By Chi YuWarning!!! This blog was published unedited with original spelling and grammar to preserve cuteness! 1 DEAR WAWA 1 DEAR WAWA 2 CHAPTHER 1 3 WAWA WAS PLAYING WIEF THE BUS ON THE NEXT 90 WEEKS WAWA 4 WAS FISHING OUT OF BIG WOODS 3 AND WAWA LIVE IN 1099 FEET OF A HOUSE AND ON THE NEXT DAY 4 MR LOVER WAS PLAYING TECKT TO RIDE AND WAWA PLAYING THAT GAME. JESUS DIE FOR ALL OF US. IN MEXICO THERE WAS A GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD FOOD ON THE NEXT 9089 THERE WAS GG WAS PLAYING TECKT 1 TIME THERE WAS CHI YUDOOR AND THERE WAS WAWADOOR ON THE NEXT DAY WAWA AND THERE WAS A GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOOD GOOD GOOD GOOOD FOOD ON THE NEXT DAY WE WAET TO MEXICO I LIKE WAWA GOOD BYE
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by Jason WildeI watched the scenery from the back of Padre Carlos' tiny hatchback on our way to Mass at a distant Puebla on a rainy Sunday morning. As we slid through the muddy back roads, I noticed that the scenery was changing. The rough, unfarmed greenery was slowly turning into flat, grassy ranches lands spotted with cattle and an occasional horse. Another 20 minutes later, Padre pulled his car up to a tiny little store and we made our way to the even tinier chapel perched on a hill on the other side of the road. The locals were just starting to arrive by truck and by foot, and I noticed that the men were relatively well dressed compared to other pueblas that we'd visited. Most had clean blue jeans, boots and cowboy hats; they were clearly ranchers. The Gospel reading that Sunday was about Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18). Padre Carlos was a very popular homilist, and he didn't let us down. He started by asking the men standing in the back of the chapel how they called their herds. We listened as each one whistled in his own unique way, and the crowd of about 20 people giggled each time. "If I could imitate one of you"...(whistling feverishly)..."would I be able to call your cattle?", Padre questioned. "No!", the cowboys all responded in unison. "Similarly, then if Jesus is the 'Buen Vaquero', do we listen to His call?" Padre continued. Everyone laughed and seemed to nod in agreement. "....or do we also listen to others? Do we listen when strange gods call us - gods of money, drugs, alcohol, gossip, TV, internet...?" The still silence was deafening. I keep reflecting back on this homily as we stand on the precipice of another season of lent, trying to decide how we are going to prepare ourselves to receive the Good Shepherd whom we all claim allegiance to. But, we live in a world of gods: gods who are loud and in our faces, gods who all vie for our attention and for our support, gods who want us to follow them, to be like them, to reject all others. And while we might claim to only serve one God, in reality we all struggle with this, and unfortunately, our God is a jealous God. He doesn't like when we listen and follow the calls of those other gods:
Interestingly, when push comes to shove, it seems that the faith claims and institutions of one's political party generally trump those of one's religion. Lent is a time to remove ourselves from the presence and grasp of those other gods. It is a time to clear away the noise that distracts us from His calling. Usually, this means we must sacrifice something that makes us uncomfortable so that we can feel His healing presence. Every year, I struggle to find 'what I should give up', but in reality, I should be working to free myself from the calls of these gods so that I can hear the angelic whistle of the Good Shepherd.
by Jessica Wilde After my first chemotherapy treatment, my white blood count dropped really low, I was neutropenic and at high risk of infection. We decided to go into quarantine until my numbers improved. The kids went stir crazy being stuck inside all week. One afternoon, the kids decided to pull all the mattresses off their bunk beds and started playing the trust fall game.
