Month of January:  Saint Francis de Sales supported people in their faith life with the gentle encouragement to “Be who you are, and be that well.”  In fact, many Saints give us this same encouragement, yet they use different words. Saint Catherine of Siena says to “be who God made you to be and you will set the world on fire!”  St. Augustine’s advise is to “love God and to do as you please.” What! Wait…do as we please, set the world on fire, be who we are?! This can sound confusing, especially when sometimes we can be grumpy, selfish, and just plain sassy! But, is that who God made us to be, or is that who we sometimes become when things aren’t going our way? Hum?

God is perfect love and He created us. In fact, He knows every hair on our head! He loves us so very much, even when we are grumpy, selfish, and sassy. What the Saints are telling us is that if we love God with all our hearts, He can help us to be like Him and become Holy. Did you know that you were created to be HOLY?! You are! Did you know that you were created to be a saint?! You are! Being holy means that you love God and want to put Him above everything else in the world. It means you want to serve Him and help build His kingdom here on Earth by loving others. When we do that, then He guides us in our life to make the right choices. When we love Him like this, we don’t want to make choices that go against His love for us.

So…now we know God made us for holiness and service. But we are all different, aren’t we? Some of us are quiet, some of us speak loudly. Some of us are silly, and some of us are very serious. Amen to that! Praise God that He made us all so different, because it’s those differences that best serve Him. When we share our unique and special qualities with others, it gives God joy and honor. So this month, that’s what we will do! Be who we are! Wait…what? You may be asking, “how should I know who I am… I’m only 9 years old!”.  And that’s a good point. So, how can we figure out who we are? First, pray and ask God to help you to see goodness in yourself. That goodness is His love for you!  Maybe you can also ask your parents and sibling what their   favorite things about you are. Have the people who love you help you with this and together make a list. Once you have a list, gather your favorite art supplies, pull out the empty frame in this month’s box and find a photograph that you really like of YOU.  On the frame write the words I AM… and using your art supplies decorate the frame with all the good qualities that best  describe you.

Need a few ideas on how to bling out a “I AM…” photo frame? Check this out!

———————————————————————————————————

Another fun art frame option is…

———————————————————————————————————–

When you’re done “blinging” out your frame, tape your photo to the inside and hang it somewhere special. Be grateful to God for who He created you to be. Celebrate your special gifts! Those gifts are what will help you get to Heaven!