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lifeandplanbforme.blogspot.com

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Daily, daily sing to Mary

This is a beautiful song to sing to Mary.......

Novena Prayer to St. Monica

Novena Prayer to Saint Monica

Dear St. Monica,
troubled wife and mother,
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime.
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith,
you prayed daily for the conversion
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine;
your prayers were answered.
Grant me that same fortitude, patience,
and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
that God may favorably hear my plea for

(Mention your intention here.)

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

St. Monica is the patron saint of abuse victims; alcoholics; alcoholism; difficult marriages; disappointing children; homemakers; housewives; married women; mothers; victims of adultery; victims of unfaithfulness; victims of verbal abuse; widows; wives

Quietness

 

Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6

Sometimes we just need to be quiet and still before God. Draw near to Him and listen to what He has to say. Sometimes we are so focused on going here and there. Getting this done or that done. And we get so busy we don't take the time to stop and listen to what God is saying to us. So take some time to listen......"Be still and know that I AM God" Psalm 46:10

Revive Us Again (Live)

The Holy Spirit put this song on my heart today. Revive us again. I love contemporary christian music. But there is something about gospel music that just strikes a chord in me. I have always loved gospel music. I especially love Bill and Gloria Gaither. I was just praying in my car today while running errands and this song just came to me. Maybe it is a song and prayer for our nation with all that is going on. Maybe that is why the Holy Spirit gave this song to me today. Revive us again, O Lord.

My Love of Reading

I love reading. I love books. And I love learning more about my Catholic faith. I feel  I have found this deepness within the Catholic Church that I did not have before my conversion. I just love reading about the lives of Saints. There is such wonderful treasures I have found by reading about the saints. They teach you so much. When I read about their lives it is like finding buried treasure. There are so many books on my book list I want to dig into. Too many to count! Right now I am reading this little book called "A Retreat with Our Lady and Juan Diego." I am about to start a women's retreat at our church on this book. It is an awesome book. It is out of print though. But you can find it used on Amazon. 
I am also reading 33 Days to Morning Glory. This is my second time to read this book. I am doing with a group at my church. I tend to read several books at one time. I can't just seem to read one book at a time. And I have several devotional books at my bedside that I read also at night. There is nothing like finding a good book and staying in bed all day reading and have a cup of tea or coffee! That is my kind of relaxing. 
So I love what C.S. Lewis had to say about reading! That is so me. Here are a few more books on my list to read....

Our Lady of Grace

I have come to love the Blessed Virgin Mary so much since my conversion to the Catholic church. I really started to learn of her in RCIA. Being brought up protestant my whole life I just never really thought about her other than Christmas.  And I knew she was the Mother of Jesus that was about it. While in RCIA a friend came up to me and asked me what my favorite color was and I said blue. He did not tell me why he had asked me. The next week he gave me this blue rosary with pearls on it. It also had Our Lady of Grace on it. It was a beautiful rosary. This would be the second rosary I had received. The very first rosary I had received was a St. Therese Rosary. I told my friend thank you for giving that to me. Receiving that rosary was just something unexpected for me. He just gave it to me out of the kindness of his heart. 

I did not know at the time who Our Lady of Grace was. I was still learning. But looking back it was Mary letting me know she was with me. 

I have grown to love Mary especially though the rosary. As a protestant it took me some time to get use to praying the rosary. When I pray it now I sense her closeness to me. 

I read the most beautiful thing today about Mary. They described Mary like a mother who slips into her child’s room while she’s sleeping and checks to see if the girl's forehead is cool, if she needs the covers to be pulled up, if she is sleeping or staying up too late. Those words just spoke volumes to me. I don't have the closest relationship with my mother and it helps to know that Mary is here with me checking on me and taking care of me. Even when I might be unaware of her presence.

I can look back now and see how she has been with me.  There have been moments since becoming Catholic where she has defiantly let me know she is with me. She was with me even before I was Catholic and that amazes me. 

I am not afraid to love her, to be close to her and to know her more. She's my mother. 

