Kairos

In my different readings, I am often reminded of 'Kairos.'  This is a Greek word, referring to time.  How do we use our time?  Is it always so busy we forget to make a moment to ourselves? We need to make that time, as this is when we can sit back, breathe in, shut our eyes, and think of nothing but of God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit.  All are intertwined, living as separately but as one, just as we have our parts of the body, but the head is what keeps us together. We must take this time to let the Holy Spirit come visit us, to strengthen us, giving us courage to attack our busy lives.  We will find we are content, able to face the world, because of taking the time to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed Gifts, Blessed Fruits

..."For your imperishable Spirit is in all things!" (Wisdom 12:1) Can you imagine life if the Spirit wasn't always there, dwelling within us?  A part of our own spirit would be lost, as the Spirit makes us be who we are. What we have to do is nourish it, and listen to what is being said to us if we begin to take a wrong path. Have patience with everyone, as hard as it can get at times. Have generosity.Share the blessed gifts God has personally given you with others.Have joy in your heart.Bring a radiance of happiness to others instead of self-pity. Learn from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Everything we say, every act we do, can build upon our experiences, strengthening the wisdom given to us.  Practice counsel. Strive for a life of perfection in the eyes of God. Practice piety. Don't be pious only once a week; have it be an active part of your daily life. Have understanding. What might seem trivial to us is important to another. Understand this, sharing your heart with all before you. Do have fear of the Lord.  Keep Him in awe. Recognize how great God is. Let the Holy Spirit constantly feed you with the grandeur of the Lord. Feel His power, Feel His strength. Feel the enormity of his passion and care. What He does for us, through His Son and in the Holy Spirit far surpasses what any other being can give us.  Be blessed!

Listen

Often, we can get so wrapped up in telling our story, we don't listen to someone else. Yet, if we do listen, we can learn from one another. At times, a person just wants to be able to talk, to clear the mind.  At times, a reply isn't really needed, nor an opinion stated. It is nice to only offer a hug of support.  Doing so can make someone's day, to allow one to get over the obstacle which has been blocking the path to move ahead.  You may feel the strength of the Holy Spirit as you listen, but you don't need to say so to another.  Instead, let your actions speak for you. Pray silently, asking God to let others feel the peace you do. God has His own beautiful way of taking care of things. For now, you be the unexpected friend to help them silently feel the power of the Holy Spirit!

What do you see?

While you are out today, look at your surroundings differently.  Maybe you didn't notice that small tree before, or that pretty potted plant on someone's porch.  Maybe you haven't noticed the artwork in your place of work before, nor that of your neighbor's. Swallow in the crisp, cold air, thanking God for letting you be part of this day. Take a walk around the block at lunch. Notice those small innocent children at play, wishing you could gain back some of that innocence. Look each person in the eye as you pass one another.  Smile and give a pleasant greeting to all you see.  Don't hold back.  Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Make your day better.  Make the day better for someone else, friend, stranger or foe.  You can do it.  The Holy Spirit will not let you down!

CLOUDS and HAPPINESS

Clouds have always fascinated me. As I see the different shapes and forms in the sky, I can go wild in my imagination.  I don't always think of them as taking the form of an object, but instead how they affect my soul.
They seem to bring such a calmness about me. Always, they lead me into prayer. I am thanking God for allowing me to see these beautiful pieces of art into nature.  I can truly feel my heart start to beat a little faster and my cheeks begin to be a bit warmer. Just as with people, no two clouds are alike. And, as with people, each can affect another in a different way, though there is a common thread to keep all united.  May the brightness and softness of every beautiful cloud cause for you to also feel a happiness within your spiritual soul.  Be good to yourself, nourishing this internal glow. Gently reach out to others, giving them the same opportunity to feel the calmness of God and the Holy Spirit, having all us stay united with our Lord.

Radiance

We often say how our heart is filled with warmth at a particular moment, as something special happens in our lives.. But what we forget to say is how our Spirit is also filled with warmth.  This is where the glow is starting from, the fire burning within the Holy Spirit. From there, it radiates out, warming our hearts and our souls, with our eyes radiating, as if, they, too are feeling the fire of the Spirit. May you feel the warm blessings of the Holy Spirit today, letting your sparkling eyes reach out to others, bringing a joy to all of you!

