Hello my friends! Another day of helping Darla move, we went straight to her new house after my husband was done working, and helped empty boxes and putting things away. Lori was there too, helping, it was a nice time. Also her MIL helped alot, the movers were 3 guys. Going back tomorrow again after Mass to finish things, she wants her Christmas tree up and decorated, and other things. Her living room looks so nice and cozy!! Hope your Saturday went well!
To have a great day isn't always doing what you like, but trying to
like what you must do. Lord, today I will spruce up my attitude
and have a great day no matter what my circumstances.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
Our spiritual life depends upon the unseen. To live the spiritual life
we can believe in the unseen. We can try not to lose the consciousness
of God's spirit in us and in others. As a child in its mother's arms,
we can stay sheltered in the understanding and love of God. God can
relieve us of the weight of worry and care, misery and depression, want
and woe, faintness and heartache, if we will allow it. We can lift up
our eyes from earth's troubles and view the glory of the unseen God.
Each day we can try to see more good in people, more of the unseen in
the seen.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may rest and abide in the presence of the unseen God. I
pray that I may leave my burdens in God's care.
Signs of simplicity
The simple person may stand out for:
- His thoughtful way of treating others
- Her sincere joy when he greets a friend
- His ability to accept the things he has without needing to compare himself or feel superior to others
- How she spontaneously praises others for their qualities, without exaggerating
- How he deals with God in a respectful, loving way
- How she rejoices in others’ successes and achievements
- How he doesn’t need complicated, expensive toys to have fun
- How she does not need to be the center of attention or talk about herself incessantly
- How he listens to his friends, valuing them for who they are, not for their external achievements
- How she can acknowledge her own victories without getting puffed up or complicated
A Dozen Christmas Roses
Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow.
Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any.
The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift.
He shook his head as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend,"
Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother.
Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to.
Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window.
Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment.
As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime.
He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift.
The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."
As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers.
The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box.
"That will be ten cents young man," the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime.
Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?"
This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son,"
As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"
Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway.
Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime.
"When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars.
"When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses." The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.
May this story instill the spirit of Christmas in you enough to pass this story along. Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.
25 WAYS WE'RE DIFFERENT THIS CHRISTMAS
1. Last Christmas we were thinking about all the things we didn't have; this Christmas we are thinking about all the things we do have.
2. Last Christmas we were placing wreaths on the doors of our homes; this Christmas we are placing wreaths on the graves of our heroes.
3. Last Christmas we were letting our sons play with toy guns; this Christmas we are teaching them that guns are not toys.
4. Last Christmas we were counting our money; this Christmas we are counting our blessings.
5. Last Christmas we were lighting candles to decorate; this Christmas we are lighting candles to commemorate.
6. Last Christmas we paid lip service to the real meaning of the holidays; this Christmas we are paying homage to it.
7. Last Christmas we were digging deep into our bank accounts to find money to fly home for the holidays; this Christmas we are digging deep into our souls to find the courage to do so.
8. Last Christmas we were trying not to let annoying relatives get the best of us; this Christmas we are trying to give the best of ourselves to them.
9. Last Christmas we thought it was enough to celebrate the holidays; this Christmas we know we must also find ways to consecrate them.
10. Last Christmas we thought a man who could rush down a football field was a hero; this Christmas we know a man who rushes into a burning building is the real one.
11. Last Christmas we were thinking about the madness of the holidays; this Christmas we are thinking about the meaning of them.
12. Last Christmas we were getting on one another's nerves; this Christmas we are getting on our knees.
13. Last Christmas we were giving thanks for gifts from stores; this Christmas we are giving thanks for gifts from GOD.
14. Last Christmas we were wondering how to give our children all the things that money can buy; this Christmas we are wondering how to give them all the things money can't (peace, security).
15. Last Christmas we were thinking about all the pressure we are under at the office; this Christmas we are thinking about all the people who no longer have an office to go to.
16. Last Christmas we were singing carols; this Christmas we are singing anthems.
17. Last Christmas we were thinking how good it would feel to be affluent; this Christmas we are thinking how good it feels to be alive.
18. Last Christmas we thought angels were in heaven; this Christmas we know they are right here on earth.
19. Last Christmas we were contemplating all the changes we wanted to make in the new year; this Christmas we are contemplating all the changes we will have to make in this new reality.
20. Last Christmas we believed in the power of the pocketbook; this Christmas we believe in the power of prayer.
21. Last Christmas we were sharing / spreading / listening to gossip; this Christmas we are sharing / spreading and listening to the Gospel.
22. Last Christmas we were complaining about how much of our earnings went to taxes; this Christmas we comprehend that freedom isn't free.
23. Last Christmas we valued things that were costly; this Christmas we value things that are holy.
24. Last Christmas the people we idolized wore sports uniforms; this Christmas the people we idolize wear police, firefighter and military uniforms.
25. Last Christmas peace on earth is something we prayed for on Sunday morning; now it's something we pray for every day.
Prayer to the Infant Jesus
Come to me, O Divine Savior, vouchsafe to be born in my heart. Grant that, taught by Thine example, and assisted by Thy grace, I may be poor in spirit and humble of heart. Keep me chaste and obedient. I wish to live but for Thee, and to do all things purely for love of Thee.
O Mary, my Advocate and Mother, obtain by thy prayers forgiveness of my past offenses and holy perseverance unto death. St. Joseph, do thou also pray for me, that I may become daily more pleasing to Jesus. Amen.
WITH ECCLESIASTICAL APPROBATION
December 12th - Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
1531, a lady appeared to Juan Diego in Tepeyac, near Mexico City; she identified herself as the Mother of the True God, instructed him to have Bishop-elect Zumarraga build a temple on the site and left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his tilma (a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated within a few years but shows no sign of decay nearly 500 years later). Less than 20 years later, 9 million pagans of the land are converted to Christianity.
The origin of the name Guadalupe has always been a matter of controversy. It is believed that Our Lady used the native Aztec-Indian Nahuatl word of "coatlaxopeuh", which means "who crushes the serpent" (and it has an interesting connection with Genesis 3:15 where it is indicated a women would step on a serpent's head). It is pronounced "quatlasupe", and sounds remarkably like the Spanish word "Guadalupe" (which is a name of a Spanish village which is famous for it's veneration of Our Lady). The Aztecs were awful pagans who would sacrifice women and children to their gods. It is believed that Our Lady crushed this serpent in 1531.
The cresent moon in the image of Our Lady of Guadalup is a symbol of the evil serpent god that represented the Aztec pagans.
The original cloak of Juan Diego with the miraculous imprint. It is on display in the Basillica of Guadalupe, Mexico.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
December 12 - Jesus Calling
I am taking care of you. Feel the warmth and security of being enveloped in My loving Presence. Every detail of your life is under My control. Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good, to those who love Me and are called according to My design and purpose.
Because the world is in an abnormal, fallen condition, people tend to think that chance governs the universe. Events may seem to occur randomly,with little or no meaning. People who view the world this way have overlooked one basic fact: the limitations of human understanding. What you know of the world you inhabit is only the tip of the iceberg. Submerged beneath the surface of the visible world are mysteries too vast for you to comprehend. If you could only see how close I am to you and how constantly I work on your behalf, you would never again doubt that I am wonderfully caring for you. This is why you must live by faith, not by sight; trusting in My mysterious, majestic Presence.
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.
—Romans 8:28 amp
Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”
—Job 42:1–3
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
—1 Peter 5:7
We live by faith, not by sight.
—2 Corinthians 5:7
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