Hello my friends! Hope your day is going well and you have much to be thankful and grateful for! A little while ago we came home from the clinic - Linus was building an arbor and the saw slipped a bit and he got a good cut that needed stitches in his finger, so we were blessed that the clinic was still open, and we got in right away. ER would have taken hours. A man nurse practitioner sewed him up real good and now he has to take antibiotics and watch for infection. Guess the arbor will have to wait a bit but we're so thankful that it wasn't worse! Praise God for that, and his Guardian Angel must have helped too. Rainy day all day today and tomorrow should be the same but rain is good - it's not snow! Anther blessing birthday card came today from one of my cousins who never forgets! Father Benno was my uncle and I was born on his birthday - so here she sent me a nice picture of him and on the back saying "Your Birthday Partner". How precious! Marilyn is such a sweetheart and a great blessing to have for my cousin. Our Mothers were sisters.
Never let the abundance of gifts from God cause you to forget the Giver.
Lord, may I start and end each day with a thank you to You for all of my
blessings including those which I take for granted.
Scripture for the day:
"This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe
in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."
~John 6:40
Meditation for the day:
Faith can be the bridge between us and God. It is not possible for all to
be seen and known. We do not see or know directly, but we can experience
the power of God's spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us
and God, which we can take or not, as we will.
There ould be no morality without free will. We can make the choice
ourselves.
We can make the venture of belief.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray
that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need.
SRING GREEN
By Sally I Kennedy
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lam.3:22-23, NLT
What a fresh, lovely, light color. Spring green! The trees and
bushes were loaded with it. Grass too. Tiny leaves and buds forming
and bursting on the branches; leaves unfurling towards the sun. Tiny
sparrows and little songbirds were flitting about, chirping with a
happy sound. Spring had sprung!
Here where we live, the weather is tropical, and comments I hear from
time to time are how much people love to be here but would miss the
seasons if they lived here year-round. Actually we do have seasons,
but they are subtle, indeed. The month of February is our spring
season.
On a walk, as I took in the beauty of the new growth on the many and
varied trees, I was reminded of the newness of spring. The earth,
being renewed each year.
I thought, too, of one of my favorite Bible verses, and how it speaks
of the newness of the grace of God. God’s mercy and grace are
constant, and yet at the same time new, each and every day. “God is
good, all the time, and all the time, God is good.”
God’s mercy and grace, new every morning. Like spring. Mercy and
grace – spring green. New. Fresh. What a gift. For me. For YOU!
That, is good news.
Thank you Lord that we can have “spring-green” from You each day of
our lives. In Jesus’ name! Amen.
Good Things To Remember
Stop trying to please others - it doesn't work.
Start pleasing yourself.
Make sure your shoe souls are clean when you're walking through someone
else's life.
Upon awakening each day, use the following quotation.. " Thank You God, for
this day...
let's get out there and see what wonderful stuff we can accomplish
"TOGETHER".
Always praise a person for a job well done.
Praise your children often.
Words we should say more often: "LOVE YOU".
Never say good-bye or good night to your husband, child, mother, father,
dear friends, without making sure they've heard or felt your "LOVE YOU"
message.
Remember that the world does not expect you to be more than you are capable
of being, but it does expect you to try to live up to all that you were
created for.
You can't turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.
The Prayer or Blessing Against Storms
Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. + God became man, + and the
Word was made flesh. + Christ was born of a Virgin. + Christ suffered. +
Christ was crucified. + Christ died. + Christ rose from the dead. + Christ
ascended into Heaven. + Christ conquers. + Christ reigns. + Christ orders. +
May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning. + Christ went through
their midst in Peace, + and the word was made flesh. + Christ is with us
with Mary. + Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of
Juda, the Root David, has won. + Holy God! + Holy Powerful God! + Holy
Immortal God! + Have mercy on us. Amen!
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.
Two Angels
Two traveling Angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy
family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the
mansion's guest room.
Instead the Angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made
their bed on the hard floor, the older Angel saw a hole in the wall and
repaired it.
When the younger Angel asked why, the older Angel replied..."Things aren't
always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very
hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the
couple let the Angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good
night's rest.
When the sun came up the next morning, the Angels found the farmer and his
wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay
dead in the field.
