The Lost Series - Bible Study ReCap

Hello - happy Saturday!

I am so excited to be joining Heart of Mary Women's Fellowship's FIRST link up party! #HOMWFhearttoheart Here is the link to the Link up party - grab your cup of coffee :)

If you are visiting from the HOMWF site - HELLO! If you aren't, you should go check them out.

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For the past two weeks I've been studying Luke 15: 1-32 with HOMWF. It's called the Lost series: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (story of the prodigal son).

Though there was so much that I learned, two ideas stood out to me.

Right off the bat, in vs. 2 it says "This man [Jesus] welcomes sinners and eats with them." Just last Sunday we learned from Ezekiel 33 & Matthew 18:15-20 that we too are called to be watchmen of the house, to love everyone, and that we will be the ones held responsible for the sins of others if we didn't attempt to share the Truth with them. It is through meeting sinners where they were at that Jesus was able to love them and convert them. We are called to this same method. With Pope Francis especially, there has been an energized push for a "new evangelization". Namely, it's to meet people where they are at, to love them where they are at, and welcome them home. We aren't supposed to sit on our high horse, soap box, in our wood polished pew pointing fingers and naming names. We're called to go out into the streets, or the store, or the park, or the food bank, or anywhere that they are. We know who they are: it's not everyone that we meet. Rather, it's the people God puts in out path, family or friends or strangers, and through following the prompting of the Spirit, we will be able to evangelize.

The second part that really stood out was the reference verse Luke 19:10. In fact, it stood out to me so much, that I drew it out (what I do as part of my prayer meditation).

Praise be to You, God! For coming after me when I am lost. When I am lost because of doubt, because of sin, because of stubbornness, because of pride. Thank you for searching me out and seeing so much value in me to come after me. 

It is still so impressive to me that God would be willing to seek ME out. Yea, I call my self catholic. Yea, some people would say that I've been found, or saved, or more correctly - being saved. My Shephard comes to seek me out & to save me. I am human. I am a sinner. Even though I say I follow the Catholic faith, I get lost. All. The. Time. Thank goodness, I have a God that runs after me.

But you better believe that He's running after you too! He wants to meet you where you're at. Wherever you are in life, He wants to meet you where you are, hold you, love on you, bring you home, keep you safe. We just have to want to be found.

xo,

GMOs + God

This past summer I had the opportunity to see an online screening of GMOOMG; a movie documentary about the concern of feeding our family and the efforts of the U.S. food industries to save a buck, even if it gives up the integrity of the food they are manufacturing/growing.

As I watched, I was appalled by some of the statements that this documentary was making. I'm still in my research to see how much of it is true. But if any of it is true, U.S. citizens have a lot of worry about what we're shoveling into our bodies.

Here are my tweets about the movie:

• knmarkford Wow!!! #GMOOMG was an amazing, eye-opening documentary. I will be researching more!! See it when it comes out! Be educated. Get educated.
• knmarkford Scientific studies show Breast cancer & human sterilization linked to consuming GMOs. 😔 #gmoomg We are killing ourselves. ???
• knmarkford You have American Cos like Heinz making non-gmo products like Ketchup for other countries but don't offer it here. #whattteheck #gmoomg
• knmarkford RT: JeffLeatherwood Traces of Round-up pesticide are now found in human urine. Maybe the best way to fight cancer is to fight @MonsantoCo #GMOOMG
• knmarkford Oh variety!! We can eat corn from turquoise colored corn seeds too! 😳 #GMOOMG
• knmarkford RT: Diana1968 Food to feed 14billion is produced yet so many starving. Doesn't add up! The US has to stop poisoning us.#GMOOMG
• knmarkford RT: gena382001 When you have to spend $45 million to defeat a bill... you ARE hiding something! #GMOOMG
• knmarkford Over 60 countries require labeling of GMO food (or ban it altogether) #gmoomg NOT THE US! 😳😣
• knmarkford "Whether you believe in creationism or evolution, don't you think we've altered something..." We've changed the dynamic of nature. #gmoomg
• knmarkford "I'm uncomfortable with the patenting of seeds- it like owning life." #gmoomg
• knmarkford RT: RYTPA "The corn we see growing here is a registered pesticide." Scary. #GMOOMG

All my tweeting lead to an interview about my opinions. But what was interesting was that a Jesuit brother was asking for the interview. He wanted to discuss my thoughts on GMO and God. Not just the OMG part of the title but how eating GMOs can or cannot affect our spiritual lives, and the well-being of our bodies in the context of Catholicism. See 1 Cor 6:19.

Here is a link to his notes on our interview. I want to thank Santiago Rodriguez, SJ for the opportunity!

So, have your seen GMOOMG? What were your thoughts?
Even if you haven't, what are your thoughts on GMOs, or GMOs+Religion?

xo,

Mass Journal - Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

Hand drawn by me - available as a digital download on Etsy

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Every week we get the opportunity to hear God's Words to us at Mass. And every week we also get the opportunity to take in, absorb, meditate upon, learn, heal, and grow through these words. Here at The Kristina Project, I'll be transposing my handwritten notes from my Mass Journal. Sometimes there may not be complete sentences or full thoughts. I am literally rewriting what stood out to me in the readings/homily so that I can mediate on them later. 

