Do Whatever He Tells You

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

For our first week of 33 Days to Morning Glory, I was really struggling with the fact that I needed to give it all to Mary.  I understand that she knows what is better for me than I do.  And I understand that she can present my request to God more perfectly than I can.

But what really tripped me up was the Wedding at Cana.  Jesus wasn’t ready to start His ministry but Mary gently nudged Him forward.  Even though she knew it would eventually lead to His death, she helped push Him forward.

Why would that bother me?  Mainly because I promised God I would quit my job once our new baby was born.  I started to fear that Mary would change His mind and I would have to stay at my job.  I seriously feared that her will wouldn’t match my will.  It was all, me, me, me and what I wanted and what I planned.  Last week I struggled with giving it all to Mary.

What if she changed His plans like she gently did with Jesus?  What if she found a way to keep me working?

On Monday, I was driving to work and turned on Catholic Radio.  At the very moment I turned on the radio, Teresa Tomeo said, “Do you know the last words Mary spoke in the Bible?  Do Whatever He Tells.”

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”  -John 2:5

The light bulb went off and I got it.  It all came full circle to me and I realized that my concerns this entire time were nonsense.

Mother Mary wants me to do what God tells me to do.  It isn’t her will.  It isn’t my will.  It is His will.

I found such peace at that moment and was overwhelmed with this warm feeling.  I felt His love for me through her.

I’m ready to give her all my concerns, all my worries, all my graces, all my deeds.  Mother Mary, pray for us!

Posted in 33 Days to Morning Glory, Mother Mary | Leave a comment

Becoming Worthy (Part II)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

Homeschool co-op ended last week and PSR ends tomorrow.  As a couple of chapters in my life come to an end, a new chapter begins.

Instead of asking God to release me from my job in two years, I changed my prayer to be a bit more specific.  My husband and I have been wanting to have another baby but it just wasn’t happening.  I didn’t know if it was because of my stress level or just wasn’t the right time.  So about a month ago, I changed my prayer to, “Dear God, if you allow me to get pregnant, I will quit my job when the baby gets here.”

Seriously.  I told my husband and we laughed a little about my demandful request.

Three weeks later, I’m pregnant!

I immediately thanked God and promised I would quit my job when the baby gets here.  My husband agrees.  So come January, my days of working this job will end.  God has truly answered our prayers in so many ways.

Posted in Children, Family, Friends, Prayer | Leave a comment

Becoming Worthy (Part I)

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Quite frankly, I have been miserable in my job for over a year now.  I remember being on vacation last August and working while the kids took naps.  It has only gotten worse and worse as the months have gone by.

I’ve been having amazing conversations with my very knowledgeable friend regarding my situation.  I was telling her that the further I grow in my faith, the more miserable at work I get because I realize that I am not living out my vocation.

God called me to be a wife and mother and I honestly feel like that is my purpose.  But this last year, it has been a struggle to do good at either of these roles because of my job.

My friend asked if I was praying to be released from my job.  And honestly I wasn’t.  I didn’t think I was worthy to stay-at-home with my children when so many other moms worked.

And that my friends is sinful.  I didn’t realize it at the time but my friend kindly pointed out that God wanted me to be happy and He believes in my worth.

And so, I started to believe her and started to pray for God to release me from my misery. I went back and forth about my job being my cross and maybe I should stop whining and carry it.  But the more my mind went there, the more I felt unworthy.

So for the past month or so, I have been focusing on my self-worth and trying to believe that God wants me to be happy.  God wants me to live out my vocation.  I just need to trust in Him that He will get me there.

At around that time, I decided to make specific request to God regarding my situation.   Instead of saying, “I hate my job don’t make me do it anymore please,” I would say, “Please release me in two years when the law makes me record my homeschooling hours.”

But my friend believed that two years was too far away and God was going to get me there soon.  (She believed more than I!  I have a lot to learn from her regarding faith!)

More to follow tomorrow…

Posted in Children, Family | Leave a comment

Trusting in Mary

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

We are on day six of our 33 day journey to final consecration to Mary.  A couple days ago we read about how we should give all our graces to Mary and let her dispense of them as she sees fit.  She knows, much more than we do, who needs our prayers and graces more urgently than others.

I found that idea pretty radical and prayerfully have pondered on it the last few days.  I spend a good amount of time praying for particular things and really being specific.  (More on this in the next few days.)  But now, I realize, Mary knows what is better for me than I do.  So prayerfully deciding what I want is not the way to pray.  Instead, I need to put my trust in God, her Son, and her.  They will take care of me the way I need to be taken care of.  They will look over those they love in the order they see fit.

