Hello my friends! Peace of Jesus to you all! My blessings today - my Faith which is a great part of me, my dear husband who puts up with me and loves me, my elderly sisters who mean so much to me, and my dear, dear friends - both whom I see and those on line ones! I'm also blessed that my husband prays with me. It wasn't always this way, but for the last five years or so we pray the Rosary together, plus the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and it's so nice. I did pray that he would, and God answered my prayer! Again I wish to welcome our dear newcomers here - Topaz Gem, Rondell, Serenity, and Carlotta, and hope you do come again - let us all praise our God Whom we all love so much and want to give Him the credit for the Blessings He gives us.
Be yourself in all that you do and you will soon learn that you are very
special. Lord, help me find the peace that You have already placed within
my soul.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the
test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to
those who love him." ~James 1:12
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
None of us entirely escape temptation. We can expect it and be ready
for it when it comes. None of us are entirely safe. We can try to
keep our defenses up by daily thought and prayer. That is why we
spend time in prayer each day. We can become able to recognize
temptation when it comes. The first step toward conquering temptation
always is to see it clearly as temptation and not to harbor it in our
minds. We can dissociate ourselves from it, put it out of our mind as
soon as it appears. We need not think of excuses for yielding to it.
We can turn at once to God for help.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may be prepared for whatever temptation may come to me.
I pray that I may see it clearly and conquer it with the help of God.
What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.
(Joseph Scriven 1819-1886)
Carl's Garden
Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a
big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for
over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight
of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a
bullet wound received in WW II. Watching him, we worried that although he
had survived WW II, he may not make it through our changing uptown
neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug
activity.
When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring
for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his
characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up. He
was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally
happened.
He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members
approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked,
"Would you like a drink from the hose?"
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure", with a
malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two
grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the
ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his
retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled. Carl tried to get himself
up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg.
He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help
him. Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he
couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are you okay? Are you
hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just
passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head.
"Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday." His wet clothes clung
to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle
again and started to water.
Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you
doing?"
"I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately", came the calm
reply. Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could
only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.
A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was
unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink form his hose. This time they
didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head
to foot in the icy water.
When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the
street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at
the hilarity of what they had just done. Carl just watched them. Then he
turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with
his watering.
The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when he
was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and
fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his footing, he
turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormenters reaching down for
him. He braced himself for the expected attack. "Don't worry old man, I'm
not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, still offering
the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl.
As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and
handed it to Carl. "What's this?" Carl asked.
"It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money
in your wallet."
"I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned
some thing from you", he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like
you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But
every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting
back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You
kept showing love against our hate." He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't
sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back." He paused for another
awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way
of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he
walked off down the street.
Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took
out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet,
he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride
that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.
He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his
funeral in spite of the weather. In particular the minister noticed a tall
young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the
church. The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice
made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as
beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."
The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care
for Carl's garden." The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until
one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door. Opening the
door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the
flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said.
The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the
stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl's kindness had turned
this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden
shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."
The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers
and vegetables just as Carl had done. In that time, he went to college, got
married and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot
his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought
Carl would have kept it.
One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care
for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife
just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday."
"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed
keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?"
It is Carl.
-- Author Unknown --
8 Things about Failure
TO FAIL IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING A FAILURE. One may have many failings and
yet still be far from being a failure.
TO FAIL IS NOT THE DISGRACE EVERYONE THINKS IT IS. To err is to do nothing
more than to join the human race.
FAILURE IS ONLY A TEMPORARY SETBACK. Failure is never the final chapter of
the book of your life unless you give up and quit.
NOTHING WORTHWHILE IS EVER ACHIEVED WITHOUT RUNNING THE RISK OF FAILURE. The
man who risks everything to try to achieve something truly worthwhile and
fails is anything but a disgraceful failure.
FAILURE IS A NATURAL PREPARATION FOR, SUCCESS. Strange as it may seem to
some of you, success is much more difficult to live with successfully than
is failure.
EVERY FAILING BRINGS WITH IT THE POSSIBILITIES OF SOMETHING GREATER. Analyze
failure under whatever circumstances you choose, and you will discover some
seeds for turning failure into success,
WHAT YOU DO WITH FAILURES IN YOUR LIFE IS UP TO YOU. Failure is either a
blessing or a curse, depending upon the individuals reaction or response to
it.
FAILINGS ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN HOW TO DO THINGS BETTER THE NEXT TIME-TO
LEARN WHERE THE PITFALLS ARE AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. The best possible thing
to do with failure is to learn all you can from it.
THE RESUME OF JESUS CHRIST
Author Unknown
Address: Ephesians 1:20
Phone: Romans 10:13
Website: The Bible. Keywords: Christ, Lord, Savior and Jesus
Hello. My name is Jesus -The Christ. Many call me Lord! I've sent you
my resume because I'm seeking the top management position in your
heart. Please consider my accomplishments as set forth in my resume.
Qualifications
* I founded the earth and established the heavens, (See Proverbs
3:19)
* I formed man from the dust of the ground, (See Genesis 2:7)
* I breathed into man the breath of life, (See Genesis 2:7)
* I redeemed man from the curse of the law, (See Galatians 3:13)
* The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant comes upon your life
through me, (See Galatians 3:14)
Occupational Background
* I've only had one employer, (See Luke 2:49).
* I've never been tardy, absent, disobedient, slothful or
disrespectful.
* My employer has nothing but rave reviews for me, (See Matthew
3:15-17)
Skills Work Experiences
* Some of my skills and work experiences include: empowering the poor
to be poor no more, healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives
free, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind and setting at
liberty them that are bruised, (See Luke 4:18).
* I am a Wonderful Counselor, (See Isaiah 9:6). People who listen to
me shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil, (See Proverbs 1:33).
* Most importantly, I have the authority, ability and power to
cleanse you of your sins, (See I John 1:7-9)
Educational Background
* I encompass the entire breadth and length of knowledge, wisdom and
understanding, (See Proverbs 2:6).
* In me are hid all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (See
Colossians 2:3).
* My Word is so powerful; it has been described as being a lamp unto
your feet and a lamp unto your path, (See Psalms 119:105).
* I can even tell you all of the secrets of your heart, (See Psalms
44:21).
Major Accomplishments
* I was an active participant in the greatest Summit Meeting of all
times, (See Genesis 1:26).
* I laid down my life so that you may live, (See II Corinthians
5:15).
* I defeated the archenemy of God and mankind and made a show of them
openly, (See Colossians 2:15).
* I've miraculously fed the poor, healed the sick and raised the
dead!
* There are many more major accomplishments, too many to mention
here. You can read them on my website, which is located at: www dot -
the BIBLE. You don't need an Internet connection or computer to access
my website.
References
* Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine
healings, salvation, deliverance, miracles, restoration and
supernatural guidance
In Summation
Now that you've read my resume, I'm confident that I'm the only
candidate uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your
heart. In summation, I will properly direct your paths, (See Proverbs
3:5-6), and lead you into everlasting life, (See John 6:47). When can
I start? Time is of the essence,
(See Hebrews 3:15).
Send this resume to everyone you know,! you never know who may have an
opening! Thanks for your help and may God bless you!
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and
his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in
Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the
couple approached the front desk hoping to get some
shelter for the night.
"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband
asked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile,
looked at the couple and explained that there were
three conventions in town.
"All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But I
can't send a nice couple like you out into the rain at
one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be
willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a
suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks
comfortable for the night."
When the couple declined, the young man pressed on.
"Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," the
clerk told them. So the couple agreed.
As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man
said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who
should be the boss of the best hotel in the United
States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you."
The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of
them had a good laugh.
As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that
the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding
people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.
Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the
incident when he received a letter from the old man.
It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a
round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to
pay them a visit.
The old man met him in New York, and led him to the
corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then
pointed to a great new building there, a palace of
reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting
up to the sky.
"That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just
built for you to manage."
"You must be joking," the young man said.
"I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly
smile playing around his mouth.
The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and
the magnificent structure was the original
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
The young clerk who became its first manager was
George C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the
turn of events that would lead him to become the
manager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels.
The Bible says that we are not to turn our backs on
those who are in need, for we might be entertaining
angels.
Life is more accurately measured by the lives you
touch than the things you acquire...
God Bless You & Yours.
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