#blessed and thankful

[momentsbeforemass]

Blessed and thankful

(by request, my homily from Sunday)

How’s it going today? I’m sorry, I meant to say, “Hey, how ya doin’?”

We say it and we hear it a thousand different ways. From a simple “Hello,” to “How’s it going?” “What’s up?” “¿Que pasa?” “How are you?”

And we all have a stock answer.

“Good, how are you doing?” “Fine, thanks for asking.” “Living the dream.”

Pick one. It doesn’t matter. Because none of them are real.

When someone says “how ya doin’?” the last thing they want is a real answer.

We never give them a real answer. Because we know that “how ya doin’?” isn’t a real question.

It’s just how we greet each other. There’s nothing wrong – I’m sorry, actually there is something very wrong with it.

What’s wrong with “how ya doin’?” is what the stock answers teach us. The stock answers – stuff like “fine” and “living the dream” – teach us to not tell people how we’re really doing.

Okay, maybe that’s not a bad idea. Some things don’t need to be publicized. Not everyone needs to know everything about you and your day.

We’ve all got that one friend or relative who doesn’t get it. Who thinks it’s a real question. So we never say “how ya doin’?” to them.

Because we don’t want to spend the next hour and a half hearing about the special shampoo that the vet gave them for the dog’s rash. Complete with a thrilling retelling of the results of their allergy test. In real time.

The problem comes when we internalize the stock answers. When we’ve said them so many times that we start accepting them.

When the stock answers become our answers. And we don’t look any closer at ourselves. We stop paying attention to how we’re doing.

Because we’re - “fine.” Because we’re - “living the dream.”

Which works. Until it doesn’t.

Until there’s enough going on inside us that’s - “not fine,” that we can’t ignore it anymore.

Until we have that moment, where we realize how “not fine” we are. And have no idea how it happened. Or how we got there.

The truth is – when you and I aren’t paying attention to how we’re doing, everything going on inside us doesn’t stop moving. Just because we took our eyes off it.

We’re still taking stuff in. And it’s having an impact on us. It’s just that we’re not paying attention to it. Because we’re - “fine.”

And if we’re not paying attention to what’s going on inside us, we’re leaving the door open for the Enemy to smuggle in all kinds of garbage. Which he will be happy to do.

The thing to know about us is that we only have so much space inside us. Like the bed of an old pickup truck.

No matter how creative you are at packing and stacking, no matter how well you tarp the load and tie it down, at some point that truck literally cannot hold another thing. If you add something to that load, it’s going to push something else off the truck.

If you’re like me, the bed of your truck is full. Pretty much all the time.

Which means that if the Enemy is stuffing garbage in, that’s pushing stuff out, including the good stuff. That is how it happens.

The last time you and I checked the load, it was a mixed bag with some good stuff in it. Stuff we needed.

But it’s been a while since we checked. We haven’t needed to. Because we’ve been - “fine.”

Then something happens. We’re “not fine,” and we can’t ignore it anymore.

We need something good that we used to keep around. Peace. Joy. Patience. Strength. Kindness.

Only when we go look for it in the truck bed, it’s not there when we need it. Because some garbage pushed it out.

What do we do about that? How do we keep that from happening?

I met the woman with the answer years ago. Her name is Thomasa. I can never forget her, because Thomasa is the only person I know who gives a different answer to the question.

If you ask her “how ya doin’?” She always says, “blessed and thankful.”

The first time I heard her say it, I figured it was just her personal stock answer. A Jesus-flavored version of “living the dream.”

But something about it stayed with me. And not just because it was different, but because she was different.

After working with her for a couple of years, I finally asked her about it.

She told me that she heard it in a sermon. About the leper who turned back to thank Jesus (today’s Gospel). That the way keep yourself filled with God’s blessings, is to be thankful for God’s blessings. To start your day with God and with gratitude for all that He has given you, even the smallest things.

That’s good advice. There’s nothing like starting the day by filling yourself with gratitude for God’s blessings to push the garbage out of your truck.

But here’s the genius part. I don’t know if she heard it in the sermon or if she came up with it on her own, but what she did was bring that gratitude into her day. Throughout her day.

