Hey Dad, Whatcha Doing?

It's a Mom! A mom silhouetted against the sky playing with her child. We relate to this Loyola Press retreat immediately, right, fellow moms? As we read on we re-discover what we already know: "Total dependence, acceptance, and trust in a loving relationship with the Father." This is what we strive for in regard to our own children, so it's not that big of a stretch to realize that God wants us moms to depend on Him knowing he accepts us as we are - warts and all. God wants us to trust Him, to believe that He knows what is right for us at every given moment of our lives.

How many times have your children made mistakes that never would have happened had they only listened to you? From burnt fingers reaching to the stove all the way through experimenting with drinking. They test our patience. They test our love. Just we test our Father's patience and love.

Mom is such a broad term. Where are you on your journey? Little ones underfoot? Teenagers driving you nuts? Approaching Empty Nest? Are you a grandma? It doesn't matter where you are on you continuum; you need God, just as your children will always need you.

Go to God. Share your joy as well as your sorrow. Ask for His help and be brave enough to take his advice. Be the kind of child to God that you wish your children would be to you - a little twist on the old Golden Rule!

Have a great weekend getting closer to God.

~ Maureen :)
2/26 God Directs Our Lives

Make Space ~ Take Time

Here we are again - Ash Wednesday. How many Ash Wednesdays have you experienced? How have you grown closer to God in the process? As moms we try to instill our Christian values into our children. Hopefully today we will find special time to spend with our children discussing their plans for this Lent and sharing with them our plans. It's important that your children know you are on a journey with God. Tell them. And as the days unfold, show them.

Last night I attended a Mardi Gras celebration at our church. Our pastor suggested we place our little half sheet of paper with our Lenten goals right on our refrigerators for all to see to help hold us accountable. I'm not sure if I'm going to be that open. But maybe you are ready to be.

In today's retreat we are encouraged to enter this season with our "head up and eyes forward." I think this is a stretch for moms. Our heads are usually down and though we keep our eyes forward, many of us only forward to the next chore. So maybe we could work on this together.

More wise words from my pastor, my friend: "Make space. Take time." Do it! Do it for you. If it's only five minutes a day, go somewhere where you have established is your private space in which you will be talking to God. I sound adamant on this point because although I have listened to these particularly wise words for over a year now I still have not carved out my own space.

Just a few minutes ago here I was writing to you, when in walks husband oblivious to my concentrating face and moving fingers, "Will you make me some eggs?"

"Only if I can throw them at you when they're done!" Words merely thought, not voiced. And this is Ash Wednesday when hopes are fresh and fervent! Oh well. So make that space. Carve out the time. Do whatever you must do to stay sane and get closer to God.

I love the title, "O God of second chances." And thirds and fourths and fifths...

Keep us moms always in the palms of your big, strong hands, God.

~ Maureen :)
2/25 Ash Wednesday

Be the Pebble in the Pond

As moms we bundle our children and cart them to church each Sunday. We say we are going to church. But do we ever tell our children that we are the Church? Do we tell them a church isn't merely the building? We need to do that.

In today's retreat we are asked, "Who will see God's light and love in you today?" As moms, our greatest audience is composed of our children - varying ages but all our children. The circle extends to our children's friends and their families as we get to know them better. School activities, especially sports in our house, broadened my family's circle of friends. I think of that pebble thrown into the pond with the ripples reaching ever outward - further than we ever would have imagined.

You are the pebble whether you want to be or not. It's a given if you have children. Realize this fact and embrace it. Be good. Do good. Be that good example your child needs. Teach in all you do. Before you get out of bed each morning ask God to give you the grace to be the best parent you can be.

~ Maureen :)
2/24 The Mission of the Church

We Are Never Alone

I was struck by today's Loyola 3-Minute Retreat the instant I saw the young man silhouetted in the dark hallway. I can relate to that young man today. I feel like him a good deal of the time in this house of men. As my sons grow older and are now their own people, so to speak, I feel less and less sure of my role. The mom role has pretty well ended, but what has taken its place is the child of God role.


I am more acutely aware of my journey now that I have the time to breathe and think and write. I go to God all the time with all my worries. When I feel alone in the darkness I go to Him and He lights my way. More concretely, I go to God every day at daily Mass. He centers me, hears my pleas and if I'm smart enough to see, He answers many of my questions.

Much that occurs in this life just doesn't add up to us mere mortals. We need God's heavenly guidance. He is the One who allows us to "journey confidently." I wish you well today us you journey closer to God. Let Him help you. Talk to Him. Take the time. Feel His presence in the dark hallways of your life.

~ Maureen :)
2/18 Faith in Jesus

The Greatest of These...

