Community Chat

[gloriajean]

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.

Scripture for the day:

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


Meditation for the day:

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.

Prayer for the day:

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.

Greetings my friends! Hope our day went well. We had such a nice, warm day
today - close to 80 degrees! It was so nice picking raspberries in the sun
and thanking and praising God for the beautiful day to enjoy! Sammy likes
it outside when I pick raspberries, he just lays on the grass in the sun!
Yesterday while searching for something in one of my drawers I found an old
harmonica that used to be my uncle's who was was priest. He was very
musically inclined - could play piano, piano accordion, and the Harmonica
very well without lessons. So when he died, I picked the Harmonica and now
I'm playing it every once in a while. It comes from Germany - German words
on it etc. so it's really a precious thing!! Sammy seems to like the
sound!!So that's a blessing that I found this - forgot I had it! It was so
nice use the porch again today for eating - he grilled pork chops and I made
the rest including a salad. Actually the rest was left-overs and they were
so good, potatoes and carrots in a gravy or sauce from the chow mein I made
yesterday. Praise the Lord for left-overs!

Who is Jesus to me?




Jesus is the Word made Flesh.
Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Jesus is the Victim offered for our sins on the Cross.
Jesus is the Sacrifice offered at the Holy Mass
for the sins of the world and mine.
Jesus is the Word — to be spoken.
Jesus is the Truth — to be told.
Jesus is the Way — to be walked.
Jesus is the Light — to be lit.
Jesus is the Life — to be lived.
Jesus is the Love — to be loved.
Jesus is the Joy — to be shared.
Jesus is the Sacrifice — to be offered.
Jesus is the Peace — to be given.
Jesus is the Bread of Life — to be eaten.
Jesus is the Hungry — to be fed.
Jesus is the Thirsty — to be satiated.
Jesus is the Naked — to be clothed.
Jesus is the Homeless — to be taken in.
Jesus is the Sick — to be healed.
Jesus is the Lonely — to be loved.
Jesus is the Unwanted — to be wanted.
Jesus is the Leper — to wash his wounds.
Jesus is the Beggar — to give him a smile.
Jesus is the Drunkard — to listen to him.
Jesus is the Retarded — to protect him.
Jesus is the Little One — to embrace him.
Jesus is the Blind — to lead him.
Jesus is the Dumb — to speak for him.
Jesus is the Crippled — to walk with him.
Jesus is the Drug Addict — to befriend him.
Jesus is the Prostitute — to remove from danger and befriend.
Jesus is the Prisoner — to be visited.
Jesus is the Old — to be served.

To me —
Jesus is my God.
Jesus is my Spouse.
Jesus is my Life.
Jesus is my only Love.
Jesus is my All in All.
Jesus is my Everything.

Meditation by Mother Teresa composed while hospitalized in Rome in 1983.

The Difference

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day.
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
I wondered "Why doesn't God help me?"
He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me.
He said, "But you didn't seek."

I tried to come into God´s presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My child, you didn't knock."

I woke early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.

The Dress of Love
===============

"Do you like my dress?" she asked of a passing stranger.
"My mommy made it just for me." She said with a tear in her eye.

"Well, I think it's very pretty, so tell me little one, why are you crying?"

With a quiver in her voice the little girl answered. "After Mommy made me
this dress, she had to go away."

"Well, now," said the lady, "with a little girl like you waiting for her,
I'm sure she'll be right back."

"No ma'am, you don't understand," said the child through her tears, "my
Daddy said that she's up in heaven now with Grandfather."

Finally the woman realized what the child meant, and why she was crying.

Kneeling down she gently cradled the child in her arms and together they
cried for the mommy that was gone.

Then suddenly the little girl did something that the woman thought was a
bit strange.

She stopped crying, stepped back from the woman and began to sing. She
sang so softly that it was almost a whisper. It was the sweetest sound the
woman had ever heard, almost like the song of a very small bird.

After the child stopped singing she explained to the lady, "My mommy used
to sing that song to me before she went away, and she made me promise to
sing it whenever I started crying and it would make me stop." "See," she
exclaimed, "it did, and now my eyes are dry!"

As the woman turned to go, the little girl grabbed her sleeve, "Lady, can
you stay just a minute? I want to show you something."

"Of course," she answered, "what do you want me to see?"

Pointing to a spot on her dress, she said, "Right here is where my Mommy
kissed my dress, and here," pointing to another spot, "and here is another
kiss, and here, and here, Mommy said that she put all those kisses on my
dress so that I would have her kisses for every boo-boo that made me cry."

Then the lady realized that she wasn't just looking at a dress, no, she
was looking at a Mother who knew that she was going away and would not be
there to kiss away the hurts that she knew her daughter would get. So she
took all the love she had for her beautiful little girl and put them into
this
dress, that her child now so proudly wore. She no longer saw a little girl
in a
simple dress, she saw a child wrapped in her Mother's love.

YOU ASK WHY I FOLLOW THIS JESUS?
(Author Unknown)

You ask why I follow this Jesus?
Why I love Him the way I do?
When the world's turned away from His teachings
And the people who serve Him are few.

It's not the rewards I'm after
Or gifts that I hope to receive
It's the Presence that calls for commitment
It's the Spirit I trust and believe.

The Lord doesn't shelter His faithful
Or spare them all suffering and pain,
Like everyone else I have burdens,
And walk through my share of rain.

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,
And that joy only Christians have known,
I never know what comes tomorrow,
But I do know I'm never alone.

It's the love always there when you need it;
It's the words that redeem and inspire,
It's the longing to ever be with Him
That burns in my heart like a fire.

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?
Well, friend, that's so easy to see,
But the one thing that fills me with wonder is
Why Jesus loves someone like me.

Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee
Spiritual Story by Unknown

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it
and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed
as one problem was solved, a new one would pop up.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water
and placed each on a high fire, and soon the pots came to boil. In the first
pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she
placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a
word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed
them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her grandmother brought her closer
and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.
The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the
grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip the coffee. The granddaughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma then asked,

"What does it mean, grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling
water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer
shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the
boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were
unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the
water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.

Being tomorrow is the Feast of the Archangels, thought this prayer would be
nice:

Sts. Michael, Gabriel
& Raphael, Archangels

Heavenly King, You have given us archangels to assist us during our
pilgrimage on earth. Saint Michael is our protector; I ask him to come to my
aid, fight for all my loved ones, and protect us from danger. Saint Gabriel
is a messenger of the Good News; I ask him to help me clearly hear Your
voice and to teach me the truth. Saint Raphael is the healing angel; I ask
him to take my need for healing and that of everyone I know, lift it up to
Your throne of grace and deliver back to us the gift of recovery. Help us, O
Lord, to realize more fully the reality of the archangels and their desire
to serve us. Holy angels, pray for us. Amen.

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams and have a good, positive day tomorrow
(Thursday!)