Don’t Get Mad, Get Glad!

May 24, 2016May 23, 20162 Comments

Some days I’m just so glad I have God. I know that statement should be that ALL days I’m glad to have God – believe me, I am – but some days (you know those kinds of days) the gladness is just that much more opaque. Situations that would have gotten me pretty depressed when I was younger, in the last couple of years, are now just reasons to remind me to think of the blessings I have and that everything will be okay.

Sometimes I find that the more people I’m around, the lonelier I feel. Maybe that’s just my introversion…I don’t really know. But I do know that other people do feel the same way so at least I’m not alone in my loneliness (however that works). It has something to do with not feeling like many people really know me I’m sure. I can count on one hand the number of people I feel like I can talk to, they listen, and they have empathy for what I tell them. They don’t just automatically tell me what to do, or explain how I SHOULD think or feel, or try to down-talk my concerns.

But when I start to dwell (which I am known to do occasionally – but I’m getting better!) on not having anyone to talk to, I now do a little mental forehead slap and say, “but GOD understands!” In my life I’ve looked into Buddhism and Hinduism and random other religions trying to find my niche but they all left me with the same loneliness. Then I came back around to try Christianity again (I’d been raised that way with religious education classes and all but it never hit home for me).

Now, with Christianity, you can’t ever feel alone. Especially if you’re Catholic and have the whole communion of Saints! A God who experienced what it’s like in a puny people body? Terrorized, persecuted, bullied, tortured, love, work, relationships…yeah, I think that God can empathize with what my simple little day is like! God “gets” it so much that we even were gifted the Holy Spirit to get through it all! I mean, how can you not love the Holy Spirit? Seriously, I think Pentecost should be a MUCH bigger celebration than it is. It’s sorta my favorite holiday. Too bad it’s always on a Sunday or else we should really be allowed to take the day off work for it and wear special hats 🙂

So “Paws to Pray” by acknowledging that through faith, we are never alone in our journeys. Never left to flounder without an anchor. God’s presence and unremitting love is with us always – even during our times of snotty grown-up teen angst, blooper moments, and all-out failures. Especially during those times.

I don’t get any kickbacks; this is just how my brain thinks:

Live Like God is Watching

May 19, 2016May 18, 2016Leave a comment

This quote that is in the image above was very thought-provoking to me when I first read it:

“When was the last time you lived by the gentle voice of conscience and it brought misery to your life? Attune your soul to the voice of the conscience within.”

(Matthew Kelly, The Narrow Path)

Their suggestion is something I frequently struggle with. It makes sense, I agree with it…yet, as with everything, execution is the hardest part. I’ve always said the problem is that I lack the self-confidence to believe that I would know the right thing to do. I always second-guess myself. It takes me forever to make a decision. I always have to have the facts, recheck the facts, triple-check the facts, then ask a few people their opinions, compare that against what I already know, let it marinate a few days, revisit it, check with a different person…well, you can see how far this can go sometimes! But that assumes that the little voice in my head is me. But, I guess, assuming that little voice is me is pretty egotistical!

I can’t think of a time when that voice was talking me into doing something bad…it’s always a reminder to be doing doing good or a way to improve my life. So why wouldn’t I automatically think that it is the voice of God giving me a nudge? Is it because it’s trying to tell me the right thing to do and the right thing to do is rarely the easiest thing to do? Or am I just a little too self-involved, maybe? Oh, I hate it when I come to that realization! I’ve always felt like I live by that little voice in my head but do I really when I second-guess it so much? Am I really living by faith when I require so much concrete reassurance?

My “Paws to Pray” today is take a few minutes to thank God for that little inner voice that leads me in the right direction and to promise that I will be more confident in its message (and be readily willing to take action!) in the future .

Chasing Francis

May 11, 2016May 11, 2016Leave a comment

Chasing Francis: A Pilgram’s Tale,

by Ian Morgan Cron (2013)

I’m generally not a fan of biographies. Which is strange because I love to hear about all the amazing things that happen in people’s real lives – but I don’t like when it feels like a glob of details being thrown at you like a dull history class. So a book like this one is perfect for me. The plot line is fictitious but it pulls in historical facts as it goes.

The main character, Chase Falson, is a pastor who has grown tired of church being a form of superficial entertainment and is longing for something deeper. Off he goes to Italy where he ends-up falling into the steps of St. Francis of Assisi and learning about what it means to have true faith.

It is an entertaining quick read that inspired me to want to learn more about St. Francis which I consider a “win” because I think that means I didn’t really want the story to end!

From Novice to Bodybuilder

April 29, 2016May 3, 2016Leave a comment

A 40-Day Spiritual Workout for Catholics by Bob Rice (2013)

I facilitated an at-home spiritual retreat using this book with my church. We started January 1st as a New Year’s Resolution. It was a cute play-on-words since so many people’s New Year’s resolution is to workout for physical health, we were doing it to improve our spiritual health. And since any workout is difficult to maintain without a little motivation, having an accompanying online blog was a wonderful addition. We all really supported each other to keep going for the whole 40 days as well as go more in-depth into the author’s reflections.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this book! Bob Rice created such a thoughtful progression from day to day that he really did foster a deeper connection to the traditions of the Catholic faith. I kept having so many ah-ha, light bulb moments that it started to get humorous almost. One of the things that can be hard for a lot of people is to move their faith from their heads to their hearts. But, on Day 12, Mr. Rice provided such beautiful imagery of what our reception into Heaven would be like, it provoked very deep emotions for me. The next time I was at Communion, I had a much stronger connection to what I was taking part in. Others in my online group mentioned similar connections throughout.

So whether you are able to read this book as a group (which I HIGHLY recommend) or on your own, I suggest that your spiritual growth is worth the 40 days. I plan on doing another cycle through it, too – since there are always little details that you don’t necessarily pick-up on the first time through a book. Not-to-mention, you are always at a different stage of your spiritual journey, for messages to hit you from another direction. But that’s the fun part that makes religion “alive”!

Paws to Pray

If not now, then when?

Tag: Catholic