Lent begins Wednesday, Feb 25th

Hello www, Jesus, Lent will begin in a few weeks, and I need your help, but you know Lord, instead of asking you what I think needs to be changed in me, I am only going to plead, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening." Jesus' answer comes to me swiftly, "You know what you are supposed to do, Debi: LOVE ONE ANOTHER." Yes, Lord, I understand You ask us to do this...it's just that it's easier to love people I like then the people I don't like. "Still, LOVE ONE ANOTHER." But Lord, I am so judgmental! You know my weaknesses, You know my heart. Even when I try to overlook the differences I have with others, my judgements get in the way; it is too difficult for me to love everybody! "Debi, you asked Me to speak and said you are listening, so listen to what I AM saying: LOVE ONE ANOTHER." Yes, Lord, of course you are correct. I need to practice what You preach...I will do my best. Thank you for your constant flow of patience, kindness, blessings, and love for me. In Your Name Lord, Your Will be Done. Amen. Recently I received a ticket for running a red light. As I was paying the charge (with late fee) on-line I caught myself thinking, "You know, I tithed this month God, why didn't you take this ticket away from me? Or at least provide me with the extra money to pay for it?" I know, I know, God doesn't punish people, but I certainly felt punished by God. Then the obvious dawned on me: I was the one who ran the red light (and the police have the video to prove it! Darn technology!) and I was paying (pun intended) the price for it. God-Jesus, had nothing to do with my receiving a ticket. I mean, He is in All things, but it was I, my free will, who ran the red light. There was justice in my getting a ticket, because that was the consequence of my action. Have you ever done that though? Expecting God to get you out of a mess you made, or asking God to take something painful away? When really, whatever is happening to us is precisely what we need. I thought that since I 'did something for God,' (the tithing) He was going to 'do something,' for me. Preferably something I want to happen, or something I am asking for... When in reality God only brings Good, Positive, Light and Love into our lives. I honestly don't believe our Loving and Gracious God has contractions in His vocabulary, OR any negativity whatsoever in Him. It is us humans who create all the Bad, Negative, Dark Apathy (apathy being the opposite of Love) in our lives! One of the exceptions to us bringing negativity into our lives is having a life-threatening illness. Sometimes healthy people get sick with terrible diseases. In those circumstances I take comfort recognizing, as in other situations, God is with me, and I offer up my suffering for the souls in Purgatory, or for those who have no one to pray for them... It is usually when we have bad things happen to us, we seek and ask for God's help. This is nothing new. God is there for us, too. Even if we only seek Him or speak to Him in times of need. This is one of the amazing and wonderful aspects of our God. However, if we just did our best to begin with, and are Truly Christian Citizens, the world would be a much different place. How often have we heard this? It is easy to write about what we Should do; much more difficult to put into practice. And yet practice is exactly what is needed if my/our behavior is to change. I am relentlessly praying for God's grace to help me rise above my flaws and become more Christ-like. Sometimes I get lucky and succeed, and sometimes I don't. But I know this: No human can achieve great things without our Almighty Savior right there with us, whispering what we need to do in our ears. We need only listen. Which is what I intend to 'add' instead of 'giving something up,' for Lent. Jesus, I AM doing my best listen to You, and do what you ask of me, and I AM going to do my best to keep listening long after this Lenten Season is over. Amen. Gahhhhhhd bless us, each and everyone.

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