To learn more about Mass Journaling, click here.

To purchase Mass Journals that I create, visit my Etsy shop. 

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9-7-14 Sunday Mass

Ez 33:7-9; Rom 13:8-10; Matt 18:15-20

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

It's concern of soul, not vanity. The Only reason we exist is to worship God - not to work, play sports, not be be active in the world.

If we harden our hearts there is a wall between us and God. We need to open our hearts and read the Word & share the Word.

Ezekiel was a prophet & a priest. "Appointed watchman of the House" -> typology for priests, bishops, popes - the hierarchy of the Church.

Others may or may not want to hear the truth. But that's ok because we, the sharers of the truth, must share anyways. If we do not share the truth with others then their sins are held against us. 

We do not get to escape the responsibility of evangelization; it's not just for the "hierarchy". This is part of our baptismal call. When we are baptized, we are baptized Priest, Prophet, & King. 

But we must share the truth in love. "Owe nothing to anyone except love." We cannot be pompous when we share the truth. 

Anyone breathing on this planet is loved by God - because He created them - therefore they must be loved by us. 

We correct the wicked & admonish the sinner not because we are above them - WE ARE NOT, WE ARE ALL SINNERS, but because we love them. and have concern for their soul. 

When I finally fully appreciate the love God has for me, then I can go out and love. Mother Teresa was so motivated by the love of God that she was able to see God in every person she met. 

We often harden our hearts because we are challenged to change. Being a Christian is not like joining a country club, it is difficult and painful, causing conflict & division. 

We cannot just say love, love, love. Love is blood, sweat, and tears.  It is a decision. 

We are called to be the watchmen to help those who have fallen away. We want them to live in life. We want them to come home & go home. 

Jesus was constantly in the presence of sinners so that He could love them & convert them. 

Can you bear your heart with us?

Good morning Sisters! It's a beautiful Saturday - I'm sitting here in front of my laptop enjoying my homemade almond milk latte, trying to ignore the plethora of toddler toys glittered on the carpet, jealous of my ministry sisters at a California chapter getting to listen to a Catholic big-wig coming to speak the next couple of hours. The Husband is next to me on his iPhone, absentmindedly skimming through Facebook and IMBD. The baby is finally napping.

This healthy jealousy rouses a question in me - how do we promote a more active, encouraging online community on the HeartofMaryWF.com site?

Since creating the website just a short 32 days ago - it has boomed into an extraordinary life-filled, life-giving ministry. There's so much on there - bible study, devotion, encouragement to participate more fully in our Catholic faith, support to fall more in love with God, artfully beautifully, feminine  smart phone screen savers, Instagram posts - but I feel as though something more is missing. Our sisters are reading (I see the blog statistics growing each day). But what is it?? What's the missing link?

As I Google today, prayerfully going through different search engine entry options, it hits me: We are reading the devotions, but we are not responding to them. We are listening to the devotions, but we are not vocalizing our hearts. We are not utilizing this online community to its potential.

We are a community. An assembly of Sisters. We must encourage one another. We must also be vulnerable. This is a big, big request Sisters. Can you bear your heart with us? Can you encourage your Sisters online? When we read a study or a devotion - we do nothing with it, we benefit nothing from it, if we do not express our hearts and what we learn from it. This could be within the quiet personal writings of a prayer journal. It could be sharing your heart over coffee with a dear friend. But it can also be in an online setting. Your Sisters are going through similar things as you. You can bless them by sharing with them how our amazing, just God is loving on you. You are not alone. We are not alone. Do not stay away from your assembly. We need encouragement from each other.

xo,

A Product Review for #RadiantWithAVEENO

Hi beauty product addicts!

So I wanted to chat a bit about a new program that I just discovered: Influenster.

Now, some of you may be "where have you been? It's been around for awhile now!" but I just recently signed up mid Summer. It is a pretty cool set up: link your social accounts, answer surveys, apply for product samples, get FREE products in the mail, give your opinion, start again!

A couple of weeks ago I qualified for the #RadiantWithAveeno VoxBox (what they call their sample boxes). And I received this!

They sent this product to me based on my answers in some beauty product & body care surveys. I've been using it for several weeks now, based on the instructions on the package. Here are my thoughts...

• I LOVE THE SMELL - it's light and pleasant. It's not perfume-y. Clean. 
• It feels like a light lotion. It must be said that I normally use balms or pure organic coconut oil on my face, so this is going to feel light to me. 
• I didn't notice a difference in color correction.
• It made me break out.

OVERALL SCORE: 2.5 stars. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this product to others if you use more organic or "pure" face care products. My skin is only used to Sanre Skin Food (simple ingredients, you could eat it if you wanted to, but it would probably taste pretty bad) and organic coconut oil. So I think this is why I broke out where I applied this lotion.  

Have you used Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Tone Corrector? What did you think?

xo,