Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Should you find your energy lapsing, a sure remedy is to give someone a
helping hand
or a word of support and make their day. Lord, You are patient with me and
loving. May
I be the same with the people in my life.


Scripture for the day:

"A lawyer, asked Jesus a question to test him. 'Teacher, which
commandment in the law is the greatest?' He said to him, 'You shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a
second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." ~Matthew 22:35-40

Meditation for the day:

God has a plan for the world we live in. God's design for the world is
a universal fellowship of men and women, guided by God. The plan for
our lives is also in the mind of God. In times of quiet meditation we
can seek God's guidance, for the revealing of God's plan for our day.
Then we can live this day according to God's guidance. Many of us are
not making of our lives what God means them to be, and so we are
unhappy. We can miss the God's plan for our lives.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may try to follow God's design for today. I pray that I
may live my life today consistent with God's plan.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends! Hope you all have a great day and
always remember to give thanks in all you do! So much is given to us, which
we all take for granted.
Today I'm thankful for a really nice call from Darla - wishing me a Happy
Thanksgiving, said she sent a card, but it didn't get here yet, so maybe on
Friday we have that to look forward to.
Another Thanksgiving she's in Texas - away from family. She said she's
going to make a really nice vegetarian dinner for her and Greg, and later
that night they will go dancing. They were dancing at a convention
somewhere last weekend. They do the Salsa - Latin dancing. Tomorrow Linus
has off - the place is closed tomorrow - but on Friday morning he starts at
Northern Tool at 5:30 AM! Holy Moly that's early and he works a nine hour
day. Good thing Lori is driving tomorrow and let him rest. Remember him in
prayer!
He's worn out tonight from his 3 days! He really works hard.

Homily of the Day


November 23, 2011

The Punishment Always Comes from Within
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 / Lk 21:12-19

Today’s reading from the Old Testament prophet Daniel draws us into the
center of a terrifying event. In the course of an extravagant royal
celebration hosted by the King of Babylon, a disembodied human hand writes a
mysterious message on the wall. Daniel is called to interpret it, and once
again he tells the whole truth to the king: You have ignored God ‘in whose
hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life,’ and therefore
your days and the days of your kingdom are numbered.

It would be too facile to chalk this up as a proper punishment rightly
imposed by a righteous God upon a corrupt and unworthy servant. To do that
would be to miss the fact that the punishment, as always, came from inside
the king. That’s where his sin was, ignoring God, giving no thanks, never
seeing himself in the perspective of eternity, never seeing his own deep
need for something more than himself and his armies and his possessions, and
never seeing his need for God’s wisdom if he were ever to make a life and be
a true leader.

Laid end to end like that, the king’s life sounds rather like a death wish.
Indeed it was, and the king murdered his own future. His sin was inside and
so were its consequences: a shrunken soul, a foolish heart, an empty spirit
which knew nothing of God.

That’s an ending we surely don’t want for ourselves. So remember where your
life is coming from, moment to moment, and with God’s help build a heart and
a life that have a future and no ending.

Let Go .....
To "LET GO" Does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone
else.
To "LET GO" Is not to cut myself off, it's the realization that I can't
control another human being.
To "LET GO" Is not to enable, but to allow someone to learn from their
natural consequences.
To "LET GO" Is to admit powerlessness , which means the outcome is not in my
hands.
To "LET GO" Is not to try to change or blame another, but to make the most
of myself.
To "LET GO" Is not to care for, but to care about.
To "LET GO" Is not to fix, but to be supportive, and not violate my values.
To "LET GO" Is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "LET GO" Is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes , but to
allow God to work in the lives of others.
To "LET GO" Is not to be protective, it's to permit another to face reality.
To "LET GO" Is not to deny, but to accept .
To "LET GO" Is not to nag, scold or argue with another person, but instead
to search out my own shortcomings and allow God to correct them.
To "LET GO" Does not mean to deny the shortcomings in others, but to accept
others unconditionally in love.
To "LET GO" Is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to accept each
day as it comes; knowing God offers it to me for growth.
To "LET GO" Is not to criticize or regulate anybody, but to try to become
the person I understand God wants me to be.
To "LET GO" Does not mean to compete against another human being, but
rather, to compete within myself to learn "self- control" through
circumstances God brings into my life.
To "LET GO" Does mean to fear less and love more.
To "LET GO" Means I don't demand my own way, but that I hold firm to my
values and beliefs-- while allowing others the same privilege.
To "LET GO" Doesn't mean that I expect God to do everything for me, but that
I let God show me how to do His will for my life.

I Am Thankful

I am thankful I can walk;

there are those who have never taken their first step.

I am thankful I can see the beauty all around me;

there are those whose world is always dark.

I am thankful I can hear music playing;

there are those who entire life has been spent in silence.

I am thankful my heart can be broken;

there are those who are so hardened they cannot be touched.

I am thankful I can move about freely and express my beliefs;

there are those who live in constant fear.

I am thankful I have been loved;

there are those for whom no one has ever cared.

I am thankful I can work;

there are those who have to depend on others for even their most basic
needs.

I am thankful to wake up in the morning and take a deep breath of fresh air;

there are those who never got that far.

I am thankful for the opportunity to help others;

there are those who have not been so abundantly blessed as I.

