Joyful Words Blog
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
– Psalm 119:105
– Psalm 119:105
|
You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness and to walk humbly
with our God. Micah 6:8 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 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 bad 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!
1 Comment
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20
Every now and again I hear something that just grabs me right by the ear drums! I heard a speaker named Fr. Steve Mattson recently who was talking about the need for more prayer and he made some excellent points and had some great stories. He is a terrific speaker so I was pretty tuned in but then he said something that made my jaw drop. He said, “People are sleeping together before they are praying together!” He went on to say that praying with another person is such an intimate thing to do many people find it too uncomfortable. My head just couldn’t let go of that thought! After I had puddled around with that idea for a few weeks another one came to mind…if prayer was what people in a relationship did first, how would that change the relationship and even more important, how would it change the culture? It’s been weeks since I heard Fr. Mattson talk and I’m still thinking about it! As a wife and mother, I am constantly examining the way I fulfill my roles. More often than not, I’m asking for forgiveness for not getting things right with my husband and my kids. In my search to do my job better, I often watch and listen to women I respect. I like to know how others do it well. I like to talk to moms and dads who have raised great kids and couples who have beautiful loving marriages. I want to know how to get it right! In all of my conversations I have made an important discovery. The folks who seem to “get it right” are the ones who are people of prayer. Christ is at the center of their marriage, their friendships and their parenting and it sticks out all over! I saw a billboard once that said “Prayer changes everything!” I suppose that is a completely true and powerful statement. If any of us have complained about the decline in the morals and ethics of our society, I think it’s fair to say we know the antidote…prayer. Many of you reading this are great prayer warriors. We are great at praying for others in need but how are we at praying WITH others? If it’s about as comfortable for you as burlap underwear then there is only one thing to do about that…practice! I’m not asking you to stand on the corner and pray out loud for an hour, I’m asking you to find one person you can pray with. If we pray with others, we can be seen as a person of prayer and boy could the world use more of those. If someone you know is having a rough day, ask them if they would like to pray for a minute. You can pray together a familiar prayer like the Lord’s Prayer or maybe share a scripture verse…or it can be as simple as “Lord, please bless my friend who is struggling today.” The power of that simple act will overwhelm you! When people see the power of prayer in action, they become people of prayer themselves and it will have a ripple effect. We have no problem playing cards or games together, sharing stories about the people we work with, or discussing our favorite sport or recipe until we’re blue in the face but none of those things have potential to re-direct a life toward Christ like sharing prayer does. If we want the morals and behavior of a culture to shift, we have to start the shift ourselves and it starts one shared prayer at a time. A Seed To Plant: Pick one person to pray with this week. For extra credit, make it someone you are really close to…a teenager would be a double bonus. Even if they decline the invitation, a powerful message has been sent anyway! Blessings on your day! Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. John 14:27
When I was a teenager my dad had a blue 1950 Chevy pickup that we called the “Blue Goose.” My brothers thought it was cool; it had a rounded cab, a fifth window and the gear shift on the steering column. It was a classic. I however had a whole different opinion. The rule at our house was; before you could drive a car with an automatic transmission, you had to learn to drive the truck. If you had a finesse for driving a stick you didn’t have too much trouble with the truck but if you weren’t patient and didn’t do everything right, the gears would get stuck, which required putting on the park brake and getting out to open the hood and fiddle with something under the hood to “un-stick” it. As a teenage girl on the edge of driving I used to have nightmares about that darn truck! I didn’t want to be the one holding up a line of traffic at the stop sign because I had to fiddle under the hood to make the truck go again. As I was beginning to prepare myself for going off to college on a bike, a wonderful thing happened. My high school English teacher who was also my brother’s basketball coach stopped over one day after school. I remember answering the door in a panic wondering what I could have done at school to warrant a visit from a high school teacher! I quickly came to my senses and realized the reason he was at our door had to be because of something Jim did…not me! As it turned out, the visit had nothing to do with us, but the outcome of that visit impacted my life in a fabulous way! Mr. Cannon came that day to see if dad would be interested in selling the “Blue Goose”. Much to my life-altering delight, dad said yes and I was saved from the horror of the stuck gears! Looking back, I’m still thankful that I was saved from the “Blue Goose!” I panicked at the thought of being “stuck” and not knowing how to get “un-stuck” so I could move on. I think sometimes in our daily life we can get stuck the same way I was afraid that old pickup was going to. We can become stuck in our worry, and our vision of the future and in our fear of the unknown. Mr. Cannon was the man who saved