Greetings

After a very long pause I find myself before you once again. It truly is a return to the desire of my heart. I must confess, though, I have never considered my writings to be anything more than a way to express my thoughts and, perhaps, gain clarity to life’s challenges. In some aspects, I’ve thought of it as vanity; drawing attention to myself and my thoughts, thinking it would be worthy of someone else’s time. After grappling with this and a host of other obstacles, I finally realized that it is God who placed this desire within my heart, and as wild as it seems to me, I believe He wants me to write. Ironically, the written word is not my strong point, at least not publically. In most situations, I find more comfort and ease to speak directly to an audience. However, I am not being called to do what is more natural to me, but rather, that which will stretch me and most likely build a lot of humility. So I ask you to be patient, easy-going, and encouraging as I develop the skills needed to be effective. My writings will take time because it is a process that doesn't automatically occur….there needs to be inspiration, nourishment, and time for the writing process. In the hope to make a small and imperfect contribution to someone who needs to hear the message. Let us begin our journey.

Praise be Jesus Christ

Praise be Jesus Christ! What a gift it is to be with you today. As I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament I found myself relived from the stresses of the day and inspired to take a new look at those difficult daily tasks. What a blessing to be given a renewed sense of hope! Thanks be to God. It’s in those quiet moments that God speaks to us…when we have no other distractions and find our way to silence. Our minds are enlightened and we are refreshed in the hope we find in Jesus. Take it all before the Father, and trust. Christ says “My yolk is easy and burden is light” Matthew 11… 28-30. Let us take it to the foot of the cross and place ourselves before the Blessed Sacrament.
In Christ,
Tricia

Thanks be to God

Let it be done to me according to your will-Come Holy Spirit and reside within me, and glory to God in the highest. I say these phases very often as the day passes, while I find myself exhausted and frustrated because things never seem to work as smoothly as I hope. Perhaps you can understand. With a 9 month-old and a 3 ½ year-old everything is interrupted. It’s a great moment when I am able to complete a thought. With a very active, curious, and strong-willed little boy there isn’t much time left over. However, one must attend to the details of a home. As you know, running a household is much like running a business—there are calls to answer, deadlines to meet, and pretty crucial tasks to complete every day. Diapers, crying, spilled milk, scheduling dilemmas, discipline, and some more discipline, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, picking up, laundry, dishes which includes opening the dishwasher door at least 50 times a day, working with companies that give you a computer to talk to, and did I mention a part-time job and a husband…each having their own demands. And, at 42 I’m slowing down (just a bit). However, the good news is that God gives me the strength and wisdom to work through the daily dilemmas, and when I bring it all to Him and lay it down, remembering, this is a season of life, beautiful in so many ways, and it will come to an end… and then I shall long for it again. I remind myself of this simple fact---this life belongs to God. I am His, and He will give me all that is necessary to complete the task He has placed before me. And, yes, it means that I will suffer at times and need to make sacrifices for the sake of doing His will. I will need to put aside my desires for whatever it maybe, and serve. I know I struggle to do that on a daily basis. I’d love to spend time with friends, traveling, or just relaxing, along with blogging more , but that would require me to give less to my duties of state and other responsibilities. And, for right now I must give all that I have to my family, job, and most importantly to God. Prayer gives me strength to face the challenges, to seek God’s direction and to be wise enough to know how to follow Him.
I pray that I may be an instrument for God’s holy will. That I will love as God asks me to love and that I will find God’s goodness in sacrificing and that I may know His sweet peace along this journey.
Tricia
I always find a way of being happy and of profiting from my miseries.--St. Therese of Lisieux

Take the Challenge

Take the Challenge
I recently took up running again after a 4 year pause :). As I was running on the treadmill I realized how out of shape I really am! I found it mentally difficult to push myself into running 3 miles. However, I did manage to run an 8- minute mile my first week, but it took everything I had. I just wouldn’t give up and pushed myself to continue running---with every step I found it harder to take the next but I keep going until I made my 3- mile run…thanks be to God! I kept praying for strength and saying “Don’t stop, don’t give up, keep running”! For those of you that are runners or play any kind of sport you understand how it feels to challenge yourself and go beyond "what's comfortable". In those moments of complete exertion--- when you have nothing left to give and your strength is gone---it’s there that you find something of worth. It’s that feeling of accomplishment, achievement, joy, like anything is possible. You’ve done it (with God’s help); you gave it your all.
As I run I pray, which of course, makes me think about my faith. I thought about how in my life I am doing a faith-run. Oh, there are so many times it would be easier to step of the track and walk for a while, but that’s not what God has called us to do. He wants us to push ourselves beyond our limits. Do what we think is impossible. And, then to trust that when we give it all to Him there will be something good waiting for us. It’s not listening to the distractions that are placed before us and worrying about what others might think. It’s keeping our focus on Him and not allowing things, people, or places to cloud our vision (and our goal) of the truth that only lies in God. He is our Lord and Master and we belong to Him. He has placed us where He wants us to be. For His greater glory. We just need to keep running the race and praying for strength to continue on. And, in those times of uncertainty we look to the other runners and gain strength by watching their momentum in living the faith. It’s the breath of fresh air and encouragement we need to keep pushing forward. And, for those times that we fall due to our lack of concern or attention we must go to ask for forgiveness and be reconciled ---please Father, forgive me I have sinned against you. Help me to sin no more and to be holy. I love you above all things.

