Listen, Live and Love

God has been so wonderful to me! I feel his graces pouring down on me and I am giving my whole heart to Him....where he leads me I will follow! And where he leads me I will give my life away! God offered his life for me.....how amazing is that? The ultimate sacrifice of love and sacrifice! Today, I am going to live like there is no tommorrow~Live, Love, Laugh in God's love. He has a plan for each one of us...just listen. A priest friend of mine told me to quiet my heart and to listen. That goes for music too! If you quiet your heart and your mind~you will hear the music all around you and you will hear God. So listen! God bless you all!

My Juan Diego and my friend Carl on the left

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine


True Love will last forever only with Christ because His love is everlasting....I don't know about you but I want that kind of love!!

I am home from the Triduum, which I have been going to for eight years now and it was one of the best weekends of my life!! I got to spend time with my best friend and something wonderful happened to me. I left the entire week in the Blessed Mother's hands and I've been praying everyday for one of my closest friends...Jon Guarendi, who is the most awesome, Catholic guy I have ever met in my life. He loves Christian music, he loves God, and he loves me. We have an amazing bond in Christ and if its God's will that we grow in love...we will. Its funny because we are two totally different people but when it comes to the most important thing ~our faith and God~ we are so similiar. He really touches me, my heart and my soul. Out of all the people I have ever met~I have so much faith in him and all the awesome things he is doing and is going to do!
If all my friends out there could say a prayer for us it would make me so happy and I am sure it would show in my life. We are at the very begginning and even though we haven't talked that much, we are still so close. Thank you God for putting Jon and his awesome family (I love them all) in my life. : ) I am so happy~I'm still speachless!! This is way to important to me so I am putting everything in the hands of God. I trust God, Jon trusts God and I trust Jon!!
God bless you all! O, and say a prayer for the YHOPE group. Praise God with your life because He loves you~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fw9EDKGHTU
This life is only the begining!!! So live, but remeber to love and to laugh. If your heart gets broken along the way...HE will put it back together! If you dreams get shattered....He will pick up every piece and reunite them, conforming each one in His will. Always remember that God is the only one who knows who you are so don't worry when your misunderstood...He will always love you. This is your life to give, so give it to God, and if you see God in every person, your on the right path!! : ) God bless!

Septemeber 11

Hi everyone! I just wanted to ask everyone to say a prayer today for my friend and all the other people who died on September 11. My friend was one of the best Catholic, patriotic, and lovingpeople I have ever known and to this very day I remeber the last day I saw him. I know that he is in Heaven and he is praying for me but his wife was devestated so could you please prayer for her today as well. Especially prayer for all the men and women who died and for their families who are in alot of pain today. God bless you!

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C_BBl6T2Jk&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Intense love does not measure; it just gives. We have not come into the world to be numbered; we have been created for a purpose; for great things: to love and be loved ” - Mother Teresa

God's Friendship comes first ~One of the keys to true firendship

I have had so many friends in the past that I can honestly say were not looking out for my best interests and, in the end, hurt me. Sometimes I give up in the pursuit of a true friendship. Sometimes I feel like I stick out in a crowd of people because of what I believe. I know that my faith is a part of me that I don;t just keep inside, but rather live through my actions. How can we find true friendship in this often phony, temporary world? Friends often share likes and dislikes, interests, pursuits, and passions. How can we recognize potential friendship? A genuine friendship involves a shared sense of caring and concern, a desire to see one another grow and develop, and a hope for each other to succeed in all aspects of life. True friendship involves action: doing something for someone else while expecting nothing in return; sharing thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or negative criticism. True Friendship and True Love go hand in hand. I want everyone out there who I call my friend to know that I will stand by you in anything and always love you no matter what. I've been really blessed to become closer with some really awesome people this year and you all know who you are!!

Friendship takes time: time to get to know each other, time to build shared memories, time to invest in each other's growth. Trust is essential to true friendship. We all need someone with whom we can share our lives, thoughts, feelings, and frustrations. We need to be able to share our deepest secrets with someone, without worrying that those secrets will end up on the Internet the next day! I have had one to many a bad and fake friendship and I can testify that failing to be trustworthy can destroy a friendship in a hurry. Faithfulness and loyalty are key to true friendship. Without them, we often feel betrayed, left out, and lonely. In true friendship, there is no backbiting, no negative thoughts, no turning away.

