It's Just An Expression: Fashion

Hello all my fellow Fearless Catholics! I'm so excited to announce I have a guest blogger for ya'll today. She is a beautiful, outgoing, funny fashion-ista and is one of my best friends in the entire world! This blog post is all about Fashion and we both hope you enjoy it. Please follow her fashion-gram on Instagram down below and tell us what you think in the comments! Enjoy :)

 

 Hello, my name is Bethany, and I was honored to be asked by Sammy to write a fashion post for her blog.  What is fashion,  What is it like to be fashionable?  Fashion is the demand society has placed on us to dress the way they think is fashionable.  So to be fashionable is to go along with all the demands society places on your appearance.   

 

Fashion makes it hard for people like me, to fit in.  A few months ago I found out that I have loose ligament in my ankles. This means I don’t have enough support in my ankles, and I am really prone to sprains.  To help my stability I got orthotics.  The only bad thing about this is my orthotics don’t fit in all my shoes, and when I am going to be on my feet for a prolonged time, I need to wear my orthotics.   

 

Well I am a dancer, and they do not fit in my dancing shoes, so I have to wear black ankle braces when I dance.  It’s hard to wear the braces, as much as they help, because I know my outfit looks so much better without them.  It’s taken a while for me to be able to put my braces on and not care, and I still struggle with caring about how I look with them.  

 

 It’s made me very aware of all the other people who are struggling with this.  There are so many people who have to wear knee braces, wrist braces, and other things that don’t even involve braces; like, not feeling like you have the right body, all the things that make you feel like you don’t fit in with the fashion world. Well this goes for all of you, if you are in a brace of any kind every time you put your braces on look at yourself in the mirror and know that those braces show strength. They show that you have to live with pain, they show that you have the strength to go through that, and to put them on every time knowing that you wont fit in with what society has said is fashionable.   

 

For all of you who struggle with feeling like you don’t have the perfect body I want to share a Marilyn Monroe quote with you, “To all the girls that think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero you’re the beautiful one it’s society who’s ugly.”  Fashion has placed such a high demand for looking just right.  Whether that is not wearing braces, or having a body that is just right.  That is not right. 

 

 What’s not right is that we have a pressure not to wear our braces, and to physically injure ourselves, so that we are not emotionally injured. Maybe we feel the need to body bash ourselves because we don’t look like the people we see in magazines.   

 

This is where style comes in. Style is what is unique to each of us. Style is you deciding to wear your favorite shirt because you love it!  It is you deciding to wear a dress when you know everyone else will be in jeans.  Style is how you present who you are on the inside, on the outside.  When people on the street see you they are going to get a feel for the type of person you are by what you wear.   

 

So I suggest that the next time you don’t know what to wear, wear YOU so that even the people you don’t know, can get to know you.  You are beautiful, you are unique, and you are very very stylish.  As for me, what’s my style?  Well, black ankle braces of course J!

 

That’s all for me!  I would just like to thank Sammy again for letting me post and share with all of you on her blog!  I hope you all enjoyed this and got something out of it!  I have an Instagram account exclusively for my outfits, I would love if you followed it, @1998styles! J

 

“ Style is very personal.  It has nothing to do with fashion.  Fashion is over quickly.  Style is forever.” – Ralph Lauren 

 

Bethany is an amazing friend and has helped me know my fashion sense is me and that if I feel good in it and if I like it then that's what should matter not what other people think. 

"Unique and different is the new generation and beautiful. Style is what makes you individual. Different is a good thing, never think it's bad." - Taylor Swift

 

Like A Country Song (Is It Just The Twang In The Music?)

 All my friends are music lovers! They either love to sing, play instruments, or just listen to music. My siblings are very talented, my sister has played guitar, piano, trumpet, and has had voice lessons. My brother has played drums and bass. I haven't taken up any instrument yet but I would love to learn how to play the banjo which is like one of my favorite instrument.
Whether we sing in the car, dance while washing the dishes, or even listen to songs in the most crucial points in our lives music is really important to us. Is it because the guitar is just right, is it because this is our best friends favorite song, or maybe this was someones favorite song who is no longer with us? Whatever is the answer to why we listen to music there is a story behind it.

