Mother and daughter – Be Inspired!

Let’s Get Personal

December 2, 2020December 5, 2020 by rejoiceandpraise, posted in Catholic Journey, Catholicism, Christian Blogger, Christianity, Christmas, creative expression, creativity, Faith, Family, inspiration, Lifestyle, Mother and daughter, My journey with Jesus, Novena, Personal Reflection, Praise, prayer, Relationship, Testimony

K. Mitch Hodge (@kmitchhodge) | Unsplash

(Personalizing Christ the King Novena)

(In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit)
Jesus, my Savior, and King
I humbly pray before you
May you grace my heart to love and adore you more,
to give me the grace of deepening faith
to give me the grace to place my trust upon you above all others,
and to give me the grace to be confident you are ever present in my life.
I proclaim you Prince of Peace and lift you high above all in this mortal realm.
As I wait for your second coming, let me not waste a moment
I ask that you grace me – this unworthy sinner –
with the inspiration and confidence to use the gifts you have given me
to share your story and love with others.
So that they may also rejoice in having a living God in their lives.
(In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen)

I started praying the Christ the King Novena yesterday, and following the lead of my sponsor, I have reflected upon it, and personalized it. As I think in the abstract, one of my challenges is to bring it down a notch – or to bring it out of my headspace into the everyday.

Through prayer, especially the Rosary, I feel the depth and width of my love for Jesus growing with each passing day. There has been a few instances when during prayer I have been overwhelm with emotions and tears as visons of sin unrealized and unconfessed come to mind. Jesus has also shown me through prayer that He has always been with me, and He has also shielded me on numerous occasion from falling into the clutches of darkness. Just as he has opens my eyes, He also comforts.

Once a part of the darkness, the road back to the light is soul wrenching. There is no other way to describe it. I know that meeting my husband was God send – His unconditional love for me never faltered through our 30 year plus relationship. Just as my children were gifts from God – to me – a woman who fervently claimed I would never bring children into this world. God blessed me with two adopted children.

The goal is making Jesus Christ real in every facets of our lives.

Since the start of the Advent, my sponsor and I have each chosen a Novena to focus and pray on. Through the process of sharing our thoughts each day via phone or text, I have come to realize how each of us have personalized and made praying real based on our personalities and character.

Through a process of self reflection and reflecting on key words or concepts, it opens up for each something uniquely special and personal. It leads to a journey of deepening faith and love for Christ. It guides us to prepare our hearts for celebrating not only Jesus’ arrival to us through His birth, but preparing our hearts and soul to receive Him upon His second coming.

Having a partner during this prayerful period has enriched me. As I am a person of extremes, my prayer partner reminds me to maintain a balanced life. This has been an enriching experience for me, as I realize through our conversations and text messages that not only are we two unique individuals, with different approaches to prayer, she has shown me her own process of personalizing the Novena. This has helped me to bring abstract concepts from my headspace into my daily life. Coming down to earth so to speak – as I think in the abstract – personalizing my Novena, brings it down to my everyday.

From the Mouth of a Child

My daughter often says to me, “Mom, use normal words, I don’t know what you mean.” Upon which I would stop and rephrase my sentence, or explain to her what I mean.

The other day I reminded Aleeza to pray (and ask Jesus for the confidence to stand in front of her class for her oral). Her adamant response was, “Mom, I don’t pray. I talk to Jesus.” I smile now as I recall her statement. Yes, that is what we do when we pray, we talk to Jesus. I like the way she has personalized her relationship with Jesus. He is her friend.

Finally, from the mouth of a child, “Jesus is our friend”.

Aside: God has a way of grounding us through our friends and family.

God Bless.

God’s Breath

October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 by rejoiceandpraise, posted in Christian Blogger, Christianity, Faith, Family, inspiration, Mother and daughter, Personal Reflection, Praise, prayer, Relationship

My favourite season is Fall, especially when it’s sunny and the skies are a beautiful shade of cyan blue. The air is fresh, and even though it’s a bit nippy, with a warm jacket, a scarf and boots, I feel snuggly warm.