me from that particular worry, but when the relief wore off, I probably let myself entertain another worry in its place. I’m sure I probably let myself get “stuck” in a whole different spot. I read the other day that humans are the only creatures God made with the ability to anticipate future events. As you might imagine, that is both a blessing and a curse! Some days I’m grateful for that ability and other days I think I’d rather be a puppy, bounding around without a care beyond the current moment. After some prayer and thought on the topic, here’s what I came up with…God gave us that ability so we could trust Him. It is through trusting Him that we grow closer to Him and His will for our life. How often though do we get “stuck” in our worry? When the “Blue Goose” came to mind, I realized there are a million times in my life that I got “stuck” in my worry and it was all such an enormous waste of time and energy. Sarah Young, in her book Jesus Calling, reminds us to gently call out the name of Jesus when we feel our gears getting stuck in worry or dwelling on future events. He’s there in an instant when we call His name and expectantly wait for Him to deliver us from our worry with His sweet peace. We have two choices, we can either enjoy the presence of worries or we can enjoy the presence of Christ working through our worries and stuck gears. Because we have the ability to anticipate future events, worry is an occasional “given” however, the way we work through the worry is important and its the perfect way to build trust in the Father who adores us. Don’t pray for a day free from worry; thank Him for the worry and then pray for the strength and trust to call out the name of Jesus so He can un-stick your gears allowing you to move forward and come closer to Him. A Seed To Plant: Write down all the things that are making you feel “stuck”. Hold that list in your hands and say, “God, Father of Peace, please take the worry of ______from my life and replace it with your peace allowing me to trust You more.” Blessings on your day! I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in
your grandmother…2 Timothy 1:5 Monday would have been my Grandma Thelma’s 107th birthday. She’s been gone for 17 years so you would think a fond thought or two would be the regular way her grandchildren would recall the day. But then again, it’s Thelma McClaskey we’re talkin about and she was anything but regular! One of my cousins put a post on Facebook about Grandmas birthday and three days later the comments are still flyin! Each time a family member posts a comment, it creates a half dozen more memories. I have found it absolutely amazing that after 17 years a group of cousins hundreds and hundreds of miles apart can talk for days and not run out of things to say. Grandma simply was one of the most beautiful souls to ever wander this earth. As I’ve read and re-read the conversation I’ve come to the conclusion that we have an amazing hero in our Grandma! When we hear the word hero we often think of brave folks who do big dangerous jobs to save others. I guess Grandma gave a different definition of the word hero. If you look at all the things that our culture is short on, you’ll come up things like honesty, peacefulness, humility and unselfish service. If we had more of all those things this world would look and feel a lot different! If I were to define what made Grandma a hero, it would boil down to the way she treated others and lived her life demonstrating those things our culture is missing today. Grandma taught more than 20 grandbabies how to live like the kind of hero this world needs and the thing that made her lessons so spectacular…she taught them with such humility she would probably deny the fact that she did anything special at all. To all those of you who never had the delightful pleasure of meeting my Grandma, allow me to teach you Thelma’s formula for being a hero in a world that desperately needs some. Lesson 1 – Serve others; the best stuff, not the leftovers! We all remember fondly her homemade chocolate syrup, cookies, cinnamon rolls and juicy fruit gum. She always had it ready on Sunday in case she had visitors…always! She knew we loved it and she made sure she offered it with love. Lesson 2- Don’t waste anything and appreciate what you have! She re-used everything from plastic bags and bottles to rain water. She washed off the old tin-foil and it became star-shaped “heat-shields” for her giant Christmas tree lights and the toy cars, motorcycles and tractors stayed in the toy box if they had even a wheel or two that still worked. She taught us that if you “have” you are blessed it has nothing to do with “having the best”…she simply stopped the lesson with if you “have” because the world is full of those who “don’t have” so we are blessed. Lesson 3 – Kind words, warm hugs and big smiles are the greatest way to share God’s love. She always had lots of all three and she used them regularly! She didn’t tolerate an “ugly tongue”. She told her granddaughters more than once, “pretty is; is pretty does.” Lesson 4 – Pray, then pray harder and then pray even harder than that! She used to walk circles through her little house praying her Rosary each day. She liked to take care of her body and her soul at the same time! Sunday morning mass was the highlight of the week and it was as automatic as breathing! Lesson 5 – Work hard and then rest and enjoy life. Grandma raised 8 kids without indoor plumbing. She didn’t have running water or a washing machine until she was nearly 70 years old! There was no point in complaining, that’s just how it was. But when the chores were done, you could find her in her chair catching a KC Royals game on the TV or the radio. Lesson 6 – Keep your priorities straight! First is faith, second is family. If you do the first two right, nothing else really matters! She taught us more; so much more and she taught by example…she was a hero indeed! Maybe you have a hero like my Grandma too. I think we could make this world brighter and richer if we tried just a little harder to put the lessons they taught us to work each day. A Seed To Plant: Pick any one of Grandma’s six lessons and put it in action…God will smile and the world will change! Blessings on your day! …I have called you by name and you are mine…Isaiah 43
