Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Had a pretty good day today - had the online computer man in Florida take control of the curser and fix things - like the pop ups we were starting to get etc. and I had him put Bing - his suggestion, for my homepage because igoogle is going away unfortunately. I told him all I want is a good search engine and the weather. Well, the weather for our town he put right on the desk top so that's nice. I'll get used to Bing. Never heard of it before. Anyone here have that? I've been wondering what to get for my new homepage for some time now. I also told him I want to keep the AVG that I downloaded last night, and asked him to schedule it to scan every 1:00 AM like it used to - so that's done. He did everything I asked him to. This is for the $220.00 per year for all the help I need during the year, with Microsoft Anti-Virus, and I won't renew that one, as I'd rather have AVG. Enough babbling for me - it was a big blessing to get the computer fixed of things, no viruses, just other errors etc. and those pop ups were annoying. It's also a blessing to me that I don't have to type out the whole thread again!!! Praise the Lord!!! Know that you all are in my prayers each day!

If a part of your past continues to haunt you and rob you of your

joy, forgive. Lord, I can not undo the past, but with Your help, I

can let go by forgiving myself and everyone else that has hurt me.

Scripture for the day:

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the

mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and

foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river

whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the

Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

God will help it when the morning dawns." ~Psalm 46:1-5

Meditation for the day:

In God's strength we can conquer life. Our conquering power is the

grace of God. There can be no complete failure with God. When we

want to make the best of life, then we can live as near as possible to

God, the master and giver of all life. Our reward for depending on

God's strength can be sure. Sometimes the reward can be renewed power

to face life, sometimes wrong thinking overcome, sometimes people

brought to a new way of living. Whatever success comes will not be our

own doing, but largely the working out of the grace of God.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may try to rely more fully on the grace of God. I pray

that I may live a victorious life.

The Universal Prayer

Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith.

I trust in you: strengthen my trust.

I love you: let me love you more and more.

I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow.

I worship you as my first beginning,

I long for you as my last end,

I praise you as my constant helper,

and call on you as my loving protector.

Guide me by your wisdom,

Correct me with your justice,

Comfort me with your mercy,

Protect me with your power.

I offer you Lord,

My thoughts: to be fixed on you;

My words: to have you for their theme;

My actions: to reflect my love for you;

My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:

In the way you ask, for as long as you ask, because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,

Strengthen my will,

Purify my heart, and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins and to resist temptation in the future.

Help me to rise above my human weakness and to grow stronger as a Christian.

Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am:

A pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and love all whose

lives I touch,

Those in authority over me or those under my authority, my friends and my

enemies.

Help me to conquer anger by gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by

fervour.

Help me to forget myself and reach out towards others.

Make me prudent in planning, courageous in taking risks.

Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.

Keep me Lord, attentive in prayer, temperate in food and drink, diligent in

my work, firm in my good intentions.

Let my conscience be clear, my conduct without fault, my speech blameless,

my life well ordered.

Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.

Let me cherish your love for me, keep your law, and come at last to your

salvation.

Teach me to realise that this world is passing, that my true future is the

happiness of heaven,

That life on earth is short, and the life to come eternal.

Help me to prepare for death with a proper fear of judgement, but a greater

trust in your goodness.

Lead me safely through death to the endless joy of heaven.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

(Pope Clement XI)

10 Commandments of the Tongue

1) Thou shalt not gossip. Prov. 18:8 Before any evil story whispered

in the ear is passed on, it should be treated as the housewife treats

apples for a pie ... first peeled, then quartered, and cored, then

what remains liberally sugared.

(2) Thou shalt not use a multitude of empty words. Prov. 10:19. Your

tongue reveals the nature of your thinking and your character. The

divine Master Himself admonishes the children of men to "let your

admonishes be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these

cometh of evil."

(3) Thou shalt not boast. Prov. 27:2 A small man makes long, loud

boasting in order to center the spotlight of attention on himself; the

great man works quietly, Silently polishing the beacon that it may

guide the ship safely into the desired haven.

