Just Shine On

Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

Christmas.

It’s not just about the tree, tinsel, presents, possibility of snow, a break from school, or the cookies and eggnog. All Christians know that. 

But Christmas isn’t all about Baby Jesus either. 

Now, before you personally arrange for my excommunication, let me explain!

My family has always celebrated Christmas with the main focus around the story of Jesus’ birth.We keep an advent calendar, set up our own Nativity set, make a birthday cake for Him on Christmas Eve, etc. But here’s the thing: we need to celebrate with the bigger picture in mind!!!   Read the rest of this entry »

When reading through Scripture, I’ve always been captivated by the many names, titles, and references to Jesus.

‘Living Word’
‘Anointed One’
‘The Way, the Truth, and the Life’
‘The Alpha and the Omega’
‘Ancient of Days’
‘Redeemer’
‘Author of Salvation’
‘Beginning and the End’
‘First and Last’
‘Tree of Life’
‘Lord of All’
‘Light of the World’
‘Good Shepherd’

The list goes on and on. There are literally hundreds Read the rest of this entry »

“You know how to pray.”

Recently, I was given this humbling compliment from someone I admire a lot. It sounds pretty straight forward, but I wondered how they meant it, and I reflected upon it sporadically throughout the day.  I have no way of knowing exactly what this person did mean, or where they were coming from when it was said. But while it was a positive comment, it sure got me thinking about what I felt I needed to do to improve the way I prayed. I’ll be honest; I should definitely work on not getting distracted during bedtime prayers, or while praying after receiving the Eucharist, and I really should spend more time with my Bible. But while I mentally chastised myself, I experienced an ‘A-HA!’ moment of my own.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brother Philip MacNeil

I met Brother Philip through my parish, during the process of getting our new church building ready for its’ Dedication. He and others from his community Read the rest of this entry »

Pontius Pilate.

During the Lenten season, but especially on Good Friday, I like to reflect on the example he shows us. His character and his personality is so complicated, and the role he plays during Jesus’ trial is almost mystifying.

Here he is, a man of power. In charge of a large piece of Read the rest of this entry »

**NOTE: This post is the second and last of a two-part series. This one is for the guys, but if you’re a girl, I encourage you to read it anyway!
It may help you better understand how a guy of Christ should act.**

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Titus 1. It’s not as popular as it’s female counterpart, but it’s important just the same!

Also, Titus 1 is very Read the rest of this entry »

**NOTE: This post is the first of a two-part series. This one is for the girls, but if you’re a guy, I encourage you to read it anyway!
It may help you better understand how a girl of God should act.**

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The ‘Proverbs 31 girl’…I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term until I joined Twitter’s vast Christian Anon community.

Everywhere I looked, I saw comments such as these from girls:

“I want to be a Proverbs 31 girl!”

“Trying to be the girl I was created to be. #Proverbs31” 

“I thought I was grown up enough, but looks like I have more growing to do. #Proverbs31Girl”

Or comments such as these from the guys: Read the rest of this entry »

Lately, some Twitter content has been a real eye-opener for me. There are so many lies that society tells teens, and the biggest one seems Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve read the story of our Savior’s birth, and about the gifts presented to Him by the Magi countless times.We’ve heard the Christmas carol ‘We Three Kings’ almost as much.

Yet still the three kings intrigue me…and this is why: Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of months ago, I found an article that really bothered me.

So much so, that I couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick it apart. (AKA ‘do something’ in the only way I know how.) It first caught my attention because of the title: “No joke this time: Is the Pope Catholic?”.
If you know me, then you probably know I looked Read the rest of this entry »