Sunlight streamed through her window, and Annie wheeled her chair into its
warmth. Bright yellow daffodils bouncing in the wind outside made her
remember an Easter dream sixty years before. She had only two weeks to wait
until the birth of her first child. She was sitting at a window admiring the
flowers near her porch steps when she must have fallen asleep. She began to
dream and in her dream she spoke with the child in her womb...

Hello, Johnny. What? Who are you? I'm you mother. Mother? What's a Mother?
Johnny, I'm the one, along with your father, who brought you into this
world. Oh? Then where are you? Why can't I see you? You can't see me because
you're living inside me. But soon you'll be born, and then we'll see each
other. Born? What does that mean? Well, Johnny, you've been growing, and
there's not enough room for you there. The life support system that"s
keeping you alive won't work much longer. You mean I'm going to die? No, you
won't die, you'll just begin to live in a new way. Why should I believe
that? I can't see you. Maybe you're not even there. Maybe I'm all alone and
just imagining this.

Johnny, you don't think you just came from nothing, do you? Where you're
living is real, but the world is much bigger than you think. When you're out
here you'll grow tall and strong; you'll run and play, you'll make friends;
you'll go hiking in the woods; you'll have a puppy. You'll...Wait a minute.
What are friends? What are woods? What´s a puppy? Friends and woods and
puppies are...Johnny, I can't explain them because there's nothing like them
where you are. The more I try to explain, the more impossible they'll seem
to you. You'll just have to wait and see.

Now I know I'm imagining this. I'm going to die, and I'm afraid. Johnny,
don't be afraid. I know this sounds hard to believe, and I can't really
explain it to you, but it's real. maybe this will help; do you know what
your feet are? Yes, and I have ten toes too? That's right, Johnny. But what
good are they to you in there? What can you use them for? Nothing. Right,
Johnny, but you have them because there is an earth here for you to walk and
run on. Your feet wouldn't make any sense if there weren't a world out here.

Can you believe that? I'd like to, really I would, But I'm afraid. I know,
and what you're afraid of, your birth, will have to come. There will be some
pain and darkness. But then there will be light and life, more life than you
can imagine. All I can say is that I've been through what you'll go through,
and I'll be waiting here for you with open arms and a big smile. What you
think of as death you'll find is really birth!

"That dream seemed so real," Annie thought. Two weeks later her son was
born. He had grown into a man she'd always been proud of. He'd soon be
coming at Easter to visit her at the nursing home...

Annie. A voice startled her out of her thoughts. An aide perhaps? She
turned, but saw no one. Just the crucifix on the wall above her dresser.
Annie. She heard the voice again, but this time it seemed to come from
within. She understood. She closed her eyes and prayed, "Yes, Lord?"

Annie, it's almost time for you to come home. You mean I'm going to die? No,
Annie, you'll soon be born. You'll soon begin to live in a new way. Lord,
I'm afraid. Sometimes I doubt and wonder if you are really there. I wish I
could see you face to face. That's not possible now, Annie, because I'm on
the other side of death. But you don't think you come from nowhere, do you?
No, but sometimes heaven seems like a fairy tale. Well, I can't describe
heaven any more than you could explain your world to Johnny before he was
born. I suppose so, Lord, but I'm still afraid.

I know, Annie, but think of your heart. Has it ever really be satisfied?
Have you ever been completely happy? No, because your heart is made for God
and for eternity. Johnny's feet were made for walking on earth, and your
heart was made for heaven.

I'm still afraid, Lord. Yes, Annie, and what you fear will have to come.
There will be some pain and darkness. But then there will be light and life,
more life than you can imagine. All I can say is that I've been through what
you'll go through, and I'll be waiting here for you with open arms and a big
smile. And what you think of as death you'll find is really birth!

"Amen, Lord," Annie whispered. and she knew that her dream was real.



Take the time to love today!
In the End we will all know,
"Love is what truly mattered in our lives!"

Prayer & Thanksgiving

God, all powerful, most holy,
most high and supreme;
FATHER: holy and righteous;
Lord: king of heaven and earth;
we thank you for yourself,
because by your holy will
and through your only Son
and the Holy Spirit
you created all things,
spiritual and material.
You made us in your
image and likeness
and placed us in paradise,
and we, through our transgression
fell away.

We give you thanks because,
as you created us through your Son,
so by the holy love
with which you loved us
you willed your Son to be born
true God and true man
of the glorious and holy Virgin Mary,
and through his cross and blood and death
it was your will to set us free
from our captivity.

Also we thank you
because that same Son of yours
will come again in the glory of his majesty
to condemn those who refused to repent
and acknowledge you;
and to say
to all who did acknowledge,
worship and serve you in repentance:
Come, you whom my Father has blessed,
receive the kingdom
prepared for you
since the world began.

And because we are all wretched sinners,
unworthy to speak your name,
therefore let Jesus Christ himself,
our Lord and your beloved Son
in whom you are well pleased,
give thanks to you for everything,
together with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
as it pleases you and pleases him.
He always satisfies you in everything,
and through him
you have done so much for us.

Alleluia!

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams and may you find many blessings to count!
God bless you!! Enjoy your day! I am thankful for all of you whom I call
friends.