Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If others disappoint you, remember that God alone is perfect.
Lord, forgive me my failings as I forgive others.


Scripture for the day:

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he
makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and on the unrighteous." ~Matthew 5:44-45

Meditation for the day:

"He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on
the righteous and on the unrighteous." God does not interfere with
the working of natural laws. The laws of nature are unchangeable,
otherwise we could not depend on them. As far as natural laws are
concerned,
God makes no distinction between good and bad people. Sickness or
death may strike anywhere. But spiritual laws are also made to be
obeyed. Our success or failure in life can depend on our choice of
good or evil.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may choose today the way of the spiritual life. I pray
that I may live today with faith, hope and love.

Hello my friends! I know it's almost midnight, but here I am! How was your day? Mine was busy, I was at the office. Got a call from Deil, Sister LaDonna's foot does have a hairline fracture in it, not the ankle. At first it wasn't shown, but the doctor looked again at the X-Rays and then he noticed it. She has to put ice on it and heat. Friday she does plan on seeing a client, I don't know how she can do that!! My blessings today was a nice visit with Lori at work - out to eat with her, Linus making supper for us, he made spagetti and it was delicious! And listening to the Halleluia Chorus at the end of the thread that scribo posted there, is such a blessing to watch and listen to!
Ordinary blessings galore!! My every breath, my health, my husband and family, my Sammy, too numerous to mention!!! Thank you, Jesus!!
Can't forget all the Graces we get daily, too!!



Homily of the Day


December 15, 2010


Are You Really Happy?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Is 45:6-8, 18, 21-25 / Lk 7:18-23

Everybody wants and yearns for happiness. We pray for it. We lie, cheat, and steal in hopes of finding it. We work overtime in the belief that we can buy it or make it happen. Yet the world in fact is filled with unhappy people.

This is not what God wants for us, as both of today’s readings underscore so firmly. As Isaiah tells us, God our creator made the world to be lived in and enjoyed, not to be a wretched wasteland. And look at Jesus in today’s gospel, doing what he was always doing: curing diseases, afflictions and evil spirits, restoring sight to the blind, healing the lame, feeding the hungry, raising the dead.

God wants us to be happy, but the only way that can ever happen will be if we turn to him and plant our hearts and our lives deep in him.

So how are you doing on the happiness scale? Would you like to be happier and more at peace? If you aren’t as happy as you’d like, perhaps you’ve put your hopes and your loves in the wrong places.

Turn to him and be safe. Turn to him, and learn to do the works that he does, and you will find the peace and the happiness you seek.


Mother Teresa Said...

Let's not live distracted lives.
Let us know ourselves so that we can better understand our brothers and sisters.
If we want to understand those with whom we live, we need to understand ourselves first of all.

A Christmas gift for Jesus


Father, I ask that you open up the minds and hearts of my readers today so that they will understand your Word and the message you have for them. Let Your Word go forth as an instrument to teach us how to love & obey You more. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!

I was wondering this morning how many of us are done making a Christmas list? Better yet, how many of us are finished with Christmas shopping?

On Christmas, each one of us will give and receive gifts to and from our friends, relatives and loved ones. Yet, I wonder how many of us will give a gift to Jesus this Christmas, the One person who really ought to receive a gift on His own birthday?

May I be so bold to say that if you have not considered what you are going to give Jesus on Christmas, you are not through with your Christmas shopping yet.

During this time of year it is very easy for us to get caught up in the excitement and merriment of Christmas and forget what it is all about. The one thing we need to remember, is that Jesus should be first in Christmas. You might be thinking, Jesus already has everything, He is God. What could I possibly give to Him that He doesn't already have? I'd like us to consider four gifts that we can give to Jesus this Christmas.

First - You can give Jesus YOUR heart

In Proverbs 23:26.....it says, "My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways."

Before we consider giving anything to Jesus we need to first give Him our hearts. What does it mean to give Jesus your heart? Surely it does NOT mean that God wants us to cut out our physicals hearts and give them to Him. I think that would be kind of messy and all. Don't you? What it means is that He wants us to accept His Son Jesus Christ as our personal savior by first repenting of our sins, and then having faith in our hearts that He came into this world, born of a virgin, and that He died upon the cross of Calvary, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead in order to save us from an eternity in h ell. Friends, God longs for us to obey and Love Him with all of our hearts. When we do this, God responds to us and leads us into His presence and His truth. God doesn't want us to obey Him just because we are afraid of the punishment. He longs for us to LOVE Him and out of that love obey him . That comes from our hearts.

Second - You can give Jesus your submission (let Him rule over your life).

In Matthew 4:18-22 It says... " As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him."

Jesus is calling us also. He says to each one of you....Come follow me.....Come! After we have accepted Jesus as our savior, we then need to follow Him and begin obeying His commandments.
Perhaps you are reading this and you feel that you want to follow Jesus more closely. Then you need to submit to Him and obey Him. So, why not give Jesus your submission by beginning to follow and obey Him right now?

