{"id":2875,"date":"2018-02-12T21:16:45","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T02:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=2875"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:51:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:51:58","slug":"grace-trifecta-part-ii-scripture-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-ii-scripture-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grace Trifecta, Part II: Scripture &#8211; Lent 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3X0C4ZBT-CM?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Allison talks about how reading and knowing the scriptures brought her a lot of peace and closeness to God. She shares some stories on her experiences and encourages us to start reading the Lord\u2019s word, and gaining trust from the scriptures as it will help us create a deeper relationship with Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2018-lent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"downloads\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"audio-mp3\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/audiolent\/05%20-%20Allison%20Gringas%20-%20The%20Grace%20Trifecta%2C%20Part%202%20-%20Scripture.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-study-guide-pdf\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II-Scripture-Study-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-transcript-pdf\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II-Scripture-Allison-Gingras-Transcript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"reflective-study-guide-questions\">Reflective Study Guide Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Allison shared that she was able to learn about the Faith through her affliction, and to grow closer to God, rather than to despair about it, through that cross. This is a huge struggle, but one that we can greatly benefit from. How has this played out in your life? Were there times you were inching towards despair? How were you saved from that?<br><br><\/li><li>One way we can know if we\u2019re living out God\u2019s will for our lives is to spend time with God\u2019s word, with Scripture. What are some ways you can do more of this in the next few weeks? Could you attend daily Mass more often, or could you read the daily readings if you can\u2019t attend Mass?<br><br><\/li><li>God\u2019s will is made perfect in our weakness. How have your weaknesses led to your understanding of God\u2019s will in your life? How has God done great things using your weaknesses?<br><br><\/li><li>How has God revealed Himself to you in His word? What has He been speaking to you lately?<br><br><\/li><li>Allison mentions the word, \u201cGodcidences,\u201d &#8212; coincidences that are not coincidences because of our Lord. Have you had incidences like these happen?<br><br><\/li><li>The veil between Heaven and Earth is thinner than we believe. Which saints do you like to ask for your intercession most often? Which ones have been a part of your life lately? Are there anymore you could learn more about during the next few weeks?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"text-the-grace-trifecta-part-ii-scripture\">Text: The Grace Trifecta, Part II: Scripture <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">Hi, I\u2019m Allison Gingras with Reconciledtoyou.com. We\u2019re continuing on our Lenten journey together, talking about The <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-iii-sacraments-lent-2018\/\">Grace Trifecta<\/a> of prayer, sacrament, and scripture. In session one, we talked about <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/sitting-in-silence-with-the-lord-lent-2021\/\">prayer<\/a>, and today we\u2019re going to dive into some scripture. First, let\u2019s start with a prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"opening-prayer\">Opening Prayer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\"><em>In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Dear good and gracious God, we are so <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/eliminating-self-comparison-for-grateful-reality-lent-2021\/\">grateful<\/a> for this time together. Lord, we ask You to open up our <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/fathers-heart-lent-2018\/\">hearts<\/a> and our minds to the message that You have specifically to us in this time together. Lord, we ask for Your blessing upon each and every one of us in our Lenten journey, and we ask You please, dear Lord, to continue to bless and guide us along our way. I ask specifically, Lord, for Your work and Your will to be done, and for me to get out of Your way. And we ask all this in Your most precious name, Jesus Christ. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"god-leads-you-to-your-path\">God Leads You To Your Path<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">When I look at the scriptures about <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/encountering-christ-within-advent-2018\/\">Jesus<\/a>, there is one that stands out particularly to me, especially in this last 2 years as I\u2019ve journeyed and dealt with a chronic, what do you call it? An affliction. Let\u2019s go with chronic affliction. Atopic dermatitis. It\u2019s a hand eczema, and it is chronic, it\u2019s inflammation. There is no cause that they can determine, and therefore they can\u2019t really come up with a cure. So, it\u2019s been kind of a frustrated two years, but I love that the Lord has allowed me to see so much good in this time. Has allowed me to see Him at work, and learn from this affliction, instead of becoming despaired by it. Though I have to say there have been moments I have been pretty frustrated with it. It\u2019s&#8230; it\u2019s ugly, it\u2019s difficult sometimes. There have been times when I haven\u2019t even been able to use my hands, and that\u2019s been frustrating. Not to be able to serve my family, not to be able to work. But, again, the Lord showed me, for instance, here\u2019s a really great example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve, you know, like every family, we have financial difficulties, and I have been working in ministry now since 2009, and my husband said \u201cYou know, perhaps we need to consider you returning to one of your other careers that you had leading up to here.