Daily Positive Thread for Thursday

gloriajean — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:55:16 GMT

Do not take any action until you've prayed and listened and then you
will have guidance to reach the understanding necessary to complete
the things you need to do. Lord, I know that there is no obstacle for
You and ask that You will guide me along the right path.

Scripture for the day:

"If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this
mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey
you.'" ~Luke 17:6

Meditation for the day:

Day by day we can slowly build up an unshakable faith in God and in
God's ability to give us all the help we need. By having these quiet
times each morning, we can start each day with a renewing our faith,
until it becomes almost a part of us and a strong habit. We can keep
furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture of
faith. We can try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is
harmonious and good, beautiful and enduring.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may build a house in my soul for the spirit of God to
dwell in. I pray that I may come at last to an unshakable faith.

Greetings to all you, my friends! Hope your day was a good one! With 80
degrees here in MN at this time of year - what a blessing! Also another
blessing I received was a phone call from Sister LaDonna saying Goodbye
before her trip which is at 7 in the morning. I pray that God sends all the
Angels she needs for help and keep her well and healthy. What a long air
trip! Can you imagine? Another blessing - Linus worked 5 days in a row -
six hour days, and he's fine! Nothing hurts! What a difference those
little inserts made inside his orthodics. What an answer to prayer! He
wanted to go to our favorite restaurant tonight - the café - and Jim sat
with us and we laughed and had such a good time. Jim's son was our waiter,
he was so funny, too!! We do plan on having Jim and his wife, Michelle, over
for a meal sometime, and he'll bring the wine! It should be fun. Linus can
grill some pork steak or something like that, and I'll make the rest. I can
make some of our apple crisp too for dessert. Sister LaDonna had a slight
fall, in her room, she was scared she broke something, but she didn't. There
was a nun there who's a nurse and she checked her out - see? she needs lots
of Angels with her!! Lots! May they carry her up that mountain to the
Cross!!! and down again!
Day 2 for Sammy not getting any or our food, so far so good, but he's going
on a hunger strike - he isn't eating much dog food. He's had Halo, so it's
nothing new. He's supposed to have 1/2 cup a day - he's getting 1/4, and
he's not eating all of that. One pupperoni in the morning. Got to be firm
and win, not him. I won't cave in. He could lose a couple pounds too,
people are saying he's getting fat!!

Homily of the Day

October 5, 2011

How Big Is Your Circle
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Jon 4:1-11 / Lk 11:1-4

The book of Jonah, from which we’ve been reading for the past three days, is
a masterful piece of fiction, a satire with an important message that more
than the Israelites needed to hear. Jonah had been sent by God to convert
the pagan Ninevites. He refused to go and gave as his excuse that the
Ninevites, being non-Jews, weren’t worth the effort. God differed with Jonah
on that and had his whale spit him up on the shores of Nineveh.

Jonah still resisted but God insisted, so he did preach, and the whole town
repented, which made Jonah angry all over again: Why waste mercy on
outsiders? So he went off to sulk in the shade of a vine which got a worm
and died, leaving Jonah hot and even more angry and praying for death!

Then God posed the question: “Jonah, you are upset about the death of this
little vine, which took only a day to grow. Shouldn’t I be concerned about
the great city of Nineveh with 120,000 souls who can’t tell their right hand
from their left…?”

Jonah isn’t a very appealing character, but we should recognize him easily
enough, because there’s a lot of him in us all. One of our very worst
instincts is to draw a circle and put some folks inside it and leave the
rest outside. The very act of drawing that narrow circle blinds us to the
value and the needs and the goodness of those outside it. And that makes us
radically different from God “who makes his sun and his rain to fall on both
the just and unjust alike.”

The challenge and the grace that God offers us through the book of Jonah is
to call no one “stranger” or “enemy,” but instead to include every human
being inside the circle of our love and concern. It’s a huge challenge, but
grace comes with it. So let us begin to re-draw our circle, this time very,
very wide.

MEMO FROM GOD
Author Unknown

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please
remember that I do not need your help. If life happens to deliver a
situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.
Kindly put it in the
SFGTD (something for God to do) box. It will be addressed in My time,
not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it or remove
it. Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problem.
If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling,
please consult me in
prayer to be sure that it is the proper resolution. Because I do not
sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to lose any sleep.
Rest my child. If you need to contact me, I am only a prayer away.

Be happy with what you have:

Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight, just remember the
homeless family who has no bed to lie in.

Should you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair: There are
people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work, think of the man who has been out
of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone badly, think of the person
who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend, think of the woman
in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed
her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance,
think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that
walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror, think of the cancer
patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all
about, asking, "What is my purpose?", be thankful. There are those who
didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness,
ignorance, smallness or insecurities, remember: things could be worse.
You could be them!

Should you decide to send this to a friend; you might brighten
someone's day.

TELL HIM SO

If you hear a kind word spoken Of some worthy soul you know,
It may fill his heart with sunshine If you only tell him so.

If a deed, however humble, Helps you on your way to go
Seek the one whose hand has helped you, Seek him out and tell him so.

If your heart is touched and tender Toward a sinner, lost and low,
It might help him to do better If you'd only tell him so!

Oh, my sisters, oh, my brothers, As o'er life's rough path you go,
If God's love has saved and kept you, Do not fail to tell folks so!

Author Unknown

Guidance

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in
it,"
whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah
30:21

When we need answer, we often say we are " seeking God." And yet, we need
not seek
Him since He is ever near. Nor are we seeking answers from God, for He has
already given
us the answers we need. Instead, we are seeking to hear those answers, to
tune out the
busy thoughts and preconceived notions we carry with us. If you need answer,
ask God
to help you listen and discern, to open your ears to hear His voice that was
there all along.

