Child-like faith

Time for some really adorable sibling stories!

My little brother JP is probably the most adorable little guy ever. I know, I am biased. But I've been told this on a regular basis by everyone else, so it's probably true ;)

However, more than just being cute, he unknowingly calls me on in my faith on a regular basis. Jesus really knew what He was talking about when He said that we need to have the faith of a child. Here is one example:

The other day, JP had a huge splinter in his hand and was freaking out as I was about to start removing it. Through his tears he said "Hold on, just give me a minute to pray to God first." He ran to the couch and prayed and came back and said "ok, now I'm ready."

Talk about a great reminder to pray in the midst of trials, and we will be given strength!

Another great example:

I got home from work the other day, and JP ran over to me saying "Maggie! I just want to hug you! I love you, I love you! But I don't love you the most, because I love God the most".
And then proceeded to yell "I love you" to the sky because he was telling God he loves him. Heart puddle. 

If only we all had such unreserved expression of love for our Creator....

Little man also had his first Confession last night, so he is a holy roller ;)

And example number 3:

My 12 year old sister, Rachel, asked me a couple days ago if I was planning on going to 6:30 mass this morning (Wednesday). In my head I'm going Um...wasn't planning on it... but I should probably go.... snap....  So I told her "maybe". Why did she want to know? Because she wanted me to take her to mass. At 6:30. Before school. How can I say no to that? 

Needless to say, that was plenty of motivation to get my butt out to the car and to church this morning before the sun even came up. (Thank you, daylight savings).

I hope that these little examples of child-like faith inspire you as much as they do me! There is always something to be learned from His little ones. We only need to take the time and the humility to allow them to teach us.

Maybe lent is a good time for us to take a step back and re-evaluate our relationship with God, and learn how we can better love and serve Him and His people.

Quick takes! Lent and life

--- 1 ---

Happy Lent everyone!! (Can I say that?) Honestly, I love this liturgical season because of how much of a challenge it can be. I love that it forces me to deepen my relationship with Christ, something that I should be doing every single day, but unfortunately something that can get lost in the shuffle of life. This year, I decided to give up my snooze button. This allows me to get up earlier, and have some time for morning prayer. I and doing a 40 day Scripture challenge, finding a verse each day to live by. You can search #40dayrhemachallenge on Twitter or Instagram to follow along, or post and tag your own verses! I would love the company!

--- 2 ---

Another favorite part about lent? Two words: Fish Fry. I always feel bad because I love fried fish so much that I feel like it is not penitential enough for lent. But as a wise nun always explained to me, fasting doesn't have to be miserable! It just means that you are giving up something as an offering. So I guess I will enjoy my fish in peace ;)

--- 3 ---

On Ash Wednesday, all the employees got a little gift from Fr. David with a can of tuna and a Lenten prayer book. I love working for the Catholic church!

--- 4 ---

I decided (well the Holy Spirit decided for me) that the "theme" of my Lent is Ezekiel 11:19-20. This is what Lent should be about: molding our hearts to be more like Christ's and learning to die to our selves. I thought this quote illustrated how I felt perfectly! I pray that the Lord breaks our hardness of hearts and gives us beating, thriving, alive hearts, burning with love for Him and for the whole world!

--- 5 ---

I decided that since I am really over the cold weather, the best way to combat that is to buy a new sweater! (See my logic here?) I got this at Kohl's on clearance. It is probably the softest sweater I have ever had the privilege of wearing. AND it has a huge pocket on the side. How fun is that? I also got two other tops, dress pants, and running shoes... but we will save those pictures for another day.

Sorry for the awkward selfie

--- 6 ---

I was looking through coupons the other day (yes, I am a coupon clipper) and saw one for the new Special K hot cereal bowls. I have actually been thinking about trying these, so I took that as a sign that I should go for it! For those of you who never heard of these, here is a description from the website:  "The unique multi-grain blend boasts quinoa, oats, wheat and barley — plus real fruit and crunchy nuts — for less than 200 calories"

--- 7 ---

Well that about does it for me this week! I'll just leave you with this, because it is awesome and so fun. Happy weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!