Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Do not be discouraged if it seems that there is no response to your prayers
at this time. God always responds. Lord, Your wisdom always responds to
my needs with unceasing peace and love and when I listen and give thanks
I am blessed with results that bring goodness to me in better ways than I
expect.

Scripture for the day:

"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God
that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have
been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as
the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you
are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of
our Lord Jesus Christ." ~1Corinthians 1:4-7

Meditation for the day:

The grace of God is an assurance against all evil. It holds out
security to the believing soul. The grace of God means safety in the
midst of evil. We can be kept unspotted by the world through the
power of God's grace. We can have a new life of power. But only in
close contact with the grace of God in its power realized. In order
to realize it and benefit from it, we can have daily quiet communion
with God, so that the power of God's grace will come unhindered into
your soul.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may be kept from evil by the grace of God. I pray that
henceforth I will try to keep myself more unspotted by the world.

Hello my friends! My blessing today is our visit with Father Jerry - which
is always a blessing to know him. He told us who our new priest will be,
but we don't know of him, so we'll just have to get to know him. I was
hoping it would be someone we already knew, but that would be a first!
There will be three new ordinations to the priesthood in June, and we will
get one of those for an assistant - we have two parishes that they will be
in charge of. Also my blessings are my Faith, my family, my dog, and all
of you, my dear friends on line and in real life! God is good! And He loves
us so very much!



"Brighten" The Corner Where You Are

We cannot all be famous, or be listed in "Who's Who",
But every person, great or small, has important work to do,
For seldom do we realize the importance of small deeds
Or to what degree of greatness unnoticed kindness leads.

For it's not the big celebrity in a world of fame and praise,
But it's doing unpretentiously in an undistinguished way,
The work that God assigned to us, unimportant as it seems,
That makes our task outstanding and brings reality to dreams.

So do not sit and idly wish for wider, new dimensions
where you can put in practice your many good intentions.
But at the spot God placed you begin at once to do
Little things to brighten up the lives surrounding you.

If everybody brightened up the spot where they're standing
By being more considerate and a little less demanding,
This dark old world would very soon eclipse the evening star
If everybody brightened up the corner where they are!

- Author unknown

No time to pray?

Prayers are the food of the soul, they open the door to Heaven and they
lead us to God.

Prayers are like phone calls to God, they surely get the message across.

Prayers are like arrows that pierce through the clouds, they go straight
to Heaven with our petitions and desires.

Prayers are the expression of the soul, they are a private conversation
between man and God.

Prayers are not only petitions, they are also adoration, praise and
thanksgiving.

Pray without ceasing [1Thess 5:17], pray in the Spirit [Eph 6:18] says
St. Paul.

Pray with your mind, but also pray in the Spirit [1 Cor 14:15]

Pray that our God will give you a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation as you
come to know Him [Eph. 1:17]

Pray for the sick , pray for one another [James 5:14-16]

Luke 22:46 Pray that you don't fall into temptation


The path of humility
Jesus is the path, since he is the incarnation of humility. But for us
mortals, humility must be found in the things we do, in the humiliations we
accept and in the littleness we embrace just as Jesus did.

Humility is not about being poor and wearing humble clothes, is not about
staying away from riches or power or things of the world since we must live
in the world and for some, riches and possession can coexist with humility
of heart. However a humble rich man would not count too much on his riches,
he would share his riches with the poor in order to follow Jesus.

King David was a very rich man, yet he was humble of heart, even though he
committed great sins, he confessed his sins to God and had them always
before him, he obtained his forgiveness and lived to love Him.
He pleased the Lord by having a humble and contrite heart.

The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10) . Not fear of his
punishment but rather fear of offending him, of losing him or separating
from Him. Sin separates man from God therefore man becomes proud and ignores
the law of his maker. God does not force his commandments upon us but allows
us to fall into sin so that in our humiliation we can come to our senses,
discover our pride and repent.

Humility of the heart consists in becoming like Jesus in all our thoughts,
words and actions.

We must think humbly, always remembering that God is watching our thoughts
(Psalm 44:21), so we must avoid thoughts of impurity, envy and hatred since
we may offend Him.

