Our first wallpaper of the new year and happy Epiphany! Today's download was made by Erica of Be A Heart from the first reading, Isaiah 60:5 "Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb & overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you" Our King was born and our hearts throb and overflow. Let us find our radiance in him. You can also get this in a for print version in our shop! Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper  

Today, we celebrate the Epiphany, and this week, we will reflect on Prayer in Action as a community. As Kathryn Whitaker writes today, what better way to celebrate the gifts of the Magi than to use our own gifts as a blessing to others? Kathryn’s words of advice are pertinent every day as we serve God and each other: “Instead of complaining, begging and wishing our gifts away, let’s give God the very best of us. Our words of thanks for the gifts He bestows upon us is never enough. Instead, use your gifts. Use them for His glory. His purpose. His will.” Comment below with your thoughts: We offer this month of prayer together as a community. What gift can you lay before the Christ Child this month in your prayer? Or, simply answer: Did you pray today?

In today’s devotional, Emily Wilson reflects on what it means to be be the “voice in the desert.” She writes: “All we can do is witness. All we are called to do is set things up for God to move—to speak love and truth and power and beauty into their lives—through our words and actions—and allow God to cultivate those seeds planted in their minds and hearts in the beautiful way He does.” Our prayer and intercession for the people who need God in their lives can be voices of grace in their spiritual deserts. Comment below with your thoughts: Who can you pray for today? Who needs our prayers? Send up your prayers today for the intentions of all our sisters in this community. or, simply answer: Did you pray today?

Today’s feast day honors our Blessed Mother, the model for all Christians. Mary’s faith and prayer serve as an example to show us how to draw close to her Son. This month, spend time each day in prayer. Pray however you feel called to -- the most important thing is that you make the time for prayer in your day, every day. Then come back and support your Blessed Is She sisters in their prayer. Today, turn to Mary and ask her to guide your heart to Jesus over the next month. Here are a few ideas to pray with Mary: Spend time in reflection (“But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19) Pray the Rosary Meditate on the Magnificat Begin memorizing a Marian prayer, like the Memorare or the Angelus Pray for new mothers Comment below with your thoughts: How are you honoring Mary today in your prayer? Do you have a focus for these 31 days of renewal? How can the Blessed Is She Sisterhood support you this month? or, simply answer: Did you pray today?

"Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord" Psalm 84 This weekly wallpaper was beautifully painted by Lauren of Lauren Michele Art. You can download it below for your phone and desktop and also buy a printable version in our shop! Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

We pledge that for the first part of the year 2016, we will pray daily together as a sisterhood. Whether it be reading the daily devotions (subscribe here), prayer journaling, lectio divina, reading the Word, a rosary, silent time, etc., we will dive into prayer. January 1st-31st will be a new start to the year and a time to dedicate ourselves again to even 10 minutes of devoted prayer time. If you're "in," then comment below with a "Yes!" or "I'm in!" or "I'll try!" Whatever your response, know that you have sisters walking with you. Let's hold each other accountable in prayer and in life. Ponder the poem below (attribution is hard to find), and then comment with your pledge. Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true Because we have dreamed too little, When we arrived safely Because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, To venture on wider seas Where storms will show your mastery; Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars Pledge by commenting below. To a new year, sister in Christ. photo by Siobhan Lorraine Photography

To fall in love with someone is a beautiful thing, but I have found that falling in Love is even greater. Yes, that is, falling in capital L, Love with the One who is Love (1 John 4:8). As I have grown in my faith the last few years I have frequently found myself in a state of searching. I have wondered why placing my trust in God and His will for my life would still leave me longing for more. The answer came to me while reflecting on my vocation, which is merely to love in the present moment. St. Therese of Lisieux made this simple, yet seemingly profound discovery, “My vocation is love.” As I have searched to maintain a sense of peace in my life--a peace that will leave me fulfilled--God has gently reminded me that it will be nothing without love (1 Corinthians 13:2). I can love a lot of things in my life; however, it is not until I fall in Love and remain in that Love, that I will find fulfillment in my vocation. This ONE Love will decide everything. Father Pedro Arrupe described it as such: “Nothing is more practical than finding God. That is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.” How beautiful it is that this Love can be so perfect and true that it transforms the way we live our lives. The apostle John tells us “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” (1 John 4:18) If we truly live our lives through this ONE, perfect, all-encompassing Love, we have nothing to fear. It is at the heart of everything we do, casting out any troubles along the way. It transforms our will to spread this love from our deepest roots. In St. Therese’s reflections she shares, "To spread love, we must begin by knowing it; we must begin by believing in it; we must begin by being filled with it; we must begin by living it." So now, I have found that no matter where God’s plan leads me, no matter the changes and struggles thrown at me, each day I have the opportunity to live out my vocation—to simply love in all things. The challenge—to stay in love. Every time I begin to fall into the complacency of a restless life without Love, my heart and soul no longer feel satisfied. Thus, I pray for the strength and perseverance to stay in Love; to let it be the final, absolute and perfect Love that casts out all fear in my life; to let it continually decide all that is good and pleasing to my Beloved; to believe in this Love, to be constantly filled with this Love, and to live out this Love. Allyson Cooney is a high school math teacher and lover of Jesus, coffee, beauty, and all things sports.

