Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Today I'm feeling it with the work-outs - I went for 15 min. on the treadmill and a bunch of reps on the health rider, plus 10 min. on the chi machine. Maybe if I feel stiff tomorrow I'll skip, we'll see. But it's such a blessing to have it handy in our garage. Our garage is heated to about 40 degrees, I use a sweatshirt and being the treadmill is cold, gloves help with that - and it works. So here I'm on the floor doing the Chi and Sammy is right next to me doing his chi too! Funny dog! Lots' of everyday blessings - cleaning out a drawer and finding stuff I forgot I had!! Yep! And it's something for exercise too so I'll be using it. Praying for you all! - God bless everything you do!

Praise accomplishes great things. Lord, let me be your instrument

in touching lives and changing hearts.

Scripture for the day:

"If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love,

any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy

complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full

accord and of one mind." Philippians 2:1-2

Meditation for the day:

There is great joy in living the spiritual life. A faith without joy

is not entirely genuine. If we are not happier as a result of our

faith, there is probably something wrong. Faith in God can bring us a

deep

feeling of happiness and security, no matter what happens on the

surface of our life. Each new day is another opportunity to serve God

and improve our relationships with other people. This can bring joy.

Life can be abundant and outreaching. It can be glowing and outgoing,

in ever widening circles.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that my horizons may grow ever wider. I pray that I may keep

reaching out for more service and companionship.

Right Now

What is wrong with right now? Nothing. Are there things you would like to

change? Of course. The beauty of right now is that it gives you a place to

start and the wisdom of knowing where to go.

There is nothing wrong with right now. It is a magnificent point in time.

Any problems you sense with this moment are based on your own

interpretation. Nothing is wrong unless you choose to make it so.

Choose instead to see and to live the rightness and the goodness of this

moment. Transcend the petty concerns which have held you back in the past.

Free yourself to live at your best.

Drink in the beauty and energy of right now. A world of possibilities

stretches out in front of you. They all begin right now. Life is already

filled with abundance, and right now is your chance to make it even better.

~ Ralph Marston ~

THE GIFT

Author Unknown

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many

months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom,

and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all

he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his

father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his

graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father

told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how

much he loved him.

He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but

somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a

lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in

gold.

Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your

money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the

Bible. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in

business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized

his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He

had not seen him since that graduation day.

Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him

his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his

son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When

he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his

heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and

saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears,

he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had

carefully underlined a verse, Matt. 7:11, "And if ye, being evil, know

how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your

Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give to those who ask Him?" As he

read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had

a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car

he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the

words PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not

packaged as we expected?

Jesus -- How Long Do We Have --

What if God decided to give you just a sixty-second test ... to see if You

are ready for heaven, If He asked me, I would beg Him to give me more time.

I have too many things to change about me before I can be tested to be

heaven-worthy. Heaven is "forever" and I sure don't want to miss out

because I only had 60-seconds to shape up.

But then, suppose God said "O.K. ... I will give you a full week for me to

test you for a week to see if you are worthy enough to enter heaven."

Yikes, I would say (that is not fair, I need more time to improve and be out

of all my nasty habits). I need more time.

O.K. God says ... "O.K. ... I will give you five-years to shape up and then

I will test you to see if you are worth heaven after 5-years." Would this be

enough (five years to get ready)? Only God knows.

God knows all things and He knows how much time (each one of us needs to

"get ready"). He gives us each (enough time). We all have exactly enough

time for our testing -- He loves us that way.

Ask and it will be given to you." (Mt 7:7)

*****

Narrative:

The shabbily dressed old lady with her basket on her arm hobbled down the

street toward the butcher shop, hoping to get a few leftover scraps of meat

for some soup. "Please God, don’t let me down," she prayed in her heart.

As she neared the butcher’s, she heard him remarking loudly for her benefit:

"Those are just the kind of customers I don’t need. I like people with ready

cash or a checkbook. I don’t give anything away for free."

The grandma entered the shop and told him, "I don’t want anything for free.

I always pay you. I always tell you: ‘May God repay you.’"

"Bah!" the butcher remarked. "Let’s write that ‘May God repay you’ on a

piece of paper, put it on the scale, and see what it is worth. Whatever it

weighs, I’ll give you in meat."

So he did – and the side with the paper on it went right down. Surprised, he

took a little piece of meat from the showcase and laid it on the opposite

side of the scale to balance it. Nothing happened. The scale did not move.

So he added more and more and more meat.

He had to keep his promise to equal the weight of that paper. He emptied his

whole butcher shop, and still the side of the scale with the paper written

"May God repay you" did not rise.

The little old lady chose only the meat she had come for. And the speechless

butcher was taught a lesson he never forgot: that the poor people’s "May God

repay you!" was worth more than all the money in his cash register.