God is Calling

Yep...that's the best way to describe it..."God is Calling!" What does it mean? Well, it means something different to each of us. God has this uncanny way of saying things to us so that we completely comprehend that message is MOST SPECIFICALLY for US. Now...what we choose to do with that message, that's ultimately up to us. However, it's important to realize that it was GOD who chose us...chose you...chose me. What we do after that is in response to HIS initial contact. Make sense?

My life has been one with many ups-and-downs. It's not all that different from many others out there. Some have had better experiences than me...others, much worse. The thing that we ALL have in common, however, regardless of our differences, is God. He loves EACH ONE OF US individually...He recognizes us individually...He loves us individually. To Him, it does not matter how we have sinned nor how often, nor that we are incapable of being perfect. No, what matters is the effort we put into this world and the lives we live here and now. God is calling.

I have found that He calls on me quite often. And, the more I do for my own spiritual life, the more I am able to discern His voice from others. It's truly amazing. Spending time on your spiritual life is KEY...it enables us to build upon a strong foundation so that we cannot so easily be knocked down by adversity. Our relationship with God is something that MUST be nurtured and NEVER taken for granted. Otherwise, we shall stumble and fall because we will be unable to see the sticks, branches, rocks, etc. in our path. Satan has many distractions ready and waiting, it's up to us to avoid them and keep things in moderation if we are to know the difference between a call from God and just white noise!

Recently, I've become much more active in my blogging, Pro Life activism, parish life and volunteering. I'm taking advantage of my jobless status and trying to fulfill things that I could not while working full time. It took me a while to get here, however. Why? Because I was listening to the "white noise" of Satan rather than taking the call from God, directly.

It's so easy to become distracted. We all have commitments and seemingly, they are harmless. A football game, soccer practice, gymnastics, dinner with friends, girls night out, bunco, poker night, vacations, work, bake sales, TV shows, watching the news, talk radio, etc., etc. It's quite easy to stay busy and distracted in today's society. But...what about God? When do we make time for Him in our daily lives? Is He an after thought? Is He to be paid attention to when the rest of our day is done and we're exhausted in His presence? Wow...really? Seriously? Can you picture yourself standing in front of Christ and saying to Him,

"I'm sorry I didn't talk with you more or listen more, but I had soccer practice, lunches to make, house cleaning to finish and American Idol to watch - I was too tired to pray the Rosary or say any prayer most nights. But, I tried to be relatively good - doesn't that count?"

Wow...really? Can you picture yourself standing in His presence saying all of that? Can you imagine feeling OK with it? Thinking you had done plenty and God should understand? Can you picture Christ hanging on the Cross and thinking, well, thanks for that, but hey, I got really busy???

We need to guard ourselves well against such things. Satan rarely comes at us head-on. No, he is king of deception. His way is subtlety. He wants to gain your confidence slowly and over time. He is patient. No. He'll make you think that you are doing enough, it's OK and God will understand. He makes it easy to justify the "busyness" of our lives so that we fool ourselves into thinking that attending Mass once a week and on Holy Days is enough. That we tithe, so we do enough. Sometimes, we volunteer for a bake sale and such - yep, that's good enough.

No. It's not.

Our Catholic faith calls upon us to do MUCH MORE THAN THAT! We are called to help our fellow brothers and sisters. We are called to set aside our own selfishness and help those in need. We are called to spend quality time with HIM...not at the end of the day when we are weary and not really paying attention. NO. We are called to spend as much time in His presence as possible. Oh...but how do we do that???

Pray. Pray in the morning. Attend a daily Mass or even, all daily Masses. Pray the rosary. Pray a novena. Pray at EVERY meal, no matter how small or regardless of who may or may not be watching. Give your time, talent and treasure...not just one or the other. Take some time to drive with the radio OFF. Turn off the TV. Spend quality time with the family fully engaged in conversation in some way each day. Join a Bible Study group instead of having a girls night out. Volunteer some of your time at one of the various programs offered by Catholic Charities as well as others out there. See Christ in others and choose to pray and love instead of reaching for anger, judgment or gossip. Give dignity to all those you encounter...that can be as simple as looking them in the eye and smiling. It's not all that difficult. Maybe smiling at someone who seems rude...perhaps, it could be that no one ever smiles at them and you are the ONE PERSON who reminds them they DO matter as a result of your kind gesture.

Now, I'm not saying you should never enjoy yourselves or participate in other things. No. God doesn't ask that of us. I enjoy many things in my life, too - of course I do! But, you and I both know that you COULD do more...you COULD make more time. After all, don't we make time for all the things we deem important. So, isn't God important??? We can ALL do more. How will our children grow up to realize the importance of Christ's sacrifice for us if we do not, in our own lives, with our own actions, show that importance to them by our example???

