Wonder and Awe- Guest Writer Theresa

    If someone asked you two questions- what is bad in the world and what is good in the world, which question would you be able to answer more easily? Often the bad can get in the way of the good, and we are missing all the amazing things that God has made for us. It seems everything in our lives today are centered around the bad, like trashy magazines making millions exploiting people's personal tragedies, or whatever the latest life changing product is that we can buy to take away the bad in our lives. If we could just open our eyes to what is really important, God, we would be so overwhelmed with goodness that none of the bad would matter.

    It is impossible to even imagine just how much God loves us. He has given all of us this amazing world to live in, and has another amazing place waiting for us in heaven. Think of all the people in your life- God gave you them. God also gave you all the opportunities you've had, the places you've been, and everything you love. He also gave you the world, which is pretty amazing. God has done so much for you and everyone else in this world, its time we realize just how awesome everything He has done is.

-Theresa

Gift of Knowledge

  The Gift of Knowledge isn't about knowing a lot of different facts it is rather a search for Truth.  Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  Jesus also told Pilate "the reason He was born into this world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."  We need to be careful not to be mislead by false worldly notions.  The gift of knowledge can help us align our thoughts with God and help us determine what God wants us to do.  It helps us live a life of faith.

-Susan

Gift of Right Judgment

Decisions are an every day occurrence.  Sometimes we instinctively know what to do and sometimes we really need to think things over.  The Gift of Right Judgment helps us make the best decisions by aiding our ability to know right from wrong.  Of course we always want to make the right decision, but deciding what is most important or more compassionate or what's best for everyone can be confusing.  It can be hard to know if you are doing the right thing for the right reason.  The Holy Spirit can help us better evaluate a situation by making us more sensitive to the feelings and rights of others and help us see how to avoid actions which may be harmful or lead to destructive behavior.  The Holy Spirit wants us to be happy and have peace of mind.  Life can be messy and confusing and painful, but if we pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and are faithful to His inspirations, we are better prepared to handles life's challenges and circumstances. Right Judgment-don't leave home without it.

-Susan

Gift of Understanding- Guest Writer Cathy McInerney

Too many questions.  Sometimes I drive the people around me crazy with too many questions.  I’m curious and I’m driven to understand, take in, discern, reflect and keep or let go.  Sometimes I envy those who immediately see everything in black and white, right or wrong; I see shades of gray a lot. So I am constantly searching to understand the truths of our faith, my relation to God and my role in the world around me.  Understanding is so much more than intellectual knowledge.  It is about combining the intellectual with the spiritual and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the gift of understanding helps me order my life toward God.  

(Cathy McInerney)

Gift of Courage-Guest writer Pio

A True Story of Courage

It was an icy day in December.  I awoke to the pre-recorded message that stated school was cancelled.  Yes!!  This is going to be an awesome day!  Or so I thought.  While eating breakfast, I found out my Dad was having some numbness in his face and had to go to the emergency room.  It wasn’t until late that night that I found out my Dad needed to have brain surgery.  The tests showed a bleed in his brain and the doctors didn’t know why.  My dad was totally healthy.  He rarely ever got sick.  What was going on?  I couldn’t make sense of it.  Surgery was scheduled in three days.

I went to visit my Dad in the hospital with my brother and sisters every day.  We laughed and joked around like always.  My Dad seemed totally fine.  He told me not to worry.  He also told me that his head needed to be shaved.  I was a little freaked out about this.  I’m not the type of person that likes change.  My Dad didn’t want us kids to get upset so he decided to make a “party” out of it. Surprisingly, my Dad handed over the razor and let us kids help shave his head.  We joked around the whole time.  When it was all done, my Dad definitely looked different.  We told him he looked tougher and should join a motorcycle gang.  I gave my Dad a hug before I left and added “I will see you tomorrow after surgery.”

My Mom stayed with my Dad, and my oldest sister drove us kids home.  It seemed like a very long ride home.  I thought about my Dad the whole time.  I worried about the surgery.  I wondered if my Dad was going to be okay.  I thought my Dad was being pretty brave about the whole thing.  I wished there was something I could do to help him.  But I was in the fifth grade, what could I do?  My brother and I started talking about my Dad shaving his head when the idea hit us.  What if we shaved our heads too to show him our love and support.  “That’s crazy!” I announced.  I mean I like my hair.  My sister heard us talking and replied, “Yes!  You should totally do it.”  When we got home she then shaved both me and my brother’s heads!  Yikes!

The next day my Dad went to surgery and my brother and I went to school. Unfortunately, none of us had a very good day.  Our classmates just didn’t understand.  I felt really proud of my decision to support my Dad, but my classmates made fun of me.  I got a lot of really awkward stares.  Nobody seemed to understand.  It was worse for my brother in junior high.  Junior high kids really didn’t get it.

After my Dad left the ICU I was able to visit him.  I’ll never forget the smile across his face when he saw my brother and I walk into his room.  He couldn’t believe it.  He told me, “That is the coolest thing you have ever done for me!”  And then he gave me a bear hug.  This was just the beginning of a series of life lessons my Dad’s brain cancer was going to teach me. Supporting the people you love is the coolest thing you could do. It didn’t matter that a lot of my friends made fun of me and thought it was stupid.  Sometimes you just have to take a stand in what and who you believe in no matter the cost.  I took a stand against cancer.  Cancer may have taken my dad’s hair, but it didn’t touch his sense of humor or the way he loved me.  Shaving my head didn’t make sense to my friends, but it made more sense to my Dad than anything else I could have done.

-Pio

Gift of Wisdom

  The Gift of Wisdom encourages us to look at a situation from God's point of view.  With this gift we may see things not only from our own perspective, but from other's as well.  Sometimes we need to step back a little so we can see the full picture.  This gift of the Holy Spirit encourages us to take a little extra time to really think about things in order to discover God's Will.  I would like to share the lyrics from the chorus by a song by Brandon Heath called "Give Me Your Eyes".  If you have a chance,  spend a few minutes with your eyes closed listening to the entire song.

  Give me your eyes for just one second
  Give me your eyes so I can see,
  Everything that I keep missing,
  Give your love for humanity.
  Give me  your arms for the broken-hearted
  The ones that are far beyond my reach.
  Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
  Give me Your eyes so I can see.

Confirmation Countdown--Praying for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit-Gift of Reverence

  Confirmation is only seven days away for Theresa and her fellow candidates!  We have decided to spend the next seven days highlighting the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We will dedicate a different gift each day and will have some guest writers.  We would love it if everyone could spend a few minutes praying that these candidates will be strengthened by the awesome gifts of the Spirit!

The Gift Of Reverence
  We often enjoy causal conversations with acquaintances,  causal Fridays, or a nice pair of causal shoes.  However, casual is not the word we should use to describe our relationship with God.  Our relationship with God should be intimate, holy, and respectful.  We shouldn't casually follow God, we should love God with all or heart, with all our mind, and with all our soul.  We should strive to become holy,  just as Jesus is holy.  I would like to suggest that today we pray for the Gift of Reverence by praying three times: 
        "Jesus you must increase in me, and I must decrease."

-Susan