\u201d I was a childcare provider, and I was a paralegal. And he said \u201cWell, even just get a part-time job at a fast food place or, you know, a retailer.\u201d And so I decided to pray about it. And one of the greatest concerns about my hands is that I am very susceptible to infection. So I can\u2019t work with money, nobody wants me touching their food, I couldn\u2019t go back to childcare, because that requires constant hand-washing. And paralegal, well, that requires a lot of typing, but it also required me to go back and learn all the laws, because it\u2019s been quite a while, quite a long time since I practiced that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And in it, I started to realize that the Lord has allowed this inflammation at this time of my life because it kept me where I believe He wanted me to be. I believe it kept me in ministry, it kept me serving Him. And, you know, the most amazing thing is right after we came to the conclusion that, right, you know, there is nothing else right now I can do. But we <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/trusting-in-gods-will-lent-2020\/\">trust<\/a> in the Lord\u2019s providence for us, for our lives and for our families. And right after, we had a couple of things in our life happen where it really showed that the Lord was providing, and we had a family member give us a little bit of inheritance because he wanted to see us enjoy it before he passed away. And I was also given a little bit of work, enough work that it paid some of the bills. But more importantly, it reaffirmed that this is what the Lord has called me to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"discerning-god-s-will\">Discerning God&#8217;s Will<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And perhaps that\u2019s something that you\u2019re dealing with right now. You\u2019re trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-to-discern-gods-will-advent-2020\/\">discern<\/a> God\u2019s will in your life, and you\u2019re trying to decide \u201cWhat does God want me to be doing right now?\u201d And discerning can be so hard. You know, just trying to get this video accomplished, things kept coming up and interrupting the process. And I thought \u201cOkay, is this <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/renewing-covenant-god-lent-lent-2018\/\">God<\/a> telling me \u2018You\u2019re on the wrong path. Change direction, and I\u2019m going to keep interrupting you until you do what I\u2019m asking you to do.\u2019? Or was this the enemy going \u2018This is going to be too good, and she\u2019s going to, well, the Lord through her,\u2019 because this isn\u2019t me, \u2018is going to encourage too many hearts to love Him. So we need to stop her, and maybe discourage her from going on.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m sure that there\u2019s moments, maybe right now, or in your past, or will happen eventually, and for me, the one true way of knowing that I\u2019m in God\u2019s will is to spend time in His word. Because it\u2019s in the scriptures that I hear God\u2019s voice most clearly, because that is the word of God. That is the inspired word of our Lord, and of&#8230; I mean, it\u2019s the eyewitness accounts of our Lord. It\u2019s His actual words that people heard Him speak. To know what Jesus is teaching us, we don\u2019t have to guess. We can read the gospels, and right there we have His words. And then we have Paul, who gives us more insight into what Jesus taught, and of course the Old Testament, the Salvation History, with God\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And reading that, and spending time with it really helps, at least me, helps me to discern, because when I\u2019m praying and when I\u2019m trying to decide and listen to God, to have the scriptures on my <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/fathers-heart-lent-2018\/\">heart<\/a> means I also have them in my head. And I can hear His voice as much as my feeble human mind can, Him guiding me, and teaching me. And this is, the ones I\u2019m going to share with you today, are just a few that the Lord has brought to me during this <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/keeping-real-advent-advent-2016\/\">real<\/a> struggle with this chronic inflammation and this affliction which, of course, I\u2019ve prayed more than 3 times for the Lord to take away. But I trust that His <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/sharing-gods-graces-christian-friendship\/\">grace<\/a> is enough, as Saint Paul teaches us in Corinthians, that it is enough. And that, in it, God\u2019s will is made perfect in my weakness, and in weakness in general. And in this case, my inflammation and my affliction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"jesus-as-divine-physician\">Jesus As Divine Physician<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Jesus as divine physician is one of the first one that comes up to me. Mark 2:17 <strong><em>Jesus said to them \u201cIt is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>And it was very interesting, as I look at Jesus being the divine physician, being the doctor, the one thing about this inflammation that, this sickness, is