The story of the Good Samaritan can tend to be one of those “heard it a dozen times and know how it ends” kind of Gospels but when I heard it at mass recently, I asked Jesus to hit me with something new…something necessary in my life and he sure did!  Upon reading the words “the one who showed mercy” I felt something tug at my heart and I quickly realized he had a lesson for me, and it was smaller than I expected.  Chances are good I will never run across an injured person along the road that I need to tote to the ER, but there are people in need of small merciful acts right in front of me. As I sat in prayer with this reading, the Holy Spirit sent five practical acts of mercy right to my mind and heart.
* First, quietly get up and go help my husband do the dishes, no explanation, no big fuss, just a quiet act of standing at his side helping.
*Second, say 5 Hail Mary’s for each person standing in the check-out line ahead of me asking God to swoop in and bless them.
*Third, hold the door open and let three people pass into the building before me. 
*Four, breathe deep and swallow hard every time an impatient, angry, judgmental or sassy comment bubbles to my mind or tongue before it sneaks out of my mouth.
 *Five, smile and say hello to five people today.
We have no idea the wounds and burdens people are carrying so the merciful balm of these very simple things can share God’s compassion in ways we will never know.  We often think big and today the Holy Spirit invited me to think small, maybe you can try it too.
 
A Seed To Plant: What are small ways you can offer acts of mercy to your neighbors? Maybe you could add this prayer to your week. Loving God, slow me down today and make me mindful of the secret burdens and wounds others carry.  Nudge me to reach out with small merciful acts that mirror your tender compassion.  Amen
​
Blessings on your day!
 
 
 
 

​In a few days Dave and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary and we have so much to be grateful for.  God has blessed us with three wonderful kids who married the kind of spouses you pray for, and we have seven completely amazing and adorable grandchildren!   I remember on our honeymoon we decided we’d take a big trip every 5 to 10 years and we made a list of all the places we wanted to see, but the truth is, we hadn’t gone to any of those places. I think it’s fair to say marriage isn’t really what we thought it would be at all!  It’s so much better!

Contentment is a great gift in a marriage.  I’m content to sit on the front porch on Sunday morning and enjoy a cup of coffee together.  I’m content to enjoy a steak dinner perfectly grilled by my groom.  I’m content to sit on the basement floor and play with the grandkids.  I’m content to sit next to my husband at Mass on Sunday.  Thirty-five years ago, I thought I wanted to have coffee on a beach and dress up and eat at a fancy restaurant.  A few decades ago, I thought I wanted tickets to Hawaii and seats together on a plane headed someplace amazing.  Today I realize those aren’t the things that make a marriage and a family strong at all.  God had other ideas for us, and I need to remember to thank him for that every day!

Romance is a funny notion that has changed over the years.  In the 90’s I would have defined it as flowers, cards, candy, dates and candlelight.  Three and a half decades and three kids and seven grandkids later I see things differently.  Flowers die, candles melt, chocolate makes my butt bigger and cards are ridiculously overpriced!  It’s the little thoughtful things that are romantic; like help with the dishes, a surprise car wash or running to the clothesline to grab the wash when it starts to sprinkle. Some of the most romantic dinners I can remember were burgers or sloppy Joes in a tractor or on a hay wagon or shared bag of popcorn at a ballgame.  Marriage isn’t all fireworks and googely eyes, but when I see my husband play and work alongside his kids and grandkids and beam with pride at their success my heart melts.  It’s amazing to me how truly loved I can feel just by watching my husband love his family.

Lots of things have changed.  I recently caught a glimpse of our reflection in a store front window, and we don’t look the same as we did on our honeymoon trip but in some respects the reflection looking back at us is so much lovelier.  35 years ago, we were two people in love, today we are two people bound by a loving Father who has guided and blessed us every day of our marriage. He’s given us the strength to forgive when we needed to.  He’s given us the wisdom to try to raise our kids the best we could.  He’s given us courage to face the things we didn’t see coming and were totally unequipped to handle.  He’s given us just enough struggles to grow in trust and enough blessings to grow in gratitude and joy.  The best gift of all though has been the ability to see our marriage the way he intended it to be, not the way we thought it should look 35 years ago. 

A Seed To Plant: What are some things you imagined one way and God organized differently? Have a prayerful conversation with him about that today.

Blessings on your day!

​Well then, there you have it!  The Prophet Micah summed it all up in one brief verse of Scripture!  Do the right thing, love things that are good and walk humbly with God. So I’m wondering; if it’s that simple, how do I manage to mess it up so often?  I think the place where I get all snarled up is trying to make things more complicated than they need to be.  I can be the “Queen of Overthinking”, and it just leads me farther away from the honest, simple root of my purpose…anybody with me there? (I am seriously hoping there are readers out there nodding their head in agreement!)

Let’s see if I can back up the truck and do a better job with these three simple expectations. Step one: “do the right”.  I guess I should ask myself, the “right” for whom? More often than I probably even recognize, I’m interested in doing what’s “right” for me!  I have a tendency to do “Christian good” when it’s convenient for me.   I’m good at helping and praying and doing nice things when it fits in the schedule but what about when I really have to go out of my way to do good?  I also have to stop and ask myself about how many times I don’t “do right”.  What if I know there is a conversation going on that I should keep my nose out of but I just have to listen in anyway, what do I do if the talk turns into gossip, how do I “do right” and get out of that conversation?  I suppose this simple directive should keep me out of those conversations in the first place.

Step two: “Love goodness” I don’t think Micah was simply referring to lovely flowers and other good things found in creation.  I think he was challenging us to do something bigger.  Here’s the deal with loving goodness…it isn’t always fashionable, popular or common.  Loving goodness requires us to love without judgment.   It means we look for the good and Christ like even in people who look very different than us. We can be pretty narrow in our description of what is “normal” in this society and turn a squinty eye at things that diverge from that vision. I believe the greatest sound and sight EVER is a child!  They are the ultimate “Good” created by God.  Not long ago I was visiting with a family who was joyfully announcing the upcoming birth of their 7th child, and I was so excited for them and honored to share in their joy.  That baby will be the most loved child on the planet!  As I walked away from the family, I overheard two women speaking critically about them and one woman said, “How do they think they are ever going to give that many children what they need?  She doesn't even work so they are doomed to a life of hand-me-downs and Wal-Mart shoes.” I wanted to speak but the tears stung in my eyes and my heart hurt so badly I couldn’t even talk. if I had that moment to re-live, I would ask when Nike’s and designer clothes became more important in forming Children of God than the overflowing love of a family. Loving goodness means having great compassion and respect for EVERYTHING God created and doing everything in our power to defend it without casting worldly judgments.

