Ecumenism

Hello All!!
With request by a friend of mine & it is something that I definately come to face daily and I want to thank Jessie for giving me a little push to write this blog!

Jessie's Facebook post to me:
"I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on ecumenism and how you dialogue with people who might not believe the same things as you. That was always a challenge for me in high school, and I know it's something that a lot of young Catholics d...eal with.

Happy blogging! :D"

Ecumenism: now mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater religious unity or cooperation

In all honesty it is one of the hardest things to be a Christian in Public School, let alone a devoute Catholic. Many people dont believe at all, and shy away from people who proclaim The Word Of God.
I have many friends that are of different denominations and it is something that it a very "touchy" subject, because no one wants to step on the other's toes. But for me it is definately hard because I try my best not to do this but it happens, I take any attack on the Catholic Church or anything against it to heart. Its hurtful because its my "home" my "base", but I try my best to defend the faith in a respectful but honest way. Actually I end up finding myself praying through the conversation with the person and asking for God's wisdom through it.

The Gospel reading at Masses this weekend was....

"I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning."

God didnt mean for all of this division. It was Man who did not "like"/"agree" with the Church's Teachings and changed them for themselves to fit what they wanted. Upon this rock I will build my church is in the Bible, right in Peter :)

In all, it is super hard to "fight"/"defend" what you believe in. But it is sooo worth it! :)
God Bless,
Ashley

Why Go To Church?

Hello All! :) I recieved this in an email and thought I should share it with you!
If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this! If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it. If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!






Why Go To Church?





A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday... "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 203,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."





This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:





"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!





All right, now that you're done reading, send it on! I think everyone should read this! "When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"



Amen!!

"Even Though I Walk, Through The Valley, Of The Shadow Of Death, Your Perfect Love Is Casting Out Fear.."

Hey all,
In my post a few weeks ago called "Crazy Love" about my on going struggle to come out of a dry period in my faith life. I just wasnt feeling God, feeling his presence at all.

And now to my amazement.... He has shown me that He is right here with me :)

I hear Him and see Him in my friends all the time, and I am so grateful for God giving me wonderful friends. I see Him with the people and residents at my work. I have learned to see Him in the small things, and I now realize that everything that happens is because of Him. The words I speak are not my own, the things I do are not my own, they are all for the Glory of God. :)

So many things have been happening that have forced me to put my trust in God 100% and leave it that way, its challenging, but i feel reassurance through it. I've come to realize that making decisions, doesnt only revolve around me, it revolves around Christ's will for my life :)

"Ironically" enough my mom came home from her NYC trip yesterday, and she brought me something... They visited St. Patricks Cathedral and she brought me home this bookmark. The book mark is of Mother Teresa, and it has a medal of her on the top of it :) Immediately I loved it! Then I realized Mother Teresa's story.... for those of you who are unfamiliar with her story, she gave up everything and went among the poorest of poor to serve because God told her to do so. She was an amazing woman, but what most people dont know is just like you and I... she fell into spiritual darkness, for years on end, but she overcame it. Through all of this she continued to serve God and Glorify Him, even if she wasnt hearing Him or knowing He was there. :) Sooo cool! :)

"Holiness is not the luxury of the few, it is a simple duty, for you and for me"- Mother Teresa :)

God Bless,
Ashley

Life And Dignity Of The Human Person

Hey all!! :)

So I am working on a talk to give tomorrow for our first day of Middle School Day Camp! I am so excited to be a leader for the 2nd year! :)

My talk is on the Catholic Social Teaching- Life and Dignity of the Human Person. Something that I feel pretty passionate about! Right now its hard for me beacause its hard to approach the subject with middle schoolers. I want to make sure they feel well respected for their age, and at the same time make this talk something they can understand and "relate" to. And Man is it tough!!!!!! I have no idea what I am going to say, right now Im givin' it to the Holy Spirit! Please speak through me as I write this out!

Some facts that I found, which made me sick to my stomach....

