Hello my friends, hope your Monday went well. It's time to get the invitations out, and Lori was here tonight to print them - now we're waiting to get some addresses from Darla from her Wedding list and we'll get them all out! I'm already praying for a good day that day, no rain, not cold or too hot. Tomorrow morning Linus' brothers are coming again to help with things in the garage - finishing up things. I'll be making some hamburger soup and using some kale and collards from the garden. That with my homemade bread is what I'll serve them. Prayers going for you all.
Enthusiasm will be yours if you love God, love people, and love life.
Lord, the nearer I follow Your way, the happier I become.
Scripture for the day:
"My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith
might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Yet among the
mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of
the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God's
wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our
glory." ~1 Corinthians 2:4-7
Meditation for the day:
In these times of quiet meditation, we can try more and more to set our
hopes on the grace of God. We can know that whatever the future may
hold, it can hold more and more of good. We need not set all our hopes
and desires on material things. There can be weariness in an abundance
of things. We can set our hopes on spiritual things so that we may grow
spiritually. We can learn to rely on God's power more and more and in
that reliance we can have an insight into the greater value of the
things of the spirit.
A Prayer
O God, I vow and consecrate to You all that is in me:
My memory and my actions to God the Father;
My understanding and my words to God the Son;
My will and my thoughts to God the Holy Spirit;
My heart and my body, my tongue, my senses and all my sorrows
to the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ,
Who was content to be betrayed into the hands of wick ed men
and to suffer the torment of the Cross.
(St Francis de Sales)
Don´t Give Them Vinegar
The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit.
He quoted 1 Samuel 16:7 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
"These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and
can hold the same amount. But they are different," he explained. Then he
upset one and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other, and vinegar
spilled out.
"When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were
upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be seen.
When they were upset, their contents were revealed. Until we are upset we
put on a good front. But when we are upset, we reveal our innermost thoughts
and attitudes, for 'out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.'"
(Luke 6:45)
What if someone tipped you over today??
What would flow out??
Would you reveal the "honey" of grace and patience, or the "vinegar" of
anger and sarcasm?
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of
sins." (1Peter 4:8)
Have a terrific day knowing that the one who upsets you may be just looking
for some honey - Don't give them vinegar!
Is God Dancing On Your Potato Chips?
Not too long ago I had "one of those days." I was feeling pressure from a
writing deadline. I had company arriving in a couple days and the toilet was
clogged. I went to the bank, and the trainee teller processing my deposit
had to start over three times. I swung by the supermarket to pick up a few
things and the lines were serpentine.
By the time I got home, I was frazzled and sweaty and in a hurry to get
something on the table for dinner. Deciding on Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
soup, I grabbed a can opener, cranked open the can, then remembered I had
forgotten to buy milk at the store. Nix the soup idea. Setting the can
aside, I went to plan "B", which was leftover baked beans. I grabbed the
Tupperware container from the fridge, popped the seal, took a look and
groaned. My husband isn't a picky eater, but even HE won't eat baked beans
that look like caterpillars.
Really frustrated now, I decided on a menu that promised to be as foolproof
as it is nutrition-free: hot dogs and potato chips. Retrieving a brand new
bag of chips from the cupboard, I grabbed the cellophane and gave a hearty
pull. The bag didn't open. I tried again. Nothing happened. I took a breath,
doubled my muscle, and gave the bag a hearty wrestle. With a loud pop, the
cellophane suddenly gave way, ripping wide from top to bottom. Chips flew
sky high. I was left holding the bag, and it was empty.
It was the final straw. I let out a blood curdling scream. "I CAN'T TAKE IT
ANYMORE!" My husband heard my unorthodox cry for help. Within minutes he was
standing at the doorway to the kitchen, where he surveyed the damage: an
opened can of soup, melting groceries, moldy baked beans, and one quivering
wife standing ankle deep in potato chips. My husband did the most helpful
thing he could think of at the moment. He took a flying leap, landing
flat-footed in the pile of chips. And then he began to stomp and dance and
twirl, grinding those chips into my linoleum in the process!
I stared. I fumed. Pretty soon I was working to stifle a smile. Eventually I
had to laugh. And finally I decided to join him. I, too, took a leap onto
the chips. And then I danced. Now I'll be the first to admit that my
husband's response wasn't the one I was looking for. But the truth is, it
was exactly what I needed. I didn't need a cleanup crew as much as I needed
an attitude adjustment, and the laughter from that rather funky moment
provided just that.
