Join host Mari Wagner in the first episode of 2025 on the Ever Be Podcast. On this New Year's Day episode, Mari shares practical and actionable steps to grow in your faith this year. She discusses the importance of daily prayer, frequenting the sacraments, and making Jesus the priority in your life. Mari also dives into the power of intentional investment in your relationship with God and provides a wealth of resources for various spiritual focuses, including Marian consecration, healing retreats, and Eucharistic devotion. Whether you are a newcomer or a longtime follower, this episode is designed to help you kickstart your faith journey for the year ahead.

Spiritual Recommendations & Resources:

Rosary in a Year - Learn more, listen, and download the free Rosary in a Year prayer plan at https://ascensionpress.com/MariRIY

JP2 Healing Retreats - https://jpiihealingcenter.org/events/

Book Recommendations

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Episode Sponsors

Ascension Press Rosary in a Year - Learn more, listen, and download the free Rosary in a Year prayer plan at https://ascensionpress.com/MariRIY

West Coast Catholic - westcoastcatholic.co

Non-tox Swaps - DM me "SWAPS" on IG to get my Free Essential Non-tox Swaps Guide

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Mentioned in this episode:

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Hey, I'm your host, Mari Wagner,

and you're listening to the ever be

2

podcast where faith meets lifestyle.

3

I'm so excited you're here, whether you're

a new listener or a longtime follower,

4

I know there's something here for you.

5

Pull up a chair and listen in for

insightful real life conversations

6

and actionable steps on how to claim

the full life God created you for.

7

If you're a woman desiring to live

a Christ centered life in today's

8

modern world, then this is for you.

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Welcome to Ever Be.

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Mari Wagner: Welcome back, everybody.

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It is a brand new year.

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Happy new year.

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It is January 1st, 2025, and it could

not be more perfect that our first ever

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bee episode of 2025 fell on January 1st.

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first because I love a new start.

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I love the start of a new year.

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I love New Year's resolutions

and goals and everything.

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And it just feels like an excuse to

just completely like reset my life,

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which I feel like I need often.

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I don't know about you, but I

constantly need like a kick in the butt.

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I need a refresher.

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Um, I need a fresh start.

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And so I love the beginning of January.

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It's also my birthday

on, uh, Uh, January 5th.

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And so that's coming up.

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So the first week of the year is always

just like really fun and refreshing.

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Um, and I am just very excited about it.

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I hope you guys are too.

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And if your goal this year is to

grow in your faith, build a stronger

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relationship with Jesus and just live

a really bold Catholic life, if you

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have been waiting to do that, let this

be your opportunity, your fresh start.

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Let this be your year that you actually

take your faith into your hands and live

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it out on afraid and boldly and let Jesus

be the root and the center of your life.

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Trust me, if you do that,

you're going to see an.

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Outpouring of graces like never before.

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And I am excited to walk with

you and to be by your side as

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you walk through the journey.

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So I am pumped about this episode

because it is such a Mari episode.

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It is going to be like, to the point,

practical ways to actually make this

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the year that you grow in your faith.

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I'm going to give you like a step

by step blueprint to really focus

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on your faith, make it a priority.

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And I'm going to give you different

resources that you can tap into to

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help you depending on what your goal

is in your faith, and the whole theme

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of it is really about investment.

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I want this to be the year that

you really invest in your faith.

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It's not just about time spent.

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And it's about time, energy.

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Attention, devotion, love invested

in what's going to give you the

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biggest return of your life.

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And I want you to think about

what do you normally invest in?

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What are you currently investing in?

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What did you invest in

over the past years?

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Because I feel like when we hear

that word investment, we often think

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we often think of money, right?

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Like we often think of how are

we investing money wisely so

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that we get a greater return,

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we can also invest with

our time and attention.

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And the things that we pour into

shape who we are and what we value.

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And so the question I always ask is if

somebody were to look at your calendar

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or your planner or your to do list, would

they be able to know that God is the

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priority and the center of your life?

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Because whatever we write down in

those Organizational systems, right, is

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what we deem to be the most important

things in our life that we cannot miss.

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So if somebody were to look at those in

your life, would they be able to tell that

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God is a priority and center of your life?

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If the answer is no, then

things need to change.

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And that's where I come in and I

am going to walk with you to make

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sure that this year is going to

be fruitful and faithful for you.

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So the question is, are you investing in

things that will deepen your relationship

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with God and lead you closer to him and

actually making those things happen?

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a priority, not just something that

you can get around to once you're done

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with what's already on your plate.

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Cause I think that's what

often happens with our faith.

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It gets pushed to the back burner.

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And so this year I want to

encourage you to make it different.

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I want to walk with you in making

intentional investments in your faith that

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will bear eternal fruit because investing

is all about getting a return, right?

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And when you invest in your faith,

when you invest in prayer, when you

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invest in God's promises, he has

made you, your return is eternal.

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Your return is heaven, eternal

life in communion with God.

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And nothing is more important to invest in

this year than your relationship with God.

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with Jesus, not a new health diet, not

a workout plan, not financial goals.

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All of these are great and are good.

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Don't get me wrong, but none should

take priority over investing in

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your relationship with Jesus.

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And I'm just going to

be honest with you here.

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I want to have an honest moment.

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I have struggled a lot in my

faith in the past six months.

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So I am 100%.

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on this journey with you.

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I am ready to reignite my prayer

life and strengthen my faith and draw

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closer in my relationship with Jesus.

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So I'm speaking to myself just as

much as I'm speaking to you here.

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And the reality is that faith is not a.

