Among Friends

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Well, Linus went to work today, was feeling better, but came home feeling not good again, some cough, and a slight sore throat.  Glad we didn't have any plans for tonight.  I am okay. He knows he got this from a co-worker who worked while she was so sick.  My blessing today was talking on the phone to an old neighbor of ours, it was so nice visiting with her on the phone again. Today is her birthday, and she is retiring and she and her husband are taking a trip together next week.  

Joy is left if you rid your heart of all that pulls you down. Lord, help

me to heal my spirit and grow from today's experiences.

S C R I P T U R E   F O R   T H E   D A Y  

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!'"  ~Luke 17:5

M E D I T A T I O N   F O R   T H E   D A Y 

I can pray for faith as a thirsty person prayers for water in a desert.
I can know what it means to feel sure that God will never fail me.  I can be
as sure of this as I am sure that I still breathe.  I can pray daily and
most diligently that my faith may increase.  There is nothing lacking in my
life because, really, all I need is mine, only I sometimes lack the faith to
know it.  I can be like a rich man's child who sits in rags when all around
me are stores of all I could ever desire.

P R A Y E R   F O R   T H E   D A Y  

I pray that for the realization that God has everything I need.  I pray that
I may know that God's power is always available to me.

HOW LIFE IS MEASURED
Author Unknown

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose
husband unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack.

About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a
classroom of students.

As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom
windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on
the edge of her desk and sat down there. With a gentle look of
reflection on her face, she paused and said, "Before class is over, I
would like to share with all of you a thought that is unrelated to
class, but which I feel is very important."

"Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and
give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience
will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a way of
telling us that we must make the most out of every single day."......

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to
make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way
home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be
something you see, it could be a scent -- perhaps of freshly baked
bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the
breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the
morning light catches the autumn leaf as it falls gently to the
ground.

Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may
sound trite to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little
things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for
granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any
time...it can all be taken
away." The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and
filed out of the room silently.

That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than
had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that
teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I
try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today.
When you go home, Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop
off on the way home tonight to get a double-dip ice cream cone.

"For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often
regret, but the things we didn't do."

“Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened."

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the
moments that take our breath away."

O My People What Have I Done to You?

O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I hurt you?  Answer me.

I led you out of Egypt,
From slavery I set you free;
I brought you into the land of promise,
You have prepared a cross for me.

I led you as a shepherd,
I brought you safely through the sea;
Fed you with manna in the desert,
You have prepared a cross for me.

I fought for you in battles,
I won you strength and victory;
Gave you a royal crown and sceptre,
You have prepared a cross for me.

I planted you, my vineyard,
And cared for you most tenderly;
Looked for abundant fruit, and found none,
Only the cross you made for me.

Then listen to me my pleading,
And do not turn away from me;
You are my people: will you reject me?
For you I suffer bitterly.

Turn Around

You've wandered far from me my child,
In search of what you'd be.
But I've always followed close behind,
Turn around and look at me.

For all your struggle and your pain,
Just what have you achieved?
A life of worldly goods decayed,
Where nothing is believed?

I know it's hard to look at me,
Much like Adam in your sin;
But I call all children to my throne,
Not caring where you've been.

No, you weren't created perfect child,
And mistakes - you've made a few;
But my Son has borne them on the cross,
Do you doubt my word is true?

As He is mine eternally,
Through Him you are the same;
There is no need for fear or doubt,
No further need for shame.

Just cast your cares upon me,
And confess your sins complete;
That I may be our Father now,
And lift you to your feet.

Or is your pain so precious,
And the tears you've cried so sweet,
That you'd deny His wounded side,
The holes in His hands and feet?

By His blood you are made spotless,
By His body you're made free;
And My Love is waiting here My Child
Turn around now - reach for Me!

Author Unknown

Cooperation

The story goes that various fruits of the garden held a meeting and a discussion. They wanted to know the reason why no other fruit but the grape contains the juice from which the finest wines are made.

"Her drink is famous throughout the world," they declared. "Why is she more worthy than we are to be so blessed by God?"

