail each other.

The desire, yearning, and ache to be loved will never go away so be desperate for God, for his love, the only love that will truly satisfy. He is the best #1 Man you can have. Trust me when I say that when you develop a relationship with God, when you are desperate for him. When you give up control and you seek His will for you, you will feel known, pursued, and loved.

Megan Morgan

Booking information for speaking: megan.purityofheart@gmail.com
Website information: meganpurityofheart.blogspot.cm

Fallible Blogma – A Catholic Social Commentary - Page 2

Fallible Blogma – A Catholic Social Commentary - Page 2

How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul

In your quest for love, don't lose yourself along the way. While navigating through the dating scene, every woman begins to wonder: How do I know when a guy really loves me? Am I being too picky? Do I even deserve love? Is my relationship worth keeping? Is love worth the risk? Are any decent guys left? Single women often feel left alone to find answers to their deep questions about love and intimacy. Some hang out and hook up, hoping for love. Others are afraid even to hope. At some point, every woman needs reassurance that she and her standards are not the problem. In the book, By Crystalina and Jason Evert, How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul, you'll discover twenty-one strategies to help you raise the bar, instead of sitting at it, waiting around for Mr. Wonderful.

                                                     Meet The Authors:

SOME QUOTES THAT A LIKE FROM THE BOOK
"Singleness can be a time to discover yourself, your dreams, your goals. You can't really find your soul-mate, unless you really find yourself."
"at times you allow your insecurities to overpower you, and your thoughts run wild, but with Jesus love you can control any vice, wickedness, or  evil weapon that comes against you. It's time to rise up, unafraid of who you are, embrace it. Don't lower your yourself or hide, b/c the power of Jesus love and grace will always be there to catch you and show you the way. you are a beloved daughter of Jesus, He who is God."

Please watch their talk on youtube. It also mentions how women and men are left with a lot of hurts and brokenness from their past.  And usually this brokenness surfaces in marriage, so ask God to show you what junk and lies you are holding in your heart. This is not easy. IT hurts to face the junk and lies you've been carrying, but if we embrace them WITH Christ He will clean us up. He will mold us into the Women and Men He created us to be.
Psalm 51:10-12 




(The talk starts at the 8 minute mark on the video, so move the bar down to that time to watch = ))

....haha

Can I surrender it all?

                                             (a story from my heart)
My room is my sanctuary. I love every bit of it. From the bright white carpet to the soft green curtains hanging low to the floor. They framed a tall wide window surrounded by light pink walls. Of course my bed sheets matched that soft green, almost the same color as a lima bean. Odd, I know, but when you take a step back, my room looks like a lighter colored watermelon without the seeds.
But the colors aren't my favorite part of the room. It is sitting at the window seat in front of my big bright window. The window pillow is very comfortable to sit on; the top is a pale green with pink vine flowers sewed into the cover. This very place is where I spend most of my time thinking, wishing and longing. For it is this spot where I can feel a tugging in my heart.
I always wondered how people could walk in my room and only notice or admire the colors or the many picture frames hanging on my wall of art. How could they not notice the place where I felt God speaking to me the most? Or the radiant sunshine shining through the window glass, warming up my room, even my very soul. How could they miss the spectacular view from my window?-God's beautiful creation. There is of course the big maple tree that slightly hang its leaves over the window view and then there is the birdfeeder that attracts all those beautiful birds. Sometimes I fall asleep just listening to their songs. But beyond the birdfeeder and the big maple tree, are rolling green hills and a  big woods, thick with trees.  That adventurous, perfect woods has stolen a piece of my heart.  It was where I spent most of my days as a child exploring the beauty of God's creation and allowing Him to take me on many wild adventures. Adventures that only increased my sense of wonder...my innocent way.
But now God was calling me on a new adventure. One that I am surely struggling whether or not to go on.  It is a decision, maybe the hardest decision I would ever make, but I hear it is surely the best one and most rewarding...... Then what is holding me back?  What keeps me from opening up to this great adventure and saying yes?

God is simply asking me to "let it all go. Surrender...let go and your adventure will begin. An adventure you could never dream up yourself. You just have to let Me, your Father, lead you this time. But, you have to Give it ALL."

You think it is simple to give God everything - your hopes, your worries, fears and even your dreams. But it isn't. If everybody did, they would have an everlasting peace in their hearts; a joy that no one could bend and a love that no one could crush.   And yet we continue to think we can control, that we can accomplsih our dreams ourselves. We are afraid to hand our dreams over- afraid to lose them. But, if we really knew God, we would know that we wouldn't lose anything but instead, we would gain everything.  God knows our deepest desires better than we do. He is our Daddy, whos' love is so deep and so profound, that human beings could not handle the whole depths of it. If we could, I most surely believe that we would die from happiness.
So as I sit at this peaceful place at my window- just me, God and His beauty, I struggle to let go. Can I really trust this Man with EVERYTHING? Can I surrender it ALL?

