Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! August 7th already! Soon Summer is over and Fall begins - short summer it was. But we are grateful and give God thanks for our weather - which is His Gift to us, there are storm watches out for tonight, even hail, but I pray it won't come. I'll be using Holy Water around our property again, another good advice I got from my Mom. Darla is here right now grading her on line class - and she's in pain, please help me pray for her healing as I'm praying for healing for all of you who need healing. Greg is visiting with his brother now.

Love and trust are the solutions for the worries and frets of life. Lord, I pray for

Your gift of Faith which is all that I need for Your power to work within me.

Scripture for the day:

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~Matthew 9:36

Meditation for the day:

Having compassion for all who are in temptation, a condition which we
are sometimes in, we have a responsibility toward them. Compassion
always includes responsibility. Pity is useless because it does not
have a remedy for the need. But wherever our compassion goes, our
responsibility goes too. When we are moved with compassion, we can go
to the one in need and bind up their wounds as best we can.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may have compassion for those in temptations. I pray that
I may have compassion for the trials of others.

Forgiveness Prayer

from Forgiveness & Inner Healing, by Father Robert DeGrandis S.S.J. and Betty Tapscot

The following prayer covers most significant areas of forgiveness. Often, such a prayer will bring to mind other areas that need forgiveness. Let the Holy Spirit move freely and guide your mind to persons or groups that you need to forgive.

Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today to forgive EVERYONE in my life.
I know that You will give me the strength to forgive and I thank You that You love me more than I love myself and want my happiness more than I desire it for myself.

Father, I forgive YOU
for the times death has come into the family, hard times, financial difficulties, or what I thought were punishments sent by You and people said, "It's God's will," and I become bitter and resentful toward You. Purify my heart and mind today.

Lord, I forgive MYSELF
for my sins, faults and failings, for all that is bad in myself or that I think is bad, I forgive myself; and I accept Your forgiveness.

I further forgive MYSELF
for taking Your name in vain, not worshipping You by attending church, for hurting my parents, getting drunk, for sins against purity, bad books, bad movies, fornication, adultery, homosexuality. Also, for abortion, stealing, lying, defrauding, hurting peoples' reputation. You have forgiven me today, and I forgive myself. Thank You, Lord, for your grace at this moment.

I also forgive MYSELF
for any delvings in superstition, using ouija boards, horoscopes, going to séances, using fortune telling or wearing lucky charms. I reject all that superstition and choose You alone as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

Lord, I truly forgive my MOTHER.
I forgive her for all the times she hurt me, she resented me, she was angry with me and for all the times she punished me. I forgive her for the times she preferred my brothers and sisters to me. I forgive her for the times she told me I was dumb, ugly, stupid, the worst of the children or that I cost the family a lot of money. For the times she told me I was unwanted, an accident, a mistake or not what she expected, I forgive her.

Lord, I truly forgive my FATHER.
I forgive him for any non-support, any lack of love, affection or attention. I forgive him for any lack of time, for not giving me his companionship, for his drinking, arguing and fighting with my mother or the other children. For his severe punishments, for desertion, for being away from home, for divorcing my mother or for any running around, I do forgive him.

Lord, I extend forgiveness to my SISTERS AND BROTHERS.
I forgive those who rejected me, lied about me, hated me, resented me, competed for my parents' love, those who hurt me, who physically harmed me. For those who were too severe on me, punished me or made my life unpleasant in any way, I do forgive them.

Lord, I forgive my SPOUSE
for lack of love, affection, consideration, support, attention, communication; for faults, failings, weaknesses and those other acts or words that hurt or disturb me.

Jesus, I forgive my CHILDREN
for their lack of respect, obedience, love, attention, support, warmth, understanding; for their bad habits, falling away from the church, any bad actions which disturb me.

Lord God, I forgive my IN-LAWS, MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, FATHER-IN-LAW, SON/DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND OTHER RELATIVES by marriage,
who treat my family with a lack of love. For all their words, thoughts, actions or omissions which injure and cause pain, I forgive them.

Please help to forgive my RELATIVES,
my grandmother and grandfather, aunts, uncles, cousins, who may have interfered in our family, been possessive of my parents, who may have caused confusion or turned one parent against the other.

Jesus, help me to forgive my CO-WORKERS
who are disagreeable or make life miserable for me. For those who push their work off on me, gossip about me, won't cooperate with me, try to take my job, I do forgive them. My NEIGHBORS need to be forgiven, Lord. For all their noise, letting their property run down, not tying up their dogs who run through my yard, not taking in their trash barrels, being prejudiced and running down the neighborhood, I do forgive them.

I do forgive my CLERGYMAN, my CONGREGATION and my CHURCH
for their lack of support, affirmation, bad sermons, pettiness, lack of friendliness, not providing me or my family with the inspiration we needed, for any hurts they have inflicted on me or my family, even in the distant past, I forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive all those who are of different PERSUASIONS,
those of opposite political views who have attacked me, ridiculed me, discriminated against me, made fun of me, economically hurt me.

I forgive those of different religious DENOMINATIONS AND BELIEFS
who have harassed me, attacked me, argued with me, forced their view on me or my family.

Those who have harmed me ETHNICALLY,
have discriminated against me, mocked me, made jokes about my race or nationality, hurt my family physically, emotionally or economically, I do forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive all PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE
who have hurt me in any way: doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, politicians and civil servants. I forgive all service people: policemen, firemen, bus drivers, hospital workers and especially repairmen who have taken advantage of me in their work.