"There were 200,420 abortions among 15–19-year-olds in 2006.[9]
•Twenty-seven percent of pregnancies among 15–19-year-olds ended in abortion in 2006. [9]
•The reasons teens give most frequently for having an abortion are concern about how having a baby would change their lives, inability to afford a baby now and feeling insufficiently mature to raise a child.[14]
•As of January 2010, 34 states require that a minor seeking an abortion involve her parents in the decision.[15]
•Six in 10 minors who have abortions do so with at least one parent's knowledge. The great majority of parents support their daughter's decision to have an abortion.[16]"

How sad and heart-wretching is that?!? :( :( Oh goodness.... :(
I'd like to leave you these verses that I feel shows and gives proof to honoring the life and diginity of the human person...
"Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Genesis 1:26
"God created man in his image; in the diving nimage he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

Please leave your comments and suggestions on his topic and my talk!! :) Greatly Appreciated!!

God Bless,
Ashley :)

I Wanna Loose My Heart

Hey All! :) Man I have been feeling the need to blog more, and I find it fun now that i have the time! haha :)

Thank you everyone who has commented on my previous post, i really appreciate it! Please continue to comment with any ideas you may have! :)

I have been thinking about what all has been happening in my life, and after reading my friend Kami's blog it helped inspire me to write this post.

Being straight forward and flat out..... I WANNA LOOSE MY HEART! Not to some random guy but to Christ! I wanna be totally wrapped up in God, my faith and the church. Living life to the fullest, but living for HIM!

I am continuing to write in my prayer journal, pray more, and dive into scripture which is great. But i am hoping to loose my heart in Christ as I dive deeper! :) :) Oh my goodness i am so excited, I really hope i can do it! Not sure how but I want to! :)

Any suggestions or tips?? Please let me know! :)
God Bless,
Ashley :)

What Happens At YTM?

You meet Amazing young women, who comfort you when you cry, give you advice, pray for you, and love you unconditionally.

You make a lasting friendship. She becomes one of your best friends, your roomate, your prayer buddy, text message-a-holic and so much more!

You goof off all the time!

You aspire to "Be The Church" of Jesus, and Sing it at the TOP OF YOUR LUNGS! :)

You meet people who make you think ;) haha

You hug....LOTS!

You Choose to make your Faith your own.

You pose for pictures even if your face is stained with tears.

You cant help but smile!

You find the courage to sing to your Savior, on stage by yourself.

You meet this young lady, who WILL touch and Change people's lives, for the better :)

You lead morning prayer the day after you get there, and you love it!

You have so many inside jokes, quotes and funny things that were done, too many to include all on this picture!

And this is only pieces of what happens :)

2 weeks+St. Johns University+Theology+Amazing People+Prayer+Service+Friendships=

Priceless :)

God Bless,

Ashley

Look Who Is Romancin' Me!

Hey all! :)

So after a few weeks of not posting much I am back :) and super pumped because I got the Droid smartphone, and can update my blog from my phone :) :) oppss... maybe i should have said that because now i might be held accountable for more updates, if i get the app working.. lol :)

I dont have much time to fully talk about the things that i have been working on in my life, but i will write more in-depth about them in the next upcoming days :) But here are the things that i am working on!
-Loving Myself For Who God Made Me To Be
-Discernment
-Livin' my Single life to the fullest
-More prayer and prayer journaling

Dont worry you will hear more about those in the upcoming days! :) But right now, since i am home from YTM i have been feeling a pull to dive deeper, and make my relationship with God and Jesus a romantic one. As noted by the Title! Haha dont worry there isnt another guy, this is about my amazing creator! :) So i will leave you with this article that i found that really spoke to me and i did pass it on to a few of my close friends who would appreciate this :)
http://www.lifeteen.com/blog/holy-romance-4-ways-you-can-start-your-romance-with-god there is the link for ya! Here is the little excerpt that i loved....

"In the meantime, God wants to romance us. He says in Hosea 2:14, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her.” God has an adventure planned for your single years. If you are not focused on Him, you may miss the opportunity to find His blessings. Here’s 4 ways you can start your romance with God:




1.Every relationship needs communication. If you want to have a healthy relationship with God, start listening to what He wants to tell you through His word. Check out the daily mass readings on LifeTeen.com or use an outline that guides you through the Bible in one year (It’s only 4-6 pages a day).

2.Evaluate your activities and try to find hobbies that bring you closer to God. Writing poetry and keeping a journal can help you release stress in your life. Try writing what you are grateful for and your prayers intentions. In a few months, revisit them and see how God answers you.