that I avoided doctors for a really long time. I struggle sometimes to trust in them, and I, you know, think I can handle it all on my own. You know, if there\u2019s no cause and there\u2019s no cure, what\u2019s the point? I\u2019ll have to just figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And, you know, I kind of did that with <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/can-god-really-heal-me-healing-2020\/\">God for a really<\/a> long time too. I struggled to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/trusting-god-in-the-unknown-healing-2019\/\">trust that He was real, and to trust that this God<\/a> that I could not see actually existed. And I\u2019d like to think that through His grace, through His mercy on my heart, that through what I call God-cidences \u2013 You know, the world may think of it as a coincidence, but I see it as a God-cidence, as God\u2019s moving in my life \u2013 that He made himself known to me. Like, why would the God that made Himself visible in Jesus then make Himself invisible to us? Of course He wants us to know that He\u2019s with us. And if we ask, He will make Himself known, He will reveal Himself to us, and He does that, of course, in His word, most specifically, but I also see Him in different ways in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"father-solanus-casey\">Father Solanus Casey<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">But one of the ways I think that we see Him is through the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-lives-of-the-saints-our-beloved-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ\/\">lives of the saints<\/a>, and through their intercession with us. So I had this inflammation, and it was getting pretty bad, and my hands were very red and swollen. And clearly, there was an infection happening, but I was still choosing to ignore it. But I was really struggling, and I had just kind of fallen in love with and discovered at that time Venerable Solanus Casey, now Blessed Solanus, Father Solanus Casey. And decided one day just to ask for his intersession. I had&#8230; I don\u2019t even know how I found him, but someone had sent me this adorable little relic of him. He\u2019s chk on the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And so I decided \u201cYou know, Father Solanus, I really need your help. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with my hands, but I really need your help.\u201d Very long story short, I discovered through a mammogram that I had an inflammation, an infection in my body, and I finally called the doctor and finally went on medication. And the hands started to clear at that point, the infection, God, thank God, <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-you-may-be-preventing-your-healing-healing-2018\/\">healed<\/a> as well. And I was sitting at the hairdresser, and I was just on my phone, kind of waiting for my hair to get all beautiful. And I got this email that Father Solanus Casey was being beatified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, this was just days after discovering the infection, and starting to feel better, and really believing that Father Solanus had helped me. But I didn\u2019t really realize how much Father Solanus had protected me, and what his favor had meant until I started to read on. It said that he was being beatified, and that the healing was the healing of a woman from a chronic skin disorder, which made sense because that\u2019s what he died from. And I was like \u201cReally? I did not know how he died.\u201d So I went on the internet, because that\u2019s what we do to find stuff nowadays, right \u2013 I don\u2019t know how we ever survived without it before \u2013 So I went on the internet, and I looked up Father Solanus Casey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, I knew a little bit about him, carried this around with me, and prayed to him. But what I didn\u2019t know, and what was so remarkable, is that the very infection that I had contracted, that his favor had protected me from, was the very one that he died from. And just to be sure that I wasn\u2019t imagining things, that this was truly his favor, his intercession, and that God was listening, as I am reading all of this, a friend of mine pops up on my instant message and said \u201cHey, do you know what? I have this relic of Father Solanus Casey. Can I pray for you?\u201d The very moment I\u2019m praying and thinking \u201cIs this really happening?\u201d Like, those are God-cidences. I couldn\u2019t make that happen if I tried. And it just really helped me, to know and to see that I\u2019m not alone, and maybe you need to know that too. You\u2019re not alone. The veil between heaven and earth is far thinner than we believe. We are always in God\u2019s presence. Our guardian angels never leave our sides, and they\u2019re always looking upon the face of God. And they\u2019re with us to guide us, to lead us, to, you know, light and guide, rule and guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And so understanding that avoiding Jesus, whether it be for help with my physical wellbeing or, more importantly, my spiritual wellbeing, was&#8230; I\u2019m going to call myself foolish, because I was missing out on a real great gift that God gives us, in knowing that we are not alone. And it made me think, when I think about the scriptures and illness, of course I can\u2019t help of think of the hemorrhaging woman from&#8230; you find her in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, and Luke 8:43-48. Longsuffering, 12 years with this hemorrhaging that no doctor could solve. And I actually laughed out loud when it said how much money she spent, because when I really started to first contract the atopic dermatitis, I probably