Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Regret nothing, not even your failures. Take in the richness of only today
because to carry any more will only weigh you down. Lord, You have
promised to help me with the burdens of today. I will not look backwards.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
~Matthew 6:10

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
"Your will be done" can be our often repeated prayer. And in the
willing of God's will there can be gladness. We can delight to do God's
will because when we do, all our life can go better and everything will
tend to work well for us in the long run. When we are honestly trying
to do God's will and humbly accepting the results, nothing can seriously
hurt us. Those of us who accept the will of God in our lives may not
inherit the earth, but we can inherit real peace of mind.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may have a yielded will. I pray that my will may be
attuned to the will of God.

Peace of Jesus to you all!! Hope you all had a good day today - it was a hot one again today - Thanks be to God for AC here and in our Church! I had a very nice relaxing day today - even got a nap in being I was up at five this morning - I got tired in the afternoon. We are looking into Life Estate now - checking that out and see it works well for us, that we can stay here and live even if he isn't working. Please pray for God's Will to be done for us, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!! It was a blessing today to call my sister, Deil, and find out about the birthday party for Sister LaDonna that I missed last Sunday. It was a good day! Wow - it's thundering here quite loud now. I'll get the inspirations out as fast as I can!!

Homily of the Day
July 10, 2011
For the Blind There Will Be No Growth
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Is 55:10-11 / Rom 8:18-23 / Mt 13:1-13
A bright little fifth-grader was doing an experiment on a grasshopper for his science project. He put the grasshopper on a table, leaned down till his face was just inches away, and shouted, “Jump!” The grasshopper leapt into the air. Then the boy carefully removed one of the insect’s legs. “Jump!” he shouted. And the grasshopper jumped again. The boy repeated this process four more times, each time removing another leg. And each time, the grasshopper leapt into the air. Finally, the boy removed the grasshopper’s last leg and shouted, “Jump!” The grasshopper didn’t move. With that, our would-be scientist opened his journal and recorded his conclusions: “When all its legs are removed, a grasshopper becomes deaf.”
+ + +
Not very smart!
We’d all better get a whole lot smarter, if we ever hope to build the big lives God wants for us. To build a big life, it’s not enough just to point ourselves in some generally good direction and then switch on the cruise control. We have to choose specifically where we’re going. And to do that we have to see where we’ve been and what our having been there meant. Most of us don’t do that very well. When we tell our story, we get the outside part okay. For example, “I went to this college, practiced law for 40 years in that city, raised three kids, and then retired in 1989.” Fine, but what about the inside? What did we become on the inside in the course of all those years? Do we even know? Most of our friends could tell us!
Let me tell you some of the things I’ve never heard anyone say, even in the safety and anonymity of the confessional:
• “I’m manipulative and controlling, and I always get my way or else!” Never heard that.
• “I’m pessimistic and a whiner, and I sour life for everybody around me.” Never!
• “I have a huge ego, and I’m obsessed with winning, at work, on the freeway, in conversation…” Not once have I heard that one!
• “I’m a blamer. It’s always someone else’s fault.” Never heard it!
I’ve heard a lot about missed morning prayers, and stolen stuff large and small, and bad thoughts too, but very little about what we are at the core. I suspect that’s not because we’re hiding it but because we don’t know how to look that deep. We haven’t seen what most everyone around us sees, namely, the big, repeating patterns that tell us what we’re really about. And so, we never get to fix what’s broken in us, never get to celebrate what’s terrific in us, and never get to feed and nourish even half the gifts that God put in us, all because we don’t see what’s there at our core.
In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus is challenging us to grow up on the inside, to build big lives that yield joy 30-, 60-, 100-fold. That can happen and Jesus is promising to help. Our part in this is to see clearly what is at our core, to recognize that what’s there is our assignment from God, and to give our all to working with God till every space within us is alive, filled with light, filled with the Spirit!
For the spiritually blind there will be no growth, no light. But for those who are willing to see and to be led, there will be light, and life, and Spirit in abundance and unending. So may it be for us all!

