God's Plan

Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha

But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help protect me, God. Psalms 69:30

Wow, how many times do we ask for God to protect us? I have asked Him a lot, but do I mean it? I say that because I will ask for His help, but then still try to take matters into my own hands, even when it looks like He has found a solution.

For example, when our pastor resigned this year, I was extremely upset. I was upset because I felt like he was being pushed out, and I was upset because I thought I had found someone I could confide in. He was helping me with a situation in my life that I needed some spiritual guidance with. Two days after we established this relationship, he announced he was resigning. My heart sank. My heart sank big time. I felt so deceived and I was angry. I wasn't angry at him, but at the situation. So I started digging and probing and trying to figure things out in my little human mind. And while I found answers to my questions, it didn't make anything better. I asked God a couple of times to take it for me and give me some resolution, but I didn't realize that He already had.

As we lose a wonderful pastor that renewed my Catholic faith, along with hundreds of others in my parish, we are getting a new one. And I don't know this new guy, but I have been told from several different sources that we are getting one of the best.

So while I may have thought that our pastor was it. I thought he was the solution to our problem in our parish, I think God has other plans for him. He started the ball rolling, and now God is sending in someone to finish the job and I just have to trust that this is the right thing to happen. It's so very hard to let go of myself and what I want, but it has to happen. And time has truly been a blessing for me to come to terms with that.

Thank you Lord for providing me with the answers I need.

Daily Readings:
Exodus 2:1-15 Psalms 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34 Matthew 11:20-24

Bringing Us The Sword

St. Henry

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. Matthew 10:34

When I first read this, I must admit, I was a little bit confused. Even the next couple of sentences were confusing because He tells us that we will be set against members of our family. But as I continued reading the passage, I understood. Because He wants us to love Him more than our earthly treasures, including members of our family.

While I was away with my family this week at Disney, I felt very far away from God. I looked at my Bible and devotions right before we left and decided to leave them because I probably wouldn't have time for that. "Time for that?" No time for God? I guess I figured we would be so busy running around, I wouldn't have time for my prayers. Looking back, I feel so awful about that. I could feel it though. I could feel the distance that I created. I still thought about Him a lot, but it didn't feel the same. It didn't feel the same as spending time in Scripture each morning and thinking about my behavior according to Him. And it was harder to act like I should have and I could feel the secular perspective of the world seeping into my mind.

I put myself and my family ahead of God last week. And while it wasn't a terrible trip (we had a lot of fun together as a family and feel truly blessed to have been able to do this), I feel guilty about being selfish. This one attribute can really get in the way of having that undying faith in God that makes us holy. And I had a week of selfishness. But it feels good to be back at home, back in my routine.

So back to Scripture here. Love God more than my own parents? Love God more than my own brothers? Love God more than my husband? Love God more than my own children? Yes. Because our life on earth isn't about us. It's not about what we want and living a life we think we should live. It's about God. He put us here for a reason and we are to live our lives the way He envisioned for us.

This passage reminds me of the quote I have on my blog from Mother Angelica:

We don’t like to speak the truth about evil because we’re going to hurt somebody. Let me tell you, you are going to hurt somebody, but that Somebody is God. If you would rather hurt God than your neighbor, there is something wrong with your spirituality. It’s your obligation to speak the truth and everyone can either take it or leave it. But truth must be in us. We live in such poverty of the truth today.

I just love that quote. It puts all of this in perspective. God comes first. Period.

Daily Readings:
Exodus 1:8-14, 22 Psalm 124:1-8 Matthew 10:34-11:1

Out of the "Office"

Hi Everyone!

As you are reading this, we are probably driving on our way to DISNEY WORLD! We will be there all week. So unfortunately, I will not be writing any devotionals this week. We will see about any other blog posts. I probably won't have a chance.

So please send some prayers our way that we have a safe trip down and back!

Thank you and will miss you all!

Domesticated Mama!!

OK, so I guess I'm becoming more and more domesticated each day. I braved it out and blanched some green beans last night! I'm so excited. From one day's harvest, we will have enough green beans for about a month! Isn't that FABULOUS?! With the way costs are going up, I'm so grateful.

So here is what I did:

First, I took the ends off the beans of course, then washed them off. I then stuck them in rapidly boiling water for about 3 minutes. You really don't need to do any more than that:


Then I took them out and immediately put them in ice cold water for another 3 minutes:


I actually put them in a strainer after that to make sure most of the moisture was off before I stuck them in the freezer bags. I got out as much air as possible before sealing the bag completely. And that was it!!

Then this morning I realized I hadn't been out there for a couple of days and we probably had beans ready to be picked... AGAIN. And lo and behold, I was right (we also had weeds ready to be picked again!!). I picked about another gallon-bag full of green beans and blanched those this morning too.

