#deserve it

[momentsbeforemass]

What Jesus doesn’t say

Today’s Gospel is the story of Jesus walking on the water. With Peter trying to walk on the water. And failing.

So, Jesus pulls him into the boat. And afterwards says to Peter, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Which is Jesus’ way of saying, “Why are you worrying? I’ve got this.”

The best part? What Jesus doesn’t say.

When Peter cries out for help, Jesus doesn’t say, “You know, Peter, you really need to get yourself together if you expect Me to help you.”

Jesus doesn’t say, “What have you done to deserve My help?”

Or “How many times am I going to have to do this?”

Or “What’s in it for Me?”

Jesus simply pulls Peter into the boat. Before He says anything.

Why is that the best part?

Because it shows us that Jesus isn’t keeping score.

Jesus isn’t looking at you or me or Peter, to see whether we deserve His love, His help.

Because if it was left to what we actually deserved, Peter would still be in the water.

Jesus is looking at us through His eyes of love. The same Love that’s looking for you.

Let’s be clear.

The Love that’s looking for you has nothing to do with who you are.

The Love that’s looking for you has everything to do with who He is.

Today’s Readings

[creedslove]

BESTIES 🥺 WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IF OUR JAVI RETURNED ONE LAST TIME BECAUSE WE REALLY MISS HIM? WOULD YOU LIKE IT?

If so, don't miss DESERVE IT - EPILOGUE later this week ❤️🥺

[wiirocku]

Proverbs 3:27 (NLT) - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it    when it’s in your power to help them.

[ramblesbiab]

Sometimes I see a ship that makes me repeat “All interpretations are valid. People can ship what they want.” in my head while shaking and wanting to scream into a pillow.

[heartsaplenty]

Know that.. Can't escape it.

Can still have.. Normal okay days.

[mburley92]

Today's inspiring video on Allow yourself to be happy. You are worth it and you deserve it.

Good morning my beautiful and lovely friends,I hope that you have a Super Sunday.Here's today's inspiring video: https://youtube.com/shorts/gsJCywPpgLg?si=I9Lu9AVfMK1as1wsI also posted two new quizzes for those who are interested.With love, your friend Mariah

[allo-frouto]

Tag five moots you think deserve a follow. (Bonus points if you include a reason why you think they deserve it)

1. @kivdila-logia

2. @daddy-issuess

3. @girl-of-your-wetdreams

4. @blue-sky-full-of-stars

5. @filamemalaka

And what do you mean why? They are all amazing.

[momentsbeforemass]

I know

(By request, my homily from Sunday)

“And the second is like unto it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s how Sunday’s Gospel ends.

If an honest, unbiased observer followed us around, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out that you and I? We don’t do a very good job with this one.

Why do I say that? There are a lot of reasons. Here are the two big ones.

First, who is my neighbor? Who is your neighbor? You and I have two answers to this one. There’s the Jesus answer, the one we know from the Parable of the Good Samaritan. That’s the one we want people to think we use.

And then there’s the answer that we really use. It’s a little different from the Jesus answer. The way we live our lives gives that one away.

Because there are people that you and I clearly don’t see as our neighbors. We may never have given the question a moment’s thought outside of church. But whether you and I are aware that we’re doing it or not, there are people that you and I ignore. There are people that you and I treat like things. 

I’m going to tell you something you already know – that doesn’t track with the Jesus answer. But that’s the answer you and I really use.

Why do we do that? The answer to that is the other big reason.

Because we can’t give what we don’t have. And most of the time, you and I don’t have the love that it takes to live the Jesus answer.

You know why, right?

Because we’re not doing the first one. You and I don’t do a very good job of loving the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

How do we do that?

It all comes down to the difference between “I think” and “I know.”

When Cyndi and I were dating, we had dinner one Sunday with my friend, Charlotte. Charlotte was like a grandmother to me. Cyndi made a great impression – no surprise there.

Afterwards, Charlotte told me, “I think she loves you.” Charlotte was so excited to tell me that.

But for me? The “I think” part got me worried. “I think?” Maybe that means she loves me, but maybe it doesn't. Do I need to do something more? Try to impress her? Be good enough? With “I think,” everything was up in the air.

I’m happy to say that eventually I learned that it wasn’t really “I think,” it was “I know.”

When you go from “I think” to “I know,” you can relax. You don’t have to try to impress or worry about whether you’re good enough. You’re at peace, you’re secure.

I bring this up, because a lot of us have an “I think He loves me” perspective on God.

Wondering if we’ve done what we’re supposed to do, if we’re good enough. Maybe we don’t put the idea into words, but the way it feels inside us? It’s like we’re saying, “I went to Mass during the week, I went to confession, I think God loves me.” “I prayed the Rosary, I visited a friend in the hospital, I wasn’t a jerk to my co-worker, I’ve earned God’s love.”