Our words must be filled with charity and understanding, so that we don't
offend anyone, remembering that we shall be judged for every careless word
that we say (Matthew 12:36)

Our actions must be conducted in the Will of God; in a way we must seek
permission from God for everything we do and we should seek his blessing for
all our undertakings. We must exercise our free will with humility to avoid
doing something offensive in his sight.

The path of humility is a path of self discovery, it involves being over
critical of any little thing that may threaten our relationship with God.
Humility involves a desire to be like Christ, leaving behind the burden of
pride to be free to carry the yoke and the burden of the cross. Humility is
submission to Christ which can only come if we love his commandments. The
humble man does not get offended by the pride of others who offend him, he
will forgive them and resist the temptation of being hurt.

Humility is not so much made up of external actions to obtain praise of
other religious people, it is a personal secret surrender to God, a very
profound annihilation in the sight of God because we are nothing and God is
everything (Matthew 6:6).

In order to be justified by humility, we must acknowledge that we are proud.
After all this is the first of all sins, since all sins are committed in our
pride (Proverbs 11:2). Pride is the sin that made Lucifer loose his place of
honor in Heaven, it is also the poison that destroys all the good we may
have gained through humility.

To be truly humble we must need God above all things, we must feel totally
dependant on Him, we must be afraid of losing Him, because without him we
are nothing.

We, human beings are so far from God as darkness is from light, in fact our
natures would repel each other if we didn't have a bridge between us which
is Jesus Christ our Savior. Therefore we must spend the rest of our lives
considering how to be humble.

And to say it once again, if we think we are humble, that in itself is a
proud thought, because there is only one who is humble, Christ himself who
said learn from me because I am meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29).
It would make us humble to meditate on how little charity we have for
others, on how we have harbored thoughts of impurity in our souls to offend
the purity of God, on how cruel we have been by crucifying our Savior with
our sins or on how much we have loved ourselves depriving God of our love.


You give me strength

Holy Spirit when I am weak, You give me strength to carry on.
You comfort me each time I seek Your loving arms to lean on.

You are the Father that I need. You have the wisdom that I lack.
You give me courage to succeed, when I alone, would have turned back.

I may have crosses in my life, but I will never know despair;
for when I seek you in my strife, I know so well you will be there.

THE BIBLE & THE COAL BASKET
Author Unknown

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains
of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was
up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out
Bible.

His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in
any way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the
Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do
understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does
reading the Bible do?" The
Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,
"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of
water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked
out before he could get back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little
faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to
try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was
"impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket
instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a
basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,"
and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point,
the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather
that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out
before he got far at all. The boy
scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather
the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that
the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it
was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You
might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it
will change you from the inside out.

That is the work of God in our lives.

To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the
image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day.

THE SON
Author Unknown
May 24, 2012


Years ago, there was a very wealthy man who, with his devoted young
son, shared a passion for art collecting. Together they traveled
around the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their
collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many
others adorned the walls of the family estate.

The widowed elder man looked on with satisfaction, as his only child
became an experienced art collector. The son's trained eye and sharp
business mind caused his father to beam with pride as they dealt with
art collectors around the world.

As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left
to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father
received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art
collector anxiously awaited more news, fearing he would never see his
son again.

Within days, his fears were confirmed. The young man had died while
rushing a fellow soldier to a medic.

Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Easter holidays
with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, a season that he and
his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer. On
Easter morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As
he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only
reminded him that his son was not coming home. As he opened the door,
he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hand. He
introduced himself to the man by saying, "I was a friend of your son.
I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few
moments? I have something to show you."

As the two began to talk, the soldier told of how the man's son had
told every one of his father's love of fine art. "I'm an artist," said
the soldier, "and I want to give you this." As the old man unwrapped
the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man's son.
Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the
painting featured the young man's face in striking detail.

Overcome with emotion, the man thanked the soldier, promising to hang
the picture above the fireplace. A few hours later, after the soldier
had departed, the old man set about his task.

True to his word, the painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside
thousands of dollars of paintings. And then the man sat in his chair
and spent Easter gazing at the gift he had been given. During the days
and weeks that followed, the man realized that even though his son was
no longer with him, the boy's life would live on because of those he
had touched. He would soon learn that his son had rescued dozens of
wounded soldiers before a bullet stilled his caring heart.

