LOVE

Life can be a busy place for most of us. 

There is so much to do and so much we want to do that time keeps running out.

Yet, this could be a fallacy on our part because life is given as a gift, an opportunity to grow in love.

When this is our main purpose in life then we are centered on what is most important, LOVE.

For the Christian-minded person, Love represents the Presence of God in our lives.

When we are focused on loving, we are focused on God.

We have the Power and Support of God in our lives.

There is no need to look at our short-comings.
We are free to become aware of God's Loving Presence in our lives and so develop into a loving, caring person.

Love is the answer to ALL!

RENEWAL

This week, Holy Week, is a good time for renewal.  

Many changes happen in our lives and it's good to be prepared to face the challenges whatever they might be.

As a child we are anxious to learn, to know, to do.  The world is an adventure, inviting us to reach out and become a part of all that surrounds us.

As we become older and perhaps a little wiser, we begin to learn a different way of life.

We are invited to go inward and renew ourselves in a more spiritual way.

The Passion of Christ is a time for looking at ourselves in relation to Love.  Here we have the Life of Christ, our Saviour, willing to give ALL that He is for us.

This kind of love is almost beyond our understanding. To love that much, knowing that we cannot and perhaps will not respond to God's love for us, teaches us what love is all about.

St. Therese put it in a very simple way...

     'To receive so much and to give so little is the martyrdom to which I succumb.'

She understood how much God loved her and did her best to respond to that Love.

We are invited to do the same and renew our lives, according to the Standard of Love.

TIME WELL SPENT

We know the value of time and often find ourselves trying to 'make' time for urgent jobs etc.

It's as if the hours slip away and we are nowhere near our projects end.

Perhaps it doesn't matter. 

The main interest in relation to time is knowing that we are putting love into who we are and what we do etc.

Sometimes playing a game of cards with a friend can mean more than working on a project that seems so important to us. 

The saints would remind us that what we do is meant to please God.

Time well spent is where God is present, guiding us in all we hope to do.

SUNSHINE and SHOWERS

Seems strange when one is in Gran Canary where sunshine can be taken for granted, to mention showers.

Yet there is an analogy attached to linking sunshine and showers.

Sunshine we love / Shower we may not love.

As in life, we love all the good things that spoil us and make us feel special.

Then a little pain of sorts comes our way and we may feel our world has crumbled to pieces.

Its great to be happy, yet also good to have things happen that make us sad.

This way we learn to balance our lives and our acceptance of life in general.

We become a more rounded person, able and also willing to carry our daily cross; small or big.

With Christian thinking we learn to see that the Cross is a sign of Hope.

Be Ready for Change...

When Change happens, we can be upset and feel insecure in many ways.

It's okay to feel things, yet also wise to realise that often feelings are just feelings and not reality.

That's why it's such a good thing to be ready for change / embrace the changes that happen to us.

It could be a new job / new place / health issues etc.

So many happenings in this fragile world of ours and yet we can be happy and strong too.

Our attitude to change makes us either strong or weak.

Embrace change and we become a better and more rounded person.

Why be afraid ? 

We have no power over the future, except that we can adapt to change and make life interesting too.

When we are faced with something that could be a worry; take a moment and consider how we can

change our attitude.

A positive outlook opens us up to all the new possibilities that surround us.

This is great. Now we can step forward and embrace whatever changes that take place in our lives.

Embrace Change!

Happy am I...

What a wonderful thing it is to be happy.
Am I happy?  What makes me happy?
These questions can help us to realise our value-system.
I believe most of us know what makes us happy, yet we may not want to pay the price.
I'm happy when I am a loving, caring person.
I'm unhappy when I am wrapped up in myself and forget about others.
Therefore, it's easy to see just how much we know how to be happy.
Let's pay the price, then we can say...  Happy am I...

Happy, Healthy and Holy New Year!

When we begin a New Year we can be full of new ideas and aspirations as to

 how we can become a better, more rounded person.

This is good, yet often falls away, in time, as a lot of good intentions do.

Therefore I'd like to suggest to myself and all who might be interested...

Be HAPPY, HEALTHY and HOLY this wonderful New Year 2014.

Three words to guide and encourage.

Happy...     What makes me happy?

Healthy...   What keeps me healthy?

Holy...        What guides me on my spiritual journey?