spent, over the last 2 years, I\u2019ve probably <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/lent-well-spent\/\">spent well<\/a> over a thousand dollars on ointments, creams, medications, vitamins. You name it, I have tried it. And I thought \u201cOh, well look, I\u2019m not the only one. We even have somebody in the scriptures who was doing the same thing. Trying to get well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">But what I <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-joy-to-be-loved-healing-2020\/\">loved<\/a> is what Jesus says to her, and I feel like sometimes when I read the scriptures, okay, a lot of times when I read the Bible, I feel like things are being said right to me. And I hope that if you spend some time, especially during Lent, if you open up the scriptures and spend some time with God\u2019s word, that you too feel God speaking right to your heart. And what He said to her was \u201cDaughter, take courage.\u201d In some translations, He says \u201cTake heart,\u201d which I really like. \u201cTake heart. Take courage. Go in peace.\u201d Well first \u201cYour faith has made you well. Go in peace.\u201d And there\u2019s a few things that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"daughter\">Daughter<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, being called \u201cdaughter\u201d reminds me of my adoption into God\u2019s family. My being part of God\u2019s family, being His adopted daughter and son. And that\u2019s kind of really significant to me, because I am both a biological mom and an adoptive mom. And when we were waiting to adopt Faithey from China, I remember thinking \u201cAm I going to love her as much as I love my boys?\u201d Like, I carried them, I gave birth to them. There was just something about that connectedness, of being, you know, carrying them, being one with them. Would I ever feel that way about Faith? And it really&#8230; it really was a concern for me, especially because she\u2019s profoundly deaf. Would I be able to communicate enough with her? Would I be able to build that bond that I have with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, truth be told, there\u2019s days that I love her way more than her brothers. We have been able to bond and connect in a way that never thought possible. And one day, as I was contemplating that beautiful bond, I thought about God, and my sometimes insecurity as His daughter, as His beloved daughter, and really being adopted by Him. And I thought \u201cIf I, an imperfect human being, could love an adopted child as my own.\u201d I don\u2019t call her my adopted daughter, I call her my daughter. \u201cHow much more can God do that?\u201d Like, we are truly beloved by Him. We are His children. There are no differences. There is no \u201cHe couldn\u2019t possibly love us because we\u2019re adopted.\u201d No. He just is crazy about us. He created us out of love, and he is love, as John tells us in the gospel. He can do nothing but love us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"leaving-in-peace\">Leaving In Peace<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So, I thought that was&#8230; Reading that really touched my heart. And then \u201cThat faith has made you well. And lastly, that \u201cGo in <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/blessed-are-the-peacemakers-lent-2021\/\">peace,\u201d<\/a> because, as I said in the first session about prayer, I really, truly believe that the answer to every single prayer I\u2019ve ever prayed has been peace. It\u2019s not always the answer I\u2019m seeking, it\u2019s not always some profound understanding or answer, or even sometimes I don\u2019t even feel a spiritual connection with God. But I always leave prayer in peace. And that\u2019s what I see here. When the&#8230; when the hemorrhaging woman touches Jesus, just the tassel was enough for His power to be unleashed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And in one of the gospels, He says, I think it\u2019s Mark, He says \u201cWho has touched me?\u201d And of course, the apostles think he means physically, and they said \u201cOh Lord, we\u2019re in the middle of a crowd. How could we possibly know which one of these people touched you?\u201d But if you think about Jesus and His heart for me people, and how He says to the woman when He finally discovers who it is \u201cTake heart.\u201d I believe that He said, \u201cWho touched me?\u201d regarding her faith. Her faith touched His heart. \u201cWho touched my heart?\u201d And when we come to Him, regardless of, you know, what it is we\u2019re bringing, when we show that we have faith enough to pray, we touch God\u2019s heart. We touch <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/consoling-jesus-heart-and-growing-closer-to-him-healing-2018\/\">Jesus\u2019 heart<\/a>. And then He says to you \u201cYour faith has made you well, and you may go in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">The last thing I wanted to talk about this session with you is when our answer isn\u2019t what we wanted, or what we asked for, there\u2019s some scriptures I think that are really important for us to look at. The first one is Isaiah 59:8-9: <strong><em>For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor My ways your ways, or your ways My ways. Declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.