St. Francis of Assisi made a powerful statement once,

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words."

I think that really captures our duty as Christians. Don't you agree? If we are only giving our faith lip service, then can we truly be surprised when generations to come do the same or worse, lose their faith completely as they deem it to be of no real importance?

Remember...God is calling. It's about time that we all picked up the phone!

Spiritual Warfare...It's Real!

You hear about it. People tell you it's real. However, until you encounter it yourself, you never quite know what it's all about...in what form it will spring up...or what areas of your life will be affected by it. Personally, I haven't experienced it for a long time. Not to the extent I did just yesterday.

After being excited over attaining an on-call position at Catholic Charities (yay), I called a few people to share the good news. One lady I called is a dear friend who works full-time at Catholic Charities. She was thrilled for me and we agreed that God is doing great things in my life right now. Then, a warning. It's truly wonderful to make your life's work about helping others...however...there is a dark side to it. A constant battle of spiritual warfare that must be guarded against and taken seriously.

Oh, I told her she was right and that, yes, I would watch for it. Sad to admit, I only took it half seriously. After all, what kind of a threat am I? I'm not doing all that much...not as much as others. And, I probably won't deal with it full-on until I'm officially working there. Right? WRONG!

Not long after our conversation ended, my husband and I got into an argument or, better to say, we became highly irritated with each other over something that was trivial and really didn't deserve the type of attention we gave it. Not to mention, that I was being highly sensitive to something that normally would not have bothered me at all. Attack Number 1.

We reconciled shortly after and things were fine. I went about my day. Had some banter on the discussion boards with some PC and PL people. Then, a particularly irritable person began attacking those of differing opinions. I jumped in. Thankfully, he seemed to ignore my points because they were not really disputable, anyway, and I tempered my words carefully so as not to be cruel, but state the truth and facts. After that, I was attacked by someone else who became quite frustrated with my Pro Life stance as well as my Catholic views on things. Ugh...really? It was exhausting and really took it out of me. Attack Number 2.

Finally, it was the end of the evening. I got to see one of my most favorite people (a friend's son who needed a ride home - yay) and was spending the evening at home with Bill after that. Things were going well, although, I was not very happy with the way my fish turned out, but that's more of a Julia Childs-type story! LOL Anyway, as we sat down to do our Bible Study, we decided to quickly put to paper our Lenten commitments for this year. Amazingly, we got into an even bigger disagreement not four items into our list. And, something that should have warranted a simple disagreement that could be discussed, turned into a really ridiculous and emotional conversation. WHAT? What was going on here??? Seriously? Really? I was at a real loss. I didn't know what to do at this point because I felt like I had been kicked around plenty this day. Luckily for us, God is stronger than any demon that can try to stand against us. Bill and I were able to calmly discuss matters and resolve the issue in a manner that should have been our first response. Ugh. Sigh. Lessons learned. Attack Number 3.

So, in the matter of one afternoon...after one delightful phone call and feeling filled with God's purpose...I was knocked about for the remainder of the day by Satan and his little helpers. Oh yes, people, spiritual warfare is VERY real. I should have thought to pray after I got off the phone with my friend. Prayer would have protected me...protected us. Lesson learned, indeed.

Guard yourselves carefully. The closer you are to the truth and leading your life right, the harder things will become. And, it's never in the way you expect it, but the attacks will come. It may be in an area that has nothing to do with the good thing you've done or are going to do...but it will come. And, I've found in my particular case, it will usually come at me through the thing I love most in this world...my loving and devout husband. We underestimated the ability of one so evil to enter our lives. We cannot allow that to happen again. Pray for God's Grace, His Mercy and also, for His Protection. Sometimes, we take for granted that He is always there...watching us...but we forget to call upon Him when we should. Amen.

Oklahoma Catholic Women's Conference - My Account, Part I

So, this was my first year to attend the annually held Oklahoma Catholic Women's Conference. It was held in Oklahoma City and I was able to ride the bus from our parish along with 50 other Catholic women. It was an early start to a long day as we had to leave the parking lot by 5:45 AM. But, when all was said and done, it was well worth the loss of sleep!

I spent the time on the bus ride down there reading my book, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I'm truly enjoying it and figured that I'd need something occupy me on the way there and back. Perhaps even throughout the day, who knows. I knew a few women on the bus, but not many. I was allowed a seat to myself toward the back and I was grateful for that. After reading for some time, I became a little tired and drifted in and out of light sleep. We arrived at the hotel where the conference was being held around 7:45 AM. After disembarking, we made our way into the lobby, got our name tags and looked for a place to seat ourselves.

The day began with Mass held by the Archbishop. I had some trouble, I must admit, staying alert during Mass. At one point, while bowing my head in prayer, I nearly fell forward as my body attempted to regain some sleep. Needless to say, I was quite alert for the remainder of Mass.

