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May 17, 2017
Faith

5 Ways to Connect With God and Recharge Your Spirit Today

Screen Shot 2017-05-17 at 3.42.52 PM.pngDo you have a to do list?

I do, and it seems to be endless!  I wish I had endless energy and time!

God makes the days longer.”

Dr. Monique Ruberu, MD

Not long ago I was listening to Dr. Ruberu give a talk to our adoption group (The Rose Garden) and I asked her, “how do you have time to do all the things you do!?”.  She said quite plainly,  “God makes the days longer”.

Dr. Ruberu is a mother of 3 young children, a working Physician and an active Pro-life activist who just recently finished writing a book.  Somehow she found the time to come talk to our adoption group about the importance of nourishing our marriages in the midst of infertility.  Her talk was filled with stories of how she nourishes her faith and stays connected to Our Lord.  To say the least, I was awed and inspired.

I often find myself busy to a fault.  Dr. Ruberu reminded me that we are to give everything to God – including our time.  What we give to God, he gives back to us in complete and total abundance!  He really does make the day long enough to serve Him, our families and others.

Here are five ways you can reconnect with God and recharge your spirit!  

Attend Daily Mass

Daily Masses tend to be only about 30 minutes in length if you get up for the early ones! If your schedule is jam packed, this may be the way to go.  Get up early and go to Mass. Hear God’s word, praise Him, talk to Him and listen.  Receive Him.

Go for a Nature Walk

God created everything for you, but you in turn were created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to Him.

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, #358)

naturewalk.jpegGod created everything for us to enjoy!  I love going for a hike and enjoying the views of nature.  As a city girl, there is an extreme amount of peace that fills me when I gaze upon an open field. Turning off the cell phone and being away from a screen and out in the fresh air can provide an opportunity to enjoy God’s creation and feel at peace. Depending on your mood you could always talk to Jesus as if He is walking with you, say a Rosary or some formal prayers or simply, count your blessings.

Sip and Color!

Here is a free printable coloring page for you!

 Love is kind, love is patient coloring page

If you wake up early you can go to Mass or you can enjoy a cup of coffee and relax with colored pencils and an inspirational coloring page!  You may only have 10 minutes a day or week to do this, but eventually it will get done and you will have a picture to frame or glue into your prayer journal!  Adult coloring is popular for a reason – it’s meditative and relaxing.  There are many Devotional Coloring Books available on Amazon!  Coloring a Scripture passage or prayer is a great way to contemplate God’s love for us and really can recharge your soul! It’s also fun to do with a glass of wine!

Screen Shot 2017-05-17 at 3.40.48 PM.png

Pray a Rosary

Meditation is an exercise that relieves stress and increases overall physical health. Our Lady is a faithful friend who is happy to go to Jesus and pray for our intentions.  And lately, “fidget spinners” are known as stress relieving toys.  Why not go to the original “fidget spinner” and hold a One Decade Rosary Ring!

Listen to Praise Music

Crank up radio stations like K-Love or “I Can Only Imagine” on Pandora.  The melody and the lyrics are uplifting and encouraging. Whether you are driving, cleaning, working or simply just sitting; music has a way to raise your spirits. As we listen to the words being sung we are reminded of God’s love for us and it sparks joy in the heart and hope in our life.  Turn it on and turn it up!




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Comments

  1. Sara @ To Jesus Sincerely says

    May 17, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    This is the perfect list! I love how you incorporated the fidget spinners 😉 and K-Luv is so great! I’ve been making compromises with my kids, that I’ll play the Moana soundtrack on the way home if they let me listen to KLuv without whining on the way out lol. I’m planning a Rosary party with my friend soon! It’s the perfect time for nature walks. And… I wish I did better at getting to daily Mass. I used to. Need to get back to it. Thanks for this awesome list!!

    • Amy says

      May 17, 2017 at 9:17 pm

      I’m not sure I can do Adoration for a little while, I am wondering if daily Mass might be a more practical trade off! We’ll see!!

  2. Amy says

    May 17, 2017 at 11:30 pm

    Music is my go to. Spiritual music always helps me connect to God. And I was told once, “Singing is praying twice!”

