Scott and Alie

Army Life. Education. Faith. Family

Archive for the category “faith”

22 Feb 2012

Lent Begins

Jesus statue from our local church/parish

Ash Wednesday is today which is the beginning of Lent. It is a time for reflection and prayer. A time to be more cognizant of helping others and fasting. For our family it will be a time to unplug and connect without all of the daily distractions. My husband is fasting from Facebook, Twitter, and Feedly, which is huge. This morning we actually spent time talking while preparing breakfast for the kids. It will be interesting to see how our family grows during this Lenten season.

The following article, Bread on the Trail: Making Room for God, gives a wonderful analogy about cleaning out the garage and house to make room for God.

The dates for Lent rotate, this year it is 22 February 2012 through 05 April 2012. If you would like more information on Lent, I would suggest reading Catholic Online.

Enjoy your time for reflection, fasting, and paying forward.

~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , ,
20 Jan 2012

“A Spirituality for Real Life”

Our well-worn copy of "The Jesuit Guide..."

I sent this book to Scott while he was in Iraq in 2010. He enjoyed the book as you can tell it is well-worn and traveled from The States, to Iraq, then to Germany, and finally back to The States. Now it is my turn to read this book. I heard an interview with the author on NPR when it first came out. Since hearing that interview and also knowing how much Scott liked the book, I am excited to read it.

This morning I read a few pages and already would like to share what I have read. The very first page asks, “Who is St. Ignatius Loyola, and why should you care?” The short answer is that St. Ignatius is “about finding freedom.” As the author states, “The freedom to become the person you’re meant to be, to love and accept love, to make good decisions, and to experience the beauty of creation and the mystery of God’s love.”

I will continue sharing what I learn from this book, as each of the above topics will be explored in-depth. If you have read the book, please let me know.

If you are interested, here is another discussion with the author, James Martin, SJ.

~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , , , ,
13 Jan 2011

Greater Than Yourself

Philanthropy

My posts are off from vacation. I was a day ahead and now one behind. I finished Greater Than Yourself.

What I would like to share today is:
“Philanthropize Your Life.”

A personal act of giving yourself. As the book states you don’t have to be rich to give. Instead you give of your time and talents. You are helping and promoting another, in essence helping them succeed.

Think of it as an investment. You choose a person in your life that you will help become greater than yourself. How do you do this? You introduce them to your network, knowledge, skills, and give them honest feedback.

Once you start giving in this way it will become more natural and soon you will be helping others achieve amazing accomplishments. The best part is that most of these accomplishments will be beyond what they thought was possible. A truly uplifting experience, a way to leave the world a better place.

I challenge you to think about your talents and skills, then find a person to share that with.

Cheers,
~Alie

Posted in faith, Greater than yourself, Steve Farber and tagged
10 Sep 2010

The Saint

“The Saint has the courage of those for whom giving is the only way of receiving… Through surrender, the Saint discovers the wisdom of the world.”

~Paulo Coelho

I have thought of this often, the spirit of giving versus receiving and how it fills the soul. When we reach out to others there is little room for our own worries or suffering because we are focused on helping another.

At times the world seems so chaotic and with little peace, especially when I think of it as a whole, but when I break it down into the many relationships I have with others, and the kindness I witness, I see that there is an equal amount of good. Yet, it is rarely conveyed in a sensational way.

As Mother Teresa said, “Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.” Every kind deed and thought brings about more and it becomes a circle of hope.

I want to share that thought with the world.
~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , ,
19 May 2010

Prayer

 

Cathedral of the Madeleine
I was researching Soren Kierkegaard and found a beautiful prayer written by Thomas Merton.
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean that I am
actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please
you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all
that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this, you
will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death, I will
not fear, for you are ever with me
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
If you would like to know more about Thomas Merton, visit the link below.
Posted in faith and tagged ,
02 Apr 2010

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures you let me graze.
To safe waters you lead me.

You restore my strength.
You guide me along the right path
for the sake of your name.

Even when I walk through a dark valley,
I fear no harm for you are at my side.
Your rod and staff give me courage.

You set a table before me as my enemies watch.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and love will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.

Posted in faith and tagged , ,
22 Mar 2010

Lectio Divina

In church today we talked about Lectio Divina, which I have talked about before. We were asked to write down words from three readings and then form those words into thoughts or sentences. We then meditated and shared our message with one another.

My inspiration and thought revolved around being optimistic and hopeful. To be hopeful is to progress and be in a constant state of learning. Without hope and optimism where would we be as human beings? What progress would we have? What history? What future?

My thoughts:

Through faith in Christ we can leave behind the past and have hope. We can let go of sin and move forward in forgiveness. God is Love.

~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , , , ,
19 Mar 2010

The Holy Hour

“Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with him… The Holy Hour became a teacher for me. Although, before we love anyone we must have knowledge of that person, nevertheless, after we know, it is love that intensifies knowledge.”

~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Posted in faith and tagged , , , ,
02 Mar 2010

Seven Deadly Sins

>

During Mahatma Gandhi’s search for the root of violence he called the following the seven deadly sins:

1. Wealth without Work
2. Pleasure without Conscience
3. Knowledge without Character
4. Commerce without Morality
5. Science without Humanity
6. Worship without Sacrifice
7. Politics without PrincipleI would agree with Gandhi.

During this time of self reflection and meditation, I am going to incorporate the seven deadly sins to my list of research. My hope is that I will come to understand others and how we as a society can create more harmony in the world.

I recently finished a book, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas and I think the deadly sins could tie in with the author’s notion of dead ideas. People do not like change and often times we would rather follow an outdated system than try to change/create a better one.

The Tyranny of Dead IdeasSo, if we are practicing any of the deadly sins then it would make sense that we would not want to change a dead idea. With that said, I am thankful for the many people that create positive change in our world.

Much love,
~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , , ,
21 Feb 2010
1 Comment

Consolation and Desolation

We talked about The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius today during dismissal. The discussion was well rounded and people were not shy. There were beautiful insights and questions that required deeper reflection.

The thought is that during times of consolation you build up your spiritual strength so that during times of desolation you can draw upon that strength. During times of desolation it is important to keep doing the things you typically do during consolation. Are you still with me?

So when I am happy, content, my spiritual tank is full and I feel close to God – that is consolation. During times of struggle, discontent, feeling drained, and not so close to God – that is desolation. We all have times of consolation and desolation. After times of desolation we grow and learn. Without hardships, being tested, and challenged we would not understand our times of consolation, also we would not aspire for a greater understanding of our spiritual self. When we are at our lowest and we cannot see the light that is when, if we allow it, the light can become the brightest.

I was really fascinated by these spiritual exercises written down during 1521-22. So much so, that I Googled it. This website is one I found that I like:

Examen

The Examen can be a form of journaling for self reflection, or it can be done as a family as a way to share these reflections and stay involved in the lives of those closest to you. The site below mentions how families use the Examen nightly.

Examen as a Family

It reminds me of a daily check in and could even be done around the dinner table. If you start this while your children are young then they would feel comfortable continuing with it throughout the teen years, hopefully!

Much love,
~Alie

Posted in faith and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.