Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Going to Bible Study now - Talk later!!

Our body is the temple of God and our soul is His image. It is the devil's

work to make us forget that and feel useless, incapable and worthless.

Lord, I will not deny Your existence in me. I am strong and capable

because You live and work through me.

Scripture for the day:

"In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not

so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And

if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take

you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also." ~John

14:2-3

Meditation for the day:

We can look at the world as our Father's house. We can think of all

people we meet as guests in our Fathers house, to be treated with love

and consideration. We can look at ourselves as servants in our

Father's house, as servants of all. We can think of no work as

beneath us. We can be ready to do all we can for others who need our

help. There is gladness in God's service. There is much satisfaction

in serving the highest that we know. We can express our love for God

in service to all

who are living with us in our Father's house.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God. I pray that

my work may be a small repayment for God's grace so freely given me.

MOTHER TERESA´S ROSARY

- Author Unknown

Jim Castle was tired when he boarded his plane in Cincinnati, Ohio, that

night in 1981. The 45-year-old management consultant had put on a week-long

series of business meetings and seminars, and now he sank gratefully into

his seat ready for the flight home to Kansas City,Kansas.

As more passengers entered, the place hummed with conversation, mixed with

the sound of bags being stowed. Then, suddenly, people fell silent.

The quiet moved slowly up the aisle like an invisible wake behind a boat.

Jim craned his head to see what was happening, and his mouth dropped open.

Walking up the aisle were two nuns clad in simple white habits bordered in

blue. He recognized the familiar face of one at once, the wrinkled skin, the

eyes warmly intent. This was a face he'd seen in newscasts and on the cover

of TIME. The two nuns halted, and Jim realized that his seat companion was

going to be Mother Teresa!

As the last few passengers settled in, Mother Teresa and her companion

pulled out rosaries. Each decade of the beads was a different color, Jim

noticed. The decades represented various areas of the world, Mother Teresa

told him later, and added, "I pray for the poor and dying on each

continent."

The airplane taxied to the runway and the two women began to pray, their

voices a low murmur. Though Jim considered himself not a very religious

Catholic who went to church mostly out of habit, inexplicably he found

himself joining in.

By the time they murmured the final prayer, the plane had reached cruising

altitude. Mother Teresa turned toward him. For the first time in his life,

Jim understood what people meant when they spoke of a person possessing an

"aura". As she gazed at him, a sense of peace filled him; he could no more

see it than he could see the wind, but he felt it, just as surely as he felt

a warm summer breeze.

"Young man," she inquired, "do you say the rosary often?" "No, not really,"

he admitted. She took his hand, while her eyes probed his. Then she smiled.

"Well, you will now." And she dropped her rosary into his palm.

An hour later Jim entered the Kansas City airport, where he was met by his

wife, Ruth. "What in the world?" Ruth asked when she noticed the rosary in

his hand. They kissed and Jim described his encounter.

Driving home, he said. "I feel as if I met a true sister of God."

Nine months later Jim and Ruth visited Connie, a friend o f theirs for

several years. Connie confessed that she'd been told she had ovarian cancer.

"The doctor says it's a tough case," said Connie, "but I'm going to fight

it. I won't give up." Jim clasped her hand. Then, after reaching into his

pocket, he gently twined Mother Teresa's rosary around her fingers. He told

her the story and said, "Keep it with you Connie. It may help."

Although Connie wasn't Catholic, her hand closed willingly around the small

plastic beads. "Thank you," she whispered. "I hope I can return it."

More than a year passed before Jim saw Connie again. This time, face

glowing, she hurried toward him and handed him the rosary "I carried it with

me all year," she said. "I've had surgery and have been on chemotherapy,

too. Last month, the doctors did second-look surgery, and the tumor's gone.

completely!" Her eyes met Jim's. "I knew it was time to give the rosary

back."

In the fall of 1987, Ruth's sister, Liz, fell into a deep depression after

her divorce. She asked Jim if she could borrow the rosary, and when he sent

it, she hung it over her bedpost in a small velvet bag.

"At night I held on to it, just physically held on. I was so lonely and

afraid," she says, "yet when I gripped that rosary, I felt as if I held a

loving hand." Gradually, Liz pulled her life together, and she mailed the

rosary back. "Someone else may need it," she said.

