Good Morning Friends,

So today, I thought I would do something a little different.  Instead of doing a whole post or list or the like, I thought I would just do a little coffee chat style post.  So, grab some coffee, and join me for the morning!!

We just got back from a wonderful week at a family camp called Catholic Family Land.  Anyone heard of it??  It is so wonderful. Almost like a retreat, we all get back each year with renewed faith and courage.  It is such a wonderful place to recharge and re boot for another year!!

One takeaway from this week is basically a recognition of the power of the love of God.  It is so easy to not recognize His great love, even though it is made manifest in so many ways.  Just knowing that He wants to be more than just a friend, but a lover, with each and every one of this children is so inspiring.

Another thing I learned is that Christ is also the only thing that will always remain unchanged in our lives.  He alone is unchanging.  While we will gain and lose relationships for all of our lives, Christ is the only thing that will always be constant.  Isn’t that amazing!!!

Saturday Meditation:

For those of you not familiar with Catholic Meditation or mental prayer, it is simply time of prayer in which one meditates over a mystery of the Church, a Bible passage, or a life of a saint. During this part of the sit down, I thought I would point our a passage that has been especially inspiring to me recently.

This week, I had the chance to meditate on the passage in Matthew’s gospel where Jesus walks on water.  I had never really looked at this passage, but it has so many different symbolisms.  The main thing, though, is Christ’s call for us to ‘COME’.  He is calling us, begging us to come to Him.  He wants us to take a leap of faith and come to Him in all of our struggles.  All He is asking for is our trust and hand along the way.

So, anyway, check out Matthew 14:22-33.  I know you will love praying over this beautiful passage.

Songs I have been loving recently:

Rise Up by Audra Day:

Okay, you guys, this song is probably my favorite song ever.  When I first heard it, I wasn’t so sure.  But I loved the tune so much that I looked it up.  Seriously, just take the time to look up the music video.  It is so so so so good.

Keep Your Eyes Open by NEEDTOBREATHE:

This song is such a powerful reminder of the presence of God in our lives.  It is so easy for us to close our eyes on the work of God.  We get caught up in our day-to-day activities and somehow don’t see His all-powerful Hand.  This song reminds us to keep ourselves in tune to His work, even then it is hard.  Because, like I said before, He is the only thing that will never change in our lives.

Restless by Audrey Assad:

This song resonates with me so much.  As St. Augustine said, ‘Our hearts are restless until they rest in you’.  We cannot be truly filled until we fill ourselves with Christ and Him alone.  No relationship, job, hobby, possession, or the like will ever fill us as God will.  Until we find our worth in God, we will always be Restless for His love.

Currently Reading:

The 5 Essential People Skills by The Dale Carnegie Training

I have been loving this book for a couple of reasons.  Although it is written for a more business-inclined audience, it can be applied to people of all walks of life.  While some people are called to business, Catholics have a unique call to evangelization.  And that doesn’t come easily to most people, myself included.  By applying the strategies of this book, we can all become better evangelizers and communicators.

Testimonies to Saint Teresa of the Andes:

I didn’t really know much about St. Teresa until I found a couple of books about her at a book giveaway.  #freebooks.  ha.  Anyway, she is such an inspiration.  By her death at the age of 19, she was already considered a mystic.  Her holiness was thought to be similar to even that of her namesake, St. Teresa of Avila.  This book is full of the testimonies people gave of her great goodness after her death.  It is so amazing to see that holiness of one small cloistered nun recognized by so many at such a young age.

Courage to Sour by Simone Biles:

So there is a little story behind why I read this book.  I was going to put it in my kindle wish list for later, but I accidentally bought it.  HA.  Best mistake I’ve made in a long time.  This book is so moving.  Simone is a fighter!  She is such a strong woman.  She even shares about her Catholic faith in this bio.  I absolutely loved reading her story and hear about her journey to the Olympics.  Such opportunities are for the seldom few and I am so happy Simone was one of them!!!