ForeverLOVEd

9  The  Lord  your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground.  For the  Lord  will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,   10  when you obey the voice of the  Lord  your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the  Lord  your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Dueteronomy 30:9-10 It is probably one of the simplest words in our vocabulary. From the time we are toddlers stealing toys and climbing on shelves we are taught the word  NO . And maybe because in the beginning it is one of the only words we ever hear or maybe because we feel an obligation or a need to feel accepted for some reason along the way we start to avoid the word no. In our minds we define  no  as the opposite of...

"I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it were already burning."  Luke 12:49  I have a lot of fears. I could list off of the top of my head a dozen.    Heights, puking, and speaking to an audience are just a few. I suppose it is kind of random, but I recently discovered I am also terrified by fire.  I made this realization one evening as we were roasting marshmallows on sticks in the backyard. We had been given the most adorable pot to roast them in around Christmas. Once my brother had finally lit a small flame in the black charcoal, it was time to get the s'mores going. But as I held my marshmallow a foot above the tiny flame, I could see that nothing was happening and that nothing would if I did not move it a little closer. The thought was silly, it is a tiny flame, stop being ridiculous, roast your darn marshmallow. I had built many s'mores in my life and could recall camp outs and neighborhood gatherings where the roasting was the central par...

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26  Most of you spent your weekend delivering flowers, putting thoughtful notes in cards and cooking elaborate dinners to celebrate the MOMS in your life. Whether it was your biological mom, a grandma, an in-law or just an amazing woman in your life, I hope you had someone to celebrate. Each of us have these important woman that nurture us, shape us, and help us become who we are today. So it is only right that we have at least one day set aside to celebrate them.  I think each of our moms have in some way or another given us gifts. Maybe the things they have instilled in you stand out or maybe they are little things you barely notice. Maybe it seems like she has left you nothing or maybe it is obvious she has given you everything. All these things make some difference in our lives but I think there is one special g...

For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:17 Well, we had planned to head back to the house and watch a movie, but an hour and a half later, we still had not made it inside. A crazy and energetic dog had conquered our street and as I sat in the car, terrified because of previous dog experiences, my brother and friend eagerly jumped out to help the other neighbors to catch him. The events that followed were literally bizarre. And while I cannot even begin to explain them in words, I can tell you that a 90 minute adventure played out right before my eyes on the other side of the window. We first encountered Eddie, this spunky boxer, on our way to pick up a movie. We thought it was odd he was roaming the streets alone and were even more thrown off by his strange behavior. He circled the car multiple times and looked to be very distr...

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34 Dear Small Group, Do you know that you are the image of God? Do you know that God dwells in each of you? Maybe you do not always see it. Maybe you sometimes feel like you are not enough or too much or awkward or shy. Maybe you feel like you are nothing special or you get lost in the crowd. But I see it. I have seen it since the day I met you. I see it in your goofy smiles and your unique hang ups. I see it in your willingness to love and your hesitant ability to go out on a limb and share your deepest thoughts. When I see you, I see God. Each of us has been given the most precious gift of Christ being alive within us. Of that, I am certain. Every single person was made in the likeness of God. But the challenge for us as Christians, as Catholics is to live a life that declares with every breath, Christ dwells in me. We can do this, and probably are do...

“It's just that I don't want to be somebody's crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don't want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it too.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower After I had ordered the most complicated array of coffees and pastries, the barista proceeded to attempt the flirt with me. Shy as can be, I was thrown off by his attempts and laughed it off, because quite frankly I did not know what else to do. I guess I am sort of a dork when it comes to these matters and my "play it cool" responses never quite come across as cool. My mom says men flirt with me, or at least attempt to, all the time. I tend not to notice or brush it off as just an extra nice guy. And while she seems to think I come across as rude when I do not flatter their attempts, I would rather not notice than realize they are "flirting" and head into panic mode. ...

"An anthropologist proposed a game to African tribe kids. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said: UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad? UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are" How many times are we running the race for ourselves? How often do we want what's best for ourselves, regardless of what that means for others? How often is it more important to us that we are comfortable and happy, than that we are creating unity and love? What kind of lessons can we take from the beautiful children in this story? The other day I was talking with my four and five year olds about the community we have built in our classroom. I was saddened when...