Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Stay close to God because He is the solution to all problems. Lord, I will
live in Your presence, protected by You and Your peace will be mine.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and
I will give you rest." For rest from the cares of life, we can turn to
God each day in prayer and communion. Real relaxation and serenity come
from a deep sense of the fundamental goodness of the universe. God's
everlasting arms are underneath all and can support us. We can commune
with God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the rest that
comes from our relying on God's will and God's purposes for our lives.
We can be sure of God's strength available to us, and conscious of God's
support. We can wait quietly until that true rest from God fills our
being.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today. I pray that I
may rest safe and sure therein.

Peace to you, my friends! Wow! Thank you so much for keeping the thread alive and well! Much appreciated for sure! It's hard for me to believe that this ole computer of 6 years old, including over a year idle not in use at all, is working and is a good back up for me now. It's slower, but it works and that is a blessing! It was a beautiful Sunday today - even tho it was below zero. Mass this morning started earlier because we had a pageant of the Three Kings, and it was so cute. Even a real baby was held by the child, Mary, in the play and the baby was so cute and just looked, very quiet, pictures were took by their mommie's of course! After we got home and a breakfast it was a nice, quiet day for us, Linus watched football, I was on the computer a while and took a nap! Then Lori called and invited us for supper, she made a Mexican casserole, no recipe, just made it and it was delicious! She loves to cook!

And after supper, we played some Dominoes, Sammy got to go along and see Phoebe! Phoebe's not so friendly now - it's HER house!

Tomorrow morning Linus will make the call about working for the Ins. co. again, which he worked for 27 years but he's retired from there 10 years now. Please pray it all works out.

Hope you all had a blessed Sunday!

New Year Alphabet

Almighty Creator of the Universe,<br /> Beloved Father, God,<br /> Create in me a clean heart this new year.<br /> Deliver me from the temptations of the ego.<br /> Exalt your presence in my mind.<br /> Forgive all that I have held against you, myself and others.<br /> Grant me peace this day and this new year.<br /> Hold me steadfastly within the boundaries of your truth.<br /> Inspire my heart to know you, my ears to hear you, and my eyes to recognize you.<br /> Justify me in the presence of all enemies.<br /> Knead my heart with words of kindness.<br /> Let no harm befall me or my loved ones.<br /> May all I do this day glorify you.<br /> Nourish me with your wisdom.<br /> Open my mind to know your truth.<br /> Purge my heart of all things that are offensive to your law.<br /> Quiet my soul in the midst of confusion.<br /> Renew my connection to you.<br /> Save me from evil influences.<br /> Teach me to trust you at all times.<br /> Use all that you have given me to serve you.<br /> Victory for your cause is my desire.<br /> Walk with me so that my strength will never be diminished.<br /> eXamine my heart continually.<br /> Your love and grace are my good fortune.<br /> Zealously I commit myself to your will forever.

YOUR DAILY SURVIVAL KIT FOR THE NEW YEAR<br /><br /> Today, I am giving you a<br /> <br /> DAILY SURVIVAL KIT<br /> <br /> to help you each day.............<br /> <br /> Toothpick ... to remind you to pick the good qualities in everyone, including yourself.<br /> <br /> Rubber band ... to remind you to be flexible. Things might not always go the way you want, but it can be worked out.<br /> <br /> Band-Aid ... to remind you to heal hurt feelings, either yours or someone else's.<br /> <br /> Eraser .... to remind you everyone makes mistakes. That's okay, we learn by our errors.<br /> <br /> Candy Kiss ... to remind you everyone needs a hug or a compliment everyday.<br /> <br /> Mint ... to remind you that you are worth a mint to your family & Me.<br /> <br /> Bubble Gum ... to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything.<br /> <br /> Pencil ... to remind you to list your blessings every day.<br /> <br /> Tea Bag ... to remind you to take time to relax daily and go over that list of God's blessings.<br /> <br /> This is what makes life worth living every minute, every day<br /> <br /> Wishing you love, gratitude, friends to cherish, caring, sharing, laughter, music, and warm feelings in your heart in the year 2011.

God's Reason<br /><br /> I don't know how to say it<br /> But somehow it seems to me<br /> That maybe we are stationed,<br /> Where God wants us to be.<br /> <br /> That little place we're filling<br /> Is the reason for our birth<br /> And just to do the work we do<br /> He sent us down earth.<br /> <br /> If God had wanted otherwise<br /> I'd reckon He'd have made<br /> Each one of us a little different<br /> Of a worse or better grade.<br /> <br /> And since God knows and understand<br /> All things of land and sea<br /> I fancy that He placed us here<br /> Just where He wanted us to be.<br /> <br /> Sometimes we get to thinking<br /> As our labors we review<br /> That we should like a higher place<br /> With greater things to do.<br /> <br /> But we come to the conclusion<br /> When the envying is stilled~<br /> That the post to which God has sent us<br /> Is the post He wanted filled.<br /> <br /> And there isn't any service<br /> That we honestly can scorn~<br /> For it may just be the reason<br /> God allowed us to be born.