The trust fall game is where you trust that someone or something will catch you. You fall backwards without fear and in complete faith that the person and/or object will catch you. The kids giggled and laughed as they fell freely over and over again backwards onto the mattress without fear. At the chapel that evening, I began to ponder what it would be like to do a trust fall with God. I had been struggling with anxiety lately. And these questions kept haunting me. Will the chemo work? Will I get sick? Will I die young leaving behind a young husband with four kids to raise? Will I get to see God's dream of the Busita become reality? I knew these questions were Not from God. They were from the devil trying to cause me undue pain and suffering. The devil was actively trying to lure my peace away. I left the chapel perplexed. All I want in life is to love Jesus with total abandonment to His will for my life even if it's a cross that seems to big or unimagineable. I want to trust Him who loved and knew me before I was even conceived in my mother's womb. I want my life to be for Him alone. I desire that every breath be in His service and filled with His love. So why couldn't I just let these questions go? Why couldn't I let the fear go? No matter how much I prayed, it seemed like the questions kept coming back to disturb my peace. I wanted to be completely free from all my worries and fear and instead have an increased dependence on God. In despair, I cried out. "Why can't I do a trust drop with you God?' I fell to my knees in my bedroom and cried out to Him who loves me. "Father I adore you..." Since learning I had cancer, I had sung this prayer multiple times a day everytime I was in pain, upset or anxious. But it wasn't until this moment that I realized that when I was falling to my knees in prayer, I was doing a trust drop with God. There are three aspects to a trust drop. The first aspect is faith that there is someone behind you that will catch you. In terms of a trust drop with God, this means Faith that there is a God and that He is with you. "Father I adore you. And I lay my life before you. How I love you. How I love you." The second aspect is trust. Now that you believe through faith that God is there, do you believe that He loves you and would never let you fall. If so, then you are able to make the drop. "Jesus I adore you. And I lay my life before you. How I love you. How I love you." But there is a third aspect... Have you ever done a trust drop with a friend and when you realized that you were falling reached out and grabbed the floor or tired in vain to catch yourself. This usually ends up with not only a failed trust drop but with a clumsy attempt to save yourself. I had faith that God exists. I believed He loves me whole heartedly. But when the moment came and I realized that I was falling, I began to reach out with my strength to save myself through worrying about the 'should haves' or 'maybe I could' or 'what ifs'. And then googling in attempt to find the answers or 'phoning a friend' for the answers. I realized that the devil was trying to make me stumble and fall by having me attempt to save myself instead of relying on God's providence. The secret to a successful trust drop is abandoning our fears to His Sacred Heart so He can save us. We can then place our full trust in His timing and His will which is love. Sometimes we surrender a particular fear once in our lifetime, other times once a day and during difficult times we maybe in a period of continual surrender. But Jesus rejoices every time we trust Him to save us and free us from our fears. After turning to Him to save us, we are then filled with His peace which allows us to be open and docile to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to live in God's will for today without fear of tomorrow or regrets of yesterday. "Spirit I adore you. And I lay my life before you. How I love you How I love you" Now I look at these hard moments as an opportunity to draw closer to my Lord and choose Him as my Savior . At first this song was done through tears because the unknown can be scary. But after much practice, it has become easier to surrender these fears through prayer because of the beautiful fruits I've seen in my life. These fruits include freedom from worldly anxiety and the joy of living everyday in His will. Because when I abandon my fear and place my trust in God, I can see Him more clearly and feel His love more tenderly even when things don't go my way. His will is always far better mine. I am terrified of needles. Thankfully Jason has always been there with me when I get my blood draw except for one time that I'll never forget. The phlebotomist walked in the hospital room to draw my blood. I was terrified and Jason wasn't there. I was alone. But I breathed deeply and choose to do a trust drop with God. As she walked in, she began to pray "Divine Physician take care of Jessica heal her...". Her prayer continued the entire time she drew my blood. Her prayer filled me with His peace. Afterwards she asked me "Do you believe in Divine encounters?" As I looked in her eyes, I saw Jesus looking right back at me. I nodded. I was not alone. He was there and always will be. The phlebotomist continued praying, turned and walked out of the room. Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in you. |
On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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