I want to be all in for God

THINK

My God, I choose all. I do not want to be a saint by halves. I am not afraid to suffer for you. I fear only one thing--that I should keep my own will. So take it, for I choose all that you will.

--St. Therese

PRAY

It's such a hard prayer to pray sometimes, Jesus: the one the that says, "I'm not afraid to suffer for you." Give me the courage to pray it and the grace to suffer well, in the small, daily trials and the big, scary tribulations. Let me be a saint with every breath. Let me be all in for you.

ACT

In the everyday clamor and chaos--whether the frustrating child or the incessant dinging of your inbox--know that you are given graces aplenty for your vocation. Ask for them! Then, embrace the struggle and remind yourself that, really, this life is not a bad way to suffer at all. 

On this day, a new life begins

THINK

And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him -- really rest -- and start the next day as a new life. ~--St. Teresa Benedicta

PRAY

Wow, Jesus, it’s like St. Teresa Benedicta was inside my head. How many undone things rouse shame and regret! I am grateful for the chance to lay at your feet the time wasted in front of the computer, the words spoken hastily in anger, the words that should have been spoken that I didn’t bring myself to speak, the promises broken, the tears shed. There they are for you to take. I begin this new day from a place of rest in you. I trust with my whole heart that-- at the beginning of this new life that starts today—you will guide and protect and direct me, that I am forgiven and fortified. I believe that I am yours and I am dearly loved.

ACT

The peace that comes with resting in God begins with repentance. It is a week before lent begins. With lent comes restoration. God will call us to Him and restore us to a place of rest. First, we need to repent. What are those things that rouse shame and regret at the end of the day? Make a real list. Write it all down. Then lay it all at the cross. Note: confession highly recommended.

There is a new day and a whole new life waiting for you.

He is up with Dawn--and waiting for you.

THINK

“Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
    he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
 After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
 Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
    his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like the showers,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”

PRAY

I'm up with the dawn today, Lord. My to-do list is long and I can feel my patience growing short already. I'm bumbling around, trying to do too much too fast on my my own power. But you were already up when I awoke. As sure as the sun will come up, You have gone ahead of me. And you are waiting to heal me. Slow me down, God, so that I can see you in the sunrise and help me stop long enough to really hear your message for me. And then, please, remind me all day long that you are there and waiting, ready to water my soul so that the seed you planted will grow.

ACT

I can feel the pace quicken as we approach Lent. The time of restoration and healing is right around the corner! In all the places I've transgressed and all the sorrows so starkly obvious before me, there can be healing. I am promised that God will bind me up.  Every day is a chance to begin again, to seek Him in the morning and to know His healing all day long. He is up with dawn, waiting to speak into your soul! And then, the seeds that are planted in that morning meeting he promises to water --spring rains that will make the seeds grow. Take time to let God plant seeds in you this morning and then set alarms to chime every three hours all day long and just pause in those moments and be still with Him long enough to let the rain fall on the good seed. 

Say your morning prayers...

to Grow in Knowledge

THINK

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. --2 Peter 3:18

PRAY

Create in me, Lord, a teachable spirit, that I might grow in grace and knowledge of you. Help me to make the time and to put forth the effort that it takes to know you in the study and prayerful contemplation of your Word.

ACT

Take time--make time-- today to sit and truly study God's Word. Hear Him in the scriptures He left for us, the very words that speak His heart to us. Sit, perhaps with pen in hand, and grow in the knowledge of the Lord.

~*~*~*~

Motherhood can feel like the loneliest vocation in the world. Surrounded by children, who frequently bring us to our knees, both literally and figuratively, we can be overwhelmed by isolation. Mothers need community. We can be community for one another. We can encourage on another and hold each other accountable. If you like these short devotions, please share the image and send another woman here. And when you're here, please take a moment to pray with another mother who is visiting. Leave a comment and when you do, pray for the woman whose comment is just above yours. Just a moment--blessed--will begin to build community.

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.