3.There are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to date. First, ask yourself what your motives are for dating. Keep an open heart and evaluate if your romantic relationships are drawing you closer or farther away from God. Always pray and discern if God wants the relationship to lead to marriage. Knowing marriage is in the distance future, ask yourself if the relationship is a good idea for your emotional and physical purity.

4.Read books that helps strengthen your faith (ask your YM or CORE for ideas). You can find books at the Life Teen online store or check out Life Teen blogs/podcasts/videos online." This is taken from LifeTeen.com
 
What are your thoughts?
God Bless,
Ashley

When God Has Different Plans

Hey all! :) Sorry for not posting in such a long time, life is CrAzY! I continuiously tell my mom how im hardly home and she seems to agree with me on that one!

So many people have been wanting to hear "The Story", well if you have absolutley no clue what I am talking about, if you are not friends with me on facebook or in "Real Life", sit tight and be ready for story time!

I am a Junior and this year is my first year of throwing Shot Put and Discus! I love it sooo much! I am so happy when i am around all my guy and girl throwers, its so great! Throughout the season our team of throwers becomes very very close. We all really get to know each other, from the freshman all the way to seniors and even our coach Jackie! During this time i was just doing my thing at practice, having fun with everyone else there, and trying my best to excell at throwing. I became close with one freshman boy on the throwing team. We would joke, laugh and talk lots during practice, over facebook, texting, and after practice and we got along really well. I knew he was having problems with his girlfriend at the time and he really needed someone to hear him out about all of it, so I was there. We talked about it lots, and i tried my best to give him as much advice as I could. One saturday night things got really out of hand and he was so down in the dumps. So I facebook messaged him and asked him if he wanted to get out, go talk or something and he asked me to come over and sit outside and talk, so thats what i did. On my way over to his house I just prayed that God would just give me the words. I met his brothers who were hillarious and I was over there for 2 1/2 hours just talking and trying my best to help. When i was about to leave he walked me out to my car and we stood there and talked for awhile. He opened up to me about so many things that i never would have guessed, and he told me about his struggles with Faith and Church. He wanted so badly to get back to where he was with God, and to go back to himself but he didnt know how. While he told me all of this all i could do was look at him and pray for him, pray that God shows him the way, or gives me the words to help. In all honesty I do not remember a lot of what i said to him, the Holy Spirit just controlled my words and told him what God wanted him to hear. It was beyond amazing! We hugged and then i was on my way home. Pretty happy about being able to do God's will with him working through me! When i left i was determined to not become attached to another guy, i wasnt going to attach myself to him, i wasnt going to let myself fall for him, but God had different plans....

We talked continuously for a week or two, his relationship had ended and it was pretty rocky, he needed a friend. I tried my best to be there for him as much as I could, trying to get him through all of this. We spent lots of time together its actually pretty funny! :) We were talking one night and randomly out of the blue he said to me... "Ashley I have to tell you something, but i just dont want it to be ackward or weird since we are friends ya know?" After hearing this i tenativly replied "You can tell me, it wont be wierd. :)" He responded "I kinda like you.... :)" Instantly my jaw dropped and my heart started to race. I told him that there was an attraction but I wasnt 100% sure. We continued to talk and I prayed about the whole thing. After 5pm mass one saturday night, him and his brother invited me over to have a bonfire with them. I went over after having dinner with my best friend and we talked, i met his brother's girlfriend and we all had a good time. Eventually it was time for me to go, he walked me out to my car again, and we continued to talk. We talked about so much, and how he started reading the Bible again, how he feels closer to Christ and how he wants to continue to change for the better. We talked about both of our pasts, how I was afraid of another relationship and how he longed for a relationship built on respect, and centered around Christ, just like I did. Me on the verge of tears felt two arms around me, I fought back the tears and he just sat there with me, telling me it was going to be okay. We continued to talk after I composed myself and it just felt normal and right. That night he asked me to be his girlfriend, i froze. My body started to shake, my heart pounded and all of a sudden, i couldnt do it anymore. My guards went up and the sirens went off, leaving me shocked. He asked me if I was okay. I told him that i just couldnt, i was afraid and all he did was hug me and tell me it was going to be okay. Then i left. Got in my car and started to drive away, on my way home, I cried...

