LET GOD IN!

I have a friend who often repeats these words, 'Be happy...'
How profound it is to be truly happy, no matter what!
Perhaps it has a lot to do with our ability to let go of our own ideas and desires and let God in!
Could it be possible that we put up a barrier so others cannot 'touch' us?
Very easy to do, to play safe and hide behind a facade of what we know and are used to doing etc.
God loves us and yet we only experience this wonderful and all powerful love when we are able to step away from ourselves and 'let God in'.
Of course, this also applies to allowing other people to come into our lives.
Love is by invitation only.
Be sure to invite LOVE in!

OPEN MIND

Being open-minded is a gift and one to be valued.

It helps us to accept new ways and ideas and the ability to build on what we already know.

The person who is open-minded is able to discern beauty and truth and develop an awareness of what is important in life.

Whenever we read the lives of the saints, we can be surprised at how changes happened in their lives, simply from being open-minded.

God has given us an intelligence and a mind that affords us to think about life and all that is important to us and others.

So, when we allow ourselves to be open-minded and look at life with 'new eyes' we can be inspired and moved to become a better and more loving person.

God's love is all around us.  It's often a question of discovering new ways to respond to Love!

SAINT PATRICK

This Sunday, 17th March 2019 we will celebrate the Feast day of Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland.

All around the country people will hold Parades and Festivities , wearing green hats and badges and letting the world know that we are Irish and pay tribute to a great and humble saint.

Perhaps a lot of the celebrations will be a bit of boasting of our Irish roots and I hope somehow a show of gratitude for this special man who lived with us so many years ago as a slave and yet felt such compassion for the people of Ireland for their lack of knowledge of God's love for them which caused him to return and share with us his gift of faith.

The world today doesn't leave much room for compassion and caring for others apart from our own families and friends.

To befriend the stranger is something special and comes from a deep belief in just how much God cares for us.

That's the kind of faith our forefathers had and because of it, Ireland became known as a place of a thousand welcomes.

I hope we still have this ability to welcome strangers and live up to the image that Ireland is a land of saints and scholars.

God bless the Irish spirit.

GRATITUDE

Whenever I need encouragement, Gratitude comes to mind. 

I search for something to be grateful for and before I know it, I'm filled with encouraging thoughts and ideas.

How does it work?

Very simple; whatever we dwell on, we become.

When I'm able to see the good side to life, then I become a  positive and happy person. The opposite happens if I dwell on anything negative.

Therefore, the practice of being grateful is both simple and full of wisdom.

Another help can be a time factor of listing all the things I can be grateful for.

For example, I'll now begin a list of things to be grateful for:

Living in a happy and positive community

Good friends

Good family members

Ability to write, creatively

Ability to work and be useful

Looking at a good, inspiring film

The power of prayer in my life

Understanding the value of weakness

My relationship with God

Above all, the gift of Faith.

Ten good reasons for being grateful and more to come!

Have fun...

The world is such a vast and interesting place that often we can be drawn in to more that we realise or want.

Perhaps the most important thing in our lives is to have fun, really have fun.

This takes courage and honesty, to be truly ourselves and respond to all the wonderful graces and inspirations we receive.

When it comes to God, we are dealing with a Power beyond our comprehension. Therefore it becomes easy for us when we take on the image of Christ and His awareness of His loving Father.

This is who God is, a Father who loves us more than we can understand.

We have a limited image of Love because we are imperfect.

Taking on board the Truth of who God is, we are grappling with the awareness of what LOVE is.

GOD is LOVE!

Have fun and enjoy being loved by a loving 'Father'.