57⁰ F sunny W@14mph SR@0615 SS@1944

Morning Offering given

Sierra Blanca is peaceful but busy

We slept in (630 here)

Coffee will have to find some

The air is dry here…my body loves that.

Today I ponder “How do we get to know Jesus?”

He doesn’t come with an instruction manual. There are no shortcuts to him. One has to make the journey themselves. The journey can be hard and painful. You will need honesty. There is no prayer that will …POOF…make you intimate friends with Christ. You must do the work, of cleaning out your soul to make room for him. Put away all the toys, and focus with your heart. Listen for the still small voice…ask him to speak to you…tell his you are listening, and do just that. Those nudges telling you to or not to are Christ. That booming voice you hear in your mind…the one you haven’t been listening to because it is telling you to do something you believe is too hard or will take too long or you just don’t want to do…listen to it.

It was back in the ’90s, we’d been foster parenting for a few years. I was a Deputy Sheriff for the Dubuque Co Iowa Sheriff’s Department, I was standing in my kitchen, back to the room, stirring something on the stove. I heard a voice behind me, it said “Quit your job.” I laughed and responded “Oh yea right. You’re quite funny today.” (I thought it was my husband speaking to me) I turned to look at him…seeing no one and realizing at the same time he had gone to work ages ago. The .voice went on to say “I will take care of you, remember the sparrows.” I’d been off work due to a work-related injury for weeks and was just now going back to light duty. I pondered that voice all day. I recognized it as the voice that had spoken to me on another occasion when our second daughter (T ) had decided to run off with some older guy towards the end of her senior year in high school. That time he told me to just let her go, there was nothing she was ready to hear. I would hear him again as the years rolled by, generally at some crisis or turn-point. From experience, I can tell you He can be hard to ignore, and He can be very persistent, to those of us who have a stubborn streak or are afraid to take the next step.

You cannot learn about him or connect with him by following a manual. The only way is to spend time with him, listening.

Know you are prayed for.

38°F cloudy NW@22mph SR@0555 SS@2005

Morning Offering given

Village waking

Coffee good

The man still sleeps

Saints of the Day…

Saint Joseph the Worker Saint Richard Pampuri Saint Peregrine Laziosi Saint Sigismund of Burgundy Saint Brieuc of Brittany Blessed Vivald of Gimignano Blessed Mafalda of Portugal Saint Benedict of Szkalka Blessed Julian Cesarello de Valle Saint Aldebrandus of Fossombrone Saint Andeolus of Smyrna Saint John-Louis Bonnard Saint Amator of Auxerre Saint Marculf Saint Augustine Schoffler Blessed Klymentii Sheptytskyi Saint Ambrose of Ferentino Saint Theodard of Narbonne Jeremiah the Prophet Saint Torquatus of Guadix Saint Arnold of Hiltensweiler Saint Bertha of Val d’Or Saint Isidora of Egypt Saint Grata of Bergamo St Orentius of Loret St Orentius of Auch St Patientia of Loret St Bertha of Kent

New month…New week…New day… start again, if it is necessary. Think about what happened/didn’t happen when you went off track. List what you could have done differently to stay on track. I hope you are journaling by now. Remember the sparrows…Luke 12:6-7, Hosea 11:11, Proverbs 26:2, Psalm 36:7, Psalm 40:5, Psalm 84:3, Psalm 139:1-5, Philippians 4:19, Job 12:7-10. Do not fall into acedia (a state of listlessness or torpor, of not caring or not being concerned with one’s position or condition in the world) it is a potent but hidden source of unhappiness that permeates your life. It is not limited to your spiritual life.

Make the time to think about what is going on/not going on in your life. Are you happy, sad, stagnant? Are you searching for meaning/ more meaning? Looking for truth? Get that journal out and get started with your search.

Know that you are prayed for.