In James 4:7 It says... "So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

What it means friends is that we must put God first in our lives and let Him have rule over us. This is not something to take lightly. Christ commands us to do this. He said...You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. Jn 15:14 Such obedience requires total commitment, holding nothing back from the Lord. It means depending on Him for everything. It means letting Jesus take the front seat and do the driving when it comes to our lives. Jesus gave His ALL for us, so how can we give Him less?

Third - You can give Jesus your worship.

In Matthew 2:1-2 it says... When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

In this scripture it says basically the main purpose of the wire men was to worship Jesus. The wise men are giving us an example of worshipping Jesus. This is what we are to do not just on Christmas but throughout out the year as well.

We must try very hard to bring glory to God as we worship Him for all that He has done for us. Friends, today lets start to give Jesus the worship that He deserves. Let try to make Him first in our lives. As we submit to Him. We get blessed. And when we get blessed, we worship and thank Him all over again. Jesus is truly worthy to be worshiped.

Four - You can give Jesus your life.

In Romans 6:13 it says.... "Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. ."

At Christmas time when we consider giving a gift to someone, most people do not give used or broken gifts as presents. At least I hope we don't. I don't think I would appreciate getting a broken watch for Christmas. What purpose would it serve. NONE! It would be useless, wouldn't it? Most of us when we get gifts look at it's value. When you give gifts, do you usually buy something nice and something you can afford? What would you consider the most valuable gift you could give to Jesus? I want you to think about that for a moment.

Most of us consider our lives as the most valuable possession we own. We would give anything to clothe and bring nourishment and enjoyment to it, wouldn't we? It is our most valuable possession. So why not give your most valuable possession which is yourself to Jesus this morning by dedicating your life to serve Him in whatever way He sees fit?

In Romans 12:1 it says...."I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship."

Friends, we must be willing to give God what is most precious to us. He wants more than our spare time and leftover possessions. He wants to be Lord of everything in our lives. Only when we are willing to let go of what we love, only then can we experience the freedom that comes by yielding to Him. Surrendering ourselves to God is what He wants. Are you ready to do just that? I am going to conclude with this and ask you this one question. What are you going to give to Jesus this Christmas?

Will it be:

1. Your heart?
2. Your submission? (let Him have His way in your life)
3. Your worship?
4. Your life?

Father, thank you for Your Word today. T hank you for the many gifts and blessings that you give to us through out the year. Help us to give all that we have to you. Help us to be mindful of you as we worship and surrender it all to you. Amen.

A Christmas Season Challenge


To all mankind, a challenge...

Is the reason for Christmas: Christ or Santa Claus?

Who does your children have visions about?

In whose existence do they really have doubts?

Do they believe in a man who promises gifts and toys,
Who knows all the names of the bad girls and boys?

Do they know the story of the prophetic virgin birth
or what Christ's coming meant to a truth-starved earth?

Ask them to tell you the story of Christ,
Of some of the miracles that was wrought through his life.

Then ask them about a man with a sleigh and reindeer.
To recite you the fiction they so often hear.

I'm sure they can tell you where Santa Claus lives
And about all the toys they say that he gives.

But can they tell you that Christ died for their sin?
How He no longer walks on earth, but now lives within?

When toys and presents will no longer suffice and
they face real problems in everyday life,

When your children despair and need a touch from on high...
And they really need Christ, to whom will they cry?

Then God asks this question and demands that you pause,
"Do they call unto ME, or to the myth Santa Claus?"

The Straw in the Christmas Crib


When the shepherds of Bethlehem visited the Infant Jesus, one of the younger
boys took along some straw from the crib. "What have you got there in your
hand?" asked one of the shepherds.

"Just some straw from the crib where the baby was sleeping." "Straw?"
laughed the others. "That's just rubbish. Throw it away." The little boy
shook his head and said, "No. I'm keeping it. These pieces of straw remind
me of that baby, and what the angels said about him."

The next day the shepherds asked the boy, "Do you still have those pieces of
straw? You do? Look! Why don't you throw away that worthless stuff?" " No,
it is not worthless," said the little shepherd. "God's baby has slept on
it." "So what?" the others answered. "It's the baby that is important and
not the straw."

"That's where you're all wrong," explained the little shepherd. "This straw
IS worth something. If there were no straw in the crib, what could the poor
baby have slept on? No, this handful of straw tells me something. It tells
me that God makes use of small worthless things. God needs us, little
people, to help him do his work."

The Christmas Gift Poem

It isn't the flowing ribbons,
draped and curled with extra care,
or the fine and fancy bows
tied with ornamental flair.

It isn't the label on the box,
the sum of money spent,
or anything that shows the length
to which you obviously went.

The beauty of a Christmas gift
cannot be seen at all.
For the loveliness of giving
is a feeling, grand and tall.

It's the genuine offer of love,
the yearning to make a connection,
a show of honest gratitude,
a display of sincere affection.
Author Unknown

Good night everyone! Sweet Dreams - soon I will be having them too!! Here's wishing you all a very blessed Thursday!! Enjoy the Gift of God's Day!!
God bless you all!!

Closing prayer:

Advent Prayer

Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward
to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation
and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.