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Continual uptick up the mountain,

there are hills and there are valleys,

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there are slumps, and I had just went

through one and maybe you're at your

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peak, maybe you just went through a

slump as well, maybe you just feel like

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you've been in this eternal valley, you

know, just like kind of plateaued, kind

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of just nothingness for a while, um,

and so it's, I just want to tell you

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that it's like, it's normal and it's

understandable to be in different places.

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Um, and what this is going to look

like for each person is gonna vary

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depending on where you're at in

your faith life, but wherever you're

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at in your faith life, it's okay.

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And I just like really want to reiterate

that I am with you on the journey.

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Um, I know it can be really easy

to look at people that we really

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look up to in different things.

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And I know for me, I talk

about the faith a lot.

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I talk about the faith with, um, a lot

of knowledge and authority and experience

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that I've brought in over the years.

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And I know that sometimes, People and

they've said it to me before like people

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will look at my account or hear my podcast

or just like kind of Get to know me and

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be Intimidated by my quote unquote like

level of faith that i'm at but I just

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want to dispel that lie that like i'm

like not ahead of anybody else and I

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struggle as well in the past six months

have really, um really been difficult

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for me in my faith for just various

different reasons and i've just been

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on a journey of just like battling and

like just You trying to fight to keep,

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um, to keep my trust in the Lord and to

keep my prayer life up in the midst of

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just hardship when it is hard to pray.

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Um, and so I am so ready

to reignite my prayer life.

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I hope you hear it in my voice and

I'm here to encourage you as well.

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So, like I said, it's going to

look different for each person,

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um, depending on where you're at.

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Um, but I'm going to walk

through different scenarios.

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And so throughout this episode,

you just need to worry about like

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reflecting on your life and kind of

picking out the pieces you feel like

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really aligned with where you're at.

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Not everything is going to apply to you.

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And I don't recommend you to

try and apply everything to

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you, especially not right away.

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So, for example.

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If you are just now rediscovering

your faith or discovering it for the

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first time, or you feel like you're

new in this journey, what you'll want

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to focus on is going to be different

than someone who has really been

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devout and committed to their faith for

years, and maybe already has certain

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prayer habits and spiritual practices

built up in their daily routines.

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However, only you can decide

what you truly need and what God

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is asking of you right now in

this season of your faith life.

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And if you are newer to the faith and

you hear something that might seem

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like kind of out there, but you feel

like the Lord is like challenging

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you to go for it, like go for it.

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Like I'm not going to stop you and I'm

not going to tell anybody what they

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should or shouldn't do in their faith.

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That's for you and the Lord to discern.

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So let's spend some time reflecting.

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First, I want you to take time to pray

and reflect on what your faith life

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looks like right now, what it's looked

like the past six months, the past year.

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Um, and specifically, I want

you to focus on what your

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relationship with Jesus looks like.

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I think a lot of the times when we get

asked the question of how is your faith,

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we kind of just jumped to the check box.

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Um, method of like, Oh yeah,

have I gone to church lately?

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Do I pray?

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Like you just kind of think of like,

what are the things that I actively

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do to participate in my faith?

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And we think a lot less about

our relationship with Jesus.

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But what's actually most important is

our relationship with Jesus, because

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from that relationship is going to

flow a natural desire and pull to

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practice our faith in different ways.

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And in the end, I mean, you should

obviously be going to mass, but

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in the end, going to mass every

Sunday and not having a relationship

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with Jesus is not really actually

going to advance your faith.

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It's not actually going to

push you to know Jesus more.

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Um, so I really want you to focus on

what is your relationship with Jesus?

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Jesus look like?

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Answer that question.

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How do you feel about him?

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Who is he to you right now?

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And what role does he play

in your life right now?

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If you're driving or doing something

in your house, just reflect on this.

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But if you have a second to like

grab a journal and write down and

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just kind of reflect together right

now, highly encourage you to do that.

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Um, And think about also what spiritual

practices or prayer routines you

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already have in place, or that you

maybe you've had in place in the

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past year, but maybe lost those.

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Um, basically like, where is

your relationship with Jesus?

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What practices you already

have in your spiritual life?

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And what have you seen the most fruit

from in your faith life in the past?

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Now you might need to pause the episode

at this point to like fully reflect

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on that, um, but I'm not just gonna

leave like 10 minutes of silence.

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So we're gonna keep going.

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Um, so now I want you to close your

eyes and imagine what you hope your

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relationship with Jesus looks like now.

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This year.

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Now we're going to look

into the future, right?

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We're going to look into the

coming year and what you hope and

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desire your faith to look like.

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What does it feel like?

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What does it look like?

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What is your relationship with Jesus?

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Like, how does it differ from

what it's like right now?

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What are you allowing him to be a part of?

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What is he wanting to heal

in your life this year?

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And where is he leading you to?

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These are all really good things to

reflect on for the future and they're

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going to kind of drive how we approach

our faith this year and our faith journey.

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to pause right now as well if

you want to spend time reflecting

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on these specific questions.

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All right, so with a plan has to come

practical steps to achieve that plan.

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Number one thing I want you to focus

on is building a daily prayer life.

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If we don't spend time with somebody,

we will never get to know them.

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And the same goes for Jesus.

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He's not this imaginary

friend or this elusive figure.

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He is a real person and you can

have a relationship with him

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and that just takes investment.

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It takes time invested every day

and it happens through prayer.

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Prayer is this vessel that we are

given to be in relationship with

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Jesus, to share life with Jesus.

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So what your prayer routine looks

like is up to you, but I highly

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recommend that you do this.

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And I urge you to include at

least 15 minutes of mental

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prayer into your prayer routine.

