Be Brave

I replied, "But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand; I will trust God for my reward." - Isaiah 49:4

Over the past weekend I went to see the movie Brave with my best friend Christina. It is a wonderful animated feature. Disney/Pixar has outdone themselves with the visual effects. Having used 3D softwares, such as Maya, made me appreciate how much effort was put into the creation of this movie. However, I was surprised in which the way the movie turned out. The plot is definitely not like your traditional Disney Princess movie, such as Cinderella or Snow White.

Since the movie just came out, I'm sure many of you have yet to see it. So without giving too much away I will put my take on the movie. As you may know, Princess Merida is unhappy with the way her life is going. Her parents, the King and Queen, are desperately trying to seek a man worthy of her hand in marriage. However, she cannot accept the fact that her entire life is being planned out for her without her own voice of approval or disapproval. She wants a say on how she is to live her own life. With that, she does something drastic, making everything in her world a hundred times worse then before! But she is willing to fight to make things right again for her family.

Sometimes what we think is best for ourselves is really not the case. Many times God has something better planned for us. We just need to seek His Will to see it. If we try to take matters into our own hands, like Merida, we could end up ruining God's wonderful plan for us. Going to God in prayer will help us find what we are looking for. He will answer us somehow...many times through talking with other people; be it friends, family, and/or acquaintances.

This takes courage. I have been struggling with a situation in where I feel trapped and unhappy. I've been praying about it though and I feel that I've finally come to an answer. I feel that God has answered me through talking with a former co-worker of mine. She has really made me see what I need to do in the unpleasant situation. I need to seek God's will and know that He has something so much better planned for me then the situation I'm in now. And I trust that He'll take care of me, stepping out into the unknown, which takes faith.

Also, after being challenged, accused, and verbally abused regarded my religious beliefs I see the next step I have to take. I will fight for what I believe in, like Merida. I won't let anyone talk down to me or intentionally belittle me or my God. I won't let them crush my dreams. And the action I choose, in this situation, is to remove myself from these people without confrontation. I know if I give it to Him, He will lead me out of the bad situation. Taking matters into my own hands, without His help, could lead to something worse. So it is with the Lord's guidance from here on out that I must be brave.

         

Moment of Impact

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

All of a sudden...BOOM! Your life is never the same again. Just like that! In the blink of an eye! And there's nothing you can do about it. What is done is done. Have you ever experienced that moment or known someone who has? Let me tell you, it isn't fun if the moment of impact is traumatic. I have been in a state of shock for the last few days with what happened to a church friend of mine.

It all started as a peaceful day in Daytona Beach. My friend, Austin, was having a family reunion for Father's Day weekend. You wouldn't think there would be anything to worry about on this beautiful, relaxing day in the Florida sunshine, right? ...Wrong. Apparently the guys decided to go body surfing in the Atlantic. Somehow Austin caught a dangerous wave that threw him down hard. He must have hit the back of his neck in a certain place that shouldn't have been hit. From there the paramedics took him to the Halifax hospital in Daytona where he has been in the ICU for a few days.

It is awful to think that this beautiful young man of God, a strong devout Catholic who just graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville, may have a very hard life ahead. He is basically immobile and has no feeling in all of his limbs. I am literally torn up by this thought and it has brought me to tears. How could this have happened? Why? WHY?!? Especially Austin, who is a wonderful man and comes from a great Catholic family. He, of all people, does not deserve this one bit.

As Father's Day weekend came to a close my parents put on a movie for our family to see called The Vow. It is a great movie. I loved it! I saw it in theaters before with my friends, but as I watched it back over again it really hit me hard when Channing Tatum's character Leo started talking about "moments of impact" in our lives. Moments that hit you hard all of a sudden which you can't control. In the movie he says, "The moment of impact. The moment of impact proves potential for change. Has ripple effects far beyond what we can predict. Sending some particles crashing together. Making them closer than before. While sending others spinning off into great ventures. Landing them where you've never thought you've found them. That's the thing about moments like these. You can't, no matter how hard you try, controlling how it's gonna affect you. You just gotta let the colliding parts goes where they may. And wait. For the next collision."

As I see it, in moments like these, friends and families either come together, stronger than ever, or begin to fall apart...(referencing the colliding particles, as perviously mentioned). In the The Vow, Leo was entirely dedicated to his wife... willing to go above and beyond the duty of a normal husband because he loved her so much. I can see with Austin's situation how supportive all of his friends and family are for him!! Prayer warriors across the globe are praying for him day and night. He has a whole fleet of angles at his beckon call! I can see from going on his website and his Facebook posts from friends just how much everyone cares for him. I, myself, have been constantly keeping him in prayer throughout the day, during Mass, and in my rosary intentions. If anyone can get through this it WILL be Austin! :) What a testimony that would be! Such a glory story for the power of the Almighty God if he is to have a full recovery.

