Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If we look to God for guidance, we will not be weighed down by the
circumstances of our life. Lord, free me from the worries that come
to distract me and keep me focused on that which is important.

Scripture for the day:

"One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which
commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is,
'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the
Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than
these." ~Mark 12:28-31

Meditation for the day:

To truly desire to do God's will , therein lies happiness for us. We
can start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied.
We can take and not give. Gradually, we can find that we are not
happy when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other
peoples' wills. But this again dos not give us full happiness, and we
begin to see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God's
will. In these times of meditation, we can seek to get guidance so
that we can find God's will for us.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God. I pray that
I may be guided today to find God's will for me.

Hello my friends! Thanks bunches for the Birthday Wishes today! It was a
great day for me! It was a great blessing to get 3 cards today - one being
from our dear Harlene which she made so beautifully!! Thank you, Harlene!
The first blessing was a phone call from our dear friends, Ray and Ann, and
they took us out for breakfast and we had a wonderful visit! Then Lori
called and we went to the bridal store and ordered my mother of the bride's
dress - there was First Communion in the town Lori lives in for the boy of
one of her best friends so we went to that and after that she came home and
cooked supper for us and played some Dominoes - with some good wine from
Texas. Got 3 or 4 more birthday calls tonight yet! It was a great day -
and now I'm another year older!! So many made it so special for me! Even
on Viewpoints - wow - was I surprised! Thanks Juanita, harasgem, and Hilo
for the birthday wishes and harasgem, welcome to the thread and please do
come again!

Dear heavenly Father
by William De Witt Hyde

Dear heavenly Father,
Give me clean hands, clean words, and clean thoughts;
Help me to stand for the hard right
Against the easy wrong;
Save me from habits that harm;
Teach me to work as hard,
And play as fair in thy sight alone,
As if the whole world saw;
Forgive me when I am unkind,
And help me to forgive those who are unkind to me;
And keep me ready to help others.

10 Little Christians

10 little Christians standing in line. 1 disliked the preacher, then there
were 9.

9 little Christians stayed up very late. 1 overslept Sunday, then there were
8.

8 little Christians on their way to Heaven. 1 took the low road and then
there were 7.

7 little Christians chirping like chicks. 1 disliked music, then there were
6.

6 little Christians seemed very much alive, but one lost his interest then
there was 5.

5 little Christians pulling for Heaven's Shore, but one stopped to rest,
then there were 4

4 little Christians each busy as a bee. 1 got his feelings hurt, then there
were 3

3 little Christians knew not what to do. 1 joined the sporty crowd, then
there were 2

2 little Christians, our rhyme is nearly done, differed with each other,
then there was 1

1 little Christian can't do much 'tis true, brought his friend to bible
study, then there were 2

2 earnest Christians, each won one more. That doubled the number, then there
were 4

4 sincere Christians worked early and late. Each won another then there were
8

8 splendid Christians if they doubled as before. In just so many Sundays,
we'd have 1,024

In this little jingle, there is a lesson true, you belong either to the
building or to the wrecking crew!

SOMETIMES GOD WHISPERS
by Jeanette Hays

An old preacher spoke something in reply to a question from a young man,
something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across
the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but
again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he
was leaning on the preacher's chair.

"Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you." With their heads bent together,
the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we
will move closer to hear him."

We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our
problem. But God's is the still, small voice ... the gentle whisper.

Perhaps there's a reason.

Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper.

God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my
head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my
answer.

Better still, I find myself closer to God.

And there is no better place to be.

****************************************************************************

A STORY TO MAKE US THINK
Author Unknown


Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man
was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help
drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only
window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men
talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their
homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where
they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed
by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to
his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity
and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a
lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed
their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of
every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and
a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the
man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the
picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described
a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window
portrayed it with descriptive words.

Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the
other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything
while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair.

At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he
missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon
turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to
sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that
thought, now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window
began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other
man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window
groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room
he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought
the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and
choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was
only silence-deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their
baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she
was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As
soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be
moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly,
painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look
at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all
himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the
bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the
wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . . .

You can interpret the story in any way you like. But one moral stands
out: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our
own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when
shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the
things you have that money can't buy.

Five Minutes to Spare

No matter how busy you are, you could spend five minutes:

To answer the telephone
To read the morning paper
To talk with a neighbor
To dispute with the laundryman about a mistake
To watch new furniture being unloaded next door
To chatter with a salesman
To read a trivial letter
Or to write one.

It takes only five minutes:

To say a prayer for the suffering friend
To read a chapter in "The Following of Christ"
To stop and think of God's daily gift of mercy
To remember the cross
To thank our Blessed Mother for her care of us
To make an act of faith, hope, and love
To whisper an "Our Father" or "Hail Mary" for someone in need
To say a decade of the Rosary for the pour souls
To visit the little statue or picture on the mantleplace and tell the Savior
how much you love Him
To make a spiritual communion.

Which is the better way to spend five minutes?

Wishing you all a very blessed Sunday! God bless you all!