Sunday's Positive Thread

gloriajean — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 05:04:21 GMT

Prayer helps us see that God is not the cause of unpleasant happenings, but
the healing of them. Lord, I trust in You for the right outcomes in all
situations.

Scripture for the day:

"My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that
I may walk before God in the light of life." ~Psalm 56:12-13

Meditation for the day:

I will never forget to say thank you to God, even on the grayest days. My
attitude can be one of humility and gratitude. Saying thank you to God is a
daily practice that is absolutely necessary. If a day is not one of
thankfulness, the practice has to be repeated until it becomes so. Gratitude
is a necessity for those who seek to live a better life.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that gratitude will bring humility. I pray that humility will bring
me to live a better life.

Peace of Jesus to you all! Today was cooler out, but nice. You should see
our huge tomatoes! Lori was over today and she was surprised how big they
are! Soon I'll be canning and freezing. Blessings today was going with
Lori to get our dresses altered, and I know the lady who does this well, and
for many years, so had a nice visit with her. I will not have the dress
long, but mid calf, that seemed to look nicer, as I'm short. Lori is a
Godsend to us - she helps us a lot. Another blessing was that I sure was
sick this morning with UTI and DH called the clinic and it got transferred
to our Nurse Practioner who knows us, and instead of having to in to the
clinic she just prescribed my anti-biotic over the phone and he went to get
it right away, so I'm feeling much better, at first I didn't know if I could
make the 10:00 dress fitting. I think I was getting better, but out last
night playing cards and eating junk made it so much worse. I'll remember
that! My homeopathic remedy wasn't helping much!! So that was a blessing
we got our NP fast and the med. fast. Another blessing, after work, he
wanted to go to the Café for supper, so we went and visited with our friend,
Jim, there, the manager. He's always so happy to see us, in fact he emailed
us this morning! He is a blessing to us!
What are your blessings? Praying for all of you for all your needs and the
needs of your loved ones and thank you for praying for us.

JESUS LOVES ME!
Author Unknown

Jesus loves me, this I know,
Though my hair is white as snow.
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in him.

(CHORUS)
YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME...
YES. JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.

Though my steps are oh, so slow,
With my hand in his I'll go.
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.

(CHORUS)

Though I am no longer young,
I have much which He's begun.
Let me serve Christ with a smile,
Go with others the extra mile.

(CHORUS)

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words so clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."

(CHORUS)

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand his love

(CHORUS)

I love Jesus, does he know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love him every day.

(CHORUS)

Prayer for Someone Special

May the grace and blessing of the Sacred Heart be with you,

The peace of the Sacred Heart encompass You;

The merits of the Sacred Heart plead for you;

The love of the Sacred Heart inflame you;

The sorrows of the Sacred Heart console you;

The zeal of the Sacred Heart animate you;

The virtues of the Sacred Heart shine forth in your word and work;

And may the joys of the beatific vision be your eternal reward. Amen

God, Are You There?

I'm way down HERE!
You're way up THERE!
Are You sure You can hear
My faint, faltering prayer?
For I'm so unsure
Of just how to pray—
To tell you the truth, God,
I don't know what to say...
I just know I am lonely
And vaguely disturbed,
Bewildered and restless,
Confused and perturbed...
And they tell me that prayer
Helps to quiet the mind
And to unburden the heart
For in stillness we find
A newborn assurance
That SOMEONE DOES CARE
And SOMEONE DOES ANSWER
Each small sincere prayer!

Helen Steiner Rice

WHAT YOU WILL BE
Author Unknown

As I gazed up at the mountains, I was awed by their majesty;
I bowed my head and asked myself, "Why should He care for me?
I am not great like the mountains that tower so high above,
What is there about me that God can find to love?"

"Father, I am not strong like the wind that makes your tall trees sway,
I cannot sing sweetly like your birds; will you love me anyway?
But most of all, I am simply me, and often have cause to fear,
In spite of all my weaknesses, do you promise to be near?"

With eyes closed tight against my tears, I wished He could hear me pray.
Then I felt His Spirit tell me, "Child, look up, I have something to say.
"You are simply you, the spirit I love, a part of my great plan.
I put you here to learn of life and to return to me again."

"You are more beautiful to me than the loveliest mountain I made,
And your strength exceeds that of the wind's, so do not be afraid.
I love you not for what you are, but for what I know you will be.
I am always beside you watching you grow, you are very special to me."

A smile touched my lips - I knew it was true, my Father had always been
there
Giving me comfort and blessings and love and my own special talents to
share.
So I do my best to make Him proud. I am not afraid, for you see,
He loves me not for what I am, but for what He knows I will be.

