Raising our White Flags

SURRENDER!

Lately that word is the one I run from. Let's admit it, this is probably one of the hardest parts of being a disciple of Christ. Surrender means giving everything to God, releasing all your worries, "letting go and letting God." IT'S HARD!

 

A lot of times, we as humans are too stubborn to admit that we actually need God, we try to do it aloneand eventually realize that doing it alone is impossible, "For without God, you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

 

Some people will raise their white flag and surrender to God during a very emotional moment, but later they turn around and go back to trying to be independent.

 

See, the thing about surrender is that it's not just the easy areas in your life or the part you are worried about. It's EVERYTHING!!! It's surrendering your family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, and random people you care about and that you don't get along with. It's surrendering the shame that you hide deep down in your heart. It's surrendering the lonliness you feel or the anger. It's surrendering your hopes and dreams. It's surrendering your feelings of not being good enough. It's surrendering the tears on your pillow at night. The list goes on and on, but in a sum, it's surrendering everything.

 

 

2 Timothy 4:18 says:

"The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

 

 Have you ever heard the saying "If God is all you have, you have everything you need" or "When it's too hard to stand, kneel" or "Don't tell God you have a big problem, tell your problem you have a big god."well, those are all true. They may not be easy, but they are very true. God is bigger than all of this. He will lift you up. He won't let you fall. All you have to do is offer it up. And maybe you are afraid, I know it's hard, but God will take care of it. Maybe you start by offering up something small, and then something bigger, and then something even bigger untill you are ready to give to God what is God's: your life. Surrender is a scary thing! We silly humans think we can handle everything on our own but we can't. There is no possible way we can face the devil alone. By trying to face Satan alone, he has already won. Don't give him that satasfaction! Jesus already beat the devil, and He's backing you up. So next time you face your biggest mountain, remember that Jesus is right beside you, walking with you, holding your hand. So offer it up and "let go and let God!"

 

"This is only a mountain, you don't have to find your way around it

Tell it to move, it'll move

Tell it to fall, it'll fall

This is only a moment you don't have to let your fear control it

Tell it to move, it'll move

Tell it to fall, it'll fall"

 

 

 

 

Quit Dancing in the Rain!

Have you ever noticed how the road to hell always seems easier, more fun, than the path to heaven? Well, I'm not saying choose the path to hell, but that's kinda true. The devil is tricky; he can make you feel all alone and make your life absolutely horrible, then he throws a temptation at you that will pull you even farther from God, but at that time it doesn't seem so bad. We've all had those days where you wake up and the last thing you want to do is leave your cozy bed, but it's Sunday... Maybe you're thinking, "I'll just go back to sleep, it's not that big of a deal to miss church just this once." It's so easy to give into Satan and all his temptations. But you don't have to fight Satan alone!

As Father Ezra put it, "God is like an umbrella sheltering us from the devil." We need a shelter and strongtower and that would be God. He is the great protector. Sin is so tempting and hard to say no to. Everyone of us has been at that point in our lives where it's sin vs. God.

My friend added to Father Ezra's quote by saying, "as soon as you let even a finger out from under the umbrella, next it will be your whole hand, and before you know it, you will be dancing in the rain of Satan."  Why do we do that? Why would we leave God's protection?
Well first of all, Satan's temptations may be "satisfying" for a little while. They are wrong, but he messes with your mind and makes you think that it's not really that bad. God's reward you have to keep working for, it's not an instant satisfaction, and yes, the road is long and difficult. But in the end it comes to: would you rather burn in hell? or be rewarded in heaven?

It's your choice. People try to blame God because temptation is so easy. But He says multiple times in the bible that times will be tough, but your eternal reward is in heaven.

God is ENOUGH!!!

Let nothing trouble you

Let nothing frighten you

Everything passes, but God never changes

Whoever has God, wants, for nothing

Patience obtains all

God is ENOUGH

 

 This prayer by Teresa of Avila is so beautiful when you listen to the words in detail.