 Step three: “Walk humbly with our God” The real trick with this one is to realize we can’t be in charge!  It really should read, “Walk humbly BEHIND God.”  We might do a better job if we remembered we can’t be first in our Christian walk, God Himself must occupy that spot.  Walking humbly means coming to terms with the fact that we are NOTHING without HIM and the more we give Him credit for, the more He blesses us.  God doesn’t need our approval or our praise in order to build Him up and support His ego or self-esteem…He needs praise and adoration from us so we can practice humility and submission to His will for our lives.

A Seed To Plant:  Pick one of the three ideas from this reading from Micah and put it to work this week.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you choose the one your soul needs most!​

 Blessings on your day!

​A long time ago I had a co-worker who was difficult to work with. She was a bigger challenge than putting on panty hose on a hot August day! It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, how friendly I was or how efficient I became, I just couldn’t please her.  Every day before work I would ask God to give me a heap of patience so I wouldn’t have boiling blood by noon.  Most days I was at a slow simmer by 10 am and I would feel like God wasn’t listening or I just wasn’t trying hard enough. Luckily, it was just a summer job, but I have never forgotten that experience. I remember it because just like that summer, there have been plenty of other times I have found myself in a pickle and I go into prayer asking God to give me patience or understanding or whatever the necessary grace might be and then I trot off to fix the situation. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I didn’t have it quite right.  In his book God Help Me, Jim Beckman offered a thought that spun me around like a top!

“I was using a self-help approach to Christianity.  I would diagnose myself and then, like a good doctor, prescribe myself a prescription like patience. Then I went to God and told him to fill the prescription.  Is it any wonder nothing ever changed? The language itself is all wrong anytime we find ourselves telling God what to do we’re in trouble. At the very center of this self-help approach to prayer was ME, not GOD.”  He goes on to explain that the whole mystery of our faith is realizing Jesus is the center, not us.  We can never live a perfect life as humans, but we can through Jesus.  “God doesn’t want you to live the Christian life; if that’s what you think the invitation is, you’ve got it all wrong.  He wants Jesus to live the Christian life in you! And through Jesus you are to become the very righteousness of God.”

When I did some serious thinking about this information, I realized that it wasn’t at all about the behavior of that tricky woman one summer a long time ago. It was about what Christ was trying to teach me about myself through her.  He was inviting me to look deeply at myself so he could reveal and teach. I discovered looking back that I was angry and hurt at that point in my life and he was trying to get me to turn those things over to him, but I couldn’t or didn’t want to deal with that, I wanted to find another way out.  Looking back, it was like riding my bike into a wall every day and expecting it to move!  He was trying to mend my heart and show me some truths, but I was wasting all my prayer time demanding he give me the tools to fix somebody else.  

I’d like to say that I’m much older now and I’ve moved past such silly prayer mistakes, but the truth is I needed these words right now just as much as I needed them that summer long ago.  I need to stop complicating things and let God be God.  I need to stop approaching prayer with a self-help attitude and begin to let God reveal and teach and love me; that takes an honest and open heart.  Whew…I’ve got some work to do!

A Seed To Plant:  Listen to your prayer words this week.  Are you self-prescribing or letting God be the center?​

Blessings on your day!

The beginning of a new school year is still a little weird!  I love watching the kids with their shiny new shoes and backpacks.  I live close enough to the school to hear the kids on the playground and hearing them play at recess is a welcome break in the summer silence. There are so many parts of teaching I miss but one thing I will never miss is report cards!  I know they were essential, offering a snapshot of progress and achievement but boiling down 9 weeks of work and marking it neatly into a page of boxes was difficult because it didn’t tell the whole story.  I started thinking about what it would be like to get a report card from God every so often.  I would surely be nervous, but it would be great to see where I stood so I could make adjustments and improvements.  
Since the Heavenly Father most likely won’t be sending me a performance update anytime soon, I thought I’d create a blank report card and do some self-assessment.  Maybe you’d like to give yourself a grade as well.  Here are the categories I imagine might appear on a heavenly report card.
​
*Study Skills…makes good use of study time and resources such as Scripture and Spiritual Reading.
*Asks for grace when needed…calls out in prayer when challenged with struggles, lack of understanding and general frustration and confusion,
*Mastery of knowledge…scripture, saints, sacraments and Church teachings,
*Setbacks to Comebacks…learning from mistakes to avoid repeat sins. Includes proper and frequent repentance, confession and forgiveness.
*Prayer Life…consistent, hopeful conversation with God including evident joy, hope, mercy and surrender.
*Practical Application of Knowledge gained…living the Gospel teachings and sharing the faith with others.
*Social Interaction…uses words and actions that are charitable, prayerful and uplifting toward all people.
*Following Directions…listening for and obeying the Will of God. Faithfully living out the Commandments and Beatitudes as Jesus taught.
*Suffering and Struggle…willingly offered to the Father with faithful surrender and trust.
Praying with this will offer quite a snapshot and the Holy Spirit will guide me to the areas I need the most work.  So as another school year begins, it’s the perfect time to buckle down and get to the work of Heaven.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Take some time to pray with this little “report card” and plot your course of action with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings on your day!
 
 
 
 
 

​I’m sure we’ve all heard the line, “if you aren’t part of the solution; you must be part of the problem.”  They are wise words but perhaps a bit misunderstood.  I think being part of the solution doesn’t necessarily mean solving the problem single handedly but rather making an honest attempt at working toward something better.  There are some mighty problems in this world to be solved and I sure shootin didn’t cause them, plus I know for a fact that I am not in the position to solve them.  So, should I throw in the towel and go cry in the closet?  Nope!  I was reading an article about an amazing woman named Dorothy Day and she had one little idea that put it all in perspective for me.

Dorothy Day was a saving grace to so many who were left physically, spiritually and emotionally crippled by the devastation of the Great Depression.  Her motives and actions were genuine, compassionate and life changing.  She provided a beacon of hope during a time when there wasn’t much.  She didn’t solve the financial problems of the day, but she worked in her own way to be part of the solution for one person and one family at a time.  She didn’t offer money but rather provided the most basic needs of the suffering.  She offered dignity, shelter, hope and joy…so much joy.  She didn’t give a lot, but what she gave mattered greatly.  She said, “We contribute to the misery of the world if we ignore beauty and joy in life.  If we seek the will of the One who sent Jesus, we need to open our hearts to joy.”

