Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Hope your day went well – and you were blessed! We were blessed again by going to Adoration – between 6 – 7 PM. Nice and peaceful in the chapel in the presence of Jesus Himself in the Blessed Sacrament! Another blessing – got my house cleaned, patio too! It was really nice sitting on the swing today watching the birds. Waiting to see the cardinals though, I can hear them but haven’t seen any yet. I still haven’t seen a robin yet this spring. Chickadees and finches though. May your April be blessed in many ways. God bless you all!

Love and trust are the solutions for the worries and frets of life. Lord, I pray

for Your gift of Faith which is all that I need for Your power to work within me.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y

"And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am
coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given
me, so that they may be one, as we are one." ~John 17:11

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y

I can live in the world and yet live apart with God. I can go forth from my
secret times of communion with God to the work of the world.
To get the spiritual strength I need, my inner life can be lived apart from
the world. I can wear the world as a loose garment. Nothing in the world
can seriously upset me, as long as my inner life is lived with God. All
successful living can arise from this inner life.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may live my inner life with God. I pray that nothing will
invade or destroy that secret place of peace.

LENT DAY 42 - THE WAR CONTINUES

As Christians we rejoice for Jesus Christ is Lord. God is King. Sin and death have been defeated. At the same time, we mustn't succumb to a "cheap grace" interpretation of Christianity, whereby Christ is risen and all is well. As Julian of Norwich said, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." Notice the future tense!

The definitive battle has been won, but the war continues. St. Paul knew this well. His strategy, as we know, was to go to synagogues first, for the message he had was a distinctively Jewish message: that the long-awaited Messiah had come.

Many Jews listened - and this was the beginning of Paul's church. We hear that in Antioch practically the whole city gathered to listen to Paul and Barnabas. But "when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said." Please don't fall into an anti-Semitic trap here, for many of the Jews did listen to him. But from the beginning, this message was opposed.

Why? The most basic reason is that acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus means that your life has to change. For many this is liberating good news, but for others it is a tremendous threat. If Jesus is Lord, my ego cannot be Lord. My country cannot be Lord. My convictions or culture cannot be Lord.

The Resurrection is the clearest indication of the Lordship of Jesus. This is why the message of the Resurrection is attacked, belittled, and explained away. The author of Acts speaks of the "violent abuse" hurled at Paul. What was Paul's reaction to this? He "shook the dust from [his] feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium" where he was "filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

We're up against a great mystery here. We are called to announce the good news to everyone, but not everyone will listen. Once we've done our work, we should move on and not obsess about those who won't listen. Why do some respond and some don't? Finally, that's up to God.

The Storms Of Life

When the heart is troubled and the day seems long,
And the mighty tempests roll,
The clouds are thick and foreboding,
There is sadness in your soul.
When things go wrong and you're weary,
And your heart cries out in pain,
What should I do? Which way do I go?
Crying out again and again.
Suddenly a soft voice whispers,
"Take time my child to pray,
While the storms of life are raging,
I will wipe your fears away."

All Through Today

All through today, O God, help me,
to be quick to praise and slow to criticize;
to be quick to forgive and slow to condemn;
to be quick to share and slow to be selfish.

Grant me all through today,
complete control over my temper, that I may be slow to anger;
complete control over my tongue, that I may speak no hasty word.

Grant that all through today,
so that I may help everyone and hurt no one;
so that I may find true joy in living. Amen.

March 31

Taste and see that I am good. The more intimately you experience Me, the more convinced you become of My goodness. I am the Living One who sees you and longs to participate in your life. I am training you to find Me in each moment and to be a channel of My loving Presence. Sometimes My blessings come to you in mysterious ways: through pain and trouble. At such times you can know My goodness only through your trust in Me. Understanding will fail you, but trust will keep you close to Me.

Thank Me for the gift of My Peace, a gift of such immense proportions that you cannot fathom its depth or breadth. When I appeared to My disciples after the resurrection, it was Peace that I communicated first of all. I knew this was their deepest need: to calm their fears and clear their minds. I also speak Peace to you, for I know your anxious thoughts. Listen to Me! Tune out other voices, so that you can hear Me more clearly. I designed you to dwell in Peace all day, every day. Draw near to Me; receive My Peace.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
—Psalm 34:8

"So she called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her… the Living One Who sees me.
—Genesis 16:13–14 amp"

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
—John 20:19

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
—Colossians 3:15 – Jesus Calling

[happy2write4u]

Hi gloriajean,

How are you, hope well? Very lovely as always. I think you are one in a zillion. Blessings to you and DH.

