Community Chat

[gloriajean]

When you turn to God, He makes the weak strong, the sinful sinless

and the worthless worthwhile. Lord, I am a joyful person because

You have blessed me.

Scripture for the day:

"Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human

authority." ~Acts 5:29

Meditation for the day:

Functioning on a material plane alone can take me away from God. I can also

try to function on a spiritual plane. Functioning on a spiritual plane as

well as on a material plane can make life what it should be. All material

activities are valueless in themselves alone. But all activities, seemingly

trivial or of seemingly great moment, are all alike if directed by God's

guidance. I can try to obey God as I would expect a faithful, willing

servant to carry out God's directions.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that the flow of God's spirit may come to me through many channels. I

pray that I may function on a spiritual plane as well as on a material

plane.

Hello my friends! Starting a new one this morning - for the week. Hope you all like this new format. I hope I'm not losing regular posters because of this, but again, this is a trial to see how it works. So far so good, are there any complaints? My blessings are waking up to sunshine this morning - although more snow is in the forecast, but hopefully it won't be that much to cancel our plans to visit our former neighbors a half hour away and eating out with them, they want to do this for us for cleaning out their driveway all winter. Their house is for sale and they built a new house on the lake. Hoping and praying for good neighbors to buy their house next door! Wishing you all a very good day today and week and I'll be coming by daily like last week with more inspirations. Praying for you all - and thanks for your prayers for us.

A STORY TO MAKE US THINK

Author Unknown

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man

was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help

drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only

window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men

talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their

homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where

they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed

by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to

his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods

where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity

and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a

lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed

their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of

every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and

a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the

man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the

picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described

a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band -

he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window

portrayed it with descriptive words.

Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the

other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything

while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair.

At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he

missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon

turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to

sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that

thought, now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window

began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other

man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window

groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room

he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought

the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and

choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was

only silence-deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their

baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she

was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As

soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be

moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and

after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly,

painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look

at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all

himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the

bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased

roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the

wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . . .

You can interpret the story in any way you like. But one moral stands

out: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our

own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when

shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the

things you have that money can't buy.

Sayings of Mother Teresa

God is Love. He loves each one of us.

We read something beautiful in the Scriptures;

" I have called you by your name, your are mine,

Water will not drown you, fire will not burn you,

I will give up nations for you, you are precious to me, I love you.

Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you.

I have carved you on the palm of my Hand."

This is God speaking to you and to me,

to that leper man and the alcoholic woman,

to the person with a mental handicap and to the little child;

YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO ME.

I LOVE YOU.