Community Chat

[gloriajean]

In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day is a fresh beginning.

With You, I will come closer to my goals each day if only I don't give up and quit.

Scripture for the day:

"Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy,

and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk,

so that by it you may grow into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that

the Lord is good." ~1 Peter 2:1-3

Meditation for the day:

I can remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is not

mine to decide how or when I am to act. God can plan all spiritual matters.

It is up to me to make myself fit to do God's work. All that hinders my

spiritual activity can be eliminated. I can depend on God for all the

strength I need to overcome those faults which are blocks. I can keep myself

fit, so that God can use me as a channel for God's spirit.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in spiritual matters.

I pray that I may be a good instrument for God to work with.

Greetings! Today Dr. Mike worked over my arm - says next week I'll need to exercise it, moving it here and there, stretching it more even when it hurts so I don't get frozen elbow. Sure hope I can do that right. Other than my arm, the rest of me is back to normal, he adjusted me for the light-headedness too, haven't had it since. Had a nice nap - sure seemed to need it.

I made some beef vegetable soup for supper - it was delicious! It was a blessing that my dear husband put the food away and ran the dishwasher - that all helps!

Tomorrow will be a busy day - going to get a good night's sleep in now. Prayers for you all - thanks for your prayers for us.

THE GLOVE

"You're so quiet, Son. What's on your mind?" asked Ben's father as he stopped at Ben's room to tell him good night.

Ben put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling above his bed. "Oh, I've just been wondering if I should be a missionary."

"You don't seem very excited about the idea," said Dad.

"It seems like such a hard job," said Ben, propping himself up on one elbow. "I have this feeling that I might not be any good at it. What if God calls me to do something I can't do!"

Ben's father thought for a moment, then reached over to Ben's desk and picked up his baseball glove. "What's this?" he asked.

Ben laughed. "Don't be silly, Dad! It's my ball glove."

Dad walked over to the corner of the room. He propped the glove against the wall, found a baseball, and threw it at the glove. Though the ball hit the center of the glove, it rolled to the floor. Dad picked up the glove and looked at it in disgust. "This glove is a total failure," he said, shaking his head.

Ben laughed and laughed. "Oh, Dad, you know it can't catch by itself! It has to have a hand inside."

Dan smiled at Ben. "You're just like this glove," he said. "God has a purpose for your life, Ben, just as there is a purpose for this glove. You put your hand inside the glove to give it guidance and strength----you give it power to catch the ball. In the same way, God will give you power to do whatever He calls you to do. Don't worry, Son, God will never prop you in a corner and leave you alone. It's His mighty hand that does the work when you are willing to be used."

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5)

THE LESSON OF THE COFFEE BEAN

Author Unknown

A daughter complained to her father about how hard things were for

her."As soon as I solve one problem," she said, "another one comes up.

I'm tired of struggling."

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen where he filled three pots

with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a

boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second, eggs, and in the last,

ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After a

while, he went over and turned off the burners. He fished out the

carrots and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed

them a bowl. He poured the coffee into a bowl. Turning to her he

asked, "Darling, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and

noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break

it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted its

rich flavor.

She asked, "What does it mean, Father?" He explained that each of them

had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted

differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but

after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became

weak.

The egg was fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid

interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside

hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling

water, they changed the water.

He asked his daughter, "When adversity knocks on your door, which are

you?"

Take Up Your Cross

Take up your cross, the Savior said,

If you would my disciple be;

Deny yourself, the world forsake,

And humbly follow after me.

Take up your cross, let not its weight

Fill your weak spirit with alarm;

His strength shall bear your heart and nerve your arm.

Take up your cross then in his strength,

And ev’ry danger calmly brave,

To guide you to a better home,

And vict’ry over death and grave.

Take up your cross and follow Christ,

Nor think till death to lay it down;

For only he who bears the cross

May hope to wear the glorious crown.

To you, great Lord, the One in three,

All praise for evermore ascend;

O grant us here below to see

The heav’nly life that knows no end.

by Charles William Everest

Food for Thought:

DOES GOD STILL SPEAK TO HIS PEOPLE?

Author Unknown

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had

shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.

The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to His

people?"

After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and

they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how

God had led them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home.

Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God.. If you still speak

to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."

As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest

thought, stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out

loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward

home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man

thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and

how little Samuel ran to Eli.

"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem

like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.

He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward

home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down

that street."

This is crazy he thought and drove on pass the intersection. Again, he

felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next

intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly,

he said out loud, "Okay, God, remember I....He drove several blocks,

when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb

and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't

the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either.

The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the

people were already in bed.

Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the

house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was

dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were

already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the

car seat.

"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up,

they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like

he should go and give the milk. Finally, he opened the door, "Okay

God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the

milk. If you want me to

look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that

will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out

of here." He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear

some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you

want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The

man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he

just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't

seem to happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is

it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought

this to you." The man took the milk and rushed

down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall

came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was

following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears

streaming down his face. The man began speaking, speaking and half

crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we

ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just

praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked him to send an Angel with

some. Are you an Angel?" The young man reached into his wallet and

pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He

turned and walked back towards his car and the tears were streaming

down his face.

He knew that God still answers prayers and that God still speaks to

His people.