W-O-R-D-S

I'm doing a new bible study with a girlfriend of mine and man, today, it really made me think!  We are doing the Beth Moore bible study on James, called Mercy Triumphs.  If you don't know Beth Moore, please...find out about her!  She's one of my absolute favorite 'Southern Jesus girls' and she truly touches my heart with her awesome words and her love of scripture.  I thought I'd share a little about what we were diving into today. 

Here's the scripture we reflected on (James 1:22-25, from the NAB):  "Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.  He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like.  But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and persevere, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does."


At the end of the study, we were called to write an acronym (WORDS) drawn from the lesson on that scripture.

Here's what I came up with:

W-ho is that person in the mirror?
O-ld self or new self?
R-edeemed or in bondage?
D-oer or hearer?
S-pirit, let me choose Your path to true freedom.

Whatcha think?  I hope that I truly can remember the acronym and the lesson because it hit me that in most situations, I have to choose to move out of any bondage in my heart, out of my 'old self' and old ways, and I have to just DO what he wants me to do.  How often do I hear those words and those lessons, but yet, I still sit in them and just appreciate them and say 'oh that's a nice thought,' but never fully hear the Spirit or call on the Spirit to move me through my own junk?

Here's to leaving it all in the past and moving forward towards His freedom!

Make it Tuesday?

To try and get my craft on, I wanted to do a sketch challenge with some of the new Valentine's Day goodies I picked up in clearance at Michael's. The card is based on this sketch: http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/2013/12/mojo-monday-324.html?m=1

I'm pretty happy with it! It always feels good to get messy with papers, inks and stamps!

Made to Crave...back in the groove...

Well, I'm not sure anyone is reading my blog (since its been forever since I last posted!), but, I did want to challenge myself to get back in the zone with blogging and with my biggest challenge right now...my weight loss.  I am starting an online bible study through Proverbs 31 ministry that will go with the book 'Made to Crave' by Lysa Teurkeurst.  I have read the book and I really liked the style and just the overall message behind it.  I joined the study, because I thought that it would be a good companion to my weight loss journey with Weight Watchers.

For those of you wondering, no, I never left Weight Watchers in the past couple of years, but unfortunately, I've just been handing them my money each month and slowly watching my weight creep back up.  I've realized that losing weight for me isn't that I can't do it, I just have to be really vigilant about it.  I KNOW I can do it, I KNOW I can do anything with God beside me, however, its that real WANTING to do it. 

I think after I lost so much on WW the first time, I got tired--you almost get to a point where its overwhelming and you feel like, gosh, am I ever not going to have to count points, worry about food, want food, that sort of thing.  And, after seeing myself now, after that first journey, I think the answer is not yet, at least for me.  I have to get into my heart what that desire for food really is, what voids I'm filling with it, and really, what's triggering some of it.  I want to be healthier, I want to be thinner, and I don't want the food or my desire for it to define me.  Hopefully this bible study is the first step into that direction to see where God can lead my heart and help my weight loss journey. 

Want to join me (did I mention its FREE?!)?  See this link for information on the study: 



I'd love for any friends and family to come along the journey with me...and hopefully I can make some new friends along the way!  :) 

Stress

My life has been crazy—getting ready for vacation, vacation last week and now catch-up from that.  I saw THIS blog post and knew I wanted to remember (and share) it.

