Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Avoid

saying "No one knows." because God knows and understands
more perfectly than we ourselves do. Calm my fears, Lord, and lift the
burdens that I cannot carry alone.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming,
and he answered, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be
observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in
fact, the kingdom of God is among you.'" ~Luke 17:20-21

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
I believe that complete surrender of my life to God is the foundation of
serenity. God has prepared for us a dwelling place. I do not look upon
that promise as referring only to the after-life. I do not look upon this
life as something to be struggled through in order to get the rewards of the
next life. The Kingdom of God is all around us, and we can enjoy it here
and now as well.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may try to do God's will. I pray that such understanding,
insight and vision shall be mine, that I may live in God's Kingdom and work
for the coming of its fullness today and every day.

Greetings to all you positive pals and grateful gals! Hope you had a good day - today I had Georgia come again for a hair trim and style, for only ten dollars!! Isn't that unreal? I did give her a small tip though. We had a nice visit over coffee first. She is a good friend of Linda's, too, and she is just devastated too, about Linda's cancer returning and in her only kidney.
She will be putting Linda in her Church's prayer lines, too as I did. Let us continue to remember go2girl and her dear husband who has to have hospice now. She needs a lot of strength from God now - so our prayers will surround her with love and support. Today I was blessed very much with Linus having the day off and feeling great! He's off tomorrow too, works Saturday, Sunday off, so this all helps his feet heal. He bought me some more gluten free flour and I'm going to try to make bread with it - wish me luck. I found a recipe for gluten free bread on line. Today was an ordinary day with ordinary blessings but especially having a warm house when it's -15 out right now.

Homily of the Day
January 20, 2011
He Wants to Take Away That Heavy Weight
by Monsignor Dennis Clark
Heb 7:25-8:6 / Mk 3:7-12
As we grow older, many of us lament that our memory is not what it used to be. Even those of us who aren’t very old frequently fumble for names, miss half the items we were planning to pick up at the market, and miss appointments we really wanted to keep. There are, of course, a lot of things we’d just as soon forget forever: foolish mistakes, bad choices, gratuitous cruelties, and so much more.
A lifetime collection of sins and errors, when laid end to end, can be depressing, to be sure. And when we have to face the continued recurrence of old failures, it can seem almost more than we can bear. As the opening prayer at Mass so often acknowledges, our sins can cause us to lose hope. That is not what God wants.
God Who made us has no illusions about us. As the psalm says, “He knows when I sit and when I stand.” He knows our confusion and our weaknesses; He knows how much we desire to do what is right, and He knows the surprise, frustration, and sadness we feel when our best efforts go awry. He desires to save us from ourselves, not because we have earned it, but because He is our Father. Why else would He have sent us His only Son?
God is much bigger than all of your failures, even if they were laid end to end. Let Him lift them from your heart and give you the joy and freedom of His own dear children.

The More You Get
The more you give, the more you get
The more you do unselfishly
The more you live abundantly.
The more of everything you share,
The more you laugh, the less you fret.
The more you'll always have to spare.
The more you love, the more you'll find
That life is good and friends are kind.
For only what we give away,
Enriches us from day to day.

Through Me
Through me let there be kind words, a warm smile,
and a caring heart.
Through me let there be a willingness to listen
and a readiness to understand.
Through me let there be dependability, steadfastness,
trust and loyalty.
Through me let there be compassion, forgiveness,
mercy and love.
Through me let there be every quality I find,
O Lord, in Thee.

With a Little Help from My Friends
I was sitting in a train, waiting for it to start. Across from me sat a
small boy, asking questions as children do. He asked his mother, "When will
the train start?" I saw my chance and volunteered to answer. I said, "The
train will start when we start pushing." The child opened his big eyes in
surprise, "Really!" "Of course," I said. "Unless we push, it doesn't start."
"Then let's push," he exclaimed.
"Just a minute," I said. "The passengers are not all on. I'll tell you when
to push." I watched for the signal light at the station and heard the
station master's shrill whistle. Then I shouted to the boy, "Now! Push for
all you're worth." He and I started to push in the direction of the engine.
We pushed and pushed against the back of the seat .... and soon a contented
smile lit up the boy's face. The train was moving ... very slowly at first,
but then gaining speed little by little.
I congratulated the lad on his success. "We DID it! We DID it! Wasn't that
great?" he exclaimed. He looked immensely pleased with himself. He was
traveling in a train he had helped to start. I did not have the heart to
tell him about the monstrous engine chugging up in front. Eventually he
would find out for himself...
We usually attribute great success to our little actions, forgetting that
behind them all is that almighty unseen power called God, whose power often makes us look powerful.

STAYING CONNECTED
By Sally I. Kennedy
January 20, 2011
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 15:5
It was a wonderful snowy day. You could hear that wind whistling, and
the lone, spindly tree just oustside the living room window was being
seriously blown about. All the leaves were gone from this tree except
a single tiny reddish-brown one connected near the top. It clung
tenaciously as the wind whipped it about.
The little leaf was enduring the hardship of a mountain winter. Spring
would soon arrive and the tree would bud and fill with new leaves. It
looked like the little leaf would make it. It would survive and enjoy
the new spring and lazy summer before autumn and another winter would
come.
Winter storms come into all of our lives, even when it’s not winter.
If you haven’t experienced one, you surely will. Sometimes our
personal winters cause us to abandon or turn our backs on whatever, or
whomever, we are connected .
When we suffer the pain of divorce, job loss, miscarriage, or any
number of things that come our way in life’s journey, there are times
when we don’t feel like hanging on. It simply seems too hard.
In the Bible, book of John, Jesus tells us He is the vine (tree) and
we are branches. If we stay connected to the tree, we can weather any
storm. That’s a hope we can hold onto, and a promise we can claim.
That is good news!

YOU SHALL
Author Unknown
You shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human
activities.
You shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to
pass.
You shall not carry grudges, for they are the heaviest of all life's
burdens.
You shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a
time anyway.
You shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor
bedfellows.
You shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for
them than you.
You shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever
gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
You shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear
ideas different from your own.
You shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90% of it is
rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
You shall count your blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for
a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.
Closing prayer:

HEALING PRAYER
"Beloved Mother, I come to you with prayers for healing of mind, body and spirit. I ask you to
hear my special concern (state petition) and to place my needs before your Son who you nurtured
and cared for with all your heart. Help me to release all fears and doubts that cause me anxiety and bring
me peace and comfort through your blessed intercession.
Let me be receptive of God's will and help me to learn compassion through my suffering. Teach me
to love others as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Give me the strength and understanding to forgive and to receive others' forgiveness. Blessed Mother,
help me to grow closer to your Son in everything I do. Renew my spirit and restore my soul through your intercession.
I seek your guidance and protection, remembering these words: "Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me." PS 51:10 All this I pray in Jesus' name. Amen"

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams to all - have a blessed Friday - see you then!