Anybody who knows me knows I'm a HUGE country music junkie but I wasn't always. I didn't ever really have a genre I loved until I was ten. I just watched Disney Channel I listened to the songs on High School Musical or Camp Rock or something. (Yeah I was one of those kids....) When I was just about to turn ten my sister told me I needed better taste in music because now that I look back I realized how did I ever think that stuff was good? She introduced me to Country music which was the music she loved and listened to at the time.

Not long after that I bought my first country album, Play On by Carrie Underwood and never turned back to listening to Disney tunes. Carrie Underwood has a crazy strong voice and I loved her. I then researched more into the country scene and got into Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, and Blake Shelton whom I still enjoy till' this day. (These names may or may not sound familiar to you.)

When I was 10 1/2 I was shopping for CDS and there on the shelf was a golden CD, no literally it was the color gold. There was this really pretty girl on the cover and she had long curly hair. I wasn't going to get this CD because it was more expensive than the other CDS I was looking at. My sister persuaded me into getting it.

On the way home from the store the lyrics, "Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you been here all along so why can't you see? You Belong With Me."blared through the speakers of the car and that was the beginning of my love for Swift.

Flash forward into life, I'm now 16 and still listen to Country Music. I still love Taylor, (In fact I'm going to the 1989 concert with two amazing girls.) It's really funny how your music taste change. If it weren't for change and my sister begging me to listen to better music I would probably still be in my bedroom listening to Hannah Montana.

There was a point and time though when I was fifteen and my friends begged me to expand my taste in music. I was very persistent because I had tried one time and I'm not fond of Nicki Minaj or One Direction. I just stuck with my country music but the again due to change I did find some other bands I liked.

One of my friends really likes Maroon 5 and she lent me there most recent CD at the time, Overexposed and Adam Levine is just so handsome and how can you not like, 'Sugar?' I then started to go more and more to different genres and found that I like Lorde, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, and Fall Out Boy. I still find different songs I like from different genres than Country that I like.

While some of you like pop, or some of you like Christian music, (I do too, who doesn't?) or maybe some of you are trying to find some different music to listen too. I've put together a song playlist of songs that aren't very popular but they are from all kinds of genres. I've posted it below but before we move on I would like to share a short story with you and a poem I've written. I promise this will be short.

Not a lot of people I know like Country Music. There are very very few people I know that like it. I'm really into Country Music I love everything from Hunter Hayes and Raelynn to George Strait and Reba McEntire. I think some of the best songwriters are Country musicians because if someone can transport you to a certain place or time and feel the same thing they are feeling that's pretty amazing! I never understood why people didn't like Country Music like I liked it. It's not all beer bottles, broken hearts, and farms. It's Happiness fishing with your friends on the dock of the lake, Sadness loosing your old huntin' dog, it's every emotion put into words. It reminds us that we aren't alone and it reminds us about God once in awhile. I wrote this poem to tell people why I like Country Music and it wasn't to change their opinion on genres they like but to simply change their views on Country Music.

 

      Stetson’s Under Broadway Lights

                              I am very fond of this particular subject and many aren’t

                                          Every time I hear it I think of beautiful art

                       Imagine the strokes of this painter’s hand and the creative piece

                    in his mind this kind of beautiful art may just save someone’s life

In each of our lives sadness arises in sorrowing ways but maybe it wouldn’t be hard if we knew someone else is feeling this way. The burdens we carry are like His cross and the loss of my son the soldier doesn’t mean he is really gone.

                                      I will take you back in time to the 1920’s

      where strings of guitars were getting  pretty costly.

     where cowboy hats were the thing, and cowboy boots

    were the so called ‘bling.’ it seems Nashville was the home

   too so many stars it’s where Presley died and Parton got her start.

            You may think you know this music of beer bottles, broken hearts, and trucks but do you really know what’s in the music that I love? It’s so much more than the twang we here it’s about trusting God when you feel he’s not here. It’s a little boy who lost his dad but they meet again in Heaven alas. It’s the place you grew up but your parents sold, it’s about remembering the soldiers who have died souls. It’s the breeze of trees on a hot summer day and the cold ice tea in the old oak tree shade, it’s the good times, and bad times which we all go through it’s something we can’t let go of or the things we let go of too soon.