Then one night in 1988, a stranger telephoned Ruth. She'd heard about the

rosary from a neighbor and asked if she could borrow it to take to the

hospital where her mother lay in a coma. The family hoped the rosary might

help their mother die peacefully. A few days later, the woman returned the

beads. "The nurses told me a coma patient can still hear," she said, " so I

explained to my mother that I had Mother Teresa's rosary and that when I

gave it to her she could let go; it would be all rosary in her hand.

Right away, we saw her face relax. The lines smoothed out until she looked

so peaceful, so young." The woman's voice caught. "A few minutes later she

was gone." Fervently, she gripped Ruth's hands. "Thank you."

Is there special power in those humble beads? Or is the power of the human

spirit simply renewed in each person who borrows the rosary? Jim only knows

that requests continue to come often unexpectedly. He always responds though

whenever he lends the rosary. He says, "When you're through needing it, send

it back. Someone else may need it."

Jim's own life has changed, too, since his unexpected meeting on the

airplane. When he realized Mother Teresa carries everything she owns in a

small bag, he made an effort to simplify his own life. "I try to remember

what really counts - not money or titles or possessions, but the way we love

others," he says.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY, MOTHER MARY ASK HER SON JESUS TO SHOWER YOU

WITH GRACES.

Please feel free to pass this on especially to all those in despair so that

they might know that they are not alone in their hour of need. The reason I

sent you this is because I know the power of these simple beads, and I

wanted to share it with you.

Sent by Amelita Villon

PRAYER

Show us the way to follow you, by a change of heart and mind. The Kingdom of

God will soon prevail. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYER WHEN IN SUFFERING

Jesus, speak to me in these days of suffering to reveal to me, the will of

God. "You have kept count of my tossing; put my tears in your bottle."

(Psalm 56:8). "This I know, that God is for me" (Psalm 56:9). Come to my

help soon. Cut short the days of suffering. Deliver me from the present

adversities. Grant me long life and health to praise you in peace. Lift me

up to become a witness for you. Thank you Jesus. Praise you Jesus.

Hallelujah. (Praise God for 5 minutes to know the will of God in your

sufferings. Thus you will receive the strength and grace to suffer. God

willing, you will get immediate deliverance.)

G U I D A N C E

When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" at the end

of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow

with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to

flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become

one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and

attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of

God, followed by "u" and "i." "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I

dance. This statement is what guidance means to me. As I lowered my head,

I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once

again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you

and your family on this day and everyday. May you abide in Him as He abides

in you. Dance together with God, trusting Him to lead and to guide you

through each season of your life.

--Author Unknown

Motivation

A story has it that, late one night, a party-goer decided it would be best

to walk home. He found a short cut through a poorly-lit cemetery and, in the

darkness, stumbled into an open grave. He tried to climb out but the walls

were too slippery. Again and again he fell back into the grave. Finally, in

exhaustion, he settled in a corner to wait for sunlight -- to be rescued.

A few minutes later another man cutting through the cemetery fell victim to

the same grave. He, too, tried desperately to climb and claw his way out,

and he was equally unsuccessful. As he was about to give up in hopeless

resignation, he heard a voice from the darkness of his pit: "You'll never

get out of here."

He did!!!

He just needed the proper motivation! And in this case, a shot of fear did

the trick! But when it comes to finding the motivation to do most worthwhile

things, his example is the exception.

I am learning that the best motivation, whether I want to accomplish a task,

go back to school, start something new or kick a habit, usually comes from

the inside. To be successful, I must WANT to do it. Others may certainly

help in their encouragement or in "pumping me up," but, in the end, I will

usually be successful only if I have enough desire.

Author Unknown

TOMORROW

Contributed by Melanie Schurr

September 25, 2009

There is a song by the popular music group Fleetwood Mac entitled,

"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow." This sentiment is quite contrary

to how our current generation often lives, since most of us tend to

exist solely for today, the here and now.

Without concern for what tomorrow may hold, many live their lives as

if they are walking along a narrow trail in a dense forest. On such a

path, one cannot see what dangers lurk or stand before them. All that

can be seen is the beauty and pleasure within the immediate visual

realm. If one is not careful, a seemingly unassuming path can lead

right off a deadly cliff.

In the Bible, we are told not to give too much worry for tomorrow,

but, in the same breath, it is certainly not our Heavenly Father's

intention for us to be ignorant about one's future either. For

decisions we make today can determine where we will spend our

eternity.

Do you desire to spend your eternity with God, to partake of the

salvation only His Son Jesus Christ can offer? If so, then don't just

live for today, lift your head up, see the big picture, and, as the

song goes, "don't stop thinking about tomorrow."

Call on Christ. He will answer.