As the stories of his son's gallantry continued to reach him, fatherly
pride and satisfaction began to ease the grief. The painting of his
son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest
in the pieces for which museums around the world clamored.

He told his neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away. The art
world was in anticipation.

With the collector's passing, and his only son dead, those paintings
would be sold at an auction. According to the will of the old man, all
of the art works would be auctioned on Easter Day, the day he had
received his greatest gift.

The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world
gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings.
Dreams would be fulfilled this day; greatness would be achieved as
many would claim "I have the greatest collection." The auction began
with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting
of the man's son. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The room
was silent. "Who will open the bidding with $100?" he asked. Minutes
passed. No one spoke. From the back of the room came, "Who cares about
that painting? It's just a picture of his son.

Let's forget it and go on to the good stuff." More voices echoed in
agreement. "No, we have to sell this one first," replied the
auctioneer.

"Now, who will take the son?" Finally, a friend of the old man spoke.

"Will you take ten dollars for the painting? That's all I have. I
knew the boy, so I'd like to have it." "I have ten dollars. Will
anyone go higher?" called the auctioneer. After more silence, the
auctioneer said, "Going once,
going twice. Gone." The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and
someone exclaimed, "Now we can get on with it and we can bid on these
treasures!" The auctioneer looked at the audience and announced the
auction was over.

Stunned disbelief quieted the room. Someone spoke up and asked, "What
do you mean it's over? We didn't come here for a picture of some old
guy's son. What about all of these paintings? There are millions of
dollars of art here! I demand that you explain what's going on here!"
The auctioneer replied, "It's very simple. According to the will of
the father, whoever takes the son . . . gets it all!"

Just as those art collectors discovered on that Easter Day, the
message is still the same-the love of a Father - a Father whose
greatest joy came from His Son who went away and gave his life
rescuing others. And because of that Father's love...whoever takes the
Son gets it all.


THE PROCESS OF FORGIVENESS

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27, 28).

Here are 12 simple steps you can use to walk through the process
of forgiving someone who hurt you in the past.

1 Ask the Lord to reveal the names of the persons who offended
you and the specific wrongs you suffered.

2 Face the hurt and the hate. If you are going to forgive from
your heart, you must let God search the depths of your heart.

3 Acknowledge the significance of the cross. It is the cross of
Christ that makes forgiveness legally and morally right.

4 Decide that you will not retaliate by using the information
about the offender's sin against them (Luke 6:27-34).

5 Decide to forgive. Forgiveness is a conscious choice to let
the other person off the hook and free yourself from the
past.

6 Take your list of names to God and pray the following: "I
forgive ___(name)___ for ___(specifically identify every
remembered pain)__."

7 Destroy the list. You are now free. Do not tell the offenders
what you have done. Your forgiveness is between you and God
unless the offenders have asked you for forgiveness.

8 Do not expect that your decision to forgive will result in
major changes in the other persons. Instead, pray for them
(Matthew 5:44).

9 Try to understand the people you have forgiven. They are
victims also.

10.Freedom is a result of forgiveness in you. In time you will
be able to think about the people who offended you without
feeling hurt or anger.

11.Thank God for the lessons you have learned and the maturity
you have gained.

12.When appropriate, accept your part of the blame for the
offenses you suffered. Confess your failure to God and to
others (1 John 1:9) and realize that if someone has something
against you, you must go to that person (Matthew 5:23-26).

Lord, teach me how to love unconditionally and forgive quickly
those who hate me, curse me or mistreat me.

Last one:

Dear God

I want to thank you for what you have already done.

I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards, I am thanking
you right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better, I am
thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop
talking about me, I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears, I am thanking
you right now.

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves, I am going to
thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet,
I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get a the
job, I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that
has caused me pain or grief, I am going thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are
removed. I am thanking you right now.

I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it
through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked
around the obstacles.

I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more
and do better. I am thanking you because you have not given up on me. I am
thanking you because you have brought me from a mighty long way.

God is just so good, and he's good all the time. Send this message to
friends, and continue to THANK HIM . Amen

Enjoy your whole weekend and remember to count your blessings! God bless
you!