Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Today picture yourself as the happiest person that you know and watch how
contagious this enthusiasm for life is. Lord, may I bring out the best in those
with whom I share today so they can in turn bring out more of my best.

Scripture for the day:
"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our
potter; we are all the work of your hand." ~Isaiah 64:8

Meditation for the day:
We may consider the material world as the clay which the artist works
with, to make of it something beautiful or ugly. We need not fear
material things, which are neither good nor bad in the moral sense.
As human beings we can have either evil intentions--resentments,
malevolence, hate and revenge--or good intentions--love and good will.
They can make something ugly or something beautiful out of the clay of our lives.

Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may make something good out of my life. I pray that I may
be a good artisan of the materials which I have been given to use.

Hello my friends! How was your day? Nice here - relaxing - saw some cardinals today - love that!! Got my hair trimmed and colored again today - that always makes me feel good, especially when Georgia comes to the house to do it and she's so cheap, I can afford it! Please would you say a prayer for Lori's friend, Aaron? He's the quadeplegic, and he's been having some clicking in his neck - had a Cat Scan yesterday, praying for good results, if he needs surgery, then he won't be able to move his head from side to side and he's very scared. We pray he won't need surgery. Thanks.

Homily of the Day
July 7, 2011
Give Them to God and Let Go!
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29, 5:1-5 / Mt 10:7-15
Some problems have no easy solutions, but that doesn’t stop the toughest of us from continuing to try, and try, and try again. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And more often than not, persistence pays off.
But there are few problems that can be more intractable than matters of the heart and the challenges of changing hearts. So what are we to do when hearts are frozen in place, and not a good place at that? Jesus addressed this very matter a number of times, and He gives us part of the answer in today’s gospel.
In essence, He tells us never to give up on people, but to recognize that sometimes, no matter what we say or do, certain folks just aren’t ready yet to move forward or to hear the Good News. In that circumstance, Jesus tells us not to badger, get angry, or condemn. Just move on. Shake the dust from your feet and move on. Hold those folks always in prayer, and hope for the future, but let them be.
It’s hard to do, but in the long run, the best gift we have for such folks is our silent, respectful caring and hoping. So when that moment comes, don’t judge, just commend them into God’s hands and let go!

Mother Teresa said...
Jesus, you have given everything, life, blood, all. Now it is my turn. I put everything into the field also. The common soldier fights in the ordinary lines, but the devoted one tries to be near the captain to share his fate. This is the spirit of Christ.

GOD WON'T ASK
Author Unknown
1. God won't ask what kind of fancy car you drove.
He will ask how many people you took to church who didn't have
transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage of your house.
He will ask how many people you helped who didn't have a house.
3. God won't ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet.
He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away.
4. God won't ask what social class you were in.
He will ask what kind of class you displayed.
5. God won't ask how many material possessions you had.
He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.
6. God won't ask what your highest salary was.
He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.
7. God won't ask how much overtime you worked.
He will ask did you work overtime for your family.
8. God won't ask how many promotions you received.
He will ask what you did to promote others.
9. God won't ask what your job title was.
He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.
10. God won't ask how many promotions you took to chase a dollar
bill.
He will ask how many promotions you refused, to advance your family's
quality of life.
11. God won't ask how many times you didn't run around on your
spouse.
He will ask how many times you did.
12. God won't ask how many degrees you had.
He will ask how many people you thanked for helping you get those
degrees.
13. God won't ask what your parents did to help you.
He will ask what you did to help your parents.
14. God won't ask what you did to help yourself.
He will ask what you did to help others.
15. God won't ask how many friends you had.
He will ask how many people you were a friend to.
16. God won't ask what you did to protect your rights.
He will ask what you did to protect the right of others.
17. God won't ask what neighborhood you lived in.
He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited.
18. God won't ask how many times you told the truth.
He will ask how many times you told a lie.
19. God won't ask about the color of your skin.
He will ask about the color of your heart.
20. God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words.
He will ask how many times they didn't.
All of us will stand before God someday..and everything we did, said,
and thought will all come to light.