                                    I understand your reasoning with genres you like

                                        I am not asking you to simply pick a side

                                       I am stating some facts that are true Country

                                           Music are the stories of me and you. 

Playlist

Kiss Me- Lucy Hale - Country
I Got The boy- Jana Kramer - Country
Yellow Flicker Beat- Lorde - Pop
Bad Blood- Taylor Swift- Pop
I Can Just Be Me- Laura Story - Christian
Careless- Raelynn- Country
Both Of Us- B.o.B (Feat. Taylor Swift.) - Rap
Misery - Maroon 5- Pop Rock
Everybody Loves Me- One Republic - Pop Rock
Each Coming Night-Iron & Wine - Indie Rock
Something In The Water- Carrie Underwood- Country Christian
We Fall Apart - We As Human- Rock Christian
Photograph- Ed Sheeran- Indie Pop
Hotel Ceiling- Rixton- Pop/ Rock/ R&B/Country
A Guy Walks Into A Bar- Tyler Farr- Country
Dear Future Husband- Meghan Trainor-Pop
Carry On My Wayward Son- Kansas- Rock
Falling- Iration-Reggae
Everybody Drives Drunk- Love & Theft- Country & Folk

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Please comment your favorite songs so I have some new music to listen too, as well. God Bless ya'll and look out for VERY special news coming out soon.

Fearlessly,
Sammy
 

Mama Mary

Hey Everyone! I've been really praying for you these past weeks that God will strengthen you in work, finals, school and mostly....life. As we all know Mothers Day is May 10th.  It's known worldwide as we celebrate all of our fabulous mothers. Our moms, grandmas, even aunts, and maybe some family friends who have kids of their owns. Our moms are the most awesome people in the world that's why we celebrate them. A lot of the time we forget about our BEAUTIFUL Mama Mary up in Heaven.

I know a lot of people have a special relationship with our Mama and some strive to have a relationship. I never knew why it was so important to have a relationship with Mary until the last few months of 2014. In honor of Mothers Day I decided to write about our beloved Mother and my story about how I've become to look up to her and love her with my whole heart.

I've grown up in a devout Catholic home. I'm really into my faith and each day I fall more and more in love with Jesus, the saints, and Mother Mary but that wasn't always the case. When I was little I knew Mary was the mother of Jesus and I knew all the stories about her, I knew she was called by God to have his son by the power of the Holy Spirit, and I knew many miracles that have happened about her. I never payed much attention though. (I really regret that now...)

As I grew older I heard many people in my church speaking about our amazing mother and how awesome she is and just what a great relationship they had with her. I loved our Mother don't get me wrong she brought our Lord into the world but I didn't have a connection with her the way so many other people did.

I didn't know what to do or where to begin to have a relationship with our Blessed Mother. I didn't know how to build it up. I wasn't sure how so many people felt like Mother Mary was with them in their every day lives. They were so filled with Joy because of it. When they talked about Mary they had huge smiles on their faces and everything they said about Mary was so enthusiastic and they were so on fire. I would look at them and be like I want that but how do  get it?

At the beginning of Confirmation 2. (I am aware I start off every paragraph off like this when I have this aha! moment. Confirmation really changed me and really deepened my faith.) I was just browsing on the Lifeteen store online when I saw this book on our crazy awesome Mom. It was called, 'That One Girl.' by Christina Mead. (Amazing read!)

It was then that I got the book, flipped through pages so deeply interested, and really wanting to get and grow a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mother that I realized I had a relationship with her all along I just never took the time to acknowledge her.

I learned so much from that book and from then on I now look at Mary as a teenage girl who was called on by God. I just always had a hard time wrapping my mind around that. Mary was a regular teenage girl, guys. Mary went through heartaches, struggles, and temptation. Think about it....the devil, Satan tempted Mary the most because she was the Mother of the person he hates the most....God.

I'm going to take a little piece of the book and stick it here. Mary went through suffering, the Blessed Mother did not have an easy life. She rode a donkey when she was nine months pregnant! (Most pregnant women I know complain about lying in bed; Can you imagine how much worse prego life is on the back of a slow moving animal?) She had to give birth in a stable. (When Jesus deserved a 5 star resort.) Then, when she and Joesph brought Baby Jesus to the temple a couple days after he was born she was dealt a pretty rough hand. Then enters Simon who at first probably admired the precious Savior who had a glowing face but then old Mary, "Oh by the way your heart is going to be pierced by a sword." (Luke 2:22-38.)

