Category: Prayer

Me, A Saint?

Most of us don’t think we have it in us. We have this lofty vision of what a saint is, and we might believe our own faults and failures preclude us from ever having such a title attached to our names.

Well, that’s just not so. When Mother Theresa received the Nobel Peace Prize, she got up to the podium and said that, although she was grateful to receive the award, she wasn’t quite sure why she was getting it.

She went on to say that she felt that she had done nothing extraordinary, but rather she had simply done what we are all called to do. Another time, she was asked what was the difference between a sinner and a saint. She replied, “the saint kept getting up.” So, there is hope for us after all 🙂

Inspiration Mind Prayer

Advent

Post author By seedthrower1
Post date 11/30/2010
No Comments on Advent

It’s always nice to be at the beginning of something, especially a season like Advent. We have many days to get ourselves together for the big Event at we all know will come at the end of this time of preparation. I thought this reflection from Catherine Doherty, taken from Grace in Every Season, has some great insights as to what these days are all about,

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What If…

So, the season of Advent is here. For us Christians, this season is supposed to be a time of expectant waiting and preparation for our remembrance of the Nativity of our Lord. What would He ever think of our Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays? We have lost our way…

What if we used these weeks of Advent as they were meant to be used? Not so much a time of overeating, overspending, overpartying. What if we truly made it about Him…

Inspiration Prayer

Happy Thanksgiving

For 221 years, ever since George Washington formally proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November to be a national Day of Thanksgiving, our country has paused to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has given us.

There are many people today who get nervous about separation of church and state, but if you take a little time to read what Washington wrote, it would seem clear that our first president was not afraid to give thanks to God for all that we have been given, and to do so in a very public and official way.

During these hard economic times, we’re once again given a wonderful opportunity to re-focus on what’s most important in life. This little thanksgiving prayer written by Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up well.

Thanksgiving
By Ralph Waldo Emerson

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, and eat well!

Ignatian Spirituality Inspiration Mind Prayer Spirit

Forgive

As we get ready for the start of the holiday season, this timely message from John Eldredge arrived in my inbox this morning. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be with people who love us, but also with those who’ve hurt us. We’ll be given chances to forgive, to seek forgiveness, to reconcile, to bring peace into a broken world. Isn’t that what we should be doing anyway?

Forgive

We must forgive those who hurt us. The reason is simple: Bitterness and unforgiveness are claws that set their hooks deep in our hearts; they are chains that keep us held captive to the wounds and the messages of those wounds. Until you forgive, you remain their prisoner. Paul warns us that unforgiveness and bitterness can wreck our lives and the lives of others (Eph. 4:31; Heb. 12:15). We have to let them go.

Continue reading “Forgive”

Ignatian Spirituality Inspiration Prayer

Footprints In The Sand

I don’t know how we got on the topic, but last night my fourth grade class got to talking about some of their favorite possessions. You wouldn’t have been surprised with most of them: computer games, toys, lacrosse sticks, ipods, etc.

When one boy raised his hand, I thought for sure he would say something related to sports. I can tell already that he loves playing sports, and I’m pretty sure he’s good at whatever he plays.

So when he talked about a little plaque that hangs on his wall, I was surprised. He told the class that he loves the words to the poem Footprints In The Sand, which are printed on the plaque. To be honest, I was so surprised by what he said, I think I just mumbled thanks and moved on to the next kid.

Later, I began thinking about the old expression, you can’t judge a book by its cover. This little guy really impressed me.

Ignatian Spirituality Prayer Spirit

Prayer, Anyone?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done.

Then, His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Our former pastor used to tell us a simple way to remember to pray:

A. S. A. P. (Always Say A Prayer)

Prayer is a funny thing. We all know we should do it, but for most of us, it sits pretty low on the to do list. Why is that?

Ignatian Spirituality Inspiration Prayer type II diabetes

Freedom with God

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit with a group of people attending a Diabetes Workshop at our local hospital. They were all looking for ways that they could improve their health despite dealing with this chronic illness. As you may know, I think bringing God into the situation is the missing key that many people forget. That goes for any situation, not just an illness.

Today’s three-minute retreat from Loyola Press speaks beautifully to this idea. As I was reflecting upon their message this morning, I thought I should share it on this blog. I know some of you already subscribe and get the retreats emailed to you. If you don’t, you should. They are a great way to start your day, and you’ll join about 16,000 people who visit the site each day.

Click here and take the next three minutes to pray about what it could mean to you to have

Freedom With God

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Decide To Be Happy

Like so many things in life, happiness is a choice. Even in the most difficult of situations, we can usually find something to be happy about. During this last night of October (where did this month go?), here’s some tips on becoming a happier person, taken from Dottie Billington’s Life Is An Attitude:

Decide to be happy. To a certain extent, you create your own happiness, from the inside out.
Happiness can survive the loss, suffering, and grief that are part of all our lives, and make us stronger. What matters most is not what happens to you, but how you react.
Since no life can always be happy, when you feel miserable, remind yourself you can move past it.
True happiness consists of getting out of yourself, of focusing your attention on the world, instead of yourself. This means having an active life and absorbing interests.
Test your known and yet-to-be-discovered skills through some meaningful activity. Anything that challenges you will work.
Genuinely care about other people.
Make it a habit to consciously remind yourself every day of things for which you are grateful.

Let’s make an effort this week to focus on the good things we have in our lives. Everyone I know has at least one thing going in their life that should bring a smile to their face. Choose happiness this week.

Inspiration Mind Prayer

A New Day

The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent. They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Did you wake up today expecting God to do great things in your life, or did you wake up stressed out, worried and anxious about all the problems and concerns you’re going to face?

I don’t turn to the book of Lamentations much, but this passage really spoke to me recently. It’s a gentle reminder that God’s mercies, his love, and his kindness to us is renewed each and every day. Do you ever think about that when you’re rolling out of bed?