 "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did." St. Maximilian Kolbe

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

This lent I have decided to read about the seven sorrows of Mary. I feel this is what God is leading me to focus on this lent season. It has been a difficult season for me so maybe this will help me to focus on the suffering Mary went through. I also have a CD called Praying the seven sorrows with the blessed Virgin Mary that I will also be praying. I picked this up at the Catholic Women's conference in San Antonio last fall.  Amazing conference with over 2,000 Catholic women there. Can't wait for this years conference. Praying I learn more about Mary's suffering during lent and to learn to rejoice in my own sufferings.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

You of little faith

Yesterday my friend sent me a devotional on the same scripture I wrote about in my last post Matthew 8:26 "He said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm."

This is what the devotional said "There may be times in your life when you feel swamped by all the troubles and disharmony in your life. We must remember that Jesus is there to calm our own stormy seas.
Prayer after the meditation: Yes, Jesus, there is a lot of anxiety, strife and anger at times in my life. Increase my faith and allow healing to make me whole in mind, body and spirit.
I guess God was listening to me. And I need to ask Him to increase my faith and to allow healing to come. This devotional was just what I needed to hear. Thanking God for this and my friend who sent it to me. 
I love it when God confirms something for me. 

Oceans

Lately I have been feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. It seems sometimes in life every which way you turn the ocean waves are just knocking you down. I live near the beach and I have been in the ocean when the waves are coming at you so fast and they are so strong that by the time you stand up you are knocked down again. And you get so worn out that finally you just give up and say I'm done! That is how it has been for me for a while now. It seems by the time I catch by breath there is another wave thrown at me. I feel like Peter when he walked on the water then he started to look at the storm around him and he began to sink. 
Matthew 14:28-33 "Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ 29 He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God."
In this season in my life it has been me asking God where are you? Where are you in this? Can't you see the waves all around me? So this morning on the way to mass I heard this song Oceans by Hillsong. And it stuck a cord within me. Sometimes the only way for me to put my eyes back on Jesus is listening to worship music. And Hillsong is one of my favorites. 

Come Away with Me

O come to Me when you need rest

O come to Me with every burden on your chest

O come to Me when you feel like you’re going to fall and I will catch you when night calls

O come to Me when the road seems long and your faith is all gone

Rely on Me your strength and together we will go the length

Seasons come and go, but My hand is with you, just so you know

So there My child lay down and rest a while, because you have walked a great mile

It is why I have called you here, because your life is fast paced

and you need My strength to finish this race

These words came to me a few weeks ago while praying, it was just the first few lines at first. And this past weekend I was at retreat and I felt the Holy Spirit give more words to finish it. We had a project to do and we had to write a poem. So I started with the first few lines that I had written weeks ago and these other words just stated to come. At the end of the night we had to share all our projects with everyone. So I read this to everyone there. 

Sometimes God has to take you away with Him, away from the business of life so He can speak to you. That is what He did with me this weekend at the retreat. I just heard Him say to me "I want to sit down and talk to you for a while" and talk to me He did. 

In the Shadow of Your Wings

Have Mercy on me, God, have mercy,

for in you my soul has taken refuge.

In the shadow of your wings I take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

I call to you, God the Most High,

to God who provides for me.

May he send from heaven and save me,

and put to shame those who assail me.

May God send his loving mercy and faithfulness.

My heart is ready, O God;

my heart is ready.

I will sing, I will sing your praise.

Awake, my soul!

Awake, lyre and harp!

I will awake the dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples,

among the nations sing psalms to you,

for your mercy reaches to the heavens,

and your truth to the skies.

Be Still

I read this prayer today. "Teach me, Lord, to still my soul before you. Help me to bear patiently the trials I face, and to leave everything to you to direct and provide. I know that you will always remain faithful. God’s whisper of comfort can quiet the noise of our trials." I need comfort today. And I need to learn to "Be Still" more. It is hard when you are in the midst of a trial. So this is something that I need to be reminded of today. Today is one of those days. So I am here writing this morning to get some of this off my chest. And I am trying to enjoy my wonderful Hawaiian coffee this morning. Coffee makes everything better!