Let this song help you to let go

Love or Lust for God?

Article by: Russell Hoyt http://russellhoyt.com/2011/07/02/hidden-adventure/

Recently I discovered that I had lost my love for God. Its interesting how you can quickly become so task oriented, “Doing Spiritually,” and lose your true purpose. I have done a lot of questioning over the past two weeks and have found kernels in my burnt spiritual popcorn (bad analogy, one of many to come). First, loving God wasn’t my true motive in this relationship. The subtle difference between motive and motivation is key. See a relationship with God is like a relationship with another person. I had all the motivation to be in a relationship with God: my wife, my kids, my ministry, my sin, my fear, my hurt, but my motive was imply to solve my life problems. A relationship with God will only satisfy a person when they are seeking true love, not lust. To lust after God is simply to desire Him for what He can do for our lives and not who He is. Second, prayer must be primarily motivated by love it is, as the kids say, “An Epic Fail.” Seriously, have you ever spoken with someone, a salesman perhaps, who is only interested in your life and conversation because they want to sell something to your or ask for something in return for the conversation. I can’t stand people like that, but more and more I realize I am that type of person, particularly when it comes to God. God and I sit down and have a conversation about something or other, then I cut right to the chase, like a teenager asking to borrow the car, “Can I have it, can I have it?” In my limited life experience and past experiences with others, most people are dissatisfied with their “relationship” with God because He doesn’t seem to respond or is different. The reality is that if we treat God like the Divine vending machine all we will get is our money taken with no “Jesus Candy” in return.
Soluation: Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength.
How: Put him first in your waking moments, your hour, your day and lastly at night. Speak to Him out of a desire to be with Him and pray and hope that He is who He says He is, a loving Father who will care for your needs. Mention your needs to Him and that leave them alone, because if all you ask for is a house and keep asking for a house, all you will get is a house, when what you really need is God.

Control Freak?

Article by: Russell Hoyt  http://russellhoyt.com/2011/07/11/cant-let-it-god-not-a-typo/

There is something about me, I just can’t let things go. I hash, hash, and rehash and I need re-hab. I think its because I am so uncomfortable with anything but exact certainty, which is really hard to obtain when other people aren’t as obsessed with insecurity as I am. Seriously, I’m insecure. I think we all are. The question then is, how can I become self secure? I don’t know what the magic formula is , but here are some hints as much as I can figure myself out.

1. The more I rely on myself the crazier I get. It is cycle after cycle of talking to myself about the same stupid situation after the people who are involved have moved WAY beyond the entire thing.
2. The more I rely on God, the clearer things get. Ironically, in land that constantly changes backgrounds, profile pictures, locations, and status updates, God is the only never changing constant in my life; He helps me put into perspective A. My question B. My Opinion C. Others D. His opinion (which should matter the most)
3. Love comes in many forms sometimes the best love is humble obedience.
4. Silence brings reflection which leads to conversion. Practice it whenever possible.
5. People need your silence, not your answers. Silence means your listening. Answers can be misleading when they aren’t sought out.

If you are like me, then you are a control freak and lose it when you can’t be in control. Learn the hard lesson that I learned yesterday. That situation, it’s about you and God, not whatever you think it is about. It’s about God, your Father, teaching you how to rely on Him and Him alone.; trusting Him to take care of you in ways you can only dream of. It’s hard to let go, it’s even harder to let God (I am aware of the cliche and yes it still makes sense). It’s scary. Get over it.

Spiritual Darkness?

 What is spiritual darkness?
Benedict Groeschel describes it as "Any trying circumstance offering the opportunity to trust and confide in God is properly called a  “darkness”. To take steps to trust are impossible without the acceptance of grace in the form of theological virtues. 
We learn only in our darkness, when we come to the realization of our absolute insufficiency. We cannot do anything alone."  It is a time to learn to trust and surrender and realize that without God, we are nothing.
When we learn to let go and let God, we may feel the pull to go back to our old ways-control Groeschel says “It may be that we are so accustomed to our own narcissistic melancholy, so guilt-ridden and attached to our own self-deprecation, that the very thought of being at PEACE in the light of God, is terrifying to us. For the more controlling individuals, it might precipitate into an identity crisis if we found ourselves at peace. And so we tarry along the way. We shrink back because we know that if we experienced real detachment and abandonment, we  would have to give up our cherished ambitions, our earthly and spiritual goods. Like Israel, we would like to rejoice in being God’s servant, but we would like to keep control of ourselves... at least believe the lie that we are in control.  And so, we must pass through darkness again and again until at last we surrender….

