Hello my friends! It was a nice weekend - Lori took me to Deil's yesterday, my almost 92 year old sister, and we stayed there overnight. She wants to start learning how to sew, so she bought a used sewing machine and she spent some time with her client who sews quilts etc. and told her to start with a pot holder, so she took along the material, her portable sewing machine and we went to Deil's and she showed Lori a few tricks, and by golly, she got a nice pot holder made and Deil said she's got the talent - and she loved doing it!!! My sister, Deil, has sewed since she was home as a child, and she even made her daughter's Wedding Dress! She's an avid quilter too! And she crochets alot too! We got home - had to change to my jeans and tennis shoes, and we went to see the trees as they're changing color - so we went an hour's drive to a State Park. I actually walked a hike with them and I'm worn out! Praying for you all for all your needs and thanks for lifting us up in prayer, too.
Avoid negative thinking because this leads to unnecessary worry. Lord, I
rely
on You to guide and sustain me and I know that with You I can move easily
around life's obstacles.
Scripture for the day:
"From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law
indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ." ~John 1:16-17
Meditation for the day:
As God's power in our lives in creases, so does our ability to
understand God's grace. The power of God's grace is only limited by
the understanding and will of each individual. God's miracle-working
power is only limited in each of us by our lack of spiritual vision.
God respects our free will, the right of each of us to accept or
reject this miracle-working power. Only the sincere desire of the
soul gives God the opportunity to bestow it.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may not limit God's power by my lack of vision. I pray
that I may keep my mind open to day to God's influence.
ROUGH WATERS
By Sally I. Kennedy
He..rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and
all was calm. Luke 8:25
Recently my husband was in Marathon, ‘the heart of the beautiful
Florida Keys’, for a fishing trip with some guys. He said it was
windy and really rough out. I could picture the boat getting slammed
with the waves. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have even left the dock in
this kind of weather, but the men were only there a brief time (so
they ‘had to do it’).
According to my husband, an experienced fisherman, calm waters are
usually close in to shore, near the land which protects it. The
rougher waters are out farther, in between the shallow and the deep,
over the reefs. The depth of the water, however, isn’t what matters
in how rough it is. Interestingly, more fish are usually caught in
these rougher waters.
This particular day they were offshore about nine miles. The men got
a banner catch that day, a bull dolphin and some schoolies. A marlin
even took the bait, which is rare for this time of year.
I doubt anyone wants to get banged up and bruised from the ‘rough
waters’ we all encounter in life. Nor be nervous, or afraid, to say
nothing of perhaps not being able to ‘fish’.
The rough waters we have can be calmed by the protective shore of
Jesus, who is always there. He spoke to the elements in nature, and
they obeyed. He can also speak to our hearts, and supernatural calm
can replace our rough waters.
That is good news.
Hello! Is there too much noise in your life?
I AM your Lord God speaking!
Would you like me to speak louder?
Is it you who can't hear me already,
in the mere creation that was made by my hands;
Like the sun, which I shine on your face everyday,
or the wind, that blows through your window,
which you don't notice because your always in a hurry?
Can you not hear me in the Mass,
where I offer up myself to you through the Eucharist,
in a homily where my child speaks my words,
in the Bible - where I teach you how to live,
in prayer - where you listen and hear me speak,
or in any act of Love you experience
through another one of my children during a normal day?
I AM with you always, right here,
but unless you have time
and turn down the volume of the stereo of life,
how do you expect to hear me?
Prayer For Inner Peace
Lord, please put your peace in my heart. I'm worried and anxious. My mind
races and obsesses. I can't help thinking about my problems. And the more I
think about them, the more depressed I become. I feel like I'm sinking down
in quicksand and can't get out. Calm me, Lord. Show me down, put your peace
in my heart.
No matter what problem I have, Lord, you are bigger, you are more powerful
than it is. So I bring my problem to you. I know what I want. I know my
will. I do not know yours. I do not know how you will use this problem for
my salvation. I do not know what good you will workout at this evil. But I
trust you. I trust your goodness and your wisdom. So I place myself in your
hands. Please fill my heart with peace.
I Can Pray
When the world about me seems tossed to and fro,
When personal problems begin to trouble me so,
When many heartaches and disappointments come my way,
I am so thankful that I know how to pray.
I'm thankful , too, that I can pray when all is well.
His blessings for me are far too numerous to tell;
But I can thank Him for some of them, one by one,
And can praise Him for all the things He has done.
I can pray and then pause and listen to God speak to me.
This makes communion real and vital, you see.
For prayer with the assurance that God will hear,
And His presence becomes so wonderfully near.
I can pray in the darkness or in the sun's golden light;
O wherever I am, prayer seems to be right.
Oh, I can pray, and this I do cherish!
I pray that my loved ones will not perish.
I pray that they will know this privilege I know,
Then they, too, can thank God for loving them so.
Because I can pray I never feel alone,
For God has promised to draw nigh to His own.
A peace fills my heart and mind each day,
As I rejoice in the knowledge that I can pray!
Now this is the Living Bible:
His name is Tim. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans,
and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of
college.
He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a
Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a
well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to
the students but are not sure how to go about it. One day Tim decides to go
there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The
service has already started and so Tim starts down the aisle looking for a
seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now,
people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Tim
gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there
are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. By now the people are
really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the
church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Tim. Now the deacon is in
his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man,
very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he
starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you
can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his
age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor? It
takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly
silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on
him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach
the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this
elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers
himself and sits down next to Tim and worships with him so he won't be
alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion...
When the minister gains control, he says,
'What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen,
you will never forget.'
'Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible people will ever see'.
