Hello my friends! Today's blessings for me was no headache all day! Georgia was here and cut my hair and styled it. Linus had a good day at work today - sold a washer and dryer plus other appliances. And it's a blessing to me that his boss told him that he's heard good things about him, and he knows that his boss generally likes him. We prayed two years for this job! Today is the Feast of St. Monica - she is a model in presevering in prayer - praying for so many years for her son, Augustine to convert, and he did and became a priest, Bishop, and a great Saint!
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:
"When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the
face of the ground." ~Psalm 104:30
Meditation for the day:
Worship can be consciousness of God's divine majesty. As we pause to
worship, God can help us experience God's divinity. The earth is
filled with God's presence. God can give to us a divine power, a
divine love and a divine healing. We can open our minds to God and
try to absorb some of God's divine spirit. Pausing quietly in the
spirit of worship, we can turn our inward thoughts to God and realize
that God's divine power may be ours, that we can experience God's love
and healing.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may worship God by sensing the eternal spirit. I pray
that I may experience a new power in my life.
Let's start with a prayer of St. Francis:
A Prayer of St Francis
Great and glorious God, and my
Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the darkness of my mind.
Give me a right faith
a firm hope
and a perfect charity.
Grant that I may know you, Lord
in order that I may always
and in all things act
according to your most
holy and perfect will. Amen .
[ Education for Life ]
If you give a man fish, he will eat at once. If you teach a man to fish, he
will eat for the rest of his life.
If you are thinking a year ahead, sow seed. If you are thinking ten years
ahead, plant a tree.
If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people.
By sowing seed, you will harvest much. By planting a tree, you will harvest
tenfold. By educating the people, you will harvest one hundredfold.
A PRAYER WHEN YOU NEED PATIENCE
Forgive me, Dear God,
If today I have been impatient, especially with people.
If today I have made anyone feel a nuisance.
If today I did not show understanding for others mistakes.
If today there were times when I was too head strong,
too sure I was right.
If today I have ridden rough shod over the feelings
of someone else.
If today I have been
unapproachable to talk to,
difficult to work with,
critical of others,
harsh and quick in my judgement.
I cannot undo what I have done, but help me tomorrow
to be more loving and kind, as you are to me. Amen.
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA
-- Author Unknown
After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor
once again slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and gave a very
brief introduction of his childhood friend. With that, an elderly man
stepped up to the pulpit to speak, "A father, his son, and a friend of
his son were
sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching
storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so
high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could
not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean."
The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two
teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began,
looking somewhat interested in his story. He continued, "Grabbing a
rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of
his life....to which boy he would throw the other end of the line. He
only had seconds to make the
decision.
The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that
his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be
matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love
you, son!' he threw the line to his son's friend. By the time he
pulled the friend back to the
capsized boat, his son had disappeared beyond the raging swells into
the black of night. His body was never recovered."
By this time, the two teenagers were sitting straighter in the pew,
waiting for the next words to come out of the old man's mouth. "The
father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with
Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping
into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son. How
great is the love of God that He should do the same for us." With
that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence
filled the room.
Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the
old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely started one of the
boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up
his son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."
"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down
at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, and he once
again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic,
is it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that THAT story gives
me a glimpse of what
it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me."
"You see....I was that father, and your pastor was my son's friend."
FAMILY TREES
Sally Ireland Kennedy
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters
through Jesus Christ... Ephesians 1:4-5
This month our family, like many others, plan to gather for family
reunions. A special time for members of the same family tree to get
together,catch up, share past stories, and see how the kids have
grown. Some folks don’t have other opportunities to visit in between
the reunions, except perhaps at weddings or funerals. It’s an
wonderful time for families, and the memories priceless.
A few friends of mine are deep in the branches of their family trees.
I’ve heard of people doing this in preparation for a family reunion,
too. Thanks to my mom and a relative of my dad’s, we have family tree
records going back many generations on one side and the early 1800’s
on the other. I treasure the information and have passed it on to my
children.
Discovering our earthly genealogies can be interesting. Yet nothing
can compare to our spiritual heritage. As believers, we share the same
family tree and are all children of the patriarch, Abraham. (Romans
11:17 And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have
been grafted in)
Not only are we children of Abraham, in Christ we are children of our
Father God. As believers, we are adopted by Him, making us members of
His glorious, redemptive family tree. (John 1:12 to all who
received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God) (Romans 8:15-17 So you have not received a
spirit that makes you fearful slaves.Instead, you received God’s
Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him,
“Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we
are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs.)
We may never learn our family tree here, yet the amazing thing is we
know we are a part of, and have, the most amazing family tree that
could ever be - all recorded in God’s word.
That is good news.
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