“Be patient and persistent, and you won’t ever feel the need to quit. Seek help when you need it, and you’ll never struggle alone.

Keep your energy, passion, and excitement for life, and you’ll never be bored or discontented. Stay focused on your goals and not on who others want you to be or what they want you to achieve.

When making decisions, listen to your logical mind, but don’t leave behind the wisdom of your instincts and the messages from your heart. Listen to all of them and do what’s right for you. Let your faith be a guiding light and daily comfort, and you were always feel blessed.

Let these words be your guide to a positive life. Keep them in your mind, heart, and spirit. Use them, and the guiding principles you discover on your own, to create for yourself the future you choose.” Jacqueline Schiff

And my spirit continues in your midst; do not fear! Haggai 2:5

“A remnant of the Jews has just returned to Judah from their exile in Babylon. They are exhausted. They are overwhelmed by the destruction they see. And they are fearful of what lies ahead for them. Enter the prophet Haggai with some good news from God. ‘Take courage,’ says God. ‘I am with you.’ That word with means more than I am accompanying you. As the people soon learn, the word with means, ‘ I am for you… I am in your corner… I am on your team.’ God promises the people that the glory of the new temple will be even greater than the former one. Imagine how consoled the people were by such words.

But the best part of the story is this: God speaks those same words to us today. Whatever we may be exhausted from. Whatever we may feel overwhelmed by. Whatever we may be fearful of, God is with us. God is for us. God is in our corner.

If really believed these words, how would my life be different?” Sr. Melannie Svoboda. S.N.D.

We need these words now more than ever with all that is going on in our world. God is always with us!

“Padre Pio, a capuchin friar of peasant background, spent virtually his entire life in a monastery in southern Italy. In most respects he was indistinguishable from his fellow friars. But for some mysterious purpose padre Pio was set apart. For the thousands of pilgrims who flock to hear him say mass, or to have him hear their confessions, or simply to rest their gaze on his bandaged hands, he was living proof for the existence of God.

Like Saint Francis, Pio was a stigmatic; he bore on his hands, feet, and sideshow the wounds of Christ. These mysterious open wounds, for which there was no natural explanation, appeared on his body in 1910 and remained until some months before his death. He was credited with thousands of miracles and enjoyed other extraordinary gifts, including the ability to ‘read the hearts’ of penitence. It was even said that he had the rare gift of bilocation – the ability to be in more than one

place at once. In other words, he was endowed with the full repertoire of supernatural gifts typically a scribed to medieval saints – though he was a man living in the glare of modern skepticism.”

“Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.” Saint Pio

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring” George Santayana

Cold weather helps us appreciate warm weather more – and warm weather helps us appreciate cold weather. With a change in seasons, there are so many things to anticipate. During the course of a year we watch trees change from bare to green to orange and red and gold to brown and back to bare again. Then there’s the miracle of budding and greening all over again the next year.

As I enjoy the change of seasons, I can enjoy the changes in my life. I realize that God is always with me through all the changes in my life.

“Guarantee your peace of mind, contentment, faith, and strength, as well as the constant ability to find joy in all the things that sometimes go unnoticed. Find moments to connect with other individuals who are full of smiles and hugs to give away and stories and laughter to share.” Barbara Cage

God gives us so many wonderful gifts. Thank you God for this gorgeous day