Hello everyone and welcome to the thirteenth instalment of my newsletter series called “Write in His Light.” I’m pausing the extensive topic on writing with nature to bring you another special newsletter for Lent. I will return to part 2 of the topic about writing with nature in a short while.
On this second Sunday of Lent, from Mark’s gospel (9:2-10) we heard about Jesus being transfigured before the apostles Peter, James, and John,
“And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them”.
Can you imagine how the apostles must have felt at that moment. The incredible and awesome brilliant light before them. When you scrub and clean a dirty pot it shines. Sweeping away caked on dust from furniture or floors reveals richness and depth to the wood underneath. If we think of this analogy for a moment and apply it to ourselves we will find that the dust and dirt is built up over time forming habits that drive us into darkness. Dirt and dust born from the daily grind and societal influence can harden us and our hearts.
Society and the modern world define and encircle us to such a great extent that we struggle to comprehend what our purpose is in life. In fact our purpose becomes survival in the society drifting us further away from our relationship with God. Hold on and don’t give up yet, there is hope. In order to return to God, to come into His dazzling brightness, we have to get clean by sweeping away some of that dust. It takes time.
So how do we scrape and scrub off that dirt, that darkness, to reveal our former selves, the person that God envisioned us to be, in the image and likeness of Him. Don’t be scared – God knows our faults. The dirt, dust, and darkness is embedded into us from our past, our way of life, influenced and triggered by societal needs and desires. Our life is full of trauma, illness, grief, regret, worry, stress, the list goes on. How do we sweep all of that away? How do we shed, scrape, scrub, and peel away all of that from of our lives without losing all hope in the process? The first step is letting go.
Do you recall about a week or so ago in my previous newsletter number twelve, What Will You Give Up? when I posed a question to you? That question was: What are you planning to give up for Lent? I explained that during lent we give up something as a reminder of how Jesus gave up His life for us. Crucified and died on the cross for us to conquer death and sin. God’s unconditional love for us. Giving up something just for lent is all very well but we risk falling into the same pattern after Easter is done and gone.
When we dwell too much on the past and worry about the future, these thoughts become habit forming. The act of dwelling and worrying gives us something to think about all day long and carries with it the risk of filling our days, bringing us into a deeper darkness. Giving us no time to pray, building our relationship with God, and thanking God for the Graces he gives us. Of course we have beautiful memories of loved ones but dwelling on past trauma, envy, jealousy, or stress, fills our thoughts, hearts, and souls and gives no room for the Holy Spirit to give us life. Of course life brings with it challenges and coping with those challenges gives us courage and strength. However, we need to trust God to guide us away from the darkness and bring us into His light on our journey. Scraping and scrubbing the dark emotions will help you to heal. To give you newness, a rebirth, and to help you find life.
To work towards a permanent solution of scraping and scrubbing we need to let go of our self-reliance. A central message from my newly released book "Finding Life in Forty Days". I talk about scraping and peeling away the old way of life, the self-reliant “You” and trusting God to guide you to the potential fullness in your life. My book will be a blessing to anyone who may be experiencing some form of suffering: like anxiety, worry, stress, illness, grief, pain from failure, rejections, the list goes on. Anyone who has been a victim of bullying, felt the sting and pain from jealousy, envy, greed, and power. These types of suffering are dark shadows that steal our time. All the forms of evil that can destroy your soul.
I was so glad to have met some of you at my recent book launch on the Feb 17 and Feb 18 weekend. It was wonderful to talk about life and share my thoughts with you. If you missed seeing me, my book is also available now via my website or my amazon author page. However, you have a chance to meet me in person for the first of a series of inspirational author talks.
My book is also available now via my website or my amazon author page.
If you know anyone who may be interested in the above event, or someone who is seeking ways to heal in their life, please click the share button below to forward this post to them. Thank-you!
Upcoming Inspirational Author Talk Event
Announcement: The event will occur at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Mississauga, Ontario. on Wednesday March 13, 2024 from 8pm to 9pm EST (Ontario). (This is a special event by invitation only - please contact me by leaving a comment if you wish to attend the event).
Let me know if you want me to cover special topics in my upcoming newsletters.
Final thoughts
Stay tuned! I’m thrilled to tell you God has given me an opportunity to spread His message through Podcasts. Yes my Podcast is coming to a channel near you. More details to follow so keep subscribing to find out how to tune in.
A word about my signature bookmarks. I handcraft them myself. Each bookmark has a significance. My first bookmark reflected a star related my debut foundational book, “A Star in the Distance”, the beginning of the journey.
The heart bookmark is connected to my latest book, "Finding Life in Forty Days". The heart represents our heart and the importance of healing but also the unconditional love Jesus has for us in dying for our sins. Each book will feature a different signature bookmark. Available until supplies last.
You can also find me at My Author website where I will unveil messages of hope as I experienced them.
My books are all available through my author website and My Amazon Author page
I will post on social media and through this newsletter of details for any launches, speaking engagements (upcoming) and author signing events.
If you haven’t already done so, please consider following me on My Goodreads Author page and adding a positive review of my books. It would be most appreciated.
I will also be launching my collection of true inspirational stories in early 2024. I will post on social media and through this newsletter details of the future launch, author signing events, and author talk events on my website.
Stay tuned for more information on that, but you can get a glimpse of one of my recently published stories Agape Magazine "A Wall of Flames"
I invite you to visit my Substack website here:
Stay tuned to my next newsletter (# fourteen) when I will continue with the topic of writing using nature and how to unblock writer’s block.
Let God inspire you in every way!
I will be covering many topics about this in future newsletters or podcast videos, so make sure you keep subscribing, and share with anyone who might be interested, so you do not miss anything.