Today's the day for love. Cupid's big day. Moms are great at giving their love. Let your light shine today to give and give and give. Spread the love God put into your heart, and it will come back to you. Happy Valentine's Day, ladies!

~ Maureen :)
2/14 Faith, Hope and Charity

Show and Tell

Today’s retreat mentions that the Holy Spirit changes lives forever. I do believe we moms can relate. There we were…walking down the aisle…blinked our eyes and suddenly we’re up to our elbows in all things baby! Lives forever changed. Go to the Spirit today and ask Him to guide your every word, your every action, even your very thoughts. Speak well to those little ones, and not-so-little ones, placed into your care. It may not always feel as if you are witnessing God’s Word as you change diapers, re-arrange your schedule so you can attend the classroom Valentine’s Day party or endure the discomfort of bleachers during all those basketball games, but you are. With every good deed you are showing, not merely telling, your children how very much you them.

~ Maureen :)
2/13 Growing in the Spirit

Giving Not Receiving

I see two types of givers: one group who will give but only if they are sure they have plenty for themselves, and another bunch who when asked to give simply say yes. They don't ask questions. They don't worry about "what ifs." They give freely. They are most always cheery, pleasant givers. People think well of them. And they themselves have a brighter outlook on life than givers who hesitate.

Just remember who gives you what you have. Without God you'd have nothing. Teach your children to give generously. Truly teach them to give. But remember that giving continuously to your children is not teaching them to give. You are teaching them to receive. Make opportunities for your children to actually give to another – a younger sibling, an elderly neighbor, their teacher. Encourage them to give by "giving" them lots of practice.

~ Maureen :)
2/10 God Cares for Us

We're Worth It

Why do you forgive your kids? Because you love them. Why does our Father forgive us? Because He loves us. Pretty simple stuff here, ladies. Here's one that may throw you for a loop: Why are we moms unable to forgive ourselves?

There is no perfect mom, you know (except maybe the Blessed Mother), so let's try to be a little easier on ourselves this week. Make the time to go to God each morning. Just do it. If your child needed you you'd find the time; if a neighbor needed you you'd be there. Be there for yourself this week.

I could be the poster mom for not taking my own advice in past years. Give. Give. Give. Oh, I gave alright. Gave myself right away until I was pretty well spent. But God can work marvels with nothing ~ first no world, then big beautiful world, remember?

Happily, God planted a new purpose in my heart once my little kiddies became big men. He cleared away the brambles of my soul lighting His way for my life. And I finally took the time to listen after 20 years of marriage and children followed by five more of nearly disappearing completely. That's way too long to not place God first in your life. Now don't get me wrong...I was a good person all those years doing what I thought best, key word being "I." Now I listen to God and He tells me what to do.

If you're sitting there right now thinking, "Oh yeah, sure, right, she doesn't live my life. How could she know?," trust me on this one; I do know. If you are a mom I know your basic framework because all moms have the same basic framework - all good ones anyway.

If you are floundering right now with not even two seconds to call your own, stop and take stock of what's happening to you. It is not good. Go to God first every day before you get out of bed if only for one minute at first. Take that moment of peace to feel God's reconciliation. He's always ready for you, ladies. Standing invitation.

Have a great week!

~ Maureen :)
2/8 Celebrating Reconciliation

Trust is Taught

Do you show your children your humble and trusting heart by allowing them to see you pray? Or do you only pray in solitude? Do you take your children to Mass each Sunday or sleep in? Is God the priority in your life He should be? Do your children trust you? Do they know they could come to you no matter what? Then chances are they'll go to God, too, when the need arises and you should be very proud you've instilled in them their feelings of trust.

~ Maureen :)
2/7 Trust in God

Ease Up On the Mom Reins

If there's one thing I've learned in the past few years it is that I cannot survive without God in my life. We moms were not and are not ever meant to do this thing called motherhood on our own. I foolishly tried for over 20 years. I've joked about being the supreme commander of my four horsemen, but it was exhausting and not at all the way I'd do it if given the chance again.

We are meant to work with God, not go it alone. This Loyola retreat stated, "Joining God's family is a deceptively simple yet remarkably complex choice." I had to laugh when I read that because months ago I wrote something so similar it was almost verbatim. Joining God's family should be easy but it's not. And we are the ones who make it complex.

Pray to the Holy Spirit to simplify your life. Take steps to implement Spirit's suggestions. Recognize the God in those around you. You may be looking an answer right in the face, yet not see it. Learn to ease up on those mom reins a little bit. Ask for help when you need it and keep asking until you get the help you so deperately seek.

~ Maureen :)
1/29 Joining God's Family