Hello my friends! Thanks so much for your prayers for my sister, Deil. Her blood pressure went down, and she's much better today, her son stayed with her all night last night and all day, and mowed her lawn, did outside work for her etc. and she said he got a lot done there! And then around 2 PM Sister LaDonna came and will stay with her until Thursday! Wow! What answers to prayer! That is so awesome that she could come for a few days. So it was a great blessing for me to find out that Deil's doing so much better, and having to not be alone right now - and tonight Lori had us over for a bon fire, she burned some wood from her shed that was about 20 years old that got replaced with new wood - from the bottom of the shed. It was a perfect night for a bon fire, not cold, and no wind! It was so nice! I took a picture of our red maple tree in our front yard, it's so pretty now! Again, thank you all for your prayers, and please do continue praying for Deil. She is so special to so many people! Praying for you all!!
Each day there are lessons to learn and lives to touch. Lord, You
have done so much for me. Help me to repay You.
Scripture for the day:
"And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all
peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up
death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all
faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the
earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is
our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the
LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his
salvation." ~Isaiah 25:7-9
Meditation for the day:
We can live today in the consciousness of God's contact, upholding us in
all good thoughts, words and deeds. If sometimes there seems to be a
shadow on our lives and we feel out of sorts, we can remember that this
is not the withdrawal of God's presence, but only our own temporary
unwillingness to realize it. The quiet gray days are the days for doing
what we must do, but we can know that the consciousness of God's
nearness will return and be with us again, when the gray days are past.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may face the dull days with courage. I pray that I may
have faith that the bright days will return.
THE KING'S GIFT
By Marion Smith
Ephesians 6:11
In the Old Testament we read about a well known
Biblical character, David. He was just a young shepherd boy when he
volunteered to fight an enemy, the giant Goliath. The King at that
time was Saul, and he graciously offered David his armor for the
fight. As David donned this heavy equipment, he realized he could not
fight with the additional weight and bulk of Saul’s armor on his body.
In the New Testament, Ephesians 6:11,God has given all
His children a special set of armor to combat an enemy much more
formidable than Goliath . The enemy is Satan, and the gift from God is
a full set of armor- covering us from head to foot. We have his helmet
of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of
peace ,the sword of the spirit(our offence) and the shield of faith
(our defense). This perfect set of armor is neither too heavy nor a
hindrance as we engage in a spiritual battle with Satan each and every
day of our lives. As a matter of fact, it is our shield and
protection ; a perfect way to combat Satan . I am thankful for this
gift from God, and so glad it is lightweight enough that I can put it
on when first awakening , wearing and utilizing it all day long.
Each set of armor was given by a king. King Saul, in
the Old Testament, and King Jesus, in the New.The difference in the
old and new armor is clear. King Sauls’ was unsuitable for David. The
new is well suited for the believer, and given to us by the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords – Jesus Christ. Praise God!
Words of Encouragement
Live in Hope!
Posted: 15 Oct 2009 12:00 AM PDT
Romans 5:5
Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We hope, not because we are not certain, but because we have a faith that
transcends mere certainty. We hope, not because heaven is far away and we
are stuck on earth, but because in the Incarnation, heaven was born in the
form of a baby in Bethlehem, was crucified, died, and rose again. We hope
because the very worst thing that can possibly happen has already happened
and, so far from it leading to Cosmic Despair, has lead to life from the
dead and the gift of the Holy Spirit. If God is for us, who can be against
us? If God can bring eternal life for a race of murderers out of the death
of his own murdered Son, what possible limits can there be to his mercy?
None, except for our refusal to receive that mercy. Today, receive the mercy
of God and walk in newness of life in the Holy Spirit.
God's Message for you today:
THRouGH loVE AloNE
“You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.” – Luke
11:52
I finished giving one of my very first provincial talks and felt so happy!
Let me tell you a speaker’s secret: all of us, consciously or unconsciously,
want to hear an affirmation regarding how we did.
I went down the stage still intoxicated with joy. Then, I saw a team of
known preachers during my time gathered in one table at the back of the
hall. My heart pumped quickly as I wondered what they thought about my talk.