True friendship requires certain accountability factors. Real friends encourage one another and forgive one another where there has been an offense. Genuine friendship supports during times of struggle. Friends are dependable. In true friendship, unconditional love develops. We love our friends no matter what and we always want the best for our friends.

rue friendship stories are found throughout the Bible. In Genesis 18:17-33, we read about God sharing His intentions with Abraham. Abraham responds by telling God his thoughts and feelings about the situation. God and Abraham are able to do this because they trust and respect each other. You know God is my best friend! I firmly believe that if God doesnt come first in any realtionship, it really won't last. First Samuel 20 focuses on the friendship of David and Jonathan. These two men truly cared for each other and had great trust and confidence in one another. David was running for his life from Jonathan's father, Saul. Jonathan recognized that David was innocent. Because of the true friendship they shared, David survived Saul's assassination attempts and went on to become one of Israel's greatest kings. "Real and true friendship involves freedom of choice, accountability, truth, and forgiveness. Peter and Jesus give us this example: Peter, afraid for his life after Jesus is led away from the Garden of Gethsemane, denies knowing Jesus (John 18). As He is led away by His accusers, Jesus casts a look toward Peter that says, "I knew you would deny Me, and I forgive you" (John 21). "
Real friendship looks at the heart, not just the "packaging." Genuine friendship loves for love's sake, not just for what it can get in return. True friendship is both challenging and exciting. It risks, it overlooks faults, and it loves unconditionally, but it also involves being truthful, even though it may hurt. Genuine friendship, also called "agape" love, comes from the Lord. The Lord Jesus calls us His friends and He laid down His life for us (John 15).
Relationships in real life involve different levels of friendships, and that's okay. But humans are designed by God for lasting relationships. "Often our isolationist society offers only vague, empty relationships. God wants us to have friends here on earth. Most of all, He wants us to be friends with Him! " God's Word tells us that a friend sticks closer than a brother, and that in order for one to be a friend, one must show themselves friendly (Proverbs 18:24). The question is: what type of friend do you desire to be? Proverbs 18:19 in the New Living Translation says: "It's harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with iron bars." When we've offended a true friend - whether by breaking a trust or by speaking the truth with love - we risk losing that friendship. We must be careful not to break the trust. But when not speaking the truth will cause greater hurt in our friend's life, we must be willing to sacrifice our needs for those of our friend. That is true friendship.

If we sometimes offend a friend without meaning to, God's Word offers a solution. It's called forgiveness. There is no greater example than the love of God for us. It so great that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in order that our friendship with God might be restored. He did that in spite of the fact that we have offended Him deeply. We have disobeyed His commands, turned our backs on Him, and followed our own path. So the question remains: What type of friend do you want to be? True Christian friendship forgives.

Do you need a friend? God wants to be your true friend. Are you longing for companionship? God is always with you (Hebrews 13:5). Who do you know who needs a true friend today? God wants you to befriend others. He calls us to be His hands and feet in a world starving for true friendship. Something very important that I have learned over the last few years is that we have to be open to becoming friends with people that we never thought could be possible. The key is to see Jesus in every person: Every man, woman, and child. It when you see Christ in the poor and desolate AND when you see Christ in the rich and the famous. Christ is in all of us. Christian love knows no bounds and if our friendship with God comes first, it will spread like fire. "They will know we are Christians by our love." Here is a really awesome prayer that the sisters for friendships:
Jesus, loving companion of Your children,
You have extended Your friendship to all.
You opened Your arms without discrimination,
Offering Your warmth to those seeking comfort.
Endow me with the virtue of such a friendship,
To know, love and trust all on an equal basis;
To share my patronizing without favorism,
And to be pleasant towards the destitute.
Fashion my heart to reflect Your qualities,
Those befitting of a cordial association.
Jesus, You showed me the way to true friendship:
Blessed is Your amazing and loving Person!
God loves each one of us. Not just Americans...Not just Christians. He loves us all, in every country, in every faith. His call to friendship is within all of us. All we have to do is say yes!! God bless you, our beautiful country and all other countries in the world!