This poem was recently sent to me by my "little sister." It definitely came at just the right time. Enjoy!
Being Yourself
God loves you as you are, not as you would like to be.
Be clear about this simple fact – there is nothing in your life
over the years that was not a confession of his love;
even the things you despised and disproved of,
The things you wish had never been.
Every moment that you lived, of whatever type it was,
was necessary. There is not one heartbeat,
not one fault or weakness, or frailty or talent or gift,
or pain or sorrow, that you could afford to be without.
To interpret all this as a license to sin
is a total misinterpretation of a most sublime truth.
Your need is the measure of God’s love for you.
Love chose you to be as you are.
You are a unique person. God loves and incarnates
in every moment. You must patiently learn
to accept yourself as you are, and the truth
of your need for God. You must not disparage yourself.
When you do, you are actually questioning the good God!
Should He incarnate His love in the person
you would like to be, and not as you actually are?
It is precisely because you are as His love creates,
that you are fulfilling your mission in life.
It is because you are as you are that He works through you.
If you were the person you would like to be,
you would never exist – somebody else would.
It is as simple as that. So begin a new era in your life
by thanking him for your existence. You are his confession,
made to you alone. Into nobody may enter.
You are God’s secret. Its intimacy is overwhelming.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Why do we do what we do?
This week I've done a lot of reflecting on why we do what we do. We strive to be the best and to put forward our best work possible. We want others to see our strength, our ability to persevere. Yet - we work our hardest to not let others see our faults and also become our own worst critics in the process. For me personally, it seems that the harder I work and more harsh this "critiquing process" becomes, the harder I push myself, and the more stressed out I become. I push myself to the limit, start to feel overwhelmed, and then feel bad when I can't complete it all or do my best at everything. In order to balance this process I often try to take on something else. Why is that? Overall, I think it's going to be important for me personally to take a step back, recognize all the blessing I've been given, and draw on what gives me strength the most.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Giwd-i4QNk
Dear God,
Please send Your blessings down upon me this day. Help me to see the beauty that surrounds me in this beautiful world you have create. Give me a heart of thankfulness and greatfulness, that I may always remember where all of life's good things come from. Amen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Giwd-i4QNk
Dear God,
Please send Your blessings down upon me this day. Help me to see the beauty that surrounds me in this beautiful world you have create. Give me a heart of thankfulness and greatfulness, that I may always remember where all of life's good things come from. Amen.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Relfections of a future therapist...part 1
The reflections below are the product of an in-class reflection after we watched a video during one of our classes on gender issues. We watched a video about how females are portrayed in the media, female gender issues, etc. Below are my thoughts:
I have been told my whole life that my curly/fuzzy hair isn't ok. Instead I should have straight, sleek, and shiny hair. I've been told that my olive skin tone / middle-Eastern features aren't ok and that I should have fair skin and lighter more "delicate" features. I'vealso been told that my curvy body make up isn't ok, that I should be more thin and delicate instead. When I was a heavier individual and even sometimes now, I'm told my society that I'm not good enough, not pretty enough, and nto worthy of love because I do not fit the so-called perfect mold. I've also been told by society that I am not worthy of finding a good male partner because I don't fit this mold. The world says that I am worthless and not worthy of love because I have chosen to save myself for marriage and am not willing to 'fool around.' As for my future practice, I realize that this could bring about insecurities and uncertainties into my work. If I am not secure within myself, I could cause harm to my future clients. I may also have to help clients dealing with issues similar to my own at the same time. How will I be able to do this if I cannot "conquer the beast" first? How do I put what the world says behind me and move on, in order to be the most effective therapist possible?