It’s not hard to find the problems, but we get in a big pickle when we have an even harder time finding the beauty around us.  It isn’t often we see a smiling baby or a gorgeous harvest moon on the front page of the paper or newsfeed, but when we do see them they give us a lift.  Who doesn’t love a good giggling baby video shared on social media? They just let us escape for a few minutes.  After reading the article I realized my role in the solution was easier than I thought.  It’s my job to connect with beauty and joy.    John Ruskin was a famous art critic from England who used to say, “We have the duty of delight.”  That line made me realize we sometimes see joy and beauty and peaceful things as frivolous and non-productive.  We think we must work and take things to task and ponder serious matters in order to be responsible, informed citizens.  Did you hear that, I think God just belly laughed!”  We’ve got it so twisted up it isn’t even funny.

God is the maker of joy and beauty not the creator of evil, cynical, corrupt or absurd so why not focus on the things he made and leave the rest of the mess alone?  Dorothy Day didn’t solve the problem of the Great Depression, but she sure was a solution to those she was able to bring delight to.  Sounds like a much better way to spend my day, what do you think?

A Seed To Plant:  Take some time to sit and make a list of things in your world that are beautiful and joyful and then go about the duty of delighting in them instead of stewing over problems you can’t solve. It is perhaps the most important work we can do!​

Blessings on your day!

​If I had a dollar for every conversation that contained a report of “busyness” I think I could buy something really big!  It seems like most conversations contain at least a partial list of things that we have done or need to do or are planning to do!  We have taken being busy to an all-time crazy level.  Somewhere along the way “multi-tasking” became a badge of honor and the art of “jam-packing” the family schedule has become a trend. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing at all.  We weren’t designed to run full tilt day after day…God intended something different for His children.

Sunday used to be observed as a day of rest, these days more often than not; it’s just a day to finish everything on our to-do list that didn’t get finished during the other six days of the week.  God made the day to rest and enjoy what He has created for us.  It’s supposed to be the day we spiritually and physically re-charge for a new week…so how are you doing with Sunday rest?  

Sitting still and relaxing isn’t something I do well…there is always something that needs to be done it seems, but I keep remembering a recent Sunday that was different…it was a Sunday as Sunday’s were intended to be.  We spent a gorgeous Sunday afternoon on a pontoon cruising around a lovely nearby lake with wonderful friends. I had to sit still because I didn’t have anywhere to go; I had to relax because I couldn’t bring any work along and it was terrific!  It was peaceful, calming, fun, beautiful…all the things a Sunday was created to be.  There was great food, excellent company, lots of laughter and beautiful scenery everywhere you looked. After several hours on the lake, we docked the boat and there was contentment and peace that made everything seem better. As we drove home, I realized what a simple afternoon it had been and I discovered I often underestimate the power of simple!

I heard a speaker explain once that the devil’s favorite tool to separate us from the loving will of the Father is busyness. He explained how easy it is for us to get distracted and cranky and tired and negative when we get too busy and overwhelmed…things just aren’t as clear when we’re so busy we can’t see straight.  I realized how true that was as I took the day to simply rest and enjoy some of life’s greatest simple pleasures.  If we looked at our task list, I’m guessing there are some things that could be crossed off.  There might be things there that we think nobody but us can do. There might be some things that we will do simply to impress others.  There might be some things there we’re just too stubborn to ask for help with, and there might even be some things there just to make us look busier than somebody else.  Humm... it’s worth taking a look!  I’ve decided to take a serious look at my list for the week and make sure I add some simple peaceful time.  After all, I don’t remember reading anywhere in Scripture “Blessed be the busiest for he shall enter heaven first.” However, Scripture does say, "He rested

 A Seed To Plant: Take a look at your task list for the week and see if you can’t dial down the busy a notch or two…Satan will hate it!

Blessings on your day!

​I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to make things better.  Sometimes loving Christians carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and run around with pure hearts trying to save the world.  I was speaking with someone not long ago and they were completely exasperated because of all the nasty stuff and unkind people in the world that didn’t act like they knew a thing about Jesus.  The whole conversation made my heart heavy and I realized I'm surprised at the things some folks think they have the right to say to others.  All too often someone will spout off a rude remark and when called on it, they snip back with a comment about free speech and being entitled to their own opinion    I’ve been noticing a growing number of “ugly words” lately so as I sat with that on my heart, God pointed me to this verse from Proverbs.

If you are someone who likes to make things better, this is the verse for you!  I realized after reading it a few times, I had the process all wrong!  It really isn’t about “fixing” the words and actions of others!  I can be upset by it, I can pray about it, I can even take a stand about it…but the truth of the matter is this…I can’t do a darn thing to change it!  Change has to come from within…change has to be desired. If I’m busy trying to change someone else, I’m guaranteed only one thing…disappointment!  Besides, my Mom would remind me I should keep my nose in my own business anyway.  When I read this verse again this morning the solution to the problem became crystal clear…I have to change MY behavior.  I can’t change someone else’s snappy rude tongue…but I can be in charge of my own.  I can make sure my words are pleasant and sweet like honeycomb.  God didn’t put me in charge of the world, the state, the county or even the town…He put me in charge of just this one person and after some prayerful time with this verse, I know exactly where I need to begin.  What if we actually realized that every word we speak could be healing? What if each sentence we uttered were crafted with that intent?  That would be pretty remarkable don’t you think?

The simple power of this Proverb was illustrated through a story I read not long ago.  I had actually forgotten about the story until I was writing this post.  The story involved a mom of six kids under 9. She and her husband have a deep commitment to the Lord and promised to accept lovingly all the children He chose to bless them with.  They love their life but the rude remarks from others can sometimes be heartbreaking to this mom.  She was telling the story about a disastrous grocery store adventure with her babies that had 5 of the six kids crying by the check-out lane.  She was completely frazzled and on the edge of tears herself.  Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, a woman stopped next to her and she braced herself for an ugly comment or rude remark about her large family but instead the two sentences spoken at that perfect moment changed her day completely.  The woman looked directly at the frazzled mom and said, “Bless you for saying yes! These are lucky children because they will have the courage of their mother and lady; you’ve got a lot of that because I’m not even brave enough to bring one of mine shopping with me!”  They shared a laugh and the frazzled mom was lifted…two little sentences is all it took!  One sweet word, one kind gesture completely absent of judgment or criticism or opinion worked magic.  I may not be able to change the world, but I can work harder at speaking kindly to everyone I meet and that just might change a thing or two all on its own.

