Hello my friends!! Busy day today - I baked bread, (Oatmeal, with oat bran, raisins and sunflower seeds) picked raspberries, beans - yellow and green, and lettuce. Then Lori called and wanted us to go out to eat tonight, so after she got home from work, and Linus, too, we did - I had some really good ribs that fall right off the bones!!! That was a great blessing! I did have meatloaf in the oven, but that'll be tomorrow night's supper. Our priest, Father Mark is coming for lunch tomorrow - and after that Linus will be busy putting new carpet in the patio. That should about do it for the Anniversary! We are set!!! Praying for all who want prayers - I talked to Wanda tonight, she had her third chemo yesterday and she's starting something new for anti nausea and hope it works. Had a nice visit with her!! Thought we could get together next week sometime with our friends. Looking forward to it. Bobbiesue - great news!!
Through God we have the power to triumph over even the most hopeless
of tragedies. Lord, You have said, "Ask and You shall receive", so I ask
that You will prepare me day by day to triumph in my dark hours.
Scripture for the day:
"I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your
progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your
boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your
life
in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come
and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are
standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for
the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your
opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your
salvation." ~Philippians 1:25-28
Meditation for the day:
Spiritual progress is the law of our being. We can try to see around
us more and more of beauty and truth, knowledge and power. Today we
can try to be stronger, braver, more loving as a result of what we did
yesterday. This law of spiritual progress gives meaning and purpose
to our lives. We can always expect better things ahead. We can
accomplish much good through the strength of God's spirit in us. We
need not be discouraged. The world is sure to get better, in spite of
setbacks of war, hate, and greed. We can be part of the cure of the
world's ills, rather than part of the disease.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may keep progressing the better life. I pray that I may
be a part of the forces for good in the world.
STILL BLUE
It had been four days since it happened. The man lay in a hospital bed in a
room filled with machines pumping life into him. His eyes were closed. His
mouth was closed. His body was still. Family members traveled in and out of
his room, trying to be brave for each other and trying to keep up hope, but
most were already grieving for their terrible loss. And then she came. She
was his only child. It took her four days to get there by car. And for four
days she prayed that God´s will be to bring her father peace. He was, after
all, completely in God´s hands. There was nothing any person could do for
her father now. She knew she would accept God´s will, one way or the other,
and so she simply prayed for God´s grace and mercy. When she finally reached
the hospital, she went directly to his room and to his side. She whispered
to him not to worry about anything. She assured him that God would bring him
peace. Everything would be all right. The nurse reminded her that her father
was hard of hearing and that she should probably speak louder. But, the
daughter refused the suggestion. She knew in her heart that God would let
her father hear her.
She was at his side for only a few minutes when another nurse got her
attention and told her that a phone call had come in for her in the waiting
room down the hall. She smiled at her father softly, stroked his forehead
and quietly left the room. With the phone call from her husband taken care
of, she walked quickly back to her father´s room. Before she reached the
door she looked up to see the nurse and her uncle smiling broadly and near
tears. She walked into the room and the nurse, who just minutes ago
suggested that she talk louder to her father, said "whatever it is that you
said to him, keep saying it." Apparently, as soon as she had left the room
to take the phone call, her father opened his eyes and turned his head
toward the door looking for her.
Now, here she was, looking at her father who was looking back at her.
Through tears of her own, she recalled thinking to herself "his eyes are
still blue." She wasn't sure why this was her very first thought. It seemed
such an odd thing to think at the time. Perhaps she expected the beautiful
blue color of her father´s eyes to be gone after the trauma that he had been
through. But then it came to her that the brilliant blue light from her
father´s eyes was the peace that she had prayed for. Her father was not
scared. He was not in pain. He was content. He had received God´s grace.
And, he was going to live. Ten days later, her father was completely off
life support and on his way to recovery.
Her father lived for many years after this ordeal and although the remainder
of his life was mentally and physically impaired, the light in his eyes gave
testimony to all who saw him that God is still in the miracle-making
business. Unfortunately, when the Lord came to take her father home, she was
not by his side to say goodbye. But, deep down in her heart, she knows her
prayer for peace was answered and that her father´s eyes had seen the glory
of God. They would, therefore, ALWAYS be blue.
Michelle Osborn
JEFFIE AND GRANDPA
Author Unknown
Jul 20, 2009
Jeffie was in his playpen and he was crying. Tears were rolling down
his little cheeks, his face was red as it could be. He was crying, and
he looked pitiful in his little baseball T-shirt and a diaper.
