Community Chat

[gloriajean]

By being less judgmental of others, you will eliminate much frustration.
Lord, I pray for the peace that comes from understanding and compassion.


Scripture for the day:

"And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all
things new.'" ~Revelation 21:5

Meditation for the day:

"See, I am making all things new." When we change to a new way of
life, we can leave many things behind us. It is only the earth-bound
spirit that cannot soar. We can loosen somewhat the strands that tie
us to the earth. It is only the earthly desires that bind us. Our new
freedom can depend on our ability to rise above earthly things.
Clipped wings can grow again. Broken wings can gain a strength and
beauty unknown before. If we will, we can be released and free.


Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may be freed from things that hold me down. I pray that
my spirit may soar in freedom.

Hello my friends! How was your day? It was another nice, fall day today -
not too cold out! Near freezing every night though. Today Sister LaDonna
went home to the Motherhouse. They have Health Care right there with
physical therapy and occupational therapy. When she was younger and didn't
want to teach anymore, she became an Occupational Therapist and was that for
many years. She started that up at one hospital and then moved to different
ones. She has many talents, and this set back now is so frustrating for
her that she cannot do anything - not yet. She makes wonderful homemade
cards - all occasional, which I request for my birthdays. She does this on
the computer. We bought her a sweater machine, some years ago, and she made
several pretty sweaters, there is a weaving machine there now which she
thinks when she gets better she'll learn how to weave. She always was a
great one for sewing, creating things, etc. And she's an artist, and sings
well and plays the guitar! I do hope she'll be able to all that again soon.
When I had polio when I was nine, she made me a doll house, furniture, and
paper dolls all out of cardboard. Very pretty - I remember that well. I
have beautiful palms here decorating my livingroom that she prepared so
well. Wish you could see them.
All I know is that she is back home now. My sister, Ethel, called me that
she was leaving the hospital at one, and she would give us the phone number
there when she can. So far she hasn't so I can't call her. She doesn't want
to use the cell yet, because she's afraid she'll drop it from the bed and it
may break. She'll wait until she can handle it better. I'm sure she's in
pain, yet, but today's physical therapist said it went well today and she
could go home. I got up this morning with a back ache - and I offered it
up to God to use it to relieve pain from Sister LaDonna. I'll keep offering
it up. I get a massage on Monday. So today I didn't do much - I rested,
and took it easy. Supper was spaghetti, and hamburger on the grill which
Linus made, so it was easy. Tomorrow, again, starts another 4 days off for
my dear husband! Lots of plans tomorrow for him to do, he makes his plans,
and hopes to carry them out. One of them is to study for the Bible study
that is tomorrow night. We need to get some groceries and he plans on
working in the yard. Oooo it looks like I'm quite talkative tonight!!

"Life"

By Bl. Mother Teresa




Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realise it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.

Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfil it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

I-CAN-DO-IT STREET
Author Unknown -

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found
myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant, and I
knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I'm talking about my
annual ''guilt trip.''

I got tickets to fly there on Wish I Had Airlines. It was an extremely short
flight. I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it
myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what
might have been. No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret
City International Airport. I say international because people from all over
the world come to this dismal town.

As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be
hosting the year's most important event, the annual Pity Party. I wasn't
going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the town's leading
citizens would be there. First, there would be the Done family -- you know,
Should Have, Would Have and Could Have. Then came the I Had family. You
probably know Oh Wish and his clan. Of course, the Opportunities would be
present, both Missed and Lost. The biggest family would be the Yesterdays.
There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad
story to share. Then Shattered Dreams would surely make an appearance. And
It's Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had
failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded by Don't Blame
Me and I Couldn't Help It.

Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing
that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became
very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures
brought back from the past, it occurred to me that the trip and the party
could be canceled -- by me! I started to truly realize that I did not have
to be there. I didn't have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my
mind: ''I can't change yesterday, but I do have the power to make a
wonderful today and tomorrow.'' I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled,
encouraged, as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City of Regret
immediately with no forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in
the past? Yes, but there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you're planning a trip back to the city of Regret, please cancel all
your reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a place called Starting
Again. I liked it so much that I have now taken up permanent residence
there. My neighbors, the I Forgive Myselfs and the New Starts, are so very
helpful. By the way, you don't have to carry around heavy baggage, because
the load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. When you find this
great town, be sure to look me up. I live on I-Can-Do-It Street.