The sound of our name can be such a sweet sound. There is something about a sincere hello followed by my name that makes me smile. Think for a minute about all the places you find your name. I thought recently about the power of our name as I wrote the name of each of my little lovelies about a dozen times. I put their name on all their books, on a lunch magnet, on a coat hook, on a behavior chart and several other places throughout the room. I want them to know they belong…that they have a spot and that somebody knows them by name. As I wrote their name all those times it was my task to pray for each one of them as I wrote their name. Our prayers should be specific so I wanted to lift them each up in prayer by name. One day shortly before school started my daughter visited the classroom and she was helping me put things in order. She sat down and stared at the book shelf with all the children’s names and just smiled as if she was lost in thought. After a few minutes had passed, I asked her what she was thinking and she said, “I wonder if that is a little like heaven, you know, with my name written on a spot just for me.” As we were talking about it I remembered a thought I hadn’t thought since I was a little girl. My Grandpa Ted owned a grocery store in the small town where he lived. Inside the store was the town post office and Grandpa was not only the store owner but the postmaster. We were never allowed to go into the room where he sorted mail and took care of postal business but I remember the rows of mail boxes. The doors to the small boxes were shiny gold with ornate designs. Each box had a little window and a dial that was turned to match the correct combination. Each box had a number on it assigned to a specific person. I used to sit and stare at those beautiful gold boxes and imagine heaven to be sort of like those beautiful windows. I thought each box would have a name and it we would all know our spot when we got to heaven. At the age of 4, those rows of fancy golden boxes were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen…thank goodness my vision of heaven has expanded, but part of the image is the same…I like the thought of my Heavenly Father knowing exactly who I am and I work hard every day to try to get myself to heaven so I can take my spot in a space meant just for me. I taught a class last week called “Passing Through the Narrow Gate” and as I prepared for the class one of the things I found very interesting was that in the time of Jesus, many of the big cities were surrounded by walls and there would be huge entrance gates where caravans and large groups of people could enter. It was easy to get into the city that way. Each city also had a small or narrow gate as well. This gate was much more difficult to pass through. It was difficult not only because of its size but because it was guarded and passage was reserved for certain people. In this parable Jesus was teaching that the wide gate can represent the way to destruction and lead away from Him and Heaven but the narrow gate represented a life of denying ourselves and following Him in the way that leads to Eternal Life. Passage is certainly possible through the narrow gate but it requires more thought, more effort, more prayer and more intentional living. The part I found really interesting is that the narrow gate was reserved for the most precious; the most important and those people had to be identified and recognized. Jesus was saying to us in this parable that if we want to pass through that narrow gate and join Him eternally, He has to know our name and recognize our voice. We are His precious and chosen people and He wants to meet each of us at that narrow gate. If we want to be identified by Him then, we have to spend time with Him now so He will know our voice and our heart. Scripture tells us that the words that await us when we pass through that narrow gate are “well done (name) my good and faithful servant.” I love the sound of my name on earth, but I’m really looking forward to the day when I might hear my name and find a spot reserved just for me in Heaven. A Seed To Plant: Pick five people this week that you can hug, shake hands with or smile at while speaking the words, “Hello (name) God bless your day! Stand back…great things will happen! If you’d like to do some extra credit, buy a key chain, mug or trinket for someone that has their name on it. Blessings on your day! To all God’s beloved in Rome who are called to be saints:
Romans 1:7 I’ve been taking little lovelies out to recess for a lot of years but I saw a new recess gave this week! During our religion lessons this week we have been talking about the holy men and women who are in heaven. We talked about how they serve as a great example of the way we should love and serve the Lord. We also learn that when people go to heaven they become a part of the communion of saints. Following up on these lessons I always remind the lovelies on their way out to recess to “play like saints!” They are young, but they get it! I was watching a group of kids play on the jungle gym at afternoon recess and they had all climbed to the top and were all just sitting there talking. After a few minutes had passed one of them hollered to me and said, “Hey Mrs. Wohlfert, didn’t you tell us that anyone living in heaven is a saint?” I said “Absolutely!” The little boy who had asked the question turned to the others and said, “See I told you, Jesus is a saint because he lives in heaven so I get to be St. Jesus.” The others seemed content with his comment and they chattered on. Curiosity prompted me to walk closer and see what they were up to. I asked the little boy who was calling himself St. Jesus what he