Advent - Time of Hope

Almost Christmas...but not yet!  Oh yeah it's called Advent.  

This year has been tough, and is actually an understatement.  Not that the ones before were easy - Covid, the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia.   Remember? Who can forget, my head is spinning.  But we are not here to talk about Covid, or the beginning of those horrible conflicts that are going on around the world.  We are here to talk about 2024, and how to feel joy regardless of what is going on in your city, your country, the world.  

There is uncertainty and fear for many.  There are horrible situations that you might be going through.  How in the world can we be expected to feel joy?

Well God tells us, in Phillipians 4:8,  that: "in every situation...whatever is:

• True
• Good
• Holy
• Honorable
• Just
• Lovely
• Commendable
• If there is any excellence
• Anything worthy of praise

Think about these things !"

So yes there are terrible things some people are going through - that is a fact.  But if we have to go through something, and there is nothing we can do about it, at least we can mitigate the hardships and the evil we encounter, and we can draw some good and get enough strength and healing to go through it.  

We can always receive grace, we can always receive healing, God always wants to comfort us and draw us close to His Heart.  All we need to do is our part.  So go ahead and think about that list, don't let anyone or anything steal your free will.  There must be something you can think of, something you can hold on to, something you can chose to think about - other than whatever evil is surrounding you. 

 God is ready!  Ready to hold us in His arms, we just have to let Him!  

All we need to do is to use the power of our will.  Control our minds and  not let ourselves sink into the depths of depression. self pity and despair - that will not help.  That will make things worse, it will change us, consume us, finish us!  

Do not let your circumstances take the best of you! 

Rise above, by asking Jesus Christ to come to your aid.  

Even if all you have is a tiny bit of strength use it for the prayer :  Jesus Help me!

He will come right away. 

God promises that when we do our part "and the God of peace will guard our hearts and minds"  He will come to our aid.  He alone knows what we need most.  He will surround us with protection, strength and peace.  

This Advent there is a lot we can do, no matter what our circumstances.  Why?  Because we have the power to pray and God is on our side.  We have the power to offer up our hardships for a greater good to come out of them.  And we have the power to hope in Him who is our Saviour.  He will come, He will help, He will heal.  This Advent chose Hope!

All we have to do is ask, and trust.  

May the God of peace that surpasses all understanding be with you!

Love from miles away

I love every single one of my readers.  Not only I love and appreciate you, but I pray for you often.  I know that"Blogger" has not made it easy for some of you to get in touch with me.  I am writing a quick note to give you an email address, and my Instagram etc, where you can send suggestions, questions, comments or prayer requests.  

My email:  light_in_u@yahoo.com  (Subject: Princess in Overalls)

My Instagram:  Sacred Heart Rosaries (Please Follow Me)

I hope that this is enough for you to be able to contact me in an easier way!  I can't wait to hear from you.  Please check out my book:  "Princess in Overalls"  in AMAZON.COM, and AMAZON.CA.  You can find it by writing the name of the book plus my name next to it in the search bar like this:

Princess in Overalls by Carolina Prada

"Princess in Overalls" is in Kindle as well.

I am also in the process of putting it in Audible so keep your eyes open!

I love this community and can't wait to be more helpful to you and be much more active!

Many blessings from Canada,

Carolina Prada

If We Want Help: We Must Do Our Part!

In life, when we go through trials, often we pray. But often we pray with doubt and fear in our heart. These things are the opposite of faith. How can a prayer without faith be effective? When we pray, we must pray with confidence and know that prayers are always heard.

If the answer that comes back is different from what we expected, it does not mean it is not the right one; it only means that there was a better solution to our problem. It is important for us to give the benefit of the doubt, to recognize the fact that we might not always know what the best outcome for a situation is. After all, there is a chance that there can be moments in our life when we might not know the best road to follow. We should not be stubborn, obstinate or inflexible, stuck to a specific idea. We need to trust and be aware of the fact that everything is perfect because God is in charge of our lives.

We must let things flow, with the certainty that in the process we are learning and growing. We must be confident that our prayers are being heard by a loving Father who would never ignore us and who has promised to give good things to those who ask. He reminds us in Holy Scripture: Would we ever ignore the request of one of our children? Now, if we, who have so many faults and defects, are not able to deny our kids anything, then what are the chances that He will ignore our requests? Think about how God is perfect; He is love Himself. Now think about how He has made us, His children. Think about all His promises and about His amazing love. It is simply impossible that He would ignore our prayers.

Therefore, we need to make sure that we understand and know in our hearts that even though at times it might take longer than expected, and even though from time to time our need might be met in a way less than hoped for or anticipated, our prayers are always answered. When we ask for help, we must do it with the absolute certainty that help will come, and we must know that invariably all things will come to us, with our welfare as a first priority.

Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) If we pay attention to this scripture verse, we will realize that it requires action on our part. We cannot just pray for something to happen. We cannot just wish things were different. We cannot just sit and hope for something to happen. We need to contribute to the miracles in our lives by asking, seeking and knocking. We need to try our best to make things happen. We must take an active role in our lives and be participants in the miracles that we will experience.

