“I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
In the sum total of your life there will be a simple formula by which you are remembered. It will not be the amount of fun things you did, it will not be the death-defying stunts you did, it will not be the amount of money you made, it will not be the amount of accolades you received, it will not be the nice cars you drove, it will not be the number of touchdowns you scored, …

“Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say ‘how will next year be for me?’ ‘Where will I be five or ten years from now?’ There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day.” – Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey

How many times have you prayed these words? “Dear God, please give me a clear answer.” or “Jesus, I’m begging you to just …

We have a new Feature on LivingGracefully.net – it’s the “Hot Now Weekly Picks”. Each week I’ll pick five to ten hot items from other blogs, podcasts, and the news plus a few updates locally here at LivingGracefully. As of now they will go up on Saturday’s but I’m rethinking my posting schedule so that could change.  – See something “hot” that you think others should know about? – email it to chris@livinggracefully.net

Hot Now – Vol. 1
1. FastforHaiti
You are no doubt aware of the FastforHaiti Campaign that I started in …

I am not as holy as I should be…
I confess. I am a sinner. I have failed in so many ways. I’m not even “living gracefully” as I should – since that is what this whole site is about. I have many struggles and though I have a goal of sainthood for myself and my whole family and I have much ground to gain… My weakness, my pride, my anger, my fear, my doubt, my laziness all get the best of me more often then my virtue overcomes. I’m sure …

Do not be afraid of going to God with your need, do not grow anxious about your needs or your life. Do not despair at trial or tragedy. Rather take it all to God who, in his perfect will, can answer all of our needs, our worries, our fears. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Each week I post a note on Facebook asking for prayer intentions of our readers. I would ask that you consider taking these intentions to prayer and adding them to your list. Together let us seek the grace of God’s loving care for our needs.
Our first intention of course should be for those affected by the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.

We of course pray for those who lost their lives, “Saints of God receive their souls, receive their souls and present them to God.”
We also pray for those who are trapped …

Today I am not going to post a normal blog post. I have three in queue to post but I just feel like perhaps today is a day for silence, prayer, and listening.
Perhaps it is the mourning for the thousands lost and suffering in Haiti, perhaps its feeling as though I’ve created enough online noise for the week with my campaign and posting about campaign on the social web. I’m not quite sure but I just get a sense that today is to be reserved for silence, prayer, listening and …

The earthquake in Haiti has completely devastated the people of that country. We are all moved with compassion for the victims.
I don’t have much to give but I do have a good reach through hundreds of friends online and through this website. So I felt like we should do something to help those in need after the earthquake in Haiti. I set up a cause to raise $5,000 for the relief efforts in Haiti. The funds will go to Catholic Relief Services – one of the largest and most well …

Last week I wrote about being “Receptive” to God’s Grace. Perhaps this is a bit out of order but it seems that in order to be receptive we first have to make ourselves available to God’s Grace.
God’s grace is literally everywhere. In fact you can not escape the reach of God’s grace. “Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there, if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.” Psalm 139:7-8 God’s grace is …

I posted a note on our Facebook page and on Twitter last week asking if anyone needed prayer from the LivingGracefully.net community. If you have an intention to add, please feel free to leave it in the comments section. I ask that others please consider adding these prayers to their list of things to pray for. Together let us call on God’s grace in these situations.
Prayer Requests:

My family really needs prayers as I am a new nurse who has been looking for a job since June. My husband who is …