Wednesday's Positive Thread

DoubleJ — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 03:42:14 GMT

There is no real happiness without God and no peace when we separate
ourselves
from Him. Lord, You said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you".
I give you my troubled heart.

Scripture for the day:

"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be
exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in
human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became
obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:5-8

Meditation for the day:

Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God can lead to a good
spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a
belief that God is the intelligence and love that controls the universe.
Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way we believe God
wants us to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation
and being willing to do the right thing at all times.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may always be under God's control and practice unquestioning
obedience to God. I pray that I may be always ready to serve God.

Hello my friends! Hope you are all safe from Sandy! Today we both went to
Dr. Mike - Linus has a very sore shoulder and we think Dr. Mike will be the
answer for it. He helped him a lot already this morning. Cards this
afternoon - playing another couple from the card club at their house. It
was fun, relaxing and we won! They were from my home town, so it was nice
talking about people we both knew - mainly my cousins. I seem to be getting
some strength back - little by little, and that's good! Praying for all of
you for your intentions, thanks much for your prayers for us - they are
helping. Sammy still needs prayers, still limping, like nothing's changed.
He's being weaned of the steroids now.

My Creed

by Author: Edgar A. Guest

To live as gently as I can;
To be, no matter where, a man;
To take what comes of good or ill,
And cling to faith and honor still;
To do my best, and let that stand
The record of my brain and hand;
And then, should failure come to me,
Still work and hope for victory.
To have no secret place wherein
I stoop unseen to shame or sin;
To be the same when I'm alone
As when my every deed is known;
To live undaunted, unafraid
Of any step that I have made;
To be without pretense or sham
Exactly what men think I am.

To leave some simple work behind
To keep my having lived in mind;
If enmity to aught I show,
To be an honest, generous foe;
To play my little part, nor whine
That greater honors are not mine.
This I believe is all I need
For my philosophy and creed.

Don't let go of hope.
Hope gives you the strength to keep
going when you feel like giving up.

Don't ever quit believing in yourself.
As long as you believe you can,
you will have a reason for trying.

Don't let anyone hold your
happiness in their hands;
hold it in yours, so it will always
be within you reach.

Don't measure success or failure by
material wealth, but by how you feel;
our feelings determine the richness
of our lives.

Don't let bad moments overcome you;
be patient, and they will pass.

Don't hesitate to reach out for help;
we all need it from time to time.

Don't run away from love but towards
love, because it is our deepest joy.

Don't wait for what you want to come to
you; go after it with all that you are,
knowing that life will meet you halfway.

Don't feel like you've lost when plans
and dreams fall short of your hopes.
Anytime you learn something new about
yourself or about life, you have progressed.

Don't do anything that takes away from
your self-respect; feeling good about
yourself is essential to feeling good
about life.

Don't ever forget how to laugh or be
too proud to cry.
It is by doing both that we live
life to its fullest.

IMITATING HIS VOICE

Pastor Mark Thompson of Faribault, Minnesota, suffered terrible knife wounds
from an assailant in his home, in October 1988. One of the many consequences
of his difficult recovery was being forced to miss watching his son Chris
run in the state cross-country championship meet.

Pastor Thompson commissioned his brother Merv to go in his stead. According
to the account in the St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch, Mark told his
brother, “I can’t be there to see Chris run. So I want you there at the
beginning of the race. Holler a lot…. Then at the end, I want you to really
cheer loudly. And I want you to make your voice sound like mine.”

Merv heeded the advice, and Chris ran a strong race, finishing second. Merv,
also a pastor, discerned the theological truth in the story. “That’s what
Jesus wants us to do.” he said. “Make your voice sound like mine.”

Pass this inspiration on…

- Author Unknown

WHAT SHALL I GIVE THEE?

I HAVE RECEIVED into my heart, Jesus Christ, His Body and Blood, Soul and
Divinity! I begin this day as a day in Heaven. He is in my soul, the Divine
Infant in the crib, the growing Boy at Nazareth, the Messiah acclaimed by
crowds on the roads of Galilee, the Miracle Worker Who performed such
prodigies, the Martyr Who completed His Sacrifice on Calvary.

