I have to admit, this sounds great. But the past week, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and theologically, I think there’s more to it.

To start, society doesn’t ruin our self image. Society isn’t a person. We are society. I think we can easily fall into the trap of blaming “American culture” or “our modern-day society”, but frankly, we need to assume the responsibility of being a part of it. Society in and of itself doesn’t have the power to do anything.

Rather, Satan himself is the core of our insecurity and doubt. He leads us astray in this way.

Everyone has their insecurities. There is only one way to truly be at peace with ourselves. That is in Christ. He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life (John 14:6) that sustains us. It is so important for us to look beyond ourselves when it comes to our self image.

John 3:30 states that “He must increase and I must decrease.”

In a world that promotes self esteem and feeling great about who we are, this is an easy message to be convoluted. Humility in the fact that we are little to the world and can only become something when it is through God and for His Glory isn’t exactly the popular message.

But, it comes down to the core of who we are. Psalm 139:14 tells us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” So as far as perfection, YES! The Lord created us in beauty and dignity and truth. But with sin, that has corrupted.

And we have to accept God’s grace for our sins in order to be at peace.

We were created perfectly in the image and likeness of God. But does that mean we are perfect? Not even sort of.

Matthew 5:48 challenges us to “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. It’s a call to holiness, a call to repentance.

If all was dandy and we were perfect, inherently, we would have NO NEED FOR A SAVIOR.

The core of our faith, the core of Christianity, the core of our lives would be drastically different if Jesus Christ was not the atonement for our sins.

Sin is real. It breaks us down and destroys us. One of Satan’s greatest weapons of this age is using the idea of convincing us that he simply doesn’t exist or isn’t at work.

Satan rips apart the dignity that God gives us and leads us to despair, but he can also work on the opposite side, convincing us that we have little need for forgiveness or Christ. If we believe that we can get along just perfect in life without the saving power of Christ in EVERY MOMENT, we’re being led astray.

Our hearts and our souls NEED Jesus in everything. We’re not perfect, and I think most of us have the humility deep down to know that.

The only thing that will truly bring us peace in our insecurity is trust in God.

Our sins, our mess, our shame is not perfection. We NEED grace, forgiveness, and mercy.

And with that, we begin to decrease, He begins to increase, and the joy of the Christian life begins.

Peace,

Avery

Kathleen Sebelius is the Health and Human Services Secretary for our nation, and in a statement put out earlier, said that this push is another step in fulfilling Obama’s “commitment” to having “free preventative services available to women.”

Except it’s not free. And it is coming from the pockets of many who believe that life is, well….life. Life. And it is not a disease. It does not need to be “cured”. It needs to be protected.

True freedom comes from the Truth. John 8:32 says that in God we will “know the truth and the truth will set us free.” We have a distorted view in society of what freedom is. Of what it means to be free.

We have also distorted Truth. That God is God, and only God gets to be God when it comes to life. And life is life, and it deserves life.

But anyways, my real point in this, is that in the articles I’ve read, there’s been a whole lot of Roman Catholic banter, but many have been lacking one vitally essential thing…HOPE.

Spiritual, legal, and physical attacks on our morals and beliefs aren’t new.

Folks, this isn’t our first rodeo. This is the Holy Roman Catholic Church we’re talking about. We’ve been through persecution. We’ve been through strife. And this cultural lack of morals is nothing new. We’re freaking out about the future, directly violating what Christ tells us in Matthew 6:34. He says not to worry about tomorrow.

But here we are, freaking out.

If we are truly as passionate about the moral issues as we freak out the public by being, we need to be that truly passionate about our God.

And if we are that truly passionate about our God, we need to trust Him.

And if we believe that He is God and we trust Him, we need to leave this in His hands.

This is more than just a mandate being passed. This is an active battlefield of good and evil, a spiritual warfare for LIFE. For FREEDOM. For TRUTH.

This is our opportunity to do something. This is our opportunity to TRUST, to PRAY, and to ACT. It’s our moral obligation to ACT, but that’s absolutely not the first step. First, we must trust and pray that the Lord of the Life that we are so fervently defending is real, is powerful, and is watching over us.

So as we take this battle day by day, we must trust. It is essential, and it is what will bind us as we seek to fight for freedom, for life, and for truth.