Ever since I became catholic it has been one trial after the other for me. My entire family is protestant. So my conversion was a difficult one. I have been going through these trials ever since I stepped foot in the door of the Catholic Church, which was in June 2008. I have paid dearly to be Catholic with my emotions and tears. I take things to heart and when things are said regarding my faith, which means so much to me it hurts so much. And the stress that has come along with my conversion has taken its toll on me physically as well. I have had deep moments of depression through all of this. Just really dark moments where I felt I could see no light at all. I just feel like dying inside at times. And that is the worst feeling. I don't think I would have made if it were not for the grace that God has given me. And also a lot of prayer and fasting. I would not have made through some trials without prayer and fasting. 
I often wonder why God chose me to be Catholic. I am the only Catholic that I know of in my whole family. I was raised in the Bible belt in Arkansas. My entire family was raised Baptist. My great grandfather was a circuit preacher and rode his horse from town to town to preach at churches.

 My grandparents in stilled my Baptist faith in me along with my Mom. Honestly I had never even heard of the Catholic Church growing up. I just thought there were only protestant churches. So I ask myself why God would choose me to be Catholic out of my entire protestant family. Maybe He knew the true longing of my heart to be with Jesus. I always wanted to be near God. Even as child I wanted to be in church as a child and as a teenager. Every time the doors were open I was there. I don't know maybe God had this all planned out for me to be Catholic. I remember as a teenager getting this crucifix necklace that I believe my parents bought me. I wore that crucifix all the time. It was the only crucifix I ever had and I still have it till this day. So maybe that was just a little sign for me then of what God was going to do with me.

I do get a little envious of people who were raised Catholic all their lives. And there whole family is Catholic and maybe don't have the trials I go through just to keep my faith. I feel like they are so blessed not to go through what I have to endure. But I suppose there is a reason God has done this with me. 

I love my faith and I won't give it up for anyone no matter what I have to go through. But there are times when I just feel tired of the constant trials. I just want to practice my faith in peace. And this seems to be the most difficult thing.

I love quotes. And I read this yesterday....

"You can come out of the furnace of trouble two ways: if you let it consume you, you come out a cinder; but there is a kind of metal which refuses to be consumed, and comes out a star."

I am praying I come out as a Star.....

10 Things that made me smile this week.....

1. Being at Mass and receiving Jesus!

2. God sending me a love note this week!!!!! It was very unexpected.


3. My kids in youth group told me that they missed me!

4. My cat socks makes me smile.

5. Seeing a beautiful sunset on my way home this week.

6. And seeing a beautiful double Rainbow that God put next to my house this week after it rained!

7. God speaking to me in the devotional Jesus calling. He just let me know that He is Emmanuel God with us!

8. Encouraging friends this week.

9. My kids at school that I work with.

10. My morning women's breakfast. Breakfast with good friends and coffee!

A Love note from God

Today I received this love note from God. This was sent to me twice today from two different places. When I get something twice I always know it is God trying to speak to me. And this spoke to me. God wrote me a love note! And He made sure I got it twice so that I would really know!! I guess God is really letting me know that He does really see me (see my post below about feeling invisible.) Needed to hear this today.

God Sees

 

This past Thursday night I went to a women's conference at my husbands church. My husband is protestant and I am Catholic. So I go to both churches. Every year they have this women's conference called chick night. And it was a much needed chick night for me. I was with my two girl friends who have also helped me so much. Would not know what to do without them. The speakers that night was Priscilla Shiver and Lisa Bevere. Both of their messages spoke to me. But Priscilla's really spoke to me. It was like she was in my life and knew everything going on with me. She spoke from Luke 5:1-11 where Simon and the fisherman had been fishing all night and caught nothing and they were washing there nets. They were finished. They were done fishing! They had worked all night and caught nothing! That is how I have been feeling. There have been issues in my life where I have been telling the Lord  "I am done. No more. I have fished all night and nothing! I am washing my net and giving up." This is the point that I knew God was about to speak to me. I felt like Simon! She went on to say that you did not realize that things would be this hard. Things in our lives like marriages, finances, caring for a loved one, school, work etc....These things in our lives that can become overwhelming to us. That you did not know it was going to be this hard. And you feel like no one sees you. You feel no one sees your tears when you roll over in bed at night. Or maybe you feel you marriage is hanging on by a thread. Or no one sees how hard you work and you get nothing in return and you just want to give up. She then went on to say I am here to tell you that there is someone who does see. God sees. God sees your tears. Every tear has been caught in the palm of God's hand. You are seen by God. 

