Tag: Love

Inspiration

Happy Thanksgiving

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Thanksgiving is the public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness. It is the act of giving thanks, a prayer expressing gratitude. It is easy to look beyond our circle of influence and be overwhelmed by the critical and inconsiderate world we see in the media and social media. With grace, we can open our eyes and hearts to the divine goodness in front of us when we slow down and be present in our life.

It is relatively easy to forget about all the good things God has done for us and to neglect giving thanks for our blessings.  Reading Psalm 103 can help foster a spirit of thanksgiving by keeping our eyes focused on the good God has done for us. 

He fills our days with good things. 

Psalm 103:5

Eucharist, from the Greek word “eucharista”, means thanksgiving.  The Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’” Participation in Holy Communion during Mass, consumed with a humble heart, allows the Spirit to increase in me, decreasing my strong will and self-reliance.  This allows me to fill my heart with His goodness and surrender to Christ as King of my life. 

Sometimes we must jump with both feet into faith and trust.  Other times we need to slow down and appreciate what is in front of us. Expressing gratitude helps us cultivate a thankful heart.  Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

Happy Thanksgiving and for being Smitten With Goodness!

Inspiration

A Grateful Heart

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

We are called to have a grateful heart.  Throughout scripture there are repeated calls to action to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is to always be a part of our prayers. Some of the most remembered passages on the giving of thanks are the following:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).

Of all of God’s gifts, the greatest one He has given is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt, so a holy and just Judge could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift. This gift is available to those who will call on Christ to save them from their sin in simple but sincere faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:19-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10). For this gift of His Son, the gift which meets our greatest need, the Apostle Paul says, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

We have a choice. In life there will always be those things that we can complain about but there will also be much to be thankful for. 

May God grant that He may find us grateful every day for all of His gifts, spiritual and material. God is good, and every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17). For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good (Romans 8:28-30). 

May He find us with a grateful heart.

Inspiration

A Worthy Virtue

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Gratitude is a virtue most worthy of our cultivation. In all the Christian life, gratitude is to be planted, watered, dressed, and harvested. Gratitude gets at the very essence of what it means to be created, finite, fallen, redeemed, and sustained by the God of all grace.

Ingratitude was at the heart of the Fall, and at the heart of what’s fallen about us to this day. “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Romans 1:21). Again and again throughout the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, it is gratitude — giving God thanks — that is the fitting response to his gracious acts of deliverance for his people. 

It was gratitude to the Father that Jesus expressed at that first Maundy Thursday table as he held out the bread and cup to his disciples (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17–19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). It is profound and enduring gratitude, among other things, that his sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection summon in the born-again heart. In the daily Christian life, it is the genuine giving of thanks for God’s gifts that keeps us from idolatry and sinful asceticism (1 Corinthians 10:30–31; 1 Timothy 4:3–4).

Will you make an intentional effort to slow down, take stock, and express gratitude to the glory of God? Will you count your many blessings including God for his greatest gift — the gift of himself and his Son. 

Thank you, Lord, for your self-giving death for us, and in your resurrected life 

Inspiration

The Practice of Gratitude

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Research suggests that gratitude can’t simply be grouped with other emotions, like happiness or anger, because unlike other emotions, gratitude takes a conscious effort. To be grateful, we must first take the time to recognize that something has been done for our benefit.  Living a life of gratitude isn’t easy. Like any spiritual discipline, it requires time, effort, and faithful practice. 

Even when we can find reasons to be grateful to God, it is often more challenging to be appreciative of others. It’s natural to think that the opposite of gratitude is being ungrateful, but it’s actually selfishness or self-conceit.  When you believe you deserve the good things you receive, you don’t feel the need to be grateful to others.

Gratitude can be difficult because it requires a new way of thinking – a different attitude.   

And we may just have to accept life as it is and be grateful for what we have. Research suggests that the return on investment with the practice of gratitude is too abundant to ignore.  

