Girl, Say Your Prayers

I've spent the week by my Mom's side unsure if she is dying. It's been a roller coaster of a week and as I do not know what each day brings, today brought hope. Hope because my faith in God is strong enough to know that no matter what my human brain tells me about my Mom's body and condition, my faith tells me that God can do anything. God can heal her and I have complete without doubt faith in him. When you surrender your human mind and open yourself up to full and complete faith in our Lord you realize - hope is everywhere.

My verse of the week to meditate on... what does this mean to you?

I'm reminded of how important strengthening and nourishing my relationship with Jesus is. Am I doing all I can to be closer to him? Do I include Jesus in my day-to-day life? What small thing can I start to do daily to include Jesus in my life?

We are back and running with lots of big plans. Here is a sneak peek at some of the things going on:
- Subscribe to our email list and be entered for a chance to win $25 monthly. It must be a valid email so we can contact you if you win.
- Verse of the week will be posted every week for you to reflect on if you'd like
- Prayer request section on the site for you to enter anonymous prayer requests so we can pray for you
- New articles and content coming soon - use the contact us page to suggest topics you'd like to see
- More fun things planned so stay tuned as we grow

Visit us at www.girlsayyourprayers.com

2nd week of Advent - Verse of the week:

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus." - Romans 15:5 Catholic NAB

How does this verse speak to you? Meditate on it this week.

I have posted this verse on my refrigerator. I'm hopeful this verse is a reminder to my family to endure others more patiently, be slow to anger, be thoughtful about what we say to others, and be more compassionate and understanding to those around us. From the love of God and striving to love as God loves us, we can create more harmony in our family.

How can we become fisherwomen?
Matthew 4:18-22

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Are you a fisherwoman for Jesus?

Matthew's reading today reminds us how we are all called to be fishers of people. As women, we can be fishers of women and of our children. God has placed with us the gift to spread the good news and joy of the gospel with those around us.

Jesus has called you to follow him. Are you following him fully and calling others to follow him as well?

How often do you speak your faith to other women who may not be faithful? Do you openly share your joy and love for Jesus or do you bite your tongue with worry it may offend?

My sister in Christ do not be afraid to share the good news. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the courage and wisdom to share the good news. The Holy Spirit lives within you and will guide you in your fishing expedition. If you feel called to share your faith with someone do not disregard this call. Jesus is working through you. Answer his call!

Some ways to do this:

Offer to pray for or with someone you know is struggling

Ask someone if you can pray for them

Openly praise God and thank him for things in your life in front of others

Speak openly about God's work in your life. Weave it into your everyday language.

Volunteer your time to help those in need

Give to others in need

Bring meals to new mothers in your community or to a family suffering with illness

Invite someone to join you at church or join your prayer group

Teach your children to have a love for Jesus and to understand their faith

Pray daily for the conversion of non-christians

May our love and joy for Jesus be so great that we want to shout it from the rooftops and may our actions and words create curiosity for Jesus in those who do not believe. Just sharing our joy and love can have a great impact on others. Love others as God loves you.

Share ways you are a fisher woman for Jesus.

First Sunday of Advent: Be Watchful!
Mark 13: 33-37

Happy first Sunday of Advent to you all! As we begin this 2020 season of Advent, we are reminded that our lives here on earth are a journey of growth for each of us.

Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.

We are born into this life on earth as a work in progress. God gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit to enable us to become all that he intends for us to be. But he alone can not do the work within us. We must do our part to tap into these gifts and continue to strive to be the person God intends us to be. As with any relationship or personal growth it requires work on our part and a commitment. If we are to have a relationship with Christ we must put the time and effort into the relationship. He is there always waiting and longing for us to be close to him. This Advent you an opportunity to strengthen and renew your relationship with him.

Mark's gospel reading reminds us how this Advent season is a great time to work on being your best self for God and to grow in your relationship with Jesus so he will not find you sleeping.

Here are some ways you can use this Advent to grow your relationship with Jesus:

Take time each day to read the bible. Reflecting on how God is trying to speak with you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to discern what the reading is telling you.

At the end of each day reflect on your actions and inactions of the day. What did you do that pleased our Lord? What did you refuse to do? In what ways did you sin? Our sins are not only the the actions we take, the thoughts we have or the words we use. Our sins can also be sins of inaction or not speaking up. Ask forgiveness each night by reflecting on your sins and saying an Act of Contrition. If you do not normally pray with your spouse or partner this can be a starting point for you both. A simple act of contrition said together each evening can open your relationship up to praying together.