 A Seed To Plant:  Randomly speak three kind sentences this week!

Blessings on your day!
 

​This Gospel reminds me how much Jesus wants us to “get it!”  Not only does he tell the parable, but he assembles the followers and explains it again.  I can see myself saying, “OK Jesus, let’s sit down and you can hit me with it again because I didn’t quite get it the first time.”  I am so very thankful that he is patient with my thick headedness and offers us his teaching again and again and sends his Holy Spirit to make it clear in prayer.

I recently had a long conversation with a friend who was having a meltdown due to the “state of the world”.  I agreed that there is no shortage of really lousy stuff goin on and I totally supported the meltdown because an occasional hissy fit is good for the soul.  When we spew out all our frustration, worry and fear it’s like cleaning house.  When we shove out the mess, we have an empty space but it’s up to us what we put back into that cleared out space.  If we rant and rave and stay stuck in the yuck nothing good happens to our soul, our attitude or our relationship with Jesus.  The point of a great meltdown is to get it all out and the next step is prayer…Lord I’ve cleared out the junk that was sitting heavy on my heart now help me fill it with YOU!

So how does that work exactly?  There are a couple of questions you can ask yourself.  As you feel the yuck creeping back and putting wrinkles in your peace the first question is “Are these thoughts of God or of evil?  Remember that God is a God of peace not turmoil.  Second question, “Will spending time and energy on this bring me closer to Jesus?” If the answer is no, then simply say “I send these unhelpful thoughts to the foot of the cross, Jesus please replace them with joy and peace.”  Third, fill your ears, heart and mind with something lovely instead of ugly.  Listen to a song or a podcast of a YouTube video designed to bring love, truth, joy or laughter into your day.  The greatest strategy for managing the behavior of a toddler is distraction…it works on grownups too. Praying a Rosary for your list of worries and people who are really dancing on your last nerve or who have really hurt you is a powerful tool for doing something good with something awful.  At the end of that Rosary close with the words, “Ok God, it’s yours…all of it, I’m letting go.”

When I listen to people say we are headed for sure disaster and the world is dark, I think of two things.  God’s mercy and Noah.  In God’s great mercy, when we face him at the end of our life we won’t be judged based on the actions, opinions or decisions of others.  We won’t be judged as a group or need to provide a list of our known associates on earth.  It’s just a solo event so isn’t it great that the only thing we will be judged on, is also the only thing we are in control of…ourselves!  His mercy is so fancy isn’t it!  As for Noah, he won the award for living among the greatest group of knuckleheads and off the rails idiots and what does scripture say about Noah?  Very simply, it says “He was a righteous man; Noah walked in faith with God.”  That’s it…that’s what it takes to rise about the yuck of the world; walk in faith with God.  Trust him, follow him, talk with him and wake up each day saying, “Hold on God, I’m coming…I wanna belong to you today more than I want to worry and stew and fret about what everybody else is doing.”  Say that, take a breath and then remember God can do anything and everything!

A Seed To Plant:  Go ahead and have a meltdown or throw a hissy fit, God won’t mind. Then ponder one of the questions or actions in this blog that can help you fill that empty spot well.  If you need someone to share your meltdown with, I’m happy to help!

Blessings on your day!
 

​Every now and again my efforts to be prepared, organized and thorough fall apart like a sandcastle in a rainstorm!  When that happens, I can be positive it’s God serving me a slice of humble pie and waiting with a lesson.  I was trying to be all fancy and impressive last week, and I had this magnificent new recipe all whipped up in the crock pot ready to go when I left the house to do a hundred things.  During one of my errands, I chatted with a frazzled mom who was in a rush to get home, get dinner, get one child to swim lessons and another to dance and the third to grandmas to finish a 4-H project for the fair and then pick up her house before anyone saw the disaster.  I thought to myself, poor thing, I’m so glad my dinner is bubbling away in the crock pot and my house is tidy.  Now, I certainly didn’t say that and I have certainly been in that mammas shoes more times than I can even count, but in that moment, I was feeling prouder than I should have!

A couple of hours later I pulled in the garage feeling all accomplished and took some groceries into the house and was surprised that I wasn’t greeted by the delicious smells coming from my fancy dinner in the crock pot.  Upon closer inspection, I realized the knob was on the low setting as directed, so I of course began to fuss about the darn broken crock pot.  As I spit and sputtered, I came to the humbling realization that I had never plugged the stupid thing in!  Wow…so much for being on top of everything!  The leftovers I served that night were much less impressive and I suddenly felt deflated.  Oh, and did I mention my clean floor was now a mess of dirt and broken glass as because I set a plant on the window to get some extra sun and the wind blew it off sending it crashing to the floor shattering the pot and scattering the mess everywhere.  As I began sweeping up the mess the sound of the beeping microwave heating the leftovers reminded me to look for the lesson!

My first attempt at finding the lesson was a little sassy,  I actually said, “Well fine, I guess I’m not supposed to be organized and think ahead, you’re trying to tell me I’m supposed to fly by the seat of my pants is that it?”  I stomped around the kitchen serving up day old spaghetti and sweeping up dirt while pouting.  I’m sure you can imagine how productive that was.  Before I went to sleep that night, I remember thinking with a softer heart, ok God, I’m done pouting please show me the lesson because I’m positive I’ve missed it completely!

The next morning I got word that a friend who had been waiting for weeks to hear about a new job got a call and was hired with a huge bonus and great benefits.  I heard about a family who has been waiting for months and months to adopt were suddenly on a plane to California to meet their soon to be born son and that a gentleman who had been suffering from a mystery sickness finally got a diagnosis and the treatment was simple and completely effective and he was feeling miraculously better in just a couple of treatments.  After responding to all three of those fabulous messages I sat down to pray in thanksgiving for their good news and came across this verse from Acts.  I once again was flabbergasted with the Fathers perfect timing and humorously direct response!

The lesson was a big one; I can be as prepared and organized and fancy as I want but only he knows the details and the timing.  I have no power and when I try to think I do and I spend too much time being all puffed up about my “skills” I fail to let him have control and I get caught up in my own efforts and think they matter.  He was poking me right in my pride and then he swooped in the next day with not one, but three amazing examples of his perfect timing.  I can be as ready and prepared as I want, but I’m not in charge and sometimes I just have to wait.  I don’t always get things my way and don’t have all the answers.  The lady waiting for the job, nearly took a different one with less pay and no benefits because she was discouraged with the wait.  The couple waiting for an adoption thinking God had abandoned them is now at home with their perfect son and the man who suffered for months wound up with a much less serious affliction that is treatable with a simple and inexpensive procedure.  There was great blessing on their waiting…I think God was trying to remind me that is always the case!   And one more detail to the story, in his great humor, a friend saw that fabulous new recipe I had put in my stupid crock pot on my counter, and she told me not to bother with it because she made it and it was awful!  He’s so funny!

