Hello my friends! Hope your day after Christmas was relaxing and pleasent. We had nothing going on today, so it was relaxing and that's always good. Left-overs is always good too!! How about you?
You will be what you believe that you are and you will become what you
believe you can become. Lord, increase my humility so that I may always
be mindful that the good within comes from You.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in
heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ~Matthew 5:43-45
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
We can turn out all thoughts of doubt and fear and resentment. We
need not tolerate them. We can bar the windows and doors of our minds
against them, as we would bar our homes against a thief who would
steal in to take away our treasures. What greater treasures can we
have than faith and courage and love? All these can be stolen from us
by doubt and fear and resentment. We can face each day with peace and
hope. They are the results of true faith in God. Faith can give us a
feeling of protection and safety that we can get in no other way.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may feel protected and safe, but not only when I am in
the harbor. I pray that I may have protection and safety even in the
midst of the storms of life.
Persons are gifts!
At least Jesus thought so:
“Father I want those you have given me to be where I am.”
Persons are gifts which the Father sends to me wrapped!
Some are wrapped very beautifully” They are very attractive when I first see them. Some are in very ordinary wrapping paper others have been mishandled in the mail. Once in a while there is a “Special Delivery”.
Some persons are gifts which come very loosely wrapped; others very lightly.
But wrapping is not the gift!
It’s so easy to make this mistake. Sometimes the gift is very easy to open up.
Sometimes I need other to help. Is it because they are afraid?
Does it hurt? Maybe they have been opened up before and thrown away.
Could it be that the gift is not for me?
I am a person! Therefore I am a gift too:
A Gift to myself first of all. The Father gave myself to me!
Have I ever really looked inside the wrappings?
Perhaps I have never accepted the gift that I am.
Could it be that there is something else inside the wrappings other than what I think? Maybe I’ve never seen the wonderful gift that I am.
Could the father’s gift be anything but beautiful? I love the gifts which those who love me give to me. Why not this gift from the Father?
And I am a Gift to other persons!
Am I willing to be given by the father to others?
A person for others like the Man for others?
Do others have to be content with the wrappings…
never permitted to enjoy the gift?
Every meeting of persons is an exchange of gifts!
But a gift without a giver is not a gift. It is a thing without relationship to one who gives or to one who receives.
Friendship is a relationship between persons who see themselves as they really are!
Gifts of the father to each for others-sisters, brothers. A friend is a gift not just for me, but to others through me. When I keep my friend - possess him or her – I destroy his or her “Gift-ness”. If I save his or her life for me, I lose it.
If I lose it for others, I save it.
Persons are gifts, gifts received and gifts given….like the Son!
There´s No Christmas Without Jesus
There's no Christmas without Jesus,
It's to Him our eyes should see.
Not to jolly old Saint Nicholas
Nor a glitt'ring Christmas tree!
Shops in town are decorated
Decked in colors bright and gay
Tinsel lights and shapes created
Merge into one grand display.
"There's no Christmas without buying
Gifts and toys to give," they say.
Oh, that they should be realizing
All these things will fade away!
Santa Claus is just a story
Reindeer never pulled his sleigh.
Why then, does he get the glory
On this sacred, holy day?
But a baby in a manger
Really lived in Israel:
He was born to be our Saviour--
It's His story we must tell!
I will think of Christ this Christmas--
How He left His throne above,
gave up all His heav'nly riches
For to manifest His love!
Take the tinsel and the glitter
and the 'santas' all away
For God's love is far, far greater
Than this man-made grand display!
from Wexford Inspirationals
Christmas Comes But Once A Year
"Christmas comes but once a year,"
Is an old familiar phrase.
But what do you do with Christmas
Through all the other days?
With Christmas trees and Santa Claus
And tinsel shinning bright,
Many often fail to see
The star that shone that night.
Oh, truly Christmas is a time
For joy and much good cheer,
An a lot that goes with Christmas
Should come but once a year.
But the true meaning of Christmas
Is the love the Christ Child brought.
This should not just once a year,
But all your days be sought.
Please carry through the year to come
The truths Christ came to say---
And you will find within your heart
It's Christmas every day!
Our Greatest Need
If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness,
So God sent us a Savior.
Merry Christmas!
December 26
I am the gift that continuously gives—bounteously, with no strings attached. Unconditional Love is such a radical concept that even My most devoted followers fail to grasp it fully. Absolutely nothing in heaven or on earth can cause Me to stop loving you. You may feel more loved when you are performing according to your expectations. But My Love for you is perfect; therefore it is not subject to variation. What does vary is your awareness of My loving Presence.
When you are dissatisfied with your behavior, you tend to feel unworthy of My Love. You may unconsciously punish yourself by withdrawing from Me and attributing the distance between us to My displeasure. Instead of returning to Me and receiving My Love, you attempt to earn My approval by trying harder. All the while, I am aching to hold you in My everlasting arms, to enfold you in My Love. When you are feeling unworthy or unloved, come to Me. Then ask for receptivity to My unfailing Love.
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
—1 John 4:15–16, 18
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
—Deuteronomy 33:27
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
—Psalm 13:5
Today is the Feast of St. Stephen
St. Stephen
Loving God, Saint Stephen was one of the first deacons in the Church. The Apostles ordained him with six others because they needed ministers who would oversee the needs of the poor and the widowed. His holiness was so evident that when he preached to his enemies, his face glowed brightly like an angel's. I ask him to pray for those who have been called to a life of service as ordained deacons. O Lord, help them to be a sign of Your love in their parishes and in the world where they live and work. Bless them with a vision of their ministry that stirs them to passion and tireless effort. Saint Stephen, pray for us. Amen.
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