I thought my blanching job was done when my husband told me we had some broccoli and cauliflower that needed to be picked and blanched too! So I started blanching the cauliflower, and I'm waiting for more ice. So I thought I would share my story with you all.

Doesn't it look yummy?!?

I'm actually having fun with this! I love that we are producing our own food, saving money, and eating things that don't have any harmful chemicals on them.

Now I'm going to have to go make some food for our trip to Disney next week!

I See

St. Thomas

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. John 20:29

Long before I met my husband, I worked in a small-town corner store. And a guy I knew used to visit me often and ask me on dates. I wasn't really that interested in him so I would always say no. One day, he was visiting and mentioned that his wife was going to stay home and take care of his house and his kids. Now it could have been the way he said it, his house, his kids, but that really rubbed me the wrong way back then. I stood there, looked at him and said, "There is no way that I will be stuck home taking care of the house and the kids. I will work!" I thought it was so demeaning for this guy to sit there in all of his arrogance and expect a woman to take care of him and his kids! How dare he?!

So how do I feel now? Well, staying home and taking care of my kids and my house and anything my husband needs, is something I enjoy. Granted, there are days when I wish I had something else to do, but I like being here to meet the needs of my family. How did I get to this frame of mind? My faith. Because I have a secure faith in God, I was able to understand how important a mom's role is in the home. In God's eyes, it's not demeaning at all. It's one of the most important jobs I could have.

I didn't come to this understanding on my own. I didn't come to understand this and then say, "Oh yeah, thanks God for that." No, I developed a faith in God like I have never had before and from that faith came an understanding and a belief that nothing will be able to take away from me. It's amazing.

You hear people say all the time, "Seeing is believing." But that's not true. I believe and then I see. From my faith comes understanding. That's what St. Thomas Aquinas says. And it makes perfect sense. Once we have a belief in God, we see Jesus all around us. He's in the homeless person on the side of the road. He's in the tears of a mom and a dad who just lost their unborn child. He is in the laughter of my children as they play in the next room. And He is in my husband when he works hard to provide for our family.

I'm so grateful I have my faith so I may understand the world around me, through the eyes of God.

Lord, I believe in You and everything You have created. Thank you for always being around me.

Daily Readings:
Ephesians 2:19-22 Psalm 117:1-2 John 20:24-29

Crippled With Sin

St. Bernardino Realino

Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home. Matthew 9:6

When Jesus said this, He was speaking to a paralytic. And He first told him "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." (Matthew 9:2) He saw the faith in this man, and forgave him his sins. The scribes thought He was fake, but Jesus told them that it was better to say that than "Rise and walk." (Matthew 9:5)

So cleansing us of our sins is like releasing us from our paralyzed state. For me, when I have a sin that I have not confessed, it consumes me. It's all I think about until I get to confession and get it off my chest. Phew! That weight has been lifted off my shoulders and it's like I can breathe again! Talking to God about my sins and allowing Him to forgive me is very freeing. It breaks me from my paralyzed state of mind so I can move on and take care of business. I'm a wife and a mom of three. I have work to do. We all have jobs to do.

It's really about allowing God to forgive me. Sometimes I feel like my punishment should have been worse. God knows the faith that I have in my heart. He knows whether or not I am truly sorry for the sin I committed against Him. And He forgives me, and allows me to get up, pick up my stretcher, and go home.

Is there a sin that you have committed that is weighing heavy on your heart?

Lord, thank you for Your love and willingness to forgive.

Daily Readings:
Genesis 22:1-19 Psalms 115:1-6, 8-9 Matthew 9:1-8

Small Successes

Blessed Junipero Serra

Who among you loves life,
takes delight in prosperous days? Psalms 34:13

One of my favorite websites, Faith and Family Live!, started a special blog each Thursday to honor the Small Successes we achieve as moms each week (yes guys, it could apply to you too- but this site is mainly geared towards women). Essentially, we type up 3 things that we have accomplished that might not seem like a big deal to the naked eye. But as moms, we know how those small things can really add up, and to get those done, is a big feat for us.

I posted a few things for last week, and it's those little things that get done that can make me feel like I had a prosperous day. A prosperous day for me could be taking time out to nurse a boo-boo, dance to a favorite song with my kids, read books to them, take them outside and let them eat raw green beans from the garden, pray the rosary with my daughter... the list could go on and on. I don't have any money of my own coming in (except the checks I get occasionally from my businesses), so to feel prosperous can be a challenge because I don't have a paycheck to measure my work by.

I have come to love life through those "small" successes in my day. After all, my family's happiness is very important. If I can learn to love life through these prosperous moments, I imagine God would be pleased with my work for that day.

Lord, I am grateful for the opportunity to prosper and be with my family each and every day.

Daily Readings:
Genesis 21:5, 8-20 Psalms 34:7-8, 10-13 Matthew 8:28-34