God Bless,

Avery

Peace,

Avery

I have to say, 40 days of cold showers are now looking a bit longer than previously anticipated. But while I was taking my incredibly abbreviated iceberg-shower today, it brought me back to the days I spent in Honduras serving and learning and being totally at peace. I started thinking about all the stuff I AM blessed with on an every day basis and what I take totally for granted.

Anyways, tomorrow’s the first Friday of Lent, and being a vegetarian myself, I thought I could give a few tips for meat-free meals I’ll post recipes/easy ideas every Thursday of Lent!

Breakfast: Scrambled egg, plain yogurt, granola. (Good protein to start the day!)

Lunch:  Whole wheat pita bread with cooked quinoa, black eyed peas, and lettuce. (A great source of protein and iron!) Add some blueberries (antioxidants and fiber) and baby carrots (a good source of beta carotene—basically vitamin A)

Dinner: Warm Edamame, tofu, and rice with soy sauce is a great combination and has protein, iron, and potassium.

Have a super great first Friday of Lent!

Peace,

Avery

At Mass this past Ash Wednesday, Fr Laurence who a priest that lives in residence at my old parish had celebrated Mass.  In the homily, He spoke about how Lent is a spring time ( a new beginning) for Christians all over the world. What he said really stuck out at me. I am using this lenten season to spend more time in prayer but also do good for others.

This Lent just like in years past, We are given an invitation to Return to God.  Are you willing to accept?  I know that I am happy to accept this invitation. I will also work on building a better relationship with God.

Earlier in this post, I had mentioned how Lent is a spring time (a new beginning) for Christians all over the world.  Well, This Lent of 2012 marks a new beginning for me as well. I have decided to start fresh when it comes to blogging. Over the last bit, I have had a lot of discussion with many people about being real and authentic. It is my hope that through being myself and from my blog that people will learn it is ok to be real and authentic.

I encourage you to check out my blog

May God Bless you all during this lenten season.

- Joe Sales

When I was a little kid, I HATED Ash Wednesday. Christmas was always fun, feast days were nice too, but Ash Wednesday? It marked the beginning of giving something up and taking out all the nice “Alleluias” and goodness, it was already the dead middle of winter.

Now, though, I really love Ash Wednesday. It’s a time to look forward.

We look forward to the period of temptation that is before us. I don’t know about ya’ll, but spiritual warfare seems to go up by about 110% during Lent. Ash Wednesday is this refreshing day to see the battlefield in front of us. Luckily, though, it’s the reminder that we already know the outcome.

Christ conquered sin and death. Like, HOW AMAZING DOES IT EVEN GET?!

Our Lord, our Savior, our King, our Creator, He conquered death out of LOVE.

Ash Wednesday is a time to prepare for 40 days of sacrifice, and it’s a time to begin reflection towards Easter. It’s also a time, however, to look forward to what we get to celebrate: life, fully with Christ.

So this Lent, whatever you’re doing, remember that we already know the end. This isn’t about looking Holy or becoming a better or healthier person, this is about a total and humble recognition of what He has done out of Love.

Don’t get wrapped up in the externals of Lent. Get wrapped up in His crazy, infinite love.

Peace,

Avery

(P.S. A lot of people have been asking about good meat-free recipes for Lent. I happen to be vegetarian, so I’ll compile some to post later!)

Hey guys! Here’s a review and promotion for the book “Holier Than Thou” from Lifeteen. It’s written by Mr. Mark Hart and Mr. Greg Iwinski and it is AWESOME.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about Saints, check it out

www.livewtl.com
www.lifeteen.com

Peace,
Avery

Keep on sending in questions, and check out our new Ask Catholics blog!

Peace,

Avery

It’s been forever, but here’s what’s going on for Live Out Loud in 2012:

We’re starting something new called “Scripturally Speaking”. It’s an initiative to give us as Catholic teens a better understaning for the Bible

A lot of Catholic teens are really lacking when it comes to knowledge and appreciation for the Scriptures. So what we’re doing is coming together to provide Biblical history, insight, ideas on Lectio Divina, etc. to explain some of the greatest stories in the Bible.

In this, we’re hoping to encourage Catholics to dive into the Word, and experience the Word of God in a new way.

Feel free to send in your favorite passage or one you want explained either on here or on Ask Catholics.

So excited about where the Lord will take this, and I love you all!

Peace,

Avery