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What I always recommend is that you

work towards 30 minutes of prayer a day.

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If you can work up to 45, 60 minutes,

60 minutes is my personal goal a

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day, but we want to start small.

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If this is something we've never

done, which is why I say at least

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15 minutes of mental prayer.

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And if you want to do anything else

and maybe add in scripture or a

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rosary or a devotional, add that

on top of the 15 minutes, right?

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And that'll usually get

you to the 30 minutes.

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So what is mental prayer?

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Mental prayer is often called

contemplative prayer, and it's a form of

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interior silent prayer where we engage

our hearts and our minds deeply with God.

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It's less about speaking and saying

certain words, you know, and it's

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more about listening, reflecting,

and just like being in his presence.

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And in mental prayer, we're moving

beyond reciting words, um, and

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we're moving towards meditating

on God's truth, his love.

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Maybe a specific scripture

passage, maybe it's meditating

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on his face on the Eucharist.

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It's more like having a heart to

heart conversation with a close

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friend where you share your thoughts,

you listen to his voice, and then

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you grow in intimacy with him.

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Because in this silence, in this sharing

of hearts, you're gonna grow in intimacy.

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And St.

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Teresa of Avila, she was a prayer

warrior of a saint and she described

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mental prayer so beautifully.

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She said, mental prayer is nothing else

than an intimate sharing between friends.

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It means taking time frequently to be

alone with him who we know loves us.

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So this prayer, this mental prayer

leads us to contemplation where

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we rest quietly in God's presence,

just allowing him to transform us

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from within, from the inside out.

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And truly it's a practice of stillness

and I'll say it takes practice to

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get used to it because we're not

often used to stillness in silence.

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Um, and I think in prayer we

try to often like feel this.

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base with words or things to do.

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So this is a practice of stillness of

trust and surrender that will really

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deepen your relationship with God and

help you align your will to his, because

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when you're spending more time in prayer,

just uniting your heart to his, your will

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is going to naturally align to his will.

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Next is frequent the sacraments.

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Notice how these things aren't new.

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If you've been listening to the ever

be podcast in the past or followed any

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of my content ever, these are two basic

things that I've continually talked

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about, but they're not going to change

because they're the most important.

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So frequent the sacraments, this is

mass Eucharistic adoration confession.

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These are avenues of supernatural grace.

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What is supernatural grace?

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Supernatural grace is a theological term

that refers to the free and unmerited

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gift of God's divine life and love.

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And it's just like gift.

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It's just like grace, I don't know

another word to describe it, but

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like grace, it elevates and it just

transforms our humanness and enable

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us and enables us to do what God's

calling us to do, to share in his

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divine nature, um, and to sanctify us.

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So there's like a difference between

natural and supernatural, right?

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As human beings, we have natural

abilities, like intellect and free will,

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that will allow us to live, think, and

make moral choices with our, you know,

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with our intellect and our free will,

and these are part of our created nature.

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Now, supernatural grace goes beyond

what our natural human capacities allow.

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It's a gift from God that allows us to

do things that we could never achieve

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on our own, such as living a holy life.

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Being a saint is hard, and we

literally can't do that alone.

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And we need grace to live a holy life,

to become saints, to overcome sin

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and to share in God's divine life.

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Grace is basically allowing us

to share in God's divine life.

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It does not make us God,

but it makes us like God.

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And the

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sacraments are avenues to receive grace.

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Grace, so sanctifying grace, for example,

is this grace that dwells within our souls

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that makes us holy and pleasing to God.

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And we receive this through

the sacraments, especially.

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When we receive the Lord in Eucharist,

and it remains in us as long as we

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are not in a state of mortal sin.

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Which leads us back to

the sacraments, right?

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We receive this grace in

the mass, in the Eucharist.

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Um, at the beginning in our

baptism, we are flooded with grace.

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Um, but naturally we are

human and so we do sin.

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And so we need to go back to the sacrament

of confession to give us sanctifying

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grace, to cleanse us of our sins.

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Another type of grace is actual grace

and these are temporary interventions

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by God that help us act according

to how he wills us to in specific

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situations like resisting temptation

or doing good or overcoming a fear.

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An example that I give is last year I

gave a Sikh talk at a breakout session

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and it was my first time speaking at Sikh

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Time of my life leading up to that, the

last three months of the year, right

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before January are the most busy times

of the year for a small business owner.

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And on top of that, we traveled for

both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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And my best friend got married

the day before Sikh started.

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And so I was freaking out about

this talk that I had to do.

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Honestly, um, and I did not

think it was going to go well.

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I literally was like, I

have no time to prepare.

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I had to rely so much on the Holy spirit

and I continually asked for God's grace.

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I was like, Lord, I literally

don't have the human capacity to do

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everything I'm being called to do

right now as a wife, as a daughter, as

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a sister, as a friend, to be present

in all of these roles in my life.

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And I prayed so much that the Lord

would fill me with grace that I

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would get on there and I would

like, just be able to perform well.

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And I promise you, it

was absolutely grace.

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It was one of the.

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Peak moments of my life.

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That talk went incredibly well.

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And I remember getting off the stage and

feeling like I was called to do that.

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Like I was meant to be there.

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Everything flowed smoothly.

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I literally had pretty much

the whole talk memorized.

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I had no nervousness or stage

fright or anything at all when I

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was on the stage and the room was

flooded at 7am in the morning.

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Like Over 700 people

were, were there at 7 a.

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m.

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The room had to be cut off because

they couldn't fit any more people.

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And this is just an example

of like grace, right?