I have been told my whole life that my curly/fuzzy hair isn't ok. Instead I should have straight, sleek, and shiny hair. I've been told that my olive skin tone / middle-Eastern features aren't ok and that I should have fair skin and lighter more "delicate" features. I'vealso been told that my curvy body make up isn't ok, that I should be more thin and delicate instead. When I was a heavier individual and even sometimes now, I'm told my society that I'm not good enough, not pretty enough, and nto worthy of love because I do not fit the so-called perfect mold. I've also been told by society that I am not worthy of finding a good male partner because I don't fit this mold. The world says that I am worthless and not worthy of love because I have chosen to save myself for marriage and am not willing to 'fool around.' As for my future practice, I realize that this could bring about insecurities and uncertainties into my work. If I am not secure within myself, I could cause harm to my future clients. I may also have to help clients dealing with issues similar to my own at the same time. How will I be able to do this if I cannot "conquer the beast" first? How do I put what the world says behind me and move on, in order to be the most effective therapist possible?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Feminine Dignity
Below is a talk that I wrote this past week and am going to give at event for high school girls at a local church tonight. My friend is the youth minister at this church and called me in bind since the speaker she was supposed to have backed out due to a family emergency. I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull something together so quickly, but think it ended up turning out pretty well. It's amazing how God gives you the words to write..... Let me know what you think.
Here's the talk:
How many of you would swoon, grow weak in the knees, and maybe even faint is someone like Justin Bieber, Joe Mauer, or Patrick Dempsey walked into this room right now and told you that you are beautiful? I know I would. I’m sure that I would be so completely surprised that all I could do would be to stare and wonder, “Wow, did that really just happen?” Now, how many of you long for the fairy tale type story, where Prince Charming rides in on his white horse, sweeps you off your feet, and you both live happily ever after? I know it might sound kind of funny, but even as a 24 year old woman, I do too. In fact, I believe that we all long for the perfect man to come, tell us how beautiful we are, and love us forever. We long for this man to fill a deep longing for love and companionship that we all possess. While the story sounds wonderful and we all get excited at the mere thought of it coming true, we all start to “beat ourselves up” when it doesn’t. In fact, we get so down on ourselves that we immediately think that we’re not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not worthy of love. Why is that? We’re all smart women…we all believe in God. We have the great and true lover of our souls to back us up, hold us tight, and love us forever…and yet….we still let the world tell us we’re not good enough. Think just a second on why you think that is….
In one of my all-time favorite books, Captivating, (which you should all read, by the way) the authors say that, "A woman's struggle with her sense of worth points to something glorious she was designed to be. The great emptiness we feel points to the great place we were created for.” To me this reinforces the point that only God can fill the great emptiness that we can all feel at times. God is the true lover of our souls and is already the best there is. Why would we want anything different? In the Bible, God gives us one of the best love stories of all time. Through the book Song of Songs He writes, “You are all-beautiful, my beloved and there is no blemish in you.” I’m going to read it again…a little bit more slowly…and as I do, let it really sink in. “You are all-beautiful, my beloved and there is no blemish in you.” Ladies, the all-powerful, all-loving God who created Heaven and Earth not only loves us but he sees us as all beautiful. In His eyes we are perfect. How amazing is that? Think about it…the God who created the trees, the birds, the air, the sky….He thinks we’re all perfect and already loves us deeper and to a greater extent then we’ll ever be able to comprehend. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty amazing. Now, what can we do to start really knowing and believing that?
I know what you might be thinking right now…. “Here comes the part where she talks about not believing the lies the media tells us…the images we see in magazines, the models portrayed on TV…blah blah blah.” While these points are all very true, that’s now what I’m going to talk about today because I feel like you already know it. You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice…probably a million times. Rather than just knowing that we need to not believe in these things, we need to pray to God daily and ask Him to reveal His love to us, to help us recognize the great beauty and love that we were all made for. You have to remember…in God’s eyes we are like royalty. Yes…royalty. If God is the king of the universe that means that we are his princesses. We are the princesses that He wants to send out on a great mission, to help spread His love to the world. In Song of Songs 7:2, God says, “How beautiful are your feet in sandals, oh Prince’s daughter.” God longs for us to realize this…that He sees every part of us as beautiful…in order that we might show our love and radiant beauty to His kingdom.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I know that this is all much easier said than done. It all sounds fine and dandy until we are actually faced with having to get out in the world and live it. The minute we get on the natural “God high” and feel like everything is going to really work out is the time that the king of darkness, the devil himself, comes to try to feed us all of the world’s lies again. The devil knocks us down and tries to make us feel like we are worthless. It is at this point that I feel it is important to incorporate another quote from Captivating. The authors note that, “You really won't understand your life as a woman until you understand this: You are passionately loved by the God of the universe. You are passionately hated by his enemy.” (Think of how strong of a word ‘passionately’ is and everything that we so often associate with it). While I know this line does sound a little bit scary, there also comes some good news. Ladies…we are a force to be reckoned with. We are so beautiful, perfect, and ultimately powerful in the eyes of our Heavenly Father that the devil is scared of us. The prince of darkness is scared….of us. So…hold your heads up high ladies and be proud. Our beauty is some pretty powerful stuff.
