Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Hope your day went well and you all were blessed! We went to the Saturday night Mass tonight because we wanted to see that Christmas Around the World and eat Father Mark's Italian Spaghetti, man, he made alot!! Two big roasters full! And the ethnic foods that people made. Then the exhibits. Lots and lots and lots of Eucharistic Miracles posted - all over the world - it was more than I could imagine, we spent time looking at them, reading about them, all so very interesting. Of course I've known about these for years, but not in detail as was there tonight and pictures etc. It was really something!! I asked Father if it all had to be taken down tonight but he thought it would be good to have it displayed a week so more people can look at them. Then our friend, Deb, gave us a talk on her experience visiting the Holy Land with pictures and a video too. Very informative!! We didn't get home until about an hour ago!! I'll stop here and put on the inspirations:

Neglecting our talents and abilities will soon make them disappear.
Lord, help me to put to good use the gifts with which You have blessed me.


S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y


"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes
refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the
destroying storms pass by." ~Psalm 57:1

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y

"My soul is restless until it finds its rest in Thee." A river flows
on, until it loses itself in the sea. Our spirits long for rest in the
Spirit of God. We can yearn to realize a peace, a rest, a satisfaction that
we
have never found in the world or its pursuits. Some of us are not
conscious of our need, and can shut the doors of our spirits against the
Spirit of
God. That makes it difficult for us to find true peace.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may feel the divine unrest. I pray that my soul may find
its rest in God.



Prayer for healing

O Jesus, we believe in you, we hope in you, and we love you.
Strengthen our faith, renew our hope and love, and grant our prayers.
Touch with your healing love, O Lord, all who feel the hurt of life's
wounds.

Long ago, when people prayed to you for healing,
you listened to them, blessed them
and answered their prayer.
Heal us now of our sinfulness
and of the hatred that divides us.

Take away our hardness of heart.
Open our eyes which are often blind to the needs of others.
Remove our selfishness and our greed.
Give us self-control at all times,
and fill our hearts with your eternal love.

O Jesus, we ask you now to heal and bless us,
and fill us with your peace. Amen.




Now let Me fill you

I fill you with My Love. I fill you with My forgiveness. I fill you with My
generosity. I fill you with My gifts. I fill you with My strength.

I touch your eyes. See yourself as you really are—as I see you. See Myself
in the people around you. See the needs in the people whom I call you to
serve.

I touch your ears. Hear My voice. Hear My expressions of love and gratitude
for the person you are and the things you do to please Me. Hear the pleas of
the people whom I call you to serve.

I touch your mouth. Speak My words. Hold back all that is unloving, unkind,
unholy. Proclaim the kingdom of God in the way that I call you to serve.

I touch your heart. Your stony heart is replaced by My sacred and pure
heart. I heal the pain from old and new wounds, and I give you the pain that
I feel in My heart, caused by the sins and wounds of others, and through
this I call you to love the sinners unconditionally.

I touch your hands. Reach out and heal others with Me. Give to them My
embrace. Stroke their shoulders to give them My encouragement, and pat their
backs to give them My affirmation.

I touch your feet. Go wherever our Father sends you. I will be with You
always. I walk with you. My Spirit guides you, keeping you on the right
path. Be assured, you will not make lasting mistakes, you will not stray for
long, for I am walking with you. I have everything in My control. Fear
nothing, My wonderful, dear, dear friend. Fear nothing, for My love for you
is all consuming, and always victorious.

I LOVE YOU!



FISHERMEN


Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen.
And lo, there were many fish in the streams and lakes throughout the
surrounding area.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year, those who
called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about …

The call to fish.
The abundance of fish.
How they might go about fishing as an occupation.
They declared that fishing is always to be the primary task of
fishermen, but they never fished!

These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings for local fishing
headquarters. The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every
fisherman should fish. One thing they didn't do, however, was fish.

In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out
fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board was formed
by those who had great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define
fishing, to promote the idea of fishing in far-away streams and lakes where
many other fish of different color lived. Also the board hired staffs and
appointed committees and held many meetings to …

Define fishing.
Defend fishing
Decide what new streams should be thought about.
But the staff and committee members did not fish.

A speaker bureau was provided to schedule special speakers on the
subject of fishing. After one stirring meeting on "The Necessity of
Fishing," one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day
he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his
excellent catch, and he was scheduled to visit all the big meetings to tell
how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about
the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fisherman's
General Board as a person having considerable experience.

Now it's true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all
kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead
fish. They received ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen's clubs
and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen, yet never fished.

They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the
talks about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master, who
said, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fisher of men"? (Mark 1:17)

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those
who didn't fish were not really fishermen, no matter how much they claimed
to be. Yet it did sound correct.

Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never catches a fish?
Is one following if he isn't fishing?

THE THREE THINGS IN LIFE
Author Unknown


Three things in life that, once gone, never come back -
1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity


Three things in life that may never be lost -
1. Peace
2. Hope
3. Honesty


Three things in life that are most valuable -
1. Love
2. Self-confidence
3. Friends


Three things in life that are never certain -
1. Dreams
2. Success
3. Fortune


Three things in life that are most appreciated -
1. Generosity
2. Humor
3. Forgiveness


Three things that make a person -
1. Hard work
2. Sincerity
3. Commitment


Three things in life that can destroy a person -
1. Alcohol / Drugs
2. Pride
3. Anger


Three things that are truly constant -
Father - Son – Holy Spirit

[lovestopaint]

That sounds like a very tasty interesting evening you had Gloria, I'm glad you and Linus enjoyed it.