While Simon got out of the boat Jesus got in the boat to teach the people that were crowding around him. Simon getting out of the boat aloud Jesus the perfect place to teach the crowd around him. Sometimes God will allow us to catch nothing. That makes the perfect place for God to come into our lives and get in the boat, when you your tired and worn out. God noticed Simon was tired. If you have fished all night and your washing your net that is when God is about to get in your boat! God is about to show up. Simon was tired. So Simon got out of the boat and washed his net. She went on to say that it is okay to get out of the boat for a while. Sometimes we need to get out of the boat and wash our nets. 
When Jesus had finished speaking to the crowd around Him that is when He turned to Simon and said "Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch." Then Simon replied "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the net." And when they did that they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break! Then they motioned for their partners to come over and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
And maybe they motioned for their partners instead of calling them over because they were speechless. They did not know what to say. They were stunned speechless at what Jesus had done. 
And maybe God is about to make you stunned speechless at what He is about to do!
 It is okay to get out of the boat for a while. It is okay to tell the Lord you are tired and that you have fished all night and caught nothing. But then you have to get back in the boat to do what God has called you to do. Start expecting the unexpected. God is about to bring a harvest. 
She used this scripture Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." God is in control. There is a morning coming. Your greatest mess will be your greatest message. 

Everything she preached on spoke to me much. There were also things in Lisa's message that spoke to me. She talked about the attacks on your life might be more to do with who you might be than who you have been. When you are anointed by God you are a target. There is something about you that is absolutely terrifying to the enemy. You have to be women who are skillful with the word of God. 

For a while now I have felt completely invisible. I have felt God has not seen certain things in my life. It is funny how God works. Last weekend I was at a day retreat weekend at my church. This is at the Catholic church I go to. At that retreat they played a video called "the invisible women" I loved this video so much.  And the lady speaking in the video mentions her friend who's name is Janice! So it really spoke to me. Then this weekend at the women's conference Priscilla was talking about the same thing! Feeling invisible. Feeling like God does not see your struggle. I guess God is telling me now that He sees! And  He sees you too in your struggle! Here is that video.....

Friends In High Places

I love this devotion in the book God Calling. I read this the other day and it spoke so profoundly to me. I love the fact it talks about having friends in the Unseen. Since becoming Catholic I have been given a few of those unseen friends or maybe they picked me. The very first person to come to my aid would be Mary. Looking back on certain events in my life I know it was Mary there helping me and I did not even realize it! The next would be St. Therese. She was one of the first saints that I was introduced to through a St. Therese Rosary that my Step-mom gave me. That was my very first Rosary. And that was before I was even Catholic. I love St. Therese.  There is just something about her that I connect with. I just know she is there praying for me and she sends me roses! The next friend I came to know was St. Clare. I love her too. And recently I have come to know St. Joseph as more of my friend also. I have been asking for his intercession. I love St. Teresa of Avila too. There are so many I have learned about since being Catholic. So many that I love.

But a lot of my family and friends question me on the Catholic belief of saints. They think we worship them and that is so not true. When I was converting to the Catholic faith of course I had questions about the saints. But all I did was go to God in prayer and ask Him if these things are really true of the saints, purgatory and Mary etc...and God simply answered my questions. It was not complicated for me. I am just a person who believes very simply. I have always been that way. These things were not an obstacle for me at all. I am the only Catholic in my family besides my step-mom so when I converted all these things became an issue with them. But I enjoyed learning about it all! The saints are our friends and their prayers for us are powerful. 

I just love the way this particular devotional explains about our unseen friends!

I have been reading this devotional for several years now I never get tired of reading it.

"Your Loved ones are very safe in My Keeping. Learning and loving and working, theirs is a life of happiness and progress. They live to serve, and serve they truly do. They serve Me and those they love. Ceaselessly they serve.

But their ministrations, so many, so diverse, you see not more than those in My time on earth in human form could have seen the angels who ministered unto Me in the wilderness.

How often mortals rush to earthly friends who can serve them in so limited a way, when the friends who are freed from the limitations of humanity can serve them so much better, understand better, protect better, plan better, and plead better their cause with Me.

You do well to remember your friends in the Unseen. Companying with them the more you live in this Unseen World, the gentler will be your passing when it comes. Earth's troubles and difficulties will seem, even now, less overwhelming as you look, not at the things that are seen, but at the real, the Eternal Life. "And this Life Eternal that we may know Thee, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent."