  "Blessed is the fruit of your womb" Luke 1:34 This beautiful watercolor was painted by Tara of Frameworthy designs. Get it for our last week of advent as we prepare for baby Jesus to be born in a few days! You can download it for your phone or desktop below. You can also purchase it as an 8x10 print download in our shop!   Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

It’s a decent question, really. In today’s world, especially. Why wait? There’s really no reason for it anymore, right? It seems that waiting is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and our culture is obsessed with eliminating it altogether. Take a look at new developments at Amazon: Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any better than having Amazon Prime 2-Day-Shipping, it’s old news. Now, we’re on to SAME-DAY-DELIVERY--on SUNDAYS to boot! I’m left both mind-boggled by this--googling “drones” and wondering what kind of contraption makes this even possible--and mesmerized by the idea of never leaving my house again with littles in the middle of a harsh Nebraska winter. Somebody pinch me. Amazon’s tagline for their new program seems to sum up this cultural obsession: “NO PATIENCE REQUIRED.” Isn’t that the dream, folks? Never having to wait for anything? What a world that would be--a world devoid of the stress, anxiety, inconvenience, tears, and general discomfort that waiting creates. Sounds a little bit like heaven, doesn’t it? In fact, it does sound like Heaven--a lot like Heaven--the REAL Eternal Life that God has created us for. Heaven is more than golfing all the time and chocolate cake whenever we want. What’s waiting for us there is complete, immediate, constant fulfillment of all of our desires--desires that sometimes we don’t even know exist in our hearts while we’re here on earth. Take that Same-Day Shipping! So what, then is the reason for--and the value in--waiting? If we were created for something so opposite of it, why does God allow us to ever want for anything here on earth? Why do we need to learn to be patient? Why do we have to grow in virtue? Why does He allow the suffering of waiting--of not knowing--in our lives? These big questions have many answers, and no easy ones. One thing that I think is clear, however, is this: Waiting forces us to realize that we’re not in charge. And that’s a good thing for our prideful, self-reliant hearts. When we’re waiting on a job offer, or a baby to be born, or our order to come at a restaurant, or another person to change (or our selves to change!), the only way to get through it peacefully is to admit that we have no control over the situation. In those moments, we have to come to grips with the fact that it’s God who’s in charge and not us. When we really accept His sovereignty, we are learn to truly surrender to Him. We become closer to being the creations He made us to be, so that we can eventually inhabit the place He has created for us. The prerequisite to enjoy Heaven’s constant fulfillment is trust in He Who Fulfills. So, help us to wait well, Lord. Help us to humble ourselves and confess that You are in charge of all things and that You alone are worthy of our trust. May we learn to rely fully on you so that we can become who you made us to be--citizens of your Heavenly Kingdom for all eternity. [bctt tweet="Help us to wait well, Lord. "] Katie is a former "over-achiever" and a recovering "go-getter" who now spends her SAHM days mostly going to get groceries and clean diapers. After dropping out of law school to become "just a wife," she married her college crush, and together they have a little girl and another baby on the way.

The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals. Zephaniah 3:14 Taken from the readings of the third week of Advent. Erica of Be A Heart designed this wallpaper for us this week. Today our liturgical color is pink. There is so much excitement and joy in the air of the holiday season, let's remember where this joy comes from and how the Lord delights even in us! You can download it for your phone and desktop below and buy a version ready to print in an 8x10 format in our shop! Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

Today we are talking about PEACE. "The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace." Psalm 29:11 The Prince of Peace comes! He is the source of true peace. You can find all the themes here. Welcome to the #BISsisterhood link-up. Every Thursday, we get together as one community to share our hearts. Here's how you can participate: Link-up a post that goes with the weekly theme. Share your thoughts of the theme on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook using #BISsisterhood so we can see each other's posts. Comment below with your thoughts on the prompt. Basically, let's talk to each other. Remember to use #BISsisterhood so we can all communicate well with each other out in the social media world. [bctt tweet="The #BISsisterhood link-up is where it's at. I just added my post here:"] Here is the button to our link-up that you are more than welcome to place on your blog, share on your social media, and/or save for a rainy day. An InLinkz Link-up

