Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If you look for the light side in all things, you will keep yourself alive
and healthy. Lord, may I be able to see the good in my experiences,
even in my most challenging moments.


Scripture for the day:

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~Matthew 9:36

Meditation for the day:

Having compassion for all who are in temptation, a condition which we
are sometimes in, we have a responsibility toward them. Compassion
always includes responsibility. Pity is useless because it does not
have a remedy for the need. But wherever our compassion goes, our
responsibility goes too. When we are moved with compassion, we can go
to the one in need and bind up their wounds as best we can.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may have compassion for those in temptations. I pray
that I may have compassion for the trials of others.

Greetings my friends! The weather here is frightning - hope it's nice where you are! Yes, now they are saying we should get freezing rain tomorrow and we're planning on meeting Darla in a town an hour away, we'll see about that. Nice day to stay home. Today, his day off, he got the garage almost all cleaned up for the office party Sunday night. He sure got a lot done!! I got the house cleaned for our card club couple for tonight. We won!! They are from my old hometown, went to the same high school, know the same people, it was nice visiting with them. It was the first time they were here. We were there last year. A blessing was that out of the blue - she says she loves my hair color! That was good to hear even though she hasn't seen me in a long time.


Homily of the Day


December 29, 2010


Be Stout-Hearted and Wait for the Lord
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

1 Jn 2:3-11 / Lk 2:22-35

Keeping a promise is rarely easy, and sometimes those who make promises are not equipped to keep them or don’t even intend to keep them. The flood of divorces and the torrents of lawsuits that plague our society are eloquent testimony to the fragility of promises and the unlikelihood of many of them ever being kept.

It can render us cynical and disinclined to trust anyone, perhaps even God. So we need to listen to the words of the old man Simeon in today’s Gospel. Simeon had waited all his life for Jesus’ coming, and he’d never ceased trusting that God would be faithful to his promise of a Redeemer. At last the child came, in the arms of His parents, for consecration to the Lord as the Law prescribed. And Simeon gave thanks, “Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace; you have fulfilled your word….”

God is absolutely faithful in His love of every one of us. Even when we turn away and do not walk with Him, God does not turn from us. He waits and waits and waits.

Trust that. He is waiting for you now, hoping that you will give His love for you an opening. If you do, He will show Himself to you in His own way and in His own time, and He will give you what you need to walk with Him faithfully.

Trust in Him. Be stout-hearted, and wait for the Lord.

Words of Encouragement


December 29, 2010


The Fifth Day of Christmas!
by Mark Shea

Joshua 1:8

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

Rings are reminders. Five gold rings are gifts given to somebody who needs a lot of reminding. The five books of the Law are also written as reminders. They remind us that we are made in the image of God, that we have fallen, that God aims to save us, and that we often work at cross-purposes with Him even when He wills our good since we are a “stiff-necked and rebellious people.” They remind us that despite this unpleasant diagnosis, God still wills our good and is determined that we shall have it. The whole point of the command given by Joshua in today’s verse is for Israel to remember. The paradox of the command is that Israel will discover through long centuries of attempts the deepest reminder of the book of the Law: namely, that it cannot be kept. It was to teach this all-important lesson that the law was given, so that when Christ came He would find those who recognized that the law could not save, but could only point us to our need of salvation and ready us for the coming of the Savior.

Important Recall

The maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to the serious defect in the primary and central component, or heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed,

Subsequential Internal Non-morality,' or more commonly known as S-I-N, as it is primarily symptomized by loss of moral judgment.

Some other symptoms are:
(a) Loss of direction
(b) Foul vocal emissions
(c) Amnesia of origin
(d) Lack of peace and joy
(e) Selfish, or violent, behavior
(f) Depression or confusion in the mental component


The manufacturer, who is neither liable or at fault for this defect, is providing factory authorized repair and service, free of charge, to correct this SIN defect, at numerous locations throughout the world.
The number to call for the recall station in your area is:
P-R-A-Y-E-R

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human unit without correction voids manufacturer's warranty, exposing owner to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded.

For free emergency service, kneel and call on the name of J-E-S-U-S for prompt assistance at any location worldwide.
- Author Unknown

Recipe for a Happy New Year

Take 12 fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly cleansed from all old memories of bitterness, rancor, hate, and jealousy.

Cut these months into 30 or 31 equal parts. (This batch will keep for one year. Do not attempt to make more than one batch at a time-many people spoil the entire lot in this way.)

Prepare one day at a time as follows: Into each day, put 12 parts of faith, 11 of patience, 10 of courage, nine of work (some people omit this ingredient and spoil the flavor of the rest), eight of hope, seven of fidelity, six of open-mindedness, five of kindness, four of rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad-don't do it), three of prayer, two of meditation, and one of well-selected resolution.

If you have no conscientious scruples, add a teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

Pour love liberally into the whole, and mix with vim. Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat. Garnish with a few smiles and a sprig of joy; then serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness-and a Happy New Year is a certainty.

Author Unknown

Mother Teresa Said...

It is easy to love those who are far away. It isn't always easy to love those who are right next to us.
It is easier to offer a dish of rice to satisfy the hunger of a poor person, than to fill up the loneliness and suffering of someone lacking love in our own family.

RECYCLING
By Rhonda Rhea
December 29, 2010


Does anyone else still have Christmas gifts that have never been used--
gifts from Christmas 1983? It's a little guilt inflicting, isn't it?
Would any of us admit to Chia heads that remain fuzzless? How about
salad shooters that have yet to launch a single veggie?

Not to add more guilt or anything, but who among us would dare admit
how many of our furless pottery heads and dead vegetable bazookas
we've slyly slipped into the garage sale bag? If you're a Chia lover
or you have a need for a salad bomber, try making the rounds to a few
garage sales as soon as summer hits. If nothing else, you could snatch
up Chia-shooters galore to give away next Christmas. Some people skip
the garage sale middle man and recycle their own unused gifts the next
year.

Keep in mind that gift recycling can get a little tricky. I have a
friend who this year received from her mother-in-law the same Clapper
she bought for her recycler-in- law the year before. Imagine a Clapper
that's been mailed across the country. Twice. That we know of! I think
the thing may have more frequent flyer miles than I do! It's the
Clapper
heard round the world.

Still, there really are gifts that are at their absolute best when
they're recycled. Each one of us has received a gift of ministry.
First Peter 4:10 doesn't leave a single one of us out when it says,
"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God" (NKJV). Each one of us! When
we're not recycling those gifts the Father has given us, using them to
minister to others, we're not being good stewards
of his grace. It's eternally more wasteful than any hairless Chia.

Let's finish out the year in service to him. What a great ending. Even
better than "clap off"!

(adapted from I'm Dreaming of Some White Chocolate by Rhonda Rhea
(Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand
Rapids, MI), 2006.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." Colossians 3:15

Closing prayer:

Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony
O holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for his creature, made you worthy, while on earth, to possess miraculous powers.
Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle, even so, your are the Saint of Miracles. O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.

Good night now and God bless you! May the Angels bring you sweet dreams and God surround you with His Great Love all thru the night. I'm happy it's not midnight - I'm early tonight!! That's a great blessing!! Enjoy your Thursday and hope it will be a good day for you! Weatherwise, too. Praying for you all for all of your intentions.