Gatlinburg Area Pictures by Sandra Mullin
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Ash Wednesday
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” Emphasis mine Matthew 6: 1-6- 16-18
Another interesting Monday. I was at Mass and Fr. Alex noted next week, this week, was the start of Lent.
At Mass, I thought the Holy Spirit indicated what we would write about, but when I read the readings another thought jumped out at me. I copied the thought to the page heading, and went to paste it to the blog and it disappeared. I tried a second time and the same result.
Soooooooo,
I surmised the Holy Spirit wanted to write what the Holy Spirit’s first thoughts were at Mass.
We have written for the last three years about a God who we worship who is a God of OUTRAGEOUS LOVE.
We are told NOT to become a spectacle in our worship.
Don’t perform righteous deeds so others can see them.
Don’t call attention to yourself when you pray.
And for heaven’s sake clean yourself up physically and emotionally, be filled with Joy, so that only your Father will know what is truly happening in your life during Lent.
The last three paragraphs are strange because they run counter to all of human, “worldly,” thinking. That’s how you know it’s your Father’s wish.
OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!
I also believe this type of life should be lived twenty-four- seven, every day of the year.
If you are looking for something you can do for Lent consider praying the “Nine” Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness. Gentleness, and Self Control.
If you feel this is not enough, start praying the prayer we have listed below.
Prayer:
I thank You, Father, for the death of Your Son, the Nails that were driven through His Hands, and the Nail that was driven through His Feet (Once).
(Now you can respond YES to the question IF YOU thank Me)
Next, pray,
Thank You, Father, for the DIFFICULTY of …(name the difficulty)….. That You have ALLOWED in my life, I have Faith You will take care of me.” Say this part of the prayer until you smile. Smiling tells you the Holy Spirit is back in your life. (satan can’t smile)
Sidebar:
Cumberland County Jail.
We had a man come up to me after the meeting and ask, “Do you know me?”
We said, “No.”
He said, “I was here four years ago.”
We said, “Why are you back? You stopped praying the prayers we gave you didn’t you?”
He didn’t respond to that statement, but he did say, “It wasn’t my fault.”
He said he and his girlfriend had a verbal fight, she said she was calling the police, he grabbed her wrist to get his phone back, bruised her wrist, she called the police they saw the bruise, he’s back in jail.
“Not my fault?” He said.
We can’t wait to see him this week.
Because he stopped praying the “Nine,” he lost Self- Control, he lost Patience, Kindness, and Gentleness, and now he’s back in jail.
We try to impress on the men, and you, our prayers aren’t a one-time exercise, this Lent, and then after Lent I’m done.
No!
These prayers should be a daily commitment, from this Lent on. and if you don’t think satan is in your life, as satan is in this man’s life, he and you, need no further proof.
Lent for me has always been a time to make a change, and try to live with that change for the rest of my life. Why would I want to go back to the person I was before Lent?
Blog note:
We had a meeting, The Holy Spirit and me, as we were getting God Thoughts 2024 ready for printing, and decided the Blog title that was BOLD should not be. We know many of you will not like the change, but decided to go ahead anyway (Just kidding).
I enJoy working with The Holy Spirit! And this is just one small example. I, yes, I, mention this because for too long satan had me believing just the opposite.
Picture:
The ones from Gatlinburg were taken during a hike. Fall is my favorite season. I love the beautiful colors of the leaves.
Pictures by Sandra Mullin
Please keep Snapping!
Email me if you want a copy of the prayers we discussed or the three hiking pictures we showed.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
