Hello my friends! Today's blessings are a really nice day for my husband's side's family reunion. It was held at a park with shelter. I was blessed that Lori took me later and we left earlier too, she is always so good to me. My husband had to stay till the end. Lot of people I didn't know - his cousins from far and near! It was nice to visit with them again. Lori is such a blessing to us!! Darla too, but she's so darn far away!!! Praying for all of you for your intentions.
See opportunity in your difficulties, not difficulty in your opportunities.
Lord, I will focus on the goodness today brings to me and look for the
many reasons I have to feel joy.
Scripture for the day:
"Be still and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10
Meditation for the day:
We need not become encumbered by petty annoyances. We need not
respond to emotional upsets by emotional upset. It is best for us to keep
calm in all circumstances. We need not fight back. We can call on the
grace of God to calm us when we feel like retaliating. We can look to
God for the inner strength to drop those resentments that drag us down.
If we are burdened by annoyances, we can lose our inward peace and the
spirit of God can be shut out. We can try to keep peaceful within.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may do the things that make for peace. I pray that I may
have a mission of conciliation.
Competition is Good
Our way of life is highly competitive. We are always racing with one
another. We have to show results. If possible, we must try to break records.
Today the only way my work is judged is by comparing it with the work of
others. No matter how well I do, if the other person does better, then I
become second rate. And so in that sense, everyone becomes a rival. My
brother's success becomes a threat to me; and that is how jealousy is born.
In India they have a story about two students called Akbar and Birbal. Akbar
draws a line on the blackboard and asks Birbal to shorten it without erasing
it. So Birbal goes to the board and draws a longer line under Akbar's and
the job is done.
You and I might be along line when we stand all alone. But just let a longer
line stand next to us, and suddenly from long we have become short.
That may be the reason why we resent the success of others. Their success
casts a shadow on mine. I resent them. But their competitive presence is
good for me. It makes me keep an eye on my line.
WORTHLESS...PRICELESS
Author Unknown
"You are worth more than many sparrows." - Luke. 12: 7
I give my all to a project. Still, I fail. I strive to be holy. Yet,
I sin. I serve the Lord to the best that I can and for this I have been
persecuted, ridiculed, insulted, maligned, suspected, charged,
conspired against, ganged-on, crushed, chopped, ground, pulverized.
I am a loser. I am a worm. I am worthless.
Then, my son comes up to me and tells me, "You know, Dad, I'm
the luckiest boy in the world. Why? Because you're my Dad! You're a
good man, Dad! You're the best!
Then, my wife sits down with me and shares, "Love, Auntie just
called up to tell me that the best decision I made in life is to
marry you. And she's right. I can't imagine life without you."
Then, my mom calls me up and with a croaking, crying voice, she
whispers, "I love you. I'm so proud of you. You've made our family
whole and complete!"
Then, I close my eyes, shed a tear, and pray, "Thank you, God,
for making me a very, very important person."
I AM A WINNER. I AM LOVED. I AM PRICELESS!
Believing in People
A wealthy businessman in a small town had signs
printed and placed all over the town. They stated
that if any person in the town who owed debts,
would come to his office on a certain day between
nine and twelve in the morning, he would pay
those debts. Naturally, that promise was the talk
of the town. But very few believed it. They
thought there was a catch somewhere.
The day came. The business man sat in his office
at nine. By ten, no one had come. At eleven, a
man was seen walking up and down outside,
occasionally looking up at the office door.
Finally he seemed to take courage and open it. He
put his head in and asked, "Is it true that you
will pay any person's debt?"
"That's right," the rich man replied. "Are you in
debt?" "I certainly am," the caller answered. "Do
you have along the bills and statements to prove
it?"
The visitor produced the documents and the
business man wrote out a check covering all of
them. Before twelve o'clock, two other men came
and had their debts paid. People outside could
not believe it. But now there was no time left to
have their bills paid.
If people don't believe in the goodness of man,
how can they believe in the goodness of God?
Food for Thought:
Matthew 11:28 Jesus said"Come to me all who are weary, and I will
give you rest"
They build up under the surface of the water, becoming
larger and larger as the moments tick away. Then they crest, roll
over, make a very loud noise, bubble and foam, then finally dissipate.
This is the pattern of the wave as I have observed it .Waves at the
beach are never ending. One is gone, and the next rolls in, one after
another. Some are larger and louder than others, but they keep
rolling into shore.
I believe life’s problems are like that. They build up,
peak, and dissipate. They may be large, small, or in-between, but they
keep on coming. They may crash your life with a resounding bang or
make a more soft and subtle noise, but they keep on coming. They may
deal with emotions, health, finances, family relationships, or a
variety of other difficulties one must face in a lifetime. This
unending load gets heavy after awhile, and the waves of life can beat
away at a person the same as ocean waves pound at the shoreline.
