The recent events in Paris give us cause to pause in our lives and consider the effects of evil and our response to it.
One of the dangers of going through periods of distress, hurt, and heartache is that we’ll begin to doubt God’s goodness, and to think that He doesn’t care. Nothing could be further from the truth. And this is one of the reasons why it’s essential for us to spend regular time in God’s Word. Scripture says: “In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy, He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.” (Isaiah 63:9)
God hurts when we hurt. Remember Jesus weeping when He saw Lazarus’ family grieving? (John 11:35) The Bible clearly states that the Lord sympathizes with us. (Hebrews 4:15) But He doesn’t stop there. As Isaiah says, He personally rescues us, lifts us up, and even carries us in times of hardship and pain.
God allows believers to experience adversity…but…Contrary to what the enemy would have us believe, God does not enjoy the hurting of His children. Jeremiah wrote: “For the Lord does not abandon anyone forever. Though He brings grief, He also shows compassion according to the greatness of His unfailing love. For He does not willingly afflict or cause them sorrow.” (Lamentations 3:31-33) Just as God allows pain to enter our lives, He sends healing and restoration. Is there anything you and I can do to help this process along? Yes, there is. We can cooperate with God by earnestly seeking Him in prayer, praise, and the study of His Word. And we can ask Him to speak to our hearts, and to help us learn whatever lessons He has for us in our struggles. As we faithfully follow His lead, we will minimize the intensity and duration of our trials.
If you love God with all your heart, you have His promise that He will cause your hard times to profit you. (Romans 8:28) Claim that promise in faith today, and watch for His hand of favor and blessing right in the midst of your trials! J.M Farro
Our parish priest, Fr. Larry Richards, reminded us during Sunday liturgy this past Weekend something very important.
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
AN OLD SOLDIER’S PRAYER
I have fought when others feared to serve.
I have gone where others failed to go.
I’ve lost friends in war and strife,
Who valued Duty more than love of life.
I have shared the comradeship of pain.
I have searched the lands for men that we have lost.
I have sons who served this land of liberty,
Who would fight to see that other stricken lands are free.
I have seen the weak forsake humanity.
I have heard the traitors praise our enemy.
I’ve seen challenged men become even bolder,
I’ve seen the Duty, Honor, Sacrifice of the Soldier.
Now I understand the meaning of our lives,
The loss of comrades not so very long ago.
So to you who have answered duties siren call,
May God bless you my son, may God bless you all.
Lewis Millett
West Point Graduation 2012
hugs n’ blessings to all those past & present who have made Our Country proud!
Tomorrow night is the 49th Annual CMA Awards held in the United States and I hope Cuppycake and I will be able to spend a little time watching some of our favorite artists take home a few well-deserved awards! (Not to mention listen to some really great performances and oogle’ over the fabulous fashion styling!) And whether MY favorites are honored or not, it is always nice to watch people recognized for their hard-work! Admittedly, I’m one of those individuals who would rather have ‘participation awards’ for everyone, but I do appreciate & admire the talents of others and am excited for their achievements.
And since the CMA Awards are so huge and will be followed by millions of viewers I have decided to hide among their many accomplishments by taking the opportunity to say thank you to some very special followers who have recognized me with a few blogging awards. (Imagine my surprise when I was notified!) I now know what the performers mean when they stand there on stage, award in hand, and cannot come up with the “right words” to thank their voting audience. I admire so very much the fellow-bloggers who have nominated me that I am giddy-with-excitement to humbly say, “Thank you!” I fear I’ve been holding on to accepting them out of ‘cyber-stage-fright’ but I truly do want to thank them properly. There are a few important steps to walk through in accepting these honors in an appropriate way; however, I have condensed the process in fear of ‘running off the cyber-stage’ before I become tippity-tap-typeset-tied & fumble the words!!
Two particular Awards I actually received when I first began blogging:
I was Awarded The Versatile Blogger Award through Cherry at Cherita Story! I have enjoyed her youthful, spunky, writing voice and have missed her postings. She has not written since early 2015 but I do so very much hope-ity-hope she will return! Perhaps my ‘ping-back’ will inspire her to do so!
Another blogger who has not updated her site for quite a period of time, but was kind enough to award me The Liebster Award was, noplainjanie! I love, love, love the images, color, and cheerful personality she writes with & I do hope she too returns to her blog-space very soon!!
Last but not least one of my kindest followers, Anand from blabberwockying! Anand awarded me two separate honors! The Liebstser Award, the same Award as noplainjanie listed above, and also The Sunshine Blogger Award! I have loved discovering Anand’s bloggity-blog site as he has exposed my heart & my thoughts to many interesting aspects of living. He has a courageous spirit and cannot be outdone in his generosity! He is very affirming to fellow blog-writers and I look forward to reading his perspective on many topics.
When receiving an Award in cyber-world you are asked to do several things:
*Once you are nominated, make a post thanking and linking the person(s) who nominated you! *Include the Award sticker in the post too and be sure to answer the questions from your nominator(s)! *Nominate 5 -10 other bloggers who you feel are worthy of this award! *Lastly, COPY these rules in the post.
Because I have just now collected the courage to accept these Awards there is a plethora of questions to answer which have piled up from the three wonderful bloggers who nominated me! How I have chosen to handle my dilemma is to take an itty-bitty sampling of questions, (from each of the three,) to answer; so that I do not over-whelm anyone with data, yet hopefully keep it interesting for you while honoring my nominators! (Fingers-crossed!)
Why exactly do you write?
I have always journaled. I actually still have old Diaries from my youth and have journaled using various mediums throughout my lifetime. My blog is an opportunity for me to journal in cyber-space! It is a personal attempt to catalog my thoughts as I tippity-tap-type them off into the cyber-world!
Do you believe in miracles? If yes, have you ever seen one?
Yes! And yes! First and foremost I do believe the gift of life is not merely scientific…I believe life itself is a miracle. And that my life has been saved, sinner though I am, by a redeeming God is a miracle. Having said that…there have been two miracles thus far I have been witness to. While praying a Rosary on a silver-beaded Rosary my husband had custom made for me by a local woman as a Christmas gift…the beads turned from silver to gold in the course of prayer. This all took place after a pilgrimage to Medjugorje where this has been reported to have happened on multiple occasions. The prayer intention I had been praying for during this transformation to my Rosary indeed was eventually fulfilled. (The woman who made the Rosary for me verified in writing she used silver beads, while a local jewelry store verified their now gold composite. This evidence was turned in to the study of miracles at Medjugorje.) Lastly, I acquired a ‘healing cloth’ during our pilgrimage to Medjugorje, which I took to the hospital with me upon hearing our god-child was gravely ill. The dr’s at our local hospital gave permission for the cloth to be placed with her, amongst her wrappings, prior to her being air-flighted to a nearby Major Medical Hospital. Her survival has been said to be ‘miraculous.’
Which is your best memory?
Besides the marriage to my husband and birth of my children…reading my favorite childhood book, Island of the Blue Dolphin, while sitting in my favorite Chestnut tree in the side-yard of my childhood home.
Do you feel you are at peace with yourself?
Yes, profoundly…
Who is your guide, guru or counselor?
My Lord, my God, my Saviour!
What makes you feel very good?
When someone asks me to pray for them. Or values my opinion.
Which quality or habit in your life do you like the most about yourself?
My ability to listen.
What is your best quality?
My loyalty.
Which is more important, Heart or Brain?
Heart.
What are your two greatest quotes of all times?
“The truth is like a lion. It does not need defending. Set it free. It will defend itself.” St. Augustine
“It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” Ursula K. LeGuin
hugsnblessings 