Catholic Mother's Conference

Have you heard about the Catholic Mother's Conference coming to N.E. Ohio on November 15, 2008? You may ask, "Why not just a women's conference? Why the focus on motherhood?" The reasons are many, but mostly because as J.P. II states: "The future of the world passes through the family." Parents are called to raise their children in the faith, but too often we forget that this ultimately is a calling from God, it is not just a job that we've signed up for. It is our vocation, and mother's, in particular, have been given so many gifts to bring faith and life to our families. It is how we have been designed by God.
Many mother's are busy these days and to give an entire Saturday to something needs to really be worth our time. I guarantee that this will be worth your time. At this conference you will be revived, you will find purpose, you will experience joy, you will experience God and you will walk away with practical ways to bring faith to your family, and you will learn how to get your daily things done so that you can be fully devoted to the ones you love.
If you do nothing else for your spiritual life this year, I recommend this conference.

Finally, our hope is to develop community within each parish by having a group of women from each parish attend the conference together. This is where I need your help. If you are reading this and are planning on attending then I would like to hear from you. I am looking for one or two women within each parish who will invite a group of women to attend the conference together. This is a big mission to evangelize the faith to the women in our community and you can participate in this evangelization through your personal invitation. If you would like to help in this mission please contact me. Go to my business link www.avenuesofgrace.com (see links on the side) and go to the "contact Marna" tab. Just send me a comment as to how I can contact you either by e-mail or phone and I will get in touch and give you information on how you can help. I hope to hear from each of you soon. Thank you and God bless.
Marna

Prayer is a Choice

Have you ever been inspired by those people who seem to have their faith life all in order? Their faith is deep and they spend daily time in prayer, either by reading scripture, journaling or even mass. What is it that makes their faith life different from another's? Choice! They make a conscientious choice to put God first. They choose to put other things aside for just a few minutes to spend time with God.
It doesn't take much to move forward in your spiritual life. A few sincere moments is better than nothing at all, but it starts with the choice to take the time.

P.S. Daily scripture readings take less than five minutes. Scripture feeds your soul. Can you take five minutes?

Moving Forward

What is keeping you from moving forward? Have you set a goal for yourself and you aren't reaching it? Are you looking off to the horizon knowing for months you want to go there, but yet you remain where you are? Are you just plain stuck in the same old patterns you are trying to break?
Many times people want to blame all the circumstances or people around them for not moving forward, but in reality the obstacle can actually be ourselves. Sometimes it's fear, sometimes it's lack of a certain skill, or sometimes we haven't taken the time to look at the circumstances or people around us to figure out a way to change the situation (so still, it is ourselves).
What about your life? What are you trying to change? What is keeping you from moving forward? What do you need to do to remove the obstacles in your life? Humbly look at yourself and look to to God, and I'm sure you will find the answer.

Fear Of The Unknown

Do you have a situation in your life where you don't know what is going to happen? You know that God is in control, but you don't know what the outcome is going to be? Sometimes you can be so trusting of God and his plan, regardless of the outcome, but other times you feel the fear of the unknown creeping in.
This must have happened to the apostles after Jesus ascended into heaven. On one hand, they were trusting that God was going to send a "helper" (the holy spirit), but on the other hand, they didn't know what it was going to be. On one hand, Jesus had risen from the dead, what he said had to be true, but on the other hand, he was no longer with them. The conflict of trust vs. fear must have been incredible.
So, when I get this way, I look to them as an example. I first ask them for intercession, to pray for my fear and the outcome. Then, I look to the Holy Spirit to fill my heart with trust and patience. It was through the Holy Spirit that they were truly transformed and were able to move forward. The Holy Spirit is still alive and active today, and he can be in your life too, if you invite him.

New Year's Resolutions

Many people start New Year's Resolutions on January 1st and unfortunately give up by January 31st. When asked why they are no longer pursuing the resolution, the number one answer seems to be "stress". Life is too busy or too complicated and people loose their focus. People have good intentions; it's just life takes over.
Why not make this year's resolution: a year to reduce the stress! Start by recognizing what is causing you the most stress. Then ask yourself, "How can I change this situation so that it causes less stress in my life?" "What do I need to do differently" or "How does my attitude need to change?".
Once I had a job that I felt was very stressful. It was not something I could get out of immediately. So I asked the question, "How can I enjoy myself today?" I found a way to make something enjoyable at work and that was the first step to my revitalization. It made a world of difference!
So my question to you is: "Where is your stress coming from and how can you make a change?"

It's All About Attitude

Last week was my birthday and I woke up determined to have a great day, and you know what? I did. I savored every moment from sipping my coffee to playing with my kids, from a hot shower to running errands. No matter what I did, I enjoyed it. Funny thing is, we didn't even celebrate my birthday that day. Basically it was just an ordinary day, but my attitude made all the difference. It got me thinking...what if I lived every day like it was my birthday? What if I savored every moment?
See, I've determined that America's problem is that we are always living for the next moment instead of savoring the moment we are in. We're always thinkging about the next task, the next appointment, the next day. What about right now? What about the child next to you that needs your attention? What about the spouse that wants you to just sit with them? What about that clerk at the store who barely notices you because they are also living in the next moment.
What a difference life would be if we could live in the here and now. What a difference in our lives and the lives of others. Try it...you just might enjoy yourself!

Gifts

The few days following Christmas always seem to be so relaxing because everything has already been accomplished before the holiday. There are fewer schedules to keep, so evenings are more relaxing and enjoyable. It is easy to feel that you can be a gift to your family because you can make yourself present without the distractions of the next activity.

Well, all this relaxing got me thinking about how I can transfer these moments to the following weeks when schedules are a bit tighter. How can I continue to be a gift to my family? After all, isn't the "gift of self" the best thing that you can give your family? Not only a gift to my family, but also a gift to Christ.

So how do you do it? How do you ensure that the next few weeks/months are not just moments where you are constantly rushing to do the next thing? Well, take a look at your day or your evenings. What needs to change to free up those moments? Does your day need rearranged? Perhaps you have some sort of obstacle that is in the way of you connecting with the ones you love. How do you remove it? Where can you invite a sacred moment into your day?

It really doesn't take a lot of time to be a "gift of self" to those around you. It only requires that you make yourself present to those you love.