[lovestopaint]

Good morning everyone, just dropped in to say hi.

The sun is really shining very bright today, thank the Lord for that blessing.

Blessings to all.

Harlene(lovestopaint)

[Puzzle Piece]

Hello To All!

Gloria, such happy news about your daughter. Continue to keep us up to date. We have chilly mornings and warm days which is so like the Southwestern US. Went to lunch with my husband and did some errands while out and about. The day was without incident and that is a blessing in and of itself.

I know the Creator holds all near and dear to his/her heart. Be at peace, know you are loved.

[pinky ann]

Hi Everyone! We had about 4 inches of snow fall yesterday afternoon. A complete surprise to me... It's a gorgeous sunny day so far, and the trees look spectacular but it's not very warm out yet.

I did my first ever volunteer work yesterday in the thrift store in town. It was a lot of fun as I knew nearly everyone there, and the mood was very relaxed. It was nice to laugh as much as I did, so I look forward to going back next week.

Gloria, How nice for Lori and Jeremy! I wish them the best.

Hope everyone has a good day! I finished up spring cleaning downstairs, and have just an hour or so to finish upstairs. I'm glad to move on to more fun things, but do love how nice everything looks. Take care, pinky

[gloriajean]

Happy - What a nice surprise to see you again!!! Please come again!! Have you been away for awhile - I haven't seen your nic for a long time. But then I don't get to the other forums, just here, Viewpoints and the kitchen one.

Harlene - nice out here today but windy! Up to the 60's and that's always good! Hope you're feeling better today.

Love Roses - Lori's news is good! Love to see her so happy! Wonderful to have a day without incident! That's a blessing! Be at peace, too! Thanks for your post.

Pinky - snow might come here too yet - you just never know but at least it can't stay! It has to melt soon! So glad you have a nice volunteer job that you can enjoy! Keep up the good work. You are needed there! You are a busy bee with all your cleaning! And yes, it looks so nice when all clean! Just don't overdue yourself.

Found this on Facebook: Thought you'd like it.

[AnikaBrodie]

DH has regained partial vision following retinal detachment surgery nine days ago. I have posted on Sidewalk Café for anyone interested in a progress report. My word for today is Patience.

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Wishing you all a good night and sweet dreams! Hope your day was filled with blessings, that only He can give! Mine today were many – beautiful sunny day, time out in the patio enjoying the birds, didn’t have to cook supper because I took out a meal of ribs etc. and we had that, and it was just as good as freshly cooked. We ate out in the patio. In lots of other ways, I was blessed today, including with a short visit with Lori tonight. Jeremy is sick – maybe from the bus ride, but he isn’t feeling well now. Praying for you all for all your intentions.

Anika – prayers for your husband. Hope he heals well from that eye. Hope he’ll get full healing soon.

What we endure in this life is nothing compared to the glory that God

has in store for us in heaven. Lord, take every moment of my life as

a prayer to praise and glorify Your holy name.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y

"Be still and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y

I can be calm, true and quiet. I need not get emotionally upset by anything
that happens around me. I can feel a deep, inner security in the goodness
and purpose in the universe. I can be true to my highest ideals. I need
not let myself slip back into old ways of reacting. I can stick to my
spiritual guns. I can be calm always. I need not talk back or defend
myself too much against accusation, whether false or true. I can accept
abuse as well as I accept praise. Only God can judge the real me.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of others. I pray that I may
let God be the judge of the real me.

A Stone Among the Offertory Gifts

In southern Bolivia, Sunday Mass is normally
outdoors. The congregation sits on rough-hewn
plank benches. At the offertory procession four
teenage boys march up to the altar carrying bread
and wine, candles and water. One holds a rather
large stone in his hands.

