Community Chat

[gloriajean]

God's blessings come in packages both large and small. Sometimes
they are expected and sometimes not. Sometimes they are recognized
and sometimes not. Lord, thank you for the joy You light in me, even
in times of sorrow. Please use me to bless someone else.


Scripture for the day:

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you--you of
little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you
are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world
that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need
them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to
you as well." ~Luke 12:28-31

Meditation for the day:

When we seek to follow the way of the spirit, it frequently means a complete
reversal of the way of the world which we had previously followed. But it
can be a reversal that leads to happiness and peace.
Do the aims and ambitions that a person usually strives for bring peace?
Do the world's awards bring heart-rest and happiness? Or do they turn to
ashes in the mouth?

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may not be weary, disillusioned or disappointed. I pray that
I may not put my trust in the ways of the world, but in the way of the
spirit.

Greetings to all the positive pals and grateful gals!! I do hope your day
was great and you kept it positive!
Positive thinking helps a great deal, you know.
Did you ever hear of Praise the Lord anyway when things go wrong? One time
a lady was giving a talk on this, outside, even, and she was saying that
when things go wrong, we should praise the Lord anyway, and just then her
wig flew off, and she said "Praise the Lord Anyway" and everyone laughed so
hard!!
She wrote a book on that.
I've put that into practice.
You know how whenever you drop something, make a mess to clean up, you feel
like using some foul language? That doesn't help any, does it? I started
making it a habit to say Praise the Lord anyway, and clean it up.
And then, it does something to you. You just feel so much better, and the
cleanup is faster, I just noticed my attitude had changed for the better
that way. Like for instance last night when Sammy got sick and I spent a
lot of the night wiping up his pukes and - my attitude was good! Felt sorry
for the poor guy, but he never should have sneaked a bone from the table
when I wasn't looking and ate it up quick. I’m usually so good about not
leaving anything on the table that he could snitch, but we ate out in the
patio, it was nice there, and when I was bringing dishes in he must have
snarfed that bone up before I had the chance to discard it. He sure paid
for that, and so did we by lack of sleep!! Today he's been normal so that's
a good thing. Today was a good day - I got a lot done, and didn't have to
cook, had left-over navy bean soup, and that was good. I olive-oiled all my
wooden cutting boards this afternoon, they look so nice, even the one my Dad
made for my Mom. I have one that Sister LaDonna gave me, and I told her
that every time I use it, I say a prayer for her healing for her leg. It's
a nice small one, just right for a lot of things. Hope you all are having
good days. I miss so many of you!

Mother Teresa Said...

We should realize that poverty doesn't only consist in being hungry for
bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity. We need to
love and to be somebody for someone else.

Trust in the good God who loves us, who cares for us,
who sees all, knows all, can do all things
for my good and the good of souls.
One thing Jesus asks of me: that I lean upon Him;
that in Him alone I put complete trust;
that I surrender myself to Him unreservedly.

"Free means : Joyful and with eagerness, fearlessly
and openly, giving freely what we have
freely received, without accepting any return
in cash or kind reward or gratitude."

"Like Jesus, who submitted Himself to the common law of labor
and the common lot of the poor, we will not seek any special privileges
or treatment for ourselves, but be happy to be treated as one of the poor,
ready to be insulted, ill-treated, refused, blamed falsely,
or put into all kinds of inconveniences.
We shall not seek to defend ourselves,
but leave our defense to the Lord.
We will not worry about tomorrow
but will live the present moment intensely
with complete trust in God."

Here's some Food for Thought:
AN EVERYDAY SURVIVAL KIT
Author Unknown
Jan 27 2009


Toothpick
Rubber band
Band aid
Pencil
Eraser
Chewing gum
Mint
Candy Kiss
Tea Bag

Here's why:

Toothpick - to remind you to pick out the good qualities in
others...Matt 7:1

Rubber band - to remind you to be flexible, things might not always go
the way you want, but it will work out...Romans 8:28

Band Aid - to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone
else's...Col. 3:12-14

Pencil - To remind you to list your blessings everyday...Eph1: 3

Eraser - to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's
okay...Gen. 50:15-21

Chewing gum - to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish
anything ...Phil 4:13

Mint - to remind you that you are worth a mint to your heavenly
father...John 3:16-17

Candy Kiss - to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug
everyday...1 John 4:7

Tea Bag - to remind you to relax daily and go over that list of God's
blessings... 1 Thess 5:18

This is my gift to you. May God richly bless you.