THE HUMAN TOUCH
Author Unknown
It's a digital world.
Everything is going digital.
Every time I get to speak to bankers all over the country I would
chide them and poke them with this provoking thought. Straight into
their eyes this is what I say: "You guys boast of your excellent
service. Your TV ads show your tellers transacting with a smile. But
every time I call up your bank I never get a chance to talk to a human
being. I get to talk to an answering machine."
Why? Because everything is digital these days.
My friends have installed answering machines in their homes.
I used to have one but I removed it.
Somebody says, this is the recorded message in one of the answering
machines he heard: Hi! This is John. If you are the telephone company
I already sent the money. If you are my parents please send me more
money. If you are my friends you owe me money but if you are a female…
don't worry… I've got lots of money!!!"
Don't you hate those answering machines?
Call up your service provider and you have an urgent need yet what do
you hear?
"*ring* ... *ring* ... *click* Thank you for calling so and so…. your
call is important to us… but our operators are currently busy now… so
please stay on the line and listen repeatedly to our awful company
jingle and we'll be with you within a few hours because we care for
you!"
It's like their company slogan goes this way: "We're not satisfied
until YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED!"
I got this material from the Internet and I could not remember who
made this up but it's crazy:
*ring* ... *ring* ... *click*
Hello! Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline.
If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2.
If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5, and 6.
If you are paranoid-delusional , we know who you are and what you
want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will
tell you what number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press.
No one will answer.
Technology may have made us more efficient yet it has isolated us from
human interaction as well.
Sally Toh is my friend residing in Kuala Lumpur and she handles my
speaking schedule and invitations there. I will never forget what she
said one day. Sally said: "I am so busy that I can only use the email
to communicate with my daughter who is in the next room…!"
Now before we become judgmental and condemning.. . how many among us
use the SMS as the main means of communicating with our children?
I guess we are not very different from Sally are we?
Here's the key.
In an era of high tech we need high touch.
My children need it and so do the people in the organization and more
so with our customers.
In his leadership newsletter, Stan Toler wrote:
"There she stood in the line at the post office, a line that wound its
way almost out the front door. A fellow customer spoke to the elderly
lady waiting to buy some stamps. "Ma'am, you must be very tired. Did
you know there's a stamp machine over there in the corner?" He pointed
to the machine built into the wall.
"Why yes, thank you," the lady replied, "but I'll just wait here a
little while longer. I'm getting close to the window."
The customer became insistent. "But it would be so much easier for you
to avoid this long line and buy your stamps from the machine."
The woman patted him on the arm and answered, "Oh, I know. But that
old machine would never ask me how my grandchildren are doing."
Stan says, "Leaders would be well advised to spend less time on the
organizational machinery and more time on the people within the
organization. Remember, people will not sweat, invest or risk for an
organization. But they will stretch beyond themselves for human
connections. "
In other words, it's "People first!"
Now you know why I removed my answering machine and now you understand
why there is no answering machines in my own companies.
We take each call personally.
Just an idea. What if we run our business and boldly advertise: "We
don't use answering machines…we take each call personally because you
are important to us." Now that's a lot more credible wouldn't you say
so? Put your money where your mouth is.
Just a thought. I'm glad that God does not use an answering machine.
Because He takes each call (prayer) personally…the line is high speed…
the earthquake in Taiwan or anywhere in the world will ever disrupt it…
you don't need gadgets, all you need is a pair of bended knees and
guess what? The line is never busy. Because HE really cares!

Negative Emotions
When you harbor resentment, anger or
Bitterness, the person you end up harming the
Most is yourself. Negative emotions have a way of
Creating negative energy that destroys
Positive emotions, like generosity, love and joy.
Although the unhappy situation may be long
Gone, you may be allowing it to hold you back
By holding onto the feelings it evoked.
Today, vow to start "cleaning out" that inner
Vault of negativism. Try to forgive those who've
Caused you previous pain, and if you can't
Forgive, at least try to forget.
Break free ! Let go! Move forward with optimism.
It's the best way to find happiness.

Things I Have Learned
I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of
an elderly person.
I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!"
makes my day.
I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of
the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the
strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be,
everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and
a heart to understand.
I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer
nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets
to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so
spectacular.
I've learned....
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to
be appreciated and loved.
I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me
think I can?
I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only

letting that person continue to hurt you.

Life
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realise it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
- Bl. Mother Teresa

A GLASS OF MILK
Author Unknown
July 10, 2011
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his
way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was
hungry.
He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost
his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal
he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought
him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How
much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never
to accept pay for a kindness."
He said..... "Then I thank you from my heart."
As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically,
but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to
give up and quit.
Year's later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors
were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called
in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called
in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came
from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went
down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's
gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to
the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life.
From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long
struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office
to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then
wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She
feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life
to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her
attention on the side of the bill. She read these words.....
"Paid in full with one glass of milk"
(Signed)
Dr. Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You,
God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."

I love that one - hope you do too!!

Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life. Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image - as well as theirs - made for eternal life. Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother alone can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen.

And continued prayers for Carmela, Larry, Barb, Aaron, and all those in great need of our prayers.
Good night now and God bless you all!! Sweet Dreams! Have a very positive Monday!