 

“Let Nothing Trouble You,” don’t worry, God’s got your back! This is always a hard one. I’m one of those people who gets picked on and pushed around or sometimes flat out ignored like I’m not even there and it hurts. I’m not going to lie and tell you that it doesn’t hurt, because it does. But, that doesn’t give me a reason to be upset and “troubled” all the time. God has put each and everyone of us in the certain situation that we are in, we may not particularly like it, believe me, I hate it at my high school, but you know what God picked that specific high school, so there is a reason I am there. Remember that the next time you are shoved around in the hallway or are working on a project all by yourself because you are too shy to meet someone new, God could be using you, just listen for his voice, He will guide you on the right path. It may not be the easy path but it will get you where you need to go.

 

“Let Nothing Frighten You,” you never walk alone, be not afraid. I’ve always loved that bible verse about running and not growing weary because God is at our side. I don’t know the actual Bible citation, but there is a song we sing at church: “We will run and not grow weary, for our God will be our strength, and we will fly like and eagle, we will rise again.” you see, we never need to be afraid because God will never leave our side. I love thinking of God as the big papa bear. He’s lovable and always there for us and guiding us in our ways and our protector. So you never need to fear.

 

“Everything passes, but God never changes,” Now I particularly like this line because it’s pretty much saying: you know what, things change people move on, you may get hurt but you know what, God will be with you through it all and He will still love you no matter what you do. Now, how awesome is that!? J We have a loving God who loves us no matter what we do! J Now, we can disappoint Him, but He will always be ready to welcome us back when we turn back to Him. <3

 

“Whoever has God wants for nothing,” Can you believe it? All we need is God? How can that be? Remember, God is your Father, the Papa Bear, He will provide. Don’t cling too much to this world (money, popularity, society) cause God is not of this world.

 

“Patience obtains all,” ever heard the phrase, “Patience is a virtue?” well, yeah, but is it a virtue you obtain? I’m just going to say flat out: this is the only thing that bugs me about this prayer. I suck at patience! I’m the type of person who will have a count down going a whole year before something. But, God is big on patience. “Good things come to those who wait,” heard that one too? Think about it, we wait for just about everything in life: wait in line, wait for meals, wait for a tv show to come on, wait for a friend to text back, wait for school to start/end, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! But the thing we wait most for is for God to answer our prayers. And sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we want, or we don’t realize that He actually did answer that prayer. “Patience obtains all” really does encompass a lot of what offering ourselves to God in pray means. When we get to heaven, it will all be explained. God does everything with a purpose, you may have to wait for the result, but your reward lies in heaven.

 

“God is ENOUGH!” If God is for us who can stand against us!? Well, I will tell you one thing, not even the devil can take you away from God’s love. He can make you think that God has turned His back on you and make you feel like you’re all alone, but you know what? God’s got your back through it all, He will never leave you, He is ENOUGH, SUFFICIENT, ADEQUATE, etc. God can handle this life, heck; Jesus took the butt of it. Jesus knows and understands what you are going through, he suffered too. He understands, this life may throw you into anger, depression, feelings of worthlessness, pain, loneliness… but God will take care of you through it all, He will carry you.

 

GOD IS ENOUGH!

 

So that's why Jesus is the Lamb...

I want to take it back to the Old Testament to explain better. Let’s start with Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) When God tested Abraham and tells him to sacrifice Isaac, Isaac asks where the lamb is and Abraham responds that God will provide the lamb.  (This is important!) And when the angel of God stops Abraham, God provides a Ram. So they are still waiting for the lamb.

Now let’s go to Exodus to the Passover (starting at Exodus 11)

The tenth plague was that the angel of death would pass over Egypt killing every firstborn. To be spared from the plague the Israelites were told to take an unblemished lamb, slaughter it at twilight, take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frame where they were to eat the lamb, that same night they were to eat the meat with no leftovers.  In Exodus 12:14 it says “and this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.” The Church teaches that when Jesus established the New Covenant with His death and resurrection, He didn’t abandon the promises made to the Hebrew people but fulfilled them.

Now let’s look at how Jesus fulfilled the Passover. Jesus is the Lamb of God.

