Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If you look for the light side in all things, you will keep yourself alive
and healthy. Lord, may I be able to see the good in my experiences,
even in my most challenging moments.


Scripture for the day:


"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~Matthew 9:36

Meditation for the day:

Having compassion for all who are in temptation, a condition which we
are sometimes in, we have a responsibility toward them. Compassion
always includes responsibility. Pity is useless because it does not
have a remedy for the need. But wherever our compassion goes, our
responsibility goes too. When we are moved with compassion, we can go
to the one in need and bind up their wounds as best we can.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may have compassion for those in temptations. I pray
that I may have compassion for the trials of others.

Hello my friends! Busy day today - Nice time shopping with Lori - she
bought her bridesmaid dress today - paid in full - for Darla's Wedding. We
looked for the dishes but none were square so we'll need to order them
online. It was nice out, so was nice go get out and do things with her,
went out to eat at the Food Court at the Mall, Sesame chicken - Yumm! Then
when she brought me home we had a little visit and had another piece of her
DQ cake! Tonight was our fund raiser - for our Church - the Hawaiian
theme - it was good. Our best friends, Ray and Ann picked us up and we
spend the night with them, and enjoy the whole night. At the silent Auction
we one a table runner and a napkin holder with banana holder made by someone
in the parish, nice and sturdy! It was a fun night. Now Darla is talking
to her Dad on the phone!! Another blessing!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Real Love

Real love, loving as Jesus loved,
is not something that just happens to us.
Loving is a conscious choice,
an active discipline of letting go of our need
to impose our will on others
and becoming other-centered.

from Saints Off the Pedestal: Real Saints for Real People

Lenten Reflection

Identifying Christ

"What I have written, I have written." John 19:22

Pilate had an inscription placed over Jesus' head that read, "The King of
the Jews." But Pilate sticks to his guns in this quote. What he wrote stays.
People today still try to chip away at our assertions of who Jesus is. That
is when we need to remember that what is written in God's Word about Christ
is God-breathed, not the baseless rantings of human beings.

Lord, let your Word - and not the words of skeptics - dwell in me richly.
Amen.

Broken To Become Beautiful

At the Royal Palace of Tehran in Iran, you can see one of the most beautiful
mosaics in the world. The ceilings and the walls flash like diamonds in
multifaceted reflections.

Originally, when the palace was designed, the artist specified huge sheets
of mirrors on the walls. When the first shipment arrived from Paris, they
found to their horror that the mirrors were shattered.

The contractor threw them in the trash and brought the sad news to the
architect.

Amazingly, the architect ordered all the broken pieces collected, then
smashed them into tiny pieces and glued into the walls to become a mosaic of
silvery, shimmering, and mirrored bits of glass.

Broken to become beautiful. It's possible to turn your scars into stars.
It is possible to be better because of the brokenness.


Never underestimate God's power to repair and restore.

- Author Unknown

The Apple Tree


A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and
play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a
nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with
him. Time went by... the little boy had grown up and he no longer played
around the tree everyday. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he
looked sad.

"Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy.

"I am no longer a kid, I don't play around trees anymore." The boy replied,
"I want toys. I need money to buy them."

"Sorry, but I don't have money... but you can pick all my apples and sell
them. Then you will have money." The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the
apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked
the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy (now a man), returned and the tree was so excited. "Come
and play with me" the tree said.

"I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house
for shelter. Can you help me?"

"Sorry, but I don't have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build
your house." So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily.
The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then.
The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and
play with me!" the tree said.

"I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you
give me a boat?"

"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy." So
the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed
up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, Sir, but
I don't have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you..." the tree
said.

"I don't have teeth to bite" the man replied.

"No more trunk for you to climb on"

"I am too old for that now" the man said.

"I really can't give you anything... the only thing left is my dying roots"
the tree said with tears.

"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these
years." The man replied.

"Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit
down with me and rest." The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled
with tears...

This is a story for everyone. The tree is our parents. When we were young,
we loved to play with Mom and Dad... When we grew up,we left them... only
come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter
what, parents will always be there and give everything they can to make you
happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that is how all of us
are treating our parents. love your parents, no matter where they are.

KEYS FOR LIVING
Author Unknown

1. The best way to get even is to forget...

2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death...

3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts...

4. Some folks wear their halos much too tightly...

5. Some marriages are made in heaven, but they ALL have to be
maintained on earth...

6. Unless you can create the WHOLE universe in 5 days, then perhaps
giving "advice" to God isn't such a good idea!

7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up...

8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous. You will get
knocked down by the traffic from both ways.

9. Words are windows to the heart.

10. A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the
wall, claims it's a forgery.

11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill just add a
little dirt.

12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person-it's being
the right person.

13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.

14. Too many people offer God prayers, with claw marks all over them.

15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can hold
it.

16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover the
prisoner
was you.

17. You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and Elvis
is alive!

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just
be sure to flush when you are done.

19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it sticks out
its neck...

20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can
bet the water bill is higher.

And last but not least -- God gave the angels Wings, and He gave
humans CHOCOLATE.

"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the
distance between your knees and the floor.

The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything."

You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven.

May you all have a very blessed Sunday - and feel refreshed and spriitually
fulfilled after your Church Service - is my wish for you all. Blessings to
you this Sunday!