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Like I didn't feel like I had

the human capacity to do what

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God was calling me to do.

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And I had to rely on God to give

me the gift of grace to be able to

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do what he was calling me to do.

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And the beautiful thing about

grace is that it is a free gift.

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Grace is completely

unearned and unmerited.

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It is a gift of God's infinite

love for us and generosity.

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It's not something that we

earn through good deeds.

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It's not just something that because

we go to mass, because we check

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the box, then he gives us grace.

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It's not conditional based

off of our performance.

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It's a gift that he gives us in

our life, but especially through

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the sacraments, there is just an.

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overflow of grace because Jesus's true

presence is there in the sacraments.

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So these are your two strong

foundations to build off of.

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These are the two things to keep

consistent throughout your journey,

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prayer and the sacraments, daily prayer

and frequenting the sacraments, and the

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two things that are going to continue to

pour into your soul when things get hard,

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because they will, when you lose momentum

or zeal, because that just happens.

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Don't be fooled that you're going

to be on this high the entire year

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because like, this is your year to

grow in your faith, no, we're going to

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have ups and downs of course, um, but

prayer and the sacraments are like your

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bread and butter, no actually they're

like your protein, like everything.

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is about protein these days, right?

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So protein is what builds our muscles.

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It's what gives us energy and it's

nutritious and prayer and the sacraments

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is going to be like your protein.

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You need it to be

healthy and to be strong.

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Okay.

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Next I want you to pick a focus.

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Okay.

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Let's pick a focus for how we're

going to grow in our faith.

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What might God be asking you to

grow in this year specifically.

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You are the one picking here,

but if you take it to prayer,

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God might give you a nudge.

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He might lead you towards something

in particular, um, and kind of

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lead you to a certain place.

359

So your focus, is it going to be growing

in knowledge of teachings of the church?

360

Is it going to be growing

in relationship with Mary?

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Is it going to be healing from emotional

and spiritual wounds you might be carrying

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from your childhood or past relationships?

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Is it going to be growing

in devotion to Jesus?

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In the Eucharist.

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These are just examples.

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You don't have to pick from these.

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You can pick whatever it is you feel

like your heart is pulling you towards,

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but these are just a few examples of

things that you can pick from and picking

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a focus will help you stay intentional

and grounded throughout the year.

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And it gives you a clear direction

for your spiritual journey

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and your spiritual growth.

372

And it helps you prioritize what

matters most in your journey with God.

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And by having a focus, you

can set meaningful goals.

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You can choose resources that

align with that specific area, and

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then you can measure how God is

working in your life over time.

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Now, I just want to remind you, it's

not about doing everything perfectly,

377

but about taking intentional steps

towards the growth God is calling you to.

378

And I just want to like give a little

caveat here because some people might

379

push back and might disagree with me

and say that faith isn't supposed to

380

be structured or planned or scheduled.

381

And some people might not like this

approach, but here's what I have to

382

say to that, if we just practiced our

faith or took time to pray, when we felt

383

like it, we wouldn't do it very often.

384

Unless you are already holy and a saint.

385

Like sure it would be a more natural

spur of the moment Heartfelt intention

386

if you did that but what kind of fruit

would that actually bear like I think

387

about it like a marriage sometimes

because In the end, that's what

388

eternity with God truly is, right?

389

In heaven, we are married to God.

390

He is our spouse.

391

Um, and on earth, we are

preparing for heaven.

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We are preparing for our heavenly spouse.

393

So in a marriage, what if we said

you should only serve your spouse?

394

You should only be

intentional with your spouse.

395

You should only be loving with

your spouse when you felt like it.

396

Just when you felt like it

because that's more authentic and

397

because it came more naturally.

398

Honestly, a marriage like

that is not going to thrive.

399

Because the early stages of a relationship

or the early stages of marriage

400

is There's all these butterflies.

401

There's this honeymoon phase.

402

Um, and there's just this like natural

desire to, um, be loving and to do things

403

for your spouse and to greatly sacrifice.

404

But as time goes on, the

reality is that that wears off.

405

And it doesn't mean that your love

wears off, but it means you actually

406

have to choose that person more

than just when it feels like lovey

407

dovey and wonderful and beautiful.

408

So compare that to someone who works hard

every day to invest in their marriage,

409

even when they don't feel like it, when

it's the harder decision to choose your

410

spouse, to get up off the couch and serve

them, to make time with them a priority

411

in your schedule, to date your spouse,

to reflect on yourself and how you can

412

grow to be a better wife or husband,

to prioritize their needs over yours.

413

That's true love.

414

And imagine the fruits of a marriage

like that, continual investment, daily

415

investment, even when it doesn't feel

natural, even when it doesn't feel good.

416

If we do that for our spouses, if we

strive to do that for our marriages,

417

why are we not doing it for the Lord?

418

Why are we just saying that we can

only go to the Lord when it feels nice?

419

Like life is hard.

420

It doesn't feel nice a lot

of the time, and I'm just

421

going to be honest about that.

422

And so I want us to apply the same

concept to our faith, because like I

423

said, it is a relationship with Jesus, and

relationships take work and investment.

424

So if you show up to your faith

life, even when it doesn't feel

425

like it's the thing that you want

to do in that moment, that is love.

426

And that goes a much longer way than

just showing up when you feel like it.

427

And I'll say another thing too.

428

If you're on this journey and you

have like this plan of how you're

429

going to approach growth in your

faith and then the Lord gives you

430

a completely different inspiration

three months in, listen to the Lord.

431

Don't listen to me, right?

