As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus today, I think of the word REMEMBER. Today is ALL SOULS Day, and, in a special way, it’s a time to remember all our family, friends and people who have played an important part in our life and have TRANSITIONED. For anyone who has lost someone, it is a time to remember and reflect. I don’t know how people survive without a relationship with Jesus Christ. I don’t know how people survive without believing HIS word about eternal life.

So, today, take a moment, name their names, and REMEMBER. Feel the spirit and love, and know that, one day soon, we will be reunited. As you sit and take some quiet time to remember, realize you were BLESSED because they were a part of your life. Lots of tears will be shed today, but just think of the great reunion! May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Have a blessed day REMEMBERING!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus this All Saints Day, I think of the wonderful examples that the Saints have been to me. I have always had a great devotion to St. Francis, and have, for over 40 years, visited his home in Assisi. It’s a special place where I always encounter Jesus. Padre Pio has always been an inspiration to me, how he endured persecution and yet stayed faithful to Jesus. Saint John Vianney, patron of priests, did not have it easy, but reminds me that when you hear the voice of God, you must follow HIM.

So, many saints have inspired me in my journey and some of them are still living. Friends who have battled cancer and done so with a great witness and testimony, friends who overcame addictions and continue today to witness freedom, priests and religious who are still the hands to feed the poor and serve God, all are living saints! Today, we are reminded that we are called to be saints, called to endure, persevere, and embrace! In these tumultuous times, we need Saints to stand up and remind us that Jesus is ALIVE and well! Have a great day and look around. There may be a Saint living under your own roof!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking of the word MAGNITUDE! It’s a powerful word, defined as a great size or extent of something. Everything that Jesus says or does has great Magnitude. This is something we need to embrace.

When I LOVE with great magnitude, FORGIVE with great magnitude, and LIVE-with great magnitude, things begin to happen. With all the negativity that surrounds us, the answer is for us to produce a great positive magnitude of LOVE. A kind word, patience, reaching out to someone else, all can bring a MAGNITUDE of love.

Today, I am going to live in the magnitude of God’s love. I’m going to stop complaining, stop worrying, and allow the energy that God offers to control my life and my day. I am going to be drawn into HIS grace and spirit and allow it to flow through me to others. This way we can create a great MAGNITUDE of love.

Have a great day!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was reflecting on the new coffee mug I got. It has a quote from Mother Teresa on it which says, “SILENCE gives us a new perspective!” Each day, we need to make time to sit and be silent. It is in these moments that God can speak to our hearts. In these moments, God can ease our pain, stop our minds from racing, and help us to see HIS plan for us.

Silence is not easy! We live in a world where there is always noise, activity, and distraction. A few moments of complete silence, breathing in and out, listening, can open our souls, can connect us with our Lord.

Today, turn off the TV, turn off the radio, and put down the phone. Close your eyes and go to that place of SILENCE where Jesus speaks to you. Silence gives us a new perspective and it allows us to hear the whisper of GOD’S voice!

Have a blessed day! And say a prayer for me…it’s my birthday!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was reflecting on a GK Chesterton quote that someone sent me. It says, “In the struggle for existence, it is only those who hang on for ten minutes after all is hopeless, that HOPE begins to dawn.”

In one way or another, we have all experienced hopelessness. We wonder if things will ever be normal again. Fear creeps, manifesting itself as worry or anxiety. But when we stay close to the Lord, and hold on tightly to HIM, Hope begins to dawn!

Today is a new dawn. We need to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, put a smile on our faces, and approach this day with HOPE. Our whole demeanor needs to be one of spreading HOPE. Where there is HOPE, there is the Lord, and where there is the Lord, there is peace and joy!

Have a blessed day filled with HOPE!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus on this BEAUTIFUL DAY, I was reflecting on James 4:8, which says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” Do you find yourself sometimes saying, “As soon as I get this done or that done, I will make time for prayer?” Or “When I get my To Do list done, I will take time to be alone with the Lord.” You will always find that the time just disappears. We need to make sure we make time for JESUS!

We can get distracted and move away from God because of the busyness of our day. But God never moves away from us. We need to slow down, especially with our time with the LORD. We can’t rush through our prayer time, quiet time, or Scripture reading.

Today, I am going to focus on being near to HIM and at peace with HIM. I will take the time to be in HIS presence.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I decided to call it, “TAKE IT TO HIM DAY.” That reminds me that I need to take to HIM everything that is going on in my life. It’s so easy to turn to other things to guide us. People turn to popular opinion, to counselors, to the news, to horoscopes, to psychics, to whatever else that is out there, but Jesus tells us to take it to HIM!

When we take our worries, our fears, our frustrations, and our anger to HIM, things begin to happen! That is why we always need to stay close to HIS Scriptures, to study them, to search for answers, knowing that GOD’S WORD will guide us.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not. In all your ways be mindful of HIM, and HE will make straight your paths.” Today, open His word, place it in your heart, and let Him be your guide. In other words, make it a “TAKE IT TO HIM DAY!”

Have a blessed day!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I decided to call today a day to “MAKE IT MEANINGFUL.” We can give meaning to everything we do from the time we get up until we go to sleep. We can wake up with a smile and a heart full of gratitude for a new day, or we can wake up and complain about what we need to do. It’s all about ATTITUDE.

Jesus invites us to make this day MEANINGFUL. We can change our whole day by just having a heart of GRATITUDE. A kind act, a simple prayer for someone, gratefulness that we have things to do make all the difference. We can make driving to work meaningful as we talk to God about the day ahead. We can make tasks that we don’t want to do meaningful by offering them up for someone who is going through a hard time.

Today, I’m going to give MEANING to each moment throughout the entire day! I am going to praise God for the ordinary things as well as the extraordinary things. With gratitude and thanksgiving, I’m going to live this day with new opportunities and new adventures.

Happy “Make It Meaningful” Day!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about how FEAR oftentimes dominates our lives. It drains us of the energy we need to enjoy this life. It blocks relationships and can even make us ill. FEAR oftentimes keeps us from our relationship with Jesus. If we really believe God’s WORD and we open our hearts to HIM, then we should have nothing to fear.

The OPPOSITE of FEAR is safety and TRUST. Fear is something that we play out in our minds. What we fear is usually not true. When we are living in the past or we are afraid of tomorrow, we can’t live in the PRESENT MOMENT. We cannot live in the present moment and live in fear at the same time. We cannot live in fear and yet TRUST in Jesus at the same time. The DIVINE MERCY teaches us to pray, “Jesus, I trust in YOU.”

So today, on this beautiful morning, with the changing of the seasons, the day of the Lord, let us name our fears and SURRENDER them to the FATHER. Let us make today about living in HIS presence, about worship and adoration, about love and peace! FEAR is another four-letter word we need to remove from our vocabulary.

Have a blessed day. Don’t worry. Be happy!

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was thinking about the fact that God’s grace is all we need. Sometimes we go through life looking back saying, “What if…,” or “If only….” But Jesus calls us to stay focused on HIS grace and HIS promises. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 it says, “MY grace is sufficient for you!”

Look to the past as lessons learned rather than as a place to stay. Stop looking in the rearview mirror or you’ll end up in a wreck! A friend of mine is famous for saying, “It is what it is!” Live in the present moment and ask the important questions: “What does the Lord want me to do today? How can I be more loving and forgiving today? What am I grateful for?”

Those are the questions that need to be answered. Leave the “what if’s” and the “if only’s” in the past where they belong. Today belongs to the Lord. He wants you to be a part of it!

Have a blessed day!