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of examples of love and what it means to be a great woman of dignity is Mother Teresa. She was all about living simply and showing love to every person no matter what the circumstance. In her book A Simple Path she says, “We have all been created for greater things-to love and to be loved. Love is love-to love a person without any conditions, without any expectations. Works of love are works of peace and purity. Works of love are always a means of becoming closer to God, so the more we help each other, the more we really love God better by loving each other. Jesus very clearly said, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Love in action is what gives us grace. We pray and, if we are able to love with a whole heart, then we will see the need… Those who are unwanted, unloved, and uncared for become just a throwaway of society-that’s why we must really make everybody feel wanted.”
Within this quote, I feel like Mother Teresa is reinforcing God’s mission for us: to use our beauty and power as women to go out and change the world one person at a time. God gave us a special mission, ladies. He created us, specifically as women to share His love with the world. How can we truly do that if we love only those who love us? God calls us to go deeper, to look beyond our own personal wants, feelings, and comfort zones and use our beauty and power to serve those that may be the hardest to show love to. The greatest part? …He is there to back us up all the way. Our Father, the king of Heaven and Earth, is there to help us, His all-beautiful princesses, through all of life’s demands.
In closing, I really want to challenge all of you to take some time to not only slow down and look at all the beauty God has surrounded us with, but also to take the time to slow and really let the fact that God created us all as all-beautiful sink it. Go for a walk with a friend, spend some out in nature, spend an hour in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament….whatever it takes. God is ready to send us all on a wonderful mission. In fact, in Song of Songs 2:13 He actually says, “Arise my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!”
Here's the talk:
How many of you would swoon, grow weak in the knees, and maybe even faint is someone like Justin Bieber, Joe Mauer, or Patrick Dempsey walked into this room right now and told you that you are beautiful? I know I would. I’m sure that I would be so completely surprised that all I could do would be to stare and wonder, “Wow, did that really just happen?” Now, how many of you long for the fairy tale type story, where Prince Charming rides in on his white horse, sweeps you off your feet, and you both live happily ever after? I know it might sound kind of funny, but even as a 24 year old woman, I do too. In fact, I believe that we all long for the perfect man to come, tell us how beautiful we are, and love us forever. We long for this man to fill a deep longing for love and companionship that we all possess. While the story sounds wonderful and we all get excited at the mere thought of it coming true, we all start to “beat ourselves up” when it doesn’t. In fact, we get so down on ourselves that we immediately think that we’re not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not worthy of love. Why is that? We’re all smart women…we all believe in God. We have the great and true lover of our souls to back us up, hold us tight, and love us forever…and yet….we still let the world tell us we’re not good enough. Think just a second on why you think that is….
In one of my all-time favorite books, Captivating, (which you should all read, by the way) the authors say that, "A woman's struggle with her sense of worth points to something glorious she was designed to be. The great emptiness we feel points to the great place we were created for.” To me this reinforces the point that only God can fill the great emptiness that we can all feel at times. God is the true lover of our souls and is already the best there is. Why would we want anything different? In the Bible, God gives us one of the best love stories of all time. Through the book Song of Songs He writes, “You are all-beautiful, my beloved and there is no blemish in you.” I’m going to read it again…a little bit more slowly…and as I do, let it really sink in. “You are all-beautiful, my beloved and there is no blemish in you.” Ladies, the all-powerful, all-loving God who created Heaven and Earth not only loves us but he sees us as all beautiful. In His eyes we are perfect. How amazing is that? Think about it…the God who created the trees, the birds, the air, the sky….He thinks we’re all perfect and already loves us deeper and to a greater extent then we’ll ever be able to comprehend. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty amazing. Now, what can we do to start really knowing and believing that?