When the Blessed is She study guide came out, I was overjoyed and excited to start this journey of diving deeper into my faith. As I read over the guide, I realized that I would enjoy it so much more if I could find a way to incorporate a sense of community into the guide and not just work on it alone… so after emailing a few of my Catholic sisters we decided to have a virtual call weekly and spend time discussing the readings and questions of the study guide as a community instead of individually. Quickly this evolved into something that was so much more than reading a passage and answering questions on the text. It was really important to us to make the time for this call so we all scheduled it at a time where we could be alone and not have life distractions going on around us. This may have been the biggest challenge! Each call was started with a briefing up of what was going on in each person’s lives and then moved into an opening prayer of some kind. If one of us was feeling inspired that day, she would lead, otherwise we would read the gospel and say a Hail Mary. Then we dove right in. We discussed what stood out in the passages, and we all individually took turns answering and discussing each question. We dove really deep, tears were shed, we spoke about our struggles and how hard we were working to overcome them with what sometimes felt like little reward. Other times we laughed a lot, and talked about the joys and blessings God has given us. We listened to each other's perspectives and realized that sometimes things we thought were faults or failures others viewed as blessings and it helped us to view our challenges in a different light. We built each other up through prayer, we gave each other advice, and we really listened to what one another had to say. After we finished the discussion for that week, about an hour later, we would end in prayer. We each shared something that our other sisters could pray for us for during the week ahead. I’m so glad we decided to participate in the study guide together. Not only did it strengthen my relationship with Christ, but it helped me to love and appreciate my sisters even more! [gravityform id="381" title="true" description="true"] written by Brittany-Marie Evans

To my daughter trying to find peace, My love, you must bloom where you are planted. St. Therese of Lisieux once said that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. And my daughter, you are lovely just the way you are. You will never find rest or solace in my love until you learn to love me in the present moment. My grace has been made sufficient for you. I know your heart is searching for more. I can see your deep desire to serve me, and it pleases me greatly. My love, your life begins now. Every moment of every day is a time to serve me in the small things. Your efforts to serve me have not been in vain; your efforts for me have not been lost. As a father looks upon his daughter learning how to walk, so also I look upon you. I am with you every step of the way, and even though you might seem lost, your steps of courage are known to me. Each of those steps of courage lead you closer to the future I have planned for you. Yes, your future is a gift in my hands, but I want you to enjoy the gift of the present moment. By my unending love and grace, you are who you are, and my grace towards you has never been in vain (1 Corinthians 15:8-11). Every choice you have made in my name has always been in the shadow of my grace. Every step you take today is a response to my love. Someday you will find that your deepest desires are fulfilled; yet I also want to fill them in this very moment. You miss so much when you put up resistance to your blessings. I am pouring down grace upon grace upon you like a torrential rainstorm. There is no merit in anxiety and worry. You are worth more than many sparrows, yet I always provide for them (Matthew 10:31). You will always be taken care of in my love. Even if you feel lost and confused, I promise you will find peace. You may not know what I am doing now, but someday you will understand (John 13:7). I will never desert you on your journey through life. You are beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you (Song of Songs 4:7). My love, remember this and press forward. Give of yourself until you have nothing left to give, but even then I will multiply your gift of self to the world. My dear love, I have loved you with an everlasting love and you are mine (Jeremiah 31:3). Rest in me as I take delight in you. Love, Your Heavenly Father [bctt tweet="My love, remember this and press forward."] Sarah is a sophomore religious studies major at the University of Dayton. She loves to laugh, spend time with friends, and learn more about her saint crush, St. John Paul II.

I downloaded the Blessed is She study guide thinking I really would benefit about being intentional in my prayer time and journaling, but then it just sat in my inbox, untouched. It would have stayed there had it not been for the nature of this community. A sweet, gentle and kind question asking if I was struggling to start coupled with a challenge to ask a friend to join me. Four women, a bottle of wine, two studies in and so much grace is where we are. We’ve been meeting, sharing in fellowship, unwinding as sisters, slowing down our spirits and our minds as we journal, and making our hearts vulnerable as we share our entries. I was initially reluctant to push the women in my study to share our entries, but I really think this is where we’ve allowed God to be most present in our small group. You see, when you own your fears, something beautiful happens. You let grace in and your fears stop owning you. [bctt tweet="When you own your fears, something beautiful happens."] It’s only been two sessions in, and judging by the tears that have occurred, there’s already been a lot of healing in our hearts as we lighten the burden of the cross by accepting the call to be each other’s Simon of Cyrene. This is why we need community: the cross is heavy. It’s so heavy, sweet sister. I don’t know your cross, but I know it’s heavy. Christ promises to carry it with us, in fact He knows it’s the path to our redemption, but it’s still a cross. He comes in many forms, but most often through the Holy Spirit which resides in us. Our sisterhood is the Spirit at work. It’s our collective “yes” to His call and an embrace of the cross. It’s also a collective carrying of the cross. He has not abandoned us. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 [bctt tweet="Our sisterhood is the Spirit at work."] Pomeline Berger-Schulz is a want to be hermit, called to live as an active contemplative in the world of politics, but above all, she's a lover of Beauty. She seeks to be useful and agreeable in all things. You can find out more about her here.

