Tag Archives: joy

The Blessed Life

There’s the good life, the rich life, a bad life, heck even that show “The Buried Life”; but I’ve found one even better. It’s the blessed life. A life so beautifully sweet, I kneel at the ground of Christ’s saving feet. A life so simple, it has let me realize my blessings are ample. That my soul is filled with the glory, from the greatest never ending love story. My life is blessed.  I know that I God is with me.  Every time I fall, I am picked right back up again, all for His glory.

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Celebrate Easter!

Easter day seemed a little more special for me this year. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it’s mostly because of the ways that I’ve drawn closer to the Lord this year as a missionary, especially in prayer. It hasn’t been the easiest year of my life, but it has been incredibly blessed! Journeying with Jesus in prayer and in Scripture has brought me to a place where I feel closer to Him than I ever have before, so there was so much to celebrate as we remembered Christ’s resurrection on Easter!

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I got what I wanted for Christmas.

As Christmas was approaching this year, it didn’t seem like Christmas. First off, it’s hot in Haiti all the time. I’ve never celebrated Christmas away from Boston, where it’s always cold in the winter. But also, we had no decorations, no lights, no Christmas tree, no gifts, no Christmas cards, and no manger with the missing baby Jesus. Those things are usually part of Christmas for me so things felt a little off. As I prayed about it, I realized two things. First of all, we weren’t very

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Joy in Transition

It’s common to get frustrated when you have to park in a parking spot that is 10 more yards than preferred or wait in line for coffee when you could be getting something accomplished. Transitions such as walking or driving to the next thing become a waste of time and a roadblock to the next thing on our list of things to do. During formation, Chris asked the group what the best part is about living at Covecrest so far and crazy enough, my answer was transitioning in between activities. Transitioning

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We Cannot Give What We Have Not Received

Just recently, I was being overwhelmed by fears of failure and inadequacy. Past insecurities were rising up inside of me.  When I was faced with various obstacles, it was hard to stay grounded in peace and see things clearly; my emotions were uncontrollable. It was like I was back in junior high! I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I was doing, and I felt as though I had nothing left to love my community, my girlfriend, or the people I was ministering to. It got to the point where I seriously

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God Redeems, Restores, and Transforms

2012-05_LT-Transformed

My embrace with the Father was restored in Adoration at the Life Teen Women’s Retreat a few weeks ago. At the beginning of my missionary formation year, I realized how tainted my relationship with the Father was. As we reflected on the Father’s love through the parable of the prodigal son, we placed ourselves in the parable as the son and let ourselves be embraced by the Father in a time of quiet reflection. Except, I wouldn’t let the Father even touch me. Having been through a lot of pain

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LifeTeen.com Blog

Joy in Believing

A couple weeks ago, we, the Atlanta missionaries, were helping out on a retreat called “Cardboard Box City” with a local Atlanta parish. The concept is simple: you sleep in a cardboard box to be in solidarity with the poor, and then at each Mass, you collect money and canned goods for St. Vincent de Paul. The weekend was absolutely amazing, and I actually really enjoyed sleeping outside. We were also asked to give some talks for the teens while on retreat. On Sunday afternoon, after only getting

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Single This Valentine’s Day? Rejoice!

Seeing the “happy” couples around Valentine’s Day, I used to think, “I wish I had someone special!” This year is different for me: I am happy with being single, and it’s awesome! The society we live in makes us feel like our worth is found in relationships, in material things, or in what we successfully accomplish. However, thankfully we are worth a lot more than that.  The truth is simple, yet so hard to believe sometimes. My worth does not come from what anyone else thinks of me,

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Where Do You See Joy?

“The life of a missionary… is a life full of happiness and joy.” – Blessed Mother Teresa It has been such a great month here at Covecrest! Over the past few weeks, I’ve really been noticing the joy our community has and the blessing it is to be on this journey together. Here’s a little glimpse into some of the things that have brought us joy: the moment the mailman arrives each day–because who doesn’t love getting mail? peanut butter and the many different foods it can be eaten with praising

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