On Palm Sunday as Jesus is arriving in Jerusalem, so are the Passover lambs. This is showing that Jesus is taking the place of the Passover lamb. Also every year on Passover the unblemished lambs were inspected before being given to the families. Now, you are probably thinking what does this have to do with Jesus? A lot actually. Jesus is the lamb, and just as the unblemished lambs where inspected, so was Jesus, by Pilate, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Also, during the Passover meal Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. During the Passover meal, Jesus takes the unleavened bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to the disciples saying, “This is My body,” showing that He is replacing the Passover lamb. And with the wine, blesses it, and gives it to the disciples saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.” Now, the Passover lamb was to prevent pain and suffering of loss of a loved one for the Israelites. Jesus as the Lamb is to save the world from pain and suffering, to open the gates of heaven.

To Summarize: The Israelites had to eat the Passover lamb. It was not enough to that they simply sacrificed the lamb-- they were instructed to also eat it. When we have the Eucharist we also eat the lamb, Jesus the Lamb of God. So that is why recieving the Eucharist is not cannibalism-- we are not eating human flesh, Jesus, but the Lamb of God, Jesus. J

The Eucharist: Real or Not?

I remember in seventh grade, I was sitting in religion class watching my teacher jump up and down yelling, "Jesus IS the Eucharist!" Then looking around at all my classmates who had the same bewildered look on their faces. We all thought she had gone batty!


A week earlier we had taken a religion test and one of the short answer questions was: "What is the Eucharist?" So, being the typical seventh graders we were, this seemed like an easy question. Most of our answers were along the lines of, "The Eucharist is a symbol of Jesus," or "The Eucharist symbolizes the last supper and Jesus giving of himself."


So, when our teacher came in jumping up and down yelling, "Jesus IS the Eucharist!!! It's not a symbol!!! Jesus IS the Eucharist!!!" We seriously thought she had gone off the deep end.


See, the thing with catholics is that we see the Eucharist as a little wafer and think "symbol." that's because, well, let's be honest, it looks like cardboard, feels like cardboard, and tastes like cardboard, we think "how can this be Jesus?" It took me a long time before I believed that the Eucharist was really Jesus. In seventh grade, I couldn't figure out why my teacher was getting so worked up about a silly test. Yes, everyone in the class got that question wrong, but I couldn't see how she could really believe that little wafer was Jesus.

"When Our Lord said, "This is My body," the entire substance of the bread was changed into His body; and when He said, "This is My blood," the entire substance of the wine was changed into His blood." (Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism)

 

This is kinda a crazy concept for us to grasp. And why would Jesus want to be a piece of bread? Well, think about it, God became food that we eat, and people eat a lot. And when we eat, food litterally becomes a part of us. It  goes into blood stream, our skin, our cells, into our very being. God chose the best way to be consumed into our very person because He wanted to be as close to us as possible.

"In the Holy Eucharist we become one with God like food with the body"

 Saint Francis De Sales

 

When we recieve the Eucharist we recieve Jesus, as catholics we believe that Jesus is fully in the Eucharist. So, like my teacher said, "Jesus IS the Eucharist!" At Christ's words, "This is My body," all limitations are stripped away and we stand in the very presence of God It is at the Eucharist that we make Saint Paul's wish our own: "All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in hope that I myself will be raised from death to life" (Philippians 3:10-11, Good News Bible)

"Not to go to Communion is like someone dying of thirst beside a spring."

St. John Vianney

Oh no! She's up!

"Be the woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says, 'Oh no! She's up!'"

That is my goal. This past week I was on a mission trip in South Carolina. I'm was so excited for a couple reasons: one, I love helping people, It's the best way to let Christ shine through us; two, the program is amazing, singing, jumping up and down, and praising God is such an amazing experience and it feels so great to give everything to God; three, I will be away from home, this probably doesn't seem like much, but I break out of my shell more when I'm away.

Throughout the week crews were working in nursing homes, ophanages, ranches, houses, etc.. This is one of the many opportunities God has given me to share His love and to use the gifts He gave me.


While we were there we were looking for God Sightings. A God Sighting is when you see God's love shine through someone, something, and action, etc. I had two God sightings that will really stick with me. The first God Sighting I had was when we were working at a Restore Habitat for Humanity store. I was hanging clothes on hangers and the lady who worked there was saying how it is really sad when people can't even afford clothes at Goodwill. She said that people come to their store when that happens. She said one day a woman came in and all she had was $2 and they were able to get her a whole outfit and send her away with a smile.