was thinking. He said, “Well you told us to “play saints” at recess so we’re pretending that the jungle gym is heaven and since I’m at the very top, that makes me Jesus because he’s in charge in heaven and lives at the very top.” All the others “playing saint” chimed in with their saint names. They sat there at the top of the jungle gym for the entire recess just talking and laughing and I finished the day with a big giggle and a warm heart. In the story of the narrow gate from Matthew and Luke’s Gospel, the crowd pressed Jesus to tell them how many would be saved. They wanted a number and Jesus didn’t give them a number, He simply challenged them to live a life worthy of heaven. A goal for each of us when we wake up in the morning should be to live that day like heaven matters to us. Every conversation, every action, every person we touch should see that we’re living like we belong to Jesus and we’re trying to get home to meet him. The little lovelies had it right at recess…they were thinking so hard about heaven that the jungle gym transformed into an eternal paradise…even if it was only for 15 minutes. Their bodies might have been on earth but their thoughts and hearts were fixed on a much higher spot. I took a lesson from the little lovelies! A Seed To Plant: Make a note for yourself that says…Today I’m gonna live like heaven is what I want more than anything! Put it in a place where you can see it several times a day. Blessings on your day! … “Behold I make all things new.” Revelation 21:5
My days are once again filled with a room full of little lovelies! It’s good to be back to school and its so fun getting to know the kids I get to spend the next 9 months with. The first graders are new to our building so there is a lot to get used to. Each year I forget how much new information there is to absorb for them. Everything is new and it can be pretty overwhelming for them at first. I have watched their little faces this week as they have tried to listen carefully and do their best to remember everything from where the bathroom is to where their pencils and gym shoes go. By Friday afternoon is was easy to see they had absorbed enough for one week. They were tired and their wide eyed amazement and enthusiasm had given way to glassy eyed information overload. As a teacher I have to giggle inside at all the things they find fascinating and exciting in the beginning; they are usually things I just take for granted. It’s always good to see all things made new again and soak in the view through their eyes. As I plunked down at my desk Friday afternoon when they had all gone home, I was remembering some of their “wow” moments from the week. They really do try to soak it all in because they want to get things right and do well. They want to be successful and have fun in school each day. It’s important for me to create an environment in my classroom that makes them want to come back the next day. I got my first drawing this week and lovingly hung it on the cupboard door reserved for treasures from my little lovelies and I had a thought. Getting to heaven is a little like first grade. The rules really are pretty simple and the goal is even similar. In first grade we learn our biggest job is to Love God and love others. I expect the kids to come through the door each day ready to do their best. I know each of them have different gifts, strengths and weaknesses. I would never measure or treat each child exactly the same because they each need something a little different. Thank goodness God responds to us the same way. Even after just one week, I can already see their gifts and talents begin to emerge and I marvel at the unique and beautiful differences in them. There are 20 of them, all about the same age, 10 are boys and 10 are girls but no two are exactly alike, yet they each bring something funny, amazing, beautiful or creative to the classroom family. I look around at them and I am in awe as I consider all that they will teach me this year. I can see which ones will teach me patience, which ones will make me laugh, which ones will make me think harder and which ones will keep me on my toes. If God’s greatest task for us is to love one another, my work is easy! God isn’t expecting perfection from me anymore than I expect perfection from my little lovelies. He does expect us to follow Him and rely on Him for all things. My little lovelies will usually have a day or two where they try to do things their own way instead of following the rules of the room and sometimes that doesn’t make for a happy day but it’s my job to lovingly guide them back to the right path and teach them respect and compassion. First grade isn’t rocket science…neither is living a life pleasing to God. The key ingredients are the same, loving God and loving others, honoring authority and putting others first. That’s the basic plan of action but as simple as it sounds, we still sometimes loose our way. Thank goodness He never gives up on us or grows weary of our mistakes. First grade might seem easy but it’s the place where the fundamentals take shape. The simple tasks lay the foundation for all the learning that follows. Going back to the fundamentals of our relationship with Christ is a great place to return from time to time because a solid relationship can only be built on a firm foundation. Sometimes we underestimate the value of simple. A Seed To Plant: Think this week about that very basic command…love God, love others. Intentionally do something this week that shows God your love for Him and do something that shows your love for someone in your life. Blessings on your day! Brothers and sisters, submit yourselves to one another…
