Daily Positive Thread for Sunday

gloriajean · ‎03-10-2010

Jesus came to us to serve not be served. Lord, help me to set aside
my self-serving behaviors and model my life after You.

S C R I P T U R E S F O R T H E D A Y
You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head
will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
~Luke 21:12-19

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
It's not easy to be a true Christian. The price is laid out on today's
Gospel. "You will be hated by all because of my name." We may think this
does not apply to us. Then we need to ask ourselves if our faith realy
and truly sets us apart from others around us. And we can be comfroted to
hear, "... but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your
perseverance you will secure your lives.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may be a true Christian. I pray that I may trust in the
security the Lord gives me as He helps me see the importance of working
for those things which last forever.

Hello to all you positive pals and grateful gals! Hope your Saturday went well. It was a surprise when work called and gave Linus another day off today because they had enough staff. He's off tomorrow too, so that means 4 days in a row off. He's enjoying it and we went out for supper tonight - during the hours he would have been working. Yes, the pay will be smaller, but he's getting his well deserved time for healing his feet and knee. He rested and he used the snow blower and watched TV.
I had a nice blessing today when the computer man came over to install my AVG that didn't transfer over, and he showed me a few things on the computer I didn't know. System Tools is a virus. Not the system tools you need on the computer for your needs, but there's another one that is a virus. He said that if the computer acts like it's getting a virus, just shut the button on the box off and it might get rid of it. Do not do what they say like a system tools said I should scan this, and I did and it was the virus!!
Live and learn, right? Oh, and he didn't charge me at all for coming out and doing this for me. What a blessing!! I had a nice nap today, too. Sure needed it and I'm feeling much better now - was so tired. Notice I'm getting this thread out early so I will go to bed earlier tonight. Hope you like it coming out earlier.
It really was a blessing having him home today - and the night is still young yet, we'll probably play some cards or Farkel. I'll hint.

Homily of the Day

Are You a Sleep Walker?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Is 49:3, 5-6 / 1 Cor 1:1-3 / Jn 1:29-34
At the end of a long business trip, a man was searching for a gift to take home to his wife. “How about some perfume?” he asked the clerk. She showed him a bottle for $50.
“That’s too much,” he replied. So the clerk showed him a smaller bottle for $30. ”That’s still quite a bit,” he complained.
Rolling her eyes, the clerk brought out a tiny bottle for $15. Again he shook his head. ”What I mean is I’d like to see something REAL cheap.” With that the clerk handed him a mirror!
+ + +
Sometimes it takes us quite a while to recognize the truth. Just look at John the Baptist in the Gospel. He’s known Jesus all his life, but shaking his head he says, “I didn’t recognize him…. How could I have missed it? I just didn’t recognize him!”
How often that happens. How much we miss. And nowhere is that more true than when it comes to seeing ourselves. It’s strange but true that relatively few of us would recognize ourselves in a “blind tasting” where our physical appearance was just slightly disguised!
Our ordinary conversation reveals that relatively few of us recognize what makes us special and what rightly endears us to others. We just don’t see even half of our own goodness.
Relatively few of us are really aware of WHY we do much of what we do. We see mainly the surface of things which can cover up both the good and the bad, and can keep us perpetual adolescents and perpetual victims to life’s surprises.
Relatively few of us recognize that many of the “streets” we drive on daily are dead ends.
In a word, many of us are habitual “sleep walkers” which is costly in the extreme. It robs us of the delight that should be ours at seeing our goodness, our giftedness, and our hard won progress.
It robs us of the chance of growing and getting better.
Being “sleep walkers” condemns us to half a life and, eventually, to dying without ever having know ourselves or our friends.
None of that is what God wants for us. God wants our life to be like his: Conscious, full, and fearless. His constant call to us is to step out of the dark into the light. His repeated assurance is that he’ll give us what we need to look within fearlessly and to see what is there … and what is not. His promise is nothing less than his own Spirit by whose power we can do whatever is necessary to respond to the truth he helps us see.
God wants a whole life for you and me, and not just a fragment. So why not step out into the light and let him show us the way?

