Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Peace of Jesus be yours, my friends! Just got back from doing a Lighthouse CD of the Month Club presentation at another Church - this was about 45 min. away so it wasn't too far like the last time we did it and had to stay overnight there - going again for the 9:30 Mass there to sign more people up for it - got a couple there, trip was worth it. Met the priest there, he's very nice, he gave a good introduction for Linus to give his little talk to introduce it. There's a lady in that parish I haven't seen in years - her name is Jeannie, and she has MS, has a cane, I met her years ago when we did Aqua Aerobics together, I asked about her, and she's still there in the parish, and I hope she comes tomorrow morning so I can see her again. That would be so awesome! Somehow, we lost touch. May you all find the peace of Jesus!

God gives abundantly to those who pass His gifts on to others. Lord, let

Your blessings flow in to me and then out from me. I will neither be

selfish

nor let my gifts stagnate.

Scripture for the day:

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the

things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set

their minds on the things of the Spirit." ~Romans 8:5

Meditation for the day:

God can draw us all closer to God in the bonds of the spirit. God

would have all people drawn closer to each other in the bonds of the

spirit. God, the great spirit of the universe, of which each of our

spirits is a part, wants unity with God and all God's children.

"Unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace." Each experience of our

life, of joy, of sorrow, of danger, of safety, of difficulty, of

success, of hardship, of ease, each can be accepted as part of our

common lot, n the bonds of the spirit.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true fellowship. I pray that I

may be brought closer to unity with God and other people.

May God bless you with discomfort

at easy answers, half truths, superficial relationships,

so that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger

at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,

so that you will work for justice, equality and peace.

May God bless you with tears

to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,

so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain

into joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness

to think that you can make a difference in the world,

so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.

By a misplaced blow with a hammer, a man smashed one of his thumbs.

"That's too bad," said a friend, when he heard about the accident.

But the man was a kind of philosopher. He replied, "No, it isn't. It is one

of the best things that ever happened to me. It taught me to appreciate

thumb. I never knew its value to me before. On the first day, by actual

count, I found out after I injured my thumb, that there were 257 things I

had been doing with my thumb everyday in my life, without giving it a

thought. And I never realized that my thumb is practically indispensable to

me."

We never seem to value our commonest blessings until we are deprived of

them. Someone has remarked (evidently from personal experience) that the

best thing that can happen to us is to lose everything we've got and then

get it all back again.

The second time around, we'll treasure it and appreciate it much much more.

TIME TO THINK

Author Unknown

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and

lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.

"This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the

tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and

trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical

figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we

went to New York, at

least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a

special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the

slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were

taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a

moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever

save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a

special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that

followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores

that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane

returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's

family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or

heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without

realizing that they were special.

I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm

reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring

the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending

more time with my family and friends and less time in committee

meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to

savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and

cherish them. I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and

crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the

sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer to

the market if I like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can

shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm

not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware

stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my

party-going friends. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing

their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing,

I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what my sister would've done had she known that she

wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she

would have called family members and a few close friends. She might

have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past

squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese

dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing - I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I

knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good

friends whom I was going to get in touch with - "someday". Angry

because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write -

one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and

daughter often enough how much I truly love them.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that

would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I

open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is... a gift from God.

If you've received this it is because someone cares for you. If you're

too busy to take the few minutes that it would take right now to

forward this to ten people, would it be the first time you didn't do

that little thing that would make a difference in your relationships?

I can tell you it certainly won't be the last. Take a few minutes to

send this to a few people you care about, just to let them know that

you're thinking of them.

May God litter your life with blessings!

"You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's never

going to hurt."

"People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends

don't need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always

be there."