Hello my friends!! Beautiful day here today - not so windy either!! Snow is pretty much melted - and that is so good!! Dog sat Ollie today so her friend could do her cupboards and we were invited there for supper at Lori's tonight - and wow! What beautiful painting job is done on the cupboards! It's black with silver hardware - and sure looks great with her stainless steel stove, and small appliances, and black friidge - what a nice update on her kitchen. Wednesday her countertop will be painted to look like granite! And all this for exchange for massages!!! She only paid for the hardware, knobs, handles etc. We ate our supper (fish chowder) on her patio - first time this year and it was warm enough to enjoy it! Wishing you all well and praying for all your intentions - God knows what you need!
No gift is so precious as love. Gratefully trust God and give Him your love.
Lord, I give You my heart.
Scripture for the day:
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has
to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in
love." 1 John 4:18
Meditation for the day:
Love and fear cannot dwell together. By their very natures, they cannot
exist side by side. Fear is a very strong force. And therefore a weak
and vacillating love can soon be routed by fear. But a strong love, a
love that trusts in God, is sure eventually to conquer fear. The only
sure way to dispel fear is to have the love of God more and more in our
hearts and souls.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that love will drive out the fear in my life. I pray that my
fear will flee before the power of the love of God.
START OVER
When you've trusted God and walked his way
When you've felt his hand lead you day by day
But your steps now take you another way ...
Start over.
When you've made your plans and they've gone awry
When you've tried your best and there's no more to try
When you've failed yourself and you don't know why ...
Start over.
When you've told your friends what you plan to do
When you've trusted them and they didn't come through
And you're all alone and it's up to you ...
Start over.
When you've failed your kids and they're grown and gone
When you've done your best but it's turned out wrong
And now your grandchildren come along ...
Start over.
When you've prayed to God so you'll know his will
When you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still ...
When you want to stop cause you've had your fill ...
Start over.
When you think you're finished and want to quit
When you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit
When you've tried and tried to get out of it ...
Start over.
When the year has been long and successes few
When December comes and you're feeling blue
God gives a January just for you ...
Start over.
Starting over means "Victories Won"
Starting over means "A Race Well Run"
Starting over means "God's Will Done"
Don't just sit there ..............
Cross Bearers
Once a man complained loud and long to the Lord about the heavy cross he had
to carry. So the Lord said to him: "Come along with me to the factory where
they make crosses. And you can choose one for yourself."
So off they went and got to the factory. They went inside the door and the
Lord said: "You just shop around in here and take any one you want." So the
man too off his cross and set it alongside the door, and started to shop
around.
He tried this cross and that one but none of the really fit him. Some were
too long or too short, some were too heavy, and others too light... Just as
he was about to give up, he noticed one cross leaning against the wall... He
tried it on for size and weight and it just fit... He walked around with it
and it felt just fine. So he turned to the Lord and said: "I'll take this
one."
And just as they got past the door, the Lord turned to the cross bearer and
said with a smile, "I'm glad you like that one... It's the one you brought
in."
The Lord knows what is best for us! As St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:9 "My
grace is all you need. My power is greatest when you are weak."
Hard Times
Once a church had fallen upon hard times. Only five members were left: the
pastor and four others, all over 60 years old.
In the mountains near the church there lived a retired Bishop. It occurred
to the pastor to ask the Bishop if he could offer any advice that might save
the church. The pastor and the Bishop spoke at length, but when asked for
advice, the Bishop simply responded by saying, "I have no advice to give.
The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you."
The pastor, returning to the church, told the church members what the Bishop
had said. In the months that followed, the old church members pondered the
words of the Bishop. "The Messiah is one of us?" they each asked themselves.
As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other
with extraordinary respect on the off chance that that one among them might
be the Messiah.
And on the off, off chance that each member himself might be the Messiah,
they also began to treat themselves with extraordinary care. As time went
by, people visiting the church noticed the aura of respect and gentle
kindness that surrounded the five old members of the small church. Hardly
knowing why, more people began to come back to the church.
They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought more friends.
Within a few years, the small church had once again become a thriving
church, thanks to the Bishop's gift.
Treat others and yourself with love, and you will find yourself and the
people around you better for it.
I Didn't Listen
I didn't listen to the Lord,
When He told me not to hoard.
I stored up all my earthly goods.
I even hid some in the woods.
I went out to dig my treasure.
Somehow, I thought it would be pleasure.
Some of these riches, I'd forgotten.
I dug them up. But, they were rotten.
That's what I get for tempting God
And burying my riches in the sod.
He said, "Earthly things you cannot trust.
Don't store your treasures where they'll rust.
Store all your treasures up in heaven.
You'll be rewarded seven times seven.
To earthly riches pay no mind.
They can't compete with the spiritual kind."
He said, "Spiritual riches, are all you need.
Forget about your earthly greed.
Material things you cannot trust,
For they will only rot and rust."
Vickie Lambdin
Your daily reading from
St. Faustina's diary
April 11
March 1, 1936. Today during Holy Mass I experienced a strange force and urge
to start realizing God's wishes. I had such a clear understanding of the
things the Lord was asking of me that truly if I were to say that I do not
understand what God is demanding from me, I would be lying, because the Lord
is making His will known to me so clearly and distinctly that I do not have
the least shadow of a doubt... I realized that it would be the greatest
ingratitude to delay any longer this undertaking which the Lord wishes to
bring to fulfillment for His glory and the benefit of a great number of
souls. And He is using me as a miserable tool through which to realize His
eternal plans of mercy. Truly, how ungrateful my soul would be to resist
God's will any longer. Nothing will stop me any longer, be it persecution,
sufferings, sneers, threats, entreaties, hunger, cold, flattery,
friendships, adversities, friends or enemies; be it things I am experiencing
now or things that will come in the future or even the hatred of
h ell-nothing will deter me from doing the will of God. (615a)
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