My second God Sighting during the week was on our last day working. That day we went to a pastor's house. He had been sick all week, was still sick, and needed someone to mow his lawn and weed wack for him. After we had finished we went in to tell him we were finished and the adult in my crew (who is also a pastor) went over to him and held his hand as he prayer over him. It was a very powerful experience for me and it was almost as if Jesus was right there with him, healing him. :)


My reason for adding my God Sightings into this blog post is tp show you that God Sightings can be anything. It can be as simple as picking up trash. Most people when they think of God Sightings they think of a burning bush. Yes, that would be a God Sighting, but it doesn't have to be something so obvious. usually God works through the simple things in life.

I pray most days. I've prayed with people before. I've prayed over people before. And I've been prayed over. Praying is one of those things that is reoccuring, something I'm use to. But, when I saw Dave pray over that man, it was so amazing. I can't even really explain it. I just knew Jesus was there, I could feel Dave's passion for Christ and feel the strength in his prayer.

"Be the woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says, 'Oh no! She's up!'"

That is my goal, and I challenge you to be someone's God sighting.

“Why is the Catholic Church making such a big deal about the HHS Mandate?”

Probably what you’ve heard when you ask this question is: “The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that would force employers, including Catholic institutions, to pay, directly or indirectly, for insurance for sterilization and contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs, stands as a religious liberty crisis.” [Quote from the USCCB website]

You might still be thinking “what’s the big deal? What does this have to do with me?” Let me tell you, it has a lot to do with you! The Catholic Church is strictly pro-life, so forcing us to provide insurance for sterilization and contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs, is flat out against our religion. It is a violation of our conscience. If you have ever done an examination of conscience before confession, you might have noticed that abortion, birth control, contraception, etc. might have been on that list. Now, I’m not saying that you have to be Catholic to be Pro-Life, but this blog is from a Catholic stand point. What I am trying to get across is that Abortion is wrong, and the HHS Mandate is wrong because it violates our religious freedom which the first amendment has protected us from since 1791.

Here are the results of the poll on abortion, remember these stats are mostly Christian/Catholic views. And this is a combination of the poll on this blog and on Facebook.

   9.09% said: “Abortion is perfectly fine. It's her body; she can do what she wants.” This is not the right answer. It may be her body, but it is also her child. And killing it by having an abortion is in violation of the 5^th commandment. Now, some people will say that it’s not a baby yet, that it is a fetus. Think again, a fetus is a baby that is still inside of its mother’s womb. God alone is Lord over life and death; you don’t get to decide who lives and who dies.

      6.06% said: “Abortion is only ok if the girl is raped.” I can see why people would think this, but it is still wrong. The girl may not have intended to have a child yet but, she has one now. If she can’t take care of the baby she could always give it up for adoption. I see where this one is hard and I know it would be hard to go through the pregnancy, but killing an innocent life doesn’t make you childless, it makes you the parent of a dead child. At least with adoption the child is able to live, even if they never meet their father.

     84.85% said: “Abortion is murder.”  Remember this is mostly a Christian and Catholic point of view, but this still makes me happy that almost 85% said that it is murder, because that is exactly what abortion is! Like I said before, only God has the right to decide who gets to live and who dies. God was loving enough to give us free will and there are consequences that come along with bad choices. If you decide to have sex out of marriage, then there are consequences that come with that. So, what gives you the right to decide if the baby lives or dies?

     0% said: “Abortion is ok if the baby has a defect/disease.” I am very happy that no one voted on this one! I’m still going to explain why this is wrong though. “Every person, from the moment of his life in the womb, has an inviolable (sacred) dignity, because from all eternity God willed, loved, created, and redeemed that person and destined him for eternal happiness.” (YOUCAT # 280) God made this child because He loves them. Killing a child with a disease/ medical defect because you think they won’t be happy would be like killing someone who has depression; you can’t decide before the child is even born if they will be happy or not!

God does not make mistakes; He knows each and every one of His children. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” God meant for that child to be born, not for it to be in heaven before it could even have a chance to make a difference in the world.

I’m fighting against abortion and for religious liberty, will you fight with me?