Lord, I forgive my EMPLOYER
for not paying me enough money, for not appreciating my work, for being unkind and unreasonable with me, for being angry or unfriendly, for not promoting me, and for not complimenting me on my work.

Lord, I forgive my SCHOOL TEACHERS AND INSTRUCTORS
of the past as well as the present. For those who punished me, humiliated me, insulted me, treated me unjustly, made fun of me, called me dumb or stupid, made me stay after school, I truly forgive them today.

Lord, I forgive my FRIENDS
who have let me down, lost contact with me, do not support me, were not available when I needed help, borrowed money and did not return it, gossiped about me.

Lord Jesus, I especially pray for the grace of forgiveness for the ONE PERSON in life who has HURT ME THE MOST.
I ask to forgive anyone who I consider my greatest enemy, the one who is the hardest to forgive or the one who I said I will never forgive.

Lord, I beg pardon of all these people for the hurt I have inflicted on them, especially my mother and father, and my marriage partner. I am especially sorry for the three greatest hurts I have inflicted on each of these.

Thank You, Jesus, that I am being freed of the evil of unforgiveness. Let Your Holy Spirit fill me with light and let every dark area of my mind be enlightened. AMEN.

Tips on Forgiveness
1. Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling.
2. If we pray for a person, we can be assured that we have forgiven that person.
3. To help accept an individual and open ourselves to a particular person more, picture him with the Lord Jesus and say to the Lord, "I love him because You love him. I forgive him because You forgive him."
4. Forgiveness is a life-long obligation.
5. Daily we need to forgive those who hurt or injure us.

Morning Prayer

I lift my heart to you, O Lord,
to be strengthened for this day.
Be with me in all I do, my God;
guide me in all my ways.

I will carry some burdens today;
some trials will be mine.
So I wait for your help, Lord,
lest I stumble and fall.

I will do my work, Father,
the work begun by your Son.
He lives in me and I in him;
may his work today be done.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE POOR

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to

the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people

can be.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be

considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was

the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?"

the father asked. "Oh Yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from

the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We

have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek

that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the

stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole

horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields

that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve

others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property

to protect us,they have friends to protect them."

With this the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added,

"Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are."

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we

don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize

possession.

It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen

if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about

wanting more. Take joy in all you have, especially your friends.

MAKE YOUR LIFE HAPPY

MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO BE HAPPY.
Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

MAKE THE BEST OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.
No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears.

DON'T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY.
Don´t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people.

YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY.
Don´t let criticism worry you.

DON'T LET YOUR NEIGHBOUR SET YOUR STANDARDS.
Be yourself.

NEVER BORROW TROUBLE.
Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones.

AVOID PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOU UNHAPPY.
Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges.

HAVE MANY INTERESTS.
If you can´t travel, read about new places.

DON'T HOLD POSTMORTEMS.
Don´t spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don´t be one who never gets over things.

DON'T SHOW PRIDE WHEN YOU GET VICTORY.
After the resurrection Jesus did not reveal Himself before Pilate or Herodotus or the High Priests, who were torturing, crucifying and sealing the sepulchre; but revealed Himself before His own Disciples and those who believed in Him.

DO WHAT YOU CAN FOR THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THAN YOURSELF.
Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of trouble (Ps 41:1).

KEEP BUSY AT SOMETHING.
A busy person never has time to be unhappy.

DON'T WORRY.

Be happy.

AND THE LAST; BUT NOT LEAST - TO KNOW LASTING HAPPINESS, GET TO KNOW THE LOVE OF ETERNAL GOD PERSONALLY.

------------------------------------

Food For Thought:

THE OPERATION
By Norman Vincent Peale
Jun 9, 2009

Having lunch with a group of people, I fell to talking with a surgeon,
a very interesting man. "Doctor," I asked, "what was the greatest
operation you ever performed?"

"Well," he said, "I really don't know. Many operations I have
performed required all my skills. But perhaps the one that meant the
most to me was the time I operated on a little girl who was given
only a ten percent chance of survival. She was such a little thing,
and so pale when they brought her into the operating room.

"At that time, I was having a great deal of trouble, myself. I had a
son who was a real problem and there were other things as well. I had
allowed myself to become an unhappy man. As the nurses were preparing
to administer the anesthetic to this little girl, she asked, 'Doctor,
may I say something?'

" 'Yes, honey,' I replied. 'What is it?'

" 'Well,' she said, 'every night when I go to bed I say my prayers,
and I'd like to say a prayer now.'

" 'That's all right, honey, please say your prayer, and think of me,
too, won't you?'

"In a sweet voice she prayed:

Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me, Bless thy little lamb tonight;
Through the darkness be thou near me: Keep me safe till morning
light.

"And, dear God, please bless the doctor.' Then she added brightly,
'I'm ready now. And I'm not afraid, because Jesus loves me and He is
right here with me and is going to bring me through okay.'

"I was blinded by tears," confessed the surgeon. "I had to turn away
and occupy myself with another washup before I could start the
operation. And I said, 'Dear God, if You never help me save another
human being, help me save this little girl.' I operated on her and the
miracle happened. She lived! Leaving the hospital that day, I realized
that I was the one who had been operated on, not the girl. She taught
me that if I take all my problems and put them in the
hands of Jesus, He will see me through."