He says in Psalm 32:8:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you
with My eye.

Have you been asking God for guidance, but the way before you is still
unclear? It could
be that you're expecting a full blown road map and God rarely answers that
way. Instead,
He gives the first step, and when you have taken that step. He reveals the
next. That's
how He encourages your faith and keeps you close to the path. It's enough
really to know
that He sees the path ahead. Trust Him!

Love

To do ordinary things with extraordinary love

Let us love one another as God loves each one of us. And where does this
love begin? In our own home. How does it begin? By praying together

God told us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So first I am to love myself
rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself
unless I accept myself as God has made me?

Contemplatives in the heart

We are not social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of some
people, but we must be contemplatives in the heart of the world.

Created to love

God has created us to love and to be loved, and this is the beginning of
prayer--to know that he loves me, that I have been created for greater
things.

Something beautiful for God

What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do
something beautiful for God.

The child

The child is God's gift to the family. Each child is created in the special
image and likeness of God for greater things - to love and to be loved.

Family

The family that prays together stays together, and if they stay together
they will love one another as God has loved each one of them. And works of
love are always works of peace.

Holiness

Holiness is not the luxury of the few; it is a simply duty, for you and for
me.

The Gift of Freedom

The mere ability to choose between good and evil is the lowest limit of
freedom, and the only thing that is free about it is the fact that we can
still choose good.

To the extent that you are free to choose evil, you are not free. An evil
choice destroys freedom.

We can never choose evil as evil: only as an apparent good. But when we
decide to do something that seems to us to be good when it is not really so,
we are doing something that we do not really want to do, and therefore we
are not really free.

Perfect spiritual freedom is a total inability to make any evil choice. When
everything you desire is truly good and every choice not only aspires to
that good but attains it, then you are free because you do everything that
you want, every act of your will ends in perfect fulfillment.

Freedom therefore does not consist in an equal balance between good and evil
choices but in the perfect love and acceptance of what is really good and
the perfect hatred and rejection of what is evil, so that everything you do
is good and makes you happy, and you refuse and deny and ignore every
possibility that might lead to unhappiness and self-deception and grief.
Only the man who has rejected all evil so completely that he is unable to
desire it at all, is truly free. God, in whom there is absolutely no shadow
or possibility of evil or of sin, is infinitely free. In fact, he is
Freedom.

Thomas Merton (Father Louis, OCSO)

New Seeds of Contemplation

This story tells of the man who set out to adopt a troubled teenage girl.
One would question his logic. She was destructive, disobedient, and
dishonest.

One day she came home from school and ransacked the house looking for money.
By the time he arrived, she was gone and the house was in shambles.

Upon hearing of her actions, a friend urged him not to finalize the
adoption. "You haven't completed the paperwork. You haven't signed any
documents. Let her go."

His response was simply, "But I've already promised her that she would be my
daughter."

God, too, has made a covenant to adopt his people. His covenant is not
invalidated by our rebellion. It's one thing to love us when we are strong,
obedient, and willing. But when we ransack his house and steal what is his?
This is the test of love. And God passes the test; Despite our sin, in the
face of our rebellion, He chose to adopt us.

- - -
Romans 5:8 - But God has shown us how much he loves us - it was while we
were still sinners that Christ died for us!

Matthew 9:12-13 - (Jesus said) "People who are well do not need a doctor,
but only those who are sick... I have not come to call respectable people,
but outcasts."

Ephesians 1:5 - God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would
make us his sons...

Let Go Of Sorrow

I've heard it said don't go to bed while hanging on to sorrow,
you may not have the chance to laugh with those you love tomorrow.
You may not mean the words you speak when anger takes its toll,
you may regret your actions once you've lost your self-control.

When you've lost your temper and you've said some hurtful things,
think about the heartache that your actions sometime bring.

You'll never get those moments back, such precious time to waste,
and all because of things you said in anger and in haste.

So if you're loving someone and your pride has settled in,
you may not ever have the chance to say to them again...

"I love you and I miss you and although we don't agree,
I'll try to see your point of view, please do the same for me."

Author Unknown

Prayer For Strength and Wisdom

Lord,
Give me strength and wisdom
to live this day as I ought.

Give me strength...
to overcome every temptation which may come to me,
to do well every task which is assigned to me,
to shoulder every responsibility which is laid upon my shoulders.

Give me wisdom...
to know when to speak and when to keep silent,
to know when to act and when to refrain from action,
to know when to speak my mind and when to hold my peace.

So bring me to the end of this day
in goodness,
in happiness
and in peace. Amen.

Lord Jesus, Redeemer of all, hear my prayer

For the love You bear
to those who ask forgiveness,
look mercifully on me,
as once You looked on Mary Magdalene
and on Peter who denied You.

Look on me, Lord Jesus Christ,
as You looked on the thief on his cross
and on every sinner
whom You have ever forgiven.

Look on me, merciful Lord,
as You looked on Your mother, Mary,
standing in sorrow beneath Your cross.
Let me feel in my heart her compassion for You,
and let my eyes weep for the sorrows
my sins have caused.

Call me from darkness
to my Father's house,
give me a new heart
and a place at Your side
at the banquet of Your kingdom. Amen

I am sorry, dear Lord...
Don't let me hurt You everyday...
Hear my prayers...
Give me wisdom...
and save me.

Good night - Sweet Dreams and my wish for you all is a good, positive,
peaceful, wonderful day tomorrow (Thursday) filled will lots of blessings!
God bless you all!

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Daily Positive Thread for Thursday