I'm sure if you have read my other blog posts you know that I believe God can do impossible things. Miracles do happen! In fact, they happen everyday if we open our eyes. It's a miracle that you are alive and breathing right now, right? Everyday is a gift. Every moment is a miracle. We must never let the little things in life be taken for granted. Just the thought of walking right now is beyond what Austin can bare at this moment. He is taking it day by day. One step at a time. Which is the right thing to do for his recovery.

Reading the verse Philippians 4:6-7 gives me a peace of mind and a hope for Austin. So in situations like these that are very traumatic lets not become panicked or flustered. God wants us to take a deep breath and relax. Worrying is not going to make it any better. Once we have surrendered our anxiety over to God we need to be faithful in prayer and place all of our trust in Him. Through this we will experience God's peace in our heart and mind that will get us through all of life's trials that wait ahead.

If you would like to send a prayer message to Austin please visit his website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/austinjsmith. Even if you have never met him before I'm sure he'd love to hear of your prayers and support. Thank you so much! God bless!

In Your Time

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." 
- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Recently I saw a movie with my family this past weekend called "In Time" starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. It came out last year and I really wanted to see it in theaters, but I finally got to see it now. It was an enjoyable action-packed movie. But if you know the story, time is literally money. It is the currency of the era.  Everyone is in a hurry to make ends meet so they don't run out of time---because if they do, they'll die.

It seems to remind me of what can happen in today's society. People often rush too much to enjoy life. They are only looking forward to a better time, in the future, that may never come. Eventually they let life slip away. They are so set in their own ways that God has no chance to step in and correct their path. Of course God wants to help, because His timing is perfect! But the question is, will we let Him? Will we let His time come to pass instead of our own?

In chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes it says:

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

God's time directly correlates to trusting Him with patience. Sometimes I try to think how God works...and then I realize that I cannot possibly comprehend His greatness. God is so amazing and so perfect! He has the perfect timing in His plan for each of us. That is why it is so important that we don't mess with it. Forcing our own will with hasty decisions can alter the path that God wants us to take. If we keep His timing and His Will in our prayers we will eventually know what He wants from us. Somehow, someway, God will let us know what His plan is for us. It is not like it's a big secret that He is trying to keep from you. Our Lord wants you to know the plan He has for you. But again, it is placing your trust in Him so that His plan will happen in His time.

God has a map for our lives with His time. It is not predestination because we are given the choice to follow Him or not. If we follow Him we will never get lost. But sometimes we get distracted down the road. I remember last month my friends and I were driving from Tampa to St. Petersburg. It is about an hour away so we used a GPS to get there since we didn't know the way. However, the GPS failed as we were on the highway. While all this was happening I was on the phone with a friend in the backseat and my other friends were talking and singing with the music. Suddenly we realized the GPS wasn't working as we approached a fork in the road. We didn't know which way to take, but luckily my friend Michelle turned left and it was the right way. But then we came to another split. We turned left again hoping we would be lucky a second time. However we ended up going the wrong way, so we had to backtrack. This is just a simple example of how being distracted in life and making a fast decision can literally take you down the wrong path, leading you away from God's perfect plan.

In simple words, let God be the watch of your destiny. He will always show you the right time at the right moment. Let God be the compass of your heart. He will point you in the right direction, always. So whenever you can't find your way, rely on God to help guide you in prayer. He will, always.

Song "Your Time" by upcoming Catholic music artist Sarah Kroger. Lyric video made by my friend Therese.

Let Go & Let God

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry." - Psalm 40:1

Hello dear friends in Christ. Happy Solemnity of the Holy Trinity! Today I'm going to continue talking about patience, but this time in the context of specifically waiting for your future spouse. Ladies, if you are a young Catholic woman, seeking a man of the same value, who will uphold your dignity and self-worth...this post is meant for you to read. :)

Late last night one of my good girlfriends came over to visit. We talked about maybe going to the mall or a movie in the evening just to get away and catch up. However, we stayed at my house and talked in my room for probably three to four hours straight. Seriously, it was a great heart-to-heart discussion I really needed. We talked about everything...from school, to work, to our faith, and boys. But most of what we talked about revolved around waiting for the right person to come into our lives, at the right time, and at the right moment.

Do you remember the movie, Field of Dreams? "If you build it, he will come." We discussed how important it is to build a life centered around Jesus and trusting Him to bring you the man of your dreams. Someday your prince will come, ladies. It is just a matter of God's timing and trusting His Will. Rushing into something, like a relationship, that is not centered on Christ or founded in the same faith can lead to serious problems down the road. Sometimes it is hard to believe that there are any good Catholic young men left out there. Even though the ones I've seen want to become priests, I'm sure there are some holy men just waiting to find us good women of faith.

It is surprising though that out of my ten closest girlfriends only three are in a relationship now and four others have never been in a relationship. Even the ones that are dating are not dating Catholic men. They are just Christian. So I'm wondering how on earth all of these beautiful, holy, pure women of God can't seem to find beautiful, holy, and pure Catholic men. Why is it such a struggle? And why do we always keep asking ourselves where are they?