So now I have a question for you, and it's simply this: Has God ever stomped
on your chips? I know that, in my life, there have been plenty of times when
I've gotten myself into frustrating situations and I've cried out for help,
all the while hoping God would show up with a celestial broom and clean up
the mess.
What often happens instead is that God dances on my chips, answering my
prayer in a completely different manner than I had expected, but in the
manner that is best for me after all. Sometimes I can see right away that
God's response was the best one after all. Sometimes I have to wait weeks or
months before I begin to understand how and why God answered a particular
prayer the way he did. There are even some situations that, years later, I'm
still trying to understand. I figure God will fill me in sooner or later,
either this side of Heaven or beyond.
Do I trust Him? Even when he's answering my prayers in a way that is
completely different from my expectations? Even when he's dancing and
stomping instead of sweeping and mopping:? Can I embrace what He's offering?
Can I let His joy adjust my attitude? Am I going to stand on the sidelines
and sulk, or am I willing to learn the steps of the dance he's dancin' with
my needs in mind? I'll be honest with you: Sometimes I sulk. Sometimes I
dance. I'm working on doing more of the latter than the former. I guess the
older I get the more I realize that He really does know what He's doing. He
loves me and I can trust Him. Even when the chips are down.
Author Unknown
SHELL SEEKERS
By Marion Smith
Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is living and active
The tide rolled back early that morning. As the waves receded
into the deep, they left a fresh array of shells on the newly exposed
beach. The display was plentiful, and the "shell seekers" were out in
force. These are the people who collect shells;and they were ready to
“check out” this new array of shells. They searched the sand...heads
bent... looking for new shells to add to their collection.They were
intent on the task at hand, and did not let other surrounding events
distract them. They would gather their finds in a baggie or pail, and
return to their homes after they were satisfied with their finds.
Getting into God’s Word should be just like that for the
Christian. We should wake up after a refreshing nights’ sleep and be
willing to search the beaches of Gods Word, looking for something new
or reinforcement of some previous truths we have gleaned.We should be
intent on our quest and not be distracted by phone calls, daily duties
or wandering of the mind. We can gather the insights from God and
store them in our mind and heart, ready to use them when needed. No,
they will not be on display as some shells are on coffee tables or nic
nak shelves, but they will be readily seen through the actions of our
lives.
It is not always possible for us to go “gathering” early
in the morning, but when we are, God’s prizes are there for the
taking.
A THOUSAND MARBLES
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet
solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the
unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours
of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling
toward the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning
paper in the other. What began as atypical Saturday morning turned into one
of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.
Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to
listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with
a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the
broadcasting business himself. He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to
someone named "Tom". I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had
to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay
you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so
much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy
hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance
recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has
helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he
began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person
lives about seventy-five years. know, some live more and some live less, but
on average, folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the
number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.
Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part." "It took me
until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he
went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred
Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had
about a thousand of them left to enjoy." "So I went to a toy store and
bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy
stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a
large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio.
Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and throw it away."
"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really
important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on
this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my
lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble
out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then I have
been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little
more time."
"It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved
ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!" You
could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's moderator
didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot
to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the
gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.
"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought
this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a
long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop
at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
-- Author Unknown
O breathe on me, O breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love,
And do what you would do.
O breathe on me, O breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until my will is one with yours,
To do and to endure.
O breathe on me, O breath of God,
My will to yours incline,
Until this earthly part of me,
Glows with your fire divine.
O breathe on me, O breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with you the perfect life,
Of your eternity.
(Edwin Hatch)
- - -
John 20:21-22 - (Jesus said to the disciples) "Peace be with you. As the
Father sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive
the Holy Spirit..."
PLANT FOUR ROWS
Author Unknown
Plant four rows of peas.
Prayer
Penitence
Patience
Preparation
Plant four rows of squash.
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash criticism
Squash negative thinking
Plant four rows of turnips.
Turn up for Church
Turn up whenever needed
Turn up with a friendly smile
Turn up with determination to be a better person
Plant four rows of lettuce.
Let us soar to new heights
Let us come together in harmony
Let us share God's love, and
Let us practice forgiveness
Enjoy the harvest!
Mother Teresa Said...
There is great humility in God. He can stoop down to people like us and
become dependent on us for His work to live, to grow, to bear fruit. And He
could easily have done it without us. Yet He stooped down and called us to
do it.
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