Daily Positive Thread for Wednesday

gloriajean — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:49:15 GMT

No one has the power to take your happiness or keep you from being
happy and at peace unless you allow it. Lord, help me remember that I
am sustained and supported by Your love for me who wants only for my
safety and goodness.

Scripture for the day:

"If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it
is not healthy, your body is full of darkness." ~Luke 11:34

Meditation for the day:

"If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it
is not healthy, your body is full of darkness." The eye of the soul
is the will. If our will is to do the will of God, to serve God with
our lives, to serve God by helping others, then truly shall our whole
body be full of light. The important thing is to strive that our will
be attuned to the will of God, a single eye to God's purpose, desiring
nothing less than that God's purposes be fulfilled. We can try to
seek in all things the advance of God's kingdom, seek the spiritual
values of honesty and purity, unselfishness and love, and earnestly
desire spiritual growth. Then our life will emerge from the darkness
of futility into the light
of victory.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that my eye may be healthy. I pray that my life may be lived
in the light of the best that I know.

Peace, my friends! Hope your day went well - it was a busy day for me, first thing this morning we got the house ready for another showing and I went to Lori's house and visited with Darla -got there with Linus on his way to work. Then Darla got a massage with Lori, took Sammy and me home and after her massage she came here for supper, I made spagetti, and she stayed until now, so I'm late, but it was so nice having her over. Tomorrow we are going shopping for Wedding Dresses.
It was a blessing I could go to Lori's house when the house was being showed, mostly because going out for a walk with Sammy was out of the question - it rained!
Later this afternoon - it really poured and we got over 2 inches of rain. It's not warm out, but in the 60's. Becka is asking for prayers for her dying friend, Carol, who's in hospice now.

Homily of the Day

June 21, 2011

You Desire the Here and Now or the Yet to Come?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Gen 13:2, 5-18 / Mt 7:6, 12-14

I had the honor of serving as a Marine Corps Battalion Chaplain at the end of Desert Storm, and spent some time in Israel as part of a contingency force -– ready for whatever might happen. One day I was walking in a desert area with the senior enlisted man for the battalion, and he jokingly said: “Padre, can you imagine Abraham walking around in this place [nothing but dry and brown all around where we were] and hearing God say ‘everything you see all around you is yours…’ -– I can imagine Abraham saying back to God ‘uh, God, you want to check your grid coordinates?’”

I don’t know that Abraham was all that surprised to hear God giving him the Promised Land –- desert and all, but to inherit the desert was probably not Abraham’s favorite part of the promise. But God offered Abraham the best: a heritage and lineage that brought Jesus into the world.

I believe it was because of Abraham’s confidence in God’s providence that he could give away the more productive land to Lot in today’s first reading. Abraham was not concerned with any bleakness he saw, because what he really saw was a loving God who could be trusted to fulfill all His promises.

Sometimes it may seem to all our worldly senses that to follow God is going to be bleak, dreary, troublesome … a real desert! But to trust Him with our heritage brings the greatest of blessings. These blessings may not even be for this world. Abraham certainly didn’t see much of them, other than the seed of Isaac.

Can we dare to willingly give up what we see as “good” here for what is “yet to be”? Sacrifice is never easy. It implies being uncomfortable. But God is quick to remind us of the promised blessing for those who willingly give up the “good” of here for what is yet to come.

Mother Teresa - On Being Light & Love
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

Permanent Address

A young woman completing a job application came to the line asking
for her "Permanent address." She began to list her street and house
number but paused for a moment. Then, with a small smile she wrote,
"HEAVEN."

She understood that Heaven is a real place... and the ultimate home
of God's children.

No place on earth is truly home for those who belong to God's family.
The Bible says that we are travelers... just passing through. Heaven
is the ultimate, eternal destination for those who love God. In fact,
their time on earth is like one small dot on a continuous,
never-ending line.