MOTHER TERESA´S ROSARY
- Author Unknown
Jim Castle was tired when he boarded his plane in Cincinnati, Ohio, that
night in 1981. The 45-year-old management consultant had put on a week-long
series of business meetings and seminars, and now he sank gratefully into
his seat ready for the flight home to Kansas City,Kansas.
As more passengers entered, the place hummed with conversation, mixed with
the sound of bags being stowed. Then, suddenly, people fell silent.
The quiet moved slowly up the aisle like an invisible wake behind a boat.
Jim craned his head to see what was happening, and his mouth dropped open.
Walking up the aisle were two nuns clad in simple white habits bordered in
blue. He recognized the familiar face of one at once, the wrinkled skin, the
eyes warmly intent. This was a face he'd seen in newscasts and on the cover
of TIME. The two nuns halted, and Jim realized that his seat companion was
going to be Mother Teresa!
As the last few passengers settled in, Mother Teresa and her companion
pulled out rosaries. Each decade of the beads was a different color, Jim
noticed. The decades represented various areas of the world, Mother Teresa
told him later, and added, "I pray for the poor and dying on each
continent."
The airplane taxied to the runway and the two women began to pray, their
voices a low murmur. Though Jim considered himself not a very religious
Catholic who went to church mostly out of habit, inexplicably he found
himself joining in.
By the time they murmured the final prayer, the plane had reached cruising
altitude. Mother Teresa turned toward him. For the first time in his life,
Jim understood what people meant when they spoke of a person possessing an
"aura". As she gazed at him, a sense of peace filled him; he could no more
see it than he could see the wind, but he felt it, just as surely as he felt
a warm summer breeze.
"Young man," she inquired, "do you say the rosary often?" "No, not really,"
he admitted. She took his hand, while her eyes probed his. Then she smiled.
"Well, you will now." And she dropped her rosary into his palm.
An hour later Jim entered the Kansas City airport, where he was met by his
wife, Ruth. "What in the world?" Ruth asked when she noticed the rosary in
his hand. They kissed and Jim described his encounter.
Driving home, he said. "I feel as if I met a true sister of God."
Nine months later Jim and Ruth visited Connie, a friend o f theirs for
several years. Connie confessed that she'd been told she had ovarian cancer.
"The doctor says it's a tough case," said Connie, "but I'm going to fight
it. I won't give up." Jim clasped her hand. Then, after reaching into his
pocket, he gently twined Mother Teresa's rosary around her fingers. He told
her the story and said, "Keep it with you Connie. It may help."
Although Connie wasn't Catholic, her hand closed willingly around the small
plastic beads. "Thank you," she whispered. "I hope I can return it."
More than a year passed before Jim saw Connie again. This time, face
glowing, she hurried toward him and handed him the rosary "I carried it with
me all year," she said. "I've had surgery and have been on chemotherapy,
too. Last month, the doctors did second-look surgery, and the tumor's gone.
completely!" Her eyes met Jim's. "I knew it was time to give the rosary
back."
In the fall of 1987, Ruth's sister, Liz, fell into a deep depression after
her divorce. She asked Jim if she could borrow the rosary, and when he sent
it, she hung it over her bedpost in a small velvet bag.
"At night I held on to it, just physically held on. I was so lonely and
afraid," she says, "yet when I gripped that rosary, I felt as if I held a
loving hand." Gradually, Liz pulled her life together, and she mailed the
rosary back. "Someone else may need it," she said.
Then one night in 1988, a stranger telephoned Ruth. She'd heard about the
rosary from a neighbor and asked if she could borrow it to take to the
hospital where her mother lay in a coma. The family hoped the rosary might
help their mother die peacefully. A few days later, the woman returned the
beads. "The nurses told me a coma patient can still hear," she said, " so I
explained to my mother that I had Mother Teresa's rosary and that when I
gave it to her she could let go; it would be all rosary in her hand.
Right away, we saw her face relax. The lines smoothed out until she looked
so peaceful, so young." The woman's voice caught. "A few minutes later she
was gone." Fervently, she gripped Ruth's hands. "Thank you."
Is there special power in those humble beads? Or is the power of the human
spirit simply renewed in each person who borrows the rosary? Jim only knows
that requests continue to come often unexpectedly. He always responds though
whenever he lends the rosary. He says, "When you're through needing it, send
it back. Someone else may need it."
Jim's own life has changed, too, since his unexpected meeting on the
airplane. When he realized Mother Teresa carries everything she owns in a
small bag, he made an effort to simplify his own life. "I try to remember
what really counts - not money or titles or possessions, but the way we love
others," he says.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY, MOTHER MARY ASK HER SON JESUS TO SHOWER YOU
WITH GRACES.
Please feel free to pass this on especially to all those in despair so that
they might know that they are not alone in their hour of need. The reason I
sent you this is because I know the power of these simple beads, and I
wanted to share it with you.
Sent by Amelita Villon
PRAYER WHEN IN SUFFERING
Jesus, speak to me in these days of suffering to reveal to me, the will of
God. "You have kept count of my tossing; put my tears in your bottle."
(Psalm 56:8). "This I know, that God is for me" (Psalm 56:9). Come to my
help soon. Cut short the days of suffering. Deliver me from the present
adversities. Grant me long life and health to praise you in peace. Lift me
up to become a witness for you. Thank you Jesus. Praise you Jesus.
Hallelujah. (Praise God for 5 minutes to know the will of God in your
sufferings. Thus you will receive the strength and grace to suffer. God
willing, you will get immediate deliverance.)
G U I D A N C E
When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" at the end
of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow
with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to
flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become
one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and
attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of
God, followed by "u" and "i." "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I
dance. This statement is what guidance means to me. As I lowered my head,
I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once
again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you
and your family on this day and everyday. May you abide in Him as He abides
in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and to guide you
through each season of your life.
--Author Unknown
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