Greeting Prayer Warriors!
I am on vacation and my internet connection is spotty at best. So this will just be a simple reminder to pray for marriages while I can find a connection.
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:15-16
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Pray a double portion and pass it on!
Greetings Prayer Warriors.
Keep on praying for and with one another, including other families as well.
Peace, Love, and Joy,
Janet
Pray for a family member and pass it on!
Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Independence Day came and went, but do know I continue to pray for you all! I hope you were spending treasured time making memories with family and friends.
Because of the holiday, I kept contemplating independence, freedom, and dependence. In marriage, we depend on one another. In families, we depend on each member to do their part. Knowing you can depend on one another is what allows for some independence. Then I read this:
“The Creator has endowed men with rights and liberties; men got them from God! In other words, we are dependent on God, and that initial dependence is the foundation of our independence.” -Bishop Fulton J. Sheen.
Hierarchically, if we are first dependent on God, and then one another, don’t we experience the greatest of freedoms?
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17
God granted us free will. With freedom comes a responsibility to do not what you feel like, but what you ought to do.
Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God. Peter 2:16
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 … for a person is a slave of whatever overcomes him. 2 Peter 2:19
Prayer is a powerful weapon against temptations and all forms of evil. Whether you pray the rosary or another form of prayer, remember that while no one lives a life without temptation, temptation can be dissipated and conquered through prayer, which brings us closer to God. That is the power of freedom in Christ!
May your prayers unite you with the Father and build a fortress of protection around your marriage and your family. The family that prays together stays together!!
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Many are at least loosely familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, far fewer are familiar with Abraham’s negotiations with the Lord to save the innocent, which highlight how compassionate Abraham was and how incredibly just God is.
“Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Genesis 18:23
Abraham petitioned the Lord, showing incredible faith.
Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?” The LORD replied: If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Genesis 18:24-26
Abraham negotiates downwards, all the way down to 10 people!
Abram* put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness. Genesis 15:6
What does any of this have to do with marriage, you are thinking? Consider the power of the prayers of the righteous! Abraham's petitions were heard and the Lord consented! So when you pray for your spouse or your marriage, the Lord hears you and is working in your relationship. Not all the Lord does is immediate, let alone seen by us as He is looking at the long game, but do remain hopeful and confident.
The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. James 5:16
So whatever your situation, or the one you are praying for, have faith, and if you don’t, pray for that gift!
Sanctify one another in prayer, and continue to petition the Lord on behalf of marriages.
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Let your petitions be heard and pass it on!
*Genesis 17:5
Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Have you noticed that as soon as we are old enough to understand what sin is, we begin making excuses for our sin? This habit unfortunately continues into adulthood.
We have a whole arsenal of excuses for our sins. The Evil One first tempts us with something very minor, so it feels like we are only cracking the window open. But then more windows open, then the door, and it can progress very rapidly into grave sin. Perhaps as an adolescent, we should have been taught about “gateway sin” versus just “gateway drugs!”
Common excuses:
Paradoxically, it isn’t the Lord who will accuse you of your sins, but Satan will do so incessantly! That can lead to not forgiving yourself! However, the Lord, with His merciful and Sacred Heart, will never stop loving you. It is because of that love that he will softly call you to repentance.
Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more. Romans 5:20
For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Pray for your entire family, that no matter the sin, they may always seek reconciliation with the Lord, and find respite in His Sacred Heart.
I tell you, [...] there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. Luke 15:7
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Greetings Prayer Warriors,
Many things inspire me in my daily walk with God and my desire to become holy; prayer, scripture, saints, and sometimes it’s a special Servant of God. One of my favorites when it comes to inspiration in my marriage is Elizabeth Leseur. Becoming a Servant of God is the first step in 4 necessary steps to sainthood. What made her so extraordinary is that while she was a Catholic, she had an atheistic husband who would mock her religion. Rather than shooting figurative arrows back at him, she would offer up each slight and offense for his conversion. She kept a diary of this. When she died, her husband found and read her journal, and was so moved by it, he converted and became a priest! Now that is inspirational!
A few insights gleaned:
She did not focus on what was wrong with her marriage, but on the Lord.
She atoned for her sins and those of her husband.
She embraced suffering and prayer.
She remained gentle and kind.
She prayed for peace in her soul.
She practiced thinking less about her faults and more about Christ’s love.
She reflected the light of Christ to everyone she came in contact with.
Rather than focusing on her loneliness, she made Jesus the companion of her solitude.
Thus, by becoming Christ-like, and mirroring his love and mercy, the Lord was able to convert a precious soul (and most likely, more)! Praise God!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
Lord, we have much to aspire to, but help us to focus on you versus our shortcomings, for you always stand in the gap and give us all the graces we need . Help us to love purely and completely, in good times and in bad, with gentleness and kindness. May we be an oasis of your mercy and your love, grounded in peace for our spouse and all those we meet. Thank you for being our Beloved, and seeing the belovedness in each of us. May our praise of You never cease! Amen.
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Greetings Prayer Warriors,
It’s alarming how much the cost of everything has risen in the last 5 years or so! A cost conscious person begins to ask themselves before buying, “Need or just want?” Yet, who doesn’t love to buy gifts for others?
You probably know people who are amazing hosts, others who are amazing administrators, the person who always makes you feel better after a conversation, those who offer words of knowledge, and others who have organizational savvy you could only long for. Still others who are filled with wisdom, and others with amazing faith. God gives everyone gifts, and if you aren’t sure what yours are, ask a friend, as they most likely see what you don’t!
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 1 Corinthians 12:4,7
Share your gifts, as they are treasures to the ones who receive them!
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, [rise and] walk.” Acts 3:6
You and your family have many intangible gifts, which when shared, can be life altering for others. Start with family prayer and help one another pinpoint their gifts. Then, begin by using them first for the building up of your own family. Then share them with another family, and help them discover their own gifts. Then, pass it on, so all may experience Christ’s love through each other! Imagine that going viral!
Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet
Awaken one another to give and to receive. Pass it on!