I used walking the dog as an excuse to get my 14 year old to accompany me. Like every teenager, she delights in staying in bed until 11:00 am on weekends. After some insistence along with the promise she can chill and have a lazy Saturday, she agreed.

I love the sight of leaves falling. It creates a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop of yellows, ochre, red and rust. Although all the trees in my neighbourhood are starting to look bare, there is a silent understanding that God’s hand is the maestro behind the intricate design – the masterpiece is called life. For me, it is the profound realization and sense of awesomeness that it is God’s majesty.

God is the Breathe of Life

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2: 7

I imagine God’s Breath of life upon my birth. This understanding gives me great joy – life is wonderful because God’s Breath (Holy Spirit) was within us from the very beginning.

The realization we all start with God’s Breathe at the onset makes me realize that it’s our choice whether we remain close to Him or not. God’s Breath is free.

I pray to God in thanksgiving for your grace and love. You gave each of us Your Breath of life.

I pray your Holy Spirit continue to guide me throughout my day – filling it with an inner happiness. It is an attestation that life is wonderful.

I pray for those who for whatever reason do not have Your Breath of life. I pray the Holy Spirit opens their heart and fill them with Your abundant Breath, that they may experience the joys in knowing you.

Praise be to God.

Amen

Happy Mother’s Day

May 10, 2020September 14, 2020 by rejoiceandpraise, posted in Christian Blogger, Christianity, Faith, Family, inspiration, Mother and daughter, Personal Reflection, Relationship

I wanted to celebrate and wish my mom and moms everywhere – Happy Mother’s Day💕

A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. John 16:21 NIV

When I think of my mom, I thing about her strength and perseverance as well as her deep love for God.

She first came to Canada in the 50s as a young bride to my dad. It was based on a prearranged match made by her mother and future mother in law. I cannot even imagine the sense of uncertainty, anxiety and anticipation she must of felt as she got off the plane and met my dad for the first time. I can’t imagine the loneliness she must have felt in those early years as a young mom with no friends or support network.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. Proverbs 31:25

I must say I lived my childhood within a hazy bubble (until my rebellious years surfaced when I became teenager. Then my angst and disagreeable personality took over.)

My mom was a homemaker who decided when we were old enough to go into the work force. How daunting it must have been for her with no English proficiency skills and no work experience. She really wanted to work and have financial independence, so my dad gave her the go ahead. My siblings and I were too young to understand how lonely and difficult it was for her.

I remember her sitting on a stool crying one day, but my immature self as wasn’t able to process it. It’s only now as an adult I can look back and feel deep empathy for my mom.

My earliest memories of my parents becoming Christians was when my mom was baptized while she was pregnant with my youngest brother. I remember sitting in the pews and thinking, “What would happen if the paster dropped her?” – the thinking of a young child!

When I think of God’s amazing love, I think how it changed my parents to become different people. Thinking back, I can see how the Holy Spirit moved in them to do the will of God. My parents opened their home and hearth to the Chinese community. Welcoming new Christians to Wednesday night woman’s group to Friday night prayer meetings, to opening our kitchen to international students. My earliest childhood memories is of my mother as a strong woman who over time grew closer and closer to God. After the death of my father, and as she got older, she came into her own person as a servant of God. Today, she is active in her church, as well as a role model to those around her.

My relationship with my mom has also grown as I also became a mom. I think a big part of it is excepting my mom for her experience, insights and wisdom, and letting go of my own baggage and misconceptions of what I want my mom to be like.

Her process and journey was not a smooth one. For one she had to deal with me – the prodigal daughter who during my late teens and early adulthood was rebellious and disobedient.

The journey of mother and daughter relationship also mirrors my own journey of understanding and acceptance. It’s a journey of becoming my own person within the socio-cultural confines of embracing two opposing paradigms – the Chinese and Western – and of Christianity. It is also the story of God’s love and of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.