God's Almighty Presence

St. Contardo Ferrini

Blessed be the Lord day by day, God, our salvation, Who carries us. Psalms 68: 29

Day by day... this is the catch phrase for me this morning. Each day brings something new. It could be good things like parties in school, the birth of a baby, a dance class with my youngest, or a raise in my husband's paycheck. It could also bring challenges like a busted furnace, laundry piled up on my couch, a sick child (or myself), or a bad behavior report from one of my kids' teachers. Either way, God is present in all of it.

Day by day, God is here teaching me and guiding me in my life to get closer to Him. But I must be open to it. I must look at those challenges as chances to get closer in my relationship to Him. I can use those good times too! He is right there, in the smile of my baby, and in that pile of laundry. He is there in our celebrations, and in the lessons I will learn from the misbehavior of my child.

Day by day, I am grateful for all the trials, the tribulations, and the outright blessings that occur in my daily life. It all brings me, and all of us, closer to our Lord.

Dear Lord, be with me today, and every day, to help me to see the blessings You bring me in everything that happens in my daily life.

Daily Readings:
Romans 8:12-17 Psalms 68:2, 4, 6-7, 20-21 Luke 13:10-17

Teach Me

St. John of Capistrano

Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Luke 12:57

What I'm about to post is pretty self-explanatory, but a lot to think about. The readings really come together in an effort to make ourselves better. To make ourselves more righteous according to Him. When we relinquish the control we think we have over our lives and humble ourselves to His will, then and only then are we living a life God intended for us to live. I'm not saying it's easy because I struggle with this everyday of my waking and sleeping life. But I certainly do try and I'm hoping God knows that.

I love the Psalms reading for today, it's a good prayer:

Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in Your commands I trust.
You are good and do what is good;
teach me Your laws.
May Your love comfort me
in accord with your promise to Your servant.
Show me compassion that I may live,
for Your teaching is my delight.
I will never forget Your precepts;
through them You give me life.
I am Yours; save me,
for I cherish Your precepts.

I need to start everyday out with this prayer. It may help me to humble myself in order to accept the teachings He presents me with.

Lord, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to You and Your teachings so I might accept them and use them in my life.

Daily Readings:
Romans 7:18-25 Psalms 119:66, 68, 76-77, 93-94 Luke 12:54-59

How Great Thou Art

Absolute Slavery

St. Hilarion

Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:18

Well, I'm trying this again. I haven't blogged for a couple of months now, and in those months I feel farther from God than I did while I was blogging. I think that having this blog and a daily reading to post, helped me to stay on track. I was reading God's Word every day and reflecting on it. Now I'm lucky to crack my Bible a couple of times a week. I don't like that. I enjoy reading the Bible and learning all I can learn about how to be a good and faithful Christian.

I want to be a slave of righteousness. I want to be so involved with our Lord that that's all I can think about. I want to fully accept all He has in store for me, without reservation. But it's been a struggle. I have begun to think more about myself and what would be good for me. I have a hard time distinguishing between what I want and what He wants for me. But He always lets me know in some way shape or another.

I thought that getting back to my roots of teaching would make both of us happy, but apparently not. Every time I try to get a job that I think would be good for me and my family, something doesn't work out with it. So that has made me a little miserable because I was trying to accept that as part of my life and incorporate a part-time job into my current life. It's so hard right now. I have 3 children, 2 in school, and a lot of volunteer hours to complete. I have a 2-year-old to keep busy, and a family to keep in God's loving arms. If I had a job, where would I have time to pray for all of us? Where would I have time to spend with my kids without worrying about everything I have to do around the house? Having a job is so stressful. And maybe it will get easier as they get older, but for now, I think my place is right where I am. And I just have to accept it.

I want to accept it, with all my heart. I want to be His slave so I can be led to righteousness.

This Scripture for the day also struck me and I realized just how important my job here in my home is, even though I'm not getting a physical paycheck:

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. Luke 12:39-40

Daily Readings
Romans 6:12-18 Psalm 124:1-8 Luke 12:39-48