EASY DOES IT: By Steven Lumbert

 

Here is the third post in the Lenten Journey series. Today’s guest blogger is Deacon Steven Lumbert.  Please enjoy and post your Lenten journey stories in the comments.

Thank You and God Bless,

Christina Weigand

 

Acts 26: 20      On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God,  and do works giving evidence of repentance.

 

I stood in line, quaking in my boots, and wondering what it would be like.  I’d never done this before.  Sure, I had all the information about how easy it would be.  But now that I was actually in line, it didn’t seem real.  Here I was, forty two years old and converting to Catholicism.  And now I had to go to Confession if I wanted to complete the Easter Sacraments and be accepted into full communion with the Catholic Church.
In generico cialis on line http://appalachianmagazine.com/2019/ order to have a healthy sexual life a person seeks of some effective treatment, and home remedies for acid reflux is capable in treating the condition effectively. The levels online cialis over at this website vary person to person due to unrecognized factor called as phosphodiesterase-5 enzyme. One just needs to look for the reliable platform check out my pharmacy now levitra pills for sale like ukkamagra.com. buy cheapest viagra Hot Tub Time Machine: This is a very bad thing as this can lead to kidney or bladder stones.
Confession wasn’t a part of my Protestant background.  In fact, I don’t recall hearing about it till I met my wife, a cradle Catholic.  Then, when our two daughters were of age, they went to Confession.  I hadn’t converted so I thought it was kind of silly.  After all, I could talk directly to God, couldn’t I?  Why did I need a priest to hear my sins?   Yet there I was, waiting my turn.

During my formation in the RCIA program, I came to know that just as we sometimes confide in our friends, when we confide (confess) to our priest confessor, we are really confessing to God as the priest stands in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, our mediator.  He also stands as the community.  Through him, we receive the grace of God that can change our minds and hearts and put us on the right track.  We no longer turn from God but to God and ask for the transformation of our lives so we will no longer live in thoughtlessness but will adopt a new set of values and resolve, that by His grace, we may live better lives.  And when we do, we will know the love of God in Jesus Christ, and that if we sin, we not only break God’s law, we break God’s heart.

Whoa!  It’s my turn.  What do I say?  What do I do?  After all, God knows my sins already.  Still, I need to acknowledge what I’ve done and ask for forgiveness.  I’ll just let Him lead me through.

I never knew what a weight I was carrying in my sins until I celebrated my first reconciliation.  It seemed like a ton was lifted off me and I had energy that I never knew.  I could feel the presence of God deep inside me.  I knew that my decision to convert was right and true.  From then on I would do His will to make up for my sins.  I knew that my real life was just beginning.  Now each time I celebrate this wonderful Sacrament, I find that same joy and peace.

 

Why do we fear confiding our sins to a priest who can help us and yet tell our friends our deepest secrets?  Are we afraid of God or are we afraid to change our life altogether and live for Him?  Why don’t we want to partake in this life-giving sacrament?  Do we trust God?  Do we really trust God?

 

Catechism of the Catholic Faith  Number 1422

                “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance (Confession) obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example and by prayer labors for their conversion.”

Ask and it Will be Given to You By:Karina Fabian

 

Here is the second installment in our Lenten journey. Today Karina Fabian shares her journey to becoming a writer for God. However don’t be put off by the writer part, because the devotion is chock full of ideas for life and not just for writers. As mentioned in the previous devotion feel free to share your stories here or on Karina’s website or any of the other blogs where you see. Our goal, God’s desire in putting this on the eight authors who will share the journey is that we all find a closer relationship with Him.

God Bless and Enjoy.

I’ll see you next week and may your Lenten journey be one filled with love and forgiveness from God.

Christina Weigand

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:6-8

1996.  I was married with two toddlers and had left the Air Force. We’d moved to Wyoming, where I had no job and one friend.  I tried the supermom thing, cleaning house to within an inch of its life.  It didn’t much help.  Despite being an introvert, I was getting cabin fever—and it wasn’t the house.  It was my life.

It came to a head when I was reading a novel by Harry Turtledove—not one of his better ones, and I actually yelled at the book and at him.  “I could have written this!” I snarled.  Then the thought hit me:  Maybe, but I hadn’t.  And I hadn’t really tried to write in years.

It could takes place on roughly any stage in man’s life. order cialis from canada cheap online cialis This drug empowers the penis veins to collect the blood and also makes sure that the blood does not passes away to the desired parts then erectile dysfunction occurs in men due to the wrong supply blood to the penis. To know more about impotence and how to cure tinnitus is not a simple problem. levitra free Kamagra, manufactured by Ajanta Pharma, is favored among the younger population because it has minor side effects and Interaction Warnings Before choosing to buy Melanotan II or other similar substances, it is important to review. levitra sample I’d always wanted to be a writer and had even written a novel in college.  The stress of the Air Force had made me forget my dream, but when I left, I didn’t do more than give it a nod with one short story.  So what right did I have yelling at a multi-published author who was also a college professor?

Lent was coming up, so I put down the book, apologized and prayed.  Lord, you know the dreams in my heart.  You know I love to write.  This Lent, I want to give that to You.  I will stop reading and start writing.  Please lead me in what to write.

By Easter, I was writing for the Wyoming diocese paper, plus several other smaller local magazines.  I expanded to national magazines, mostly parenting articles.  Rob and I developed a near-future universe where the solar system was colonized and a religious order did space search and rescue.  I had asked and God granted.

I’ve done a lot of different writing since then, from silly fantasies and science fiction to devotionals.  Sometimes, I get a wonderful surprise, like when I got to write Why God Matters with my father.  When I start to feel off track, or stuck in a situation, I will stop and knock, trusting God to open the door to lead me on.

Sometimes, the door He opens leads my back to myself.

—–

Have you ever had a case of lifestyle “cabin fever,” where you felt stuck in a situation that maybe was pleasant, but not fulfilling?  Are you experiencing one this year?  This year, give that to God, but offer him a “trade”: give up something but also take up something that might move you forward in your life.  Dedicate that to him and ask him to guide the use of that talent or activity.

Dear Father in Heaven, you promised that if we asked we would be given, and if we knock, the door will be opened.  Here I am, knocking.  I give you the dream of my heart; take it to unlock the door that guides me to following Your desires for me in my life.  In Your most holy name, Amen.

Karina Fabian is an author, wife, and mother of four currently living in Utah.  In 2010, she and her father wrote a short devotional, Why God Matters: How to Recognize Him in Daily Life.  This year, they invite people to share their Lent stories at http://whygodmatters.com