When Things Go Wrong

“Dear Lord, if this is how You treat Your friends, it is no wonder You have so few!”

  I love this quote from St. Teresa of Avila.  It always makes me smile.  I think it is a very honest, down-to-earth, and a little sassy response to having been thrown off her horse on the way to visiting a convent.  St. Teresa had sense of humor, something she didn't mind sharing with God during their conversations.  

  I think her response is a very typical reaction to how many of us may look at the difficulties in our lives.  Often when things go wrong we turn to God and basically say “thanks a lot”.  When we are trying so hard to be good Christians, we may feel that God should do a better job at shielding us from the pain and disappointments of life.  I think that is pretty natural response.  Unlike some of us, God is not a control freak.  He really respects the gift of free will that He has given each of us, and I’m sure some of the consequences of this gift disappoint Him as well.  While He does not shield us from every pain, He does bless us with graces to help us.  Sometimes we are too busy being mad to see the help He has sent us.  Often it is through the kind words of support from a friend,  a hug from our spouse or children, or an unexpected compliment or smile from a stranger.  God is always in our midst touching the hearts and minds of those near to us to come to our aid.  God is actually the best friend we will ever have and my hope is that one day He introduces me to St. Teresa in heaven by saying, “Hey Theresa, I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine.”

  

-Susan

Evangelization Mission - Guest Writer Theresa

  Hi my name is Theresa, and I am about to make my Confirmation. In order to prepare for the sacrament of Confirmation we have all been asked to do a service project, because a big part of Confirmation is being called to use our talents to help build up the church. For my service project I have taken on the task of helping my Mom start a spiritual blog.  You’ll find inspiration stories, meditations, and short prayers that we hope help people realize the presence of God in their own lives. My role in the blog is being a guest writer, manager, and creator of the blog. Since this is the year of evangelization, I want to spread the word of God by getting our blog 1,000 page views by my Confirmation in November. My hope for this blog is that it can inspire others to become more acquainted with their relationship with God, and continue to spread the word of the gospel. Help us on our evangelization mission by checking our blog; www.dwellingwiththespirit.blogspot.com . And if you share the blog with others we can all evangelize together.

-Theresa

Ten Commandments

Want Some Good Advice?

  Have you ever wished you hadn't done or said something?   Have you ever said to yourself, " What was I thinking?  I really messed things up?". Or have you ever tried to warn someone else about the consequences of their actions because you had seen first hand how this type of behavior can spiral out of control?  Imagine if you had the opportunity to speak with God and ask Him, "What are the top ten behaviors that caused the most problems?"  I'm sure most you would be familiar with His top ten, otherwise known as the Ten Commandments.

  Some people see the Ten Commandments as outdated and unrelated to their lives.  Others see them as a list of restricting rules.  If you ask my opinion, I think God was trying to give us some really good advice on how to live peacefully and happily with one another. Think about it. God has heard the pain and suffering of people since the beginning of time. Surely He has noticed some of the most common reasons for everyone's problems.  For instance, when we take our focus off God and disrespect the people God has placed in our lives, we really hurt the people closest to us.  We need to respect God and the grace-filled life He has given each one of us.  Be happy knowing you are blessed by God and stop comparing, wanting, or taking what isn't yours.  Like any good parent, God just wants His kids to play nice, share our toys, and love one another.  God has a ton of amazing ideas, I feel we should really give these ten pieces of advice a try.

-Susan

Forgiveness; Hand in Hand

  Even though I have been an adult for more years than I like to admit, I love thinking of myself as a child of  God. The thought just makes me smile.  I like to imagine walking alongside God in a beautiful meadow, my small hand inside His and just talking about any and everything. 

  I do not like to think of myself as a sinner. The thought is so disappointing and embarrassing, yet completely accurate. I surmise I am not the only one who would rather ignore the "ugly" inside themselves. But if we want to grow spiritually, we need to take an honest look at ourselves and ask God for His grace and wisdom to change. 

   I remember one time waiting at church for the sacrament of Reconciliation. It was one of those Saturdays at home where no one could get along. I piled the kids in the car and told them I think we need to spend some time with God so we could remember how to be nice to each other.  As we walked into church, I reminded them to sit quietly and think of their sins. After about three minutes of peace, one by one my children whispered, "I can't think of any."