50 Ways To Reduce Stress

1. Mental prayer (meditation) every day. I pray the rosary every day.
2. Pray with Scripture daily.
3. Frequent The Sacraments - Mass as often as possible + monthly Confession.
4. Quickly forgive others when they mess up.
5. Forgive yourself when you mess up.
6. Go on a retreat.
7. Take several days off of work / your normal schedule.
8. Socialize with friends more often. Schedule if necessary.
9. Go on dates with your spouse.
10. Pray with your family.
11. Eat dinner with your family.
12. Learn to not worry about things you can't control.
13. Don't work to please other people. Please God.
14. Remember that you are wonderful and lovable, even if imperfect.
15. Smile more.
16. Do nice things for other people, just because.
17. Spend time playing with your kids.
18. Spend less time around negative people.
19. Have difficult conversations, in a loving way. Don't avoid them.
20. Work on your character flaws and poor communication skills.
21. Ask for help more often.
22. Be content with what your possessions. 
23. Exercise regularly.
24. Sleep more.
25. Laugh. 
26. Talk to a spiritual director regularly.
27. Learn from your mistakes.
28. Be OK with not controlling others.
29. Reduce your to-do list by distinguishing 'must' and 'should'.
30. Spend time with a pet.
31. Read more good books.
32. Listen to more good music.
33. Turn off the TV and do #32 and #32.
34. Spend time doing something you like to do.
35. Volunteer to help others.
36. Eat healthier.
37. Stop an unhealthy habit (overeating, smoking, drinking too much, etc.)
38. Temper the tone in your voice and the words you use when frustrated.
39. Realize what upsets you and create a plan on how to deal with it in the future.
40. Don't get upset in traffic or with other drivers. Slow down. Chill.
41. Say "no" more often if you are over-scheduled.
42. Don't procrastinate.
43. Don't lash out at others. 
44. Spend time improving yourself. This isn't greedy, it helps everyone around.
45. Question worrisome thoughts. Are they rational / probably / helpful?
46. Focus on the present. Not the past or future.
47. Keep a journal or diary as an outlet of your stress.
48. Say more positive things. I love you, you are wonderful, thanks, etc.
49. Stop wasting time reading blog posts, Facebook, etc.
50. Pray for an increase of faith and hope. Expect God will answer your prayer.

Thanks, Aggie Catholics.  If you’ve never checked out their blog…it’s a must read.

Now, I’m off to partake in some of those stress relievers…

Consolation

“…Jesus allows struggle and difficulty in our lives and in our service to Him because He knows we can take it.  He knows we won’t quit.  He can lean on us.  Jesus needs to take His consolation where He can get it, so we must be at peace if He counts us as good friends who will accept a share of the cross with Him and continue to serve.”     --from Mist of Mercy, by Anne, a lay apostle

Ronald Reagan

Life is busy right now…work has me on overdrive, along with all the fun of the summer starting.  I feel like my 30 kids are all coming home and so now my once easily filled nights and free time are getting put to even more use (not sure how I find time) to see all my kiddos now that they’re back for the summer.  God is good, though, so I’m not complaining! 

I saw this on a blog the other day and loved it…wanted to share.

 

In June of 1971, just days before his 26-year-old son, Michael, got married, future-U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent him the following letter of advice. It really is quite stunning.
(Source: Reagan: A Life In Letters; Image: Ronald Reagan, via.)

Michael Reagan
Manhattan Beach, California
June 1971

Dear Mike:

Enclosed is the item I mentioned (with which goes a torn up IOU). I could stop here but I won't.

You've heard all the jokes that have been rousted around by all the "unhappy marrieds" and cynics. Now, in case no one has suggested it, there is another viewpoint. You have entered into the most meaningful relationship there is in all human life. It can be whatever you decide to make it.

Some men feel their masculinity can only be proven if they play out in their own life all the locker-room stories, smugly confident that what a wife doesn't know won't hurt her. The truth is, somehow, way down inside, without her ever finding lipstick on the collar or catching a man in the flimsy excuse of where he was till three A.M., a wife does know, and with that knowing, some of the magic of this relationship disappears. There are more men griping about marriage who kicked the whole thing away themselves than there can ever be wives deserving of blame. There is an old law of physics that you can only get out of a thing as much as you put in it. The man who puts into the marriage only half of what he owns will get that out. Sure, there will be moments when you will see someone or think back to an earlier time and you will be challenged to see if you can still make the grade, but let me tell you how really great is the challenge of proving your masculinity and charm with one woman for the rest of your life. Any man can find a twerp here and there who will go along with cheating, and it doesn't take all that much manhood. It does take quite a man to remain attractive and to be loved by a woman who has heard him snore, seen him unshaven, tended him while he was sick and washed his dirty underwear. Do that and keep her still feeling a warm glow and you will know some very beautiful music. If you truly love a girl, you shouldn't ever want her to feel, when she sees you greet a secretary or a girl you both know, that humiliation of wondering if she was someone who caused you to be late coming home, nor should you want any other woman to be able to meet your wife and know she was smiling behind her eyes as she looked at her, the woman you love, remembering this was the woman you rejected even momentarily for her favors.