I bet sometimes we think Mary had it great. God was totally on her side because he picked Mary to have his only begotten Son so she didn't have to go through any of the things we have to go through. She was born without original sin, Mary was assumed into heaven body and soul, and she's the Mother of Jesus! Like I have to say that one more time.

Guess what, though? Mary did suffer. She watched her son die on a cross for our sins. The debt we couldn't pay Jesus paid for us. Mary watched her son get spat on and she couldn't do anything about it. When we suffer in our heartbreaks we need to remember Mary watched her son that she loved so much die. Mary was probably disgusted, heartbroken, and a little mad.

Quoted from the book: It's okay to feel emotions. It's okay to feel anger, it isn't a sin. Jesus even felt angry when he overturned the tables people were buying and selling things on in the temple. I love imagining Mary as a feisty, passionate, full-of-life young woman. Why wouldn't she be? Since God wants us to be fully alive wouldn't he want our Mother to be like that, too? We so often reduce The blessed Mother to a statue or a beautiful somber woman standing in the clouds as the Queen over Heaven and forget to come to the realization Mary was still human and had a wide range of emotions, even anger.

Our Mother up above in Heaven watching over us, listening to our prayers, and interceding to Jesus, and protecting us in her most protective mantle is human, like you and me. She wasn't free from sadness or anger. God let her feel those emotions because he wanted us to relate to her, to love her, and to feel free to call on her. Because after all she isn't just Jesus' mother, she's ours too. 

Friends, I know it is hard to believe in things we can't see. I know it is hard to have Faith in the unseen even more to have a relationship with those we can't actually talk to but in reality they aren't unseen. We have so much proof that Jesus, Angels, Saints, and Mary are real! They were flesh and blood and now they are preparing a GREAT place in Heaven for us once we do our duty on Earth.

I wholly encourage you to have a relationship with our Mother Mary. She's Human she knows it's hard to be humans. She knows anger, she knows sadness, and she even knows purity. She understands us girls more than anyone, but for you boys she understands your sufferings too and she wants to help because she loves us, after all she is our Mother.

It was a great deal to me to have a relationship with our Mama! If you are striving for it too, please say the rosary, call on her because she wants to comfort you, dedicate a journal to her and write in it every so often thanking her, telling her things that are bothering you, and asking her things. She is your Mother and she loves you so much, oh my gosh, she loves YOU!

Until next time Mother Mary is praying for you all the time, I am praying for you, and so are all the Angels and Saints in Heaven. May God send his wonderful blessings down on you and that you may live in them like a Child of God.

Fearlessly Living Catholic,
Sammy

"As Sailors Are Guided by star to the port, so are Christians guided to Heaven by Mary." -St. Thomas Aquinas.

Are We Out Of The Woods?

Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope and pray you are having a great and life changing Lent. I also hope your Holy Week is going good as well. As we come to the end of another Lenten journey, let us try our best for the rest of the year to do better with either bible study or be more involved in praying. Lent isn't to make you struggle for 40 days it is to strengthen you.

Today I'm going to cover simple but complicated topics about Patience and God's timing. We never seem to get the idea of patience because we all have iphones now. We have answers for everything at the end of our fingertips. We no longer have to wait to check our calendars, buy a CD,  go on itunes or go home to check our Facebook.

Sometimes when we wait to see God's plan we kind of feel stuck in the woods. You may be a little lost and confused because God has an interesting and different way of telling us what his great plan is for us. I think when we look back on what we were so impatiently waiting for it all seems so simple and yes, I did just quote Taylor Swift's song.

I am not a patient person. I deeply despise waiting. I don't like waiting in lines, I don't like waiting at the doctors office (or any office for that matter), and I don't like waiting for midnight showings in the movie theaters. I tap my fingers and shake my leg and fidget with my purse and pick off my nail polish.

This past year I never looked at patience through God's eyes. I never saw patience as anything else but pure boredom. I hope this post changes your views on how you see patience and maybe next time when you feel impatient you can remember this story and try and look at patience in another perspective.

