Community Chat

[gloriajean]

There is always something to thank God for. Lord, may my attitude of
gratitude last a lifetime.

Scripture for the day:

"O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love
endures forever." ~Psalm 106:1

Meditation for the day:

Gratitude to God is the theme of Thanksgiving Day. The pilgrims
gathered to give thanks to God for their harvest which was pitifully
small. When we look around at all the things we have today, how can we
help being grateful to God? Our families, our homes, our friends; all
these things are free gifts of God to us. "But for the grace of God,"
we would not have them. God gives us this day too, to rest and to give
thanks.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may be very grateful today. I pray that I may not forget
where I might be but for the grace of God.

Peace of Jesus to you all! Hope your day went well - it was an ordinary day
for me, chilly though compared to yesterday! Can you believe over 30
degrees difference? Tomorrow more of the same, anyway - that's okay but I
don't care for the wind. Tonight I really don't have much to say - my
blessings were a good nap that I sure needed, and good food to eat among all
the good ordinary blessings we shouldn't take for granted.

Homily of the Day

June 8, 2011

Are You a Compelling Advertisement for Jesus?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Acts 20:28-38 / Jn 17:11-19

Saying goodbye, especially when it’s for the last time, can wrench the heart
unbearably. It brings back memories of countless past joys and presses them
together so they’re all felt at once. It brings back regrets too, and
renders them all the more poignant, because now they’re beyond reach.
Saying goodbye closes many doors, but it opens new ones as well. And so it
was with St. Paul as he bade his last farewell and went off to Rome to die.

Closing doors are easier to see than those that are just opening. This
seems always to be the case. But the new doors are there, waiting for us to
walk through them and to carry on where another has left off. It is always
so, generation after generation, as it was with Paul, who left to us his
mission of sharing Jesus’ Good News.

And that brings us to today’s question: How are you doing at sharing the
Good News? Does your life look like good news? Are you a compelling
advertisement for Jesus? If not, you’re not just betraying your mission,
you’re missing life’s best joys.

Maybe it’s time to rethink your life’s mission and what you are bringing to
it. Every moment you delay is a moment of joy lost forever.

Mother Teresa said...
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet come; we must live each day as if
it were our last so that when God calls us we are ready, and prepared, to
die with a clean heart.

Broken Branches





The wind came through my life today,
Taking branches along the way.
Some I've had for so long I felt,
They were so very strong.

But the wind stripped them from me,
Taking them far from the tree.
Scattering my life like broken branches,
Without thoughts of the damage.

To a life that is so frail,
That sometimes hangs just by a nail.
Never knowing how the wounds will leave me,
Scared, alone, and forever weeping.

The broken branches of one's life,
Comes from living and taking chances.
For if we dare not to stand in the wind,
We would grow weak from within.

Even the storms of life feed the soul,
And help us to live and to grow.
Storms remind us that we are not the ones,
That are in control.
But that we are just to live,
With what God gives us here down below.

Have you ever seen a tree,
Long after the storm has had its way?
In many ways it may have changed,
It will not look the same.

But God still takes the broken tree,
And makes it more like it should be.
Shaping the new branches here and there,
As it grows under His care.

The storms of life may rip and tear
Taking things that we feel are so dear.
But this void is the place,
That God's greatest work,
Can most take place.

When God's work on us is done,
We will be as perfect as his Son.

Romans 11:17-18

The Fence

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag
of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a
nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven six nails into the fence. Over the next few
weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered
daily gradually dwindled. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper
than to drive those nails into the fence...

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his
father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail
for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that
all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to
the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in
the fence!"

The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a
scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It
won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A
verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Do You Have Time?
(author unknown)

God will get our attention one way or another.

The Master called my name one day because He needed someone to go.

I said "Lord, in my spare time, between school, spending time with my
husband, working from 8 to 6, and trying to coordinate a program for my
community to help our children do better, I will help you look. See, I
know I can't go right now cause I have so much to do."

He said, "Well, where shall I find such a person? I thought I saw your
name on my list of available people."

"Well Lord, that was the prayer that I prayed last year, but since then,
things have changed."

He said, "Like what?"

"Well I'm working on my Ph.D. and I'm needed by so many people, and my
husband is always wanting something done, and on top of that my
community EXPECTS me to help and give to them so . . ."

"Well, seeing that you're busy, I'll let you go, but we will talk again,
if YOU have some time."

I went on through the days, and the weeks, and the months completing my
task as always. One evening, while studying for my comp exams, I
received a call from the hospital concerning my husband. He had been in
a terrible accident and was in critical condition. I dropped everything
and ran to the hospital where I found my husband hanging on for dear
life. I immediately begin to pray, "Lord, don't take him now, I can't
bare it." But my prayer echoed off the wall and returned into mine own
ear.

That next morning I left the hospital tired and weary, and walked in the
door of my classroom just in time to begin my comps. As the professors
begin asking me questions I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came
out. In my mind, I begin praying, praying hard, but my prayer echoed
again and I found myself upset at God because He was no where to be
found. I could not explain to them what was happening.

After leaving from my exams, I called in to work because I was so
distraught at all that was going on. I explained to my supervisor what
had happened and she demanded that I take some time off. After visiting
my husband in the hospital that evening, I went home and fell into a
sunken state crying and despairing. Just then I heard someone calling my
name.

"Lord, is that YOU?"

"Well yes it is. Do YOU have some time? I wanted to see if I could just
talk . . . "

Instead of waiting to hear His questions, I lashed out in anger and
resentment. "How is it that when I needed You today, YOU couldn't be
found and last night I cried and cried but all I heard were echoes from
the walls. My husband is dying, I'm flunking out of school, I may not
have a job and You can just sit and say YOU want to talk?"

The Lord interrupted me in my foolish speaking.

"My child, I was busy, out looking for someone to go and tell others
about Me when you cried. By the time I came to answer, you had moved on
to something else. So, I decided to let your husband rest, and keep you
home for a few days. That way MAYBE you would get in touch with Me, if
YOU had some time. For you see, before your husband, your school, or
your job needs you, I NEED YOU. And if all these things take you away
from Me, I have to almost take them away from YOU, in order to get a
moment."

I calmed down and began to cry. For I remembered my prayer of wanting to
go and do for the Lord.

He said, "I just wanted to recheck with you to see if you knew of ANYONE
that I could send to be a witness for Me and tell others about Me . . .
any one at all . . .?"

With tears in my eyes and feeling so unworthy I said, "Lord, send me,
I'll go."

God should never have to ask us if we have some time. When He died on
the cross He put aside everything to ensure us eternal life. We should
be more than GRATEFUL to do service for the Lord -- to witness, and to
tell ANYONE we can about Jesus. Don't let your "things," WHATEVER they
may be, get you so tied up that God has to become a meeting time in your
yearly planner. He had more than enough time for us. The least we could
do is have time for him.

Blessings
God bless those I love
(say the name(s) of those you love)
And all the people in the world
The sick, the poor, the needy,
The hungry, the homeless,
The lost and the lonely
Show them Your presence, oh Lord
Let them know You love them
Help us to love You, to respect You
To honor You and to obey You
All the days of our lives
We ask You this through Jesus Christ,
Our Lord, Amen

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams to all and God bless your Thursday with
lots of wonderful surprises!! Enjoy the Gift of God's Day!