This post is contributed by Christine Canino, Author of Spirit of Catholic Success.
Do you ever feel like your faith life is mediocre?
Like you are just going through life without really participating, just watching from the sidelines?
Do you find yourself at mass distracted by the kids, or your mind wandering to your laundry and your shopping and your dishes and your mile long list of things to do?
It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing life as mediocre, as just flying by fast and furious without much purpose or passion.
What to break free from mediocrity?
Check out Christine’s first ever book!
The Mediocre Catholic’s Guide
to Hearing God’s Voice in Everyday Life
This book will help you to see with new eyes, to notice what is happening around you, to see and hear that God is speaking to you.
The ways God speaks are many and varied, as unique as God made you!
Using stories and real life examples, Christine explores how to see what God is doing in our life and how to live a deeper more focused life.
Here is the first part of one of her favorite chapters:
Chapter 7
At Times God Doesn’t Use Words to Speak to Us
In the first chapters, we talked about hearing God speak through people. Watch for those times God doesn’t use any words. I have found that Nature is a compelling medium through which God speaks to us.
God is the Master Artist of Nature. His amazing talent shines brightly when we take the time to admire his creation.
The incredible variety and the way things work in nature gives us much food for thought and contemplation.
After graduating from college, I moved in with my in-laws while I waited for my wedding date. I spent my time typing up job applications and letters answering newspaper ads. (Yes, this was before online applications.) I was still without a job, and my wedding was fast approaching. I was feeling a bit downcast.
One summer day, I was standing in my in-law’s screen porch overlooking their backyard. It was one of those quintessential summer days with sunshine streaming down and sapphire blue skies. I stood there for a while, lost in thought.
A quick flash of movement out of the corner of my eye brought me out of the world of daydreams. On the side of the yard between my in-law’s house and the neighbors, there was a hedge row of tall bushes, through which a big dog meandered through. In her wake thousands of magnificent Monarchs took flight and began to fly around the backyard. I was mesmerized by their collective beauty.
It was a sight I will never forget! I did not know the butterflies were there. I had no idea whose dog this was. Yet, what are the odds that the mystery dog would walk through and cause the butterflies to stir at just the moment I was standing there?
Butterflies often symbolize transformation and my life was about to be transformed from that of a single college student to a wife and career woman. Soon after this magical Monarch moment happened, I got a job offer and started my new job when we returned from our honeymoon.
“Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.”-Romans 12:2
We learn so much from nature when we pay attention to the lessons being shared. Many experts realize that as we spend less and less time in nature, it comes at a cost to our emotional well-being.
The more time we spend on electronics, the more we are losing our connection to nature and losing another channel by which God communicates to us in spirit, mind, and body.
Whenever you are outside, take the time to look around and you are bound to find something of wonder. Maybe you see a bug that you have never seen before or an unusual plant.
Buy now…
To read more you can find the eBook and paperback on Amazon.
About the Author
Christine Canino
Like many, you have arrived at the pivotal place where you’re wanting more from life. As life takes its twists and turns you feel like you are simply going through the motions. Then the questions keep coming. Isn’t there more to life than this? How can my life be fuller and have more meaning? These questions and many more is what Spirit of Catholic Success is all about. Here at Spirit of Catholic success, you will find a growing community that will help you to gain all the tools needed to live a successful life. The world tells us how to be successful but often leaves out God. Without God, life can lack meaning and purpose. Spirit of Catholic Success offers a positive, supportive environment to explore all aspects of life: spiritual, emotional, and physical. Subscribe to Spirit of Catholic Success today!
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