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

Keep your eyes on Jesus.

This is a very short post, but a strong message.  It's about keeping your eyes on Jesus even in the darkest moments. The moments where you feel afraid.  The moments where you feel hopeless. The moments where you feel weak....Just remember to keep your eyes on Him. Have Faith.  Never let go because he already promises that He won't.
Just like when Jesus asked Peter to walk on the water, he did, but as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink into the water. But Jesus was there to pull him right back up again.  
Don't lose faith. Look to Jesus, He never leaves your side and never lets you down.

"..So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus, but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, Save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  -Matt 14:29-32

Touching song about having Faith in Christ and walking on the Water

Having Faith Like A Little Child

"Unless you become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
                      - Matthew 18:3

When I was younger, people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I simply would always reply, "I just want to stay a kid."  
To this day I don't necessarily want to be a kid but I want only to have that sort of freedom that I once had when I was young.  
I'm sure we've thought back to childhood memories and we remember how we felt.  We remember how we viewed the world.  We were, for the most part, Carefree - climbing trees, riding bikes, making clubs and to us, everyday was and adventure.
Why were we so free?  Why was it so easy to get excited about the simpler things?
Well, part of it is that we simply knew less, and dreamed more.  I think as we get older we learn more, but not only that; we seem to want to understand everything.  It was the-not-knowing that nutured part of our innocence that we so dearly want to protect in this world. Most of that freedom came from having little responsibilities and we Trusted our parents to care for us, clothe us and feed us.  They guided us down the path they thought was best for us, and we trusted them to do this.  We may have had some struggles and fears but most of us had our parents to fall back on.  Therefore, we were more free.  We knew we could trust our parents, and that made life that much more enjoyable - that much more simpler.
Now we are adults.  Now we are more knowledgeable to take care of ourselves.  We naturally no longer need to rely on our parents to provide us everything.  We also know more and we begin to take on responsibilities.  And, since we are in a world of good and evil, with those responsibilities may come fear and worry.  We begin to naturally leave the trust and security we had from our parents and try to start trusting ourselves to get us what we think we want and need.   We soon notice that the cares of this world are weighing us down-the temptations, past wounds, trials.  Our once easy excitement and innocence slowly leaves our heart as we begin to pick up more cares of this world.
We wonder, who will guide us?  Who will rescue us?  We are tired of trying to do it on our own, so deep down we long for someone else to save us,someone else to fall back on, someone else to whisper to our heart that freedom is still possible but then also wondering where it has gone?

I think being a child is a gift.  - A gift from God so that we could experience a small taste of the freedom that we were all made for. This taste is to show us that freedom is real.  That there is more to life. That there is hope. And when we look at little children, let us be reminded and moved by their simplicity, their freedom, their  innocence...
Instead of having our parents to trust and hold us when we needed them, Jesus is telling us,
"Trust me now. You know that I am here and I am your Father, even if you did not have the perfect parents, know that  I am many times better than they, for I am your perfect Father and Mary is your perfect Mother.  Let me now guide your ways.  I will always know what's best for you.  Let me care for you, clothe you, and feed you.  Let me take those worries and stresses and carry them - Let me carry you.  Have faith in me like you did with your parents. Have the faith like a little Child.  I will never you let you down.  Let me love you. Trust in me. Surrender it all and you will experience that true freedom,  a better freedom - A freedom that comes from a perfect love."
 I think this is what God is referring to when he says "have faith like a little child." We might be adults, but we will always be like children who need and are searching for their perfect Father. We are searching for that freedom we were made for -  that perfect love.
Trust is a gift. We must ask for it and always pray.  We must get to know our Father better, for it easier to trust someone we know.  Once we open our hearts and let God take control, then we are trusting.  It is a journey.  It is a journey we must all take because, "unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."

"My dear sweet child, reach out and take My hand , and never let go."


>St. Therese of Lisieux-pray for us<

Television and Computer have an "OFF" button for a reason

I think everyone might realize a huge problem that is only growing in our country today, and that is the MEDIA.  And you've probably heard that according to NielsenWire in 2009, the average home in the U.S. has 2.5 people vs. 2.86 televisions. That's more televisions than people in a household. That is 18% more than in the year 2000 and 43% more since 1990!
In 2010, now the number has increased from 2.86 to 2.93 televisions in households. How many televisions do we need!?
In 2009-2010, an individual spends 4 hours and 49 minutes per day on average watching television.
The Kaiser Family study stated that the number of sexual scenes has DOUBLED since 1998!
The average child that watches 2 hours of cartoons a day may see nearly 10,000 violent incidents each year, which the researchers estimate that at least 500 may pose a high risk for learning and imitating aggression and becoming desensitized to violence.
I could go on and on about different statistics and how things have only gotten worse - more corrupt. And I could go on about how people underestimate the negative/harmful effects the media has on them.

What the sad part is, is that we haven't even discussed how many hours are spent on cellphones, internet, and video games.