The younger Angel was infuriated and asked the older Angel, "How could you
have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him" she
accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything,
and you let their cow die."
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older Angel replied. "When we
stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in
that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and
unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find
it.
"Then last night, as we slept in the farmers bed, the Angel of Death came
for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they
seem."
Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way
they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is
always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.
Think about this:
Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight: just remember the homeless
family who has no bed to lie in.
Should you find yourself stuck in traffic: don't despair. There are people
in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work: think of the man who has been out of work
for the last three months.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad: think of the person who has
never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend: think of the woman in dire
straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for $15.00 to feed
her family.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance think of
the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror: think of the cancer patient
in chemotherapy who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about,
asking "what is my purpose": be thankful. There are those who didn't live
long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance,
smallness or insecurities: remember things could be worse. You could be
them!!!
Should you decide to send this to a friend, you might brighten someone's
day!
HOW TO BE A GODLY EMPLOYEE
(based on the 10 Commandments)
Author Unknown
1. Trust in God only.
Trust in no one but GOD. People will disappoint you. God created you
and has a wonderful plan for your life. He is too good to do wrong,
and too wise to make a mistake. Let His peace abide in you. (Proverbs
3 :5-6)
2. Worship God only.
Don't make your career, your company, or your boss a god. If you do,
you will provoke Him to jealously and will end up fighting Him. In
fact, He may hinder you from achieving what you want until you are
broken of the
idolatry. (Exodus 20:5).
3. Use God's Name Reverently.
Don't swear!! Clean words come out of a clean heart! If your co-
workers know that you are a Christian, but they hear the Lord's Name
used in vain, or cursing and swearing from your mouth, you will give
the appearance of being
a hypocrite. Matthew 15:17-19).
4. Work Six Days and Rest on the Seventh.
Before you beg for more vacation time, ask yourself a few questions,
"Do you honor the Sabbath?" God has already given you 52 days of time
off that equates to seven weeks. "Are your expectations for work,
vacation, and
retirement realistic?" By resting one day a week, you can avoid
burnout. (Genesis 3:17-19).
5. Respect and Obey Your Boss.
You should respect and obey your boss, because you don't know what
it's like to be in their shoes. Plus, your ultimate boss is the Lord.
Serve Him faithfully on the job, and He will bless you. However, if
your boss commands
you to do something illegal or immoral, you must make a stand and obey
God rather than man. (Ephesians 6:5-8).
6. Protect and Respect Human Life.
Emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual manipulation, abuses and
violence have no place in the workplace... or any place. You do not
have the right to use and abuse your boss, co-workers, employees,
customers, or suppliers. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-2).
7. Be True to Your Spouse.
If you are not getting the kind of attention that you feel you deserve
at home, it's common to seek it with someone at work. Honor your
wedding vows by avoiding company romances! They are very tempting,
very real, and very
common. They are also very wrong and very destructive. (Matthew
19:8-9).
8. Do Not Take What Belongs to Others.
Stealing at work can take many forms. You can choose to steal
materials, money, time, productivity , and joy from your employer and
others. Do not remove your integrity by stealing. (II Corinthians
7:1-2).
9. Do Not Lie About Others.
Do not fabricate stories about your boss, co-workers, and spread
gossip for the sake of company politics. You are here to be the salt
and the light, not the pepper and the darkness!! Truth always rises to
the surface, and eventually you will be ashamed and rebuked if you
lie. (II Peter 2: 10-13 ).
10. Be Satisfied With What You Have.
Contentment doesn't mean that you cannot pursue God-given goals, but
it does mean that you are content with what He has provided you with,
day after day. Contentment is a rare quality in today's culture, but
it is extremely
liberating! Materialism, striving for rank , backstabbing, and
discontent lead to emotional, mental, financial, and spiritual
bondage. (I Timothy 6:6-11 ).
Mother Teresa Said...
We must know exactly when we say yes to God what is in that yes.
Yes means " I surrender," totally, fully, without any counting the cost,
without any examination, " Is it all right? Is it convenient?"
Meditations by Padre Pio
The angels are jealous of us for one reason only; they are not able to
suffer for God. Only through suffering can a soul say the certainty, "My
God, You see I do love You!" (FM, 166).
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