Mike, you know better than many what an unhappy home is and what it can do to others. Now you have a chance to make it come out the way it should. There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.

Love,
Dad

P.S. You'll never get in trouble if you say "I love you" at least once a day.

 

Stole this from this blog:  Letters of Note  (**very cool, fascinating blog!**)

Being Lazy?

Okay, so I’ve been struggling lately with basically, what I think is just burnout.  Burnout on life, work, ministry, the whole nine yards.  I have just felt completely restless—like basically nothing that I do or want to do is ever ‘right’ and I just feel like I’m spinning my wheels, barely ‘getting by’ in what I’m doing.  Heck, maybe it’s a little bit of depression thrown in there, too, I don’t know.  I just have been sort of in a hard place and I haven’t been able to get out of it.  I’ve been extremely lazy (now, of course, in my world, lazy is probably different from other people’s lazy!), but, basically that means, just wanting to sit around, be home, do nothing, or at least do only things that make me happy.

Well, I think God got tired of that for me this morning. 

I got an unexpected package in the mail yesterday from Adore, with the cd series on “Ordinary Worship.”  I’m not sure why it came in the mail, as I have all of the talks, but, maybe I asked for them, I don’t know.  If I did ask, it was a LONG time ago.  Anyway, I brought the cd’s to my car and decided I’d listen to one on the way to work.  (Did I tell you my spiritual and prayer life has been pretty low, as well?  Well, it has.)  I’ve been yearning to sort of wake-up from my ‘slumber’ and the talk that I listened to today, finally did that. 

The talk, by PG, entitled “Seeing the Ordinary” basically just brought me back to what our call is in life…we are called to work beside God everyday, doing his works and showing his love.  Basically, that’s it.  Anything opposite of that, is really living for someone or thing other than Him.  We went all the way back to how God created Adam, and placed him in a garden, to work the fields with Him, beside Him.  I really kept thinking about what I’m doing right now and it’s nothing.  I mean, nothing that is really producing the fruit that it should be.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing ministry and working, but, really, am I doing it to the extent or way that I should be?  Heck, no.  Seriously, it’s taken me about 3 months to still have nothing set up or accomplished for our summer schedule.  And, oh yeah, summer is now!  Have I put into work the ability or effort that I should?  No way, as my Inbox full of emails will attest to.  All of these things, that God has put in my path and called me to, I’m really just shutting aside.  I’m ‘getting by’ but really, just living the life I want to live, as opposed to how He wants me to live.  Going through the motions and not fully working beside Him, or doing it the way I want to do it, as opposed to how I know I should do it, again, isn’t right.

I felt like as I listened to that talk, I was finally coming out of a haze.  A haze of just postponing things, of skating by, of just letting things go.  I really finally felt like the cloud (or, was it a veil?!) lifted and I was ready to move forward in my life and the way I was working.  I know God will show my heart freedom when I see the fruit that is produced through my works. 

God has a great sense of humor, let me tell you.  As I walked in, opened my email, and my personal/work Google calendar, I added about 4 meetings and 2 events in under a half hour.  See, I told you, He’s a funny guy.  Nothing like throwing me back in at full force. 

Now, I’m going to schedule a few more meetings.  Seriously.  ;)