Simplicity is
honesty with oneself,
honesty with others,
and honesty with God.
~Fr. Frederick W. Faber
Any one of these traits of simplicity would be a victory. Think about how complicated things get in your head and in your life when you are not honest with yourself, with others, and with God. When there is any level of dishonesty in your life, our body and soul feel it in the form of stress, anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other physical and mental symptoms. Being honest is sometimes harder than it sounds and requires self-awareness and courage. Take an interior look at yourself through the lens of the decisions you have made the last couple of weeks. Are these decisions and the outcomes of them congruent with who you are as God's beloved daughter? If not, take it to confession and pray for the strength to speak honestly to yourself, to others and to God.
Learning to be honest with yourself helps you to make choices that are in line with the person God made you to be and will make your life easier, less complicated, and a lot more beautiful.Â
Simplicity is:
*virtuous
*a chosen way of life
*knowing who you are
*knowing whose you are
*beautiful
*necessary for growth
*lived interiorly and exteriorly
*using your gifts to build the Kingdom of God
Simplicity is not:
*minimalism
*involuntary poverty
*living in the country
*homesteading
*going on vacation
*plain or lacking beauty
*against "screen time"
*against social media
*doing nothing
*EASY
spiritual
Your spiritual challenge for the weekend is to get to confession if you have not already been this week. This is the perfect opportunity to practice the virtue of simplicity as you are completely honest with God. He wants you to experience his love and mercy. The link below is to an examination of conscience based on the 4 Temperaments by my friend, Kylie Hein, a fellow Catholic Coach. She is an amazing coach and so knowledgeable about the temperaments. I hope you like it and that it gives you more to think about for your next confession. Don't forget to "bookend" your days with prayer, morning and evening.Â
self
In keeping with Fr. Faber's definition of simplicity above, I encourage you to grow in some self-knowledge this weekend by studying Kylie's Temperament Examen linked above. Even if you are not going to confession this weekend, you will find this to be useful for your evening examen.
Â
"The Examen is a prayerful way to reflect back on your day and to ask the Lord to help you see yourself as you are in this moment. It is also an opportunity to prayerfully reflect on who God desires you to be. Like all prayer, this is an opportunity to grow in love, leading us to a place of increased self-awareness, humility, and deepened gratitude for God and the ways He continues to work and create, both within and around us."
~Kylie Hein
service
Make an intentional effort to make good eye contact with everyone you are in conversation with. This promotes feelings of worthiness, connectedness, trust, compassion and proves you are listening to what they are saying. Did you know that eye contact activates the limbic mirror system? This means that the neurons that are firing in your brain will also fire in the other person's brain when you share eye contact. When your eyes are full of joy, they feel your joy. When your eyes are sad, they feel your sadness. Can you think of a time when you experienced this recently?
You can still download and print the SIMPLE40Â 100 Ways to Serve below.
"A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn."
~Psalm 51:19
Today's Recipe
Balsamic Salmon Burger Tacos
Make about 12 little tacos - super simple and tasty!
4 salmon patties (we like the ones from Costco)
4-6 T. balsamic vinegar
12 corn tortillas
*a little avocado or olive oil for frying the tortillas (optional)
*taco toppings of your choice (tomato, lettuce, salsa, etc)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 of a cucumber, diced small
1 t. minced garlic
1 T. minced red onion
Salt and pepper to taste
*Place frozen salmon patties in a large pan and begin heating over med-high heat. Pour 1-2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar over each patty, flipping several times to coat it on both sides well.
*Cook for 10 min flipping every couple of minutes to prevent burning. Patties are done when pressed by a spatula and no pink juices flow out.
*Chunk the patties up into bite size pieces.
***While salmon is cooking, make the yogurt cucumber sauce by mixing the yogurt, cucumber, garlic and onion together. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired.
***Heat the avocado oil in a small pan and fry the tortillas quickly to warm and soften them a bit. You are now ready to assemble and enjoy these tasty little tacos. Perfect for Lenten Fridays!
Enjoy!
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