ARE YOU WAITING TO BE CALLED?
Author Unknown
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance
communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator.
Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that
was listed.
When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and
clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A
sign on
the receptionist's counter instructed job applicants to fill out a
form and
wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.
The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other
applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man
stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked
right in.
Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on.
They
muttered among themselves that they hadn't heard any summons yet.
They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a
mistake and would be disqualified.
Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out
of the office and said to the other applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you
very much for coming, but the job has just been filled."
The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up
saying, "Wait a minute, I don't understand. He was the last to come
in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the
job. That's not fair!"
The employer said, "I'm sorry, but the last several minutes while
you've been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the
following message in Morse Code: 'If you understand this message, then
come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood
it. This young man did. The job is his."
We are so busy living in a world that is full of noise and clatter,
like that office. People are distracted and unable to hear the still,
small voice of God as He speaks in creation, in the Scriptures, and in
the life and work of Jesus Christ.
So I ask you, as I ask myself, "Are you listening, or are you waiting
to be called? Do you hear the Lord when he speaks to you?

TO BE THANKFUL FOR
Author Unknown
The mess to clean after a party because it means I have been
surrounded by friends.
The taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed.
The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough
to eat.
My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the
sunshine.
A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that
need fixing because it means I have a home.
All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we
have freedom of speech.
The space I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I
am capable of walking.
My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that
I can hear.
The piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to
wear.
Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I
have been productive.
The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means
that I'm alive.
Getting too much email bogs me down but at least I know I have
friends who are thinking of me.
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when The alarm rings, thank
you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long
as possible, thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, thank you Lord,
that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost,
toast is burned and tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for My family.
There are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in
magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord, for
the food we have. There are many who are hungry;
Even though the routine of my job often is hard, thank you, Lord, for
the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my
circumstances were not so modest, thank you, Lord, for life.
Pass this on to the friends you know.
A friend is someone we turn to when our spirits need a lift.
A friend is someone we treasure for our friendship is a gift.
A friend is someone who fills our lives with Beauty, Joy, and Grace
and makes the world we live in A Better and Happier Place.

A young fella rushed into a service station and asked the manager if he
had payphone. The manager nodded, "Sure, over there." The boy pushed in
a couple of coins, dialed, and waited for an answer. Finally, someone
came on the line. "Uh, sir," he said in a deep voice, "Could you use an
honest, hard-working young man to work for you?" The station manager
couldn't help overhearing the question. After a moment or two the boy
said, "oh, you already have an honest, hard-working young man? Well, OK.
Thanks just the same."
With a broad smile stretched across his face, he hung up the phone and
started back to his car, humming an obviously elated. "Hey, just a
minute!" The station manager called after him. "I couldn't help but
hear your conversation. Why are you so happy? I thought the guy said
he already had somebody and didn't need you? "The young man smiled.
"Well, you see, I am the honest, hard-working young man. I was just
checking up on my job!"
By: Charles Swindoll

A BIG GOD
Author Unknown
July 7, 2011
This is a story about a little girl who, on the way home from church,
turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher's sermon this
morning confused me."
The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?
The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is
that true?"
"Yes, that's true," the mother replied.
"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?"
Again the mother replied, "Yes."
"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us,
wouldn't He show through?"
Read this again.........Think.....

Prayers in Times of Weakness, Trial, Tribulation
O Heart of Love, I place all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
St. Margaret Mary
I live through the mercy of Jesus, to whom I owe everything and from whom I expect everything.
Pope John the 23rd
Yet, O Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in You, nevertheless, I know that You are my God, that I am all Yours, and that I have no hope but in your goodness; so, I abandon myself entirely into Your hands.
St. Francis de Sales
You make a root below the soil flourish and you can make fruitful the darkness in which you keep me.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.
Fenelon
May I be patient! It is so difficult to realize what one believes, and to make these trials, as they are intended, real blessings.
John Henry Cardinal Newman
My own heart let me more have pity on.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

Good night everyone! Sweet dreams and may you all have a very positive day tomorrow with lots of blessings and peace!