"We have to stop dimming our lights" - Catholic Wife, Catholic Life

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This week’s must-reads:

1. The St. Jude Novena is one of the novenas that brings the most people to our website… and I think it’s because St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes. We start praying his novena on Friday. Do you have some impossible causes that I can pray about for you?

2. I LOVE THIS MESSAGE: “wouldn’t it be something if we all had the courage to truly RECEIVE the gifts He’s given us? to EMBRACE them, cultivate them, grow in them so that we may better love and serve those around us? we have to stop dimming our lights simply because we are scared. scared of whether or not our strengths are actually strengths. scared of whether or not our strengths are as strong as someone else’s. scared of whether or not our strengths can be of any use to begin with. we have to stop comparing our gifts to each other’s gifts and recognize that we are not meant to to be each other, but are meant to complement each other + help each other cultivate the unique strengths we do have. for our greater good and His greater glory.” – Shalini, Her Fit Life 7

3. An opportunity to join a private Facebook group for Catholic women (I’m the moderator and I’d love to see you there!)

4. “A desire to pray is planted deep within us. This just means the desire to speak to God and to listen to him. Keep in mind that prayer is not designed to change God’s mind or to tell God something he doesn’t know. God isn’t like a big city boss or a reluctant pasha whom we have to persuade. He is rather the one who wants nothing other than to give us good things—though they might not always be what we want.

Can you see how this prayer rightly orders us? We must put God’s holy name first; we must strive to do his will in all things and at all times; we must be strengthened by spiritual food or we will fall; we must be agents of forgiveness; we must be able to withstand the dark powers.” – Bishop Barron

5. Dealing with Miscarriage and Secondary Infertility

6. Your Cycle (and Tempdrop) Demystified

7. A bit about small losses & gratitude…

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One thing I've learned about life after experiencing small — but still significant losses is that it propels me towards being way more grateful for those things when I do have them. At least, now it does. Like the ability to hear silence, when I can hear it (tinnitus-struggler over here). Or the ability to smile — which I couldn't do last week. And the ability to stand for 40 minutes (which I couldn't do four years ago) in front of a group of women and share a little bit about my experience with God's beauty both online and in-person. Today I'm so, so grateful for these things. They may not be constant (nothing ever is), but living in gratitude now in the present moment is all I can do. It's the better part for today. ❤️👌🏻 I’m also grateful that my husband drove around to four (or five) different shops with me to find my favorite pumpkins for our front steps. 😂 🎃 🙌🏻

A post shared by Annie Deddens (@catholicwifecatholiclife) on Oct 16, 2018 at 7:25am PDT