Community Chat

[gloriajean]

In your search for peace, look within. If you are looking elsewhere,
you are looking in the wrong place. Lord, help me to open my heart
to Your gift of peace and refuse to let anything in that disturbs it.


Scripture for the day:

"Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well." ~Matthew 6:33

Meditation for the day:

"Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well." We need not seek material
things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will
come to us, as we honestly work for them. Many of us seek material
things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual
things. We cannot serve God and earthly things at the same time. The
first requisites of an abundant life are spiritual things: honesty,
purity, unselfishness and love. Until we have these qualities,
quantities of material things are of little real use to us.


Prayer for the day:


I pray that I may put much effort into acquiring spiritual things. I
pray that I may get right spiritually and enjoy the many gifts around
me.

Hello my friends! Well today was a sweet blessing when we got such a nice
Easter Card from Darla. It said on the cover: Thinking of you, Mom and
Dad - When I was a kid, you did so many little things to make me happy -
especially when holidays came around. I appreciate so much the way you
always put a lot of time and care into my Easter Baskets...
On the inside it says this - And it's one of the reasons that Easter still
means so much to me, and why I'm reminded year after year of how lucky I am
to have a Mom and Dad like you. Happy Easter with love. The words of the
card sounds just like her - and it's so true -she really missed us on Easter
this year that she talked to us for two hours last night. Another blessing
was that Linus finished with the granite stones around the trees, and the
landscaping and it looks so nice - even if it was so cold out and it froze
last night, he worked all day out there.
Hope you all had a blessed day too.

The ABC´s of Mercy

Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly,
repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon
the whole world.

Be Merciful to Others. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow
through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others
just as He does to us.

Completely Trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy
are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will
receive.

A STORY FROM THE PARADISE OF THE FATHERS

There was a certain man who had three friends, and he said to the first,
'Since I desire to see the King come with me', and the friend said unto him,
'I will come with you half the way'. And the man said to the second friend,
'Come, go with me to the King's presence', and the friend said to him, 'I
will come with you as far as his palace, but I cannot go with you inside'.
And the man said the same unto the third friend, who answered and said, 'I
will come with you, and I will go inside the palace with you, and I will
even stand up before the King and speak on your behalf'. Wishing to learn
the meaning of this riddle? Here is the answer; 'The first friend is
abstinence, which leads as far as one half of the way. The second friend is
purity and holiness, which lead to heaven. And the third friend is
loving-kindness, which establishes a man before God and speaks on his behalf
with great boldness'.

Marian Prayer for the Easter Season
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia,
For he whom you were worthy to bear, alleluia,
Has risen, as he foretold, alleluia;
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
For the Lord has indeed risen, alleluia.

God our Father, you give joy to the world by the resurrection of your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the prayers of his mother, the Virgin Mary,
bring us to the happiness of eternal life. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.

THE LIFESAVING STATION

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a
crude little lifesaving station. The building was no more than a hut,
and there was only one boat; but the few devoted members kept a
constant watch over the sea. With no thought for themselves, they went out
day
and night, tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were
saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to be
associated with the station and give their time, money, and effort to
support the work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The
little lifesaving station grew.

Some of these new members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that
the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more
comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those who
were saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and
put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving
station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they
decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely because they used
it as sort of a club. Fewer members were not interested in going to sea
on lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.
The lifesaving motif still prevailed in this club's decoration, and
there was a memorial lifeboat in the room where the club initiations
were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired
crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were
dirty and sick, and some of them were foreigners. The beautiful new
club was in chaos. Immediately, the property committee hired someone to rig
up a shower house outside the club, where victims of shipwrecks could
be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of
the members wanted to stop the club's lifesaving activities because they
felt they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of
the club. A small number of members insisted upon lifesaving as their
primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a lifesaving
station. The small group's members were voted down and told that if
they wanted to save lives, they could begin their own lifesaving station
down the coast.

They did.

