The Goodness of God

Taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalm 34:8

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When was the last time that you reflected on the goodness of God?

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Practicing gratitude is one of the surest ways to experience peace, joy, and presence in our lives. Taking time to pause and thank God for our friendships, our health, our gifts, our opportunities, even the food on the table and the sun in the sky increases our awareness of His abundant gifts and reminds us of how little we are owed and deserve of our own right. When we thank God for what we have, we experience the double whammy of greater peace and joy in the moment, and we often find that more blessings are poured down in our lives. God loves to shower us with good things!

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The Enemy knows how powerful gratitude is, and he does everything in his power to distract us from the good things in our lives. One of his oldest and sneakiest tricks is hyper-fixation: getting us to focus completely on one aspect of our life that isn’t going how we planned or wanted or thought we deserved. This hyper-fixation can wipe out any sense of gratitude, because instead of marveling in the abundance of goodness in our lives, everything fades and the only thing we seem to see is the one cross we don’t want to bear.

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I know this, because I fall prey to it all the time. It often happens right when I’m feeling flooded with consolation and joy – a little arrow pierces my heart and I’m reminded of something I long for that isn’t coming to fruition in that moment. And suddenly my vision blurs, everything fades to black and white, and I’m left with the ache of an unrealized dream.

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So how do we pull back from this hyper-fixation and instead bask in the light of God’s goodness? First, make gratitude a daily practice. I journal my consolations and desolations every night, and a big part of this is pausing to write down everything that I am grateful for in that day. There are tons of journal apps and other tools you can use to make a daily practice of gratitude routine. By making space to be grateful every single day, we are putting on armor against the inevitable attacks of the Enemy on our peace. Second, when experiencing a moment of hyper-fixation, thank God not only in advance for how he’s working in that cross or longing, and then thank Him for His nearness and all of the ways you can see His love in your life today. By combatting entitlement, disappointment, and comparison with gratitude, we bring joy to the heart of God.

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The Psalms abound with examples of gratitude, and I want to close with two of my favorite verses, Psalm 27: 13-14:

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
​ Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

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I’ll get started right now: I am so grateful for YOU! Thank you for being part of this community. I would love to see your gratitude lists, so please hit reply and share them with me if you feel so moved 🙂

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In Christ,

Jane​

What we’re loving lately:

Mother’s Day Gift Guide!

• Mom – avert your eyes!! Everyone else, Mother’s Day is coming up and I have some gift ideas for you! I’m obsessed with my West Coast Catholic rosary, and she has so many beautiful ones that make great gifts! These Madewell scarves are my favorite summer hair accessory, and can bring a bright pop of color to a gift! I have a gorgeous gold sacred heart on my wall, and House of Joppa sells them as well – what a beautiful gift to add to any space. If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with Anthropologie’s Volcano Candle, and a gift from Anthropologie is always a good idea (warning: you will buy more than you planned if you step inside…) Finally, the gift I just keep giving: this tiny Miraculous Medal necklace!! It’s dainty and beautiful and such a lovely gift for any of the women in your life. Anything you’d add to the list? Reply and I’ll share more next week!

London!!

• I’m in London this week with my BFF and we went to Downton Abbey yesterday… it was supposed to rain the whole time but it was gorgeous. If you haven’t seen Downton Abbey, it will make you feel so warm and fuzzy and it’s just an all-around fantastic show. Yesterday’s visit made me want to start it over! I think you can find all of the seasons on Amazon Prime.

“I am Yours” by Needtobreathe​

• You know it’s not a newsletter without me sharing my song of the moment… and here it is. My favorite line: “I’m a man whose one ambition / is to dance with the Divine.” Ugh wow. Listen here.

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Happy St. Joseph the Worker Feast Day (May 1)!)

• It was the feast day of one of my favorite saints yesterday, so here’s an incredible reflection on this holy saint:
• “I believe the life of Saint Joseph offers us a great example of strength and courage. I imagine there were many times when Joseph wondered what was in store for him and his family. Having to leave everything behind to find safety has the potential for causing great anxiety. Saint Joseph found courage in his profound faith. The life of this humble carpenter, chosen by God to be the spouse of Mary and foster father of Jesus, invites us to find our strength and courage by placing our complete trust in the Lord.” – Elizabeth Kingsbury-Puscas, Every Day with St. Joseph​

Prayer Requests

• For a special intention
• For those traveling this week
• For this community!

If you or a loved one need prayers, just reply to this email or reach out and I’ll include them in next week’s newsletter!

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