Where do you see God?

Where do you see God? 

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
- Job 12:7-9

Some people say that you can’t actually see God.  I say  that we feel Him all around us. He lives in our hearts, but you don’t really see Him. Every moment is a reminder of God’s grace.  I see God everyday, not physically but in the things that he has created. I see the beauty of God in the grass, in the clouds, in the rainbows, in my children etc. I try to take a moment and stop and thank God when I see the beauty all around me, for He has truly blessed me. It is so easy to take what God has created for granted and to not stop and appreciate it. Let's try to remember to stop, take it in, count our blessings and thank God for all He has given us.

The following, tells the story of a small boy trying to understand where you see God and getting a wise answer from his Grandfather.

A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question about God. “Susan, can anybody ever really see God?” he asked. Busy with other things, Susan curtly replied: “No, of course not silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see Him.” Time passed, but his question still lingered so he approached his mother: “Mum, can anybody ever really see God?” “No, not really,” she gently said. “God is a spirit and He dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see Him.” Somewhat satisfied but still wondering, the youngster went on his way.  Not long afterwards, his saintly old grandfather took the little boy on a fishing trip. They were having a great time together–it had been an ideal day. The sun was beginning to set with unusual splendor as the day ended. The old man stopped fishing and turned his full attention to the exquisite beauty unfolding before him. On seeing the face of his grandfather reflecting such deep peace and contentment as he gazed into the magnificent ever-changing sunset, the little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly,
“Grandad, I–I– wasn’t going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me the answer to something I’ve been wondering about a long time–can anybody–can anybody ever really see God?”
The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered.
“Grandson,” he quietly said. “It’s getting so I can’t see anything else.”

Make it a GREAT day and remember to stop and breathe in the beauty all around you!
Blessings,
Valerie

God's Will, Not Mine

Where we spend eternity will depend on whether or not our will is united to God's will while we are still alive. The following is Matthew 25: 31-46. It explains that only those who unite their will with God's will will enter the kingdom of God.

 

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ”

If we want to spend eternity in heaven with God then it is imperative that we do God's will. How do we know God's will? He sends us signs during our every day lives, through scripture, through priests at mass, through prayer and if you are as lucky as I am, then, also through speaking to us directly. It is up to us to recognize these signs and follow God's will. If you are ever unsure if something is God's will, then pick up the bible and read scriptures on whatever topic you are struggling with. The bible is God speaking directly to us and tellling us how to live. If I am unsure about what to do, I ask myself, "What would Jesus do?" and I usually know because good will always triumph over evil, so please choose Jesus. Choose to do good. Let's cast Satan out of our hearts and banish him forever.

God will never lead us astray and remember God never gives us more than we can handle.

Blessings,
Valerie

A Message From Mother Teresa

Do It Anyway - Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.... Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.... Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies... Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.... Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight... Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.... Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.... Do good anyway.
Give lthe world the best you have and it may never be enough... Give the world the best you've got anyway.
 You see ... in the final analysis it is between YOU and GOD.... It was NEVER between You and THEM anyways.

I love Mother Teresa. She is so wise and loving. Her life is a true testament to God.

Blessings

Why Do We Suffer?

 It is through suffering that we learn how to love. Jesus loves us unconditionally and He showed us this by suffering and dying for us on the cross. Wasn't His suffering a complete sacrafice for our sins?  The cross, the crown of thorns, the blood, the nails, the tears, they are all proof of his infinite love for us.


                                         

 Luke 9:23:“And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

When we are in pain and hurting we are supposed to offer it up to God. We are supposed to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus. The suffering that we all try to escape is actually healing for us, if used correctly. When things are going well in our lives, we sometimes let God's priority slip in our lives, but God wants to be first in our lives. He wants us focused on Him. We are humbled and reminded of this through our suffering. Our whole focus in life should be God and Heaven. Suffering is one way to realize that one day we will die and we need to start preparing to meet God. We need to live our lives in a way that makes Jesus dying for us worth it. I want to be worthy of Jesus dying for me... Don't you? 

Jesus' suffering on the cross is the greatest example of horrible suffering bringing about the greater good for us all. I have been suffering a lot lately. I have been so focused on me and what I am feeling that I'm not focusing on God. I thought I was, but I'm not.  I think I need to pick up my cross and follow Jesus. I think I need to be less selfish and look at my suffering in terms of what God is wanting me to learn from it. Perhaps my suffering is a sign that God has something really great in store for me.

May you find Peace, Joy and Blessings in your daily life.

God's Grace

.Grace is a free gift from God. There isn't anything we can do to receive grace, because it is a gift. In the Catholic church, our priests give those of us who are faithful grace everyday by administering the sacraments, particularly through confession and holy communion.

In Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul states,

"And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

From the above bible passage Paul tells us that God gives us sufficient grace to overcome sin, even when it seems like we are struggling with overcoming it.  When we are the weakest, that is when we are the strongest, because that's when God's power is made perfect in us.  When things get so bad in our lives, how many of us fall down on our knees begging God to fix things? I know I do and that is exactly what God means when he says "my power is made perfect in weakness." The acknowledgment of God as our loving Father over our own strength and power is the beginning of our relationship with God, and the beginning of the end of our pride. If we are prideful and strong and always in control of our lives we never ask God for help, so God can't work in us as powerfully as when we humble ourselves and acknowledge God in our distress.

May God Bless you with His Grace.

God is in control

It can be very hard sometimes to give control of our lives over to someone else…. even if that someone else is God. What we need to remember is that we were never in control in the first place. We only THINK that we are in control. It is easy to give control over to God when we realize that He is in control regardless if we relinquish control or not.
I am a huge control freak and thought I had to control everything in my life but when I submitted myself to God and gave complete control over to Him I felt at peace with myself for the first time in my life. It is when we learn to let go and trust God that we can only truly feel at peace. I read something that had a profound impact on my life and I will share it with you:

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. God narrowed it down: the difference between having or not having peace is having or not having faith.
AND:
This is God. I will be handling your problems today. I do not need your help so have a nice day!

Whether we admit it or not God is in control. We can worry and have anxiety or we can give it to God and let Him deal with it and we can be at peace in our lives. It is up to you. Sometimes I give my problems or anxieties to God and then I take them back that is not having faith and trusting in God. Give it to God and leave it there. He does not need our help.
God is in control! Learn to let go!!!

Blessings