Hello my friends! Busy day here today - first I made Apple Pancakes for two friends, Wanda and her sister-in-law, Lynn, after Mass. Then I did get out to pick raspberries and beans again, got ready for having Father Jerry over for supper - we had ham steak, mashed potatoes and green beans and corn, starting out with a very delicious salad! Lori was here too, and she put the finishing touches on the salad. Then a nice visit! What nice blessings for us today!!! Please remember to go to the Prayer Request thread and pray for those people there who need prayers. Praying for you all!!
God has already prepared you for everything that He plans for you to do.
Lord, You believe in me, therefore I can believe in me, and will have all
the necessary confidence to succeed in what I will be doing today.
Scripture for the day:
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." ~James 4:8
Meditation for the day:
"Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you." When we are faced
with a problem beyond our strength, we can turn to God by an act of
faith. It is that turning to God in each trying situation that we can
cultivate. The turning may be one of glad thankfulness for God's
grace in our life. Or our appeal to God may be a prayerful claiming
of God's strength to face a situation and finding that we have it when
the time comes. Not only the power to face trials, but also the
comfort and joy of God's nearness and companionship are ours for the
asking.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may try to draw near to God each day in prayer. I pray
that I may feel God's nearness and God's strength in my life.
Mother Teresa Said...
"My vows bind me to my Sister
because she is much poorer than the poor outside.
If I am not kind and do not smile to the poor outside,
someone else will.
But for my Sister there is no one else."
A Prayer to Padre Pio
Beloved Padre Pio, today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers
offered to you every day by those who love and venerate you. They ask for
cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and
mind. And because of your friendship with the Lord, he heals those you ask
to be healed, and forgives those you forgive.
Through your visible wounds of the Cross, which you bore for 50 years, you
were chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross
has been replaced by other symbols, please help us to bring it back in our
midst, for we acknowledge it is the only true sign of salvation.
As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced your hands, feet and side, we
not only remember the blood you shed in pain, but your smile, and the
invisible halo of sweet smelling flowers that surrounded your presence, the
perfume of sanctity.
Padre Pio, may the healings of the sick become the testimony that the Lord
has invited you to join the holy company of Saints. In your kindness, please
help me with my own special request: (mention here your petition, and make
the sign of the Cross).
Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
A lot of people have had answers to prayer with his intercession.
Why God Gives US Problems
Hope this will help you to see opportunities behind the threats!
Why God Gives Us Problem?
LIFE IS A SERIES OF PROBLEM-SOLVING OPPORTUNITIES.
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you -- depending on
how
you respond to them. Unfortunately most people fail to see how God wants to
use
problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their
problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under
you
to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate
us
to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a
painful
situation to make us change our ways." Proverbs 20:30
2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags ... if you
want
to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever
tested
your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?"When you have
many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that
these
troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience." James 1:2-3
3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through
pain
and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch
a
hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only
learn
the value of something ... health, money, a relationship... by losing it.
"It
was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay
attention to your laws." Psalm 119:71-72
4. God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in
disguise if
it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a
friend
was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him
to
do. His unemployment was a problem, but it saved him from being convicted
and
sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually
discovered."You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." Genesis
50:20
5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly,
are
character builders. God is far more interested in your character than our
comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two
things
you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run
into
problems ... they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops
strength
of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until
finally
our hope and faith are strong and steady." Romans 5:3-4
Here's the point: God is at work in your life even when you do not recognize
it
or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate
with
Him!
==========================
by Mena Haryanto
Lord, Help Me...
Help me, I pray
To get through this day.
I don't even ask
To have things my way,
Your will is okay.
Things done in your way
Are best suited to stay
In the Master Plan,
Help me to help
In any way that I can
Don't let me be
Part of the problems I see,
But let me rather be
A light unto Thee.
Amen.
THE TEACUP
Author Unknown
There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful
stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups.
This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said,
"May we see that? We've never seen one quiet so beautiful." As the
lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't
understand," it said, "I haven't always been a teacup."
"There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and
rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, 'Let me
alone,' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'
"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and
suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm
getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not
yet.'
"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he
wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see
him through the opening and I could read his lips, as he shook his
head, 'Not yet!'
"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool.
'There that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over.
The fumes were horrible; I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I
cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'
"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one.
This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I
pleaded, I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the
opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet!'
"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready
to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on
the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at
yourself.' And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me.
It's beautiful.
I'm beautiful.'
"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be
rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I
know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had
stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it was hot and disagreeable
in the oven, but if I hadn't
put you there, you would have cracked.
"'I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over,
but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would
not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in
the second oven, you wouldn't survive for very long because the
hardness would not have held.
"'Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I
first began you.'"
Jeremiah 18:6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter
does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are
you in my hand, O house of Israel."
CLEANING
Dear Lord Jesus
As I go about my housework
Let me see each job I do,
As a service for my King
And a way of loving You.
Let me wash away my judgments
Of others right or wrong,
As I wash up the dishes
Place within my heart a song.
As I clean up little fingerprints
And lots of muddy shoes,
May I remember how you cleaned the feet
Of the loved ones you did choose.
As I mend up torn pajamas
And sew a button on,
Show me where I need to mend a breech
That's gone on far too long.
Let me tidy up my thoughts
As I tidy up the toys,
Let me sweep away my fears
Like the dirt from little boys.
May I be just as quick with my forgiveness
As I am with mop and broom,
Sweeping up the clutter
In my heart and living room.
May I rinse out pride and ego
As I rinse the bathtub out,
And while we are at it Lord
Let's take care of anger, hate and doubt.
Please remind me often Lord
That the way I'm called to serve,
Is an honor given me
And not below what I deserve.
You know Lord, as I look
At all the work we need to do,
I think we'd better house clean
At least each day or two.
-- Author Unknown
RECIPE FOR MIRACLES
Author Unknown
Ingredients:
1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren't
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have
1 part of loving and thanking for ALL you have
Instructions:
Combine ingredients together gently and carefully, using faith and
vision.
Mix together with strong belief of the outcome until finely blended.
Use thoughts, words and actions for best results.
Bake until Blessed.
Give thanks again
Yield: Unlimited service
RECIPE FOR MIRACLES
Author Unknown
Ingredients:
1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren't
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have
1 part of loving and thanking for ALL you have
Instructions:
Combine ingredients together gently and carefully, using faith and
vision.
Mix together with strong belief of the outcome until finely blended.
Use thoughts, words and actions for best results.
Bake until Blessed.
Give thanks again
Yield: Unlimited service
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