What's On Your Mind

Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise

Think about the things that are true and honorable

and right and pure and beautiful and respected.

Philippians 4:8

It is often very hard to be positive when others around you are being very negative.  Negativity grows quickly and spreads like wild fire from person to person.  Once you start feeling or being negative it often will consume your day, your thoughts and your actions.

Being positive, and loving is not so easily spread, it takes more time.  If you are feeling negative, or down, having loving and positive feelings overcome the negative feelings takes time and work.  The same is true with violence and anger, once you are over come with these feelings, finding happiness is not easily done.

That is why television is so powerful.  Violent shows can influence how other feel.  As a character takes on a feeling of being afraid or scared it is easy for the viewing audience to take on those feelings and start to own them.  When a character is angry it is easy to take the anger and allow it to overcome your life.

That is why it is important to know what we are thinking about and what we allow ourselves to be influenced by.  If we want the love of God to enter into our hearts, then we have to open them to him, and block the feelings of anger, hurt, sadness and other negative feelings that are around us.

When we want to grow in love, we have to be open to see all of the good and the positive that God has put into our lives and in our path.  Once we can do that we are truly opening our minds, hearts and souls to becoming vessels for God. 

Learning how to do this is not easy, however it is important to remember that as humans we are easily influenced with what is around us.  That is why choosing friends and choosing televisions shows to watch is so important.  Choosing wisely is the best way to open your hear to Jesus.

Angels Watching Over Me

He has put his angels in charge of you

to watch over you wherever you go.

They will catch you in their hands so that

you will not hit your food on a rock.

Psalm 91:11-12

I have noticed that lately I have been struggling, mainly because there are many times that I feel completely alone.  Being alone is a scary thought.  For me when I am left to myself I often find that being alone also means that my thoughts start to run away from me.  

Often times when I have a few minutes of quiet in my life I find that this quiet will be quickly filled with the thoughts that are racing through my head.  Having thoughts that start racing through my head confuses and often times changes my mood.

For me it is easy to read into the thoughts that go through my head.  They quickly take me from being in a good mood to being in a bad mood.  This is a feeling that is not good.  Knowing that something simple can have such an effect on me.  And this will lead me to believe that I am alone.

Thinking about Psalm 91 is a great reminder that we are never truly alone.  That we always have an Angel with us.  They are there to guide us.  When we are feeling alone, or our thoughts and worries get the best of us it is time to stop and consider changing directions. 

In those times why not take a step back and remember that we should trust in God and all that he has for us.  Trust that our Angel that is watching over us will help guide us through the rough times, and comfort us when we need to be comforted.

God never wants us to feel alone.  He always wants us know that he is here for us and that he loves us.  We know that with God we have the ability to achieve our goals.  He will assist us in finding the tools, hold our hands when we fail, and help us get back up and try it again.

The next time I feel alone, I am going to remember that I am never alone.  That I always have an Angel that God has sent to watch over me and guide me.  When I have too much on my mind, I am going to lift it up and have faith that everything will work out, just as God has planned

You Are Accepted!

The Lord your God in your midst,
the Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

As a Human we are all looking to be accepted. As a mother we often lose our identity in what we do. I know that I have found as a Stay At Home Mother I often feel I lose myself in what I do during the day. I see my self as Tyler & Nathan's mother. A pet owner of Brutis the dog, Simba the cat and Fluffy the hamster. A wife of Brian. A Daughter of Karen and Gary. These are not bad things, just realities. And these are not bad realities.

Every day I wear many hats, and every mother out there knows of the different hats we are required to wear every day. Any given day I am a mother, doctor, chef, nanny, judge, driver, wife, maid, mediator, supporter, friend, sister, aunt, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and so much more. With all that we do on a daily basis it is easy to forget to just be ourselves.

Getting lost in all of our responsibilities is easily done, and feeling that we are accepted for who we are is just as difficult. That is why it is so important to remember one thing, that we are loved and accepted for who we are, and nothing more. God loves us, the core of us. He expects nothing of us, except for being ourselves.

So often we feel we have to be something we are not to be accepted, but God accepts us and loves us for who we are. We don't have to pretend, we don't have to do anything more than be out selves and he loves us, and always has. Even with any of the negative things we have done. Even when we have turned away from him, he still loves and accepts us.

So the next time you are down, or just have a bad day. The next time you feel that you have nowhere to turn or that you are alone. When you feel the world is against you, it is important to remember you have one, very important person who just accepts you, for all of your flaws, in all of your hard time, and that is God!