I know that the typical child, teen, and adult will get home from a long day of work or school and will just want to unwind and relax. The simplest way to relax is to plop right into a couch or chair and flip the "ON" button on the TV. OR now what is becoming more common is people heading right to the nearest laptop or computer and watching movies/shows online, or  doing youtube scanning, or better yet spending quite sometime "facebook creeping" on other people's lives.  Computers, TV, internet, video games, can be a fun way to get entertainment, but what are the pros and cons? Do the negative things outweigh the benefits?  Have you tried to control you and your families tv time, but keep failing?  Many people get defensive about their television or computer when they talk about maybe giving it up or decreasing the amount of time spent on it. They think you are trying to take away fun and relaxation they Deserve.  BUT, the fact of the matter is, THIS is not the BEST most FUN entertainment. If you think it is, you are being sucked into the lie that many of us American's are believing.  It is the easiest way for entertainment,yes,  but in the the long run you are doing yourself more harm thinking you're getting a  few hours of relaxing time for yourself.   Television is a good escape from reality, this is ok sometimes, but too much is not good. We are REAL beings and when you saturate yourself with UNREAL things or fantasies, it becomes unnatural. It becomes addicting, whether it's adventure, porn or violence.  And these things are becoming more and more assesable to our society because of the internet on cellphones, and laptops. If you haven't noticed, televisions and Wi-fi are spreading like wild fire into public facilities like restaurants. You just can't get away! What we think is making our life more simpler by upgrading new technology, is only making the American life more Chaotic.
 Did you know our brains are at their lowest level of activity when we're watching tv?! Even lower than sleeping. This is because, sitting their watching an image requires hardly no thinking.  When you're sleeping, you are dreaming/or thinking  without even knowing it, and you're not mesmerized by one thing in front of you such as a tv.

Maybe it's time to find a hobby. Something that is productive or more rewarding.  After you watch television, thats IT...nothing was accomplished, and it certainly wasn't productive.

Lets put it in perspective and give an example. Say you are deciding between two things to do after you get home from work. And yes we all know that television is so easy to do. I call it the "lazy way to entertainment."

-

1. going out and fixing up your old mustang that you've been wanting to do 

or 

2. Watching a show on Tv.

(compare the two...)

1. it requires physical activity which is good exercise and benfits the body          

2.tv requires no activity at all

    

1.you must use your skills and brain to perform this task                                   

2. very little brain is involved with tv.

1.you enjoy it, and know you are working towards a goal which makes you feel proud and improves your well being.                                

2.what you accomplish, is nothing, except dulling your intelligence and stiffening your joints and muscles.

                   

1.You are LIVING and not wasting your time                                                    

2.You have one life to live,  so you're spending it in your recliner?!

                                                                                                               

1. You increase your lifespan and improve your health by doing things you love. And as I said, you feel accomplished.                                                

2.There was just a new study that shows that the longer you sit, the faster you will die. yikes!

                                                                                                                      

1. You now have a hot old mustang to show off and drive around!                      

2.you don't have anything besides the couple extra pounds you gained by just sitting on your butt all day.

(yeah I'm sure the whole scenario of fixing up a mustang was funny, but we do have one in our gargage that needs the-fixing-uping.  hmmmmm. Dad?)

So I'll let you decide whether you do something else or watch television/going on the computer. Maybe the family could all do something together and ditch the electronics for a day. ..

"It seems only natural and normal to have a television these days, but I think it's time we realized that life was not supposed to be this way. It's time to turn "ON" our lives again and turn "OFF" the media!! "


(Since I just mentioned facebook earlier, I would like to say a few words about it, since I know it is becoming an ever growing trend....) FYI- thought the facebook comics were funny ha : )

FACEBOOK
Facebook has its postives, but with every type of media, or social network, I think it's negatives outweigh the positivies. Yes, it is a good way to connect with the world, with family and friends, but it seems people are getting sucked into it without even realizing. For Goodness sakes, there's personal pictures, job info, the latest relationships and status updates of what people are doing every minute! You practically live with the person, by knowing what they're doing every minute of the day!  (For those who don't own a facebook profile, you might not fully understand what I'm describing here, but I know that if you ask anyone about it who owns one; they will agree that it is an easy way to creep on other peoples lives)  I can personally say that I found out someone was engaged by reading it on facebook first. The person wasn't even able to tell me in person because I had already read it on facebook! 
I think the site is an easy way to gossip, to creep on others buisiness and to "fake" socialize. Gosh people might as well forget about sending Christmas cards, birthday cards etc...because photos and just writing on people's wall is already so easy to simply get the message across. (personally I like the old fashion birthday card sending..etc) 
I also feel it is an easy way for people to plaster the "good" side of their lives, meaning they can write/post whatever they want, making their lives seem fine and dandy. This is why I also think it is a poor way to check up on someone thinking you REALLY know them just by looking at their profile.
I know you may be thinking that I am making my opinions a little too extreme when it comes to facebook, but I don't agree.  I know that others who own a facebook can take it too far and can relate or understand with what I'm trying to explain here. I did have a facebook, and there were a lot of good things about it, but I felt it WAS getting out of hand.  I feel that a lot of people are spending too much time on it, searching up people or creeping on others' lives when they should go out and do some real socialization with people in person.  And many of the people who have one, don't realize they are getting sucked into it.  I had a facebook but deleted it a while ago, and I have to admit I do feel more free. I feel more back to reality and not stuck in an immature "fake" social network.  Do you find yourself spending too much time on it(which thats what I found myself doing), or making the excuse that there is nothing else to do?  Or the big one is people say, they feel so out of touch with the world if they don't have one.  You shouldn't depend on facebook for that!  Just remember, have self control and Don't become "Face-hooked"! ; )










"Back then people lived farther away from eachother, maybe a mile or two or more, but still people were more friendly and randomly "stopped" by to friends houses to visit and enjoy eachothers company. Now we live in neighborhoods and subdivisions, living only a couple feet from another's home and hardly anyone makes the effort to visit or simply "stop" by. What happened?"