Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Trusting in God can be a challenge. I know, I’m living proof! I’ve been struggling with living up to a vow that I made to God to allow Him to do with me as He pleases. As I retired from a career in banking, back in 2011, to pursue education and work related to evangelization, I gave my life to God. Yet, the bills need to be paid. So how does one ascertain how to live up to the vow and pay the bills? During Lent, I sought solace to this conundrum in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For my penance, the priest asked me to read anything from the Gospel of Luke. Since we were near Holy Week, I thought I would read the Passion Narrative. My Challenge to Trusting in God Before I started to read, I chatted with God, letting Him know that I was having difficulty ascertaining His will for me. How am I supposed to know for certain that I am pursuing my career path in accordance with His will? I struggle in knowing that what I do each day is what He wants from me, given the challenges that...

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD) can present many challenges in completing one's education, holding down a job and maintaining personal relationships. I would know because in the course of my life with ADHD I've struggled in each area.  Although I remained undiagnosed until my early thirties, I am happy to share it is not too late to identify those challenges and make the necessary challenges to not only cope but succeed. My strategy has been to tackle one at a time. This required being brutally honest with myself, seeking the counsel of a trusted friend, and conducting lots of research to formulate a plan for change.  Most importantly, it required a humbling of myself and instead of continuing to blame God for my circumstance, to trust He had a plan for my good in allowing ADHD in my life. Excuse Me Are You Listening? Building meaningful personal relationships can be incredibly difficult when you are so stimulated by your surrounding enviro...

The Call to Follow  In August, 2014, Pope Francis resumed his catechesis on the Church, during his first General Audience since June. He focused his teaching on how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament by giving a new teaching on mercy in the beatitudes. Key Points: 1.)“John points to Jesus and calls us to follow him in repentance and conversion. The new law which Jesus gives in the Sermon on the Mount perfects the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai.” In the Sermon on the Mount we are introduced to The Golden Rule – “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” (NRSV- Catholic Ed). What I find particularly appealing about this translation is the first two words – IN EVERYTHING. Read more of this blog and the rest of the WorthRevisit linkup.... All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2017

When a BOOK is a Blessing My son does not know if he wants to be Catholic. In fact he is not even sure if he even believes in God. When the subject comes up between us, my response, quite frankly is usually terse and accompanied with a tone much louder and more frustration filled than I intend it to be.  The result from the pain in my heart hearing his words which cut much deeper than he intends them to. I blame myself for his faith struggle, wondering what I could have done better or differently, and if it is now too late to make a difference.  Yet the truth remains despite my greatest efforts, or at least my best attempts at a greatest effort, my son is not sure where he stands with the faith that I love so very much. For the Remaining 9 LIFE CHANGING lessons... CLICK HERE !  All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras, 2016

" If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking ." James 1:5   Where I lack the greatest wisdom without a doubt is in discerning the Will of God. There are several factors that block my clearly hearing God speak in my life - primarily my own voice and will are often drowning out God's voice. A very anxious person by nature - I erroneously believe the more of my life I control; the better my life will be. I seem to have this crazy notion that I know better than the creator of the universe what is needed for me to be happy.   God is not in the happiness business - he is in the holiness business.  Paradoxical however,  the more I order my life to holiness - the truly happier I will be. Not the fading worldly happy but a much deeper, "it can't be taken away from you" joy! His ways are always 'different and higher' (Isaiah 55) from any ideas I may hold onto.   I see tomorrow, and the next d...

In my day, if I wanted to increase my tennis prowess, I would watch Chris Evert Lloyd’s moves on the court. When my mother cut my hair in the iconic ‘Dorothy Hamill’ pixie , my whole world revolved around the dream of being an Olympic skater. I watched her every skating competition, eager to pick up even the tiniest trick to hone my skills. For the record, my moves were ample for the make-believe Pond Capades but never truly worthy of the hairdo. Here is a sampling of what I have to learn from Jesus Expert, Mary ...   SEE them here All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

Our money problems did not start overnight.  They built overtime.  Every decision held a consequence, yet we were blissfully unaware as we spent and then after the debt had built, we continued to be blissfully unwilling to change - and consciously choose to ignore it ( Problem #1 ). To figure out where we are going, first we need to look at how we got here.  Kevin and I met when we were in high school and began dating his freshmen year in college (my junior year of high school).  We were married 5 years later, while I was still in college.  We were 21 and 23, and absolutely clueless on how to manage finances ( Problem #2 ).  I had embraced the 1980's with great zeal -- amassing over 15 credit cards (mostly of the store variety) by time I was 20 years old ( Problem #3 ).   Kevin was unaware of most of them ( Problem #4 ).  We were both hard workers but underemployed ( Problem #5 ).   So what now? Where do we start to reclaim our l...

