Let Him Help You

~~~ Isaiah 40:25-31 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Matthew 11:28-30 ~~~

O bless the Lord, my soul!

This is the time of year when we have so many reasons
 to remember all the ways God has blessed our soul.

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves. 
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Mary went into labor and God the father was present
 to help give her courage and strength.
Jesus is calling to us to come to him when we are burdened
with the trials and tribulations of life.

Jesus is not too proud to take on our burdens.
We need to trust that when we release our burdens to him
he will indeed take care of them for us.

If you find it challenging to give your worries to God
make the intention to give ten or fifteen minutes.
Enjoy a few minutes each day when you
do not carry your burdens.
This time of freedom and trust will bring renewal to your soul.

If we let God take our burdens for a little while
we will be better able to pick them up again.
If we let God take our burdens when we pick them up
he will have resolved some of our fears.

We are Blessed to have a God that never leaves
 us to fend for ourselves.

Peace
your burdens are lighter.

There is No Denying Your Crosses

Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

~~~ Isaiah 1:10-17 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 10:34-11:1 ~~~

Jesus teaches lessons filled with contradictions.

He comes not to bring peace but the sword...

he comes to turn family member against family member...

finally whoever gives a cup of water

 to one of the little ones will be rewarded.

Along with all of this comes...

...whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

We each have our crosses to bear.

These crosses are sometimes on-going,

but more often than not

 they come and go depending on the circumstances.

Crosses are not supposed to be easy to bear 

otherwise they would not be called crosses.

Taking up your personal cross means you first must face it;

you must see it as real.

You must realize that you are not alone.

The person next you must also face their own crosses.

No one is exempt from hardships in this world.

Why would Jesus make taking up one's cross be so important?

Taking up your cross means you must give up your idea of a perfect life.

Rose colored glasses  will not help you follow Jesus.

He did not pretend that everything was good and holy;

instead he went about spreading compassion and understanding.

Whatever our wants and desires are must come after 

what God wants to be in out life.

If God is above all else in our life 

then it follows that we will be called to make sacrifices.

In order to follow Jesus we must realize 

that there will be sacrifices all along the journey.

Actually many times following Jesus

 means we will find even more crosses along the way.

Jesus says so many times, 'be not afraid'

this also applies when it comes to our crosses.

Jesus wants us to accept our crosses

 because that is when he comes to our assistance most perfectly.

When we perceive our life to be 'perfect'

we have a tendency to want to take credit for it ourselves.

We have this bad habit of leaving God out of the picture.

On the other hand when we are facing our crosses...

when we are feeling overwhelmed,

that is when we find ourselves down on our knees.

We fall on our knees in desperation.

We cry out to God for his help and assistance, 

even though he was always there. 

We do not exist just for the good times, the happy times, or the times of joy.

We exist to accept all that means to be alive.

To be alive means there will be pain and sorrow.

Jesus carried his wooden cross to the place of his death.

He never denied the cross.

He knew it had to be the most important part of his journey.

He could not escape his cross any more than we can.

There is no way to pass through this life without crosses.

To be worthy of Jesus, from his own mouth,

 means you must take up your cross.

He will lead you to cool waters...he will give you rest...

he will be your strength and your protection.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and there will be

 no cross too great for you to carry.

Jesus came to show us the way

 to the salvation he was winning for us.

If we look only for those parts of the Scriptures that are pleasant to us

then we will miss the whole point of his life and death.

Jesus was sent to do the will of the Father.

We too are sent to die to ourselves and live in the will of the Father.

Taking up your cross is not death,

 rather taking up your cross is the key to eternal life.

See if you can begin to view your crosses as blessings.

The burden will certainly be made lighter...

~~~Peace~~~

Shake off the Dust

~~~ Acts 13: 44-52 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 14: 7-14 ~~~

"They shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium."

Things were going well...the good news was spreading among the Gentiles...and then the Jews came along and began to incite the prominent women of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas. These circumstances caused them to leave...

"They shook the dust from their feet..."

Sometimes when things are negative and you are feeling persecuted the best you can do is move on leaving the problems behind. To me the message of shaking the dust from your feet is to let everything go carry nothing from the past ahead with you.

Free yourself from the unwanted burdens;

 the useless baggage and move on into your future.

If you leave behind even the tiny particles of dust you can begin with a fresh outlook. It often serves no purpose to carry around those things that no longer serve a purpose in your life.

If the dust is gone the slate is also cleared. What is written in the dust can be blown away even if it is on your feet. When we walk we are either walking toward something better or walking away from something no longer satisfying.

Dust is not permanent...dust is not solid...you cannot build upon dust...

When we are faced with disappointments and are hurting we can make the decision to

'shake the dust from our feet' and let it go.

Holding on to 'dust' takes more energy than it is worth.

Next time things start to bug you or get under your skin...

'shake off the dust' and save your energy for better endeavors.

Holding grudges only keeps you feet covered in the dust.