"I tell you that it is enough to recognize one's nothingness and to abandon one's self like a child in the arms of God." - st. therese the little flower

(quotations: Spiritual Passages book by Groeschel)

Come Holy Spirit!!

The Holy Spirit is the “first installment” of what is to come, the foretaste of heaven (2 Corinthians 1:22; Eph 1:14). He is the kiss of God upon the uniqueness of each of us. But the experience is so great that it brings an intense longing for what is yet to come.

(article by Fr. George Montague)
I didn’t know the Holy Spirit in this way until I was forty-one and asked some lay people to pray over me for the “baptism in the Holy Spirit.” Oh sure, I had been baptized and confirmed. I had professed religious vows, and I had been ordained twelve years earlier. And surely the Holy Spirit had been at work in those moments. But what happened on that Christmas Eve in 1970 was a breakthrough, a new beginning. From that moment, as I explained in my book, Holy Spirit, Make Your Home in Me, a new spiritual energy burst up from within me. From then on, my life and ministry became alive in a way they never had been before.

New Pentecost, New Life. For a long time afterwards, I was drunk with the Holy Spirit, so much so that I could understand why people thought the disciples in the upper room had overdosed on wine (Acts 2:13). I remember driving home one night after a prayer meeting and singing in tongues at the top of my voice. Had a police officer stopped me, I would simply have asked him, “Have you heard about Pentecost?” I enthusiastically composed songs, preached, and wrote about the Spirit.

But it wasn’t all alleluias. Deep inside, I was experiencing some radical changes. One of them had to do with hurts that I carried with regard to my father, who had passed away seven years earlier. Though he was a good man, I had feared him and never felt emotionally close to him. Gradually, the Holy Spirit led me to a healing of memories and a reconciled heart.

The Spirit also freed me enough so that I could let go of ten years of success as a university professor and accept happily a less glorious post as seminary rector. Eventually, I left on a missionary assignment in Nepal for six years. I don’t think the “old me” would have negotiated those changes gracefully. Formerly I had found my security by taking control. Now the Holy Spirit was teaching me how to let go.

“Thanks, I needed that,” I can say of my past experiences of the Holy Spirit. And as I have seen the Holy Spirit transform the lives of thousands of people, I say to the Holy Spirit, “Thanks, they needed that.” But now, as I grow older, it’s the not yet aspect of the Holy Spirit that is growing on me.

Groaning and Longing. Archbishop Flores used to tell the story of a man who came to his pastor with a request for his funeral. “Please, Father, when you bury me, make sure the undertaker places a fork upright in my hand.”

“But why would you want a fork standing up in your right hand?” the puzzled pastor replied.

“Well, Father, you see since my wife died, I’ve been eating out most of the time. When I finish my meal, the waiter will often say, ‘Keep your fork; the best is yet to come.’ And then he would bring me my dessert. You see, I would like those who mourn for me to know that the best is yet to come.”

The best is yet to come. We would not know that, though, unless we had first “tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit and tasted … the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:4-5).

Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit enables us to cry, “Abba, Father!” and bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:15-16). But then Paul looks ahead beyond the now to the not yet: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (8:18). And what do we do in the meantime? We groan.

Paul says that all creation “is groaning in labor pains” for the consummation of God’s plan, for creation will reach its intended goal only when man, its steward, is saved. “And not only that,” Paul continues, but “we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves” as we await the final goal: our “adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” Thankfully though, we do not have to groan by ourselves. “For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with groanings inexpressible” (Romans 8:22-23,26). Those who were privileged to witness Pope John Paul the Great praying often heard him groaning.

A Constant Gift. If you, too, have fallen in love with Love and experience this longing, accept the joy and the pain of knowing that the best is yet to come. And if the gift of the Spirit still lies unopened for you, as it did for me for so many years, know that God has more for you.

The Holy Spirit is not a gift that just sits there. He is being given at every moment by the Father and the Son. He flows from the Father and the Son, for he is the river of life-giving water flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). If you are in communion with Jesus—or what is called the state of grace— God the Father and God the Son are pouring out their love as the Holy Spirit in your heart right now. You have a divine Niagara Falls flowing in you at this very moment! In you the Father is loving the Son, the Son is loving the Father, and Father and Son are giving you their mutual love in the Holy Spirit.

