This is the time of year when paying attention becomes especially important. Everything around us is transforming in some way. With so many things competing for our time, it is hard to find moments of pause to think about how today is different from yesterday. How today may be different than tomorrow. It is hard to reflect on only what is here and now. The grace given to us by God right where we are. How we strive to remember and do as the Lord said, to let the day’s trouble be enough for the day. Sharing a prayer to ask for God’s blessings on the day at hand. Just for Today Oh, God, give me grace for this day Not for a lifetime, nor for next week, nor for tomorrow, just for this day. Direct my thoughts and bless them, Direct my work and bless…
My Life is but an instant, a mere passing hour, My Life escapes and flies away, this single day, no other You know O Lord: a future bleak? Beg you for tomorrow, I shall not, cannot!… But keep my heart pure, put me in your shade Just for this day, no other Soon I shall fly to sing your praise, And I leave this day, no other. Then I shall play the angels lyre And no longer say that on my soul it sets, This day no other, But on my soul it shines: Your everlasting day, all other! This beautiful poem was written by St. Therese of Lisieux. Her life and writings greatly inspire me. Even as a small child, St. Therese demonstrated her love for God through simple every day gestures. In many of her writings, she tells us not to focus so much on our weaknesses…
Wake Me Up” Lyrics: AVICII So wake me up when it’s all over; When I’m wiser and I’m older; All this time I was finding myself; And I didn’t know I was lost Haven’t we all at one time or another felt like this? We thought we were in exactly the right place, where we belong. Doing what seemed like all the right things. Then time passes and we come to realize that somehow, somewhere we fell off our original path. At some point along the way we switched directions. Instead of pursuing our hopes and dreams, we made a choice that changed everything. Maybe it was a career choice or moving to another state away from family and childhood friends. Then something happens. We wake up. We begin to remember those deeply embedded dreams and aspirations we had…
From Phillip Phillips Song “Home” Hold on to me as we go As we roll down this unfamiliar road And although this wave is stringing us along… Just know you’re not alone ‘Cause I’m gonna make this place your home Settle down, it’ll all be clear Don’t pay no mind to the demons They fill you with fear The trouble it might drag you down If you get lost, you can always be found Just know you’re not alone ‘Cause I’m gonna make this place your home The first time I heard Phillip Phillips new song “Home” it brought back the memory of an incredible dream I had of my dear brother James, who we lost on September 11th. Phillips words “Hold on to me as we go” took…
Joseph Schmidt’s book “Everything is Grace – The Life and Way of Therese of Lisieux” is one that I open time and again. Each chapter is filled with faith filled prayers, sentiments and spiritual experiences as captured by the Little Flower in her journal entries. She shares the early years of her life and how she was so loved by her family. Her parents Louis and Zelie Martin went through so much suffering having lost 4 of their 9 children as infants. Her beloved mother died when she was only four. Despite her family’s grief, their faith in the Lord never wavered. Although St. Therese became known as the Little Flower because of her immeasurable capacity to love and forgive, it was her love of God that drove her calling. After being denied twice to join the Carmelites because of her young age of…
