love – Page 2 – Walk in Trust

AD QUID VENISTI

Please read this beautiful homily by Father Mario Esposito, O. Carm.

It targets my questioning and disquiet these past couple of years and what I’m still struggling to answer. “Why have you come here.” Here…to this community…to this marriage…to this life. Why are YOU here? Once that has been answered we can no longer sit back and play small. We can choose self giving, obedience and submission, only when we have something to actually give.

“People submerged in their work and other pursuits who begin to lose the meaning of their lives, to feel lost, overwhelmed, angry and frustrated, have to stop and breathe and re-orient themselves to ask what is really important, and what really matters.” Yes, if we don’t ask it of ourselves…life will do it for us and usually in the harshest of tones.

“Why are you here? I am most zealous for the Lord of hosts, for the service of God’s people, in purity and with love.”

That's what's up!

http://www.godfruits.com/3093/beautiful-sisters-sing-in-perfect-harmony-then-big-sister-lets-her-little-sister-shine-in-an-incredible-solo.php

Oh please, please, please…do yourself a huge favor and go watch this video. These girls are amazing. And yes…the lyrics are right on! <3

And isn’t that picture of them just perfect?

What my soul needs

I’m trying to live proactively, and not just accept life as it happens. So I sat down and jotted some things down. What do I like? What gives me true pleasure and peace of mind? This might seem a bit too self focused, but at the point where I am in my journey it’s what needs to be done. I need to remember myself…who I was created to be.

Life and other people…often well intentioned…seem to band together to push you down…to keep you ‘in your place’. You need to put up a struggle…the world needs you!

My Soul enrichers

* Frequent reception of the Sacraments in a place that feels authentic.

* A good diet and exercise program that will provide energy and not hurt me (paleo at the moment)

* Intimacy…relationships where I can lay it all out and feel accepted for who I am but yet am challenged to be better…be surrounded by people who are similarly called, where I can both feed and be fed and nurtured…and exchange ideas safely. A setting where I give and receive plenty of words of affirmation and appropriate physical touch.

* To express my creativity…(my photography at the moment.)

* To feel productive and useful.

* To live a simple life in an organized and fairly clean setting.

* Be surrounded by nature and beauty

* Beautiful music and art

* Good books

I’m going to tackle each of these areas individually in future posts, so stay tuned. 😉

All of me a duet

Do you ever sing romantic songs to Jesus? I used to do it all the time, but haven’t done it in a while. Until this special song came out. It’s one of my favorites and yet not quite worthy to be sung to a mere human…so I sing it to Him, the lover of my soul, the One who does not disappoint, the One who will never leave me. The one who will indeed love me through it all. It’s a beautiful duet…a Communion Song if you will. 🙂

[Verse]
(Jesus)What would I do without your smart mouth
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can’t pin you down
(Me)What’s going on in that beautiful mind
I’m on your magical mystery ride
And I’m so dizzy, don’t know what hit me, but I’ll be alright

[Bridge]
(Me)My head’s under water
But I’m breathing fine
(Jesus)You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind

[Chorus]
(Jesus)‘Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I’ll give my all to you
(Me)You’re my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I’m winning
‘Cause I give you all, of me
And you give me all, of you

[Verse]
(Jesus)How many times do I have to tell you
Even when you’re crying you’re beautiful too
The world is beating you down, I’m around through every mood
(Me)You’re my downfall, you’re my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can’t stop singing, it’s ringing, in my head for you

[Bridge]
(Me)My head’s under water
But I’m breathing fine
(Jesus)You’re crazy and I’m out of my mind

(Jesus and me together)Cards on the table, we’re both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it’s hard

(Jesus and me together)I give you all, all of me
And you give me all, all of you.

Hiding from Love

(Click on picture to take you to Amazon)

I’m in the middle of reading this book and it is amazing! It really gets down to the root of most of our problems today.

“God had a “plan A” for us: a life of unbroken connectedness with Him and each other. Not only was there to be unbroken attachment, but we were also to experience a deep, satisfying sense of purpose and accomplishment in performing the task that He gave us.”

So we were meant to live our lives feeling deeply loved and appreciated, in relationship with Him and our brothers, with a sense of purpose and productivity. WOW! No wonder so many of us ‘sensitive souls’ just feel so darn restless all the time. Our main connections are either totally gone, or so distorted that it’s difficult to draw an ounce of pure love from them. Like trying to breathe in a polluted environment.

Also the productivity thing…yea…umm…take a look around. It’s not that we aren’t ‘busy’ enough…I mean, no one has time for anything as it is, right? But how ‘productive’ are we really? What are we putting out? Do we have pride of accomplishment in our work? It doesn’t matter what it is…a farmer, a writer, an artist, a home maker, a contemplative nun…all productive members of society. It’s in our mind set and how we go about our lives.

And I also venture to say that the two are connected. As in…by being ‘productive’ we serve our brothers and sisters and thereby enter into relationship…and as we enter into relationship and feel loved, we want to be more productive. The ultimate example of this of course being marriage. Where are called to be fruitful and multiply…in other words, be productive!”

Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(Genesis 1:28)

Long Spoons

Long Spoons in Heaven and Hell–author unknown

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell”.

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, “I don’t understand.” “It is simple,” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.” When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!

Love? But who, Lord?

I started this blog three years ago. A lot has happened since then that has resulted in what I hope is immense growth. It is fun to take a peek back and see what types of things I was wrestling with at that time…has it changed? Perhaps not as much as what I’d like to think. But maybe I can now glimpse at it with eyes capable of going deeper.

So…who are we to love? Go read the original article. 😉

Originally posted on 1/20/11—>Love? But who, Lord?

Prophets and tough love.

This morning during my daughter’s (8 yrs old) religion class (we homeschool) we were discussing the role of prophets. One of her assignments was to write down what she thinks the Lord would have her tell His people if she were a prophet(ess?). She wrote…”Jesus is coming. Read the Bible.” I had to chuckle…because that is basically it in a nutshell.

Then just now I was reading the following from Mark Mallett…

http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2011/01/of-china/

And it reminded me of a very weird dream that I had this past week…that we had been invaded by some Asian country (I thought it was Japan…but I guess it could have been China) and there was a second country involved helping them out…I got a sense that it was Russia. What do I make out of all of this? I really don’t know. I do think that the only thing that we have to ‘worry’ about is to love God with our whole hearts and our neighbor as our selves. And yes…God as a loving Father does discipline His children and offers tough love when necessary…because He is more interested in our soul then in our present comfort. So…fear not!

Another lesson on loving…

Sometimes ‘loving’ others doesn’t look so amiable to the onlooker. I came to this conclusion as I was disciplining my son this morning…sigh. Love sometimes includes saying no, walking away, speaking up, all things that can be very difficult to do if our aim is to please others. However pleasing and loving are two very different things. One wants the best for the moment, the other for eternity.

Love? But who, Lord?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

via Passage: Luke 10:25-37 (ESV Bible Online).

My prayers took the form of “So Lord, exactly what are you asking of me here? Am I to go out and seek the poorest of the poor like Mother Teresa? How far do I have to travel…where do you want me to go?”

His reply to me was shorter and to the point “Just love those that I send to you”. Wow…so simple and yet so difficult. I’m saddened to think of all the missed opportunities. All the times that He sent someone my way and I reacted with anything but love. Lord help me to start anew.