If you sincerely seek him in prayer, the same Holy Spirit will make this truth a transforming experience for you, too.

Marianist Fr. George T. Montague is professor of biblical theology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and former president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. To read an excerpt from his newest book, Mary and Her Life in the Holy Spirit, click here.

Personality type?

I'm sure y'all have heard the classification of people as introverts or extroverts, right? Well I found this article and I'm pretty sure it describes Most of my personality pretty good. Plus I thought it was pretty funny to read, since most of it is true. Of course an introvert or extrorvert is just one classification, and some people have a mix, both extovert and introvert personalities in them.  No one should just be considered solely an introvert or solely an extrovert alone. Thats when we say, God gave us ALL unique personalities, and special gifts. Some types of charactheristics may stick out more than others which make it easy to classify others, but this isn't a specific stamp on their head defining who they are.  There are SO many gifts and other hidden personalities that may not be easily seen on the surface. It would be foolish to define someone's personality with just ONE word....God is a WAY more complex creator than that! So be proud and thankful for who you are, because, Really, there is NO one like you. = )
 

10 Myths About Introverts

 

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

 (list compiled by Carl King that he read from The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World.)

The Devil and His lies

Lately I have been finding many good articles elsewhere, so I guess I am taking a break from writing my own. This article is awesome.  I think the title says it all. This article was written by Fabiola Garza and she has her own blog. You should check it out!! http://catholiccolors.blogspot.com/

"I have yet to meet somebody whom at some point of his or her life has not tried to compensate for qualities he or she is lacking. For my entire life I have used my facility in the arts to boost the self-esteem that was slowly depleted as I realized I couldn’t compete for praise in other areas. First I realized that I wasn’t society’s ideal of physical beauty, so as I covered up my thighs and looked at my nose in the mirror, I thought at least I can draw. In middle school I was top of my class without even trying, but throughout High school and college excelling in academics became harder and harder, until every so often I felt dumb. I felt awkward at large parties; I had no idea how popular people enraptured an audience. But still I told myself at least I can paint. When all my cousins and friends began to have steady boyfriends and get married, I’d think, I’ve been gifted; I can draw.

So as you can expect the days when I couldn’t quite paint what I wanted and “worse” when the very ideas and worlds I wanted to convey were done more beautifully and effortlessly by close friends of mine, I felt very, very small. I dreaded being compared, I dreaded being glanced over. I dreaded having nothing to offer. At that moment I felt ugly, dumb, unloved, and not good enough. And worse I felt sorry for myself. I had all the comforts in the world, but I felt empty. On top of it all I was ungrateful. I hated myself.

It is a terribly thing to be caught in so great a lie. The devil, I am convinced, loves using small insecurities to create obsessions over things that are lies. For in fact I am not the most beautiful, but often people remark that I am pretty. I might not be able to debate with great wit and write with ease, but I’m most certainly not dumb. I might not have a boyfriend, but I feel truly loved by others. And yes, I’m not the best artist, but I’m pretty darn good.

How is it then that every once in a while I found myself in a deep well of insecurity, feeling so small like I had nothing to offer?

Well, there are several ways to get to that awful place and I’m going to tell you my theories. I’m pretty sure I’m right. The lies you believe might be different, but maybe you’ve experienced something similar.

The Devil lost me long ago, but he is still around looking at any moment to get me back. He is not an idiot he knows that I’m no longer (usually) drawn into serious sin when I am weak, so he has to take a few extra steps. He’s crossed off a few choices that he can’t coax me into anymore, because I know they won’t make me happy. I know they’re sugarcoated poison. But I’m still sensitive and often insecure and that’s all he needs to work with.

The key for the evil one’s plan is now even subtler. He will make me believe that by pursuing and fulfilling the ideals of beauty, fame, intelligence, popularity and romance I will become a whole and worthy person. Only then will this insecurity fade. After all, wanting to be attractive, acknowledged, smart and well liked aren’t bad things. The word ‘sin’ doesn’t immediately come to mind…

In retrospect, I realize that I’ve been coaxed and that I’ve listened.

…So go my dear, pursue these things for look at yourself, young men are now used to looking upon perfect women, you wouldn’t want to disappoint. Nobody will every take you seriously if you can’t match their knowledge of history, and look how alone you felt during all those parties, better work on that too. It is wise for you to worry about the future; you don’t want to come home to an empty house every night, do you? Now, don’t look so sad my dear, at least you are doing well with your art, but isn’t it too bad that you are still second-rate. Oh I know you get plenty of praise, but you’re still just not there. Just compare yourself. Compare yourself.