   My first thought was, "Are you serious?"  Instead I suggested they should try reviewing the day and think about how they had treated each other.   A few more minutes of "almost silence" occurred before one the youngest decided being silent was too difficult.  A few more minutes of "shhhh be quiet" and "please stop talking" occurred before I decided we were too disruptive to everyone else praying and we needed to leave. When we got out the church I looked at them and asked, "Was it really that hard to be good?"

  My son spoke up first. "Mom I know I was supposed to be quiet and good, but I couldn't do it.  I just couldn't stop talking. I don't know why.  I'm sorry."

  His words stopped me dead in my tracks. My anger dissipated and the light went on.  How many times had I asked God to forgive me for not acting the way I should and how many times had He forgiven me?

  I took my child's hand in mine as we walked to the car and softly said, "I forgive you.  Maybe next time you could try harder."

  He looked up at me and smiled and said,  "Yeah, I will."

  Whether you see yourself as child of God or a sinner, walking hand in hand, knowing you can forgive and be forgiven makes for a pretty good day after all.

-Susan

Fixer Upper

I like to watch home improvement shows.  A house that is run down, outdated and in need of serious repair can turn into something amazing in just a 6 week time frame.  A lot of times they uncover structural or wiring problems which could have created a serious safety concern for all those living in the house.  Most of the time the owners had no idea of these underlying danger s.  I wonder if instead of improving our houses we put that same amount of time and effort into improving our spiritual lives what could happen?

  What if God knocked on your door and said, "Hey I heard you were interested in a little soul improvement.  Let's take a look and see what needs fixing."  What areas in your life do you think God might think needs improvement?  How about your pray life?  Have you updated how you pray  or think about God in the past  five, ten, or twenty years?  How has your faith grown?  What about the amount of room for forgiveness in your heart?  Is this an area that needs expanding?  And how much money is there in the budget to help others in need?

  What would you do if during renovations you found a serious crack in the foundation of your faith or a stain of resentment or prejudice that needed to be removed?  Would you be willing to change or fix things?

  I think if you opened up the door to God and handed over your soul for improvement the results would end up being miraculous.  We've seen what He can do in only 6 days! 

-Susan

Vacationing with God #1: South Dakota

  We all piled in the big blue van and headed west for the Black Hills, South Dakota.  It was a two day  drive from home, but it was worth it!  First we stopped at the amazing Badlands.  God colorfully created these magnificent mountain peaks with skill.  No matter where you stood, the view was spectacular!  We traveled on to bike the trails in the Black Hills and enjoyed the 4th of July Fireworks show above Mt. Rushmore.  Lastly, we explored Custer State Park and one of the most beautiful and intriguing lakes I have encountered-Sylvan Lake!  The landscape here made us feel as if we were on another planet.  The rock formations surrounding the lake were incredible!  After a week of beautiful scenery and fun we headed back home.
  On Saturday we stopped at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls.  We were expecting to celebrate a nice mass in a beautiful church,  but we experienced something much more!  As we walked into the cathedral we learned that the associate pastor was from Africa.  Some of his friends from his homeland congregation came up to celebrate his priesthood anniversary.  The church reverberated with the beat of the African drums and instruments.  It was amazing!  In the middle of the United States my family had the opportunity to experience an African mass.  Of all the churches we could have stopped at on our two day ride home, God lead us here!  I felt He was really spoiling us with beautiful surprises this vacation.  We left the church smiling when one of my youngest children said, "So that's what church is like in South Dakota.  That was pretty coo!"

-Susan

Vacationing With God

I love to travel. God made this world so beautiful and to me traveling is an opportunity to discover a new facet of God's personality. His creativity is endless and I feel so fortunate for all the opportunities I have had so far. To me, vacationing is getting away from all the routines, responsibilities, and madness and just enjoying time with my family. It's a time for me to connect with my inner child and just have fun. God blessed me with beautiful, adventurous and fun loving children and they make my life very interesting and comical to say the least.  We never leave God at home while we are vacationing. How could we? He is part of us and I make a point of following His inspirations while we travel. So from time to time, I would like to share some of these moments with you. I hope that they might inspire you to invite God along on your next vacation and remember to ask Him, "Hey, what do you want to do?"

-Susan

Being Open To The Holy Spirit

Prayer for the day...

Let the Holy Spirit guide all your words today.

-Susan

A Meditation Based On The Woman By The Well

  It was around noon when I headed for the well to draw up my daily supply of water.  It was really hot.  The  scorching sun left me wet with perspiration.  I wish I could gather my water early in the morning like all the other woman in the village-but no one wants to be seen with me.  They have all judged me and want nothing to do with me.  I have had five different husbands-they all divorced and left me.  Not one of them took the time to talk to me or to understand me.  They just tossed me aside.  And now I’m living with a man who won’t even marry me.  I’m a disgrace.