He is in me. What more can I desire when I possess Jesus?

And now, O good Master! what shall I give Thee in exchange for Thy visit . .
.? I would like to give Thee a soul all sparkling with purity and sincerity,
but mine is afflicted with so many miseries!

I would like to pray to Thee with the burning words of Thy Mother and her
court of Heaven, but I feel riveted to earthly things . . .

I would like to offer Thee courageous loyalty to my Baptismal Vows and
Confirmation Graces, but, alas, I have so often been disloyal . . .

I would like, at least, to have a desire for the Christian life, but I allow
myself to be discouraged by my failures . . .

O good Jesus! I have nothing to give Thee, and Thou hast given Everything;
Thou hast given Thyself to me. I can only join my poor voice in the chorus
of praise to Thee, rising out of all the works of Thy Creation here on earth
. . .

With the majesty of the mountains, the immensity of the desert, the roar of
the ocean, the fury of the storm, I shall praise Thy Power!

With the flowers of the field, the colors of the rainbow, the whiteness of
the snow, the blue of the skies, I shall praise Thy Beauty!

With the fruits of the earth, the air I breathe, the light I see, the life I
enjoy, I shall praise Thy Goodness.

With the splendor of the stars, the rays of the sun, the moon's pale light,
the depths of space, I shall praise Thine Immensity.

With millions and millions now living on earth, I shall praise Thy Mercy!

May our voices unite with the billions of those who inhabited the earth
before us, and out of whose dust the beauty of nature perpetually rises to
praise Thy Glory!

May an infinite concert of voices from cottages and palaces, from fields and
forests, from towns and deserts, from workshops and cathedrals, from earth
and from Heaven, from time and from eternity, arise to give my thanks unto
Thee! Amen.

From Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM

"The most simple rule of good prayer is honesty and humility. One can never
go wrong with those two. Talk honestly to God. Don't give God the self you
think you're supposed to be. Give God yourself in your nakedness, who you
really are, even if that means giving God your anger or distraction.

We used to try to avoid distractions. But it's much better to use our
distractions. If you're obsessed with a thought all afternoon, that's what
you give to God. Lord, why am I so caught up in this fantasy? Why am I so
caught up in this preoccupation? Why am I so worried about this bill or
this mortgage or whatever it might be? Make that the subject of your prayer
instead of trying to avoid it and getting into some spiritual or theological
world. That's the meaning of integrated, incarnational prayer."

Richard Rohr, The Price of Peoplehood

May God Bless You

May God bless you
With unspeakable joy,
Not only in the world to come,
But in this world also.

May your path be bright and
Full of light everywhere you go.
May God tell darkness
That it must flee at your command.

And, I pray your feet will
Never stumble out of God's plan.
May the desires of your heart come true, and
May you experience peace in everything you do.

May goodness, kindness, and
Mercy Come your way and,
May you gain Wisdom and
Grow in the Lord everyday.

Please send this blessing to those you care about.
It may be just what they need to hear, at just the right time!

- Author Unknown

The Pathway of Pain

If my days were untroubled and my heart always light,
would I seek that fair land where there is no night?

If I never grew weary with the weight of my load,
would I search for God´s peace at the end of the road?

If I never knew sickness and never felt pain,
would I search for a hand to help and sustain?

If I walked without sorrow and lived without loss,
would my soul seek solace at the foot of the cross?

If all I desired was mine day by day,
would I kneel before God and earnestly pray?

If God sent no winter to freeze me with fear ,
would I yearn for the warmth of Spring every year?

I ask myself these things and the answer is plain,
if my life were pleasure and I never knew pain

I’d seek God less often and need Him much less,
for God is sought more often in times of distress.

And no one knows God or sees Him as plain
as those who have met Him on the "Pathway of Pain."

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Wednesday's Positive Thread