Now where is My Lord and My God in all of this?
He is waiting for my ear and heart to turn His Way and ask two very important questions. “Who am I?” and then, “What do you want of me?”.

But until I ask those questions, I find myself trying to get out of that spiral by devising plans to achieve all those goals. And the Devil is gleeful, because I have forgotten who I am and the God who loves me. These goals will never be achieved because there is always something more to covet. His lie is alive.

I know this sounds silly. But I have many friends who start tearing up because they think they don’t look good in a bathing suit, or because they are not talented enough, or smart enough. As the outsider and the friend you think they’re crazy! They’re so valuable and kind and creative. What are they talking about? You might think it’s a good idea to slap them out of such on obvious falsehood. It’s always obvious when it’s someone else.

The longer you persist in conversation with the evil one the harder it is to stop. But STOP, and turn your eyes to the heavens and call out to Jesus and ask Him, “Who am I?”And He’ll say quick and loud as thunder, “ You are my beloved daughter”, “You are my beloved son”. Then ask, “What is it you want of me?” And He’ll say, in some way or another, “Your heart; all that you are. Be perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect.”

Stay with Him there.

In that quiet I’ve seen my true self as God’s beloved daughter called to true goodness, to true perfection. Perfect looks so different in God’s eyes, and is so much more exciting!

Do not be afraid to ask! Ask often, I forget all the time.

Most people think that if they give their hearts to God they will have to forget about everything else, but the truth is once you put your confidence in God and not in yourself and what others say you must be going about your life becomes joyful, because your are no longer on an anxious pursuit to become worthy of love. Living with God is living in reality; a land of truth where all the smallest lies are brought into the light.

The pursuit of SELF-esteem is a distorted, winding journey, because truly we are looking for confidence in something perfect that can’t be ourselves because we are flawed. We inevitably fall into either arrogance: believing we are more than we are or self-loathing: believing we are less than we are. No wonder humility is so hard to come by and so highly prized. The humble man is so calm, so unshaken by the affairs of the world and the whispers he might hear. The humble man knows who he is and what is expected of him. He only weeps when God weeps."

Imagination & prayer

This article is by a Christian singer, Audrey Assad.  She sings so beautifully for God and her love for Him runs deep.  To listen to one of her songs click on the link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0B2ybZpDeM

Audrey writes......" Many of us view our imaginations as traps, as stumbling blocks to rational thought. Can you remember the last time you heard a sermon on the subject of the imagination? I cannot. And yet it is probably the most powerful tool we possess for the creation of art, whether for good or ill.
  As I see it, the next question is, can/does Jesus redeem the imagination? I believe the answer to be yes, which is why I do spend time using my imagination in prayer.".....(Please read her article below to get the full story)

