Happy New Year 2017! Hard to believe so much time has elapsed since my last post. Life has been busy, wonderful, challenging, miraculous and a list of many other adjectives I could formulate in my head! If you follow me on Twitter (@bonnieyoung22), you know my joy and excitement for the results of the presidential election (#MAGA!!!). For me, it was all about pro-life agendas, retaining our religious liberties, the appointment of conservative Supreme Court Justices to uphold the law, and a president who is pro-America. I truly believe there were so many people praying for President-elect Donald J. Trump to win, the Good Lord decided to give us a miracle! The power of prayer hopefully has been restored in many who have put it on the back burner. God IS mightier than those who oppose Him . . . we must never forget that. God's Love flows through us if we allow it to. And, we must give it freely . . . even to those who allow evil to reign in their lives. If we stop the flow of God's love and replace it with revenge, hatred, or bitterness, how will the recipient ever see the beauty of faith in our Mighty God? Let it begin with me!
Today's Gospel (Mark 1:7-11) makes one thing clear . . . God is in control:
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she beautifully illustrates God's power within each of us:
"There are days when the work we do for God is so steady that we do not look around. We serve without interruption, giving little thought to the bigger canvas on which God uses us to paint His story of renewal.
Sometimes we work very hard for long periods and during these periods God gives us all that we need to persist in His service. We have, during these periods of intensive service, little time to examine why we are serving God or what else we could be doing. We simply work. All is well. During these periods, God often withholds temptations of the more sublime variety, the “Do I really want to remain on this current course?” temptations. We barrel through the work, and God flows through us mightily even though we can be largely unaware of this. After a time, we get tired. Then comes a natural break. This can come in the form of an in-between period, or it is a time-off period. Perhaps we suffer with illness or a transition of service occurs. At those times, the floodgates can open.
God then allows us to struggle with the temptations necessary to secure our future service. The story with holiness, while written in the present, is concluded in the future. In other words, the end of the story is directly correlated to the action of the present. What will the end look like? That depends on what we choose today. The struggle we all experience of revulsion for the work that God wills for us is part of the work."
Lay apostles, what are you going to do differently in 2017? For me, I will, to the best of my ability, write more; love unconditionally (yes, I really try to pray for HRC!); be a better wife, mother, Mimi, sister, aunt and friend. I am so imperfect. But if I allow God to flow through me to others, His Divine Plan can continue to move forward in my life and the lives of those I love and come in contact with.
Thank you, Lord, for the reminder of the power of prayer. Help me to come to You first always!
God bless,
Bonnie
Today's Gospel (Mark 1:7-11) makes one thing clear . . . God is in control:
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she beautifully illustrates God's power within each of us:
"There are days when the work we do for God is so steady that we do not look around. We serve without interruption, giving little thought to the bigger canvas on which God uses us to paint His story of renewal.
Sometimes we work very hard for long periods and during these periods God gives us all that we need to persist in His service. We have, during these periods of intensive service, little time to examine why we are serving God or what else we could be doing. We simply work. All is well. During these periods, God often withholds temptations of the more sublime variety, the “Do I really want to remain on this current course?” temptations. We barrel through the work, and God flows through us mightily even though we can be largely unaware of this. After a time, we get tired. Then comes a natural break. This can come in the form of an in-between period, or it is a time-off period. Perhaps we suffer with illness or a transition of service occurs. At those times, the floodgates can open.
God then allows us to struggle with the temptations necessary to secure our future service. The story with holiness, while written in the present, is concluded in the future. In other words, the end of the story is directly correlated to the action of the present. What will the end look like? That depends on what we choose today. The struggle we all experience of revulsion for the work that God wills for us is part of the work."
Lay apostles, what are you going to do differently in 2017? For me, I will, to the best of my ability, write more; love unconditionally (yes, I really try to pray for HRC!); be a better wife, mother, Mimi, sister, aunt and friend. I am so imperfect. But if I allow God to flow through me to others, His Divine Plan can continue to move forward in my life and the lives of those I love and come in contact with.
Thank you, Lord, for the reminder of the power of prayer. Help me to come to You first always!
God bless,
Bonnie
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