 Every now and then I am given the opportunity to see life through a different lens. I have experienced some difficult and even scary circumstances that have compelled me to view life differently. These times challenge my faith, present me with a different perspective and allow me to draw closer to God. There have been tragedies among family members and dear friends, my own miscarriage, and health scares with my children, just to name a few. I think the scariest time of waiting as a mom, was four years ago. We were told that our newborn had a hole in her heart. (This actually was rivaled by some scares with our first daughter years ago, when we had a lymph node removed to see what it was. Thankfully it was nothing, but that waiting was hard.) Back to four years ago when we needed to wait to follow up with a cardiologist when the baby was two weeks old. The hospital could tell us nothing else. We left with complete uncertainty and had no choice but to wait and pray. To view wh...

Wednesday, August 6, marks the official launch of Trusting God with St. Therese . So far, I have mostly marketed it to my friends and followers on social media, giving you the first look at this important project. Everyone who has bought the book in either format by noon on August 5, or who has helped me with an endorsement or review, is invited to my exclusive launch party. Family members who received a free copy are also welcome. I’d love to celebrate with you in person, but since we are scattered all over the country, I’ve chosen to host a virtual party. I will be hosting a Google Hangout from 8-9 PM Central Time. What’s a Google+ Hangout, you ask? It’s Google’s video chat service. I will be talking with you live via my computer. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be on camera! You can even attend in your pj’s. You can submit questions to me ahead of time or during the Hangout itself. I will answer as many as I can. Do you have questions about any part of my book? D...

How is your spiritual life going? Are you feeling frustrated with yourself? Are you distraught over your lack of progress? Do you keep falling into the same sins repeatedly? Welcome to the human race! No, I’m not trying to dismiss your concerns flippantly. Sometimes we just need a reminder that we are, after all, fallen. Adam’s sin affects us all. But here’s something you may not have realized: Your sins do not shock God! God is used to sinners. He has centuries of experience with them. He even came down from Heaven to live among them. Then people criticized Him for eating with sinners instead of the “righteous.” Yes, He loved to hang out with people like you and me. God delights in showing mercy. He delights in lifting our burdens. He delights in carrying our yoke with us, comforting our sorrows, calming our fears. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

This is my family (plus two friends) on June 10, 1974. I’m the one with the braids in the front. Terri is behind me next to our mom. Here is how our car looked thirty minutes later. Today is the fortieth anniversary of one of the saddest events in my life so far. On June 10, 1974, our family was driving to the annual Catholic Charismatic Conference at the University of Notre Dame. We began our journey in Spokane, Washington, where we had spent a weekend on retreat. Just outside Missoula, Montana, the car rolled over three times, landing in the median of the freeway. I was in the back with the seat down and no seat belt. So were two of my siblings and two friends. I ended up with stitches in my leg and a bump on my head. My sister Terri, who had been sitting next to me, was thrown from the car and died. She was ten years old. Why did God let this happen? Didn’t He know where we had come from and where we were going? Hadn’t He heard Terri’s voice, when...

Self Portrait with a Friend by Rafael. In the middle of Lent, I received an email from a new reader I’ll call Jill. Jill shared with me her years of darkness in her personal and spiritual life. My heart went out to her. I wanted to do something for her, more than just writing an encouraging answer. So I thought about it and prayed about it. Then I had an insight. Here, in part, is how I replied: “I explore these questions [about God and suffering] a lot in my book. I will give you a brief version here. Rabbi Kushner, writing in When Bad Things Happen to Good People, said that we shouldn’t ask why when we suffer. Instead, we should ask, What now? How am I to react? Finding meaning in our suffering “Similarly, Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning wrote, “Suffering ceases to be suffering in some way in the moment that it finds a meaning.” He found that in the concentration camp, those who were able to survive and be psychologically...