Hello my friends! Rainy day here all day again! Grass is getting greener! Got a nap in and also all the laundry, cooking etc. Blessings upon your night and your tomorrow.
Often times, life is what happens when you're busy making plans.
Lord, help me to notice each moment and not rush through it.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Jesus straightened up and said to the woman caught in adultery,
'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one,
sir.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and
from now on do not sin again.'" ~John 8:10-11
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
I can live one day at a time. I can make each day
one of preparation for better things ahead. I need not dwell on the
past or the future, only on the present. I can bury every fear of the
future, all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all my dislikes, my
resentments, my sense of failure, my disappointments in others and in
myself, my gloom and my despondency. I can leave all these things
buried and go forward, in this new year and this new millennium, into
a new life!
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that God will guide me one day at a time in the new year. I
pray that for each day, God will supply the wisdom and the strength I
need.
A PRAYER FOR AMERICA
Father, we beg Your blessing for the Right to Life, the Unborn, the weak, the sick and the old; all who are finding themselves being targets of the vicious culture of death; that our Lord Jesus bless and protect all who stand up for the Christian dignity of persons. That God enlighten those who are traveling down death's highway by their involvement, in any way, with either the contemporary death culture, selfism, relativeism, or any of the new age errors of our times, that God envelop our culture with His Divine protection and help us both individually and as a nation to true enlightenment, conversion and repentance of our selves and our culture. Help us to turn from our national sin of abortion, and return to, and once again become a Christian nation, on the narrow road, that is, the path to becoming a nation and culture, under God. Amen.
A Brother's Hands
(I do not know if this is true but sounds great)
Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.
After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.
Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will support you."
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated over and over, "No ... no ... no ... no."
Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late."
More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.
One day, long ago, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."
Jesus Calling
Seek to please Me above all else. As you journey through today, there will be many choice-points along your way. Most of the day’s decisions will be small ones you have to make quickly. You need some rule of thumb to help you make good choices. Many people’s decisions are a combination of their habitual responses and their desire to please themselves or others. This is not My way for you. Strive to please Me in everything, not just in major decisions. This is possible only to the extent that you are living in close communion with Me. When My Presence is your deepest delight, you know almost instinctively what will please Me. A quick glance at Me is all you need to make the right choice.Delight yourself in Me more and more; seek My pleasure in all you do.
“The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” —John 8:29
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. —Hebrews 11:5–6
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. —Psalm 37:4
Prayer for the Sick
Dear Jesus,
Divine Physician and Healer of the Sick,
we turn to You in this time of illness.
O dearest Comforter of the Troubled,
alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love,
and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.
Dear God,
we place our worries in Your hands.
We ask that You restore Your servant to health again.
Above all,
grant us the grace to acknowledge Your holy will
and know that whatsoever You do,
You do for the love of us.
Amen.
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