I didnt get much sleep that night but surprisingly i was up and awake, ready for work the next morning. Sitting at work all i could do was think of how he made me feel, how his values lined up with mine, and sooo much more. I finally got up enough guts to write him a letter, explaining-more in depth, what happened with me and how i felt. We corresponded about the email for awhile, he finally knew that my feelings for him were mutual.

We continued to be friends, still talking and knowing the feelings we had for each other. I asked him if his offer for me to be his girlfriend still stood, and he repiled with a wonderful "Absolutley". After lots of praying and talking I made up my mind, and as of Tuesday May 11th we became official!

Whew thats a long story!!!
It has not been the easiest route as you can tell, but it is so worth it!
Billy is absolutley amazing, he respects me, he respects and agrees with my values, We believe in the same things, he is CATHOLIC!-WOOOOHOOO! (all of you know how I have been longing for that), and he is soo much more! :) I am so blessed to have him in my life, beacuse God willed it :)

So there you go! :) Our Story! :)
God Bless,
Ashley

Comments Everywhere!

Hey all!!! :)

I just realized that i left you guys hanging on my depressed note... im sorry!!!!

So today im finally deciding to tackle something that has been bothering me for a while now, so here we go...

So everyone knows that you can comment on someone's blog without having to put your name on it right? Well it seems as though someone comments on my blog without a name every so often, and they arent always the best comments ever.... for example....



2 Comments

Close this window Jump to comment form

Anonymous said...

you should wear heals. (On the post about my snowball dress, and none of the pictures showed my feet, nor did i write that i wore HEELS.--Wierd)

4/20/2010

Anonymous said...

maybe you scare guys away by posting so much about your future husband

There was another comment that this person had written me but i deleted it awhile ago because i didnt want to read it again. Okay so please dont get me wrong, i LOVE when i get comments!!!! Either way, positive, or negative, but at the same time i find myself stumbling over the really negative ones. I love that people read my blog! I really do, i just have to find a way to deal with the comments and critizism i recieve.

Being 16 and different from normal 16 year olds is a definate challenge, but i have seen some rewards, and hoping to see more in the future. I have a hard time dealing with things that society portrays as okay, which is basically the opposite of what the church teaches. People think im wierd, strange, crazy, dumb, and ignorant when it comes to many things, which is tough for me to deal with. I know that people dont agree with who i am and what i do because its not the "normal" or "accepted" thing to do in today's world.

Okay so here are some examples, i am hoping this gives you a picture of where i stand on topics.

Society Says: "Pre-marital sex, and multiple sexual relationships is totally okay."--- Ashley Says: "No. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, given to me by my Lord and Savior. I respect myself as well as my future husband to hold on to and keep my purity until marriage. God made sex for the purpose of pro-creation, not to just be thrown around."


Society Says: "All teenagers go out, get drunk and do drugs, its just part of being a teenager."---- Ashley says: "First of all i am under 21 so im not drinking because its illegal, along with doing drugs. I respect my body and myself not to do such harmful things to it."

Society Says: "Girls need to flaunt their body to get boys" --- Ashley says: "No way! Modesty is the way to go! You dont need a boy oogling over your body, because if thats all he sees, thats all he is going to want. Respect yourself and dress modestly!"


Society Says: "All teenagers grind at dances, weither its clubs or high school dances." --- Ashley says: "No way again! I dont grind because i dont need to use my body to attract a boy. Doing that only provokes temptation, even if you are not having any type of sexual relations, what do you think is going through your head or the person you are grinding on's head? Lust is a sin as well"

Society Says: "All teenagers rebel, thats just a part of growing up."--- Ashley says: "I am not going to sit here and say i am the worlds best daughter because i am definately NOT! But here is the thing, even though my parents and i do argue on occasion, i still respect them and work hard to not disobey them."


Hoping that gives you a sense of who i am to an extent??? :)



So as you can see... Im Different. Thats all there is to it, but ya know... I'm ME! :) So if i can ask please pray for me to overcome the difficulty with annonomyus comments that bother me. :) Thank you all who have commented so wonderfully! I truly appreciate it! Please continue! :)



God Bless,

Ashley



******By the way.... thank you to those who did comment annonomyusly but were so very encouraging and uplifiting! God Bless you!*****
--

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."-Jeremiah 29:11 :)