Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! It was only 31 when we got up this morning, but thankfully nothing froze. He picked beans yet, and I picked more raspberries. Most is out of garden now. Today's blessings were many, but I'll just mention one - Lori called and invited us for supper, she made a Mexican dish and it was delicious. We also played a game of Dominoes. It was a wonderful time!!! Can you name at least one blessing?

Each day offers many opportunities to smile when others don't and be more
patient when others aren't. Lord, may I be an example of Your presence
within me and a reminder to others that You are there for them too.

Scripture for the day:

Jesus straightened up and said to her (the woman caught in adultery),
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one,
sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from
now on do not sin again." ~John 8:10-11

Meditation for the day:

We can make use of our mistakes, failures, losses, and sufferings. It
is not what happens to us so much as what use we make of it. We can
take our sufferings, difficulties and hardships and make use of them
to help some unfortunate soul who is faced with the same troubles.
Then something good can come out of our suffering and the world can
become a better place because of it. The good we do each day can live
on, after the trouble and distress have gone, after the difficulty and
the pain
have passed away.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may make good use of my mistakes and failures. I pray
that some good may result from my painful experiences.

UPLOAD, DOWNLOAD
By Sally I. Kennedy

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to
all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

Upload, Download

For a not-too-techie type person such as myself, computer lingo sounds
like a foreign language most of the time. It even took awhile to
distinguish ‘download’ and ‘upload’. 8) Here’s my definition of
download: something comes in from somewhere in cyber space that has
data. I’m sure that is nowhere near correct, but it helps me
differentiate.

Recently I was thinking about how we receive downloads from God all
the time. Primarily His Word, the Bible. Then, other books, other
Christians, and circumstances.

Which then brought to mind the question about uploads. Well, our
prayers. And just as the experts say no email is ever really lost or
trashed, none of our prayers ever get lost or erased, either. In
Revelations 5 we read about a scene in the throne room of God: “Each
one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.”

Right now I need some supernatural wisdom. I need the mind of Christ,
God’s insight and direction. I’m so thankful that I can go to Him, in
prayer, and lay everything out before Him, and ask. Ask for what I
need at the moment. And I am so thankful that He doesn’t shut me out
or shut me down. He knows the cries of our hearts; He listens, and He
answers.

Upload- our prayers; download- from the Lord.

That is good news.

Jesus Inside Us

The first step along the path to the fullness
of life is to make a conscious act of faith
that Jesus Christ is living within us,
and to invite him to take part in every thought,
word, action and decision of our life.

from Reaching Jesus: 5 Steps to a Fuller Life

Did You? Can You?

Can you say today in honesty,
As the hours slip by so fast,
That you've helped a single person
Of the many you have passed?
Did you waste the day, or lose it?
Was it well, or properly spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness,
Or mementos of discontent?

Have you given God a moment,
In humble, devout prayer?
Have you talked with God in honesty,
To let Him know you care?

As you close your eyes in slumber,
Do you think that God would say,
You have made the world much better,
For you lived a lot today?
Author Unknown

Less Is More
Here's a unique story based on the thought that "Less Is More". So often we
feel like we have to explain, convince, argue, etc... when fewer words may
be just what someone needs to hear. Someone once said that it is no
coincidence that God gave us 2 ears, and only 1 mouth... :-)

An insurance agent learned that he would receive his company's award for
having sold more life insurance than anyone else in the state. The big
problem: He had to make a speech at the time he got the award. He was
supposed to tell the other insurance agents how he did it. Joe had a phobia
about public speaking, but he was still expected to give the speech.

So he went to work on this speech. He wrote it and rewrote it. Finally, he
got it just right. He typed it up on cards and taped the cards on his
shaving mirror. Every morning while he was shaving, he memorized that
speech. Finally, Joe had it imprinted into the grooves of his brain cells
like a laser disk. He was ready.

The great evening came. The huge auditorium was filled with insurance
salespeople from all over the state. Then they called him forward to receive
the award. Pressing a plaque into Joe's hand, the president of the company
patted him on the back and said, "Now, tell us, how did you do it?"

Joe turned to his great sea of eyes, waiting expectantly for him to say
something profound. But he could not think of the first line. Groping for
it, he said, "Ah, uh, ah..." He couldn't remember the first line but he
finally thought of a line from down in the middle. (If you are in that kind
of situation, you are willing to start anyplace.) So he said, "Ah, uh - See
the people...."

But Joe was so frightened that he couldn't remember what came after that. So
he started again, "Ah, ah - See the people, ah, uh. See the people!" And he
sat down.

Most of the people in the auditorium thought Joe said exactly what he
intended to say. They heard it as a dramatic speech and gave him a standing
ovation.

The Kindness Pledge
I Resolve to:
1. Speak kindly of someone at least once a day.
2. Think kindly about someone at least once a day.
3. Act kindly toward someone as least once a day.
4. Avoid speaking unkindly of anyone.
5. Avoid acting unkindly toward anyone.
[Source: The Hidden Power of Kindness, by Lawrence G. Lovasik]

There was
a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She
hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always
there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see
the world, I will marry you.'

One day,
someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages
came off, she was able to see everything, including her
boyfriend.

He asked
her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The
girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The
sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected
that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.

Her
boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her
saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before
they were yours, they were mine.'

This is
how the human brain often works when our status changes.
Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who
was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life Is a
Gift

Today
before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't
speak.

Before
you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone
who has nothing to eat.

Before
you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone
who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today
before you complain about life - Think of someone who went
too early to heaven.

Before
whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who
walks the same distance with their feet.

And when
you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the
unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your
job.

And when
depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on
your face and think: you're alive and still
around.

I PRAY
THIS MOVES AROUND
THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE...