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Marie Granieri
Advent – A Time of Reflection and Anticipation The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” With hearts full of joy and great anticipation, we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now is the time to quiet ourselves and be still so that we can hear the whisper of His voice. In quiet surroundings, we hear what it is God wants us to know. Though we may try to slow our pace, being still away from the noise of the world can be very difficult. For many, life has presented different hardships that call for a different kind of waiting. Waiting for prayers to be answered. For loved ones to get well. Waiting for the will to walk again after losing a loved one in senseless tragedy. Perhaps, it is waiting for a heart of forgiveness to enter. Even at this blessed time of…
Thought to start the year reading a book about ways to bring grace filled habits into my morning routine. Kat’s book is filled with simply ideas and wonderful experiences from her own life that help bring meaning to her God + Plan + Move three minute morning routine. I love her constant reflection on Psalm 143:8 and now say this prayer during the early hours of my day. In particular I loved the story she shares about a sailing trip she took with her brother and father and what happened when they were engulfed in a sudden storm. You’ll have to read the book to find out! This is a great book for working mothers trying to balance so much into a day. Kat provides lots of fun ideas to keep the kids happy while maintaining mom’s own morning rhythm. She offers wonderful reasons to…
Faith is indeed a choice. I understand what it means to tragically lose someone you love in just a few breaths. To experience the permanent taking away of another human being you adored with your soul in a matter of seconds. After the September 11, 2001 attack, my life instantly became a devastating, heart exploding blur. I did all I could to spiritually and physically cope with the indescribable and profound loss of my younger brother James taken from our family that day. Only 26, James was a young apprentice just two weeks into his training as an IBEW Local Union electrician. I was the only person on the outside world able to speak with him just after the planes hit the South Tower. Through God’s grace, we were brought together to speak by phone three times. James and so many others were trapped on the 105th floor…
Several weeks after the 9/11 attack, my brother John took me down to the family viewing area at Ground Zero. John works with the Local Union and had been searching for our younger brother James nonstop. As we worked our way deeper into the site, I was completely gripped by the incredible mass of destruction all around me. Dust covered recovery workers were fiercely digging and searching for loved ones. We moved slowly and very carefully. Upon entering the safe viewing area built for family members, the ash covered eyes of a recovery worker looked up momentarily and met mine. Not a word was uttered. We spoke through our tears and brokenness. Standing in rows, workers moved whatever debris they could, hoping to find people alive. Among the thousands missing was our own brother James. He was 26 years old and had just started working for the Local Union…
As we live through all the uncertainty in our world, we can be strengthened by our Lord’s prayers. In John 17:9 Christ prayed to his Father saying “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 The Lord prayed for those whom God gave him. His lambs. Those who hear…