(4) Thou shalt not flatter. Prov. 26:28 Someone has said that

"Flattery is like soft soap; it is 90% lye" - and you can count on the

ratio being just about right. The words of the man or woman who would

flatter you, according to the psalmist, who had a great deal of

experience with that sort of thing, are "softer than oil, yet

withdrawn swords."

(5) Thou shalt not grumble. Phil. 2:14 The prescription for this

malady is to saturate your life with loving kindness. Let it enter

every pore and the process will be absolutely foolproof against the

gnawing frets and worries that are worse than termites, to eat the

soul out of you.

(6) Thou shalt not backbite or slander. Psalm 64:3 The tongue that

backbites or slanders is the weapon that empties churches, pours

streams of bickering humans into divorce courts, fills our jails with

wretched humanity, and lashes men and woman to Satan's kingdom.

(7) Thou shalt not mock or make fun. Job 11:3 Let us learn sympathy

and give our fellows a helping hand instead of mockery, no matter how

peculiar or odd they may be. Remember angels visit the earth in all

kinds of guises.

(8) Thou shalt not lie. Ex. 20:16 The first recorded lie was told in

the garden of Eden. Since then, the practice has spread like a plague

throughout the whole earth. Everyone hates a lying tongue.

(9) Thou shalt not swear. Ex. 20:7 Profanity is the official language

of the devil's kingdom. Have no part in it for it will disqualify you

for heaven.

(10) Thou shalt not argue in anger. Hosea 7:16 Whatever the

provocation is remember that "silence is golden" and that "a soft

answer turns away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger" Prov.

15:11

-- Author Unknown

Truly blessed

Here's a great way to quickly change your attitude about anything and to put

yourself in a positive frame of mind. Wherever you are, whatever has

happened, in every situation, consider yourself truly blessed. If there's

something which must be done, that you'd really rather avoid, consider that

you're truly blessed to be doing it. That simple change in thinking can put

an amazing positive spin on the experience.

If there's a troublesome situation confronting you, consider yourself truly

blessed to be able to face it. It will help you to fashion your most

positive, effective and resourceful response.

Sure, it's difficult to think of yourself as truly blessed when you're in

the middle of something unpleasant, frightening or frustrating. Difficult as

it may be, though, it sure beats the alternative of giving in to despair and

negativity.

It may not make sense at first to your logical mind, yet in some very

positive and empowering way your spirit will understand. Indeed, you are

truly blessed, and it can be a powerful positive boost to remind yourself of

that fact. Just do it and see for yourself what a difference it can make.

Ralph Marston

PRAYER FOR THE PRESENT MOMENT

Dear God. I spend so much time reliving yesterday or

anticipating tomorrow that I lose sight of the only time

that is really mine - the present moment. You give me

today one moment at a time. That's all I have - all I ever

will have.

Give the faith which knows that each moment contains

exactly what is best for me. Give the hope which trusts

You enough to forget past failings and future trials.

Give the love which makes each moment an anticipation of

eternity with You. We ask this in the name of Jesus who is

the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen.

A SECOND TOUCH

By Sally I Kennedy

Then...he.. began to see everything clearly. Mark 8:25

In younger days, it didn’t matter if I got all the “face paint” on

before heading out. Make-up just wasn’t a priority. I was ok with, or

without it. Nowadays, however…..well that’s another story.

This morning I was hurrying to finish getting ready. We were leaving

for the weekend, and there would be no time later in the day to re-do

the make-up. I kept messing it up while rushing.

“If the light were just a little brighter”, I mused, as I turned up

the rheostat high as it would go. That helped a little.

As I put the finishing touches on my makeup, I thought of the story in

the eighth chapter of Mark, that talks about seeing, but not clearly.

I love that story. It’s the one about a second touch from the Lord.

As believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are “in the

light”. Sometimes, though, we need a second touch from the Holy

Spirit to help us see more clearly. Or a third, or fourth, or

hundredth.

The Lord is willing to do that at any time. We just have to ask.

Mark 8:22-25 And they came to Bethsaida And they brought a blind man

to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the

hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his

eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"

And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees,

walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he

looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.