Every time someone said to her, “how ya doin’?” She didn’t just say, “blessed and thankful.” She took a moment in her heart to be blessed, by being thankful. By thanking God for something.

She took what wasn’t a real question – and made it into a moment of real thankfulness to God. Pushing the garbage out. By reconnecting with God in the middle of a busy day. Over and over.

That is my challenge to us. Whenever someone says “How’s it going?” “What’s up?” “How are you?” I want us to say, “blessed and thankful.”

But don’t just say the words. Actually mean it, in here. Because what you do in your heart is what really matters.

Whenever someone says, “How’s it going?” “What’s up?” “How are you?” Take a moment to be blessed, by being thankful. In your heart, where it’s just God and you, thank God for something that He’s blessed you with. Let’s try it.

So, “How’s it going?”

[“Blessed and thankful”]

Let’s try that again, “What’s up?”

[“Blessed and thankful”]

One more time, like you mean it, “How ya doin’?”

[“Blessed and thankful”]

Amen.

Sunday’s Readings

#Blessed #Thankful #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #How ya doin #Blessed and thankful #Gratitude #Moments Before Mass

[babythegod]

#happy fathers day #to the realest niggas #I know #me myself &I #Mark my words #we gon ball without you #blessed and thankful #still good #💚 #🐢

[cottagestrawberries]

Before I met my boyfriend I remember seeing a post somewhere between the lines 'one day you are going to wake up with someone, making pancakes together for breakfast and everything will make sense' and it really is like that now and even more actually. I sometimes feel that my life is getting easier as time goes by as if my biggest struggles needed to happen early and after that it only went up.

I'm soo thankful.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

#Life #Wisdom #Struggles #Happy #Happy girl #Lucky girl #Blessed and thankful

[mizgnomer]

Crowley’s hairstyles/looks - down through the ages ...now including Good Omens Season Two

The original Season One post [ x ]

#good omens #david tennant #crowley #ineffable husbands #tennant tuesday #anthony j crowley #thank goodness for the new higher image limit on a post #my old season one post couldn't have been updated to this #go2 #gos2 #good omens spoilers #gos2 spoilers #go2 spoilers #bless david and his willingness to go there #stuff i posted #good omens season 2

[teaboot]

Cannot overstate how much that spongebob scene that went

Somsone: "spongebob you look like a girl"

Spongebob: "am I a pretty girl?"

Like was such a legit game changer for me as a kid

I remember that family and grownups and other kids at school would tell me in a sort of mean-spirited way "you look/sound/act/dress/talk like a boy" and I'd just be like

"Am I a pretty boy?"

There were other unexpected things that came from that long-term I think but that'sprobably where it started being fun

#Turns out I AM a pretty boy #Thank you Mr SquarePants you did me a solid #God bless

[ahollins209]

I asked God for change , and he created humility in me . This year isn't even over yet and it has been one of the most transformative years of my LIFE so far.✨

#God is amazing #Blessed and thankful #dont give up #seasons #career #future marketing and real estate pro

[eyes-of-nine]

hey mq your rival is kinda cute tbh😌👉👈

#aka you can thank tgcf for actually getting me back into drawing #idk how long that will last since my break is ending tomorrow but that's beside the point #fanart #tgcf #tgcf fanart #tian guan ci fu #mxtx tgcf #mxtx #heaven official's blessing #feng xin #nan yang #fengqing #a little bit #my art

[soapbubbles511]

Stede: Is this alright? 🥺👉👈

Ed: 🥹🫠🫠

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd bts #edward teach #stede bonnet #ed/stede #thank you samba for blessing us with that scene #boyfriend 🥹

[ionomycin]

Traveller

#artists on tumblr #at it again with the detailed backgrounds #there's something so relaxing about drawing 49285947 leaves #it seems we've kind of skipped the colorful part of autumn here #went straight from summer hot days to winter depression grey #all of my DMs are on hiatus or travelling so no D&D for a couple of weeks #bless them all on their journeys and forays #i hope every DM is having a good day actually #thank u for your service

[abd-illustrates]

☔ Lixin ☔

More art from this week's video! In which I made a more Genshin Impact OC’s! Second to last – (but certainly not least) – is this sword-wielding meteorologist from Liyue with an electro vision and a 100% chance of running into thunderstorms! ☔