Well Dave and I got to the Allen Organ Christmas concert yesterday afternoon and it was beautiful and I'm so happy I felt well enough to go, and I still feel pretty good today. I just have a feeling since the sciatica is going down my leg that it is working it's way out, the Chiropractor thinks so too, I hope we are both right. It really was a beautiful concert. This company is known for their church organs all around the world. The organs are made right there in their factory, in the good old U.S.A in fact they have even sold a couple to a couple of churches in China. The concert hall is right next to the factory where they are built. The hall has been built in such a way that it has the same acoustics as a church, so that the church members who are buying the organ can hear how it is going to sound in their church it is a very interesting place, Dave and I had the privilege of going through the factory and watching them making the organs quite a few years ago with my teacher. The best part is all the money they got from the ticket sales went to three charities that they support.

Lucy, thank you for the beautiful prayer yesterday.

Counting my blessings, and blessings to all.

Harlene(lovestopaint)

[Danky]

Sunday afternoon and I am not sad but am feeling a little melancholy. BLUE---you simply must make it a point to get to New England. Most of the states have been my "playground " since the day I was born. I have a summer "cottage" in Rhode Island that was my Grandparents. Was that a picture of me on the Sat thread ? LOL.....me and my horse ! GLORIAJEAN--- my husband was an extremely active, physically fit man . He went for his annual checkup at the beginning of this year...no symptoms, no indications that anything was amiss. When the Dr. called with the news, I couldn't even tell him for 4 days. Yes...it was cancer. He could have undergone chemo, radiation, whatever but was told that the outcome would be the same. He would buy a little more time but the quality of that time would be greatly diminished. He choose not to seek treatment and within 10 months he was dead. Just another sad story , one of many, where regardless of how well you care of yourself or how much money you have, if cancer wants to win, it will. The trip to Texas sounds arduous. Do you stop overnight or take turns driving right straight through ? Your girls sound lovely and what a blessing to have Lori so close. Good wishes to all the other ladies on this thread....

[shorelady]

Good Sunday Afternoon:

Hope everyone is enjoying their day. I just got back from putting the grave covers on DH's grave and my parents. Just last year, as in the past 20 years, we put grave covers on together for our parents. Who would have thought that this year I would be doing this alone and putting one on his grave. Goes to show you never know what the future holds.

danky....I don't know what I am feeling. I just can't give it a name. Maybe a combination of blue, melancholy, sad or anything similar. I posted on the 60's thread the other day about my NYC experiences. But with all that is going on there, I don't know if we would have made our annual trek into the city this year. My DH will be gone 6 months on Tuesday, and it seems so long ago. I guess there are all stages of this sad journey, and this may be one of them. Tomorrow is a memorable day for us. 47 years ago I met DH in a bar (who said you can't meet good people in a bar?). These "first" aren't easy.

Cakers......sending cyber hugs back to you. Thank you for thinking of me.

Gloriajean......thank you for continuing this thread. Although I may not always post, I do stop by to read. Your postings inspire me and help me get through this most difficult time. You are special lady.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the day and has a good week. Take care.

[snappyfrappy]

shorelady, your post touched my heart. Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your hubby. Mine went Home on October 17, 2010 after suffering for 10 years with Parkinsons and nearly 4 with the cancer that took him. There is a widow's thread here where several post regularly. You would be most welcome to just read or stop by to leave a message. Everyone understands. Nobody judges, and everyone offers encouragement. May the Lord grant you His comfort and peace as you walk this path we call grief.

snappy

[Danky]

BLUE and GLORIAJEAN---- thank you (and all the posters on this thread) for taking the time to comfort me and pray for me....my appreciation is boundless. I will be going away tomorrow for the remainder of the year and will, in all probability, not have access to the Internet . Remember those days ? I hope I will be welcomed back when I return but for now I want to wish you both, and all the others here, a safe, happy and blessed Christmas.

[gloriajean]

Harlene - Wow! That had to be a wonderful concert to be at!! So glad you could go! Sure hope your pain goes away for good - coming out of the leg and be done! -

Blue - I don't know which picture I like the best - all are so pretty! So glad you liked the inspirations I picked out for today.

Danky - that is so shocking about your husband, good health, and then cancer! And so fast! You never know!!! How old was he? We will stop one night to sleep - half way there. Sometimes Darla and Greg do drive the whole way through without stopping for rest. I don't think they will again, because of Darla's sore back etc. Just saw your lastest post, have a safe trip and we surely will miss you and certainly will welcome you back when you get home again. Merry Christmas to you and yours and may the New Year be good to you! Thanks for being a part of this thread! God bless you!!! I'll continue to pray for you!

shorelady - so nice to see you here tonight and thanks for your good post and how you are feeling etc. which is very important to us. I've never heard of putting covers on the graves. You remember the day you met at a bar! That's wonderful! I remember the date we met too, at a dance - so long ago on a Feb. 9th. I know that because at that time I kept a five year diary and have all our dates, Wedding, deaths of my Dad, brother and Mom in there, still have that diary because it's precious to me. I praise God that some of the posts help you get through your day!! Thank you, Jesus!!! He gets all the credit!

Snappy - one of my sisters has Parkinson's for many years, and she's in a Nursing Home now. It's so sad to see her there - she used to take care of her own home and garden etc. for years after her husband died of cancer. Now she can hardly walk anymore, she does use a walker and falls alot. She is 89. My 92 year old sister still has her own house, takes care of it, cooks and bakes, but she does have high blood pressure, so is taking meds for that, her husband died about 18 years ago, cancer of the bone. I know your post was meant for shorelady, but I just wanted to mention that about my sisters anyway. Come and post anytime as you are always welcomed.

Hope I answered everyone here!