I know a handful of you (okay a lot of you) know I'm making my Confirmation soon! I'm super psyched and can't wait until I get a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit's gifts. At the beginning of my first year in Confirmation I didn't think much of it. I didn't think much of Confirmation and to be honest I didn't realize the importance of it. All I knew was my brother and sister got confirmed so I needed to as well.

I wrote papers, read books, and did the curriculum my Church assigned me. I slowly started learning more about Confirmation and understanding what it actually was. Almost done with my first year for Confirmation I really wanted to get myself ready, I felt something in my heart, and I felt this great feeling.

Going into Confirmation 2 I was the most on fire for my faith that I have ever been on. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I was posting God related statuses, reading the bible, actually studying the bible, praying the rosary without being with my family, and making time for prayer in the day, not just at night. It was a crazy time for me and I felt really good and healthy. Everything was going great and smooth. I LOVED CONFIRMATION!

A few weeks after Confirmation 2 had started I was told I had to pick a Confirmation Saint and Confirmation Sponsor. I picked my Confirmation saint relatively easy. It took me about a month of looking through different saints to find the perfect one, which is *drum roll please* St. Thomas Aquinas! I was really happy with my saint and honestly knew God had intended for me to pick St. Thomas Aquinas without a doubt.

The next thing I had to do was pick a Confirmation sponsor, Ahhh! Such a daunting, exciting, and awesome task. Most of my friends have already been confirmed so I asked them what they did to find their confirmation sponsors. They told me to pray a lot and to ask my confirmation saint to help me on this journey because it is not only your choice but God's choice.

I was so happy because I had this weird idea that God was going to put my future Confirmation sponsor in plain sight for me. I thought I would wake up from a text, message, phone call from the person God wanted me to ask.

I should've known better. God isn't a wizard or magician. He is SO much better than that because God always wants the best for you! I woke up the next morning, I checked my phone to find......nothing there. *Rolls eyes* I asked God the most commonly asked questions from us humans when his plans don't go our way, 'Why, God?'

I thought this whole picking a sponsor thing would be easy. I didn't know it then but I do know it now. Do you want to know why it's not easy? You're picking a role model to lead you closer to God and deeper into your faith. Your trusting that person to help you make decisions. That's a really big deal!

Thankfully that night was adoration and that was a true miracle because praying in front of our Savior is the best kind of prayer because you feel like your prayers and petitions go straight into his hands. So all throughout the day until adoration I was praying and praying because as I said previously I HATE waiting so this was quite irritating to me that God hadn't shown me who to pick yet.

The whole day had passed. It was 6:30, I knelt down on the kneelers and lowered my head, closed my eyes and prayed right before my God, my Lord, and my Best friend in the entire universe. I prayed in the dead silence of the church and this one person came to mind. I prayed about this person for quite some time and as I said in the beginning. God's plan is not always our plan. I was like "Yup. I'm picking this person right now. I'm going to go ask her right now. I'm going to do this right now". I waited until the end of adoration to ask but as I prayed more and more about this person I got this gross, stirring, nasty feeling in my stomach. At the end of adoration that night I kind of heard this voice saying, 'No.' it was a whispering voice in my head and so I walked out of church that night annoyed but also sort of happy.

This story of mine could go on for a few more weeks, or longer. I prayed hard on this. I just couldn't seem to find someone that I wanted but who also God wanted. One night after talking with my friend I sat down on my bed, told God I needed a sponsor, a great Catholic role model. Lord I need someone who is great, amazing, and someone I can talk to easily. I then asked him to put me at ease and to bring me peace in this part of my life and to welcome someone into at this point and time at my life who he wanted for me. I asked God to give me extreme patience. That's when it happened. Once I let Jesus Take The Wheel (No Carrie Underwood pun intended. Maybe a little). It became easier to be patient which I was never really good at.

The next day was a very exciting time in my life because God had answered my prayers and he had shown me who he wanted me to ask. This was the first time I had felt no stress, this was the first time I actually knew this is the right person and this was the first time I heard God saying, 'Yes' and not in a whispering way.

Don't worry there is no plot twist where I was going to ask this person and someone else came along because the person who I felt like God wanted me to ask is my sponsor today. I asked him to give me patience and ease because without it I honestly feel like I could have asked the wrong person and I would not be writing this post right now.

