Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Life is what our thinking makes it. Lord, help me visualize myself richly
living each day, believing, achieving, and then succeeding.

Scripture for the day:

"We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in
the body we are away from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight." ~2
Corinthians 5:6-7

Meditation for the day:

We can know God by spiritual vision. We can feel that God is beside us. We
can feel God's presence. Contact with God is not made by the senses.
Spirit-consciousness can replace sight. Since we cannot see God, we can
perceive God by spiritual perception. God can span the physical and
spiritual with the gift to us of spiritual vision. Many persons, though
they cannot see God, have had a clear spiritual consciousness of God.
Although we are bound in a certain sense by space and time, we can know that
beyond those boundaries there is limitless space, eternity of time and God.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may have a consciousness of God's presence. I pray that God
will give me spiritual vision.

Peace to you all!! Hope you all had a good day! It was warm again, but we
also had showers. Lori took me shopping to Sam's Club and Walmart. First
time I was at our Walmart store since it was new - that's quite a while
ago!! Tonight went out to eat at our fav - and the manager, Jim, visited
us - it was so nice. Beautiful piano playing! Such a nice atmosphere! I
had a chocolate martini and Jim said it was on the house!! Anyway - all in
all it was a good day. Linus worked all day - his feet didn't hurt - just
got tired. Then Lori called and invited us over there for a bon fire - so we
went after the restaurant. Had a nice visit there, nice bon fire, no wind,
very peaceful. So this thread is late tonight as we got home late!!

Homily of the Day


August 6, 2011

Step Out of That Boat!
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

1 Kgs 19:9a,11-13a / Rom 9:1-5 / Mt 14:22-33

Three men were pacing nervously in the fathers’ waiting room of the
maternity ward. Eventually, a nurse came to the door and said to the first
man, “Congratulations, you’re the father of healthy twins.”

He was shocked but pleased and said, “What an incredible coincidence! I play
for the Minnesota Twins.”

A little while later, the nurse came back, this time with news for the
second man. “Congratulations, you’re the father of healthy triplets.” He was
stunned, but managed to say, “What a remarkable coincidence! I work for the
3M Company.”

With that, the third man jumped to his feet and dashed to the nearest exit.
“Sir,” called the nurse, “what’s the matter?”

“I’ll tell you what’s the matter,” he said. “I work for 7-Up!”

The wise man knows when to run, and also when to step out of the boat.

Sunday’s gospel story is so much a part of our culture that even
non-Christians say things like, “He thinks he walks on water.” And because
the story is so familiar, we assume we know the moral: don’t be like Peter.
Don’t be impulsive or take yourself too seriously.

Well that’s not the moral of the story at all. So, here’s the story again:
Jesus appears in the midst of a storm, walking on water. The apostles think
he’s a ghost and they’re scared. But Peter gets the point: this is God here
and he’s showing us that anything is possible. That realization stuns and
excites Peter, and allows him to see beyond the limits of his little boat
and his normal expectations. So he says to Jesus, “If you tell me to, I’ll
come to you on the water.”

Hear what Jesus says in return. He doesn’t say, “That’s ridiculous, people
aren’t supposed to walk on water.” He says, “Come!” And with that Peter
steps out of the boat and walks on the water, toward Jesus. Does Jesus
reprimand him for being impulsive? On the contrary, Jesus is delighted at
his willingness to step out boldly.

But then Peter falters. He gets distracted by the wind and the waves and
forgets that Jesus is still there with him. “I can’t walk on water,” he says
to himself and sinks like a rock. At the very last moment Peter looks up
into Jesus’ face and cries out, “Save me.” And Jesus does just that. He
reaches out and draws Peter to himself.

Not one of us is a finished work. That’s no sin. But we all face the
temptation to get comfortable with the unfinished parts of ourselves, to
settle for being permanently half done, to sit tight in our leaky little
boats, getting seasick, but hanging on as if this were the best we could
hope for.

If you doubt that, look around you at the men who hate their jobs, the wives
and children who endure physical abuse, the married couples who might as
well live on separate planets, the friends who look more like enemies, the
people who fester with old grudges, or slowly rot with old ideas. You say to
yourself, “Lots of those folks were in the same spot last year, five years
ago. Why do they settle for so little? Can’t they see how much better life
could be if they’d just act?” When you’ve got that question clear in your
head, take a good look in the mirror. We’re all doing the same thing on at
least some level: sitting tight in leaky boats.