432

Like in the end, God is guiding your

journey and what I'm trying to do is

433

help you build a foundation for you to

be Open to the Lord working in your life

434

because When we are not investing in

our relationship with the Lord daily,

435

it's not very likely We're going to

hear him speak to us or feel when he

436

is Trying to nudge us in a certain

direction or lead us to something.

437

So I'm trying to help you Build your

relationship and open your heart to

438

the Lord and allow you to come to know

what it's like to live a life rooted

439

in Christ, centered in Christ, so

that you are hand in hand, partnered

440

with the Lord throughout your life.

441

Now, if you are doing that, right, if

you're doing all these things and you

442

are feeling in tune with the Holy Spirit

and the Holy Spirit totally takes you in

443

a different direction in March, do that.

444

Like change your focus, right?

445

Change, change your prayer plan

or whatever it is, you know?

446

Cause in the end.

447

You need to be following what

the Lord is leading you to do.

448

And I'm just helping you

kind of get kickstarted.

449

I'm hoping that this is like a,

ramp to help you like kick off.

450

So here we go.

451

I'm just going to use the

examples I gave earlier.

452

Um, cause obviously I can't cater to every

single person's, um, thought or focus and

453

I can't even know what you're thinking.

454

So I'm just going to use the

examples that I did earlier.

455

That I spoke earlier, um, and kind of

share some specific resources because

456

first, right, we set our foundation

with prayer and the sacraments.

457

Next, we choose our focus and discern

where God is leading us to and how

458

he wants us to grow in our faith.

459

And then third, we are going to make a

plan and find resources to support us.

460

Resources are so helpful.

461

We can't just come up with

everything on our own.

462

In the end, there are so many people who

are much smarter than us, much holier than

463

us, much more down the road in their faith

life, more experienced that have so much

464

wisdom to share with us, um, that we can

tap into to help us grow in our faith.

465

So for example, if your focus is growing

in knowledge of the teachings of the

466

church, I'm going to recommend that you

study the catechism and you read books

467

written by the doctors of the church.

468

The Catechism in a Year podcast with

Father Mike Schmitz is a great resource

469

if you want it to be broken down for

you and you just get to follow along

470

with the daily plan that you have set.

471

And it is also great for

accountability because it gives

472

you something to do every day.

473

And then if you don't

do it, You're behind,

474

which is fine.

475

You can always catch up.

476

But, um, I did that one year and

I mean, truth be told, I didn't

477

get through the end of the year.

478

I think I did like three or four

months, which I'm still really

479

proud of, but it was super helpful.

480

And it did really help me grow

in knowledge of the catechism

481

next.

482

I'm going to recommend a few different

books that are going to help you

483

learn about Catholic teaching.

484

Um, some are going to be on

the doctors of the church.

485

Some are actually not going to be,

um, by the doctors of the church, but

486

there are still so, so, so helpful.

487

So, um, starting with doctors of the

church, doctors of the church are

488

saints that are recognized for their

significant contributions to theology

489

and doctrine, and their writings

are essential for deepening the

490

understanding of the Catholic faith.

491

Um, and they are.

492

Truly amazing.

493

I've read a few of them, especially

early on in my faith journey.

494

And I remember just being so enlightened

and realizing that there is Such a

495

depth and richness to the catholic

faith that I had no idea growing up

496

regardless of if I like you went to

sunday school or catholic school I

497

don't think you learn these things.

498

Like I didn't go to Catholic school,

but like, I don't think people are

499

learning these things in Catholic school.

500

I certainly didn't learn

them in Sunday school.

501

And so I really, really

encourage these books.

502

Um, number one is Confessions by St.

503

Augustine.

504

It's a spiritual autobiography

that dives into the nature of

505

sin, grace, and conversion.

506

So it's very relatable to conversion

and just our own humanity.

507

Um, and it's very encouraging

to know that he became a saint.

508

Um, next is the Summa Theologica by St.

509

Thomas Aquinas.

510

This is a monumental work of

theology that systematically

511

explains Catholic doctrines.

512

Um, I haven't read this one, but I

have heard amazing things about it.

513

So it is on my list.

514

Um, number three is the

Interior Castle by St.

515

Teresa of Avila, it's a profound

guide to the spiritual journey in

516

deepening one's relationship with God.

517

I believe I read this in

college or parts of it.

518

I mean, I think I read excerpts

of it in college in a, um,

519

theology class that I had once.

520

And I just remember her writings

being so profound and so beautiful.

521

And definitely, like, I brought

them into prayer with me.

522

Four is a story of a soul by St.

523

Therese of Lisieux.

524

This is a tender and

inspiring reflection on St.

525

Therese's life, um, and her

little way of love and humility.

526

And it just, again, opens up a

new way of interacting with the

527

Lord and of being able to go to

him in littleness and humility and

528

showing him how much you need him.

529

And then number five, I'll recommend,

uh, the spiritual exercises by St.

530

Ignatius of Loyola.

531

I haven't read this one, but I have

read a lot on it in different excerpts.

532

Um, and it's basically a framework for

prayer, meditation, and discernment of

533

God's will and discernment of spirits.

534

And, um, usually if you have done a

silent retreat, or if you do a silent

535

retreat, they're going to walk you

through the spiritual exercises.

536

Um, so this is definitely more

meditative and more something that

537

you take to prayer and sit with.

538

Okay.

539

A few books that I recommend that are

not necessarily written by doctors of

540

the church but are very helpful is, um,

introduction to the devout life by St.

541

Francis de Sales.

542

This is a practical guide to living

a life of holiness for lay people.

543

And then Rome Sweet Home

by Scott and Kimberly Hahn.