Is God the landlord of your permanent home? If not, then the time is
Right to start investing in the future. Ask God to wash you clean and
forgive your trespasses and sins so that you will be suitably clothed
for Heaven's splendor. Ask Him to make you His child through the sacrifice
of His Son. Ask Him to reserve a place for you, so that you can be
with Him forever.

Heaven is the best home of all because God lives there. It is filled
with hope and joy and peace and love, and it's forever. Start planning
for your future today!

The Blood

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded
to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough
past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time
went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the
ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had
caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make
wedding plans. This is when the problems began.

You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was
suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they
decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the
meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the
things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak.

He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement
was this: " My fiancée's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability
of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So,
does it wash away sin or not?"

The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon
against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot
cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash
away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus....end of case!!!

Author Unknown

Lend me your hope for awhile, I seem to have mislaid mine.
Lost and hopeless feelings accompany me daily, pain and confusion are my companions.

I know not where to turn; looking ahead to future times does not bring forth images of renewed hope.

I see troubled times, pain-filled days, and more tragedy.

Lend me your hope for awhile, I seem to have mislaid mine.

Hold my hand and hug me; listen to all my ramblings, recovery seems so far distant.

The road to healing seems like a long and lonely one.

Lend me your hope for awhile, I seem to have mislaid mine.

Stand by me, offer me your presence, your heart and your love.

Acknowledge my pain, it is so real and ever present.

I am overwhelmed with sad and conflicting thoughts.

Lend me your hope for awhile; a time will come when I will heal, and I will share my renewal, hope, and love with others

(adapted from the poem "Lend Me Your Hope," author unknown)

Our Inconsistency
Sermons of the Cure of Ars

Let us leave, for the moment, that exterior worship which, by a special peculiarity and by an inconsistency full of irreligion, publicly displays your faith and at the same time gives it the lie.
Where is there to be found among you that fraternal charity which, in the principles of your belief, is founded on the most sublime and divine motives? Examine this a little more closely and you will see whether such reproaches are well founded.

Your religion is a beautiful one, the Jews and even the pagans tell us, if you do what you are commanded! Not only are you all brothers, but something even more wonderful: all together, you form the same Body of Jesus Christ, whose Flesh and Blood serve you every day as nourishment; you are all members, one of another. It must be admitted that that article of your faith is admirable indeed; it has something divine about it. If you were to act in accordance with your creed, you would be in a position to draw all other peoples to your religion -- it is so beautiful, so consoling, and has the promise of such happiness in the life to come. But what makes all the peoples believe that your religion is not what you say it is, is that your conduct is quite the opposite to what your religion commands you.

If anyone were to question your pastors and if it were lawful for them to reveal the secrets of the confessional, they would be able to show that it is the quarrels, the enmities, the spirit of revenge, the jealousies, the scandals, the false rumours and gossip, the lawsuits, and so many other vices which horrify all those peoples whose religion you say is so far removed from yours in holiness. The corruption of morals, which is rife amongst you, keeps back those who are not of your religion from embracing it because if you were really convinced that it is good and divine, you would surely behave in a different way.

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
Author Unknown
June 21, 2011

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep, I
would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in
praise, I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them
back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute or
two to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, you would KNOW
I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your
day, well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this
one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, and we
always get a second chance to make everything right.

There will always be another day to say our "I love you's", and
certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, I'd like to
say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, and today may
be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? For if
tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day that you didn't
take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too
busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear, tell them
how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or
"it's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

Prayer to Listen to Our Lord
Here is a daily prayer when you want to listen to God’s will. Keep your mind calm, free of all thoughts and meditate on Jesus. Lord will speak to you when you surrender your heart to him fully.

Speak, Lord Jesus; I will listen. You do not come to my soul without speaking to me in some way.

Please make your presence known in the heart and mind of faith.

I will be quiet, and let my desires and worries rest, in order to hear you. In silence, I will learn to know your “intimate will” in my regard. Amen

Good night now - Sweet dreams - God bless your Wednesday!!

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