The fact is, God only knows where he is right now. He is out there somewhere, waiting for you... but the time you meet is completely up to God. And I've learned that you can't force it. If you try to and it's not the right time or it's not meant to be it either (a) won't happen or (b) you'll end up with the wrong person.

I haven't been in to many relationships myself. But I have learned a lot from my friends and their mistakes. Let me remind you...it is not quantity that you are trying to find, it is quality. Who cares if you've only had two or three boyfriends... or none. You only need to find one! I know girls who get into relationships all the time and just end up having their heart broken over and over again. You would think they would see the pattern, huh? But instead they keep doing the same thing hoping for different results. What is happening here, is that they are trying to control the situation instead of handing it over to God and waiting for Him to make their dreams a reality.

I found this quote the other day that really caught my eye. It says, "Timing is so important! If you are going to be successful in dance, you must be able to respond to rhythm and timing. It's the same in the Spirit. People who don't understand God's timing can become spiritually spastic, trying to make the right things happen at the wrong time. They don't get His rhythm -- and everyone can tell they are out of step. They birth things prematurely, threatening the very lives of their God-given dreams."

My good friend Taylor, who is a dancer, responded to this by saying, "Yeah that is very true! People rush things too fast in life instead of just letting them happen. Have faith that He will take control... His plan is always bigger and better. So don't try to create something that wasn't in His original plans." This is a perfect example of how you should just let go and let God. Let God work in your life. Instead of trying to seek out your own plans and force something to happen that shouldn't be, just don't worry about it and give it to God. Give God the desires of your heart. He knows that you long for a holy Catholic man...and He will answer you according to His own good time.

For as we all know, the first part of love is patience. "Love is patient, love is kind." 1 Corinthians 13 ❤

Patiently Waiting For God's Will

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Hello dear friends in Christ! I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything on here for a while. I have not forgotten about this blog. My life has just been very busy! As some of you may know, my grandmother passed away in March. It was sad to see her go, but I am very happy that she is no longer suffering and is with God now. After the funeral I was completely consumed with my schoolwork, studying for finals, work, my friends (and their drama plus my own drama lol), family, and life. It has been very hectic, but I'm pleased that summer is finally here and I can relax a bit more.

I hope everyone had a great Easter season! During this time I've been trying to seek God's Will for me and my life. It has just been so hard with so many things going on all at once. I'm just praying that God will give me the patience I need in order to seek His Will and not my own.

Let me share with you a story about my sister. It's interesting because it is so important to know that sometimes what we think is the best plan for us may not actually be. God may truly have something so much better that He wants to give us, if we let Him.

Earlier in May I was helping my sister get ready for her senior prom. She wore this beautiful navy-blue dress with high heel silver shoes. She was absolutely stunning! Her date was a very lucky man that evening. The two had a great time dancing the night away. Then it came time to announce the senior class notables. My sister told me that she was nominated to receive the "most sincere" award. It's really funny because when I was a senior I got the same award from my class and it was a complete surprise because I didn't think I was even nominated. Since she knew that I received it before she was almost a shoe-in for it this time. However, when they called the name for "most sincere" it was not her name.

At first she was disappointed, but at the same time happy for the girl who did receive it. She knew that she wasn't going to let the silly award ruin her night. She was having so much fun with her date and all her friends! Still, in the back of her mind, she was thinking about it and lost in thought. She wasn't even paying full attention when they did call her name for prom court.

One of her friends was like, "That's you!!! Go!!" Still in shock, my sister went up to receive the award of prom princess. Instead of getting a notable award and a single red rose, she received an entire bouquet of flowers and a crown. Another girl ended up being prom queen... but that was fine. She didn't care. Her class did recognize her and crowned her as prom princess! What an honor! And the crazy thing is, she didn't even knew they had a prom princess. What a surprise!

So the moral of the story is... you may think you know what you want, and you may have good reason to believe so. But in the end, God always has the best in store for you, even when you have no idea what that could be! It is important to place your trust and faith in God and completely surrender to His Holy Will.

I have really been trying to surrender recently. And I'll tell you, it is hard. It doesn't come easy. But I guarantee it will be rewarding. Whatever it may be that you are waiting for (and trust me, we are all waiting for something) ...a job, an acceptance letter to a school, an answer to an important phone call, or something much bigger -- like your future spouse -- always, always, ALWAYS make sure you go to God first. Don't let your own judgment of what you think is best get it the way of what actually is the very best! Here is a great quote from Fulton Sheen that I really liked.

"Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is 'timing' it waits on the right time to act, for the right principals and in the right way." 

Trust in God. Let Him bring you through the unknown, which will give you strength. It will strengthen your faith, your prayer, and your desire to seek what He truly wants to give you.