- Author Unknown

<font><font size="4"><font color="#8000FF">The Greatest...<br /> <br /> The highest aim in life - To know God and do His will!<br /> The most enriching good habit - Complimenting others<br /> The most destructive bad habit - Worry<br /> The greatest joy - Giving<br /> The greatest loss - Loss of self-respect<br /> <br /> The most satisfying work - Helping others<br /> The ugliest personality trait - Selfishness<br /> The most endangered species - Dedicated leaders<br /> Our greatest natural resource - Our youth<br /> The ugliest look - A frown<br /> <br /> The greatest "shot in the arm" - Encouragement<br /> The greatest problem to overcome - Fear<br /> The most effective sleeping pill - Peace of mind<br /> The most crippling failure disease - Excuses<br /> The surest way to limit God - Unbelief<br /> <br /> The most powerful forces in life - Love<br /> The most dangerous piranha - A gossiper<br /> The Greatest Life-Giver - The Creator<br /> The worlds most incredible computer - The brain<br /> The worst thing to be without - Hope<br /> <br /> The deadliest weapon - The tongue<br /> The two most power-filled words - "I Can"<br /> The greatest asset - Faith<br /> The most worthless emotion - Self-pity<br /> The most beautiful attire - A Smile!<br /> <br /> The most prized possession - Self esteem<br /> The most powerful channel of communication - Prayer<br /> The most contagious spirit - Enthusiasm<br /> The most urgent need - Salvation<br /> The greatest attribute of Jesus - Obedience<br /> <br /> The GREATEST - GOD</font></font></font>

The shabbily dressed old lady with her basket on her arm hobbled down the street toward the butcher shop, hoping to get a few leftover scraps of meat for some soup. "Please God, don’t let me down," she prayed in her heart.

As she neared the butcher’s, she heard him remarking loudly for her benefit: "Those are just the kind of customers I don’t need. I like people with ready cash or a checkbook. I don’t give anything away for free."

The grandma entered the shop and told him, "I don’t want anything for free. I always pay you. I always tell you: ‘May God repay you.’"

"Bah!" the butcher remarked. "Let’s write that ‘May God repay you’ on a piece of paper, put it on the scale, and see what it is worth. Whatever it weighs, I’ll give you in meat."

So he did – and the side with the paper on it went right down. Surprised, he took a little piece of meat from the showcase and laid it on the opposite side of the scale to balance it. Nothing happened. The scale did not move. So he added more and more and more meat.

He had to keep his promise to equal the weight of that paper. He emptied his whole butcher shop, and still the side of the scale with the paper written "May God repay you" did not rise.

The little old lady chose only the meat she had come for. And the speechless butcher was taught a lesson he never forgot: that the poor people’s "May God repay you!" was worth more than all the money in his cash register. (Hanne Tschakert) [1]

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /> Gold, Common Sense and Fur By Linda C. Stafford<br /> <br /> My husband and I had been happily (most of the time) married for five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with his word as my guide.<br /> <br /> God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, he blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with<br /> <br /> a daughter.<br /> <br /> My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never<br /> <br /> to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If<br /> <br /> you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."<br /> <br /> I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint him.<br /> <br /> I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs<br /> <br /> on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.<br /> <br /> I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs.<br /> <br /> When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in<br /> <br /> a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers,<br /> <br /> never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children.<br /> <br /> While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close - I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too.<br /> <br /> Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God<br /> <br /> to give us his "last wife." My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My<br /> <br /> daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.<br /> <br /> My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's<br /> <br /> not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes."<br /> <br /> A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched<br /> <br /> a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.<br /> <br /> My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur."<br /> <br /> The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur."<br /> <br /> "My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I<br /> <br /> said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin.<br /> <br /> <br /> Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. Had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Closing prayer: <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">

PRAYER FOR THE FEAST OF

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD

Open the heavens almighty Father,

and pour out your spirit upon your people.

Renew the power of our

baptismal cleansing and fill us with

zeal for good deeds.

Let us hear your voice once again,

that we may recognize in your

beloved Son our hope in inheriting

eternal life.

Grant this through Jesus

Christ, your Word made flesh,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

in the splendor of eternal light,

God forever and ever.

Amen.

Good night everyone! Wishing all of you a good night's sleep with sweet dreams! May you all have a good start to another working week - filled with many blessings!! When you get up, remember the Morning Offering! Offer your day to the Lord!