As the years went by, however, the new station experienced the same
changes that had occurred in the old station. It evolved into a club,
and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to
repeat itself, and if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a
number of exclusive clubs along that shore.

Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the passengers
drown.

As Disciples of Jesus, our primary task is to go and make disciples.
(See Matthew 28:19.) To put it another way, we are to go and save
lives.
Unfortunately, we sometimes forget our purpose. We need to recover our
passion for lifesaving. We need to be doers of the Word and not hearers
only. (See James 1:22).

-- Author Unknown

Conversation with God

- My Dear Father in Heaven.

* Yes?

- Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.

* But you called Me.

- Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying... My Dear
Father in Heaven...

* There, you did it again.

- Did what?

* Called me. You said, "My Dear Father in Heaven." Here I
am. What's on your mind.?

- But I didn't mean anything by it. I was just, You know,
saying my prayers for the night. I always say my prayers.
It makes me feel good, kind of like getting my duty done.

* Oh. All Right. Go on.

- I'm thankful for my many blessings...

* Hold it. How thankful?

- What?

* How thankful are you for your "Many blessings?"

- I'm... well... I don't know. How should I know? It's just
part of the prayer. Everyone always said that I should
express my thanks.

* Oh well. You're welcome. Go ahead...

- Go ahead?

* With the prayer.

- Oh yeah. Let's see... bless the poor and the sick and the
needy and the afflicted...

* Do you really mean that?

- Well, sure I mean it.

* What are you doing about it?

- Doing? Who, me? Nothing. I guess. I just think that it
would be kind of nice if You got control of things down
here like You have up there, so people don't have to suffer
so.

* Have I got control of you?

- Well I go to church, I pay my tithe, I don't...

* That isn't what I asked you. What about your temper? You
have a problem there, and your friends and family suffer.
And then there's the way you spend your money... all on
yourself. And how about the kinds of books you read?

- Stop picking on me. I'm just as good as some of the rest
of those I see every Sunday at church.

* Excuse Me. I thought you were praying for me to bless the
needy. If that is to happen, I'll have to have help from the
ones who are praying for it... like you.

- All right. I guess that I have a few hang-ups, now that
You mention it. I could probably mention some others.

* So could I.

- Look, Father. I need to finish up here. This is taking a
lot longer than usual. Bless the missionaries to be led to
the doors of the honest in heart.

* You mean people like Ralph?

- Ralph?

* Yes, the guy around the corner.

- "That" Ralph... but he smokes and drinks and never goes to
church.

* Have you ever looked in his heart lately?

- Of course not. How can...

* I have. I looked. And it's one of those honest hearts
your were just praying about.

- O.K. then, get the missionaries over there. Do you think
I like having a non-member for a neighbor?

* Aren't you supposed to be a missionary? I thought I made
that pretty clear.

- Hey, wait a minute. What is this? Criticize "me" day?
Here I am, doing my duty, keeping your commandments to
pray. And all of a sudden you break in and start reminding
me of all my problems.

* Well, you called Me. And here I am. Keep on praying.
I'm interested in this next part. You haven't changed the
order around have you? ... Go on...

- I don't want to.

* Why not?

- I know what You'll say.

* Try Me and see.

- Please forgive me of all my sins... and help me to forgive
others.

* What about Bill?

- See. I knew it. I knew you'd bring him up. Listen Lord,
he told lies about me, and I got fired. All my co-workers
think I'm a first class creep, and I didn't do anything.
I'm going to get even with him!

* But your prayers. What about your prayers?

- I didn't mean it.

* Well, at least you're honest. I guess you enjoy carrying
that load of bitterness around, don't you?

- No, I don't. But I'll feel better as soon as I get even.

* Do you want to know a secret?

- What secret?

* You won't feel better. You'll feel worse. Listen to me.
You forgive Bill and I'll forgive you.

- But Lord, I can't forgive Bill.

* Then I cannot forgive you.

- No matter what?

* No matter what. But you're not through with your prayer
yet. Go on.

- Oh all right... please help me to control my feelings and
not yield to temptations.