I know what you might be thinking right now…. “Here comes the part where she talks about not believing the lies the media tells us…the images we see in magazines, the models portrayed on TV…blah blah blah.” While these points are all very true, that’s now what I’m going to talk about today because I feel like you already know it. You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice…probably a million times. Rather than just knowing that we need to not believe in these things, we need to pray to God daily and ask Him to reveal His love to us, to help us recognize the great beauty and love that we were all made for. You have to remember…in God’s eyes we are like royalty. Yes…royalty. If God is the king of the universe that means that we are his princesses. We are the princesses that He wants to send out on a great mission, to help spread His love to the world. In Song of Songs 7:2, God says, “How beautiful are your feet in sandals, oh Prince’s daughter.” God longs for us to realize this…that He sees every part of us as beautiful…in order that we might show our love and radiant beauty to His kingdom.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I know that this is all much easier said than done. It all sounds fine and dandy until we are actually faced with having to get out in the world and live it. The minute we get on the natural “God high” and feel like everything is going to really work out is the time that the king of darkness, the devil himself, comes to try to feed us all of the world’s lies again. The devil knocks us down and tries to make us feel like we are worthless. It is at this point that I feel it is important to incorporate another quote from Captivating. The authors note that, “You really won't understand your life as a woman until you understand this: You are passionately loved by the God of the universe. You are passionately hated by his enemy.” (Think of how strong of a word ‘passionately’ is and everything that we so often associate with it). While I know this line does sound a little bit scary, there also comes some good news. Ladies…we are a force to be reckoned with. We are so beautiful, perfect, and ultimately powerful in the eyes of our Heavenly Father that the devil is scared of us. The prince of darkness is scared….of us. So…hold your heads up high ladies and be proud. Our beauty is some pretty powerful stuff.
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of examples of love and what it means to be a great woman of dignity is Mother Teresa. She was all about living simply and showing love to every person no matter what the circumstance. In her book A Simple Path she says, “We have all been created for greater things-to love and to be loved. Love is love-to love a person without any conditions, without any expectations. Works of love are works of peace and purity. Works of love are always a means of becoming closer to God, so the more we help each other, the more we really love God better by loving each other. Jesus very clearly said, ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Love in action is what gives us grace. We pray and, if we are able to love with a whole heart, then we will see the need… Those who are unwanted, unloved, and uncared for become just a throwaway of society-that’s why we must really make everybody feel wanted.”
Within this quote, I feel like Mother Teresa is reinforcing God’s mission for us: to use our beauty and power as women to go out and change the world one person at a time. God gave us a special mission, ladies. He created us, specifically as women to share His love with the world. How can we truly do that if we love only those who love us? God calls us to go deeper, to look beyond our own personal wants, feelings, and comfort zones and use our beauty and power to serve those that may be the hardest to show love to. The greatest part? …He is there to back us up all the way. Our Father, the king of Heaven and Earth, is there to help us, His all-beautiful princesses, through all of life’s demands.
In closing, I really want to challenge all of you to take some time to not only slow down and look at all the beauty God has surrounded us with, but also to take the time to slow and really let the fact that God created us all as all-beautiful sink it. Go for a walk with a friend, spend some out in nature, spend an hour in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament….whatever it takes. God is ready to send us all on a wonderful mission. In fact, in Song of Songs 2:13 He actually says, “Arise my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!”
Why I chose to start blogging....
Recently, through different ways, I've been shown that I have a gift of listening and sharing. I seem to be able to really "reach people" through my work as a future therapist, my work in the ministry field, and just the way I live my daily life. I decided to start sharing some of my work and/or thoughts that come up. Enjoy!
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