A Seed To Plant:  What are you waiting for?  Take that list to the Father in prayer and give him permission to take his time and then pray for the grace of patience!

Blessings on your day!

​Seems like a simple thought doesn’t it.  So many talk about following Jesus, but I listened to a great speaker recently who put some powerful truth to those words and what it really means to be a disciple or follower of Jesus.  The whole short talk left me feeling like I’ve got some thinking, praying and changing to do.  Here’s what I learned…

In the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5,6 and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spells out the new law of the kingdom.  He teaches and preaches and explains.  He highlights important things we need to do to follow him like be humble, love our enemy and live without judging others.  He also calls us to focus on the condition of our hearts.  When we decide to follow Jesus, we think different, look different and act different.  We become different than the rest of the world.  That’s pretty big stuff for most of us who spend a lot of time trying to blend in, go with the flow and not make a spectacle of ourselves but the truth is, if we really want to follow Jesus, we’re going to be different. Chances are, others are gonna notice our differences and call us out on them; what will we do?

In the next three chapters of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus shifts from teaching to application.  We can read the ten miracle stories where Jesus showed he had power and authority over everything.  He had power over disease, death, wind, evil, political structures and anything the evil one could stir up.  (He still does!) In a mighty way, he took his message from the classroom to the streets and showed us what being his follower looked like.  Come follow me said the man who had no place to lay his head.  I’m so incredibly thankful that many did just that and paved the way for all disciples to follow.  

The speaker made a powerful point that made me squirm in my chair a little when he said the only thing stopping us from being a true follower of Jesus (one of those folks who is different) is excuses.  We make all kinds of them, and we try to justify so many things because we aren’t so good at sacrifice, suffering and following him which means taking up our cross.  I’ve said dozens of times before, I’m much better at dragging my crosses than picking them up!  After giving all this some thought I realized it was true…I was full of excuses that prevented me from completely following Jesus.  

The speaker also mentioned that we can’t follow Jesus part time.  There is no position for part time disciple…truly following him means reconfiguring everything, detaching from things of the world and living to please the Father and not people.  Phew, that’s tuff!  I have a better understanding now about the rich young man and the narrow gate!  The question is, do I want what’s on the other side of that narrow gate?  I’ve been wondering why I’m so attached to being comfortable and accepted?  If I know I am God’s beloved, why is it so hard to detach from worldly things even though I know he only desires my holiness and sainthood and will provide for my every need?  We grumble, complain and worry about the state of affairs swirling around us but yet we cling so hard to the world and resist being the kind of “different” it takes to enter Paradise.  I think before I can truly “Come Follow Him” I have some questions to pray about.

A Seed To Plant:  Which of the questions above do you need to stop and think about a bit?

Blessings on your day!

​As I was washing dishes, I noticed some little ants crawling across my kitchen floor.  That isn’t usually something to sing about but for some rather odd reason I watched them a minute and burst into a rousing chorus of “The ants go marching two by two!” (I think I might be depending on the grandkids for music selection too much!) Anyway, after I finished singing and washing the dishes, I investigated and discovered the ants seemed to be coming and going from a kingdom they had established under my stove.  Not good!  So, I did what any woman who doesn’t want to look under the stove would do…I sprayed some Raid right under the stove and tried to forget the whole unfortunate thing.  The next morning, I walked into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot, and I discovered the little guys had invited their friends.  I didn’t know what was going on under my stove, but it seemed to be all the rave among the ants in Clinton County because I was pretty sure they had all come!

There was only one solution…pull out the stove and investigate!  Now I’m
 gonna be honest, cleaning under the stove isn’t something I do on the regular.  I’m sure my mother did, but not this girl, so I was a wee bit apprehensive about what I might discover under there.  As luck would have it, my handsome husband was happy to help me yank out the appliance.  What happened next was ugly!  There were dust bunnies…no they were more like dust elephants, a pencil, and a few other assorted small things that couldn’t be accurately identified. Then I saw it…among the dusty rubble I discovered the main attraction; run-away blueberries!  It seems there must have been some sort of catastrophe that occurred during the making of a fruit salad earlier in the week. As I watched a minute, I became fascinated by the behavior of the ants. I was amazed at the precision and teamwork of my little un-invited guests. Everything about their work was orderly and calculated.  If you’ve never watched ants at work, it’s fascinating but I would recommend putting down a small bit of food OUTSIDE to see the show rather than inside your home! 

The day after the ant event, I was thinking about writing about the little guys and decided to see what Scripture had to say about ants and imagine my surprise when I came across this verse from Proverbs. I witnessed right under my stove what this verse points out.  They live outside, they come in, find the food under my stove, assemble themselves to remove and store the tasty treat, all in the correct season; summer!  So, do things happen randomly?  I don’t think so! I think God is that “in charge” and if He designed an itsy-bitsy ant to be wise enough to tackle such a task, what does that say about the way He designed us?  Give that a little thought today!

Then came the scrubbing!  I kept wondering what my mother would have thought if she could see under my stove and I felt this urge to scrub fast as lightning before anyone rang the doorbell and wanted to come in for coffee.  I didn’t want anyone to see what I’d been hiding under that large kitchen appliance and then it hit me…I do the same thing with my sinfulness and my flaws.  I want to keep them hidden, pretending they aren’t there.  As long as I can keep them hidden under a few good deeds and a big smile I can pretend they don’t exist…just like keeping the stove in its spot concealed the mess. Truth is, the mess is still there even if it isn’t visible and it just builds until we confront it.  I decided the first thing I was going to do after the clean-up was finished was take some time to acknowledge my sinfulness and ask forgiveness.  I even made a list and wrote it all down…talk about facing the mess!  The clean-up I left to the Father that loves me…and already knew what it looked like before I started.  Just as soon as we pushed the stove back in place, Dave looked at me and lovingly said, “Hey, since we’re at it, let’s pull out the refrigerator and clean under that too!”  God loves to make us humble doesn’t He!