<\/em><\/strong> We think that what we\u2019re praying for and <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/when-god-asks-us-to-be-little-the-little-way-healing-2018\/\">asking God<\/a> for is what\u2019s best for us. The funny thing is we\u2019re not God, and we really don\u2019t know what\u2019s best for us. We\u2019d like to think so, I like to think so, but I don\u2019t. And God\u2019s ultimate&#8230; He promises to make good of everything, and the ultimate good, of course, He promises is for us to be in heaven with Him forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So everything that He allows in our life \u2013 He doesn\u2019t bring the bad, but He allows it, because there\u2019s free will in the world, because it gives us an opportunity to rely on Him, for grace to come from it \u2013 There\u2019s so much good, if we can just allow God to work in our hearts. That we just can\u2019t even&#8230; we can\u2019t even fathom quite honestly. But to remember that God\u2019s ways are not our ways, they are higher than our ways, really helps bring that <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/let-servant-go-peace-responding-god-prayer-lent-2018\/\">peace from when my prayers<\/a> aren\u2019t answered quite the way I had hoped they would be. My spiritual director teases me that I am willing to be the spouse of the beloved Jesus, but only the Holy Spirit, God. I\u2019m open to this relationship, as long as I have a prenup, and prenup with Him that everything I ask for happens. You know, God\u2019s will, my will, they should be the same. They should be the same. But they should be mine bending to His, because His will is perfect. And our <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/our-blessed-mother-mary-her-suffering-and-ours-healing-2019\/\">Blessed Mother<\/a> responded to God\u2019s will perfectly, and so she\u2019s such a good model. And how did she do that? She was full of grace, which brings me back to prayer, sacrament, and scripture. It\u2019s a great foundation and way of growing each one of us in grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"trust\">Trust<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And the last thing I want to&#8230; I know I said this was, but this is part of the last part \u2013 is this trust. So all of this really leads up to \u201cDo I trust God?\u201d And \u201cAm I willing to open my heart to trust Him?\u201d And there\u2019s 2 scriptures I want to leave you with to contemplate to help you grow in your trust in the Lord. And the first is Proverbs 3:5-6: <strong><em>Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understandings, but acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make straight your path.<\/em><\/strong> And the second is Jeremiah 29:11 <strong><em>For I know the plans I have for you. Plans for good, and not for your woe. <\/em><\/strong>So, you know, as we continue through our Lenten journey, open up the scriptures, ask the Lord \u201cWhat is it You want me to know about You, and about me in You? Teach me, guide me, lead me.\u201d Ask your guardian angel to take you on that journey, to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/pray-like-saint-wisdom-growing-closer-god-part\/\">grow closer to God<\/a> through the scriptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m going to close with a quick prayer. <em>Dear Jesus, we thank You so much for the gospels. For Your words spoken through the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, for those eyewitnesses, who saw Your work, and shared it with us. Lord, help us during this Lenten time to read those gospels, to see what it is You want from us, the model, the life that You modeled for us, and the life that You want us to embrace. The abundant life that You came and died to give us. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-allison-gingras\">About Allison Gingras<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"382\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2488 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1.jpg 310w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Allison-Headshot-1-243x300.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-allison-gingras\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Allison Gingras<\/a><\/strong> is the founder of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reconciledtoyou.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reconciled To You<\/a> where she blogs, shares and speaks about the Catholic faith in our everyday life and the many opportunities life presents to discover the grace of God! She shares these with great enthusiasm, passion and a sense of humor. Allison is a WINE Specialist overseeing and facilitating social media for WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II_-Scripture.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II_-Scripture.jpg 800w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II_-Scripture-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II_-Scripture-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/The-Grace-Trifecta-Part-II_-Scripture-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"316\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png 701w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1-300x135.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Allison talks about how reading and knowing the scriptures brought her a lot of peace and closeness to God. She shares some stories on her experiences and encourages us to start reading the Lord\u2019s word, and gaining trust from the scriptures as it will help us create a deeper relationship with Him. Thank you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2853,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Grace Trifecta, Part II: Scripture - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/grace-trifecta-part-ii-scripture-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Grace Trifecta, Part II: Scripture - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary Allison talks about how reading and knowing the scriptures brought her a lot of peace and closeness to God. 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