Remember that God accepts and deeply loves you, just as you are right at this very moment! When you are insecure and scared, remember this and feel secure in the love God has for you!

Choosing the way to live your life

Over the past couple months I have looked at the way I have lived my life.  The one thing that I have seen is that I am just not happy.  I have noticed that the best time in my life and the times that I am the most confident is when I have lived my life in a way that I live out my faith.

I have noticed that I, like Peter have denied Jesus in my faith many times.  Not necessarily in my words, but more my actions.  By missing mass, or doing things to become part of the in crowd, even though there is a gut feeling that it is just not the road I should be taking.

It is difficult to think that this is the way that I want to live my life.  The hardest times, the times of hardship and the times of doubt.  The times of pain are the times that I have not lived in a manor that I see fitting, a manor that I find to fit within my faith.

In the past I have felt that people would judge me and people would not want to get to know me because of my faith.  I have chosen the road that is highly traveled.  The road that would, in my opinion, win me friends.  The problem with this road is the fact that it is a road that leads to hurt and leads to pain.  It is a road that does not allow me to truly and fully be myself.

I have hidden my faith and pushed back that part of me with the fear that people would see it and hate me, or judge me.  I would make decisions that was against my faith because I felt that it would be better for people to see me that way.

Now looking back I feel that those decisions made people doubt me.  It made my actions look fake and made people question me and what I was saying and what I was doing.  It made me look like a person that could not be trusted, and instead of making friends, it caused me to lose friends.

Now I want to embrace my faith, and the fact that God will allow me to do this is amazing.  I can go to confession and talk to a priest and know that I am forgiven, for I am truly sorry, and know that God still loves me and will guide me to living the live that I am meant to live.

I know that this is a life that will be hard, but I know that by making my decisions based on my faith and my love of Jesus will help me to make decisions to change my life, and help me to feel confident that I am going to be happy. 

I know that I can not change the past, but I have learned a awesome lesson, a lesson that will help me to change my life and live it the way that I want to live my life.  I can live my life in a way that I can make the best decisions that will change me and help me to grow in faith.

This is not the easiest change to make, but it is a change that will help me to be confident that I will find Jesus.  I feel confident that people will look at me and know that I am who I say I am and that My faith is so important to me

Trusting the Vine of God

Yesterday while at mass I heard one of the most inspirational and moving sermons that I have ever heard.  This one was one that reached out and touched my heart, and was one that I can relate to all aspects of my life, and all goes back to having faith in God. 
I have always had faith in God, the problem that I have had was to be brave enough to share it with everyone.  The biggest fear that I have is the fear of being judged.  I also have had the issue of not always living my life in a way that God could be shown through, or even that I could be proud of.
A trip to Tennessee had shown me how God can change my life.  Seeing the work that he had done in a friend was the first important step I needed.  When you see someone on a different level and see the little seeds you know that God is at work.
Then it all came together yesterday at mass.  The parable came up of a woman walking through the woods and she hears a growl coming from behind her, so she turns around and finds Tigers.  She runs but finds herself at the edge of a cliff.  When she looks down she sees a vine, and starts to climb down.  As she is climbing she hears a growl from underneath her.  When she looks down she sees another pack of tigers.  She stops where she is but then starts hearing little scratching sounds from above and sees mice gnawing at the vine.  Faced with all of this she looks around and finds wild strawberries around her and chooses to take the moment to enjoy a strawberry.
I find myself in this situation so many times.  I have tried to scramble and throw strawberries up, or down.  Tried to scare the mice.  While it may work for a few minutes, the tigers and the mice always come back.  I have failed to do the one thing that is so important... trust in the vine.  I need to take the step back and learn how to trust in the vine and know that the strength of the vine is the strength that I need to live my life. 
Once you learn to trust in the vine that is when you will find the strawberries, and that the strawberries become more and more plentiful.  Seeing the strawberries, and then learning how to enjoy them is the key to learning how to live a life with Jesus and how to be completely happy.
I have challenged myself to start living my life.  I have challenged myself to stop trying to do what I think others want me to do.  I have challenged myself to stop being the person that I was and hated, and take that little light that I loved and start living that as my life.  Trusting in God, and knowing that he is there.  Trusting that during the times when I feel that I am going to fall, that God will be my strength.  Finding the tigers and the mice in my life and doing what I can to eliminate them if possible.  Knowing that there will always be tigers and mice, but knowing that my faith is what is needed to keep me strong.