It is not up to me and I need to accept that.  I know understanding and accepting this overnight is not going to happen but I’m being prayerful about this.

Tomorrow we will hold our second group meeting and I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone else thinks.  Bouncing ideas off each other only helps me understand more!

Posted in 33 Days to Morning Glory, Mother Mary, Prayer | 1 Comment

Oxymoron

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

As I pulled into the Walgreens parking lot, I noticed that the car in front of me was plastered with pro-life bumper stickers.  Yet right in the center of all the “its a baby not a choice” and “chose life” stickers was a “Catholics for Obama” sticker.  I nearly hit the car trying to read that sticker in disbelief.

Of course, she pulled up right next to me.  I immediately noticed a bumper sticker on her passenger window that proudly announced the parish she belonged to which was just a few blocks away from mine.

I started to unload the kids as the lady stepped out of her car and I couldn’t help myself but to confirm what her bumper sticker said.

She confirmed that it did say “Catholics for Obama.”  I was so in shock that I didn’t know how to respond.  She then said, “I’m very pro-life but I love our president.”

I was ready to talk about the Born Alive Infant Act that he voted against. I was ready to talk about how he approves of gender select abortions.  I was ready to slap some sense into her confused mind.

Luckily at that moment my daughter started to complain about snot running down her face.  I realize that I am at the snotty nose phase in my life and trying to talk politics in the Walgreens parking lot is not in my cards.

But goodness, if only she realized how un-pro-life our president actually is maybe she wouldn’t like him so much.

Posted in President Obama, Pro-life | 1 Comment

33 Days to Morning Glory

Posted on May 5, 2013 by

Today, my husband and I started the 33 Days to Morning Glory retreat. I first heard about the book at the women’s conference in March but couldn’t purchase the book because they were sold out.  When I attended the homeschooling convention last month, they were sold out again but the kind nun told me she would bring me a copy the following day at the convention.

A few days later, I mentioned that I purchased the book to a friend  and she was actually in the process of forming a group to do the retreat together!

Yesterday, my husband and I met with six other couples (and our 23 children!) and held a two-hour meeting regarding the retreat we would embark on.  It was so nice to have this time of fellowship together (kids were all downstairs with a sitter!) discussing how we all want to grow in our faith.  We truly are blessed to be surrounded by so many Catholics who want to grow like we do.

Today, my husband and I started day one of the retreat in the morning.  We spent the rest of the day, pondering on the reading and going about our daily lives. After putting the kids to bed, we pulled out the workbook an answered the questions about our morning reading.  What an amazing blessing to share this with my husband!  To share our answers became an intimate moment that drew us closer together.

Day one, I’m ready to be on fire for the Lord.

Praise God for this retreat and the perfect timing that this has come into my life.

Posted in 33 Days to Morning Glory, Marriage, Mother Mary | 1 Comment

Worthy

Posted on May 1, 2013 by

Both of my kids are sick.  So today I worked 10 hours from home with two sick kids.  No sitters available.  It was a pretty rough day.  Nap time came around and I sat on the couch to check my personal email an read my daily devotions.

I had one email and it was from a sweet, super, amazing friend and it simply told me, ‘to take a deep breath.’  And so I did.

I took a deep breath, read the rest of her sweet email, and ended with another breath.

I closed my eyes and started to cry.  I took the moment to trust in God and really, really, lean on Him.

I opened my eyes and then flipped to the daily devotion in my Magnificat.

Ironically (I think not) today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.  At first glance, I felt like God was slapping me in the face and trying to wake me from my slumber.  But then I went on to read how  Pope Pius XII instituted the feast day dedicated to the dignity of labor.

The word dignity really jumped out at me.  I never thought of the word dignity being connected to work.  But now I see that I need to treat myself with dignity in my work.

I’ve been lacking in this area and have countless times said and felt like I am not worthy to stay at home like other mothers.  I would think that I didn’t deserve to stay at home while so many other mothers work.

But today I realized that I was lacking dignity in myself as a person to believe in the dream that I believe God has in store for me.  I know I need to believe in Him for it to come true.

So starting tomorrow, I am going to show myself dignity, with a big punch of grace, to help me see things more clearly.

Praise God for good friends an amazing saints who allow us to see God’s plan.

Posted in St. Joseph, Work | Leave a comment