  I was filling my buckets when I saw a man with brown wavy hair approaching the well.  I didn’t recognize him.  I don’t think he lives here  in Samaria.  Oh, I think he is a Jew. Jews never talk to Samaritans, especially not woman. I decided to quickly leave before I was shunned once again.

  And then I heard him say, “Give me a drink.”

  I replied, “How is that you a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”

  The man responded, “If you knew who it was that was asking of you for a drink, you would thank God for this special blessing and in return I would give you living water.  Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty.  The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

  I was absolutely amazed.  “Sir give me this water, so that  may never be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

  After this we sat and talked.  He knew everything about me-my five husbands, the man I was with now, and all my sins. And yet He was still talking to me.  He was warm, friendly, and spoke about God with such authority.  I knew he must be a prophet.  I couldn’t help but wonder- could he be the Messiah, the one everyone is waiting for?!

  He said, “God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.  After listening to him, I knew I was going to try harder to live my life in truth.  I somehow felt changed.  For the first time in a long time someone spoke to me as if I mattered.  

  Boldly I asked, “Are you the Messiah?”

  He said, “I am he.”

  Just then a group of men came towards us.  I could tell they were his disciples.  Instinctively, I lowered my head.  I was sure they would question why their teacher was talking to me.  But to my surprise, Jesus just smiled at me.  He was not ashamed or embarrassed to be with me.  I have never been treated with this kind of respect.

  “You must worship in spirit and truth.”  His words kept echoing through my mind and pulsating my heart.  “Spirit”- is that is what I was feeling inside of me?  I wanted to share this news with others.  I smiled at him and smiling back he said, “Yes, go.  I’ll wait here.”  It was as if he could read my thoughts.

  I ran back to my little village and told everyone about this man named Jesus.  And even though people usually ignored me, today they listened!  They all followed me back to the well and Jesus stayed with us for two days teaching us about God’s kingdom.  My whole life changed after that.  I have tried to live as Jesus instructed.  Others have changed, too, and people have begun to talk to me again.  It feels wonderful to have friends again.

  This is why I wanted to tell you my story.  It really hurts to be alone and without friends.  Reach out to those who are ridiculed.  We are all special in Jesus’ eyes and those living waters are inside of you, too.  Please join me as I build the Kingdom of God with one kind word after another.  Praise be to God!

-Susan

Praying for Mercy

My prayer for the day....

Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to a hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness. 

-Pope Frances

Let today be the day you embrace God's mercy.

-Susan

Secret Of Life

 What is the secret of life?  This question is as old as there are answers.  If you asked a room filled with people to all agree on one answer I think it would be quite difficult.  So let’s go simple.  What is the secret of life to you?  Does your life reflect that you have discovered the secret?

  The secret of life to me is to make God the center of your life and to remember that you weren’t made for this life, but really for what comes next in eternity.  The choices we make now will make all the difference in heaven.  Think about it.  God sent His only Son to establish The Kingdom.  Jesus didn’t hand us a map.   He showed us how to love, care, forgive, include and heal one another.  Jesus’ life was an every day prayer of love to the Father.  Jesus’ counterculture message brought criticism, anger, and eventually His death.  But Jesus remained center on God’s Will, and those who follow in His footsteps will leave their life behind in order to live forever in The Kingdom.

—Susan

Dwelling With The Holy Spirit

Often we are asked, “ Where do you live?” and it is easy for us to rattle off our address.  But I would like to ask you,  “Where or with whom do you dwell?”  I’m not asking you to describe the physical location of your house. Nor am I asking you to list those who share the same address as you.  I’m more interested in knowing where does the “real you” exist.  Where do you go for comfort, wisdom, courage or inspiration?  Is it a place within yourself or do you seek the advice of others?  

  Dwelling with the Holy Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your thoughts, behaviors, and decisions, can radically change how you view the world and your relationship with others.  For us Christians, the Holy Spirit has been dwelling within us since our baptism and is the powerful presence of God, Himself.  And yet many of us are so busy with our lives that we don’t take the time to just be present with God and enjoy His Spirit within us.  Let’s make today the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.  Today we will spend time dwelling with the Holy Spirit, experiencing God’s love for us, and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform and renew us.   Come Holy Spirit, awaken in me, and change me forever.  Today is the day I choose to dwell with the Spirit!

-Susan