To the world, you may just be somebody...but to somebody, you may be
the world.

Prayer to Jesus, True God
O Jesus, You are the Son of God. You resolve our problems and respond to our
aspirations with unexpected fullness. As the Son sent to us by the Father,
You are the God Who comes to meet us and manifests for us the God Whom we
seek You are the revelation of God for us -- the full, perfect, and
definitive revelation -- God in person.

In You the God who is far off becomes the God who is near, the God with us,
and the God who is one of us, our companion of life’s journey. You alone, O
Lord, are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Messiah, and the Son of the
Living God.

The Break with the Past


You have surely heard the nice saying that's been around for a few years:
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." But now I'd like to coin
a companion saying: "Today is the last day of your past."

Those two messages don't mean the same thing. The first advises us to get
our life going the way we want it to go. The second means: get rid of old
failures, taboos, inhibitions that have kept us from being what we can be.

As we grow, we pick up warnings like: "That's a no-no." "Don't you dare do
that!" "Know your place." We learn what people around us consider to be
"customary" or "proper" or "a shame." We also hear why something is
"impossible" to do. If we are brainwashed by all this and go out as an adult
into a very competitive world, we are short of our initiatives. We are
handcuffed by these warnings which we have dragged up from history.

What we need are the unlimited vision and the natural imagination which we
had as children. Let today be the last day of your past...

Just What I Need

Dear God, give me strength to do what I must
And to remember that it's You who I should trust.
Let me be kind in my words today
Despite my pain, I'll have nice things to say.

Show me Your wisdom found deep in Your Word
Perhaps there's a message I have not yet heard.
When I want to give up; keep me close to You
So I know You are with me no matter what I go through.

Those times when I stumble and fall right on my face
Remind me it's because I stepped out of my place.
You are my Healer and time is Your key
Someday soon there will be a miracle in me.

Waiting on You God, is a step of faith and hope
But knowing You're faithful is just how I cope.
This illness can't last forever, so in You I rest
Trusting always in the One who knows best.

- Author Unknown

A Prayer for Getting Old

Lord. Thou knowest I am growing older.

Keep me from becoming talkative and
possessed from the idea that I must
express myself on every subject.

Release me from the craving to straighten
out everyone's affairs.

Keep me from the recital of endless detail.
Give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips when I am inclined
to tell of my aches and pains.

They are increasing with the years and
my love to speak of them grows sweeter
as time goes by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that
occasionally I may be wrong.

Make me thoughtful but not nosey,
helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom and experience
it does seem a pity not to use it all.

But Thou knowest, Lord, that I
want a few friends at the end.

Amen.

~Author Unknown~


Columbine father- 12 years later !!



Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell
Scott , the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School
shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House
Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders
during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.



They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It
needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every
sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These
courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and
deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying
in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:



" Since the dawn of creation there has been both good &evil in the hearts of
men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of
violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the
deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must
not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.



"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out
in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA,
the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for
the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.



"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how
quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a
member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here
to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are
responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they
need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's
murder I would be their strongest opponent.



I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a
spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame
lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies
behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just
four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.



Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!



" Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and
spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create
a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc.
Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of
our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological
seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation?
We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred
and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy
occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They
immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that continue to erode away
our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.
Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of
gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre.
The real villain lies within our own hearts.



"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two
friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in
school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge
every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on
April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our
schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain.
Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation
that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you
who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere
challenge.. Dare to examine your
own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country
will not allow that to happen!"
Darrell Scott
Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech. Please
send this out to everyone you can.
God Bless

With that I'll close and wish you a very pleasant and positive day
tomorrow and a good night!! God bless you in all that you do!