U Turns

"Thanks for inviting me to go to church with you next Sunday, Uncle Al." Tim
and his uncle were on their way to Bonny Lake. They had heard the fishing
there was great. "I... I don't want to hurt your feelings," continued Tim,
"but... well... I'm not sure I want to get into this religious stuff.
Besides, Mom and Dad don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh?" asked Uncle Al in surprise. "I thought you said that your parents
wouldn't mind if you went with me. You sounded quite interested last week.
You even said the Gospel was beginning to make sense to you."

"Yeah, but since then I've done a lot of thinking," Tim said slowly. "I
don't think I feel like getting 'saved' right now. The crowd I hang around
with at school wouldn't understand, and I like being with them. Someday I'll
start going to church, but I think I'll just go on the way I am for a while.
I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not so bad, either."

Tim's uncle drove on silently for a few minutes. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed as
they passed a road sign. "I was so intent on our conversation that I missed
the turnoff! We should have gotten off this road five miles back!"

"Guess we'll have to turn around and go back now, huh?" asked Tim. But Uncle
Al shook his head. "I don't feel like turning around right now," he said. "I
guess we'll just keep going this way. I kind of like this road, and the
scenery is nice."

Tim looked at his uncle in amazement. "But we have to turn around to get to
Bonny Lake," he protested, "and the longer we keep going this way, the
longer it will take to get back. If we wait too long to turn around, we
might not even get there in time to fish."

Uncle Al smiled at Tim as he slowed down for the next turn. "You're right,"
he said, "and what you said just now is exactly what I've been trying to
tell you about spiritual life... that when you're traveling down the wrong
road, the sooner you turn around, the better. If you wait too long, you
might never get to your goal: Heaven."

PINEWOOD DERBY (The wisdom of a child)

My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts only a
short time. During one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of paper,
a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give all to
"dad".

That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to
doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried. Dad read the paper and
scoffed at the idea of making a pine wood derby car with his young,
eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed.

Finally, mom stepped in to see if I could figure this all out. The
project began. Having no carpentry skills, I decided it would be best
if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he
did. I read aloud the measurements, the rules of what we could do and
what we couldn't do.

Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car. A
little lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes of mom).
Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids' cars and was feeling
pretty proud of his "Blue Lightning", the pride that comes with
knowing you did something on your own.

Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and
pride in his heart we headed to the big race. Once there my little
one's pride turned to humility. Gilbert's car was obviously the only
car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son
partnership, with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for
speed.

A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert's lopsided,
wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility, Gilbert was the
only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from
single parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their
side, Gilbert had "mom".

As the race began it was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing
as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the
finely sanded ramp. Finally it was between Gilbert and the sleekest,
fastest looking car there. As the last race was about to begin, my
wide eyed, shy eight year old ask if they could stop the race for a
minute, because he wanted to pray. The race stopped.

Gilbert went to his knees clutching his funny looking block of wood
between his hands. With a wrinkled brow he set to converse with his
Father. He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then
he stood, smile on his face and announced, 'Okay, I am ready."

As the crowd cheered, a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their
car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart
and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly
great speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second
before Tommy's car.

Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud "Thank You" as the crowd
roared in approval. The Scout Master came up to Gilbert with
microphone in hand and asked the obvious question, "So you prayed to
win, huh, Gilbert?"

To which my young son answered, "Oh, no sir. That wouldn't be fair to
ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so
I wouldn't cry when I lost."

Children seem to have a wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert didn't ask God
to win the race, he didn't ask God to fix the outcome. Gilbert asked
God to give him strength in the outcome. When Gilbert first saw the
other cars he didn't cry out to God, "No fair, they had a father's
help!". No, he went to his Father for strength. Perhaps we spend too
much of our prayer time asking God to rig the race, to make us number
one, or too much time asking God to remove us from the struggle, when
we should be seeking God's strength to get through the struggle. "I
can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians
4:13

Gilbert's simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that night. He
never doubted that God would indeed answer his request. He didn't pray
to win, thus hurt someone else, he prayed that God supply the grace to
lose with dignity. Gilbert, by his stopping the race to speak to his
Father also showed the crowd that he wasn't there without a "dad", but
His Father was most definitely there with him. Yes, Gilbert walked
away a winner that night, with his Father at his side.

May we all learn to pray this way.

THE ' L I T T L E ' THINGS

As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son
started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto
accident.

One of them missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.

One's car wouldn't start.

One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that
morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he
developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a
band-aid. That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic , miss an elevator, turn back to answer a
ringing telephone . . . . All the little things that annoy me.

I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very
moment.

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong ,

The children are slow getting dressed,

You can't seem to find the car keys,

You hit every traffic light,

Don't get mad or frustrated;

It May be just that God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things

And may you remember their possible purpose.

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Sunday's Positive Thread