Today’s lovely February Challenge post is brought to you courtesy of my backpack (since it’s pretty much the only bag I use currently).

Here are some things in it:

Binders (today they were for Stats/Micro and Christian Moral Life)

Laptop

Charging cord for said laptop

Water bottle

My book of sanity

My planner

My prayer journals (adoration today)

The Light of Faith by Pope Francis

Rosary meditation book

Lots of assorted writing utensils

Post its (awesome sale last year!)

Keys

Wallet

Cell phone

Camera

Glasses

Chapstick (Burt’s Bees pomegranate to be exact)

Cough drops

Pro-Life drop cards

Aaaand that’s a wrap! What a thrilling bag, huh?

 

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To finish off the blogging challenge, I’m sharing with you some inspirational/motivational photos to kick-start your week. Take the time to set your week off the a good start, and check off that to-do list. You know you can, and there’s only so much left of summer. See ya’ll later this week!

Work on becoming that person you know you can be. Sure, it takes effort. But won’t it be worth it?

“I know this now. Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing, and so they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it and then it’s gone. But to surrender who you are and to live without belief is more terrible than dying – even more terrible than dying young.”

~ St. Joan of Arc (aka. a beast)

There’s a story about Abraham Lincoln where he called on an excellent soldier during the Civil War. He wanted the soldier to deliver a message to a different battalion, which was a very important mission. Lincoln wanted to attack using both battalions, and needed to communicate this quickly to the others. When he arrived, the soldier said “I am willing to die for our cause.” To which Lincoln replied “I have twenty-five thousand men who are willing to die for the cause. What I need is one who is willing to live for it.”

In this day and age it’s unlikely to be martyred for your faith or die in a battlefield (for those of us in the West at least), but I’ve been introduced to this concept: Instead, we are faced with the challenge to live our faith.

In Rediscovering Catholicism, Matthew Kelly wrote “[Y]ou and I, here in America, in Australia, and in the United Kingdom, are not called to die for our faith. We are called to live for it. The modern Church desperately needs men and women who are willing to live for the faith.”

Doesn’t that make so much sense?!?!?! You’ve probably heard that we’re supposed to live as the light and salt of the world. And it’s true. The authentic Catholic life is something special and beautiful and attractive simply because it is so different from our modern society. So take some time today to think about that.

Are you shining the light of the Catholic faith on the world?

Do you live your life in such a way that people witness the beauty of Catholicism through you?

This is our job. Let’s work together to live for and give our lives, while we still can, to something bigger than us.

What do you choose to give your life to?