When they reach the foot of the altar, they turn
around and lift up the offertory gifts for all to
see. Only one of them speaks, the youth holding
the stone. He prays:

"Father in heaven, this stone is also a gift from
us. It represents us and our hearts. Enkindle in
us a warmth for one another and never allow us to
become or remain hard like this stone. On the
contrary, may we continue to spread light and
life. We ask you to make us open to our neighbor.
Help us to improve ourselves so that we may
become good building stones in your Church."

After this prayer, the teenager puts the stone on
the altar alongside the bread and wine and asks
the Lord that this stone which represents us
humans and our heart may be transformed just as
the bread and wine will be.

The Flood Story

A flood threatens a town, forcing everyone to evacuate, But Joe thinks,
"I'm a devout man, God will save me," and stays
put. As the waters rise, Joe's neighbor comes by and says, "Joe come with me, we've got to go." Joe declines,
"I'm a devout man, God will save me."

The waters keep rising, Joe scrambles to his second floor. A firefighter in a rowboat comes by. "Get in the boat or you'll drown," he says. Joe again declines, saying,
"God will save me. So this flood story goes."

Finally, the flood waters force Joe to his roof. A police helicopter comes by and throws down a rope. "Climb up or you'll drown," the policeman yells. "No, I'm a devout man,
God will save me," Joe replies.

Soon, Joe drowns.
He arrives in heaven and challenges God.
"Why didn't you help me?"

"What do you mean?" God says.

"I did help. I sent a neighbor, a firefighter and a helicopter."


Like Joe, many of us wait for something to rescue us while we miss opportunities to help ourselves. Whether in our business lives or personal lives, we hope for a transforming event.
A terrific new customer, a great relationship, a better family life.
But life isn't like that. Like Joe, if we want things to be different, we have to do something ourselves.
But where to start?
How do we learn to recognize an opportunity when it comes our way?

Make a plan - Form a vision of what you want to achieve, then develop a plan of how to make that vision a reality, To judge whether an opportunity
is one to seize or let pass you need to Understand whether it fits your goals.
Make a commitment - Get used to saying no, Get used to saying yes.
But whatever you do, do it with commitment and conviction. Like Joe, we have to learn to recognize opportunities and then grab them.

April 1

I am calling you to a life of constant communion with Me. Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life. You yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted. But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all.

Talk with Me about every aspect of your day, including your feelings. Remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with Me. A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. Do not let your to-do list (written or mental) become an idol directing your life. Instead, ask My Spirit to guide you moment by moment. He will keep you close to Me.

Pray continually.
—1 Thessalonians 5:17

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
—Proverbs 3:6 – From Jesus Calling

Mother Teresa Said...

A day alone with Jesus is apt to spur us on in the vigorous pursuit of holiness through personal love for Jesus.
Jesus desires our perfection with unspeakable ardor. “ For this is the will of God, your sanctification. “ We are but instruments that God deigns to use; these instruments bring forth fruit in the measure that they are united to God......

Scripture Reflection by Patrick Carnevale

Today's readings 4/1/15
Is.50:4-9; Ps.69:8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34; Mt.26:14-25

The closer Jesus' "appointed time" came the more betrayal and abandonment became His closest companions, and like King David in today's psalm He "set His Face like flint...and refused to rebel or turn back" from the fate that awaited Him. Many of us are going to find ourselves in similar situations, it's the fate of everyone who is committed to following in Christ's Footsteps, all because we don't belong to this world any more than He did and are sure to be insulted and falsely accused by those who do. Every one of our lives has a purpose and it's own unique "appointed time", and although we may be treated like "outcasts by my kin" we are anything but that in the Eyes of God. There is no doubt that the world has a way of wearing us down and leaving us "brokenhearted and weak" the way David describes himself, we see that in Jesus' closest friends only a few short hours after sharing The Last Supper with Him as one would sell Him out for "thirty pieces of silver" and the rest would turn their backs on Him and abandon Him to His Fate. The sad reality is we do the same thing sometimes, and just as Jesus didn't turn His Back on His friends in spite of their failures He isn't going to turn His Back on us either. And so as we prepare to celebrate the holiest days of the church year let us reaffirm our commitment to follow in the Footsteps of Christ, knowing that in spite of our weaknesses and failures when our "appointed time" comes to give witness to our faith we, like David, "shall not be put to shame" by those who insult and ridicule us for "speaking a word that will rouse them."

God bless you,

In Jesus - Pat