If there are any Sponsors reading this right now I am praying for you as you live your life of faith showing your candidates how to live their life according to the gospel. If there are any Candidates getting confirmed soon I am praying for you and your sponsor at this point and time right now. A big high five to you too for doing a job well done for choosing to be confirmed and if you went through the journey I did trying to find a spiritual role model.

Finally, a big hug to my sponsor for always being there for me, Thank-you! You are crazy awesome <3

As we have entered Holy Week already and Easter is almost here I am praying for you all so much this week. May you have a blessed Easter and live your Catholic life, fearlessly.

-Sammy

 I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. 

C.S. Lewis 

Seeing the big picture/Gracious Tempest

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend! I also hope your Lenten journey is going exceptionally well :) I know a lot of you are doing The Best Lent ever by Matthew Kelly and I know others are doing #ShareJesus. I am doing both and can honestly say they have opened up my eyes to see things in a different way.

Look at the picture above......isn't it beautiful? I took this picture up in Big Bear last year in November, I think. What I love about this picture is that this picture needed no touching up, no filter, and no extra beautifying. This is God's work. This is AMAZING this is more than amazing this is exclaiming God's love, beauty, goodness, and power to all of us.

I know a lot of people are going through hard times right now. I know for a fact we all struggle. No matter what it is. I think it's safe to say that every month we go through something we would maybe not like to go through. Maybe for you it's weeks of struggling, months of struggling, or years of struggling. I've had bad days in a row, so many other people have too.

When I struggle I want to know other people are struggling too. As humans we are going to struggle, we aren't perfect. We will mess up, we will get mad, we get sad, we are human and humans make mistakes. As humans we are comforted by knowing we aren't the only ones struggling.

Look back at that picture above. The sky is just breathtaking, the mountains are tall and beautiful, the air is cold, and the forest down below is green. Man could not make that. God is the ONLY person who can make that. If God can make that then he can handle our sadness, anger, frustration, addictions, financial problems, our loneliness, our broken hearts, and whatever it may be you're dealing with.

If the picture above does not prove to you that God can take care of your problems how about the one below.

You are mostly seeing lights which are man made but look deeper into this picture. I took this picture standing on a tall hill over looking the earth God made. The vast night sky which held billions and trillions of stars twinkled, the moon was yawning, and the lights went on forever, not too mention you could see car headlights coming down from the mountains in the distants.

God made YOU! He loves you so much! He does not want to see you, suffer. It will get better and maybe you've heard someone say that before but it does. We are all living proof things get better. Our God IS LOVE.

God put us on earth to learn, spread the gospel, and to walk through this earth and get back home.....home is Heaven. On the way to Heaven we get lost but we are never too far to return to our God. He always has his arms opened wide for us to give us a hug which will overcome us with peace like wave out on the ocean that overcomes the shore renewing it with gorgeous shells.

That brings me to my next topic which is still on suffering but a different word STORMS. Have any of you heard the song by Hillsong United, Gracious Tempest? If you haven't read no further until you go on you tube and you look the song up!

Beautiful song, right?  Ugh! I love that song so much. When I'm suffering I go to that song. It's not a song that talks about suffering though. Here's the reason..... Gracious Tempest. If you look up Tempest in the dictionary the definition is a violently windy storm. If you look up Gracious in the dictionary the definition is courteous, kind, and pleasant. If you put Gracious and Tempest together it would be a violent storm that is good.


I've yet to see a violent storm that is good. People get hurt, houses get knocked down to the ground. Bad things come from storms so how could storms be good? If you were to just see the word Gracious Tempest it wouldn't make sense.

All of us go through storms, we all have a cross to carry, we all have problems. We're human so all these things are normal for us. Whether it's relationship problems, financial issues, addictions, or work situations, we all hit them eventually. (We're Never Alone But Forever Accepted.) When we're in the eye of the tornado, the beginning of the dark tunnel it can be hard for us to ever see a way out or to see the end of the tunnel where the sun is shining.

There have been times where I put a put a period where there should be an apostrophe because I feel like things will never get better but things will. There have been days where nothing goes right and the whole day is ruined and wasted. There have been days in a row where I feel mopey and nothing can help me get out of it. Or at least that's what I thought.