* Good. Good. I'll do just that. But you stop putting
yourself in all those places where you can be tempted.

- What do you mean by that?

* Quit hanging around the magazine racks and spending so
much time in front of the tv. Some of that stuff is going
to get to you sooner or later. You'll find yourself
involved in some terrible things before long... and don't
use me for an escape hatch either.

- An escape hatch? I don't understand.

* Sure you do. You've done it lots of times -- you find
yourself in a crisis situation, then you come running to
me. "Lord, help me out of this mess and I promise I'll
never do it again." It's amazing how the quality and
intensity of your prayers improve when you are in trouble.
Do you remember some of those bargains you tried to make
with Me?

- Well I don't think... Oh... yeah... like the time Mom's
visiting teacher saw me coming out of that movie about... Oh
brother...

* Do you remember your prayer. I do. "Oh God. Don't let
her tell my mother where I've been. I promise I'll go to
nothing but "G" rated movies from now on. She didn't tell
your mother, but you didn't keep your promise. Did you?

- No Lord, I didn't. I'm sorry.

* So am I. Go ahead and finish your prayer.

- Wait a minute. I want to ask you a question. Do you
always listen to my prayers?

* Every word. Every time.

- Then how come you never talked back to me before?

* How many chances have you given me? There's not enough
time between your "Amens" and your head hitting the pillow
for me to draw a breath. How am I supposed to give an
answer?

- You could, if you really wanted to.

* No. I could if you really wanted Me to. Child, I always
want to.

- Father, I am sorry. Will you forgive me?

* I already have. And thanks for letting me interrupt. I
get lonely to talk to you sometimes. Good night. I love
you.

- Good night, and I love You too.

Look Again and Again
You would like to know God?
Look at the crucifix.

You would like to love God?
Look at the crucifix.

You want to be happy with Him forever and forever?
Look at the crucifix.

You wonder what God is and what is He like?
Look at the crucifix.

You wonder what you are and what you are worth?
Look at the crucifix.

You wonder how merciful God is?
Look at the crucifix.

You wonder how much He wants you in heaven?
Look at the crucifix.

You wonder how much He will help you to get there?
Look at the crucifix.

The arrangement of the names of Christ, however, is manifold:

Lord, because He is Spirit;
Word, because He is God;
Son, because He is the only-begotten son of the Father;
Man, because He was born of the Virgin;
Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice;
Shepherd, because He is a guardian;
Worm, because He rose again;
Mountain, because He is strong;
Way, because there is a straight path through Him to life;
Lamb, because He suffered;
Corner-Stone, because instruction is His;
Teacher, because He demonstrates how to live;
Sun, because He is the illuminator;
Truth, because He is from the Father;
Life, because He is the creator;
Bread because He is flesh;
Samaritan, because He is the merciful protector;
Christ, because He is anointed;
Jesus, because He is a mediator;
Vine, because we are redeemed by His blood;
Lion, because he is king;
Rock, because He is firm;
Flower, because He is the chosen one;
Prophet, because He has revealed what is to come.

- Pope Damasus I (d.384)

I Am There

You cannot see Me,
yet I am the Light you see by.

You cannot hear Me,
yet I speak through your voice.

You cannot feel Me,
yet I am the power at work in your hands.

I am at work
though you do not understand My ways.

I am at work
though you do not recognize My works.

I am not strange visions,
I am not mysteries...
only in absolute stillness beyond self
can you know Me as I am
and then but as a feeling and a faith.

Yet, I am there. Yet I hear.
Yet I answer.
When you need Me, I am there.

Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.

I am there when you pray
and when you do not pray.

I am in you
you are in Me.

I am the law
on which the movement of the stars
and the growth of living cells are founded.

I am the love
that is law's fulfilling.

I am assurance.

I am peace.

I am openness.

I am the law
that you live by.

I am the love
that you cling to.

I am your assurance.

I am your peace.

I am one with you.

Beloved , I am there.

(author unknown)

May you all have a very blessed Wednesday - God be with you in all that you
do!