A Seed To Plant:  Go outside with some breadcrumbs and find an ant hill.  Lay down the crumbs and as you watch the wonder of that whole process unfold, ask God’s forgiveness for your sins one by one as you watch the ants carry away the crumbs.

Blessings on your day!

Happy (almost) Independence Day!  It's a great day for family, picnics, parades and fun.  As you spend the day celebrating our freedom and the fine men and women who fought and continue to fight to keep this nation free, I hope you take a minute to thank the true author of freedom...God the Father.

Freedom is a funny word.  We sometimes think it means the absence of rules and structure designed to bog us down and hold us back. This country was founded by people in search of religious freedom.  Today we live in a world sprinkled with people who think religions only purpose is to take away our freedom.  If we think about true freedom, we're really talking about a life spent in the loving embrace of a God who chose us and loves us abundantly despite our sins and our failings. He wraps us lovingly in His arms and he sets forth His instructions for us to live by.  Being obedient to His instruction doesn't bind us or hold us back; rather it gives us the freedom to trust Him completely...with every detail of our days.  Following His simple, loving instruction gives us freedom from worry, freedom from fear, freedom from destruction.  He IS freedom!
As our nation celebrates its 250th birthday, there is great cause to stop and ponder what the sacrifice for that freedom has been and who has paid that price. There is a long list of those who sacrificed greatly to ensure religious freedom in this nation.  The list of saintly folks who fought battle after battle to ensure our right to worship God is long indeed and the list of those who have shown us how to live the Gospel as we have grown and developed as a nation is even longer.  Folks founded this country with religious freedom as a cornerstone, but it has taken enormous amounts of mercy, perseverance and faith to make it reality.  On the political front, of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, most were met with personal disaster for their bold leadership.  Among them are stories of prison, property loss, home burning, financial ruin and wounds of war.  They sacrificed a great deal to forge the path of freedom in this nation so as we grill burgers and watch fireworks on the 4th it would be a great idea to remember all of these folks in our prayers.  We don’t have to know all of their names, just thankfully remember that we wouldn’t be here as Christians or as Americans without them.

I hope you have a wonderful summer day!  Be safe, be thankful and walk in His light and be free!

A Seed To Plant: Say two thank you prayers today for your freedom; one to God and one for someone who sacrificed to make God’s freedom possible!
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Blessings on your day!

​A good number of us wake up each morning and choose to pray and invite God to help us live a saintly day. I don’t know about you, but I put the whole weight of discipleship on my shoulders.  I often think Christ’s love is connected to MY choices, My sins, MY behavior and actions.  This verse is always a good reminder that most of the time I get it backwards…he picked me first!
 I recently heard Fr. Dave Pivonka say, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make him love us less.”  This is a line that has been rumbling through my thoughts for days.  In human thinking it’s really hard to wrap your mind around that statement.  We base love on words like earned, deserved and measured but God doesn’t know those words.  Being loved by him isn’t about a task list or a performance evaluation…it just is.  He loves us because he created us and made us worthy of his love.
Fr. Dave’s powerful line has changed my perspective on a few things.  First of all, if I can’t make him love me more, I should ask him to show me how I can love him more.  The second thing on my heart is checking my motivation…am I doing things to “look holy” or am I honestly doing things to “be holy”.  The third thing that’s really making me think, Fr. Dave’s statement is true for everyone…even the people I have a hard time loving.  If I can’t make God love me less neither can anyone else he created and chose so if he loves them, I need to work on loving them too.  Who knew one sentence could mean so much.
 
A Seed To Plant: Spend some time really praying with Fr. Dave’s words and see where the Father lovingly leads you.
Blessings on your day!



 

​There are a few things that I’m ok with having just a part of.  I don’t mind mowing part of the lawn or washing part of the windows or eating part of the brussel sprouts, but there are some things I want all of!  Carrot cake, my favorite movie for the tenth time and baby giggles are just a few of those things I want ALL of!    As I read these words from St. Mark not long ago my mind seemed to get stuck on the word “all”.  Four times he said it; all, not part or some, but all.  After sitting with this verse for a bit I realized there was a lesson!

I think I’m often guilty of “how much will do” thinking.  I sometimes want to do things in a hurry with just enough effort to say I’ve finished but I can honestly say I don’t always go that extra mile with the stuff that’s not my favorite.  I can wash all the main floor windows and rationalize skipping the basement windows because nobody really lives down there so who will notice.  I can feel pretty good about sweeping around the garage rugs instead of picking them all up, giving them a good shake and doing the job with full effort.  As I’ve been thinking about the word ALL, I’ve had to ask myself how many things do I just stay on the edges of without fully jumping all in.

Many times the past several days the Lord has gently drawn my attention to the things that I just puddle around the edges of.  I say I want to grow in my knowledge of Scripture, but what have I really done to make that a reality?  I say I want to get healthy and lose weight, but have I gone all in to make the necessary changes, or do I just want to do a few things and pout because the result isn’t what I’d like.  I can say I want to see others with eyes of mercy instead of eyes that judge but am I really prayerfully trying to make those changes?  I can say I want more time to read things that fill my soul with goodness but how many minutes a day do I waste looking at a screen?  I can say I want to do more acts of service and charity, but what am I actually doing to serve?  If all my thoughts remain just thoughts, I’ll continue to skirt the change and hover on the edge.  I don’t think that’s the best plan!

Christ reveals himself to us in several ways and Scripture is one of them.  I think in this verse he had a lot to reveal to me.  I’ve spent the better part of two weeks thinking and praying about how   giving him my ALL connects to the silly things I can’t seem to get right here on earth.  Seriously, if I can’t go all in with the fruits and vegetables or with the off button on my computer how can I expect to ever be able to love him with ALL my heart, soul, mind and strength?  I got a little rattled just thinking about the consequence of living my faith on the edge instead of all in!  It was right at that moment of; “holy cow, I’m in big trouble”, that he made me realize the two are intimately connected.  Learning to go all in with things of earth is how we learn to go all in for him.  If I were to offer each of those tasks, I’m on the edge of to him as an act of love, he will meet me where my strength ends and carry me through the tough parts with his mighty strength.  I need to trust that his power is more than enough and his grace is sufficient.  I have to ask him to meet me in those situations where I’m on the edge and ask him to walk with me and help me give my all…for HIM not for me!  Sounds simple doesn’t it!  I’m ready to get off the edge, go all in and make some things happen.  How about you?

A Seed To Plant: Make a list of the things you’re on the edge of?  Lift those things up the the Father and ask him to help you go all in!​

Blessings on your day!