"I have never forgotten the day I first actively used my imagination in prayer. In my mind’s eye, Jesus was swarthy, bearded, swathed in burlap—it was unthinkable in such heat. A dry desert wind covered Him in dust. I stood in line with many others, some sick with palsy, some holding children with disorders or diseases. Somehow I just knew He was going to find me out; that with one piercing look of His black eyes, He was going to see inside my veins and my capillaries and know that I had no disease to be healed of that day. And yet I could not tear myself away from that line. I could barely see Him at most points; the crowds pressed in so that I could only just make out the top of His head, occasionally glimpsing those flashing black eyes. He passed His hand over the face of a small boy afflicted with a neurological syndrome, and the little boy was made physically new, as though he had always been. His father wept for joy. I watched him shake with sobs.
After many moments, many miracles, finally I was next in line to see Him. And suddenly, the only thing between Him and me was thirty feet of golden flecks in the close air. Crowd sounds died down to a whirring murmur, and I locked eyes with the Man.
I stood there, my brow furrowed—I didn’t know what to do. Surely He would reproach me for taking up His valuable space and time! And so, unsure of how to act, I waited. His gaze was searching, indeed. It stung a little, even.
Then He smiled a little, and reached out His hand.
“Me?” I said in a small voice. My lungs felt vacuum-packed—I could not draw a breath. He stretched out His arms like an old friend.
And so I ran. I closed that thirty-foot gap with all the ferocity of a freight train falling off the rails. I wanted to collide with Love, to be strained and sifted through the weave of that rough cloth around Him and soaked right into His pores. We crashed into each other. He smelled like red spices and sweat. His robe sandpapered my cheek. All else faded. . .all else vanished. It was just Him, and me, in the scalding white light of the Eastern sun, and I knew His love for me. And as so many other times before, my heart was moved to love Him.
That day I had begun by thinking of Him as the healer of the multitudes. It is a story I have read countless times in various places in Scripture; I was taught it with felt-boards and sticky paper cutouts in Sunday School as a child, and preached to about it as an adult in the pews. Having never been terribly physically ill myself (with the exception of the multitude of varyingly serious food allergies I suffer from), I could wonder at the miracle of it, but never exactly empathized with the characters. In a completely new way, the day I prayed this and saw Him healing, I understood one of the central tenets of the Gospel; that though our bodies may be well, our hearts may be infirm; and though our bodies may crumble, our hearts may be wellsprings of life. I felt how sick my heart was when I put myself in the story. And though the physical encounter was imagined, the emotional and spiritual one was very real. I cannot prove that, but I do testify to it. I started that time of prayer viewing Him as the healer of the many; and by the end of it, I saw Him as the healer of me.
The risks of praying that way can be intimidating. Our imaginations are not wholly pure; they are informed by our context, our experiences, our culture, and they are crippled by sin. On top of that, the word “imagination” has taken on somewhat of a negative connotation in everyday conversation. Usually when you hear someone say “you’re just imagining it”, they are typically implying that whatever “it” is, is false. “It’s all in your imagination,” a friend might say to me when I believe someone to be angry with me who is not angry with me at all. Many of us fear imagining what God is like, because we might believe something wrong about Him, or be led astray by foreign ideas of God operating in our subconscious. Many of us view our imaginations as traps, as stumbling blocks to rational thought. Can you remember the last time you heard a sermon on the subject of the imagination? I cannot. And yet it is probably the most powerful tool we possess for the creation of art, whether for good or ill.
To settle some of these interior difficulties, it must be asked, what is the imagination? Dr. Peter Kreeft ¹ defines it this way; it is the ability to call up interior images of physical things, even when they are not externally present; it is the ability to conceive of things that we have never seen, or that perhaps do not even exist; and it is the ability to hold before the mind a meaning—to stand under it, to contemplate it. It is sensory, creative, and contemplative.
Our imagination, particularly in its creative and contemplative dimensions, is one of the particular things that sets us apart from the animals; it is one of the ways in which we have been created in God’s image. It has the capacity to express both light and darkness, and as such is a powerful tool in whatever way it is exercised. As I see it, the next question is, can/does Jesus redeem the imagination? I believe the answer to be yes, which is why I do spend time using my imagination in prayer. On that premise, it follows that our imaginations can be very helpful to our souls in both prayer and art.
Religious art is made using a combination of theology and imagination; I believe this holds true for worship music in a particular way. We who write for the Church take truths that are already formed and find a new way to imagine them—a new way to communicate them with imagery.
Take “How He Loves” (John Mark McMillan) as an example. The song is undoubtedly one of the more interesting and moving worship songs written during our generation; the first two lines say this;
“He is jealous for me.
Love’s like a hurricane;
I am a tree bending beneath
the weight of His wind and mercy.”
The picture is stunning, and effective. John Mark imaginatively found a way to communicate the very simple idea that God’s love is strong. Simple though the truth communicated may be, the lines would never have been written if McMillan had not exercised his God-given gifts of creative and contemplative imagination. We who desire to write songs for God’s people to sing in worship can be greatly assisted in our task by putting those faculties to good use. Anyone who has ever met and loved C.S. Lewis’ Aslan in his The Chronicles of Narnia can attest to the potential spiritual impact of creative writing. Lewis imagined a character that has helped many like myself to love God and desire heaven.
The one caution I offer, first to myself and then to anyone who reads this, is that anytime the use of imagination is intersected with prayer, we run the risk of creating images or ideas of God and looking upon them as private revelation. This is very dangerous. It isn’t impossible, but nor do I believe it is likely. Proper boundaries are needed. The renewal of the mind by consistent and faithful Scripture study is essential.
I plan to always keep thinking and dreaming about God and His heart, taking the risk of creating a mess. It is how I create images, and often how I write music; more importantly, it is one of the myriad ways in which I learn to love Him with more of my heart."

Article from : http://fqworship.com/blog/news/imagination-prayer-and-songwriting/
2011 Audrey Assad

Prayer (rosary)

I found this article on another website, ( http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2010/06/immaculata.html )  but I thought it did a good job explaining the importance of prayer. Sometimes we forget to pray. We forget how important it is, especially within our families.  Prayer is a way to communicate with God and if we do not communicate with Him, then how will our relationship grow? How will we know our heavenly Father? How will we be protected from evils and temptations of this world?  For me I find it hard to pray when everything is going good, but when hard times roll around I start to pray more. This is not good, and it is something I need to work on.  I'm sure we all get stuck in this situation sometimes. Here is part of the article:

