Hello my friends! Hope you all had a great day today! We had a great Mass - our Father Mark is back from his vacation and he talked about it, did a lot of fishing! We gave him lettuce and kale, he appreciates that alot! Today was just a laid back day - I picked a bunch of raspberries, he picked a bunch of cherries, and he wants to make a wine out of them, along with our frozen rhubarb. Had a nice visit with our next door neighbor - told her the news about Darla, she's happy for us, and she told us that anytime we want we can use her rhubarb, she's done using it. So grateful for all God's Blessings to us all!! And the wonderful nice warm weather we're having all week!!
Praying for you all!
Let today's difficulties make you better not bitter. Lord, guide me,
protect me and work through me.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"'Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?' He said to
him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first
commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.'" ~Matthew 22:36-40
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a by-product of love and
service. Service is a law of our being. With love in our hearts, there
is always some service to other people. A life of power and joy and
satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are
selfish are going against the law of their own being. They are cutting
themselves off from God and other people. Little acts of love and
encouragement, of service and help, erase the rough places of life and
help to make the path smooth. If we do these things, we cannot help
having our share of happiness.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may give my share of love and service. I pray that I may
not grow weary in my attempts to do the right thing.
HOW TO LIVE LIKE A TRUE CHRISTIAN
Author Unknown
I want to be a happy Christian
wear a smile on my face
don't want to be a dooms day teacher
spreading gloom all over the place.
Let's keep praying and trusting
that the Lord will make a way
for us to be happy Christian
and keep praising Him everyday.
Some people moan and groan
underneath the load they bare
I don't want to add to their burdens
I want to teach them God cares.
It's true this old world contains
enough evil to drive us mad
I believe there's still some good
not everyone has turned bad.
If we love our neighbor
and share the things we get
we will find this old world
has a little hope left yet.
We need to keep on trying
to reach our fellowman
we need to spread the Gospel
of God's Good News all we can.
A LITTLE BOY'S HEART
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in
almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The
creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season
that would bankrupt seven farmers before it was through.
Everyday my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of
trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking
a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water.
But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn't see some rain
soon...we would lose everything. It was on this day that I learned the
true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my
own eyes.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I
saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't
walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious
purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great
effort...trying to be as still as possible.
Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again,
toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches; thinking that
whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he
was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the woods.
This activity went on for an hour: walk carefully to the woods, run back
to the house.
Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I crept out of the house and
followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen...as he was
obviously doing important work and didn't need his Mommy checking up on
him). He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very
careful not to spill the water he held in them...maybe two or three
tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he went into
the woods.
Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid
them. He had a much higher purpose. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw
the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of him.
Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A
huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did
not threaten him...he didn't even move as Billy knelt down. And I saw a
tiny fawn laying on the ground, obviously suffering from dehydration and
heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water
cupped in my beautiful boy's hand.
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I
hid behind a tree. I followed him back to the house to a spigot that we
had shut off the water to. Billy opened it all the way up and a small
trickle began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drips slowly fill
up his makeshift "cup", as the sun beat down on his little back.
And it came clear to me. The trouble he had gotten into for playing with
the hose the week before. The lecture he had received about the importance
of not wasting water. The reason he didn't ask me to help him. It took
almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands.
When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him.
His little eyes just filled with tears. "I'm not wasting", was all he
said. As he began his walk, I joined him...with a small pot of water from
the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his
job. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I
have ever known working so hard to save another life. As the tears that
rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by
other drops...and more drops...and more. I looked up at the sky. It was
as if God, himself, was weeping with pride.
Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence. That
miracles don't really exist. That it was bound to rain sometime. And I
can't argue with that...I'm not going to try. All I can say is that the
rain that came that day saved our farm...just like that actions of one
little boy saved another.
Author Unknown
Father, once again we are reminded that any security we have as individuals and as a nation comes only from the abiding
hope and trust we have in You.
Once again, we are cut to the heart
at the loss of
life and damage to peace
that we have suffered as a nation.
So, Father, today we come to You
and we seek Your peace for the families and victims of the
horrible tragedy.
For those still lost in the rubble of destruction,
we ask for the safety of Your hand.
For those consumed by worry and fear
as they try to locate missing loved ones,
we ask for the comforting presence of Your Spirit.
We seek Your peace for the emergency workers,
that You would guard their lives
as they seek to guard the lives of others.
Give them the
wisdom they need to perform their duties
above and beyond the levels of their training.
And Father, we seek Your peace for our nation and our
world.
In the midst of our questions and uncertainty,
we recognize that the unknown details of this day
are already in Your grasp.
We know You sent Your Son as the Prince of Peace
and even this day falls under His command.
Help us to find the
strength and comfort we need as a
nation
to continue to humble ourselves,
pray and seek Your face for a new day in
America and a new
hope for our world.
"Now may the
Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The
Lord be with all of you." [2 Thess. 3:16]
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