​Happiness is a curious thing!  Everybody seems to want it and one quick google search can reveal countless sites about how to get it.  I even discovered some “happiness retreats” where folks could go to find happiness.  In two days, for a mere $4,000 dollars (plus travel and accommodation expenses) you could be taught how to identify happiness and then seek happiness for yourself.  I found some pretty crazy stuff!  It all left me thinking…we make things so hard sometimes. This post is all about finding happiness and the good news is…it’s free!  Since the Father who created us and loves us is also the creator of happiness that seems like the logical place to start. Each letter of the word is a thought or action you can start right now to seek and feel happiness.

H: Holy is His name!  It sounds crazy but if you’re feeling worried or cranky or any other emotion that is soaking up your happy, put the attention where it should be; on Him.  Stop for a minute and say Holy is your name God, Jesus, I trust you, Father I praise you, Mighty God, I thank you.  You’ll be shocked at how fast your attention shifts from you to him and you feel lightness come over you.

A: Attitude is the big thing!  There are always two ways to look at things; this hurts me or this helps me. Struggles and suffering make happiness tough to attain if we look at things the first way and it sucks us right in to the “woe is me” thinking that makes happiness impossible.  Instead realize that struggle and suffering are necessary for heaven and that God is more present in these times.  We also have to remember that tough things come and go, just like easy things; life is meant to be a cycle not a straight line.

P: Pray! (you saw that one comin didn’t you J) Tell God you’re cranky and ask him to bring you through whatever it is that is making you feel unhappy.  He made you; he loves you and he truly wants his children to be happy.  Talk to him about it and ask him to show you what he’s trying to teach you in this situation.  If that seems too simple; give it a try and see for yourself.

P: Pass on some kindness and mercy.  I don’t think there is anything that will bring you out of a slump faster than doing something for someone else.  When you’re feeling grumpy or frustrated doing a good deed for another, especially the person who made you cranky is the farthest thing from your mind but purposefully thinking about the needs and happiness of another is a powerful thing.  The thing about happiness is it’s a bit contagious so start some and you’ll be surprised how quickly it lands back on you.

Y: You are HIS!  In the midst of all the things that are sucking away your happiness, remind yourself again and again that you belong to him!  Nothing is going to happen that doesn’t have a purpose according to his plan.  He will never leave you or forsake you or give you more than you can bear.  I mean really, we’re talking about the God who parted the Red Sea, helped Paul escape prison with a dozen guards watching over him and who fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Surely you don’t think your unhappy situation is more than he can handle.  He can do anything, including take care of you, who he made perfectly and wonderfully!

Our happiness is rooted in the God who loves and teaches us constantly.  Sometimes his lessons come during tough times, but the happiness rooted in him is the best kind!  So, pick a letter and go be happy!
 
A Seed To Plant: Write these thoughts down and put them somewhere you can grab it when you feel like you could use a little more happy in your day; then pick a letter and get started!

Blessings on your day!

It amazes me how many times just the right words come at just the right time.  Last week I took my own advice and started making a list of things to focus on during this new church season.  I kept circling back to some habits and attitudes that I really wanted to root out of my life, so I took it to prayer asking for a plan of action.  What followed was truly the work of the fancy Father!

Maybe you’re like me and you have that pesky list of “things” you wish were different.  I can’t tell you how many times I go to confession with the same stinkin list as the time before.  As I was praying about all of this, I got a little attitude and actually had the nerve to say something like, really God, I’ve been asking you for help with this for such a long time, when are you going to help me root this out of my life? I know…how sassy of me!
The very next day, I was listening to Fr. Dave Pivonka on the Hallow app and he told a story that left me speechless.  It was a story about a young Friar with a bad habit.  This Friar was a smoker and he realized it was terrible for his health and didn’t make him a very positive example for the young people he worked with on campus, so he asked the Lord for the grace to stop.  Weeks passed and he still hadn’t made any progress at kicking the bad habit.  He told Fr. Dave he wasn’t sure God was hearing his plea.  Fr. Dave advised him to take his request to Adoration and present it and then just sit and listen.  The young Friar did just that and he was astonished when a few minutes later he felt the Lord say to him, just quit and I’ll give you the grace to keep going. 

I realized that I am the young Friar!  I keep asking God to “do it” for me!  Lord, give me the grace, the strength the discipline and I’ll get it tackled…it’s as if I’m depending on him to do the work…like inviting him in is all that is required of me.  No wonder I get so frustrated, I’ve got it all wrong!  The Lord made it clear to the Friar that the first step was his…and the first step is mine.  Once the steps are taken, the commitments and sacrifices are underway that’s when God slathers us with every single grace we need!  Over and over, I’ve asked for help but I really think I was just saying, Lord, I’ll let you go ahead and do it for me and please don’t make it too hard or make me have to change too much and let me know when we’re finished…ok!

As I’ve prayed and thought about this a lot the past several days I realize that these “things” that need to be rooted out are my crosses to bear and he’s absolutely going to help me carry them but I have to pick it up and begin…he can’t help me if I don’t  get started.  Our crosses are what refine and strengthen our holiness and they are for us…God is already perfect and holy, he doesn’t need any crosses, those are for us!  My prayer has taken a big shift…I’m no longer asking him to swoop in and give me the grace but rather give me the desire to get started doing the work and the reminder to keep an eye out for all the ways he’s helping me with his grace along the way.
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A Seed To Plant: Where do you need to get started?  Pray about a plan to begin!
Blessings on your day!
 
 

​I am happily typing the seasons first edition of the blog from the screen porch!  I’m so excited to be sitting here as the sun sets listening to all the neighbor kids going past on their bikes and scooters with ball bats and soccer balls and laughter.  Everything just feels better when a fresh new season peeks around the corner!  As the weather changes this week, so has the church season.  We’ve headed into a long stretch of Ordinary Time and Catholic Priests everywhere reach for the green vestments.  As we head into this new church season, we might not know exactly what to do with it.  Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter are specific seasons with specific objectives but now we’re beginning a nearly six-month stretch, and it can be easy to think this season is just “ordinary” since there are no “big events” but that would be a missed opportunity!
The season of Ordinary Time helps us look at the life, teaching, parables and miracles of Jesus.  We linger here for a good long while because there is so much to soak in.  The color for this season is green like new life, sprouting and growing and that’s just what our prayer life and relationship with Jesus could be doing this season too.  It’s the perfect time to challenge ourselves to learn or study something new and grow in faith and knowledge or take a deep dive into Scripture, saints or anything that can help us grow in holiness.  I’d like to offer some things to spend some time praying with during this long and hopefully fruitful season.
*How can I prioritize time to pray and listen to God instead of just seeking him when I need something?
*What am I hesitant to surrender to God?
*How big is your fig leaf?  Adam and Eve used fig leaves to “hide from the Lord” in fear so spend some time with your fears…how big are they?  What are they masking?  What is it you’re trying to hide from the Lord?
*How can I be more grateful?
*What do I do when I sin or make mistakes, do I use them as opportunities to ask for God’s grace and forgiveness while learning from them and finding the root or do I respond with guilt and self-pity?
*Am I more joyful, grateful, peaceful and content than I was a year ago?  How can I grow in these areas?
*How does my screen time compare to the time I spend growing in faith and knowledge?
 
