New Here? Don't miss out! 🙂 Get my posts to your inbox!
>>> Click Here! <<<
Here are this week’s must-reads:
+ “What is it that the Lord actually promises us? There is so much that he actually does give us — and yet, there can be things that we deeply long for and desire that he doesn’t actually promise us. And I want to say that with great sensitivity because those longings are real… So how do I walk the tension of — you haven’t actually ever promised me this, I really want this. I’m longing for it and it’s painful. But with what you actually say as well — what is it you’ve actually promised me? And it’s a real challenge because it’s the point of the Cross in many ways. It’s where suffering and hope collide. Where Jesus didn’t stay dead — he suffered and there’s hope in the Cross, there’s hope in the resurrection. How do we bring that to the land in our lives when we have areas of pain and suffering and yet this God that we profess belief in says, “I am enough. Can you grow in the measure of me being enough?”
… When life can be disappointing and certainly painful, the belief that He is enough – that Jesus is enough, with or without the things that we long for — whether that’s a partner or a baby, a home — or… and all these things which are good things — and the Bible speaks about them so we know they’re on the heart of God. the irony in times of pain is that we often see the faithfulness of God in ways that maybe we don’t see when life is even-keeled. He is faithful — it’s in his character — he can’t be anything but faithful.” — Mia
+ Mother Teresa called The Miraculous Medal the “medal of charity.” She would often give it to people and encourage them to pray, “Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a mother to me now.”
+ We celebrated the feast of the Blessed Mother Mary’s birthday on Sunday, and it always makes me think about St. Anne too. What a beautiful day for her too, right? A day to remember how God had a plan for her and her prayer intentions that she probably couldn’t see or imagine for years. But He did, and in His time, He moved. Maybe this feast day can remind us of the same, especially if you have any long-prayed-for prayer intentions. God has a plan for you. Some plan — just for you. And while you wait — and prepare for that — He has given us a mother & grandmother to intercede for us. — read here
Here’s what’s featured in my newsletter, The Collection, this week… I shared a handful of pieces for upcoming feast days. You can sign up for The Collection here.
Sign up for The Collection here.
+ I assure you that God is much better than you believe. He is content with a glance, a sigh of love. —St. Therese of Lisieux
+ “That you are continually sustaining me, loving me — Jesus, I trust in you.” — From the Litany of Trust
+ “The one thing that makes the duties of my vocation possible:
C L O S E N E S S T O C H R I S T. through
💙 the sacraments, and their grace that overflows into…
💙 daily prayer—steeping in His Word and drawing near
Even when
🕯️ prayer is dark and dry
🕯️ I don’t see or feel Him
🕯️ exhaustion plagues my meditation…
I promise you this: my prayer is never perfect or pretty. It is gritty and grounded in the reality of my life. Jesus is not deterred by this. On the contrary, it is precisely WITHIN these circumstances (that I see as obstacles) that He wills to bless me and bring me closer to Him. Let’s stop waiting for a perfect environment, perfect heart, or perfect prayer book. He is not waiting for any of that—He only waits for you.” — Into the Deep
+ Many years ago, for one of our wedding anniversaries, John-Paul gave me a card that said a Mass was being offered for us on our anniversary in the Chapel where we were married. Since then, I think of it as one of the sweetest gifts and ways to celebrate a wedding anniversary. 💙💙💙 In case you have one coming up… 😉
+ “You learn to love by loving.” — St. Francis de Sales
+ “Our hands, so grasping, rest has freed
To welcome gifts we never knew.” — read here
+ “The psalmist prayed to God, “Why do you hide your face, why do you forget our affliction?” But on this side of the cross, we know that God does not hide his face from us… We have the deepest comfort of the nearness of Christ in our difficulty. So in your affliction, ask God to make his nearness apparent to you.” — Journey Women Ministry
+ “In my pain, I calmly ask Jesus to meet me in it. To not let it crush me. And what do you know, the Son of God never fails to meet me. And what does Jesus say to me in that agonizing place of pain? Well, He comforts me with His own words. He’ll say something like, “Joni, my spirit inspired 2 Corinthians 4:8 for a reason. “For although you are hard-pressed on every side, you will not be crushed.” What a promise. Pain may tighten its grip, but it cannot crush me as I cling to God’s promises. It pushes me further into Jesus’ heart and there is nothing sweeter than finding my savior in the middle of my (painful) circumstances… It helps me deflect my pain, it helps me to suffer well. Jesus helps me to be in an unhappy place well… All these years, my pain did not get delivered but I met my deliverer. I did not get healed but I found intimate fellowship with the healer.” — Joni & friends
Here are the fashion finds in this week’s Collection:
