Hello my friends! Today Mass was great! I didn't feel the best yet, but went and was blessed! Visited with friends after Mass - and so glad I went! Then going later on to Sprint to get a new phone didn't work out so well, I was supposed to send my phone back to Samsung and I'd get it fixed and sent back in 10 days. Well - we got a new battery at Batteries Plus and it's working now after being charged up. So that's a great blessing we don't have to send it back now - it works! It just needed a new battery! Another blessing is our Lori who took me there in the first place and did all the talking - and sure did a great job. Tonight it's predicted to get down to -22 again! What did you say, Juanita? 40 days to Spring? Can hardly wait!
Prayer helps us see that God is not the cause of unpleasant happenings, but
the healing of them. Lord, I trust in You for the right outcomes in all
situations.
Scripture for the day:
"My vows to you I must perform, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that
I may walk before God in the light of life." ~Psalm 56:12-13
Meditation for the day:
I will never forget to say thank you to God, even on the grayest days. My
attitude can be one of humility and gratitude. Saying thank you to God is a
daily practice that is absolutely necessary. If a day is not one of
thankfulness, the practice has to be repeated until it becomes so. Gratitude
is a necessity for those who seek to live a better life.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that gratitude will bring humility. I pray that humility will bring
me to live a better life.
CHOICES
Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and
always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was
doing, he would reply,
'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him
around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry
was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was
having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the
positive.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and
asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time.
How do you do it?'
Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have
two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to
be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose
to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to
me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out
the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.'
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' Jerry said.
'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation
is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people
will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant
industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about
him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed
to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and
was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the
safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The
robbers shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to
the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive
care, Jerry was released from the
hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he
was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?' I
declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind
as the robbery took place. 'The first thing that went through my mind was
that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied. 'Then, as I lay on
the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I
could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose
consciousness?' I asked. Jerry continued, '....the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into
the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I
got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a deadman.' I knew I needed
to take action.' '
What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting
questions at me,' said Jerry. She asked if I was allergic to anything.
'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for
my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as
if I am alive, not dead.'
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his
amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to
live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
Would You Be Jesus?
Would you be Jesus to the man who lives
In the streets without a home?
If he were thirsty, would you give him a drink,
Or comfort him when he's alone?
Could you be Jesus to the girl who's lost,
As she searches for love in vain,
While selling herself for a price each day
In a life that brings her such shame?
Do you smile at someone as they pass you by,
Or offer a kind word or two?
Your actions could help the lonely and lost,
If they could see Jesus in you.
Do your eyes reflect that place in your heart
That only Jesus can fill?
Is your time too little that you cannot stop
To seek and learn His will?
- Author Unknown
ABC´s Of A Fruitful Life
A lways put God first in your life.
B e a true friend and you will have many friends.
C ount and thank God for your many blessings daily.
D iscipline yourself. Decide to make your life count.
E dify and encourage others consistently.
F ollow great leaders and then become one.
G ive liberally and joyfully of your time, talents and means.
H ave an attitude of gratitude.
I nvert any negatives thrown your way. Turn them into positives.
J ourney through life one step and one day at a time.
K eep written goals set ahead. Make specific plans to accomplish them.
L ove and forgive everybody.
M aximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
N ever, never, never give up!
O pen the door wide when opportunity knocks.
P ractice patience. Promote peace.
Q uit bad habits by replacing them with good habits.
R ead God's Word and other profitable material every chance you get.
S hare the Gospel whenever and wherever possible.
T ake time to appreciate everything and everyone God has given to you.
U se your God given common sense.
V isualize your dreams and stretch to reach for them
W atch, listen and pray without ceasing.
X amine your motives on a regular basis.
Y ield to the Holy Spirit when He prompts you.
Z oom in on God's real purpose for your life.
Prayer to Practice What Jesus Taught
O Lord Jesus Christ, grant us a measure of your Spirit. Help us to
obey your teaching,
soothe anger,
cultivate pity,
overcome desire,
increase love,
cast off sorrow,
sun vainglory,
renounce revenge,
and not be afraid of death.
Let us ever entrust our spirit to the everlasting God who with you and the
Holy Spirit lives and rules forever and ever. Amen.
St Apollonius of Rome, Senator, Apologist and Martyr (Feast day February
9th)
Mother Teresa Said...
Before we share the gospel with the poor, this is what we must do:
we must first satisfy the needs of the body, so we can then bring them
Christ.
We stand before the world as ambassadors of peace by preaching the message
of love in action that crosses all barriers of nationality, creed, or
country.
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