CHANGE

Some of us on Facebook have been having a fun conversation, about always sitting in the same place at Mass, week after week, year after year. If someone is sitting where we usually do, the reaction isn't a very good one.  I plead guilty to being an unhappy one, as my children grew up. That was OUR row and OUR seats. Who are these people sitting there?
How funny it is how we cannot accept change.  Yet, change is good.  It can open the soul and allow the Holy Spirit to have a bit of excitement in one's life, rather than being dormant. It can open our eyes that might have been open, but  were actually shut to seeing new opportunities sitting before us. Who knows what we would miss if we didn't accept change. And with it, we might find the new way better than the last. Stir up the Holy Spirit within you and think of doing something a bit different than usual today!

Right now, I have four small dogs surrounding me. They follow me around throughout my day.  What unconditional love they bring! We humans are not as free giving. While the innocence of an animal remains intact, our somehow fades away, more so as we add one more age to our being each year. We begin to judge others, limiting who it is that we like or dislike. Approaching friends or strangers to give a hug is limited, perhaps depending on our mood that day.  Yet, our pets give us love constantly, so strings attached. Maybe today, each of us can live a little like these sweet four legged creatures, reaching out to someone, letting them feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit resting in our souls.

Which Path?

Henri Nouwen, a priest who decided to spend his calling at a home for the mentally challenged, wrote of his experiences in several of his books. One of the adults wrote a beautiful poem about hope:

Hope means to keep living
amid desperation
and to keep humming
in the darkness
Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep and waking again
when the sun rises.
In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
it is to see that you are understood.
As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer
And God will be holding you
in God's hands.

How beautiful this is! Instead of getting wrapped up in the complexities of life, he sees hope. I cannot ever say enough about hope, as it is what we must continually  strive for  in every choice we make. We must  not allow ourselves to get caught in a maze.  Success can be reached, though it may take awhile before we take the right path.   Pray to the Holy Spirit, feeling His gentleness and patience as we go along our individual paths, feeling the freedom our Lord has given us.

While taking my teen to school this morning, she said she and her dad, who is out of town, now had a different place to let her off in the mornings. I asked her if I should turn left at the light, with her saying yes.  As I was turning left, she called out a big no, I was supposed to be turning right. I was now going the opposite way than planned.  We were laughing. I told her she said to turn left.  She agreed, but that really meant I was to turn right, which made us laugh all the more so.

What a great way to begin the day, with a bit of laughter.  We so often forget to do this, getting wrapped up in the mundane activities we go through each morning to start our day.  Instead of thinking of laughter, we are thinking of how we must hurry, getting frantic. The 'hurry' aspect stays with us throughout the day. We have forgotten to laugh.

Think of memories you have to bring out the laughter. I shared a memory with a group recently. One of my children was in the kitchen, following a recipe for a school project. She was doing her preparations by the open kitchen window. My husband and I were sitting on the porch outside of this window.  Another of my children walks into the kitchen, noticing egg shells are in the mixing bowl. We hear the question being asked of why were there were egg shells in the mix, the response was that the recipe asked for egg whites!  No matter how many times I tell this story, I start laughing before I can get out the final line. On that particular day, my husband and I had to cover our mouths so we wouldn't be heard laughing, offending the cook. Of course, the cook now takes this cooking lesson in stride when the teasing begins.

May you, too, bring some sunshine to your day, thinking of past memories.  May the Blessed Holy Spirit fill you warmth, love and laughter as you think of them!

Endurance

     A favorite Bible passage of mine is Romans 5:3-5, "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us."
     It is hard to understand at times how we can rejoice in our sufferings.  I had a seven year old girl ask me why there had to be so much sadness in life. I did my best to explain to her how we get stronger every time something sad does happen to us. I said after knowing sadness, we do not take anything for granted in life. Rather we start seeing life as something very precious.
     It is a hard to understand this, no matter how young or old we are. We can only pray to God for strength to get us through our daily endeavors. It is not easy.  But, we must remember we have not been abandoned; the Holy Spirit is there, providing us with love and care. His power of love and care is beyond words. It is up to us to accept what He provides, as we continue to go about facing what each day brings.

A Silent Night

A good day to you!  I almost wrote this inspirational note at 4AM, since I was wide awake, ready to roll. I gave up trying to sleep, coming out to the living room to sip chamomile tea.  How silent it was!  Even the dogs were fast asleep. I enjoyed the stillness and the quiet.  It became my time with God, knowing there would not be interruptions, nor having to respond to the fastness of every day life. I absorbed the silence, immersing it deep into my soul. Feeling completely content and relaxed by 5:30AM, I was able to drift off to a peaceful sleep. I thought  I would sleep well into the morning. However, at 9:30 I woke up, feeling happy and refreshed. Ah, the Holy Spirit can do amazing things!