Gratitude makes you a better person, not just in the sense of doing nice things for other people, but it also carries with it joy. When I’m more grateful, even though I’m acknowledging that I’m indebted to other people, life feels more like a gift. When life feels like a gift, I feel more engaged and rejoice in the little things around me. In this way, it can act as a helpful balance to irritation, anger, and frustration.  

Gratitude motivates us to perform our own acts of kindness for others. 

Inspiration

Holy Temptations

Smitten With Goodness

How do you use your good health?  

Reflections for contemplative living

We will never be free of trials and temptations in our earthly life. No one in this world is so perfect or holy as not to have temptations sometimes and we can never be entirely free from them. But if we resist them, they will be very useful to us; for by experiencing them we are humbled, cleansed, and instructed. There is no place so holy. 

Our eyes should see only for God, our feet walk only for Him, our hands labor for Him alone; in short, our entire body should serve God while we still have the time. Then, when He shall take our health and we shall near our last day, our conscience will not reproach us for having misused it.

–St. John Bosco

Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to understand that temptations can be used to draw me closer to Your Goodness. 

Uncategorized

Key to Happiness

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Meaningful connections are a key to a happy life. We may feel like friendships should come naturally, but they can require real effort. 

Whether your aim is to make new friends or strengthen existing friendships, these tips and tools can help you find new ways to connect:

Tell someone how much you appreciate them

Be fully present to the person in front of you

Text a friend you haven’t been in contact recently

Email or text a former coworker to see how they are doing

Send a handwritten note to someone who is on your mind

Identify three people you would like to have a deeper relationship with

Search today’s date in your phone a share a memory with a friend

Choose an activity to do with a friend – take up a hobby, share a book

Give someone a compliment

As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, let’s be ever mindful of the gifts we have been given.  Thank you Lord Jesus!

Inspiration

Intimacy with Christ

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Do you take the time to ponder the places in your heart that are wounded? You know the ones where you are most vulnerable to lies.  The areas that take you away from the truth that you are a beloved daughter of God and there is nothing you can do to earn or lose His love.

God wants to speak truth into those places in your heart where lies have taken hold. There is no one safer than Jesus to invite into the tender places of your heart.

Take a moment today to pray Jeremiah 30:17:

For I will restore your health; I will heal your injuries. 

Then journal about the following questions: Are there wounds—spiritual or physical—that you need Jesus to heal? What lies are you believing that you need Jesus to speak truth into? Have you ever seen God reveal His glory through your wounds?

Let’s get real today with the One who loved us first.

Inspiration

Christ’s Glory

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Entertaining the wrong questions in our mind can be destructive.  It may seem harmless when we start playing the “what if” game.  What if I had a different job? What if I had more money? What if I did not have this situation in my life?  Would life be better?  

First, this kind of thinking steals our joy and robs us of the inner peace we have around the blessings in our life.  Second, asking what if plants seeds of doubt in our mind about God’s goodness.  It is easy to start running down the rabbit trail of questioning, does He really want what is best for me?  Does He understand?  Evil is subtle and wants us to rebel against God and doubt His unconditional love for us.  It is usually a gradual process and over time, if left unchecked, can lead us far away from the truth and how we were meant to live.  It takes us into the future versus seeing what is in front of us today where we can bring love and compassion to those in front of us. The love and compassion we can bring to the person in front of us, each moment, is being the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. 

When we entertain the wrong questions in our mind, we shift our gaze off God’s goodness.  This is a symptom of our human condition and free will.  

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Let’s lead our thoughts to become actions for Christ’s glory today!

I think Abraham Lincoln has it right in saying that “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Inspiration

Angels Among Us 

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Do you see the angels before you?

The other morning, I was headed on a business trip after a rough night in the Emergency Room with my husband who was not feeling well. I reached out to Betty, a woman who has been in my life for 30+ years, to see if she could help me with something while I was away for a few days. In this instance she was busy, but she’s been there for me and my children, caring for us and our home like we were her own. I call her my angel.

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