"It is always good to remember that the desire to pray is in itself a prayer. Then, making the effort to pray five decades of the Rosary is better than not trying at all. Praying the Rosary amid distractions is better than not praying at all. Using a tape to pray along in the recitation is an immense help. Use the tape in the car, while out for a walk or a run, while cleaning - it is a great help to accustom a person to the prayers of the Rosary. Pray the Rosary alone or with others, and use artwork depicting the mysteries - images train the mind to meditate - one is thereby able to focus upon the mystery, upon the person. Don't worry so much about distractions or temptations during prayer - be humble about them - let them come and go while you continue to breathe the prayer - in the Spirit. If you can only pray one decade - it's a good start - in fact you can pray one decade in the morning, another at lunch, another on the way home from work - after which you will only have two left. Eventually you figure out how to pray the Rosary every day.

And when you begin to pray - to really pray - prepare yourself for trials. Whenever you embark upon anything good in the spiritual life, the combat begins. Sometimes that can be a sign to "do even more" as St. Paul says. Frequent Mass and the sacraments - especially confession. And use sacramentals - especially wearing Our Lady's livery: The Scapular of Mt. Carmel along with the shield of the Miraculous Medal, and keep the very best weapon of the Rosary with you at all times. These are tools, weapons, Our Lady herself has given to her children through the saints. These are not foolish devotions or superstitious."

                                                                            http://www.michaeljournal.org/rosarypower.htm

Mother Mary - Pray for us!

We are at a Spiritual WAR

(NOTE: This is a post I did not write but is an article from another site - http://networkedblogs.com/it10q  I just wanted to share because I think it is an important article to read!

Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus. It took its position on the sand of the sea. - Apocalypse 12:17

We are at WAR. This is not puffery. Our souls, and the souls of those that we love are in mortal peril and they are under constant ATTACK from the Devil. After reading Terry Nelson's latest post over at Abbey Roads, I had to post about it. He nails home so many points that I harp on at this blog, and I am glad to see someone else taking up the same flag. Unfortunately, he is also right on another point: that many Catholics today do not really believe in things like spiritual warfare, the peril of souls, of even the Devil himself. He sums it up this way:

Today, when there is such an emphasis upon peace and justice, some Catholics do not like using the terms, spiritual warfare, combat, battle, or always hearing phrases such as 'we are at war' and so on. Yet that is what the Christian life has always been, it is a struggle - an intense, knock down, drag out fight, a very real spiritual combat: To quote St. Paul,

Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. 
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. 
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. ~~Ephesians 6:10-12

He is so right! Just the other day in my parish there was a discussion about what theme will be used for the parish-wide Catechesis program. The choices were: Prayer & Spirituality, Morality, and Justice (ie Peace & Social Justice). The overwhelming response was: Justice. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but most people felt that the #1 issue facing our Church today was not the lack of prayer and spirituality, or morality, but a lack of Justice. The other parish in the area... facing the same question picked: Justice.

Don't get me wrong, I think these are worthy and important areas of Catholic teaching and belief, but I just wonder how that can be the number one issue facing us as Catholics. As a Church we are at War with the culture, the homosexual priestly abuse crisis, the lack of vocations, the 'progressive modernization' of our faith, the feminist agenda, the corruption of our children, the culture of death, the onslaught of pornography and infidelity, the debasement of our Sacred traditions and symbols; and we as a people cry for social justice for the oppressed. Who exactly are the oppressed? Aren't we as Catholics oppressed? Or worse yet, are we not HUNTED? If the world and our culture are consuming folks and it is unjust, what is the best avenue to combat this? When people are held captive and imprisoned how to we best free them from the shackles?

Reading an article over at Sancte Pater, one of, if not the, leading exorcists in the Vatican says that more needs to be done in the War against the Devil: 

The Catholic Church's most famous exorcist says more should be done to fight the devil. Father Gabriele Amorth has conducted 70,000 exorcisms for the church during his lengthy career.

In an interview with Italian daily, Corriere Della Sera, the 85-year-old priest said it would be worth extending the practice of exorcism.

"It would not be a bad idea," he told the daily. "In Italy moral decay is evident. Families are often breaking down.

"Do you know what I would do if I was the Pope for a moment?" he asked. "I would provide every opportunity for exorcisms. Like the Orthodox Church. There you do not need the permission of a bishop."

