Hello my friends! Beautiful day here again today - after a few days of rain, today was greatly appreciated and my aparagus is shooting up all over and how fun! We had our first meal with it for supper tonight!!! I wonder if they continue coming or not? Soon, maybe tomorrrow I'll pick our lettuce for the first time, and that's all that's ready now. Strawberries are blossoming, but not the raspberries yet. We planted some snap peas, that should be good! Today I was blessed with enough energy to bake another three loaves of bread!! This one is different, it's Oatmeal, but it's got raisins, sunflower seeds, and wheat bran in it, and is it ever good!! Got some dusting done today with furniture polish as I'm trying to make the house presentable all the time, and it pays off, had an unexpected visitor after supper who was biking with her son. It's Darla's sister-in-law and nephew who just made his first Communion in our Parish. It was a nice visit but short, Sammy played the piano for them and did they laugh!! He sure is good at the piano, as long as a treat follows!!
Life is what our thinking makes it. Lord, help me visualize myself richly
living
each day, believing, achieving, and then succeeding.
Scripture for the day:
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you
a prophet to the nations." Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know
how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say,
'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall
speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to
deliver you, says the LORD." ~Jeremiah 1:4-8
Meditation for the day:
God thought about the universe and brought it into being. God's thought
brought me into being. I can think God's thoughts after God. I can often
keep my mind occupied with thoughts about God and meditate on the way God
wants me to live. I can train my mind constantly in quiet times of
communion with God. It is the work of a lifetime to develop to full stature
spiritually. This is what I am on earth for. It gives meaning to my life.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may think God's thoughts after God. I pray that I may live as
God wants me to live.
God's Table Requires Table Manners
(Author Unknown)
You undoubtedly felt awkward the first time you had to learn which fork to
use. But with that knowledge you can enter any dining experience with
confidence.
The same is true when you dine at God's table. At first it seems difficult.
But learning the right manners makes it possible for you to be in any
situation and please the Father.
Table manners at God's table:
1. You have to do your own chewing. Too many Christians expect God to take
out a spoon and dish up the blessing for them. He is supposed to place it in
our mouths, work our jaws to chew it up, and help us swallow it. We want God
to do everything. The fact is that you have responsibility in God's
sovereign world.
2. Accept the seating. Take the lowest seat, the seat of humility and
service. If God wants you to sit higher up, He will show you that, but err
on the side of humility, not pride.
3. Finish the meal. John 3:16 tells us, "God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son." Some believe that because God has already come
and died for the sins of the world, they don't have to do anything else.
However, it's important to finish the phrase regarding man's responsibility:
"whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." You
must come to Him in order to receive the forgiveness that He purchased for
you.
4. Read the menu. You must spend time reading what God has prepared. Read
your Bible, meditate on the Word. It will give you strength and illumination
according to God's plan for your life. It will keep you on course and remind
you of your responsibilities in order to fulfill the plan of God.
5. Count the fruit. If you are not willing to bear fruit for Him, then you
certainly have no place to expect Him to answer your requests, even if you
ask things in His name. Jesus declares," Everyone that the Father gives me
will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away" (John
6:37). The Holy Spirit inspires us to go to Jesus and do what He asks of us.
His sovereignty makes the first move toward us, but because He gave us free
will, we must move toward Him as well.
One Voice
Blessed are you
when you remain available
sharing in simplicity what you possess
Blessed are you
when you weep over the absence of happiness around you
and throughout the world
Blessed are you
when you strive to take the first steps,
the necessary one, to attain peace with
your brothers and sisters, throughout the world
Blessed are you
when you take seriously your faith
in the risen Jesus
A Fervent Prayer For The Sick and Suffering
O Almighty Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. The same Lord that so
loves His children as to lay His life down for them. The same Lord that rose
from the dead on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven. The same Lord that
spoke the word and the Centurion’s Servant was immediately healed. The same
Lord that restored sight to the blind; cleansed lepers, cured the halt and
lame. The same Lord that with a word rebuked the seas and they were calm.
The same Lord that raised Lazarus from the dead. The same Lord that has been
given all power both in Heaven and on earth, do Thou, the same Lord visit
and heal Thy servant, (__name__), from the afflictions that they are now
suffering. Strengthen our faith like that of the Roman Centurion, so that we
may ask for this healing with the same faith, trust, and hope that Thy
servant, (__name__) will be healed in the same manner that the Centurion’s
servant was restored to health. O Holy physician of our souls and bodies,
hear this fervent prayer for Thy servant (__name__), and grant this request
as we hold this, Thy servant up before Thy glorious Throne. We ask this in
the victorious and Holy Name of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In my weakest moments, God reveals His Love
Father Craig Butler, diocesan priest
I meet God through the people I encounter every day. One of the most
enjoyable and humbling aspects of my life as a priest is simply being with
people, spending time just talking - "hanging around" and sharing in their
lives. At the same time I am privileged to meet people and talk with them at
more than just a superficial level.
During these encounters I'm often overwhelmed by their goodness, their
kindness and their holiness. By holiness I don't mean that they are nice or
insipid or weak but rather that somehow they are in touch with God. They
"know" Christ, not just about him. They are close to God, and more
importantly, God is close to them. It gives me great joy to remind them of
this and at the same time I feel as though I am sharing in their experience
of God.
Ironically these people are often unaware of just how close to God they are
and how much God loves them!
Of all my encounters with God, through the lives of people, the most
profound are at those times and in those situations when I am at my most
vulnerable. To sit with someone who has experienced a great tragedy is, I
find, a real challenge. At those times I'm most deeply aware of my own
inability to "do" anything, other than simply sit with the person and be
there. My strongest inclination is to get up, excuse myself, and walk away -
to some- where else where I can be more useful - and feel more comfortable!
It is in my weakest moments that God reveals his love for me most powerfully
and I then find myself able to deal with just about anything.
Finally, the situation where I meet God on a "regular" basis is when I pray
and most especially when I'm celebrating Eucharist. It is at these times
that I experience my greatest need to know that the work I do is not mine
but rather that it is God's, and that I can't do it on my own. I often feel
inadequate when I look out at a sea of expectant faces.
It is my experience that it's at the most difficult and challenging times,
and when I am aware of my dependence on God, that God reminds me of his love
and his very real presence with me.
Mother Teresa Said...
Without prayer I could not work for even half an hour. I get my strength
from God through prayer.
Meditations by Padre Pio
Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth we will be
together forever in heaven.
NEVER GIVE UP
Author Unknown
One day a young lady was driving along with her father.
They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What
should I do?"
He said "keep driving". Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm
was getting worse.
"What should I do." The young lady asked?
"Keep driving," her father replied.
On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling
over. She told her dad, "I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It
is terrible, and everyone is pulling over!"
Her father told her, "Don't give up, just keep driving!"
Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon
she could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles she was
again on dry land, and the sun came out.
Her father said, "Now you can pull over and get out."
She said "But why now?"
He said "When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up
and are still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is
now over.
This is a testimony for anyone who is going through "hard times".
Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don't
have to...if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun
will shine upon your face again.
This story touched me! I hope it touched you, too !!!
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