Jesus has told us to come to Him with our burdens and He
will give us rest. He said to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares
for us. He said He would send the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and
guide; to give us wisdom and the strength to survive the battering
waves of life. He promised this in the Bible and I believe it !
If the constant waves of life are beating you down,
depleting life’s energy out of you, like the grains of sand that are
pulled back into the ocean with each wave, call upon Jesus. He will
answer the call – you can count on Him.
HOW CAN I KNOW GOD'S WILL?
Contributed by Maria Hanna
We usually wonder "Oh... if I just know what is God's will for me!" "George
Muller was known for His life of prayer and close walk with God. He has
simple method for determining the will of God:
1. I seek to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own
in a given matter. When we are ready to do the Lord's will in whatever it
may be, nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome.
2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple
impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
3. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with,
God's Word. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the
Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If
the Holy Spirit guides us, He will do it according to the Scriptures, never
contrary to them.
4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly
indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me.
6. Thus, through prayer, the study of the Word and reflection, I come to a
deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge. If my
mind is thus at peace and continues so after two or three more petitions, I
proceed accordingly. I have found this method always effective in trivial or
important issues.
Excerpted from a pamphlet published by Good News Publishers
PRAYER
"Lord, show me your goodness and favor that I may praise you all my days.
And give me unshakeable hope."
A DATE WITH THE OTHER WOMAN
Author Unknown
After 21 years of marriage, I discovered a new way of keeping alive the
spark of love. A little while ago I started to go out with another woman. It
was really my wife's idea.
"I know you love her," she said one day, taking me by surprise.
"But I love YOU!" I protested.
"I know, but you also love her."
The other woman my wife wanted me to visit was my mother, who has been a
widow for 19 years. The demands of my work and my three children had made it
possible to visit her only occasionally. That night, I called to invite her
to go out for dinner and a movie.
"What's wrong, are you well," she asked? My mother is the type of woman who
suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad
news.
"I thought it would be pleasant to pass some time with you," I responded.
"Just the two of us."
She thought about it for a moment, then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday, after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous.
When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous
about our date. She waited in the doorway with her coat on. She had curled
her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last
wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an
angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were
impressed," she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear
about our meeting."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy.
My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.
After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large
print. Halfway through the entree, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting
there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.
"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.
"Then it's time you relaxed and let me return the favor," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation - nothing extraordinary
- just catching up on recent events of each other's lives. We talked so much
that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but
only if you let me invite you." I agreed and kissed her good night.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home.
"Very nice. Much nicer than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so
suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.
Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt
from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: "I paid
this bill in advance. I was almost sure that I couldn't be there, but,
never-the-less, I paid for two plates --one for you and the other for your
wife. You will never know what that night meant to me. I love you."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying, "I LOVE YOU" in time,
and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is
more important than God and your family. Give them the time they deserve,
because these things cannot always be put off to "some other time."
Thought for the day...
Where is the progress?
AS WE ALL KNOW, someone once said, "You can't stop progress," but should it
have been, "You can't stop greed?"
Have we progressed since the beginning? Can we truly say we are happier or
wiser than humans from anytime in our history? I don't think we can. Maybe
you are, but I don't see it. Do our foolish egos still rule us? Do we still
not lust after power?
In this manner, progress has stagnated since our birth. Look what the onset
of agriculture and cultivation has developed: class structure and more ways
to feel like an outsider. All our technology has brought us is more ways to
suffer, more ways to know we suffer.
I know, I know. Of course, we had to wipe out polio, just as in the present
we have to go up against cancer and AIDS. We can't just let people suffer
and die. But guess what? The suffering has never left us, has it? Will it
ever? As soon as we wipe out the present bugs, more will arrive. If we kill
them, more will come. What are we to do? Sure, our lifespan may be
lengthened a few years or so, only to add to the taboo population problem.
But in the end, we all die.
So where does that leave us spiritually? Do we feel any less angst when our
computer crashes than a man in the 16th century felt when his grain grinder
crashed in a thunderstorm? We still have all the pain and wonder any man has
ever had. So how have we progressed?
We reach certain stages, plateaus, in our thinking. We might think, hey,
we've got it made now! Everyone rushes to enact this model of thought until
we see it is all wrong: people still suffer and the rich feel they aren't
rich enough.
Then we scurry to change and to do things another way, thinking, yes, this
is the answer. And then, again, we realize people are still suffering and
the rich don't feel rich enough. We still eat live things and they still eat
us.
Why can't we just relax, restrain ourselves and enjoy what we are? The fact
that we are even alive is a miracle in itself.
Nature made us what we are, now it's up to us. Shall we choose to abide in
that which created us, or shall we continue to enact our greed which we have
conveniently labeled "progress?"
- - -
[by Jack Farranti - adapted]
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