  3. Kristi @ Hail Marry says

    May 17, 2017 at 11:41 pm

    Sip and color might just be my favorite! 🙂 An excellent list of suggestions. Thanks, Amy!

  4. Kate says

    May 19, 2017 at 8:42 am

    This reminds​ me of a quote attributed to Saint Francis de Sales: “Everyone of us needs half an hour of prayer every day, except when we are busy—then we need an hour.”

    I love this list! I listen to Relevant Radio on my drive to and from work. It’s helped me get some really good spiritual insights. It isn’t praise music, but it gives me ideas of how I can incorporate my faith into my daily life.

    • Amy says

      May 25, 2017 at 8:45 pm

      I’m glad you brought up Relevant Radio – that is a great addition to the list!

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This type of advice can be really helpful for all of us… especially for a young girl navigating middle school or her early teens.

This advice would have helped me.
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A prayer and the story behind the picture… Oh S A prayer and the story behind the picture…

Oh St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, 

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St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us.
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My children had off from school on Friday. I had committed to an hour of Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from to 2 to 3 during Lent… so since they had off, they had to come with me.
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Once I got one to stop walking around or talking, another one started.
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I hesitated to pull out my phone because I really try not to during Adoration.
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📸 
Motherhood is hard. Parenting is difficult.
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Saint Joseph, pray for us!
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Thank you!

If you have left a review on Amazon for either of the Be Yourself Journals… thank you from the bottom of my heart!

When you leave a review on Amazon it makes me SO HAPPY… plus it sends a signal to Amazon to show more people these books!
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Dr. John Spitzer shared parenting advice for moms and dads of tweens;

Jessica Castillo shared how our physical and spiritual health are connected;

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I adore you Jesus, true God, and true man, pres I  adore you Jesus, 
true God, and true man, 
present in the Holy Eucharist, 
kneeling before you 
and united in spirit 
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and all the saints in heaven. 

In gratitude for so great a blessing, 
I love you with all my heart, 
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and adoration. 

Lord Jesus Christ, may I never offend you with my lack of love. 

May your Eucharistic presence refresh me in body and soul. 

Mary, Mother of the Eucharistic Lord, pray for me 
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Years ago, I was lonely, depressed and wondering if I would ever not be lonely and depressed.

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Half of them aren’t men, a large percentage are not practicing and … also how many are BOOMERS?

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5 loaves 
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=
5,000 meals and leftovers 

This is my handsome husband and our awesome nephew with the Bishop that Confirmed him on Friday.
Matt was -and is- such a proud Sponsor and Uncle!
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Thank you God for all of your gifts!!!
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Listen, this is the best retreat hack for Catholic girls!
****The Be Yourself Journal Scrapbooking activity.****

Give each girl a Be Yourself Journal.
Explain how, “We are all called to holiness but we take different paths.” ~ Saint Katharine Drexel.

Have each girl pick out a Holy card and two Catholic stickers.

Put scrapbooking paper and Catholic washi-tape (thank you @thestumpofjesse ) on the tables and get them started with decorating the back of their journals.

As they work add more stickers and quote cards to their table.

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He calls us to follow the Commandments, embrace His Word and trust the teachings of the Church…
same set of basic instructions, different yet BEAUTIFUL results when followed!
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Huge thank you to the women who donated journals and holy cards!!!
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Not sure what to do with all those prayer cards? Not sure what to do with all those prayer cards? 

Holy cards can be a fantastic prayer journal prompt. 

Copy the prayer off the back and glue the card to the page ;next to, underneath or above where you wrote the prayer).

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Getting ready for a Confirmation Retreat this week Getting ready for a Confirmation Retreat this weekend!

So excited to help these young Catholics see that each is called to holiness… but each mission is unique and unrepeatable!

Huge thank you to the women who donated journals for the retreat (11 donated!!!) and the women from my Bible study group who donated Holy cards!

If you would like to donate a Journal for one of the girls attending the retreat this weekend… send me a private message and I’ll explain how!

Holy cards are GREAT prayer journal prompts!

Which Holy card would you put in your prayer journal?
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Keep at it!!! Don’t give up and Don’t give in! Keep at it!!! Don’t give up and Don’t give in!!! “The world offers you comfort… but you were not made for comfort, you were made for GREATNESS!”
Pope Benedict XVI
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