Shyly, I approached them and divulged that I’ve looked up to them as my role
models. All of them merely cast a quick glance at me and went back to their
highly “spiritual” discussion as if just momentarily disturbed by a shadow
that happened to be me. I couldn’t believe it! I was so disappointed that my
role models had no time to even know my name and what I do.
I wept in God’s presence. I took refuge in His embrace. I received His love.
From that point on, I had a conviction that I would never give a talk if
there were a tinge of callousness in me. I resolved to preach the Gospel
through love and love alone. And if necessary, I’ll speak. Obet Cabrillas
REFLECTION:
Love cannot be mimicked; for from the fullness of the heart, the mouth
speaks.
From sour-faced saints deliver us, Lord. (St. Teresa of Avila)
If I Could Only Do It All Over Again..
Anyone celebrating any birthday beyond seventy is repeatedly pestered with
the usual question, "What was the secret of your long life?"
An elderly nun, Sister Ruth, was asked, "What would you do if you had a
chance to do it all over again?"
She said, "As you see, I'm a nun. As such, I belong to a group of orderly,
organized people who live a regular and healthy life. So that's what I did,
too. But there were times when I had my silly moments. And if I could do it
all over again, I would like to have more of those silly moments. In other
words, the next time around, I would not do so much planning. I would leave
more to chance. You know, I'm one of those people who carry around a
thermometer, hot water bottle and raincoat - just in case. The next time
around, I would leave all that gear at home. I would get up before dawn and
walk barefoot in the dewy grass. I would take a ride or two on a
merry-to-round. And I would not trouble my head about what anyone else
thought about it."
What this gray-haired Sister was saying was: "I'd trust in God more... and
leave most of the running of my life to him."
Prayers in Times of Weakness, Trial, Tribulation
O Heart of Love, I place all my trust in Thee, for I fear all things from my
own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
St. Margaret Mary
I live through the mercy of Jesus, to whom I owe everything and from whom I
expect everything.
Pope John the 23rd
Yet, O Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in You, nevertheless, I
know that You are my God, that I am all Yours, and that I have no hope but
in your goodness; so, I abandon myself entirely into Your hands.
St. Francis de Sales
You make a root below the soil flourish and you can make fruitful the
darkness in which you keep me.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself
in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to
accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.
Fenelon
May I be patient! It is so difficult to realize what one believes, and to
make these trials, as they are intended, real blessings.
John Henry Cardinal Newman
My own heart let me more have pity on.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.
Unceasing Prayer
Dear Father, who answers our prayers,
Help me to be steadfast in my praying to you, even to stay awake that I may
pray!
Fill my life with thanksgiving to you.
O God, I pray for all your servants everywhere that you may open a door for
us to proclaim your Word, to declare the now-public secret - Christ
crucified, glorified, and coming - and to make the message clear, as we
ought to speak.
In the name of Jesus I ask you to fill our lives with your holy life and to
claim all our motives and deeds as your own. Amen.
Today's readings 10/14/14
Gal.5:1-6; Ps.119:41, 43-45, 47-48; Lk.11:37-41
The world we live in is filled with all kinds of people who work real hard
to put on the appearance of being devout and faithful followers of Christ
"while on the inside are full of plunder and evil", and if the truth be
known we can all be counted among them from time to time. But rather than go
through life pointing accusing fingers at everyone else to hide our own
guilt and shame Jesus offers us a better way to live by embracing the faults
and failures we all share in common and "giving alms to what is within",
applying God's Mercy and Grace to them for the good of everyone. In our
first reading we hear St.Paul tell us how futile and foolish it is to try to
"justify yourselves by works of the Law", futile because we know we'll never
be totally successful at it and foolish because it nullifies everything
Jesus has done for us. After listening to the words of our psalmist I have
to believe we all share the same sentiments and desires, the problem is like
St.Paul we don't always "do the good that I want but do the evil I do not
want" (Rom.7:19). That's why God's Mercy and Grace is so important, for by
embracing it and sharing it freely we "make all things clean for yourselves"
in the process. I believe the lesson we are presented with today is simple,
we are to be just as concerned with the salvation of our brothers and
sisters as we are with our own, it's a family and community thing, a Body of
Christ commitment we all share a part in, and by sacrificing and "giving
alms" to the cause we fulfill our role in God's Perfect Plan to save all
mankind from sin and death.
God bless you,
In Jesus - Pat
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