Hello my friends! Today's blessings are my dear husband home with me - he was out working in the garage today, and plans on building a new Arbor for our back yard. The old one wore out and he'll savage some wood from it to build the new one. He loves doing this kind of thing. He built Lori's Arbor when she first bought her house. Got a blessing call from my sister, Erma, who's in a Nursing Home - she has Parkinson's - she called to wish me a Happy Easter. She's going to her daughter's for Easter. She never talks much but it was good to visit with her for a short time. When Lori had her eye surgery we went there to the Nursing Home to visit her and see her new room there, it's right by the window! Then the next day she got to come to my other sister, Ethel's, for the sister get together for the birthdays. That was March 16th. Hope you all are having a blessed Holy Week!
In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day is a
fresh beginning.
With You, I will come closer to my goals each day if only I don't give up
and quit.
Scripture for the day:
"Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy,
and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that
the Lord is good." ~1 Peter 2:1-3
Meditation for the day:
I can remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is not
mine to decide how or when I am to act. God can plan all spiritual matters.
It is up to me to make myself fit to do God's work. All that hinders my
spiritual activity can be eliminated. I can depend on God for all the
strength I need to overcome those faults which are blocks. I can keep myself
fit, so that God can use me as a channel for God's spirit.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in spiritual matters.
I pray that I may be a good instrument for God to work with.
Take Up Your Cross
Take up your cross, the Savior said,
If you would my disciple be;
Deny yourself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross, let not its weight
Fill your weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross then in his strength,
And ev’ry danger calmly brave,
To guide you to a better home,
And vict’ry over death and grave.
Take up your cross and follow Christ,
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only he who bears the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.
To you, great Lord, the One in three,
All praise for evermore ascend;
O grant us here below to see
The heav’nly life that knows no end.
by Charles William Everest
Food for Thought:
DOES GOD STILL SPEAK TO HIS PEOPLE?
Author Unknown
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had
shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to His
people?"
After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and
they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how
God had led them in different ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home.
Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God.. If you still speak
to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest
thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out
loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward
home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man
thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and
how little Samuel ran to Eli.
"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem
like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward
home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down
that street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on pass the intersection. Again, he
felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next
intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly,
he said out loud, "Okay, God, remember I....He drove several blocks,
when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb
and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't
the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either.
The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the
people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the
house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was
dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were
already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the
car seat.
"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up,
they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like
he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, "Okay
God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the
milk. If you want me to
look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that
will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out
of here." He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear
some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you
want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The
man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he
just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't
seem to happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is
it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought
this to you." The man took the milk and rushed
down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall
came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was
following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears
streaming down his face. The man began speaking, speaking and half
crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we
ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just
praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked him to send an Angel with
some. Are you an Angel?" The young man reached into his wallet and
pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He
turned and walked back towards his car and the tears were streaming
down his face.
He knew that God still answers prayers and that God still speaks to
His people.
Prayer for Generosity
Teach us to be generous, good Lord; teach us to serve You as You deserve; to
give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil
and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward save that
of knowing we do Your will.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
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