Lift Up Your Hearts: Part Two

Part Two of the talk I gave for the "A Few Minutes With God" website. May you be blessed!


Finally, hope is so integral to our spiritual lives because it distinguishes us, sets us apart, allows us to embrace who we are – heirs to the Kingdom of God, His sons and daughters. Without hope, we could never fully embrace this rich inheritance or believe in its possibility, let alone its reality. While in the midst of difficulty, it is hard sometimes to remember and claim our dignity. We forget the price He paid so that we could be free. We doubt our inheritance, our worthiness. We say to ourselves, “I’m not good enough, I’m worthless, it’s too hard to keep believing otherwise.”

 

But hope empowers us to embrace fully this inheritance that we have in fact already received by virtue of our baptism. Although we cannot see the kingdom of Heaven that awaits us, we are hopeful because we believe in Christ's promise. We embrace the birthrights of princes or princesses, because we have hope in Christ who makes them a reality.

Lift Up Your Hearts: Part One

My talk is finished and available for download here, at AFewMinutesWithGod. This is a great website, that encourages us all to spend a few minutes with our Lord every day. I've been participating for a week or so now, and it's been a great blessing to me, just to be reminded to spend that time with my Jesus. 

Even though my talk is available for download, I also wanted to provide you with a hard copy, if you wanted to read it in the customary three installments. 

My talk is called "Lift Up Your Hearts." I talk about the importance of hope in our Christian walk, why it is difficult at times to retain, and I share some of my own experiences. Hope truly is a central aspect of our spiritual journey. It is fundamental to our relationship with Jesus. It opens our eyes to deeper meaning and purpose. It fills us with peace and joy that supersede our circumstances. READ ON to discover more that the Lord has revealed to me about Hope. 

What I've Learned from Prayer Group and LOST

My parents have a weekly prayer group that normally meets on Thursday nights. Imagine the craziness that breaks loose when they decide to change things up a bit and have it on Friday night this week!

I have blogged about this group before here (if you want the full experience, I wrote down another message that was spoken). If you live in the Fort Myers, Florida area perchance, contact me if you are interested in attending. Seriously, it's been a great blessing for many years.

Yesterday, I could sense the Lord speaking to my heart, and surprise, surprise, it was yet another continuation of the peace vs. anxiety theme that's been ongoing this week. This was the message:

Let There Be Light

I decided to continue that meditation on worry-free life.

I was asked to prepare a talk for an online conference. The conference will be held next week Thursday, November 22. You can log in at your convenience here and listen to all the talks. The theme, one that is very close to my heart, is HOPE. Especially now, in these days of uncertainty and fear, we need to cling to the hope that the Lord promises us.

I haven't quite decided what my talk will focus on, but I started thinking a bit on the theme of hope vs. the worry that plagues me.

Meditations on Music and Worry-Free Life

I have been pondering two topics today that I would like to blog about. They are not necessarily related, but they have been on my mind lately. Firstly, the tremendous gift we have in music. And secondly, the necessity for peace in our lives.

Look Who's Back :)

It's been a while since I wrote. Lots of excitement around these parts, what with friends I haven't seen in a long time coming to visit, new developments with Jonathan and work, taking on the music for the Teen Mass at my church, and other such happenings.

But I'm back, and ready to write again. Here are some updates with the goings-on in this mommy's life: