Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Sometimes the biggest blessing of the day is that which didn't happen. Lord, thank You for my ordinary day, a day in which my loved ones have remained safe and healthy.

Scripture for the Day

"Jesus straightened up and said to the woman caught in adultery, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, sir.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.' " — John 8:10-11

Meditation for the Day

I can start a new life each day. I can put away the old mistakes and start anew each day. God always offers me a fresh start. I need not be burdened or anxious. If God's forgiveness were only for the righteous and those who had not sinned, where would be its need? I believe that God forgives us all our sins. We can honestly try to live today the way God wants us to live. God forgives us much and we can be very grateful.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my life may not be spoiled by worry and fear and selfishness. I pray that I may have a glad, thankful and humble heart.

Greetings my friends! Hope your day was great!! Mine was an ordinary day - and that is wonderful as ordinary days are still filled with God's love and mercy and blessings! Today's blessings would be seeing Darla's post on Facebook this morning: There's a couple of inches of snow outside. School is canceled! Yay! Wait a minute, why am I getting so excited. I'm the professor. We'll be behind in class now. I'll have to work faster and harder to catch up on the material. Oh what the heck, yay!
A couple of inches in Texas, wow! Well, I wonder if that's odd for there. Today Linus worked 8 hours and he was ok. I made chili today, and used some of our tomatoes from our garden that I froze. It was delicous. I made him a lunch today of chicken veg. soup, a slice of bread and butter, apple and orange - it was plenty, he liked it. Now when he goes back to work on Sat. he'll have a bowl of chili. When I listen to the radio I hear of all those snow storms all around the States and I think of you all and pray for your safety. Stay safe!

Homily of the Day

February 1, 2011
Keep Your Eyes Fixed on Jesus!
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Heb 12:1-4 / Mk 5:21-43
It’s fascinating to look at aerial photographs of great and ancient rivers like the Mississippi as they meander across a continent, and to observe all the twists and turns and radical changes of course that have occurred across the centuries. Our lifetimes seem short indeed when compared to such epic histories. And yet the changes and shifts that take place even in our short lives can be mind-boggling.
Think about the shifts of our personal opinions and our most intensely defended attitudes that often move up and down with the speed and abandon of the NASDAQ index. And what about the ebb and flow of our special interests and preoccupations and the passions that we’d “die” for? They come and they go. Then there’s the very simple reality of aging, at every stage of which our bodies dictate messages that are often confusing and always hard to ignore.
At every stage we are tugged and pulled in sundry directions and sometimes whipsawed till our brains seem addled. We can lose our way. There is only one secure remedy for that, one secure haven, and St. Paul speaks it so well in today’s epistle: “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.” Do that and no matter how hard the wind blows or the seas rage, you will know where you are and where you are going.

THE BURDEN
Author Unknown
"Why was my burden so heavy?" I slammed the bedroom door and leaned
against
it. Is there no rest from this life? I wondered. I stumbled to my bed
and
dropped onto it, pressing my pillow around my ears to shut out the
noise of
my existence.
"Oh God," I cried, "let me sleep. Let me sleep forever and never wake
up!"
With a deep sob I tried to will myself into oblivion, then welcomed
the
blackness that came over me.
Light surrounded me as I regained consciousness. I focused on its
source:
the figure of a man standing before a cross.
"My child," the person asked, "why did you want to come to Me before I
am
ready to call you?"
"Lord, I'm sorry. It's just that... I can't go on. You see how hard it
is
for me. Look at this awful burden on my back. I simply can't carry it
anymore."
"But haven't I told you to cast all of your burdens upon Me, because I
care
for you? My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
"I knew You would say that. But why does mine have to be so heavy?"
"My child, everyone in the world has a burden. Perhaps you would like
to
try a different one?"
"I can do that?"
He pointed to several burdens lying at His feet. "You may try any of
these."
All of them seemed to be of equal size. But each was labeled with a
name.
"Why there's Joan's!" I said. Joan was married to a wealthy
businessman.
She lived in a sprawling estate and dressed her three daughters in the
prettiest designer clothes. Sometimes she drove me to church in her
Cadillac when my car was broken.
"Let me try that one." How difficult could her burden be? I thought.
The Lord removed my burden and placed Joan's on my shoulders. I sank
to my
knees beneath its weight. "Take it off!" I said. "What makes it so
heavy?"
"Look inside."
I untied the straps and opened the top. Inside was a figure of her
Mother-in-law, and when I lifted it out, it began to speak.
"Joan, you'll never be good enough for my son," it began. "He never
should
have married you. You're a terrible mother to my grandchildren. .."
I quickly placed the figure back in the pack and withdrew another. It
was
Donna, Joan's youngest daughter. Her head was bandaged from the
surgery
that had failed to resolve her epilepsy.
A third figure was Joan's brother. Addicted to drugs, he had been
convicted
of killing a police officer.
"I see why her burden is so heavy, Lord. But she's always smiling and
helping others. I didn't realize..."
"Would you like to try another?" He asked quietly.
I tested several. Paula's felt heavy: She was raising four small boys
without a father. Debra's did too: a childhood of sexual abuse and a
marriage of emotional abuse. When I came to Ruth's burden, I didn't
even
try. I knew that inside I would find arthritis, old age, a demanding
full-time job, and a beloved husband in a nursing home.
"They're all too heavy, Lord." I said. "Give back my own."
As I lifted the familiar load once again, It seemed much lighter than
the
others.
"Lets look inside." He said.
I turned away, holding it close. "That's not a good idea," I said.
"Why?"
"There's a lot of junk in there."
"Let Me see."
The gentle thunder of His voice compelled me. I opened my burden.
He pulled out a brick.
"Tell me about this one."
"Lord, You know. It's money. I know we don't suffer like people in
some
countries or even the homeless here in America. But we have no
insurance,
and when the kids get sick, we can't always take them to the doctor.
They've
never been to a dentist. And I'm tired of dressing them in hand-me-
downs. "
"My child, I will supply all of your needs... and your children's.
I've
given them healthy bodies. I will teach them that expensive clothing
doesn't make a person valuable in My sight."
Then He lifted out the figure of a small boy. "And this?" He asked.
"Andrew..." I hung my head, ashamed to call my son a burden. "But,
Lord,
he's hyperactive. He's not quiet like the other two. He makes me so
tired.
He's always getting hurt, and someone is bound to think I abuse him. I
yell
at him all the time. Someday I may really hurt him...."
"My child," He said, "if you trust Me, I will renew your strength. If
you
allow Me to fill you with My Spirit, I will give you patience."
Then He took some pebbles from my burden.
"Yes, Lord," I said with a sigh. "Those are small. But they're
important.
I hate my hair. It's thin, and I can't make it look nice. I can't
afford
to go to the beauty shop. I'm overweight and can't stay on a diet. I
hate
all my clothes. I hate the way I look!"
"My child, people look at your outward appearance, but I look at your
heart.
By My Spirit you can gain self-control to lose weight. But your beauty
should not come from outward appearance. Instead, it should come from
your
inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is
of
great worth in My sight."
My burden now seemed lighter than before.
"I guess I can handle it now." I said.
"There is more." He said. "Hand Me that last brick."
"Oh, You don't have to take that. I can handle it."
"My child, give it to Me." Again His voice compelled me. He reached
out
His hand, and for the first time I saw the ugly wound.
"But, Lord, this brick is so awful, so nasty, so.....Lord! What
happened to
Your hands? They're so scarred!" No longer focused on my burden, I
looked
for the first time into His face. In His brow were ragged scars --as
though
someone had pressed thorns into His flesh.
"Lord," I whispered. "What happened to You?"
His loving eyes reached into my soul.
"My child, you know. Hand Me the brick. It belongs to Me. I bought
it."
"How?"
"With My blood."
"But why, Lord?"
"Because I have loved you with an Everlasting Love. Give it to Me."
I placed the filthy brick into His wounded palm. It contained all the
dirt
and evil of my life: my pride, my selfishness, the depression that
constantly tormented me.
He turned to the cross and hurled my brick into the pool of blood at
it's
base. It hardly made a ripple.
"Now, My child, you need to go back. I will be with you always. When
you
are troubled, call to Me and I will help you and show you things you
cannot
imagine now."
"Yes, Lord, I will call on You."
I reached to pick up my burden.
"You may leave that here if you wish. You see all these burdens? They
are
the ones that others have left at My feet. Joan's, Paula's, Debra's,
Ruth's..... When you leave your burden here, I carry it with you.
Remember,
My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
As I placed my burden with Him, the light began to fade. Yet I heard
Him
whisper, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you."
A peace flooded my soul.

Lord Am I Willing

Lord am I willing to risk everything
To go spread Your gospel, some souls to win
Am I willing to give up the comforts of home
If from my family You call me to roam
Lord am I willing my comforts to break
To help other people for the gospel's sake
Am I really willing to help ease the pain
Of someone who's caught up in life's violent game
Can I truly say, here I am, I will go
Go tell the people that You love them so
Would I leave all I have and my family behind
Go help the lost, the sick and confined
Am I really willing, willing to make
A complete sacrifice for the gospel's sake
Would it be out of guilt or by my own choice
Am I willing to say, Lord make me Your voice
Am I really willing to say, Lord send me
To go spread Your gospel, even over the sea
Am I willing to put things in my life behind
To help other people my Savior to find
Am I willing to lose all, to share in their pain
Even when not convenient or for my own gain
Lord help me see others the way You see them
Help me see the condition they're in
Help me to be willing to put all else aside
To tell them they too can be part of your bride
To tell them You love them in spite of their sin
That You'll be there for them if invited in
Lord touch my heart with compassion for men
Who are lost and dying with lives full of sin
Give me a heart of compassion today
So I can reach someone who's going astray.
- Author Unknown

Someone Prayed
Someone prayed when my heart was lonely
Someone prayed and my heart grew lighter.
Someone prayed when I was too weary
Someone prayed and You gave me strength.
Someone prayed when my heart was broken
Someone prayed and You healed my wound.
Someone prayed when my cross was heavy
Someone prayed and You made it lighter.
Someone prayed when my footsteps were weary
Someone prayed and the miles grew shorter.
Someone prayed when my head was bowed
with worry, grief, anger and strife
Someone prayed and I thought of Your life.
Someone prayed when a mother's wept and
father's heart was about to break
Someone prayed and their hearts were tuned
to accept God's Will and His perfect peace.
Someone prayed when I could not feel Your
caring and loving, Your guiding my way
Someone prayed and You held my hand, the sun
grew brighter and I knew no fear.
Someone prayed when I lost a loved one and his
soul ascended on wings of prayer and You
taught me then through sorrow and loss to
reach out to others and shoulder their cross.
Someone prayed and I saw the light that You give
to those who are willing to share Your wonderous
Love through the power of prayer.
By Esther Mary Walker

Closing prayer: Prayer to St. Joseph

Be mindful of us, O blessed Joseph,
and intercede for us with thy foster-Son by the pleading of thy prayer:
do thou, in like manner, render the blessed Virgin Mary thy Spouse, gracious onto us,
for she is the Mother of Him, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
liveth and reigneth world without end.
Amen.

Good night everyone! Sweet Dreams to all - Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! See you then.
God bless you all!