So here’s the moral of the story: sitting tight in a leaky boat won’t work.
It’s not going anywhere. It won’t carry us to wholeness or joy. Eventually,
it will sink. Stepping out of the boat into the stormy unknown is
frightening and dangerous, no doubt. But it leads somewhere, because it’s
not running away like the 7-Up man in the story. It’s running toward
something, toward wholeness, toward God. And it’s not running alone.
Stepping out of the patterns of living that are not life giving is what God
wants for us. And God never asks the impossible. So look into Jesus’ eyes as
Peter did. Don’t get distracted by the waves and the wind. Listen to Jesus
call you by name, “Come, my friend.” And step out of that boat now.

Mother Teresa Said...
In the silence of the heart, God speaks and you have to listen. Then in the
fullness of your heart, because it is full of God, full of love, full of
compassion, full of faith, your mouth will speak.

"A True Look At Life"

Life can seem ungrateful ~ and not always kind...
Life can pull at your heartstrings ~ and play with your mind...
Life can be blissful ~and happy and free...
Life can put beauty ~ in the things that you see
... Life can place challenges ~ right at your feet...
Life can make good ~ of the hardships we meet...
Life can overwhelm you ~ and make your head spin...
Life can reward those ~ determined to win...
Life can be hurtful ~ and not always fair...
Life can surround you ~ with people who care ...
Life clearly does offer ~ its Up and its Downs...
Life's days can bring you ~ both smiles and frowns...
Life teaches us to take ~ the good with the bad...
Life is a mixture ~ of happy and sad...

SO...
Take the Life that you have ~ and give it your best...
Think positive be happy ~ let God do the rest...
Take the challenges that life ~ has laid at your feet...
Take pride and be thankful ~ for each one you meet...
To yourself give forgiveness ~ if you stumble and fall...
Take each day that is dealt you ~ and give it your all...
Take the love that you're given ~ and return it with care...
Have faith that when needed ~ it will always be there...
Take time to find the beauty ~ in the things that you see...
Take life's simple pleasures ~ let them set your heart free...
The idea here is simply ~ to even the score
As you are met and faced with ~ Life's Tug of War.

Author Unknown

A WELL DESERVED A+ PAPER
BY A 15 yr. OLD SCHOOL KID
who got an A+for this entry
(TOTALLY AWESOME)!







Since the Pledge of Allegiance

And

The Lord's Prayer

Are not allowed in most

Public schools anymore

Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....

A kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer:





"New Pledge of Allegiance"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.



If scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.



Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.



For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all..

In silence alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.



We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks....

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..



We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles ..

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.



It's scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen


Transfiguration Prayer


We praise you, O Father, for the precious gift of your Son and for his
glorious transfiguration on the holy mountain. Grant that with the eyes of
faith we may behold the radiance of his heavenly beauty, the image of your
own divine Being, and worship him in sincerity and truth.

Give us the firm resolve to listen to your Son, the joyful readiness to
believe his promises, and the spirited willingness to heed his commandments.
By the appearance of Moses and Elijah show us that blessed are the dead who
die in faith, blessed are they who live in Christ, and blessed are all who
believe, for they shall know the power of his resurrection and shall be
"changed from glory into glory."

O God and Father, let your Holy Spirit find a dwelling in our poor bodies
and transform our weak, sinful lives into the radiance of goodness, purity,
and righteousness. Transform our minds by the renewing grace that flows from
you. Transform our vision, our understanding, our judgments, yes, our whole
persons, to reflect the mind of Christ. Take our sicknesses, pains, wounds,
and hurts; take our disappointments, defeats, and despair; take our sorrows
and mourning; take our pride and anger; take our selfishness and envy; take
our hate and fear; take all these, O Father, and transform them by the touch
of Jesus into noble impulses, pure motives, kind thoughts, constructive
deeds, high courage, and true faith. Amen.

Good night and Sweet Dreams!! Soon it will be morning!! Enjoy your Sunday -
and His blessings!