If you've ever had storm in your life or if you've ever carried a cross then you know how hard it is. If you are carrying one right now then know I'm praying for you and things will get better:)

I listen to Gracious Tempest when I am suffering because I always remember bad things can turn into good things. God is going to make everything good. That black, dirty, filthy, harsh storm is going to stop and God will make it clean, renewing, pure, and white. Not only will that horrible storm stop but you will come out stronger and you will get to tell people like I am telling you right now IT WILL GET BETTER.

Gracious Tempest is that reminder that bad things don't last forever, be happy because God picked the storm for you because he knew you were tough enough to handle it. I know, I am not afraid to say it, I deal with anxiety constantly and I thought that I was never going to get over it, I thought it was going to stay with me through my days and all nights.

I thought I was the only one who dealt with it but when I actually started telling people I was dealing with anxiety then people started telling me they were dealing with it, or they dealt with it. Which brings me to my tips on how to stay happy when you're in the storm.

1.) Tell someone. It's hard, I know, trust me. I don't like telling people about my problems. It's a really bad habit and I'm trying to break it. Keeping it bottled up inside, though won't help. Please tell someone. Please tell someone, it doesn't matter who just tell someone because that was the first thing I did when I was afraid of my anxiety. 

2.) Pray. Yup, you need to pray. Go to your room, open up the bible, and look up Jeremiah 29:11. My favorite bible verse, 'For I Know The plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.' God has plans for you, good plans. He will catch you when you fall and he will hold you until you're ready to get back up again. It is a really good time to pray too because it's Lent.

3.) Visit the blessed Eucharist. I'm blessed to live  five minuets away from my Church. I also have another great Church twenty five minuets away from my house. I've learned that if you pray in front of Jesus in the Tabernacle you will be enlightened and relaxed. I also encourage anyone who lives out close to Rancho Cucamonga to come out to Sacred Heart Church where there is an Holy Hour every Thursday starting at 6:30. Every first Thursday of the month is where the Lifeteen band puts on XLT which is an amazing gift from God. Please, text me and please make it out. I'd love to pray with and for you! :)

4.) Exercise. It may sound weird but it helps. Keep your muscles busy and your mind. Do something healthy instead of focusing on worrying or your struggles.

5.) Put on that Meghan Trainor! Have a dance party and Shake It Off ;) Dancing helps, singing helps, and having a dance party is those two things put in one. Listen to happy music and put yourself in your happy place. The beach, Disneyland, a land filled with every ice cream imaginable, just turn up that radio and be at your happy place.

6.) ASK. Ask to be prayed for. Don't be afraid to call your friend, parent, or sibling up and be like, 'Yo say a quick for me and I'll say one for you.' Psychologically this helps. Knowing someone is praying for you will make you feel better, guaranteed. I frequently ask for prayers and it's not a bad thing.

7.) Get out of the house. It's best not to be in your house if you're feeling sad or unhappy. It's best to get out of your bed, put on clothes, and go outside. Go do something with your friends, treat yourself to In-N-Out, or go see a movie. Don't give attention to your sadness.

I hope these tips have helped you my dear friends. I pray for you so much, if you would like to ask for prayers, I'm always here for you. Text me, Call me, Message me and know I'll pray for you and i pray for you all every first Thursday of the month in front of Jesus. I'll pray that your storms will not be dark but lit, I pray that they will truly end fast. I pray that they will be Gracious Tempest.

It's hard to see the big picture, it's hard to carry your cross but when you're out there in the middle of the sea remember your life guard walks on water.

Fearlessly,
Sammy

P.S. The quote from the movie Soul Surfer by Carrie Underwood, 'I don't know why terrible things happen to good people but I have to believe something good is going to come out of this.'

Youth Day 2015!

Hello my fellow Fearless Catholics! I hope you're all doing well, I've been praying for each and everyone one of you. I haven't written in awhile but I hope you enjoy this post because I had fun experiencing Youth Day 2015 with my best friends!

The theme of Youth Day was 'Talk Jesus With Me.' and we were encouraged to Talk Jesus with everyone we encountered throughout the busy day. My friends and I went with the coolest church around, Sacred Heart who in fact, and this is the truth has the coolest youth ministers! I just love them so much.

