eileen

No matter how angry you get at God, no matter how much you push Him away, the love letters keep coming. Just as we packed away the Christmas decorations, hearts and roses appeared on the seasonal shelves of every store. Valentine’s Day is a cheery spot in the dead of winter. No matter the reason, expressing our love for one another is a good thing. In fact, I would say it is a God thing. One of my favorite scriptures is one simple verse: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 3:16). When we know we are loved, it’s easier to love. When we know we are loved unconditionally, our lives are changed. I have tried to assure my children that they were loved unconditionally by us and by God. I used this scripture to teach them that God loved us first; from the beginning of our lives, [...]

Forgiveness is a vitally important part of a happy, healthy life. Recent studies on the effects of forgiveness on our health have confirmed that an inability to forgive causes excess stress hormones and depletes the immune system, leaving a person at risk for developing chronic and life-threatening diseases. Judeo-Christian traditions require repentance and forgiveness. Verses throughout the Old and New Testament leave little doubt that God expects us to forgive those who have wronged us. A life of forgiveness gives us greater peace. But forgiveness is work. I would pose that it is the most important work we will ever do in our lives. Like all work, forgiveness has certain requirements in order to make it happen. Faith: Forgiveness requires faith in a power outside us. Forgiveness is not a natural tendency; it is an empowered choice from a higher source. One has to believe there is a power greater [...]

The poetic wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us that change is a part of life. God has made everything appropriate in its time, and there is a time, and a purpose, for every event under heaven. Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal. I love the changing seasons. I love the warmth and light of the summer months. But after August days of sweltering heat, my body welcomes the cool change of September mornings and the crisp smell of autumn leaves, mums and pumpkins. The vibrant colors of the trees awaken my senses to a change in the air. What I love best about winter is the quiet that envelopes my world with new-fallen snow. Life slows down when it snows. All the imperfections in the land — the weeds I never pulled from garden, the landscaping left undone — all disappear beneath that blanket of white. Just when we’ve had enough [...]

Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 5:2 (NIV) This year I made one resolution: “Live in love.” I think I should have picked something a little easier like “lose 50 pounds.” But I figured that living in love covers all other resolutions. Are you living with someone who has resolved to lose weight or quit smoking and have a perfectly clean house? If they haven’t also resolved to be more loving towards others, than I suggest you get out of the way of their new resolve. It might not be pretty. If you ask my family how I am doing, two weeks into my new year’s resolution, they would probably laugh and say, “What resolution?” I didn’t tell anyone about my resolve because I didn’t want them to hold me [...]

Yes, faith can move mountains...Eileen's late-night vision in the pediatric intensive care unit is shared by Johanna in a dream and an Epiphany miracle takes place... Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal If you drive up Herricks Lane in Jamesport, you will find that indeed the Christmas lights and the trees are still up at my house. It’s not because we are lazy and disorganized, it’s because we choose to celebrate 12 days of Christmas all the way through to the Feast of Epiphany, or what is often referred to as Little Christmas. In some cultures, Little Christmas is the main gift giving feast, honoring the visit of the Magi, who brought gifts to the newborn King at Bethlehem. At our house, Little Christmas is a fun morning to share small gifts and have our final celebration with a big family meal. The stockings are filled with post-Christmas sale chocolate, a [...]

Today is the 6th day of Christmas! It is still entirely appropriate to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! At our house, we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, culminating on the Feast of Little Christmas, or Epiphany on Jan. 6. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. There are just a few references to the Holy Family at the beginning of each Gospel. However few, these Scriptures give us a treasure trove of wisdom for families. One of my relatives says that she couldn’t relate to the Holy Family, in particular to Mary, because Mary had one child and He was perfect! I disagree. It is such an encouragement to me as a wife and a mother that God decided to come into the world through a family. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and born into a [...]

This Third week in Advent begins today with what we call, “Rejoicing Sunday”. Today, we light the one pink candle that stands out in the midst of the three purple ones on our Advent wreath. But as I write this, our lives are shocked by yet another profound human tragedy in our midst, the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, Conn. It was a very busy morning at my house. I quickly got Johanna up and ready for her day in the midst of trying to rush out the door for an early doctor appointment for myself. When I finally arrived home, Johanna had just finished reading about Hanukah with her teacher and they were gathering kitchen staples to help them make potato latkes. My husband and I changed shifts as he rushed out the door and I rushed around the house getting ready for our monthly visit [...]

Happy Advent! Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation and reflection for the birth of Christ. The early Church celebrated Advent as a time for repenting for the darkness in our lives and in the world and a time to hope for Christ to come as the light in our darkness. We prepare for everything in life. Some of us prepare well and in a timely manner, others do not prepare and are rushing in at the last minute to be sure everything is done. Still others like me, prepare, procrastinate, and prepare so that in the end my ability to be flexible gets the job done. Advent, like most spiritual journeys in life, can mirror our human experience, using the preparations for Christmas as spiritual jewels to magnify God’s Spirit at work in us. The holiday season is a huge time of preparation, [...]

For most of my life, I have tried to find God in the ordinary experiences of life. I have experienced the truth of the scripture from Jeremiah, “When you seek me, you will find me” Jeremiah 29:13. These experiences range from receiving something I was praying for, like a car or financial provision. Over the years the Lord has used the generosity of many and our own gifts of ingenuity to provide for our family in difficult circumstances. Gently used clothing, furniture and yes, even cars have been just a part of the ways God has used others to answer prayer. Wisdom coming in the form of a conversation or an article or a letter from a loved one could also be interpreted as a sign that God was at work answering a prayer for understanding or direction. These are all simple ways in which I see God moving in [...]

I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child, Johanna, just before Christmas in 1995. I remember that morning very well. I woke early to take the pregnancy test and to enjoy the quiet of the newly fallen snow. As I reveled in the excitement, I spent time bonding with the child within my womb, telling her that she was deeply loved and cared for and that God had a very special plan for her life. Then I turned to the daily readings for some wisdom for this baby whose little heart had just started beating before any of us knew she was there. The daily readings were celebrating the birth of John the Baptist “You, my child will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him...” (Luke 1:76). I knew this scripture was a [...]