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My First Mother’s Day…

by Filed Under: 05 May, Mother's Day, Motherhood 1 Comment

I’ve actually celebrated 22 Mother’s Days of my own but this is the first one for me with 8 children!

22 years, 1 month, 15 days — 8082 days to be exact, of motherhood.  BLESSED! 

My heart overflows with gratitude for all these loves that have been entrusted to me.
I pray for His grace to…
💐serve my family as though they’re Christ – Mt 25:40
💐be faithful always – Rm 4:16
💐glorify Him with all that I have been given, no matter what – Jn 15:8
💐remain humble – 2 Chronicles 7:14
💐radiate His love and share His JOY – Gal 5:22

PRAYER FOR FIDELITY IN A MOTHER’S VOCATION

Dear God, give me the grace to appreciate the dignity of motherhood, which Thou hast been pleased to bestow upon me, and to fulfill its duties according to Thy Will. By my prayers and good example, may I lead my husband and my children closer to Thy Sacred Heart. Make me a devoted wife to my husband and a good mother to my children after the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Almighty God, I thank Thee for the blessed care and protection with which Thou hast embraced my family. I humbly submit to Thy decrees and resign myself to Thy Divine Providence. I grasp Thy guiding hand, and I shall never follow my own ways lest they lead me astray. Thy good pleasure shall be my happiness; Thy commandments shall be my only rule of conduct. Thy Will shall be my will, and Thy service shall be the object of all my desires.

Lord, grant me peace of mind because of my trust in Thy Providence, an unwavering and cheerful courage founded on my faith in Thy tremendous love, faithfulness to duty resulting from a constant awareness of Thy presence, and a firm hope of eternal reward.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I implore Thy blessing upon my family that we all may serve Thee faithfully in this life and deserve to be reunited in the eternal happiness of Thy heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

 

Happy Mother’s Day

by Filed Under: 05 May, GFG, Mother's Day 5 Comments

JOYfilledfamily GFG 201318 years, 11 months, 2 days (6911 days to be exact) of motherhood — BLESSED!

I pray for His grace to serve my family as though they were Christ – Mt 25:40 — be faithful always – Rm 4:16 — glorify Him with all that I have been given, no matter what – Jn 15:8 — remain humble – 2 Chronicles 7:14 — radiate His love and share His JOY – Gal 5:22

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the beautiful women that have entered my life. May God abundantly bless you!

"Keep the JOY of loving God in your heart and share this JOY with all you meet especially your family. Be holy – let us pray."

~ Bl. Mother Teresa

The Mother of All Mothers…………

by Filed Under: Mother's Day, Praise and Thanksgiving, Spiritual Reflections

The Kind Of Mother All Mothers Should Aspire To Be
“Our Heavenly Father wants us to imitate the way Mary lowered Herself before Him, especially the way that She continually maintained the posture of servant and slave. Mary assumes this posture because She knows that Her humility and childlike manner lead Her to abandon Herself to God’s love – a love that is constantly knocking on the door of the human heart.”
(Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock, pg. 90)

 

As my family honored me yesterday on Mother’s Day, I began to ponder my role as a mother. Yes, I had plenty of time to ponder…..my DH and GFG gave me the gift of a nap, a very looong nap. The last time I remember taking such a nap is when we brought Papi home from the NICU, 20 months ago. It was some gift/nap. Ok, enough about my nap (that I will remember for who knows how long), let me continue with my role as mother. I’ve been feeling some what inadequate lately due to many circumstances that we have been facing. My loving husband has been more than supportive and continues to lead me spiritually towards God’s call for us but I can’t help but to hold myself back with so many ideas of what I should be doing and NOT doing as a mother. Many of which are worldly pulls.

 

I found peace in the words, “Our Heavenly Father wants us to imitate how Mary lowered herself before Him.” I mediated on these words and gave thanks to Our Lord for reminding me of the simplicity of His call — complete surrender. I am to serve Christ always; in everything I do, say and pray! I must remember that the He does not call me to perfect an academic lesson or maintain a pristine home or even cook a meal that will have a line out the door (edible will do). However, He does call me to:
serve my family as though they were Christ – Mt 25:40
be faithful always – Rm 4:16
glorify Him with all that I have been given, no matter what – Jn 15:8
remain humble – 2 Chronicles 7:14
radiate His love and share His JOY – Gal 5:22

 

“Keep the JOY of loving God in your heart and share this JOY with all you meet especially your family. Be holy – let us pray.” – Bl. Mother Teresa

Happy (early) Mother’s Day

by Filed Under: God's Grace, Mom, Mother's Day, Motherhood

Mother: a full time provider of love ~ Dr. Laura

I took my mother to a viewing of Dr. Laura at our local theatre. Dr. Laura was performing live in So. Cal and it was showing at theatres. Her topic was In Praise of Stay at Moms. [They number in the millions and they are incredibly important to families and to our society, yet they are underappreciated, little respected, and even controversial. Who are they? They are the stay-at-home moms.]

Although I don’t agree with all of Dr. Laura’s views, you can’t deny her firm stance of valuing children, mothers and families. My mother introduced me to Dr. Laura about thirteen years ago. (Oh my, I’m getting up there in age!) At that time I was not practicing my faith and was on the road of a feminista. Needless, to say I didn’t take to Dr. Laura’s views and denounced much of her advice. In time, the Holy Spirit continued to work on me and God showered me with His grace.

I’m most thankful for my mother who encourages me and supports me in my efforts to be a CATHOLIC MOM on fire for CHRIST.

 

———————

 

“Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you.” —Exodus 20:12

We honor our parents whether or not they are honorable. We honor them because God Who is the Source of all parenting is honorable (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2214). We can honor our parents even under the worst of circumstances.

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Here are 2 (abbreviated) lists that were presented in Dr. Laura’s session.
Dr. Laura’s Top 5 things for a Mom/Wife
1. Work with your husband to create a team spirit and joint effort that doesn’t pit you both against each other complaints, etc., but instead makes you both feel lovingly interdependent.
2. Make sure you spend time and get support from women who share your values.
3. Don’t allow yourself to get into a rut, too focused on making sure all things done and done perfectly. Allow fluidity in your day so that you and your children enjoy each other and life in general.
4. Focus on the JOYS and pleasures of that day… yes, in spite of the nonsense and annoyances that have also occurred. Make sure that when your husband comes home, you have only the former to tell him. That will make him excited about coming home to his family.
5. Make sure that each and every day you tell your husband how much it means to you that he works to support you all, and that he is your hero.

 

Dr. Laura’s Top 5 things for a Dad/Husband

1. Make sure that you work diligently to provide for the family without fishing for compliments by complaining or bragging. It would be wonderful for you to tell your wife how good it makes you feel as a man to take care of her and the children.
2. Every night that you come home, find something to compliment about the home, children, or your wife—even if you are totally beat from your day. You will find that the act of complimenting seems to take the feeling of exhaustion out of your mind. Never nitpick about a little mess or an unironed shirt. None of that is more important than the love you have for her efforts to raise your children and take care of you and your nest.
3. Make sure that you find some time almost every day (early morning or late at night) to talk to your wife as “your woman” or “your girlfriend” so that she always feels her femininity and sense of sensuality. Sex is part of this, but rubbing her feet, neck or back also helps melt away the day’s cares and reconnects her to you.
4. Take every public opportunity you can find to brag about your wife and kids in her presence. Show her how proud you are of her, and how appreciative you are for her creation of a home out of a house.
5. Make sure that you provide break or girl time for your wife, so she can recharge her emotional and physical batteries.

 

God Bless all moms.
Praise and thanksgiving for Our Blessed Mother!

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