  So far it has been a beautiful week of preparing the way during this advent season. For another special reminder, download this free wallpaper made by Erin of Erin McKenna Nowak Designs and Illustrations for your phone and desktop. Prepare the way of the Lord. Luke 3:4 You can also a version that is ready for print in our shop! Phone wallpaper Desktop wallpaper

Today we are talking about HOPE. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of faith is to see what you believe." ~St. Augustine We place our trust in God, with a firm hope that He will carry us through to the final moment when we will see Him face-to-face. You can find all the themes here. Welcome to the #BISsisterhood link-up. Every Thursday, we get together as one community to share our hearts. Here's how you can participate: Link-up a post that goes with the weekly theme. Share your thoughts of the theme on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook using #BISsisterhood so we can see each other's posts. Comment below with your thoughts on the prompt. Basically, let's talk to each other. Remember to use #BISsisterhood so we can all communicate well with each other out in the social media world. [bctt tweet="The #BISsisterhood link-up is where it's at. I just added my post here:"] Here is the button to our link-up that you are more than welcome to place on your blog, share on your social media, and/or save for a rainy day. An InLinkz Link-up

A couple of years ago, one of my co-workers from the TV station where I was working, passed away. It seemed very sudden. We knew he had cancer, but he seemed well, so often it was hard to know to what extent he was sick and suffering. In a matter of months, his condition worsened and he passed away quickly. Almost two years later, another person at the station was told he only had months to live, and he shared that grave news with everyone who has watched him on-air for the past decade. His words have stayed with me since I watched him so bravely and so courageously share this devastating piece of news, because in the face of such despair, he proudly proclaimed his trust in God — and he said he had peace about it. “I believe that I am in God’s hand. I’m at peace and I know that He’s going to take care of the days ahead,” he said. “The goal here is to have the best ones possible.” A friend shared this video and she also said something that has stayed with me since — that she wishes we did more of this on a smaller level in our own lives; that we shared more of our struggles, more of our sufferings, more of our trials. And if we did, then, that we would allow true intimacy and sharing of our burdens with one another. I couldn’t say it any better myself. All of the things we suffer through and struggle with — they all have the potential to isolate us. But there’s another choice, if we only open ourselves up to the ones around us & let them know how we’re doing. We don’t have to go through these things alone. We shouldn’t have to. I’ve begun to notice lately that the more I open up about how I’m suffering, I’ve often heard a quick reply — “Me too.” We all have something we may be struggling with — illness, stress, trouble at home. Why don’t we share our burdens, and invite the people we love in? Why don’t we share our struggles with them, and share, also, with them in theirs? My sister-in-law, Emily, says it well: “If you love another person, their suffering affects you profoundly—whether it’s thoroughly understandable or apparently senseless. Its source? Negligible. You love, and your heart aches to heal wounds. If you do not love a suffering person, their suffering repels you. You commit to rationalizing it, or minimizing it, or both: they’re somehow responsible for their own searing agony, or they’re overreacting, or both.” I think we can all agree that the world today calls for much more compassion and charity, because it seems like so many more people are suffering – and maybe, for many, we just don’t know it. A quick, “How are you doing – really?” can make a difference, I think — I hope. Let’s try to share more — share our burdens, and share in the burdens of our loved ones. If we cannot alleviate their pain and suffering, at least we can sit with them in the stillness of such suffering and offer them our shoulder to cry on. At least we can let them know — we’re here for you right now, I’m so sorry you’re suffering, I’m going to be here for you, with you, and we’ll get you through this. Hang in there, friend--there is always hope. St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote (in AD 250) to Pope Cornelius, and said, “Let us then remember one another, united in mind and heart. Let us pray without ceasing, you for us, we for you; by the love we share we shall thus relieve the strain of these great trials.” [bctt tweet="Hang in there, friend--there is always hope."] photo by Sara Miller Annie Deddens is a Catholic wife & writer. She works from home on a prayer ministry she runs with her husband, Pray More Novenas, and writes at Catholic Wife, Catholic Life.