A Seed To Plant: Spend some time with the list and pick one to begin with.  Invite the Lord into that question and allow him to lead you on a journey of growth and new life in him.
Blessings on your day!

Did you ever lose something important?  It can be a real pain in the neck to stop everything and look for something we misplace like a phone, keys or shoes.  I was looking for something the other day, and I remembered the three things my dad used to say when we lost something.  Sometimes he would say, “Good grief child, you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your shoulders!”  If he didn’t say that, then he would offer the following helpful tidbit, “Well, I don’t know where it is, but I know you’ll find it in the last place you look!” The last really helpful thing he would say was, “Humm, I can’t imagine what happened to it since you put it right back in the proper place it came from!”  I can laugh now, but when I was a little girl, I didn’t find much humor in his wisdom.

Lost stuff is one thing, lost souls are quite another.  When Jason was little, he was shopping with me and while I was busy looking at a stuffed rack of winter coats, he crawled inside one of the circular clothing racks and hid.  I panicked when I couldn’t find him.  After a few short seconds of frantically calling his name my racing heart slowed a little when he peeked his little chubby cheeks through the clothes and screamed “I’m right here mom!” I’ll never forget that feeling and the hug that came right before the scolding was the best hug ever!  I went through a time this spring where I felt a little lost.  I was continuing my daily prayer but I just felt like God wasn’t as close as he usually was.  I felt like I was drifting away and I just couldn’t find my way back.  I know it’s not uncommon for people to go through periods of dryness in their prayer life, but I sure didn’t like it.  When things were most difficult the evil one was trying to convince me  that God had abandoned me  soI began to pray that God would find me and bring me back and close the gap I felt between us.  That was my prayer for a few weeks and on the darkest day, I read these words from the Prophet Malachi, return to me, that I may return to you.

Once those words were stuck in my head and my heart, I began to realize God hadn’t gone anywhere!  He is the fixed object in this relationship…I am the variable.  In order for him to come to me, I had to go to him.  I had been seeking the good feeling of his presence, I wanted his blessing and his grace, but I wasn’t seeking his presence.  I wanted a big heap of me and my happy blessed life with a side of God…he wanted it the other way around.  I wondered why he wasn’t answering my prayers and bringing me comfort and peace; he was just frantically calling my name trying to bring me back home to his plan.  I was uncomfortable because I wasn’t where he was asking me to be.  He wanted more of my time, my heart and my trust.  He wanted me to return to him so he could return to me.  When I was trying to find my way and figure out what I needed to change, scripture tells me that all the while, he was frantically calling my name and searching, much like the day I lost Jason and he rejoiced greatly when I returned. The day I got it figured out was a great day and that is exactly the day I remembered the story of a lost Jason.  I have no doubt he popped that story into my head just to prove a point, and I’ve never felt so loved!  I guess my dad’s wisdom was right.  He was the last place I looked, and it’s amazing how easy it is to find things when they are in their proper place…God first not me first!

A Seed To Plant:  If you happen to be feeling a little distant from God, ask him to woo you back then have the courage to return with your whole heart.

Blessings on your day!

​Have you ever made something a lot harder than it needed to be?  I remember when we were knee deep in a remodeling project and feeling pretty overwhelmed.  I remember having specific problem with one thing; the clothesline.  I grew up hanging out laundry and it’s just kind of a thing I love to do, and I do it a lot.  With the remodel plans we were having trouble finding a good spot for the door.  I wanted it to be convenient to the laundry room and clothesline, but I didn’t want the door in our bedroom, so we were baffled.  We must have gotten out the house plans four or five times to think the problem through. One evening when we had the plans spread out on the table, Kevin, who was about ten, walked through the kitchen, and asked what we were thinking about.  We told him we were trying to find a place for the door close to the close line and we were having trouble finding a solution.  He studied the blueprints for about 30 seconds and said, “Well, why don’t you just move the clothesline.” He ran out to play, and Dave and I just stared at each other thinking; boy did we ever make this hard…leave it to the kid to point out the obvious!

Satan likes to discourage and distract us, making things seem harder than they really are.  Getting to heaven should be the goal of us all but sometimes we can get pretty tangled up in the rules and our sinfulness.  God knows we’re gonna sin…He gets that; that’s why he is so merciful.  We can get ourselves in trouble though, when we give in to satan’s stinkin thinkin and tell ourselves we aren’t worthy of God’s love and mercy.  Duhh…we aren’t, but that doesn’t matter one little bit because he doesn’t give us his love and mercy because we deserve it, he gives it to us because he’s God and he wants to.  There is no deserving or earning involved.  When we get down on ourselves and our sinful nature it’s easy to think getting to heaven is way too hard and we are way too weak and small.  When that happens, we are forgetting the one thing Jesus said that was designed to bring us into balance…believe!  Believe in the goodness and mercy of God.  Believe in the almighty power of a loving God who can do anything he wants.  Believe in the fact that our faith is a mystery that we aren’t ever going to fully understand; nor do we have to in order to receive the full effect of its benefits.

Our job is to believe that God will patch our leaks, chips and cracks.  Our job is to believe that in our weakness he will show his strength.  Our job is to believe that his love is mighty enough to part the Red Sea so it can do anything we need. Our job is to believe that God loves us in spite of everything we might point out as weak or unlovable. Our job is to believe that we are created, protected and guided by a God who loves us with his whole heart and wants only one thing; to bring us home into his arms. Our job isn’t really that hard; you might just need to move your clothes line out of the way so you can have room to believe a little more.

A Seed To Plant: Make a list of the things that are getting in the way of believing that God has you completely in the palm of his hand.

Blessings on your day!