But Your Grief Will Become Joy

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Anyone who has lived out their faith for a while will tell you, life isn’t always sunshine and daisies. Just because you believe in Jesus and have chosen to follow Him doesn’t mean life becomes easier. The truth is we have trials just like everybody else and being a Christian doesn’t change that. Hard times fall on everyone at one point or another, it is simply a part of life. That being said, through the midst of hard times we can continue to have joy in our lives regardless of the trials life throws our way. Before His death, Jesus told His disciples,

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Go and Announce the Gospel of the Lord

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At the end of every Mass we usually hear the priest or deacon say, “Mass has ended, go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” or sometimes “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” It happens so often we usually don’t give these words much thought. Instead we manically say in response “Thanks be to God” and then proceed to sing the closing song. We breeze over the fact that we were just commissioned to spread the Gospel with the people we meet in the week. We fail to realize that as members of Christ’s body we have just been reminded of our responsibility to live our lives as an example of the faith giving glory to the Lord with our actions.

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It's A New Day, It's A New Dawn

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Trusting God When We Seem to Be Lost

Feeling lost??? Need some direction for your life?? Don't worry Jesus has you covered!! Check out my new blog post on Shine at the link below!!!! Happy Sunday!!


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A Time for Everything: 50 Years From Now

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

            In Ecclesiastes we read there is an appointed time for everything and a time for every affair under the heavens. 50 years from now when I look back at the appointed times in my life, I don’t believe I will be concerned with the things I did or didn’t do in my youth, but rather the type I of person that I was and who I became. 50 years from now, when I reflect on my life I hope I see that I was a faithful servant of the Lord and a beloved disciple. I hope to see that I was a person who was accountable for her actions and owned up to her mistakes. That I loved with my whole heart and always got back up when people or life knocked me down. I pray that I will be a compassionate person and someone who had the courage to be vulnerable and honest. I pray I never lose my resiliency, or my motivation to serve and to share God’s wisdom with others. I hope to see that I took chances and never lost my sense of adventure that I laughed more times than I cried, and that I was a good friend and loved one. I hope to see that I was faithful and loyal and generous and forgiving.

What do you hope to see when you look back at your life 50 years from now?

            As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is a time for every affair under the heavens. In our lives, there will be pain and sadness, there will be joy and laughter, weddings, funerals, and graduations. Life will give us cause for great joy and celebration, and also moments of despair and weakness. During all of these moments, both good and bad, it’s important to remember the values and key character traits that you want to always hold true no matter what life throws your way. Knowing who you are is important, knowing what you stand for is important, having a foundation of faith is important. I believe that it is these qualities that will matter to us 50 years from now, not necessarily the things we accomplished. So take some time and answer the question, knowing what you stand for and the person you want to see in the mirror 50 years from now can help you work on becoming that person today. After all who wants to have regrets 50 years from now, or look in the mirror and see you never became the person you dreamed you’d be.  

Behold I Make All Things New

The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then he said, “Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.” – Revelations 21:5

Every so often in this life we lose our way; it today’s world it can be far too easy to lose sight of the things that are important and turn away from God. Sometimes we fall into the wrong crowd, or get caught up in the wrong things, we may pick-up bad habits, or become too distracted with our personal lives that we neglect our spiritual one. Whatever it may be, every so often there will come a time in your life where you might find that you aren’t being the best that you can be, and it’s time to make some changes for the better. Jesus tells us in the Book of Revelation “Behold I make all things new.” So no matter how far you stray away from God, or how different you become from the person God created you to be, Jesus has the power to makes things new in your life. There is no sin or circumstance that is greater than God’s mercy or His grace. If you need some new changes in your life, be not afraid to ask God to make things new, find comfort in knowing that Jesus can renew your spirit and transform your life from within, all you need to do is ask Him. 

We are Broken

Time and time again just when I think I have my life figured out and everything is well in the world I realize over and over again just how broken I am. When I take the time to be honest with myself I come to see that I’m not always as “okay” as I say I am. I mean in reality, the truth is I’m broken, I’m sick, and I need healing. The truth is I struggle, and I feel pain, I’ve been knocked down, I’ve been let down and I’ve done my share of hurting myself and others. In all fairness, I think if you are honest with yourself too, you know that you, like me, are also broken. The harsh reality of life is that the world is full of struggle and pain and nobody is ever as “okay” as they say they are, because in the end we are all broken, and sick and in need of a physician.

Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners” Luke 5:31-32

Jesus came into the world to minister to his people, he came to offer us healing and mercy. Jesus tells us over and over again that he came not for the healthy, but for the sick and he came to call sinners (not the righteous) into repentance. It’s important to realize that even though we are broken and sick we do have a physician who is ready and more than willing to care for our needs. Jesus is not only our Savior, he is also our physician, and if we let him, he can offer us more healing than we could ever imagine. So next time you find yourself broken or sick and in need of healing, spend some time with the “physician” and ask Christ to heal you.