544

This is a compelling conversion story.

545

Scott Hahn used to be, I believe,

a Protestant pastor that was

546

out to debunk Catholicism.

547

Like that was his goal.

548

And in his search to find why

Catholicism was the Antichrist,

549

he actually, um, found that it was

the one true church and converted.

550

And so it's a amazing story that explains

the Catholic doctrines through the lens

551

of his personal discovery and coming to

know the truth of the Catholic faith.

552

It's a very short and easy read.

553

And I've heard it's very engaging.

554

And I've also, um, it's

again, it's on my list.

555

I have it in my bookshelf, but

I haven't read it, but it is

556

my goal to read it this year.

557

I've also heard that it is

very disarming for, um, people

558

who aren't Catholic to read.

559

It's not like out to attack,

um, Protestants or non

560

denominational Christians at all.

561

And so, um, if that's you or if there's

someone you know who's exploring the

562

Catholic faith and isn't Catholic,

this might be a good book to recommend.

563

Okay.

564

Next, if your goal is to grow in

relationship with Mary, then the number

565

one thing I'm going to recommend is

for you to do a Marian consecration

566

and start praying the rosary.

567

So I guess those are,

those are two things.

568

Two things I'm recommending, but the

rosary, I've talked about it so much.

569

I'm probably going to

sound like a broken record.

570

It is so powerful.

571

And yet so many people struggle to

pray it and especially struggle to

572

build a habit of praying it often.

573

Um, but the return that we get for

such a simple prayer is so high.

574

Um, the graces of it and the

promises of the rosary are.

575

immensely beautiful and powerful.

576

Um, the 15 promises of the rosary is

what spurred me to finally take action

577

to pray the rosary every single day.

578

I would pray it often here and there

after I had a gorgeous rosary that drew

579

me to prayer, but what actually made me

make the step to pray it every day was

580

hearing the 15 promises of the rosary.

581

So Go look those up.

582

Um, because they are kind of insane.

583

Like you read them and you're

like, you're kidding me.

584

If I pray the rosary devoutly and

prayerfully every day, like Mary's

585

promising these things to me, like we're

talking really, really big promises.

586

So aim to pray it daily.

587

Um, and do a Marion consecration.

588

So I have done the 33 days

to mourning glory, and it has

589

been a beautiful devotional.

590

I've done it multiple times, um, to

teach you more about Mary's role in

591

your life and her mission in your

life and what the Lord has basically

592

set her out to do for her children.

593

Um, it.

594

teaches you so much about Mary

that you didn't know and it helps

595

you really grow in love for her

and appreciation for Everything

596

she does as our heavenly mother.

597

So recommend you do that And then it

for the rosary I think specifically if

598

you're struggling to understand It's

power or weight of this prayer or even

599

if you're struggling to make it a habit.

600

My recommendation here is going

to be Ascension's Rosary in a

601

Year podcast in prayer plan.

602

It's hosted by Father Mark Mary.

603

He's amazing and it literally.

604

This is our first day of the prayer plan.

605

Um, and it's going to start now.

606

Like it started January 1st.

607

Um, so don't worry if you missed a couple

days, um, you can start it on January 1st.

608

You can start it on

March 15th if you want.

609

It doesn't matter if you

missed the first day.

610

But the prayer plan is set

out to start on January 1st.

611

Um, and it goes along with the episodes

on the podcast Rosary in a Year,

612

which are not going to be too long.

613

I think it's like 15 max 20 minutes.

614

So that it's going to be really

digestible, really doable.

615

And the plan is designed to start

small and build up over time.

616

It's really just wanting to help

people develop a meaningful and

617

a consistent rosary practice.

618

Um, and so they break it up

into six different phases.

619

That each focus on a different aspect

of the rosary, which I think is

620

going to be so helpful because it's

actually going to form a lot of meaning

621

and education behind the prayer.

622

And the more meaning we have, the more

devotion we're going to have, the more

623

knowledge we have, we're going to be more

committed and more devoted to something.

624

So.

625

For example, like the 15 promises

of the rosary, I educated myself

626

on what those were and it increased

my devotion a ton to the rosary.

627

So I love that they're breaking it

up into these six different phases.

628

It's forming the relationship, biblical

roots of the rosary, meditating on the

629

mysteries, finding focus, building up

the decades, and then praying together.

630

So the link to the prayer plan

is in the show notes, or you

631

can also visit ascensionpress.

632

com slash Mari.

633

R I Y to download the prayer

plan and join the rosary

634

in a year podcast community.

635

Okay.

636

Moving on to the next focus.

637

If your focus is finding healing,

638

this is a big one, but man,

this is a fruitful one.

639

Um, and I hope and pray that you have

the courage to dive into whatever

640

healing the Lord is calling you to.

641

And so if this is your focus,

my recommendation is going

642

to be to attend a retreat and

specifically a healing retreat.

643

And along with that, see if you can

find a spiritual director because

644

healing is a journey and it's hard.

645

And you can easily get stuck if you're

trying to do it all on your own.

646

Um, and so having a spiritual director

guide you through how God is working in

647

your heart, how he is leading you through

this healing, um, working through any

648

lies, any fears that come up while you're.

649

Trying to face, um, you know, wounds and

everything is going to be really helpful.

650

So if you're looking for a spiritual

director, the first place I would

651

recommend is go to your parish

priest and ask if he does spiritual

652

direction or if he can recommend

spiritual directors if you don't

653

want to go to your parish priest.

654

Um, there are also lay people,

which means not religious,

655

like not sisters or priests.

656

Um, that do spiritual direction.