If you have children encourage them to reflect on their day and ask forgiveness for any sins they have committed. Say an Act of Contrition with them each night.

Start each morning by asking the Lord, "Lord how can I best serve you today?" or "Holy Spirit please be with me and guide me to be the best I can today." Listen for how he is speaking to you each day.

Create an Advent journal this year. Create some spiritual goals for yourself that you would like to accomplish by Christmas. Each day record your thoughts and reflections. Do not judge yourself or beat yourself up if you do not consistently follow this or do not see big progress. Find joy in the little achievements. Each moment you take to spend with our Lord and each little thing you do pleases our Lord. Learn to be gentle with yourself just as Our Father is gentle with us. On Christmas Eve review your journal and your growth over the next few weeks. Give thanks to the Lord for all the little and big achievements you have made and thank him for the birth of our savior.

As Mark reminds us in his reading, we are to continue to grow and be ready for we do not know when our Lord will come again and I pray he doesn't find you sleeping. May God be with you this Advent season and help you to grow in your relationship with him.

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Simple Act of Contrition:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins,

because of your just punishments, but most of all because they offend you,

My God, who are all good and deserving of all my love.

I firmly resolve with the help of you grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
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Mark 13: 33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: "Watch!"

girlsayyourprayers.com

My morning scripture study. Favorite verse from these two pages: 1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Our God is is beyond our human comprehension. Put your trust, your anxieties, your worries and your fears in him. We can not conceive his will or plans but we can have FAITH in him.

What did you read today or what is one of your favorite verses?

We can console our Lord by building our trust in him. We can do this by offering him praise and thanksgiving for EVERYTHING. Praise and thanksgiving for the good and the bad (crosses) in our lives. If we can live in joyful, trustful acceptance of God's will then we can live in complete trust of the Lord.

There is no time like the present to work through the practice of praise and thanksgiving and complete trusting acceptance of God's will. Many of us are bearing some form of cross right now. Find ways to accept this cross knowing that the crosses the Lord gives you are not too heavy or too light for you to bear.

If you have a hard time trustfully accepting your cross then spend some time meditating on our Lords passion. Meditate on the suffering he endured so we might have life. Connect your current suffering with that of the Lord. Thank him for his sacrifice and repeat out loud or in the silence of your mind "Jesus, I trust in you."

Lord, Have Mercy on Us and on the Whole World. Amen

May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those who lives are at stake
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable
May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those that have no options
May we who have to cancel our trips remember those who have no safe place to go
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
As fear grips us, let us choose love during this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other. Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbor.
Amen
By Cameron Wiggins Bellm

Matthew 28:5 Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.

He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples.

And about Three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" - Matthew 27:47

Have you felt the need to put forth this same call to God lately? Do you realize this wasn't a call of desperation? Jesus's trust and faith was never shaken? Is your faith and trust shaken?
With all that is going on in the world with the pandemic, we may be tempted to cry out to our Lord with fear and doubt. We may feel the foundations of our trust and faith cracking.
But Jesus wasn't feeling forsaken. Jesus was calm and centered within himself. Everyone and everything going on around him was in his peripheral. He was concentrated and focused on his Father.
The phrase above that Jesus spoke on the cross is the beginning of Psalm 22. Those watching him on the cross would have known this verse and this Psalm well. They would have known the ending of the Psalm and it may have brought uncertainty and doubt into their minds.

Read entire blog here - https://bit.ly/2xah69d

My God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27:47 Did Jesus feel forsaken? Do you feel forsaken? How can we help Jesus?

Our Lord was stricken with agony and sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane. His agony and sorrow are not over his own human death soon to come. Our Lord was flooded with the sorrow from all the sinners on Earth. He came to redeem our sins and save us all. He took upon himself all the suffering, all the sins, all the sorrow, all the agony from all the sins of the world. He was wounded and bruised by our sin. His torment so great. So much so that God sent an angel to help him with this burden. Jesus continues to mourn for us always and for our sins. He continues to be sorrowful.

Help him. Repent, ask for forgiveness, ask for mercy and help relieve our Lord of his sorrows. This is how we can help our Lord as we prepare for Easter. Remember why he died for us. We must ask for forgiveness always for the ways in which we sin.