It is amazing how everything, even running, can lead you back to God.

God bless you,
Tricia

Who You'd Be Today

Friday, April 30, 2010
Who You'd be Today
The words from a well known tune, "Who you'd be today", brings me to a thought about what happens to a life that doesn't respond to God's goodness. I realize the song is about a young women that died before her time. However, it can be used to bring you to a different realization. How many times have we walked away from the goodness of God's touch in our life and have lost what God had in store for us. Who would we be today if we had listened to Him. What we could have been had we only responded with generosity. If we would have said yes to His voice. So many circumstances that have played out and instead of looking for God's hand in it, we turn inward to realize that we can not control the world or the people in it. We take our pain and frustration and and allow it to run our lives. Think about it, the clerk that doesn't show kindness because she has been treated so poorly by so many others before you. Perhaps it started in her own family...a lack of respect for her, maybe a loss of dignity, lack of concern for her...there could be a million different ways she was told by others that she wasn't important to this world and than she went off on her own only to find that so many things in her life tell her the same thing. Instead of realizing that that is what the world says, and those people are lacking in their own lives. There have been others that have touched her with kindness and goodness but she quickly dismissed it because it was only a small voice that could only be heard, but, only for a moment. The stronger and louder voices are to loud to overcome. Ah, but it's that moment that she needs to cling to and feed it. Where should she turn? To her father, God. He wants to tell her how important she is and how precious she is no mater what the world says to her...she is loved more than she could ever imagine. That only if she would come to God to be filled instead of filling herself with her own thoughts. A peaceful feeling that comes in a moment of silence or a friend that takes the time to listen to her, it's there that God is speaking. When we open our life up to God we find that peace we all long for...we find our purpose in life and we learn how to deal with the hardships that we all face in one aspect or another. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves and hurting others we look to do good with the sufferings. Oh Father, use my sufferings for your glory. For I love you more than anything and will do whatever you ask.

More to come....

Who You'd beToday Continued

Answering God's call in the midst of pain and hardship can be most difficult. I used to wonder why there were so many "elderly people" with such an anger in their hearts. Well, many years later, I know why. The crosses that we are given, and the ones that are placed upon ourselves because of our own choices, create a weight that can't be taken without the love of Christ within our hearts. Now, what does that mean; it means to take it all to God, lay your pains and sorrows at the foot of the cross and ask for mercy, guidance, peace and understanding. We all have pain and suffering, everyone. Oh, so many circumstances, reasons, and injustices, we could all make a case as to why our hearts are hard, couldn't we? And, yes, many many valid reasons. However, that doesn't excuse us from following the words of Christ. Love your enemies, pray for them ...and even those family members that hurt you so much on an on-going basis, we must forgive. So easy to fall of the tongue but, yet, so very difficult to do. It requires us to be vulnerable, humble, patient, and hurt. Should we be a door mat...no, of course not. That is not what God said...he said to love. That can mean that you love from a distance. God doesn't ask us to accept abuse as that would wound the spirit, and in most cases, drawing you away from the Father. He wants us to empty ourselves of ourselves, so that only Christ is seen...less of me more of Him. I pray that one day I can acquire the holiness that is necessary to live up to God's way. And, yes, it is attainable. Will we fall? Of course, we are human and have original sin. The evil one would like us to believe that without perfection we could never attain what God wants...such a mistake to believe that. God knows we will falter, but he has given us His beautiful mercy and forgiveness. He wants what is good for us, that which draws you to Him. For most of us, it is our sufferings that draw us closer because we see there is noone or nothing can heal, give meaning, and dignity to a life that has such pain and suffering, like the love of God. As we grow in our relationship with Him, our sin will become less. We shall see more with His eyes and love more with His heart, we will become more like the one we are in love with, God. And one day we can be what God wants us to be. Who you'd be today doesn't have to be what you "could" have been, it can be what you are. Because you responded to God's call.

May you find your day filled with the joy and peace that God has for you, right now, in this moment.

God bless you.