Vacation

I recently took a vacation to Florida, and while I was there all I could think of was how much I was enjoying myself. I was so relaxed and had plenty of time for my family. There was no laundry, no cleaning, no meals to make. Life was simple. All of that enjoyment got me thinking...How can I make my life at home more like a vacation? O.k., You're probably laughing at the thought, thinking that it is absolutely impossible! But what is the difference between being at home and being on vacation? ....Simplicity. So, I've been looking at the things that keep my life from being simple, and asking how can I change them? I've made some changes and things are better for me. Then I was also looking at some of the upcoming decisions I have to make, and when I look at them in terms of "simplicity", it's helping me to make better decisions.
Then, last night I was blessed to be able to see Ivan Dragicevic speak. He is a visionary from Medjugorje. His message, which is Our Lady's message is to pray and make time for those you love. The only way for me to make time is to simplify. I'm seeing a recurring theme in what God is revealing to me. I guess it's time to listen.

Bringing Heaven to Earth

Our Father, who art in heaven... ...Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Have you ever really thought about that last phrase? What are we saying? We are asking God to bring heaven to earth; to transform our circumstances as they could be transformed in heaven. So often we think, "Oh, things will never change until we get to heaven." In one sense that is true because everything will be glorified there. We'll have new bodies, new understandings and healed relationships because of our new understandings. However, I believe this prayer given to us by Jesus is reminding us that God's healing and understanding is fully available to us now. By saying, "on earth as it is in heaven" we are calling down the power of heaven into our lives. We are embracing now, what we believe God will fully reveal to us after we die.
Imagine what our lives would be like if we had that kind of faith. "Lord, make our earth as heaven. Make our cities as heaven. Make our neighborhoods as heaven. Make our homes as heaven. "
God didn't say how long it would take to transform all these things. But he did ask us to pray this way. I think that says alot.

Priorities

What do you do when you feel like everything is a priority? We have so much that needs to be done and it's all important. So how do we distinguish which priority is most important? Well, the first part is easy. God and family should always come first. It's the rest that gets confusing.

When looking at my tasks I ask the question - "Which is causing me the most stress or which is standing in the way of the other things I value most?" Then I take care of that first. It's amazing the amount of stress that is reduced when I can actually cross it off my list.

So what truly needs to be a priority in your life? How can you fit getting it done into your day or your life? Remember, if you say it is a priority, then you have to make it so and take care of it.

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.