Then Jeffie's Grandpa entered the room; Jeffie's little face lit up
when he saw his Grandpa! He immediately reached out his little arms in
supplication and said "Out Pa Pa out."
What is a Grandpa to do? How can someone resist that?
So Grandpa went over to the playpen, he bent over. He reached down to
lift his little buddy from captivity and distress . . .
Just then "Law and Order" walked into the room.
Momma said "Jeffie, you stay right there! I'm punishing you because
you have been naughty! Dad, leave Jeffie alone!"
What is a Grandpa to do?
Grandpa backs off and is thinking, "I can't just pick up a book and
read it with Jeffie here. He would think I was uncaring and distant. I
can't leave the room because he would feel like I have abandoned
him."
What is a Grandpa to do?
But you know what? Love always finds a way. Since Grandpa couldn't
take Jeffie out of the playpen, Grandpa climbed in with Jeffie!
Grandpa said "If you are in the playpen buddy, I'm in the playpen too.
What are you in for? What is your sentence?"
Having Grandpa join him in his "prison cell" brought Jeffie great
comfort and joy. In the midst of his captivity, Jeffie no longer felt
so alone.
What Jeffie's Grandpa did is also a picture of what Jesus Christ did
for us when He came to Earth as a baby.
God the Father yearned to reach down into our "playpen of captivity"
and pull us out. He could not . . . because of our disobedience . . .
because of our sin. What did God do?
God climbed into our "playpen" with us!
When Jesus Christ entered into our "playpen of captivity," He took the
sin and disobedience that should have been ours alone, releasing us
from our captivity . . . allowing us the opportunity to experience the
fullness of life God has for us!
The message is simple, clear and personal: God with us . . . He loves
you so much He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life. For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has
not believed in the name of
God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18
Trust Him
Trust Him
when dark doubts assail you,
Trust Him
when your faith is small,
Trust Him,
when to trust Him . . .
is the hardest thing of all.
Trust Him,
He is ever faithful,
Trust Him
for His will is best,
Trust Him
for the Heart of Jesus,
is the only place of rest.
Author Unknown
PRAYER FOR THE STRENGTH TO FORGIVE
"Faultless Lord, enduring death for me,
You have consummated the debt of my sins:
Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute!
Grant me the strength to also forgive others,
To excuse their transgressions against me.
So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit,
Obliterate any persistent feelings of malice.
Let each trespass end as a closing chapter,
My continuing on the road of righteousness.
Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others.
You are truly archetypical of forgiveness.
You are a most forgiving Lord!
APPLYING AND REMOVING
By Marion Smith
Each morning and evening I have the same routine. Yours may be similar. I
apply my make up each morning and remove it at night. I take off my night
gown and put on my work clothes. I remove my bite guard in the morning and
replace it before bed. I even have these cycles in other areas of my life. I
take off weight, then put it on again. I shed my life of extra activities,
then take them back on again. Off and on, off and on…. What a routine!
God tells us there is something we need to take off, and we only need to do
it once. That sounds really good to me! It is our old nature (called our sin
nature in the Bible). It leads us into nothing but trouble and is rotten
through and through. (Ephesians4:22) When we take that off, God gives us a
new nature. One where we have a spiritual renewal of our thoughts and
attitudes. We will display this new nature because we are made new people
after we have learned the truth that is in Jesus. Attributes of this new and
wonderful nature are righteousness, holiness and truth, for our new nature
displays that we have been created in God's likeness.
I am glad I have shed the old nature and received the new. And, I am
thankful it is a one time swap ! God is so good !
Bullets
The words of our lips are like bullets
aimed at targets each day.
We open our mouths and spit them out,
and they are on their way.
Once we pull the trigger
there's no getting back that round,
So shouldn't we be very careful
just how they will sound?
We may not really mean to kill
the ones to whom they're sent--
Perhaps just to "straighten them out"
is that on which we're bent.
Words take but just a moment,
but their wounds can last for years;
So let's listen to them with our hearts--
before sending to their ears!
Let's make sure that our "bullets"
originate from above,
Fired consciously from our mouths
as "missiles" of GOD'S LOVE.
Let's take an extra moment
to consider this known fact--
That once we "pull the trigger"
there's no getting the bullet back!
Helen H. Parks
3-12-02
"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."
(Psalm 141:3)
Mother Teresa Said...
I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart
that God speaks. God is the friend of silence - we need to listen to God
because it's not what we say but what He says to us and through us that
matters. Prayer feeds the soul - as blood is to the body, prayer is the
soul - and it brings you closer to God. It also gives you a clean and pure
heart. A clean heart can see God, can speak to God, and can see the love of
God in others.
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