God’s Forgiveness

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood”-Isaiah 54:4

I find it harder to forgive myself than I do others. I think a lot of people are like that. But God doesn’t just forgive us, but because He loves us and understands us so well, He also ensures that we “forget” . What a great Gift:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” – Matthew 7:11

So often I can forgive, but it is hard to forget. If there is something I have done wrong, I remember it forever. But God does not just forgive, He wipes our slate clean!

How Blessed are we!

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

God’s Love

A friend of mine sent this, I just had to share 🙂

“TO MY CHILD

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and Loved more than you know. If I could give you one thing in life I would give you the ability to see yourself through My Eyes. Only then would you realize how special you are to Me. You are My Sunshine. Believe in Me. Surrender.

Love you,

Your Heavenly Father.

Peace”

God’s Peace

Peace. What is God’s Peace? We hear about it so often; we want it so badly. He promises to give it to us, but what is it.

I tend to think of God’s Peace as what happened to me long ago driving home during a storm.

Anyone who knows me, knows just how badly I HATE driving in a storm. It was storming so bad I could not see out the windows and the water sprayed above the car at some points. It was thundering and raining like I hadn’t seen in a long time, and yet I had to get home. Which meant driving almost an hour, over a bridge and past an accident. I asked God to help me and felt no fear, only perfect peace. ?.

I turned on my radio and listened to Christian radio and drove through as if it were a sunny day. And each time my mind turned to fear, I turned it back to God-and was given God’s peace.

I wish I knew better how to share that; I wish I knew better how to keep my mind in God’s Hands 24/7. But I wanted to at least share that with you ? #GodKeepsHisPromises

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

The Assumption Of Mary

On August 15th, the Catholic church celebrates the Assumption of Mary. The Orthodox church celebrates Mary’s Assumption later in August. It is also celebrated by the Anglican church and by many Lutheran churches.

The Assumption of Mary is a public holiday in these countries: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, France, parts of Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Mary our Blessed Mother’s died in Ephesus, which was originally a Greek settlement and later became part of modern day Turkey. She died and was placed in the Grotto. Her Soul went first to Heaven and then Her body was Assumed into Heaven as well.

It’s hard to imagine how happy God must have been to see Her! She had suffered so much. And yet, She was always Willing. Especially close to the Holy Spirit, Mary was always Willing to do as our Father, Her Son Jesus or the Holy Spirit Willed. She helped Jesus’ Apostles and the early church so much and made a very real difference!

And even though She missed her Son Jesus so very much, She constantly loved His people and gave Her love and Help to all of them with unceasing Grace!

Today, Mary, our Blessed Mother, can help us in so many ways. One very important way is that She points the way to Her Son, and She can help to enrich our Faith in Jesus so very much 🙂

Never be afraid to call on Mary. She is Jesus’s Mother. She is our Mother. She loves us all as only a Mother can. And She will help us on our journey as we Follow Jesus Home.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

Going Home To Heaven :)

We are so grateful that Jesus came and that we can go to Home to Heaven. But what is Heaven really like? We don’t talk about Heaven nearly enough in church, or anywhere else for that matter. But we should. We need too!

First of all, Heaven is much closer than we think :). If we could see those who went to Heaven before us; we could reach out and touch them. For those who are still on earth, we can talk to those in Heaven. You see when God said not to talk to the dead, He meant the dead in spirit. Those in Heaven are very much ALIVE!

And when we go to Heaven, we don’t stop loving those we love. And even better, we can keep praying for them!

But what is Heaven like for those who are there? Do you remember the Garden of Eden. We may have first learned of it as children. The Garden was filled with all kind of trees. These trees grew many types of food that were good for eating. Heaven has this same Garden, plus many other things.

Flowers so fragrant that they create great happiness for all those who walk among them. A great river, so long and wide that there is plenty of room for all of us. And a river so clean, we can drink right from it! Mountains, animals, beautiful fields and flowers…There will be great adventures, deep friendships and hugs beyond belief…

And most of all, we will live with God. His Light will shine on us, lighting our days , for there will be no more night. There will be no more fear or worry. Only Happiness and Peace for all eternity.

So when the going gets tough, just remember that your place in Heaven is assured. For all those who accept Jesus and Follow Him will spend eternity in Heaven. God’s Great Gift to us 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God’s Grace

““My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.””- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Have you ever been in a position where you prayed for a particular outcome and it just didn’t happen?

Perhaps you or someone you love is sick. And even after all your sincere prayers, the suffering continues. Perhaps the person even leaves for Heaven, leaving you alone and lonely.

That is what one of the situations “My Grace is sufficient” is for. Sometimes the suffering seems too much . But God is there and He will not allow you to have more than you can handle-with His Help :).

And God will only let us suffer so much. And although we sometimes feel that it is too much, it never is. Because God WILL provide the Comfort and Strength that we need, if we only ask Him for it in Jesus’ Name 🙂

So if today is the day that you are suffering in any way, hang in there. God’s Grace IS sufficient.

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

The Sparrow :)

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”-Matthew 10:29-31

While praying the Rosary for those who are suffering in Ukraine, I saw a Sparrow and was reminded of these verses. We suffer no hurt, no loss that Jesus does not see.

“Whenever good comes in contact with evil-there is suffering.” – Father Benedict, The Rosary Is A Place

We need not fear 🙂

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!

God Loves Us More Than We Can Imagine!

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.'” – Isaiah 53:5

How much Jesus suffered! How much our Father and the Holy Spirit suffered. Can you imagine watching your only son suffering in that way? Or how much Mary must have suffered watching Her only Son suffer so! And yet, they loved us more!

Mary knew that Her Son would suffer for our sins. This was our Father’s Plan, so He knew. And Jesus knew, and came Willingly. And the Holy Spirit knew. God loved us that much! They were willing to suffer so, so that we would not have too.

We are healed and at peace, because Jesus was willing to endure our punishment. And because Jesus endured our punishment, not only do we get to go home to Heaven, but He created a Bridge between us and our Father! Heaven may be in the future, but the Bridge is now 🙂

The Father, Jesus & the Holy Spirit, and Mary, love us more than we can imagine!

St. Bernadette of Lourdes once said, “we are nothing, but to God we are everything!” She was right.

Prepare, Pray and Be Ready!

God Loved Us More :)

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” – Isaiah 53:3

It’s hard to imagine how difficult this really was for God our Father, to watch His Only Son suffer so! The closest I can come is to think about just how much I suffer when either one of my children suffer even a little. And if they suffer a lot, I am in panic mode, lol, and on my knees :).

I can only imagine how much God loved His Son! And how much He suffered for Him.

And yet, God loved us more!

Prepare, Pray & Be Ready!