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When Prayer Doesn’t Work
Before you begin, read Mark 5:21-43 I have been thinking about prayer a lot lately. Not necessarily how do I pray or what should I pray, but rather what is prayer, really? How does prayer work? Why doesn’t prayer work better? I mean, let’s be honest, I feel like most people (myself included) have wondered why God isn’t answering their prayers. Now, this is such an incredibly broad topic I won’t be able to talk about it from every aspect. So today, I’m addressing the “big” stuff. Why did I have a miscarriage even though I lifted up desperate, incessant prayers that it wouldn’t happen? Why did my daughter/son/mother/father not recover…
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Showered With Roses
“I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth. I will let fall from heaven a shower of roses.” St. Thérèse of Lisieux My love for St. Thérèse of Lisieux goes back to middle school. I heard a cool story about her in the 6th grade and immediately decided she was my girl. I chose her as my confirmation saint and the rest is history! I read tons about her, prayed novenas, and placed in her hands so many different intentions over the years. Since today is her feast day, I just wanted to share a quick story about a powerful role she has played in my vocation. I spent…
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5 Tips to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
In trying to live fully and joyfully, one big struggle that I constantly encounter is comparison. Male or female, married or single, student or worker, this struggle doesn’t seem to discriminate. At every stage of my own life, I have struggled with comparing myself to others. In college, I always wished to be one of the girls with a boyfriend who would get engaged senior year and married soon after college. After college, I still struggled with being single when everyone around me seemed to be getting married and having kids. Even now, comparing myself to other moms is very real. The truth is, the seasons of life have changed over…
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Getting Away
Jesus got away. When you read through the Gospels, it seems like he was constantly going away to quiet, solitary places by himself to pray. It was how he fed his soul, his ministry. He needed to get away from the demands of daily life to pray and be connected to his source, his heavenly Father. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35 “…he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12 We are no different. In our seeking to live abundantly, it’s so important to get away from…
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Have No Fear
Before you begin: Read Matthew 14:22-33 I can think of few things that steal my ability to live abundantly more swiftly than fear. I know I’m not alone in this, but sometimes it feels that way. Does anyone else have this incredible ability to be afraid of things, whether or not they are rooted in reality? At one time I was afraid of having too many kids, now I’m afraid of not having any more. I fear suffering, loss, pain. As my husband was leaving town this week for a business trip, I told him to drive safely because I need him to come home alive. He responded that he…