Do More
Do more than exist. LIVE
Do more than hear. LISTEN
Do more than agree. COOPERATE
Do more thank talk. COMMUNICATE
Do more than grow. BLOOM
Do more than spend. INVEST
Do more than think. CREATE
Do more than work. EXCEL
Do more than share. GIVE
Do more than decide. DISCERN
Do more than consider. COMMIT
Do more than forgive. FORGET
Do more than help. SERVE
Do more than coexist. RECONCILE
Do more than sing. WORSHIP
Do more thank think. PLAN
Do more than dream. DO
Do more than see. PERCEIVE
Do more than read. APPLY
Do more than receive. RECIPROCATE
Do more than choose. FOCUS
Do more than wish. BELIEVE
Do more than advise. HELP
Do more than speak. IMPART
Do more than encourage. INSPIRE
Do more than add. MULTIPLY
Do more than change. IMPROVE
Do more than reach. STRETCH
Do more than ponder. PRAY
Do more than just live. LIVE FOR JESUS

Today


Today I smiled, and all at once
things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else,
a bit of hope I had.
Today I sang a little song,
and felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile,
with not a cloud in sight.

Today I worked with what I had
and longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds,
were flowers at my door.

Today I loved a little more and
complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself,
I forgot my weariness.

Author Unknown

WALK IN STRIDE
--Author Unknown


The most creative power given to the human spirit is the power to heal the
wounds of a past it cannot change.

We do our forgiving alone inside our hearts and minds; what happens to the
people we forgive depends on them. The first person to benefit from
forgiving is the one who does it.

Forgiving happens in three stages: we rediscover the humanity of the person
who wronged us; we surrender our right to get even; and we wish that person
well.

Forgiving is a journey; the deeper the wound, the longer the journey.
Waiting for someone to repent before we forgive is to surrender our future
to the person who wronged us.

Forgiving is not a way to avoid pain but to heal the pain.

Forgiving someone who breaks a trust does not mean that we give him his job
back.

Forgiving is the only way to be fair to ourselves.

Forgivers are not doormats; to forgive a person is not a signal that we are
willing to put up with what he does.

Forgiving is essential; talking about it is optional. When we forgive, we
set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner we set free is us.

When we forgive we walk in stride with the forgiving God.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Bird Feeder?

A blue jay, by nature, is a glutton. A magnificent bird yes, but a glutton.
He can clean
out a bird feeder in the time it takes for a sparrow to return thanks. He
swoops into a
feeder, gobbles up everything and squawks for more. Such an irritable
disposition at
mealtime would in itself be sufficient reason for ulcers, but the blue jay
who dominates
my bird feeder has even further reason to be aggravated.

My tomcat keeps him under constant surveillance. Every time wings flutter on
the horizon
Sir. Purrcival Van mouser comes stiffly to attention. Should the blue jay
catch him at ease
his reaction is immediate and swift an enormous leap, a wild gallop down the
hall and
Purrcival is at his post. I fear one day his breaks may fail, and he will
crash through the
window. At present, however, he displays magnificent restraint, for which
the blue jay
should be thankful. But instead, the jay is indignant that a tomcat has the
audacity to peer
at him through the glass while he's eating.

And yet for all his faults of gluttony, ingratitude, and irritability ( or
perhaps because of them)
I can identify with that blue jay. Flying hither and thither in the course
of the day's work, I can
swoop into Scripture and skim a whole chapter in the time it takes for a
scholar to collect his
thoughts. Such a superficial approach toward the Word reveals an ungrateful
attitude that
can in itself be a serious hindrance to in-depth Bible study. But even more
frightening is the
thought that while I hastily gobble up snatches of Scripture here, there and
everywhere, my
adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to
devour, (1 Peter 5:8).
The more brilliant my spiritual "plumage," the greater his efforts to thwart
my digestion of the
Scripture.

What the blue jay and I must both learn is that the presence of the enemy
does not mean he
will prevail. The tomcat may lick his chops in anticipation of a blue jay
brisket, but he is helpless
to inflict any harm because the bird feeder is beyond his reach. So long as
the blue jay exercise
diligence and care, he receives both protection and nourishment.

In my case, the see is the Word of God, and while Satan may lie in wait to
catch me, claw at my
inconsistencies, or pounce on my mistakes, his threatening demeanor is but
futile threats so
long as I prayerfully appropriate scriptural truths on a daily basis.
Contrary to what Satan may
expect, the close scrutiny of his evil eye simply promotes a more careful
walk, encourages a
more disciplined life-style and calls me to complete reliance upon God.
Engrossed in His Word,
I am both fortified and fed.

Light: "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked, nor stand in the path of
sinners, not sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in
the law of the Lord, and in His law he
meditates day and night." (Psalms 1:1-2).

Reflection: Despite the presence of evil around us, we should still be
determined to feed on God's Word!

Good night everyone - Sweet dreams! May your Thursday be a wonderful,
positive, and peaceful day filled with many blessings.


Faith is not believing that God can, It is knowing that God will.