Youth Day started at 8:00am and even though I had to wake up at 5:00am (Which I dreaded.) It was totally worth it. In the car my friends and I made the famous 'Free Hug' signs which are always so fun to make and get hugs all day! Once we got to the Anaheim Convention center we went straight into the arena where we were blessed with mass, amazing music from the Incredible Catholic band Jeremy & Ryan, and a talk from Father Greg Boyle founder of Homeboy Ministry for gang members who want to return to their loving Father's arms. No I'm not talking about their fathers, I'm talking about OUR Father, our loving Lord in Heaven.

If you would like to learn more about what kind of things Fr. Greg Boyle does and his ministry click the link to the right: http://www.homeboyindustries.org Fr. Boyle is such an amazing priest and such a great man.

Our parish, Sacred Heart were immensely blessed to have lunch with the Bishop. Bishop Barnes across the street at the Hilton Hotel straight across from the Anaheim Convention Center.

We headed back over to our workshop at 1:00 in the afternoon where we got to listen to Fr. Rob Galea who is an ordained priest, singer/songwriter who plays the guitar wonderfully. Fr. Rob's talk was #DoItScared. Fr. Rob is funny, humble, and a great speaker. Fr. Rob lives in Victoria, Australia but is from Malta. Our group even got to hear Fr. Rob Galea's rendition of Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars. (I'm pretty sure we all know that song.)

Our last session was Ike Ndolo who is such a great artist who sings for the Glory Of God and absolutely loves what he does.  My friends and I were very lucky though because not only did we get to see Ike Ndolo but the Jacob and Matthew band who also sing for the Glory of our King.

This was (part of) our day at Youth Day 2015! Top right is me with my youth minister Candice who has the coolest hair. Top left are inspiring lyrics from the Jacob and Matthew band. Bottom left, is me with one of the lead singers from the J&M band who was nice enough to stop and take pictures. The bottom right is a (bad) picture of Jeremy and Ryan who totally rocked the arena and had everyone singing and shouting.

I encourage everyone who hasn't gone to Youth Day to go. You are surrounded by 15,000+ teens that love and praise God, that give you hugs, and that 'Talk Jesus' with you. It's a crazy feeling knowing you can be your Jesus freak self and not be ashamed or made fun of. Please go to Youth Day! Ask anyone and they will tell you what an experience you will have. I wish every month there was a youth day because not only do you have fun but it strengthens your faith in more ways than one.

I want to leave you with something Fr. Greg Boyle said to us, "Youth Day is not where you go but where you leave." Meaning it is not somewhere you go and then leave and act like it did not happen but somewhere you go, learn, and spread the gospel.

God bless, ya'll
Sammy

If you are interested in any of the speakers/musicians I mentioned here are the links to their official websites. Don't forget to check Fr. Rob Galea out on Instagram and don't forget to check Jeremy and Ryan out on Facebook.
Fr Rob:  http://www.frrobgalea.com/about/
Jeremy & Ryan: https://www.facebook.com/JeremyAndRyan
Jacob and Matthew now known as WAL: http://www.walmusic.com/

Feast Day Of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Happy Feast Day Saint Thomas Aquinas!! Also knows as my confirmation saint who I always ask to interceded for me all the time.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a wonderful person and he is now a wonderful saint. He led a complete pure life and he worked hard in his studies through all of the name calling he went through at school. Thomas Aquinas grew up in Naples, Italy in 1225. At age five, Thomas was enrolled in school at studium generale university. Thomas asked questions like, "Who Is God?' and wondered who God was and went on to find the answer.

Thomas Aquinas is a fantastic philosopher and a brilliant writer. I bet you didn't know he is also a great saint when it comes to quotes and prayers. In honor of St. Thomas Aquinas's feast day here are some of my favorite quotes and prayers of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

God Bless,
St. Thomas Aquinas pray for us.


"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith no explanation is possible."

(That we all may learn to pray to God in time when fear and anxiety takes over our hearts.)
"Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans than when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts."

“The Study of philosophy is not that we may know what men have thought, but what the truth of things is. ”

 “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.”

 “Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine”-

“The things that we love tell us what we are.”