A cluster of grapes hanging nearby in the garden heard their complaint and told them, "All of you other fruits grow individually, each one by himself and to himself. But we grapes always grow in bunches; we hang together. That is our nature; that is the only way we can grow. 

And perhaps that mutual helpfulness puts something extra special into the wines that come from us."

Prayer for Solace

John Cardinal Newman

May Christ support us all the day long,

till the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes,

and the busy world 

is hushed, 

and the fever of life is over and 

our work is done. 

Then in his mercy may he give us 

a safe lodging,

and holy rest 

and peace at last. 

Amen.

Verse of the Day

"O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name."

Psalm 63:1-4

Lenten Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron

Lent Day 18

God of the Nations

While we take comfort from much of the Bible’s message, the Bible is not always comforting news. It often carries a message of warning and danger. It’s good for us, during this Lenten season, to attend to the darker side of the Biblical message.

For example, when we read in the Old Testament about the pollution of the Lord’s Temple, it’s a familiar prophetic theme: the people have wandered from the ways of God, rendering impure what God intends to be just and upright. God sends prophet after prophet in order to bring his people back, but they are ignored, mocked, and rejected. Then God’s judgment falls on the unfaithful nation.

What is the instrument of God’s justice? One of the heathen nations, the Chaldeans, who come and destroy the city of Jerusalem, burn the Temple, carry off its most sacred objects, and lead the people into exile.

What is this? Dumb bad luck? Just the give and take of geo-political forces? No! The Bible insists that this should be read as God’s action—more specifically as God’s judgment and punishment. How at odds this is with the typically modern/Enlightenment view, according to which religion is a private matter, confined to the heart and the mind of the individual. For the Biblical authors, God is the Lord of history and time, and hence the Lord of nations and the Lord of nature. His works and actions must be discerned in all events.

Let me give you an example of such a boldly theological reading of political events. Karl Barth is considered one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the twentieth century. At the start of the First World War, he was a country pastor in Switzerland who had been trained in the confident liberal theology that was all the rage around the turn of the last century. This theology shared the common view that with the rise of the natural sciences, with the development of technology, and with political and cultural liberation, human beings could build the Kingdom of God here on earth.

From the quiet of his parsonage in Switzerland, Barth followed the horrors of the First World War, the slaughter of hundreds of thousands, the devastation of nations, the collapse of the European social order. Then something dawned on him: the conviction that it was precisely the inflated self-regard and hubris of nineteenth century liberalism that led to this disaster!

He saw the European powers as descendants of the builders of the Tower of Babel, attempting to reach up to God on their own terms and in their own way. Behind the sunny confidence of the liberal period, he discerned arrogance, imperialism, and colonialism. The advances of science were made possible through the rape of the environment and economic comfort for some was made possible through the enslavement of others. In all of this, he read current events in light of God's great plan.

As difficult as that sometimes is to do, it's how we're to read our lives as well.

A Prayer for Lent

Lord, my walk in life must be with You, Your Holy Spirit is my guide and my protector. Help me to focus my eyes on You, to listen to Your word, to spend time with You daily, to draw on the power and strength only You can give. Only in You can I reach my goals, walk my journeys, nourish my loved ones and share Your love with them and others. Let me be the light of You shining for others so that they too can come to recognise Your great goodness.

February 27 - Jesus Calling

Keep your eyes on Me! Waves of adversity are washing over you, and you feel tempted to give up. As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me. Yet I am with you always, holding you by your right hand. I am fully aware of your situation, and I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.

Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow. If you try to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat. You must discipline yourself to live within the boundaries of today. It is in the present moment that I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens. Keep your focus on My Presence in the present.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
—Psalm 73:23

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
—1 Corinthians 10:13

[luvswesties]

Hi Gloriajean, I pray Linus is well soon.  Thank you for Jesus Calling today, just the prayer I needed!

God bless

[gloriajean]

Thank you, Luvswesties!  I never know if anyone really cares for the Jesus Calling, you are the first to say so.  Thanks for caring and praying for Linus to get well. He's better, but still not well yet.