to anyone that attended summer camp @ st. mary's.....it was great! i had a wonderful summer!
i worked there and spent time with the kids playing games, and having summer fun.....the little ones are my favorite.....are you from camp? do you want to blog about how hard it is to work with kids, but how much fun it is too.....let us know, commment here
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Pride
Pride. The most despicable sin and the one sin I despise most of all, for the simple fact that it is the essence of every other sin in human nature; not to mention the reason Satan fell from Grace. Not only do I abhor it, I am fearful of it because I value God's grace and love more than anything else in life. It IS my life. When I first started walking with the Lord, I realized the danger of pride, knew I didn't want any parts of it and decided to take small steps to avoid it. "When pride comes, disgrace is soon to follow; but with humility comes respect", read Proverbs. So I asked God to remove any pride from my heart on a regular basis, started to make it a daily practice to not have any pride in my life whatsoever, for example, I made it habit to remove the word "proud" from my vocabulary and replace it with "pleased" instead, I learned to have no ego at all, to be modest, humble and generous instead of arrogant, greedy and boisterous, to be self-less instead of selfish, to consiously make an effort that nothing would interfere with my relationship with God and the work He sent me to do. My eyes were focused on the prize! The Bible says, "the wages of sin is death" - this is the reason I try with all of my might to keep myself away from sin, because to me, spiritual life IS my physical life. They are one and the same, without the one - the other is futile. Without the Father, Son & Holy Spirit as my Lifelines, the meaning of life ceases to exist, so I hold this relationship in the highest regard possible and take every sin with the utmost seriousness. Scrutinizing my every thought and action, eliminating what I have the control to freely give up and praying that the Lord replace it with something fruitful which will bring Him the Glory He deserves. I do my best to stay away from the enticements of sin in order to continue receiving God's beautiful gifts and keep the love between us flowing, so I am most effective to do His will with a clean conscience. I often pray for the forgiveness of any future sins that I have yet to commit, just to be proactive.
I hate the ugliness of sin, the shame I feel after I know I've done the evil I did not want to do, the incomprehensible sadness knowing that I've disobeyed the One Person I love more than any other and the disappointment I feel knowing that, in His sight, I've done what is evil, especially when I know better. For all of these reasons, I remain close to the Word and see every obstacle in my path as a test and an opportunity to draw close to Him. I also grade myself based on my behavior. A little obsessive compulsive perhaps but, it keeps me in line.
The past twelve months of life have been quite the test, to say the least, one that I have honestly failed miserably because of this disgusting human quality, the very one I tried so hard NOT to possess! Working seven days a week isn't healthy for anyone, but I was convinced that the work I was doing was what God wanted me to do, and I still believe this to be true. "I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me", that phrase would get me out of bed each morning and hurry off to work. Even though I would make an effort to go to Mass on Sunday, spend what time I could in prayer, meditation and reading the Word, my body was winding down little by little and I started to get weary. When was MY life going to take off, I asked. Where's MY man, MY career, MY future, MY life! I'm taking care of and spending so much time with so many people almost 24/7, giving them all I've got but..who's taking care of me, was the posed question in my mind. "My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus" the Holy Spirit reminded me.
As time went on, I started to question some more and grow even more impatient. "Lord, may I have some patience please? How do I use it and how will I know when it arrives? I am not really having fun anymore and am just growing tired, please help me out!" I knew I was waiting for something big but when would it come! That became my focus. What about all these promises I was wishing, hoping, thinking and praying for, "Beloved, above all things, I wish for you to prosper, just as your soul prospers." Well, yes - thank You Lord, I'd love to prosper too - you also promised to prosper me in the desert, remember? What exactly is Your definition of "prosper" because obviously, our views are different, won't You help me to understand?! Please Lord, do not delay" I pleaded!
Eventually, I acknowledged my impatience and requested to have it tamed by the Blood of Jesus. I was waiting on Him and I "shall NOT be disappointed." This was Written, and I know it's true, as much as I know my own name. I was counting on it.
Every day continued to remain the same as the last, but all was just as well, because I knew I was making God happy. How quickly life can change from one extreme to another...in the blink of a blind eye..and I didn't even see it coming....
...to be continued...
I hate the ugliness of sin, the shame I feel after I know I've done the evil I did not want to do, the incomprehensible sadness knowing that I've disobeyed the One Person I love more than any other and the disappointment I feel knowing that, in His sight, I've done what is evil, especially when I know better. For all of these reasons, I remain close to the Word and see every obstacle in my path as a test and an opportunity to draw close to Him. I also grade myself based on my behavior. A little obsessive compulsive perhaps but, it keeps me in line.
The past twelve months of life have been quite the test, to say the least, one that I have honestly failed miserably because of this disgusting human quality, the very one I tried so hard NOT to possess! Working seven days a week isn't healthy for anyone, but I was convinced that the work I was doing was what God wanted me to do, and I still believe this to be true. "I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me", that phrase would get me out of bed each morning and hurry off to work. Even though I would make an effort to go to Mass on Sunday, spend what time I could in prayer, meditation and reading the Word, my body was winding down little by little and I started to get weary. When was MY life going to take off, I asked. Where's MY man, MY career, MY future, MY life! I'm taking care of and spending so much time with so many people almost 24/7, giving them all I've got but..who's taking care of me, was the posed question in my mind. "My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus" the Holy Spirit reminded me.
As time went on, I started to question some more and grow even more impatient. "Lord, may I have some patience please? How do I use it and how will I know when it arrives? I am not really having fun anymore and am just growing tired, please help me out!" I knew I was waiting for something big but when would it come! That became my focus. What about all these promises I was wishing, hoping, thinking and praying for, "Beloved, above all things, I wish for you to prosper, just as your soul prospers." Well, yes - thank You Lord, I'd love to prosper too - you also promised to prosper me in the desert, remember? What exactly is Your definition of "prosper" because obviously, our views are different, won't You help me to understand?! Please Lord, do not delay" I pleaded!
Eventually, I acknowledged my impatience and requested to have it tamed by the Blood of Jesus. I was waiting on Him and I "shall NOT be disappointed." This was Written, and I know it's true, as much as I know my own name. I was counting on it.
Every day continued to remain the same as the last, but all was just as well, because I knew I was making God happy. How quickly life can change from one extreme to another...in the blink of a blind eye..and I didn't even see it coming....
...to be continued...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"The WORD among us"
I recommend that you pick up a copy of "The WORD among us". A monthly guide to help you embrace God's word each day. It contains the complete Catholic Mass and Daily Meditations. Plus great stories and articles. This month, Beyond The "Dark Night" St. John of the Cross and a human path to God. Powerful. Quote for today: The joy of this life is nothing; the joy of the after life is everlasting. - Blessed William Hart.
"GRACE"
Grace, the presence of acceptance, generosity and love.
The kindness felt and expressed, not because you want to,
because its who you are... God's.
The kindness felt and expressed, not because you want to,
because its who you are... God's.
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