Several years ago, I sat in a small chapel at about 11 at night on a retreat. The day had been a long and fruitful one, and I was hesitant to go to sleep and end the day. So there I sat in silence in front of Jesus, not really praying, just sitting. And I realized I was REALLY tired. So I finally said, “Jesus, I’m sorry but I’ve got to go to sleep.” The next second, without a beat, the funniest thought popped into my head. “Well, now I know how John (my husband) feels.” And when you read that, it maybe doesn’t sound funny, but as I heard…
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How to Develop a Personal Rule for Life
Plus a FREE ebook, Creating a Life of Prayer, to download at the end of the post! So there I was, about 2 years ago, sitting in a priest’s office, and he explains to me that I need a “Rule” for life. A what?! Are you speaking Latin? I don’t understand what you are saying. A few days before, I had walked into the confessional with our new associate pastor, and he offered to meet with me to give me spiritual direction. I didn’t even know I needed a spiritual director or what one does when meeting with one. But I took him up on the offer. When we met…
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Give Thanks to the Lord, For His Mercy Endures Forever
(This post contains an affiliate link, which means I earn a small commission if you shop through the links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Have you read Psalm 136 recently? (Don’t worry – I wouldn’t have known it off the top of my head either.) In my Catholic Journaling Bible, Psalm 136 is called a “Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Everlasting Mercy.” This is a great description because the psalmist lists all the wondrous things God has done, followed by the phrase, “for his mercy endures forever,” over and over. FOR 26 VERSES! In an early post, I mentioned that during retreat I was meditating on…
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Review of “Walking Holy Week with Jesus,” a prayer journal
Have any of you used a prayer journal before? I only discovered that this was a thing a couple years ago. I’ve always kept a journal that I would use to jot down thoughts during prayer, but I never knew that there were themed journals with directed prayers and journal prompts. Maybe you didn’t either. Personally, now I love prayer journals. For the last couple years I have been using a prayer journal for the holy seasons of Advent and Lent, and I have found them highly beneficial in deepening my experiences of those seasons. If you’ve never used a prayer journal, here’s a quick description for you. Most journals…
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When God Doesn’t Give Us The Thing We Want
There’s a man in Albany who is fighting for his life due to sepsis. He was given a 5% chance of survival. I have been following the story on social media. A few nights ago they took him in for surgery to amputate his arm due to infection. She begged the social media world to pray. I feel asleep praying for this man. When I awoke, the story had changed. They didn’t need to amputate. Miracle after miracle has been happening for this family. And his wife has been quick to praise God for His goodness. This story got me thinking about the purpose of prayer and it’s efficacy. I…
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God Speaks to You Each and Every Day
If you follow me on social media you may have seen that I spent this past weekend on retreat. This is my 4th retreat with the Sisters of Life and each year it is incredibly fruitful, so if I can make it, I’m usually there. I have learned, anytime you go on retreat, you should head in without expectations. God surprises me every single time. I think I have some idea of how the weekend might go. Nope! Not even close. Some years it’s been filled with tears, as I worked through something. Sometimes it’s been filled with a mix of confusion and then peace. This year, without a doubt,…
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Christmas Lists and Unanswered Prayers
You may be wondering what Christmas lists and prayers have to do with each other. Great question! Hang tight – if you haven’t figured it out yet, I love a good analogy. For the last 2 weeks our kids have been honing their Christmas lists. They’ve been scouring catalogues, noting TV ads and filling a note pad with ideas. I gave them free reign to list even the most outlandish ideas, like a “real live puppy (a lab of any kind)” and another trip to Disney. Then, we divided the lists into “wants,” “needs,” “things to wear,” “things to read or learn,” and “things to do.” After all this, the…
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Tending Our Garden of Little People
A few weeks ago I took our daughter to Confession. I really wanted her to get it in before school started, get her a jolt of grace. (As a side note: my spiritual director had recommended quarterly Confessions for a child her age.) But she did not want to go, AT ALL. Anyone else surprised by this? No, I wasn’t either. Anyway, in the chapel with her, I was lamenting (ok, downright complaining) to Jesus about how hard parenting is and how we’re trying to teach and pass on our faith to our kids, but I just worry that it’s not sticking. I was intrigued by the answer I got…
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Made for Something More
So branching off the last post when I gave you a brief intro, another bit of information about me: I love to listen to Catholic podcasts. I don’t have a ton of time for reading (although I try at night and I’ve gotten really good at sleeping upright holding a book), but I usually can find 10 minutes in the car to listen to podcasts. I like them because they help me stay focused, feel inspired and energized and keep my thoughts on holy and good things. Recently, I listened to an episode of a podcast called Abiding Together, which is hosted by three women around my age, one being…
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A Little About Me
The other day I wrote about why I’m starting this blog. I want to begin this post giving you a little introduction to me – not because I think it’s especially interesting, but because it sets the tone for more interesting stories, hopefully. And I love witness stories. They move me, and touch my heart and they inspire and show us how God is moving in other’s lives. Of course, I don’t want you to focus on what I have been blessed with, or how your life is different, and start comparing. (Actually, I plan to eventually tell you some of the uglier stuff about my life for the express…