We cannot just passively sit and wait and complain about how we pray and pray and hope and hope and nothing changes. We need to be more involved and take responsibility for the direction our life is going. And we must know that through prayer that direction can always change. It is up to us; it is up to God. Let’s learn how to pray and work on improving our relationship with God. Let’s strengthen our faith and work hard at doing our part. And, as St. Paul advises in Romans 8, let’s hope and eagerly wait with perseverance for the best to happen. I guarantee you that then we can never be disappointed, because hope in God does not disappoint. 



Wisdom to contemplate:

“Learn to savor how good the LORD is; happy are those who take refuge in him.” 

(Psalm 34:9)

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.…We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:24-25,28)

“Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

 “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

So how do you know who is the one?

                                     

Is this Love that I’m Feeling?

I have been asked the question, “How do you know who is the one your soul mate, your other half, the person who completes you, the one you are meant to be together with for the rest of your life?” 

         Well, although it is very hard to know who is “the one,” it is easier to know who is “not the one.” We must have a clear idea in our heads of what traits we just cannot accept in that person whom we could potentially fall in love with. We must know the “absolute nos.” We must have criteria for what characteristics are just not acceptable to us, but we need to be realistic and honest with ourselves. For example, for some, it might be a person who:

Ø  Is aggressive or shows any kind of harsh behavior toward us or toward other people

Ø  Drinks too much, does drugs and/or frequently gets into trouble

Ø  Cheats or refers to the opposite sex in a disrespectful manner

Ø  Is too much of a flirt with other people

Ø  Treats us badly in front of others or humiliates us

Ø   Only tells us our defects, frequently trying to put us down

Ø  Lies

Ø  Has major psychological problems

Ø  Has no values: steals, breaks the law, deals drugs, engages in extramarital sex, etc.

Ø  Is not physically attractive to us

Ø  Is very different in cultural background, social background, economic status, etc.

Ø  Practices a different religion or has no belief in God

Ø  Has priorities very different from ours

Ø  Makes his job his main priority

Ø  Wants attention at any cost

Ø  Humiliates and disrespects others

Ø  Annoys us often

This is not discriminating against anyone or being prejudiced against someone. We can have someone as a friend, we can be there if that person needs us, but we can decide not to date that person. If we find things about a person that we feel we cannot live with, and we do not want to deal with such things in a long-term relationship or even for the rest of our lives then we must try to avoid a situation that could bring us to the point of no return.

It is not a good idea to get into a relationship, especially a marriage, thinking that we are going to change the other person. Before a relationship starts, before we make a decision that might affect the rest of our lives and the lives of those people around us, we need to discern if this is a person we want to date or not.

 There is nothing wrong with knowing what we can tolerate and what we cannot tolerate in someone who could become our spouse, nothing wrong with knowing what we can live with and what we cannot. We need to determine how much we can compromise in a particular area and in what areas we just cannot compromise. From the beginning, we need truthfulness, with ourselves and with others. If we are not honest, we are setting ourselves up for failure and unhappiness. No honesty no success.

         

At the same time though, we need to be open and have faith.  We have to be careful and make sure we are not trying to limit God. A humble heart goes a long way! We need to understand that we do not know everything and that God by His love and grace can change anyone.  So we need to leave room to the possibility that maybe we do not know what is best for us, or who is best for us.  We need to trust God completely and know that He can change anyone including us, and that He has a perfect plan and purpose for our lives although we might not completely see it or understand it at different points in our lives.  If we limit ourselves by a set list of qualities, especially when that list includes physical attributes or certain personality traits like:  funny, outgoing, cool, upbeat or so many other things. Then we need to ask ourselves - am I really trusting that God knows better?  Do I trust that nothing is impossible for God? Everything is possible for those who hope in the Lord!

Wisdom to contemplate:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

“Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good.” (Romans 12:9)

Hold on....help is on the way

I am aware people from all over the world are looking at this blog, and I feel blessed.   I want you to know - I already care for you!  Yes you....you in China....you in Israel....you in Poland.....you in Dominican Republic....you in the USA....you in Costa Rica....you in Canada and so many more.  We have one heart...


I want you to know, that I know there are moments in which you feel like you have no one.   No one who understands you, no one who can help you , no one who knows you in the depths of your heart.  I know that all too often you feel alone, regardless of how many people are around you.  Sometimes it is even worse when we have friends and family, but they seem not to get us! They seem not to know us, sometimes they seem to not even like us.


So yes, to you who have been visiting this blog I want to say....hold on help is on the way!  I will put summaries of my book here, for you to read for free.  Princess in Overalls will help you and inspire you.  The reason for the delay is that I left my files of Princess in Overalls at home and right now I am traveling.  It will take me a little time to get it all figured out.  I think I will be re-typing my book, just for you.


Yes you, you who still hope, you who need encouragement, you who are sad, you who are lonely, you who need advise, you who need a friend.  You who have been brought to Princess in Overalls.

I am here for you so remember:   hold on....help is on the way.