Ephesians 5:21 Now that’s something you don’t hear every day! Submit to one another? Then that means I can’t have things my way. That means I might have to let someone else be right! That means I might have to put my needs and wants aside in order to serve and please somebody else first! Yup…we read that right! That’s exactly what this verse from Ephesians is telling us to do. Well now isn’t that just a fine “how do you do” on a Thursday morning! Ok…but surely it doesn’t mean submit to people we don’t like very much does it? What about people that can’t possibly “pay us back”? Holy cow…what about the grumpy person down the street…surely God didn’t mean them did He? My friends, this is one of those “live it even if it’s hard” verses from the New Testament. Donating to a charity or adopting an orphan from a third world country are beautiful acts of Christian service but this verse is asking for something bigger…something harder…something more personal. This verse is asking us to lay down our needs and wants and put someone else’s in front of our own. I truly believe I am allergic to conflict! I will walk five miles the other way to avoid a fuss but I remember a girl in college who brought out the argument buried somewhere deep inside me. She was a strong, persistent woman who always needed to be first, right and best at everything. She wore me out! We had several Secondary Ed classes together and it seemed like we always got paired up for discussions and projects. Every time we had to work together I got a stomach ache and felt like I was trapped in the never-ending tale of “how great am I!” Every good idea or thought from the group became hers and every bit of credit earned was due completely to her…even if there were five of us who did the work. One night we were supposed to meet at the library to finish a project and I walked across campus toward the meeting like I had lead in my shoes and in my stomach! As I climbed the library steps a thought popped into my head that stopped me in my tracks and made me wonder something that had never occurred to me. I asked myself to think of all the possibilities that might have led her to be so strong willed and opinioned. As I considered some of the things that could have made her so difficult to get along with at the age of 19, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness that I had been created with a peaceful spirit. I decided to be peaceful and kind to her that night rather than try to compete with her or change her. I guess you could say I decided to submit to her, although I had no idea that’s what I was doing. When everyone had arrived, I spoke up first and asked everyone in the group to tell the reason they wanted to get an A on the project. Much to my surprise she answered last and with a quiver in her voice she said, “Because I have to or my father will say I failed and he will unleash his wrath and fury. That’s just what happens when you don’t end up on top in my family.” I winked at her and said “ok, let’s get to work; we have an A+ to earn!” She was a different person that night, in fact, we all were! Words like that are so honest, humble and raw they stick with you. All these years later, I don’t even remember her name, but I remember the look she gave me that night across the table in the library. I try to remember it when I get too big for my britches and think I know more or can do something better than somebody else. I try to remember that look when I think someone should behave differently. I try to remember that look every time I think I have the right to judge another. Mostly I remember that look when I’m having a hard time remembering that everyone has a story and usually I know nothing about it but if I did, it just might change everything. All I need to know is God calls us to love, and the greatest way to love God is to serve one of His children. Our culture would lead us to believe submission is a sign of weakness but rather it is the greatest act of humility and Christ-like behavior possible. I don’t know about you, but I think the world would do well with a little more of that! A Seed To Plant: Think of one or two people you could be submissive towards. Ask God to show you just how you might go about it this week. Blessings on your day! Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is out enjoying the last official day of summer vacation! Tomorrow means “back to labor” for me and thousands of school children all over the state of Michigan! I have a hunch the number of students as excited about starting a new year as I am is small! It’s been a beautiful, face paced summer but I’m ready to spend the days with my new batch of little lovelies and help them learn to read and fall in love with Jesus! As I sit here excited about going back to work, I can’t help but think of all those who are unemployed or underemployed. I pray this labor day that they will be blessed with work that suits their skills and talents and makes them happy. I realize many readers have had their patience, faith and checkbooks tested to the extreme waiting for God to bless them with a good job. I pray God will respond quickly with the perfect position for all of those searching. I came across this prayer the other day and I thought Labor Day would be the perfect time to share it. I have the names of several people I will begin praying for each morning starting today. I would like to invite everyone to join me in this prayer request and share the following prayer with anyone you may know searching for a job. It seems like the perfect reason to storm the gates of heaven. Give me the Opportunity Lord... Dear God, I place my humble needs before you: My need to meet my responsibilities in the world. My need to use my God-given talents and abilities. My need to fulfill my place here on earth. I pray for Your guidance now to show me the way to the perfect opportunity to do what I love, to do what I can do well and to serve You. Help me to walk in faith as You show me the way! Thank You, Lord. Amen! A Seed To Plant: Write down the names of every person you know searching for work. Insert their names in the above prayer and offer it for their intention. Blessings on your day! |
Subscribe to Joyful Words Blog
Sheri's writing can also be found at Faith Catholic Publications and on CatholicMom.com
Archives
December 2023
|