One of the big problems with this perspective on God? When our performance isn’t perfect, when we don’t check all the boxes, we think that God will stop loving us. Why do we do that?

Because we all know people who work that way, whose love is conditional like that. If we stop checking all their boxes, they won’t love us.

But that’s not God. That’s not who God is.

When our performance isn’t perfect, when we don’t check all the boxes, God doesn’t change His mind.

You can run away from God when you screw things up – again. God will just come running towards you. With open arms.

There is nothing that you can do to make God love you any less.

But – sometimes it’s like we’re trying to clean ourselves up, to get things under control, to be good enough, trying to make ourselves loveable. Then we’ll believe that God loves us.

Quit trying to earn what you already have.

God loves you right now, right in the middle of your mess. And God loves you too much to leave you there.

Get rid of that “I think” perspective, starting living in “I know.” Live in the peace, live in the security of the truth – “I know that God loves me.”

It’s a gift. There is nothing you can do to earn it. Take the gift.

When you do, when you live in the truth of “I know that God loves me,” it will change you.

The more time you spend in the unconditional love of God? Bit by bit, piece by piece, you will fill up with that love.

And you will become more and more like the One who loves you.

Until there’s no room in you for anything else.

Until you start reflecting that love back to God.

And “loving the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” is just like breathing out and breathing in.

Until that love overflows towards your neighbor.

And “loving your neighbor as yourself” is just how you live.

Today, get rid of that “I think” perspective about God, starting living in “I know.”

May God give you the grace to live in the peace, to live in the security of the truth. To say in your heart – “I know that God loves me.”

Sunday’s Readings

[creedslove]

BESTIES LOOK I GOT SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

So, tonight there might be another chapter of Deserve It but I am not so sure because I don't know if I'll finish it on time today

However we all know the story is coming to an end 😭😭😭😭😭😭

So, originally I had planned on writing two other chapters (chapter 13 and 14) and then end it with an epilogue (chapter 15) but I still have so many things and so many feelings idk if I'll be able to fit it all in three parts so idk

and on an unrelated note, I had to rinse my hair in the sink because i was showering on autopilot and thinking of this chapter of deserve it and i got distracted by Javi and didn't pay attention to see if I had washed the hair conditioner off or not

[desperatepleasures]

one time I used the ben affleck smoking reaction image in the family group chat and my mom replied with the funniest possible response which was: "mommy doesn't know who the guy is???" and that phrase has not left my brain since. I'll see blorbos on my dash that I don't recognize and I'll be like well it seems mommy doesn't know who the guy is.

[bizarrebazaar13]

what if your doppelgänger wasn’t evil it was just a person. what if your doppelgänger wasn’t trying to replace you it was just trying to learn to be a person and you were the best model it had. what if your doppelgänger looked at you with your eyes and said with your voice that it just wanted to be loved. what then.

[sweaters-and-vertigo]

they could never make me trust cops

[inbabylontheywept]

so once me and my wife were watching a documentary where a snake ate like a million eggs. that snake just went to fucking town on eggs. and the snake made the eggs look so good that i kept thinking about it, and thinking about it, and thinking about it, and eventually it was 11pm and i ran out of willpower and decided to eat one (1) singular raw egg just to prove to myself that the snake was surely a liar.

the snake was not a liar. texture is like, super important to me and raw eggs are very Texture so i had another one, and then another one, and then another one, and eventually i ran out of eggs.

i had like, fifteen raw eggs.

i didnt really know how to explain this momentary madness to my wife, so my Plan was to put all the eggshells into a grocey bag, and then throw that grocery bag in the dumpster, and if she never noticed that would be Excellent and if she noticed immediately i could lie and say that the eggs went bad.

except i cant lie very good, and of course with murphys law being such, i got salmonella.

so i threw up a lot and my wife asked me what poisoned me so and i tried very hard to dodge the question but i was oozing shame like oil from a room temperature cheese and eventaully i gave in and told her everything and to her enormous credit she was more flabbergasted than actually upset. she did make me promise to not eat any more raw eggs, which i have stuck to, and she gives me weird looks during nature documentaries now as if desire was the only thing keeping me from eating thousands of pounds of krill anyway i made a joke earlier about being able to eat my age in eggs and my sister in law in law made a drawing to comemorate the moment and also because it was my birthday. she's excellent. thank you 10000000% @cintailed. you should all visit her page and admire her work.

[eerizon]

in the back of my mind, it’s always there.

Anya and Curly’s last “conversation”

[afterthelambs]

"In another life I would have really liked just dancing and making inventions with you"