Afterwards, we had about an hour break. In the halls outside the conference center was a sea of tables filled with various Catholic vendors. It was nice to walk around and look over everything. I restrained myself, however, knowing full well that there was nothing there I could justify purchasing with our already limited funds. God is great at keeping your priorities in front of you and I was thankful to have been listening to Him! :-)

Our first speaker of the day was Teresa Tomeo (her web site is: www.teresatomeo.com), an Italian Catholic who had spent more than 20 years working in the secular media. As a result of her career and falling away from the Catholic Church for so many years, she nearly lost her marriage as well as her soul to the non-Christian focused world around her. She entertained us with anecdotes, but also brought forth a powerful message. "The media IS trying to affect our culture!" Teresa warned against allowing the media to be the things that helped us form our conscience. She reminded us that The Mother Church MUST be incorporated into our daily lives.

In addition to her references to secular media and the way it can affect our lives if we're not careful to take it in moderation, she spoke to us about our responsibility as Catholic women. Men and women are meant to WORK TOGETHER...not against one another. We're meant to be one. The Church does NOT work to oppress women - on the contrary, Christ was the FIRST Women's Libber!!! Wow...powerful stuff and really, when you read the accounts of Jesus Christ encountering women in the Bible, you'll see that He never made them LESS...He always brought them forward to be signs of light and Grace.

We, as women, also need to hold onto our dignity. We've lost it...lost our way. As Teresa spoke, it all came together...We have been fooled into believing that being "objects" and sexual predators is what we were meant to do. There's no dignity in lessening the worth of our bodies by putting all the focus on how we appear, physically. It only takes away from who we are and who we were meant to be in Christ's eyes...nurturers, givers, counselors, care givers, protectors, pillars of strength, guides and examples to others. Pornography, extreme sexuality and the lust created by those things is only a way to further enslave us to the secular world and what it believes we should be to everyone...things...nothing more. It comes to us falsely as "empowerment" and "independence" - however - what we are left with after it all is nothing more than a shell of ourselves and who were meant to be.

Teresa's message really hit home with me. I was so lifted by her words and devotion to our faith as well as to our Mother Mary. Mary, who was the truest example of Grace, strength and love and is often disregarded by the masses. Teresa gave us a quote and I so loved it...

"When we are who we are meant to be, we will set the world ablaze." - A Quote by Saint Theresa of Avila.

All this came from the first hour of the conference. Wow...just wow! I can't wait to share what came next and will do so, soon. Be blessed!

I'm Religious...

So, I posted this title on a Facebook Group Page I belong to and got a lot of response. First, to come out and state that I'm religious was something to grab everyone's attention, indeed. Second, it was a way to start a discussion regarding the differences between what people claim to believe.

It's funny to me that the term "being religious" is something that can be used in a derrogatory or complimentary way alike. People who are uncomfortable with your faith life or views, will undoubetdly use this term as a way to cause offense. It's a way of stating that you are somehow "confused" or "less" when it comes to your opinions because, after all, you're religious.

There are also those who wear it as a badge of honor. I'M RELIGIOUS - they shout it from rooftops. But, are they missing the point? Being a very religious person myself, I often wonder about those who go out of their way to TELL YOU they are religious people. I mean, if you're religious...if you follow God, shouldn't we simply be able to tell that by your actions and the way in which you live your life? I would think so. Sadly, it's not always the case. Often, I find the most vocal "I'm religious" statement makers are the ones who tend to follow God by purifying themselves...trying to "save souls" quickly and daily and then, point their finger in judgment at anyone who disagrees, is lost or unwilling to hear them. That's where they lose me. We are called, as people of God, to love those especially with whom we disagree...to love our enemy. Those are the people who need to SEE God the most. After all, didn't Jesus come to save the sinner?

My favorites, however, are the people who claim that they're "spiritual." To me - and many on that group wall posting I mentioned - that is simply a cop out. A way to continue doing things as THEY see fit and to refuse being held to any higher standards than their own. I mean, hey, it's great if you think you are of high character and good moral standing...fantastic...however, if you ARE NOT beholden to God, to Christ, then aren't your values and morals in your "spiritual life" subject to how you feel at that time? As life goes by, as you change and change your way of thinking, don't your morals also bend if not guided by something that is steady and unchanging? That's a risk you run.

Spirituality is a great way to get a "pass" on things that are uncomfortable or cause one to realize that there are definite Rights and Wrongs in this world. You can easily "cop out" of any situation by saying, "Hey, it's not my problem. They do what they want. I do what I want." There's no real commitment to anything except yourself. Which is all well and good until you have a bad day ... a bad day that causes you to react or respond in a way guided by your faith and values ... oh wait, your faith and values are in yourself...so...what do you do now? If you are lost, how do you find your way if you are your own compass???