[DO NOT EDIT OR REPOST TO OTHER SITES / ACCOUNTS]   ♻️reblogs are lovely tho!♻️

#artists on tumblr #abd illustrates #genshin impact #fanart #character design #original character #all the comments about him so far have been so hilarious y'all thank u for your very thirsty feedback god bless 🙏

[aunmenosheteroenespanol]

2.12 Chimney Begins - 2.09 Hen Begins - 2.16 Bobby Begins Again - 7.04 Buck, Bothered and Bewildered

Tommy's family arc

#911 #911edit #911 abc #911 show #911 spoilers #911 season 7 #tommy kinard #evan buckley #evan 'buck' buckley #kinley #bucktommy #kinkley #tevan #pick a ship name you guys and thanks for picking tevan the most correct name #anyway analysis time! #looking back with Modern Knowledge tm about why tommy acts the way he does in the past... babygirl you were so closeted I'm so proud #babygirl was back there getting into narnia #he was so resistant to letting go of the pseudo-family he'd found at the 118 in chimney begins #even tho it was a good old boys club that he knew he really didn't fit into he was making himself fit because at least it was something #but then he let chimney in and then hen came around and he saw a very queer person being openly queer and not giving a fuck what they think #and I think his behavior in that episode was trying to support hen as much as he could without outing himself #because like. how do you give up years of relative safety with people who do care about you they just won't like you anymore if you're *you #then he meets buck in s7 which is like 10-20 years later timeline is fake and he's like oh. this is what unconditional family is #and he's like oh. maybe I can come back. maybe I can be part of this again somehow. maybe we've both grown enough #or at the very least he'll be close to something he never believed would really happen for him #rant over tevan my beloved tim minear pillow cold both sides god bless #my edits

[mochipong]

It’s you and me

#thank u kate bush #my art #digital art #digital illustration #procreate #fanart #comic #Hua cheng #xie lian #hualian #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #花城 #谢​怜 #花怜 #天官赐福 #tgcf #tgcf fanart #mxtx

[lilybug-02]

Patience and responsibility....that's a promise....right?

Part 27 First || Previous || Next...

--Full Series--

An exorcism? In my family-friendly Deltarune? It's more likely than you may think. The backgrounds here were very interesting! Much more complex than how I usually do them (especially that computer).

Player POV:

Feral energy.

#Syke! Chara has no idea how to do sh*t with Exorcisms #in a society where it's literally seen as a blessing of some kind. It is seen as unethical! Your hurting the silly little guy :( #Why is Azzy so hesitant with this festival?? #WHAT THE HECK IS THE ANGELS LANDING DAY??? Azzy get over here- #without a soul?.....I dont know any creatures like that....plants maybe? #That is totally a knock off Mario cart and not a png I found online. DO NOT LOOK INTO THIS #Salt!? owo hehehe #I was very iffy on how much light I wanted here. I kept layering the darkness lmaoo. They kept the lights low in case Toriel woke up. #can you spot the everyman? ;) #hmm your not supposed to be able to read the computer....but I may make an update so people can actually see it?? I hate to leave it grainy #but im a little tired so thats maybe for tomorrow! #thank you all again for waiting so long! #deltarune chara timeline #deltarune chara timeline comic #bread #art #my art #chara #asriel #kris #susie

[munchy-k]

hi tumblr peepee can i give u a scrap from my twitter

#tgcf #heaven official's blessing #i WILL repost my own tweets thank u very much #i just want ppl to look at no eye hua cheng

[lemonzestedtea]

if all of xie lian's luck was sealed away so that his followers could get his share of it and hua cheng was his most (and most likely only) devoted believer in those 800 years and he's got really good luck....... do you. do you understand. do you understand what im trying to say here.

#like wow okay amazing #i am now crying over these silly little guys again thanks brain #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #mxtx #mxtx tgcf #san lang #crown prince of xianle

[avephelis]

omg i love transgender leo ninja turtle

#tmnt #tmnt mutant mayhem #tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #leonardo #transfem leo #transmasc leo #trans leo #avepharts #thank you nicolas cantu junky janker for blessing us with acab leo #anyway tmntmm leo is giving me transhet or bi boydyke atm but it's too early to form a proper conclusion