Tag: Good Living

Being Loved, Uncategorized

Say No To Anxious Thoughts

Smitten With Goodness

Jesus shows us how to live. In addition to casting all our anxieties onto Him, we are to be down to earth with each other. For “God has had it with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people.”

So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. 1 Peter 5:7 (MSG)

Are you struggling with anxious thoughts? Just say no! Reorient yourself to Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to who God meant you to be and go set the world on fire!

Being Loved

Brain Rot

Smitten With Goodness

It’s a problem….scrolling social media. Even Pope Francis recently stated concern about the “brain rot” produced by “scrolling.” Are you enslaved to social media?

The Pope noted concern about the “brain rot” caused by the addiction to constant scrolling on social media, that people needed to be taught about this, and learn to be conscious about taking in information.

Continue reading “Brain Rot” →
Being Loved

Facing Any Storms?

Smitten With Goodness

In Houston, we just made it through an arctic storm last week that brought snow ❄️, ice, and shut our city down. It certainly brought back some trauma from storm Eurie when the grid failed and we lost power and water for a week right after my husband’s transplant. Despite my inclination, I kept turning my heart and mind towards God. He steered me, my thoughts and fears, through the storm. This is a good Father, caring for his child.

How is your heart today? Are you facing any storms that need to be calmed?

“We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.”— St. Francis de Sales

Being Loved

Just Say No

Smitten With Goodness

Do you have a hard time with boundaries, keeping the right order in your life? Once something is allowed to creep past its appropriate place in your life and you are unable to say no to it, it becomes idolatry. And our hearts are idol making factories.

When God created the first couple (Adam and Eve), He instructed them, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die” (Gen. 2:16-17).

Inherent in this command was the recognition of their ability to say “no.” God had instilled in His highest creation the strength they needed to honor what He commanded.

They could resist and choose to honor God.

They could say “no” to the serpent’s temptation.

How well do you say no to things in your life that distract you for God. Have you fallen asleep to His voice and nudging? Start saying no and live in freedom, let’s not act as slaves!

Being Loved

True Freedom

Smitten With Goodness

“And above all, be on your guard not to want to get anything done by force, because God has given free will to everyone and wants to force no one, but only proposes, invites and counsels.”— St. Angela Merici

We have difficulty understanding this, just as a blind man has difficulty understanding color, but our difficulty doesn’t alter this fact: God’s omnipotence and omniscience respects our freedom. In the core of our being we remain free to accept or reject God’s action in our lives—and to accept or reject it more or less intensely. God wants us to accept him with all our ‘heart, soul, mind, and strength’—in other words, as intensely as possible. But he also knows that we are burdened with selfishness and beset by the devil, so it will take a great effort on our part to correspond to his grace. … Every time our conscience nudges us to refrain from sharing or tolerating that little bit of gossip, every time we feel a tug in our hearts to say a prayer or give a little more effort, every time we detect an opportunity to do a hidden act of kindness to someone in need, we are faced with an opportunity to please the Lord by putting our faith in his will.” —Fr. John Bartunek, The Better Part

Being Loved

Taste and See

Smitten With Goodness

O Lord, you are the Word of life. As a new day dawns, we pray:

Jesus, light our way.

O Lord, your Word gives wisdom to the simple: 
– make us simple of heart. 

O Lord, your Word is sweet to the taste:
– grant us the discernment to prefer its taste to any empty words we may hear this evening. 

O Lord, your Word is steadfast, abiding for ever:
– keep our feet firmly on the path to everlasting life. 

May the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and bring us to life everlasting! (Col 3:16)

Amen

Being Loved, Uncategorized

Pulling Us Forward

Smitten With Goodness

God gives us highly evolved people to pull us all forward. The Christian word for them was simply “saint.” We cannot imagine something until we see it through a living model or archetypal figure. 
—Richard Rohr

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. a man who pulled us forward as a society. A man who fought for justice and peace. A man who allowed Gods grace to flow through him to affect change and make a difference for the lives of others.

He was given the Nobel Peace Prize at 35.

He lived his values and beliefs. He made people uncomfortable. He was assassinated.

He had a dream…the same dream God has for us…to treat every human being with dignity and respect bringing love and light to the journey.

How are you pulling your marriage, family, friends, community forward?

Being Loved

Grace Be With You

Smitten With Goodness

In a recent session with my Spiritual Director, we were discussing distractions and growth in the spirit. As I commend my spirit to my Creator, grace surely follows. Enjoy the following meditation she shared with me.

GOD’S LOVE FLOWS FROM ME AS GRACE

If I understand another person’s circumstances, grace flows from me easily. But if I witness mistreatment or injustice, my capacity for understanding may shrink. In these moments when I wish to reclaim the gift of God’s grace, I turn within to open my heart.

I remember the magnificent spark of God shines in every person. People’s actions and behaviors may not always reflect their divine nature, but if I am able to see them as divine beings, I can access the healing power of grace. I still recognize when something isn’t right or fair, but I do so lovingly, holding in mind and affirming each person’s inherent value. I honor myself and my loved ones while maintaining a spirit of forgiveness, allowing kindness to surge through me.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

—2 Timothy 4:22