Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Labor Day already! Short summer - it always goes too fast! Today it's Sept. already and the start of another month - a cooler one. Today was a cool day and windy all day. Today we went to a 50th Wedding Anniversary party and dinner - at a night club, ours is next year - we don't know what we should do yet as far as cost etc. We will start asking around. Guess things have to be booked a year ahead of time, maybe we just won't do anything. We'll see. There were about 200 people at this celebration! It's Open House. Tonight Lori came over for a visit - to just talk, and that was so good and what a nice blessing to have her, and that she's living only 5 miles away, and that we are close in more ways than one. We are a close knit family - only wish Darla wouldn't live so far away.

It is important to remember that different can be better. Lord, as I resist
change
and cling to the familiar, help me to remember that Your plan is perfect and
will
truly make me happy.


Scripture for the day:

"One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another,
and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment
is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, 'Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with
all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." ~Mark
12:28-31

Meditation for the day:

To truly desire to do God's will , therein lies happiness for us. We
can start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied.
We can take and not give. Gradually, we can find that we are not happy
when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other peoples'
wills. But this again dos not give us full happiness, and we begin to
see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God's will. In
these times of meditation, we can seek to get guidance so that we can
find God's will for us.

Prayer for the day;

I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God. I pray that I
may be guided today to find God's will for me.

Daily Prayer

Lord,
Allow me to use the experience and knowledge I have gained
for the benefit of my family and friends. Give me wisdom, so
that I may be wise. Not in the wisdom of the world, but in
my dealings with people, so that I may advise sensibly,
support regularly, encourage frequently, challenge always.

Allow me to continue to grow in experience and knowledge.
Allow me to strive for further glory, considering every view
point, and going forward in faith, trusting in your
guidance.

Amen


The Bible in Fifty Words

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.


- Unknown





Ordinary Miracles



Today, I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ---
A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself.
An unexpected phone call from an old friend.
Green stoplights on your way to work.
I wish you a day of of little things to rejoice in ---
The fastest line at the grocery store.
A good sing along song on the radio.
Your keys right where you look.

I wish you a day of happiness and perfection ---
Little bite-size pieces of perfection that give you the funny feeling
that the universe is smiling on you, holding you so gently
because you are someone special and rare.
BE YOU

Contributed by Melanie Schurr

It is amazing how much energy many of us waste over what others think
of us, instead of just being who we are.

A bit of nonsensical gossip is told to us by Aunt Bertha, and we spend
the remainder of the day wondering who could have started such a
ridiculous lie! Or, while at a dinner party, someone makes an
insensitive passing comment about your weight, or style of dress, and
when you return from the evening out, you toss and turn all night,
emotionally beating yourself up for being so repulsive.

I myself have fallen in this trap on occasion. Although I have been a
freelance writer, author and columnist for many years, a couple of
family relations have made it clear they don't agree with what I
write, and do not regard me as a "real" professional writer.

Of course the jabs hurt, but when I realized I was spending so much
time trying to understand how or why they could hold such a negative
view of something I love and which has given my life a sense of
meaning and purpose, I knew I was doing myself a disservice by
allowing someone or something to interfere with my relationship with
God.

While it is good to view ourselves in an unbiased manner, such as
realizing smoking isn't doing our health any good and coming up with a
plan to quit, there is a big difference between keeping your life on
track, and obsessing over things over which we generally have no
control, such as what others may be saying behind our back.

If something or someone is distracting you; negatively affecting your
relationship with God, and keeping you from the peace our Heavenly
Father desires for all His children, I encourage you to let go of the
pain and worry, move on from the stress, and BE who God designed you
to be!