657

Um, and I should have

looked up a resource.

658

I don't have a resource for this off

the top of my head, but I'm sure if

659

you do some Googling or asking around

in your parish, in your local Catholic

660

community, there are people who are

trained to be spiritual directors.

661

Now these aren't therapists.

662

It's different than therapy and

therapy can also be really helpful

663

in your healing journey depending on

what wounds you're working through.

664

So definitely seek that

out if you need it.

665

Um, but they are different

than spiritual directors.

666

Now, for retreats, I really recommend

that you find a retreat that is

667

specifically focused on healing.

668

And my recommendation are the

JP2 Healing Institute retreats.

669

They have three different retreats

that are incredible, and I have

670

done two of them, actually.

671

There's a women's one that's called

Undone, and they have a book on it.

672

I think they actually might have a book

to go along with all of them, but how

673

I got plugged into the undone retreat

is because I read the book undone.

674

Um, and the book along with the

retreat walks you through the four

675

identities of woman, which are

daughter, sister, bride, and mother.

676

And it wrecked me in the best way.

677

And it brought a lot of healing

into my life when I read the

678

book and then even more healing

when I went through the retreat.

679

So Um, really encourage you to go on these

retreats, but if you aren't able to try

680

and find the book that is attached to it.

681

So for the woman's one,

it's called undone.

682

Um, and I believe the

book is by Carrie shoots.

683

Next there's a marriage healing

retreat that's called unveiled.

684

Still part of this JP two

healing Institute and train.

685

I did this one last year,

last fall, and it was so good.

686

So powerful.

687

We went just like two, two

and a half years married in.

688

And we went in thinking

like, Oh, we are so in love.

689

Like we're newlyweds.

690

We probably won't get

too much out of this.

691

You know, like we're going, cause

it's like a good thing to do.

692

But like, we don't have a big, you know,

big problems to work through and whatever.

693

And.

694

Yeah, we, we were so wrong, you guys.

695

Like,

696

it focused on core wounds in marriage

that are most common for men and for

697

women, and how each gender, like, plays

into each other's wounds and fears.

698

And when we went through it, we

had a lot of realizations of like,

699

Oh, wait, I kind of relate to that.

700

Oh, I kind of see myself doing that.

701

Oh, that's why, you know, he shuts

down when I say this, or, Oh,

702

that's why she feels unloved when

I do this, or I don't do this.

703

And it was so, so helpful.

704

Um, and it really walks you through

how we can heal from those wounds.

705

And.

706

And build stronger

marriages rooted in Christ.

707

I don't know if they have a book,

but I wouldn't be surprised if

708

they did, because they have a

book for the other two retreats.

709

So I would look it up.

710

The retreat's called Unveiled.

711

By the way, all of these retreats,

they happen around the country.

712

They like travel around.

713

So you can look up the.

714

The retreat schedule it's already

715

They are so widely known

and really in high demand.

716

Um, So if you see one that you want to

go to do not wait just book it Okay,

717

and then the last one is called healing

the whole person Um, I haven't had the

718

opportunity to do this one yet, but I

really want to one day in the future and

719

This one I think ties into the book be

healed by bob shoots bob shoots is the

720

founder I of the GP2 Healing Institute.

721

He's actually coming on the

podcast next month, um, to

722

talk about wounds in marriage.

723

So I am so pumped for that.

724

Um, definitely tune into that.

725

But um, he's the founder of this healing

Institute and he has written these

726

books that have helped with healing.

727

And so the healing retreat called healing

the whole person is tied to the book be

728

healed, which I have heard is amazing.

729

I truthfully have been a little

intimidated to read it because

730

It just is really deep and I just

haven't been ready to do that.

731

Um, and so I really do

want to do this retreat.

732

Um, and maybe my, maybe my goal

this year will be to read Be Healed.

733

Um, but this retreat is for both

men and women and people of all

734

vocations and all phases of life.

735

And it's focused on

healing personal, wounds.

736

Um, I haven't done it, so I don't

really have like a ton more detail to

737

give, but this is what I've heard and I

have heard incredible things about it.

738

Um, and if you know, Sister Miriam, she

is an amazing speaker and everything she

739

says is just so profound and so beautiful.

740

She makes me cry every

single time I hear her talk.

741

Um, and she goes on these retreats.

742

I don't know if she goes on all of

them, but I know she goes on a few.

743

Um, so it's really, truly an incredible

team that puts these on, and I really hope

744

to do one one year, but I really encourage

you to, to look into these if your goal is

745

to heal from certain wounds this year or

to heal your relationship with the Lord.

746

Okay, the last example I gave was growing

in devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.

747

So for this, my suggestion would

be to visit the Adoration Chapel

748

often and to go to Mass during

the week as much as you can.

749

To grow a devotion to Jesus in the

Eucharist, you need to receive him and

750

be in his Eucharistic presence often.

751

I also recommend that you grow

in knowledge of the Eucharist.

752

And so you can look up different

Eucharistic miracles, um, which so

753

many of them actually are backed by

science and have been scientifically,

754

like not been able to be explained

and have been deemed a miracle.

755

And they are absolutely

amazing, um, and really help

756

solidify that belief that Jesus's

presence is truly in the Eucharist.

757

I also would recommend that

you do the new Eucharistic

758

consecration that just came out.

759

It's called 33 days to Eucharistic

glory, and it is a 33 day devotional

760

that will help you fall in love

with Jesus and the Eucharist and

761

devote your life completely to him.

762

Um, so just look it up online.

763

33 days to Eucharistic glory.

764

I don't know if it's on Amazon yet.