Jesus and the Mud Puddle,, please read

A great story..........
Howard County Sheriff Jerry Marr got a disturbing call one Saturday afternoon a few months ago. His 6-year-old grandson Mikey had been hit by a car while fishing in Greentown with his dad. The father and son were near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph.
Sheriff Marr had seen the results of accidents like this and feared the worst. When he got to Saint Joseph Hospital, he rushed through the emergency room to find Mikey conscious and in fairly good spirits.
"Mikey, what happened?" Sheriff Marr asked.
Mikey replied, "Well, Papaw, I was fishin' with Dad, and some lady runned me over, I flew into a mud puddle, and broke my fishin' pole and I didn't get to catch no fish!"
As it turned out, the impact propelled Mikey about 500 feet, over a few trees and an embankment and in the middle of a mud puddle. His only injuries were to his right femur bone which had broken in two places. Mikey had surgery to place pins in his leg. Otherwise the boy is fine.
Since all the boy could talk about was that his fishing pole was broken, the Sheriff went out to Wal-mart and bought him a new one while he was in surgery so he could have it when he came out.
The next day the Sheriff sat with Mikey to keep him company in the hospital. Mikey was enjoying his new fishing pole and talked about when he could go fishing again as he cast into the trash can. When they were alone, Mikey, just a matter-of-fact, said, "Papaw, did you know Jesus is real?"
Well," the Sheriff replied, a little startled. "Yes, Jesus is real to all who believe in him and love him in their hearts."
"No," said Mikey. "I mean Jesus is REALLY real."
"What do you mean?" asked the Sheriff.
"I know he's real 'cause I saw him." said Mikey, still casting in to the trash can.
"You did?" said the Sheriff.
"Yep," said Mikey. "When that lady runned me over and broke my fishing pole, Jesus caught me in his arms and laid me down in the mud puddle

Dear Lord,
Our relationship with you is usually like this:
Just another day for me - plenty of things to do
Go to work, come home late, nothing really new
Sat in bed put my head to rest grabbed my mobile phone
About to call my girlfriend now to tell her I loved her so
But before I had the chance to phone I received an incoming call
I had to look twice at the Caller ID to see if I was sure
It was a friend of mine his name was John an odd call at this time
We haven´t spoken for years, busy I guess, we're all guilty of this crime
What does he want? I thought to myself, a favour he must need
So I answered the phone and said hello, the rest I'll let you read
Minutes went by, no favour so far, maybe I could be wrong
But there it was - the favour he needs - I knew it all along
That’s the reason why he called me today - I guess we all do the same
It´s only when we need something that we look to find their name
That’s the relationship we have with God - sad but it is true
We have to change the way we think - a message for me and you.

Climbing the Musical Scale

DO- Do not worry over things that may never happen, and even if they happen, worry will not help. Do count your blessings before you count cares.
RE- Radiate good will and a spirit of benevolence. Like laughter, it is infectious and makes yourself, as well as others, feel better.
ME- Mete kindness, understanding, tolerance, and forgiveness generously. You reap as you mete.
FA- Far-reaching things are the therapeutic benefits of spiritual thinking. You become as you habitually think. Resentment, hatred, spite, envy, and vengeance pack radioactive fall-out that gnaws at your vitals. They are self-consuming.
SO- Sow the seeds of love, friendship, empathy, and helpfulness. These hardy seeds take root in the crustiest ground.
LA- Laugh at yourself now and then. He who can laugh at himself is less apt to be at war with himself. Laugh at yourself, even if you don't feel like laughing.
TI- Teach yourself awareness and appreciation of all the wonders of nature. Thank God daily for the precious gift of life. Genuine gratitude and discontent are never found together.
DO- Do not expect someone else to open the door to happiness for you. You must do it yourself. You alone have the key. Turn it.
- Author Unknown

Mother Teresa Said...
We have to give until it hurts. We need to give from the resources we would like to keep for ourselves. We need to give to the point of sacrificing. We must give something that we find hard to give up.

Our Manual for Life
Indeed, God’s word is living and effective… it judges the reflections and thoughts of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12
Whenever we buy a new set of appliances, the first thing we refer to is the manual of operations. When we do not use the manual, it takes us longer and is sometimes confusing to operate the appliance. Worse, we might even destroy the new gadget.
Such is God’s Word in our lives. When God created us, He also included a manual of operations. That’s why in my small sharing group, I use the Bible as my reference manual. When we share about our day-to-day activities, I always try to relate how God’s Word can help us through our daily routine. When one of my group member shares a problem, I offer a solution from God’s Word.
When my group mates discover that advice from the Bible is helpful and meaningful, their response is gratitude for this Manual of Operations. A natural consequence of thankfulness is a deeper relationship with the Author of the Holy Book — God Himself. Then our thought patterns will be aligned with the Creator and our lives will be on the right path.

Donna España
REFLECTION:
When was the last time you opened and read your Bible? Be excited to read and know that God has so much in store for you!
Thank You, Lord, for drawing me closer to You each time I read and live for Your Word. Inspire me more so I can, in turn, inspire many.

Two Closing Prayers:

A Prayer when feeling low

Loving Lord Jesus,
whose hands are underneath our lowest feelings
to support us as we rest in you.
Hold me in this dark place
and sustain my life with your hope.
Let the light of your love warm my heart,
and your Holy Spirit, the comforter,
be with me to lift me up.
Amen.

EVERY DAY PRAYER
Every Day I need thee Lord,
This day especially
I need some extra strength to face
Whatever is to be
This day more than any day
I need to feel thee near
To fortify my courage
And overcome my fears
By myself I cannot meet the challenges of the hour
There are times when human creatures need a higher power
To bear what must be borne
And so dear Lord I pray
Hold on to my trembling hand
And be with me Today
Amen
Author Unknown