Social justice will only come when the forces of evil, the purveyors of injustice are defeated. We MUST PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD if we have ANY chance to defend ourselves in this battle. Therefore, if we go out there, looking for justice and peace, and we do not possess the ARMOR OF GOD, we are thrusting ourselves, defenseless, into WAR. A true, honest to GOD, WAR! We must treat our world and culture in this way, or we are being nothing but foolish and naive. Therefore we must arm ourselves with Truth, Morality, Love, and walk in the Commandments of God... prior to going into battle. We cannot seek Justice without those things. We can not and must not enter into battle weaponless. So how do we arm ourselves?

Terry Nelson suggests:

...begin to pray - to really pray - prepare yourself for trials. Whenever you embark upon anything good in the spiritual life, the combat begins. Sometimes that can be a sign to "do even more" as St. Paul says. Frequent Mass and the sacraments - especially confession. And use sacramentals - especially wearing Our Lady's livery: The Scapular of Mt. Carmel along with the shield of the Miraculous Medal, and keep the very best weapon of the Rosary with you at all times. These are tools, weapons, Our Lady herself has given to her children through the saints. These are not foolish devotions or superstitious.

The Devil is real, like it or not. As a Catholic you must believe not only that he is real but also that he seeks the eternal damnation of your soul, his only chance at victory, albeit already foretold and written, is to seek the ruin of as many souls as possible. Your soul is no safer than anyone else... you are NOT GUARANTEED Heaven... unless you do that which is required of you by GOD. Social Justice is an honorable, worthy, and important goal. Yet, it cannot simply occur through the good intentions of the faithful. We all know what road is paved with good intentions. We must actively defend ourselves, our souls, and the souls of those around us.

We must be counter-cultural. We must strike against culture, against 'the world', and against evil. I heard a teen say the other day that they come to Mass and learn the faith, and love the faith but have a hard time knowing how to live it out each day. This is honestly a good thing... they realize that there is a incongruity between the world and Catholicism. We are not made for the world, we are not made for its culture, its riches and gold. We are made for GOD and we should seek Heaven. Our religion is surely about love... but love does not only mean lollipops and gum-drops. Sometimes love is a battle... and the greatest love is to lay down your life for another. This isn't always in physical death, but sometimes 'death' comes in another form.

As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. 
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. 
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. 
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. 

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. 
This I command you: love one another. 
"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. 
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
-John 15:9-19

The world HATES you. Say itout loud right now... 'The World Hates ME!' 

Then... repeat the promise from the start of this section: "As the Father loves Jesus, so also will I be loved. If I keep the commandments of God, I will remain in HIS LOVE." What more could we ask for? But as I have said in this post, it will not come easy... we are at WAR.

So we must stand firm and resolute in our desire to keep the commandments of God. We must put on the ARMOR OF GOD. We must arm ourselves with the weapons of the faith: the Rosary, the Scapular, and Medals. We must spiritually fight through prayer and meditation. We must seek Social Justice and Peace for people and not for the world. It takes great strength and courage to be a Catholic in today's world... and yet it has always been such. If you need inspiration... look to any CHILD Saint that was ready willing and able to DIE for their faith. Can we even FATHOM THAT? No wonder we don't like phrases such as "SPIRITUAL WARFARE." I wonder if Spiritual War will chip my nails, muddy my gym shoes, or ruin my designer handbag?

Again, I have no problem with seeking Social Justice... I just do not believe we can bring about that type of change unless we are truly willing to enter the war. Our faith and our souls are under constant attack. Justice will not be served until we can protect and preserve the souls of those that seek and follow Christ. The only way we can do that is if we are willing to take up arms against the enemy, put on the Armor of God and Defend our FAITH in battle!

Nature and Beauty Whisper to us- Is there something More?

The blackness of the night with His stars streaming their light so perfectly-- they call my name.  The green grass so soft and simple with the sun warming the inside of my soul – it reaches in the depths of me and stirs my heart.  The blue sky, a sunset, walking barefoot through the soft grass, smelling flowers, hearing the birds singing their song, feeling the warm breeze, smelling the summer rain, stepping into a trickling creek, experiencing touching moments of beauty and simplicity, hugging your children, your parents, innocent laughter with family and friends, quiet moments for the heart to listen and speak,…All these are beautiful and we feel a certain peacefulness it brings us.

Our soul calls for beauty…it longs for it. We were made for it.  When we see these gifts of beauty--a sunset, a baby being born, the first day of spring—we feel our hearts stir.  They touch us deeply in a way we can’t explain.  Why do we feel so alive and our hearts more at peace when we experience these things?  Why do the eyes of our hearts and soul begin to open a little wider like something exciting is about to happen?…

 Because these gifts of beauty are only a reflection of the one who is truly, perfectly beautiful and that is Jesus.  That is Jesus.  And Our hearts were always made for Him, only for Him.

How beautiful.


                                                          -My Heart