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.

Greetings to you all - hope your Sunday was restful and spiritual - and you
got spiritually fed at Church today. Today we got our Christmas tree - it's
in the garage yet, It's Balsom Fur. Lori got a Frasier Fur and she has hers
all decorated already because she's having company tomorrow plus clients.
We'll wait until she has time to decorate our house, in fact, maybe wait for
Darla to come home and let her decorate the tree, she'd love that! She
plans on being be around the 15th. Remember to pray for safe driving and no
snow storms. She's coming alone, Greg is in NJ at a meeting for work, and
he'll fly here from there so they can ride home together. Greg designed
something and he has to be at NJ to set it up for them. He's an electrical
engineer. Last night after I had the thread out, Lori came over for a nice
visit - it was so nice. What a blessing she is! Her visits are fewer since
she has a house to take care of and so many friends to share her time. She
and two of her friends are leaders for girl scouts which meet in her
basement. She enjoys being a leader. For me it was a restful day today -
wonderful liturgy at Mass! Wonderful songs, too. Love our parish and parish
community.

Reflecting On the Manger

The Mystery Revealed to Us in the Hay
An ox knows its owner,
and an a ss, its master's manger;
But Israel does not know,
my people has not understood.
- Isaiah 1:2
The story of the birth of Jesus, as told to us by Luke, is full of joy in
the midst of great conflict and sadness - even irony and rejection. It
prepares us for the scandal of the cross by helping us see, in such a
beautifully told story, that Jesus' mission is revealed to us, in how he
came to us - in poverty and humiliation.

There, in the hay, we begin to know. There, in the manger, we begin to
understand. Our God is revealed to us by coming in the lowliest of possible
places.

It is a meditation for our whole lives. This story is here to bring us
light in the midst of any darkness, poverty, rejection, emptiness,
sinfulness we experience. By reminding us of where he comes, the Good New
is also a revelation of who we are. We are the "people who walk in
darkness." We are people who experience parts of our lives as dry and
unwelcoming as that hay. We are people who, on our own, not only fail to
know and understand; we are capable of tremendous infidelity and stubborn
independence.

We get our word "manger" from the Latin (and so French, Italian, Spanish)
root, which means simply "to eat." Jesus comes, into the greatest place of
our povery, not only to be "with us" but to nourish us. The manger can be
the place we go this Christmas to be fed with the acceptance, love, and
peace we need. There is no place of darkness in which we need ever feel
alone. There is no situation, no loss, no tragedy that need ever leave us
empty. There is no sin, no matter how selfish that will ever leave us apart
from God's love.

We have prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people. We await
your coming. Come, O Lord." Now, our eyes are opened to the wondrous joy
of his coming to us in that manger 2,000 years ago, so that we will know and
understand his coming to us in our hunger today, and ultimately so that we
will long for his final coming to bring us to the banquet that has been
prepared, to fill all our longing.

A True lesson from a Child

A little tyke I saw today, scuffing along the road, Carrying a sack bigger
than he, Oh, what a heavy load! I stopped and asked the little one, if he
would like a ride, He said, "No thank ya Ma'am" and walked along with pride.
I was so very curious, where this child was going to And what might he be
carrying; I didn't have a clue. I watched him struggle with the sack,
stopping for a while. He looked over at me, with a soft and glowing smile. I
couldn't resist one more try, as I watched him as he trod. I asked him what
was in the sack and he said "Something for God". With a puzzled look I
asked, "You have something for God"? "Where are you taking it"? I asked,
thinking this was odd. His little face beamed with pride, with a look so
very calm. "I'm taking all the troubles and fears away from dad and mom". He
told me that his mom and dad were sad and in despair, But said that God
won't give us more than we can bear. He learned it from the sermon he heard
in church that day To give your troubles to God, for He'll carry you all the
way. He continued on to a country church, eyes filled with love. He then
knelt down upon his knees, looking to the skies above. "God", he said, "I
come to You, and ask You to take this sack". His eyes were looking up above
and his head tilted back. All of a sudden, I heard a voice and saw an image
appear, Then, God spoke to the little lad, and said, "I am here". "Leave the
burdens with Me child, I will carry you through", The little lad said "Thank
you God, I knew I could count on You". I drove home in silence after hearing
God that day, For it took a child to teach me ... all I need do is pray!

The Conqueror

No matter how the storms may rage
Upon the sea of life,
No matter how the waves may beat,
No matter what the strife;
The Lord is just the same today
As when He walked the sea,
And He can conquer every storm
Than life may send to thee.
The waves are raging everywhere
And men are sore distressed,
But all they need is found in Him
Who giveth perfect rest.

So cast your care upon the Lord
Whose strength will never fail,
He calms the waves for your frail bark
His power will e'er prevail.


- Author Unknown

NEW VERSION OF FOOTPRINTS
Author Unknown
Jun 11, 2009

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For
much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily,
consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a
disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles,
departures and returns.

For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your
footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His
consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems
perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints, that
once etched the sand next to Jesus', are now walking precisely in His
steps.

Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are
becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice
another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to
grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether.

There is only one set of footprints: they have become one. This goes
on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints are
back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place.
Stops. Starts. Deep gashes in the sand. A veritable mess of prints.

You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray: "Lord, I
understand the first scene with zigzags and fits. I was a new
Christian; I was just learning. But you walked on through the storm
and helped me learn to walk with you."

"That is correct."

" ... and when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was
actually learning to walk in Your steps; followed you very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

"... when the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose
that I was becoming like you in every way."

"Precisely."

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints
separated, and this time it was worse than at first."

There is a pause as the Lord answers with a smile in his voice. "You
don't know? That was when we danced."

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under
Heaven. A time to weep, a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time
to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:1,4



12 Signs of a Spiritual Awakening


1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

2. Frequent attacks of smiling.

3. Feelings of being connected with others and nature.

4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based
on past experience.

6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

7. A loss of ability to worry.

8. A loss of interest in conflict.

9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

10. A loss of interest in judging others.

11. A loss of interest in judging self.

12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything in return.

Advent Prayer

Father, in the wilderness of the Jordan you sent a messenger to prepare
people's hearts for the coming of your Son. Help me to hear his words and
repent of my sins, so that I may clearly see the way to walk, the truth to
speak, and the life to live for Him, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams! It's Monday again - let's all have a
good week with lots of praise for our God and many blessings to receive.
God bless you!