765

It's new.

766

Um, but I would just look it up.

767

It is amazing.

768

I am hoping to do that this year as well.

769

That was a lot that I just spat out

a lot of resources for you guys.

770

Um, I hope that those were helpful.

771

So the last piece of the puzzle is

going to be committing to a plan

772

and scheduling a and scheduling out

intentional time to grow in your faith.

773

So this brings me back to my first

question of if somebody was able to look

774

at your schedule, your planner, your

to do list, would they be able to know

775

that Jesus was the center of your life

and the first priority in your life?

776

Now that you have your focus, your

goals, your resources that you're

777

going to use to grow in your faith.

778

Now you need to actually schedule

time to spend with the Lord and

779

schedule time to grow in your faith.

780

So I recommend.

781

in your calendar or your planner,

wherever you plan your days, your

782

weeks, your to do's that you literally

write in or in your Google calendar,

783

literally schedule in your daily

prayer time and your Sunday mass time.

784

And any weekday masses that you want

to go to and add on to your week for

785

me, if it's not in my schedule, it's

not likely it's going to happen.

786

And like I said before, the things

that are on my calendar on my schedule

787

are deemed the most important to

me and are continually top of mind

788

because I don't want to forget them.

789

And I want to get around to doing them.

790

Hopefully at the scheduled time that

I have it at the same goes for prayer.

791

Prayer should be the most

important part of our life.

792

Mass, the sacraments should be

extremely important in our life.

793

And so schedule them.

794

Do not be afraid to put them in your

calendar, to put them in your daily

795

schedule of the day, treat them as if

they were a work meeting, a class at

796

school, a practice, something that you

can't skip because it's that important.

797

For me personally, I like to take my

mornings for prayer because if I don't do

798

it in the morning, it's not likely that

I'm going to get around to it because I

799

get distracted with things in my day and

other things end up, you know, taking

800

priority even though they shouldn't.

801

Um, and so I like to prioritize prayer

as the first thing in my day, um, give

802

the Lord my first fruits of the day.

803

day.

804

And so I have it into my morning

routine to spend some time in prayer.

805

now, if how you're growing is going

to a retreat or reading books or any

806

of the other resources I mentioned

that are not like a daily prayer type

807

thing, schedule those in as well.

808

Like actually look up their retreats.

809

Find the dates that are, that

they're available and schedule them

810

in your calendar, buy the flights,

save up to go to that retreat.

811

And if you're wanting to grow

in knowledge and read different

812

books, actually buy the books.

813

I have all of these books

linked in the show notes.

814

I have them on my Amazon storefront

so that you can find them.

815

easily and put them into your cart and

then cut out time to read every day.

816

My goal for 2025 is to have 30

minutes of reading at the end of

817

the day and incorporate that into

my evening routine right now.

818

It's not, and it is a huge desire that

I have to spend time actually reading,

819

whether that's a spiritual book.

820

or a fiction book or whatever.

821

Now we're getting off topic with

my own, um, new year's goals,

822

but this is all to say, schedule

it, schedule it, schedule it.

823

The Lord is a priority.

824

Show that he is a priority and

help yourself make him a priority.

825

We're human.

826

We're not perfect.

827

We're weak.

828

We need boundaries.

829

We need motivation.

830

We need structure, at least.

831

I do.

832

I don't know about you, but I do.

833

So this is really helpful for

me to schedule it and actually

834

put it in my to do list.

835

Um, and make a tangible plan of

how I'm going to grow and achieve

836

different goals that I have.

837

Wow, guys, I am so fired up right now.

838

I know this doesn't cover everything,

Everything or every focus that you

839

could have, but it does cover a lot.

840

And I hope that it was helpful in

getting your wheels turning and helping

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you reflect more intentionally on how

you can approach your faith life and

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relationship with Jesus with intention

and make a true investment into the

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biggest jackpot of your life, heaven,

which is eternal life with God.

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This is the biggest return you're

ever going to get and the most

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important investment you could make.

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Please feel free to reach out in my DMS

and tell me more about your journey.

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I want to know how it's going.

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Or feel free to ask me any questions.

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If you have specific questions

that I didn't cover, if you have a

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focus, I didn't cover that you're

wondering resources for, I do try my

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best to get to every DM and I love

walking with you in your faith life.

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So feel free to send me a DM

and I am happy to chat with you.

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Okay.

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And last, if you found this episode

helpful, would you please drop a

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five star rating on Spotify or Apple

podcasts or send it to a friend?

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This helps us grow the kingdom.

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I want everybody to hear this episode,

to be encouraged, and to be a part of it.

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Be inspired to really invest in

their faith, because when you do

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that, your life will be transformed.

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Make this the year that your

life is transformed, um, and

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make this the year that you do

it along a Christ centered front.

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So send this podcast to a friend,

be on the journey together, and

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help me spread the message of

the gospel and grow the kingdom.

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Um, you can also drop a

review on Apple podcasts.

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Um, or in our ever be podcast,

Instagram DMS, and I would

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just appreciate it so much.

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Um, if you are a returning

listener, thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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I love you.

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And I just want to give you the biggest

hug and thank you for supporting ever

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be and for listening in and for trusting

me to walk with you on this journey.

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And if you're a new

listener, hi, I'm Mari.

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I should have introduced myself.

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In the beginning, um, but so happy to

have you here and have you be part of the

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ever be community Can't wait to see you

back here next week and to connect with

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y'all and my instagram and my dms and

just hear how the Year is going for you

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This is your year you guys this is a year.

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You're going to be transformed In christ,

I know it and I will be praying for you