Saturday July 29, 2023

For you this week:

• Reflection for Saturday: Have fun playing this game with Father God
• Inside the Ministry: Have you tried it yet?
• Last chance to sign up! Faith Muscles Boot Camp starts Monday
• This week’s WordBytes faith-builder: Victory in Your Finances
• This week’s recommended video: How the Virgin Mary Founded Good News Ministries

This week’s Trivia Challenge: What was Moses’ sister’s name? (Check your answer at the end of this newsletter.)

Saturday July 29, 2023
Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus

Exodus 24:3-8
Psalm 50:1-2, 5-6, 14-15
John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072923.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-august-29-2023

Saints Calendar:
gnm.org/saints-find/saints-calendar

The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”
(From Saturday’s Gospel reading, Luke 10:38-42)

Reflection for Saturday:
Have fun playing this game with Father God

One of my favorite activities is to take a walk through the woods. Along the way, I look for interesting shapes in the tree branches. (“Oh, look at that, Abba! It’s wonderful that You made it grow that way.”) I smile at the wildflowers. (“Thank you, Abba! You grew those flowers there for me to enjoy.”) I notice that the clouds are tinged with gold. (“Hahahaha, that cloud is shaped like a fish!”)

Playtime with God is an important kind of prayer. Yet it’s so neglected. When we take time to pray this way, we get in touch with how much he delights in us. And in this, we receive healing. We get re-energized. We grow holier because, while we’re dancing with the Father, we can’t hear the Devil’s temptations.

Abba-Father gives you special treats every day to prove that he is attentive to your every desire, your every thought, your every worry, and all of your prayer requests. For example, imagine that you’re walking down a lane and you see a ray of sunlight shining through the dense trees. This is God giving you something enjoyable to look at, to bless your day, and to remind you that you are connected to him, because he cares about you so much.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how much the Father cares about you. The more your personal relationship with the Holy Spirit grows, the more easily you will become aware that the Father delights in you.

Make sure to have playtime with your Heavenly Daddy: Go outside. Sit down. Look up at the clouds and study them. Imagine that Abba-Father is sitting near you. Play the cloud-image game with him. He designed these clouds. What shapes do you see in them? What do they morph into when the shape slowly changes? Make a fairy tale story with him from what you see.

Next, think of a recent incident when someone got upset with you. What do you imagine Abba-Father would like to say to you that will affirm your goodness and renew your joy?

He’s not going to justify your sins. He’s not going to agree that you’re blameless. He’s not going to condemn the people whom you blame for the problems you’re dealing with. But he does want to build you up so that you can feel good about moving forward in holiness. Put his affirmation into writing. Feel free to imagine him saying what you long to hear him say but you’re not yet sure he is saying. If what you write does not contradict scripture and the teachings of the Church, it’s safe to assume that the Father himself is behind the words that come to you.

And now, here’s a bonus gift that your Divine Daddy wants to give you so that you can hear his affirmation whenever you need it. Download “Love Notes from God” from 30DaysToTheFathersHeart.com/lovenotes.

(This is an excerpt from Day 15 of my book 30 Days to the Father’s Heart.)

Inside the Ministry:
Have you tried it yet?

If you haven’t tried it yet, God says, “Test me in this….” Ralph and I did.

“Bring the whole tithe to me. Test me in this, and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing upon you that you won’t be able to contain it” (Malachi 3:10).

We grow stronger in faith when we walk to the edge of what seems logical and take a leap of faith trusting in the Word of the Lord. If you haven’t done it yet, don’t miss this opportunity!

Ralph and I first tried it many years ago in the early days of our faith journey, and God is still proving that we cannot out-do him in generosity.

Wisdom 12:17 says, “For You show Your might when the perfection of Your power is disbelieved….”

Praise the Lord! He is so good to us!

Read our testimony, “How we learned to overcome our fears” @ wordbytes.org/finances/tithing.

If you haven’t tried it yet, please go now to gnm.org/donate and test the Lord’s generosity by helping to fund Good News Ministries. God provides through those who are willing to trust him.

Last chance to sign up!
Faith Muscles Boot Camp starts Monday

My Faith Muscles Boot Camp contains 21 faith-building spiritual exercises (one per week). Each lesson is a short video with a new spiritual exercise to do throughout the upcoming week.

This Catholic faith boot camp is easy to add into anyone’s life, no matter how busy you are. The videos are short and only once a week, giving you an entire week to put into practice the spiritual exercise that the video explains. Some of them you might already be doing!

Beginning July 31, each Monday I’ll send an email with the next video.

For more info and to register, visit gnm.org/bootcamp.

This week’s recommended faith-builder:
WordBytes on victory in your finances

Bogged down by financial worries? God wants you to be free of all anxieties about your finances. Learn how to handle money with the wisdom of God, and put an end to your worries.

For more on this, visit wordbytes.org/finances.

WordBytes is a library of Catholic faith-building articles by Good News Ministries. Come on in and explore! Visit WordBytes.org today.

This week’s recommended video:
How the Virgin Mary Founded Good News Ministries

Good News Ministries of Tampa Bay was founded in 1995 because of a challenging message and a visitation by the Virgin Mary. Listen to the story of how Ralph and I unexpectedly moved to Florida only to discover that the Blessed Mother was answering someone else’s prayers.

This video is a short excerpt from Michael Snellen’s podcast episode for Catholicism for the Modern World. We discussed The Victorious Life and Vitalizing the Body of Christ; the full interview is included below the excerpt.

Visit gnm-media.org/how-the-virgin-mary-founded-good-news-ministries.

Sign up for early access to videos. New episodes of the podcast show Footsteps to Heaven are published before this newsletter goes out. You can be notified as soon as new ones are published! Subscribe at gnm-media.org.

Answer to this week’s Trivia Challenge:
What was Moses’ sister’s name? Miriam.

God bless you!

Every morning, I lift up in prayer everyone who helps Good News Ministries in any way (donors, volunteers, prayer supporters, etc.) and all the prayer requests posted on our site. What can I cover in prayer for you? Post your prayer request.

How else can the team and I serve you today? Visit our homepage.

Thank you for reading this newsletter.

Your servant in Christ,
Terry Modica, Executive Director
Good News Ministries
gnm.org

Find this and past issues at gnm.org/newsletter. Please share what will minister to others.