Learning to know me draws that Kingdom very near, and in Me, and through Knowledge of Me, the dear ones there become very near and dear."

Our Lady Undoer of Knots

Shortly after I became Catholic I found this book on Our Lady Undoer of knots. I found the little book intriguing. I love the picture of Mary undoing all the knots. I really believe that Mary was the one leading me to the Catholic church. When I went to Rome in  2004 I bought a very tiny miraculous medal as I was checking out at the Vatican gift shop. I don't know what even compelled me to buy this. I liked the color. And it was so tiny I could not even read what was on it. I did not even know what it was. I had no idea that it was a miraculous medal or what that even meant. I just put the medal away and did not even think about it until I became Catholic. After becoming Catholic I remembered I had bought this at the Vatican. So one day I went to go get it. And realized that this little medal was a sign for me. That Mary was leading me and was with me. Even when I did not know it. We have moved several times since I had bought that medal and I have never lost it. As tiny as it is it has always stayed with me. What I believe is that Mary has been undoing my knots all along. Starting with my buying that miraculous medal.

Recently I felt God leading me to volunteer in the youth group at our parish. And I was telling God I am only going to volunteer for this. I don't want to get myself involved in too many things. I tend to do that. And then I get burned out trying to do them all. But a few weeks ago I had bought this picture above of Mary. It just caught my eye. Then I started to look for my little book on her and I could not find it. So I was in a gift shop a short time later and I found another book on Our Lady Undoer of knots. And during this time I had been reading a book called Visions (I bought the book here). In the book the Priests name was Father Ignatius. The book was very intriguing to me. It is about three children who see a vision of Jesus. Just loved it.

One day at church I was talking to one of my friends at church. And she was telling me about the womens Acts day team at church. The Acts day team puts on a retreat for the actual Acts team. And I was asking my friend what the theme of the day retreat was on and it just so happen to be on St. Ignatius. And I got to thinking about the book I had been reading and the Priests name in the book was Father Ignatius. And the retreat theme was on St. Ignatius. So I started to put two and two together. I started to feel like God was wanting me on this Acts day team. But I had already told God I was not volunteering for anything else. But I was feeling this nudge that it maybe God. So I told my friend that I would do it. And they had already had two meetings but she said that was okay. I could catch up. When I got to the meeting the very first thing I seen was the picture of Our Lady Undoer of Knots. I didn't quiet know what to think. I went to my friend and told her how I had just bought the picture of her and about me reading the book on Father Ignatius. And here at the retreat is on both of them? St. Ignatius and Our Lady of Undoer of knots. And then there was one more confirmation for me. But that is just for me. Don't want share that one. But I knew in my heart Mary was leading me here to be on this retreat. I am just starting to feel closer to Mary. I feel she is really with me helping me like a mother and friend. 

"Be Still And Know That I AM God"

Lately God has been telling be to be still and quiet before Him. It is so hard to do sometimes just to be be quiet and sit in stillness before Him. I seem to be always the one doing the talking. I can talk a lot. And God is probably saying to me "are you done now?" I know there are things He wants to tell me. 

I have this Scripture in my guest bedroom which is also where I spend my time praying. It is the one place I can go where it is quiet and I can pray. I just need to be still and quiet I guess. He has been giving me this scripture over the last week or so. And at Mass yesterday I heard it twice. I just worry a lot about things. And it is hard for me sometimes to just put things in God's hands. 

The Serenity Prayer

This is was my Dad's favorite prayer. He went through a lot the last several years of his life. He went through a divorce with my Mom, then two heart attacks and had two triple by passes within a few years. He battled melanoma and chemo for a year and beat it. Then the last couple of years he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. Which there is no cure and he lived on oxygen the last two years of his life. I watched him struggle for every breath he took. The most difficult thing I have ever had to deal with was to watch him struggle to breath. He died four years ago. But through everything he went through he would always say this prayer. And I never heard him complain through all his illnesses. He was always grateful for another day. I miss my dad dearly but I know where he is and he is not suffering anymore. 
"The Serenity Prayer"
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right If I surrender to His Will; So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with Him Forever and ever in the next.
Thought to be by Reinhold Neibuhr
(1892 - 1971)