Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If everyone thought alike, no one would have to do much thinking.
Lord, bless me with the strength of my convictions and the ability
to disagree when necessary without being disagreeable.


Scripture for the day:

"Through Christ you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the
dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God." ~1
Peter 1:21

Meditation for the day:

God's miracle-working power is as manifest today as it was in the past.
It still works miracles of change in lives and miracles of healing in
troubled minds. When a person trusts wholly in God and leaves to God
the choosing of the day and hour, there is God's miracle-working power
becoming manifest in that person's life. We can trust in God and have
boundless faith in God's power to make us whole again.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may feel sure that there is nothing that God cannot
accomplish in changing my life. I pray that I may have faith in God's
miracle-working power.

Greetings my friends! Thanksgiving Day is getting closer and closer now - I
suppose most of you are busy preparing for your guests etc. Hope you day
went well and you weren't too busy.
I'm thankful for all of you - my family, my sisters and friends! We all
have so much to be thankful for. It was a blessing talking to Sister
LaDonna tonight for about an hour!! She said our calls to her mean so much
to her, and kept her from feeling lonely in all of her pain. The calls
continue just not every day. She looks forward so much to that. Ethel, my
sister, called me today to let me know that our sister, Erma, will be alone
too, her kids are all invited out to in-laws etc. and so she invited her to
come too, and we should pick her up - she doesn't live that far from Ethel
so it's a good thing we are going. We'll call Sister LaDonna that day too,
and all 3 of us will talk to her, Lori too, she'll be with us, she's driving
us.

Homily of the Day


November 22, 2011


Give the Truth as a Gift
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Daniel 2:31-45 / Lk 21:5-11

As we saw in yesterday’s Old Testament reading from the book of Daniel, the
young man Daniel had grown wise and true by walking with the Lord with an
open and undivided heart. Now his wisdom and truth show themselves as the
King of Babylon calls upon him to interpret the king’s dream. The news is
not good, but Daniel speaks it truthfully and completely: Another inferior
kingdom will replace Babylon, and will in turn be replaced by successively
more and more inferior kingdoms. In the end, God will establish a kingdom
which will overwhelm all the rest, and which shall stand forever.

It was the truth, but unpleasant truths can be dangerous to speak when
people don’t wish to hear them. It has always been thus, and that poses a
useful question for us. How are we at truth telling, especially when the
truth is unwelcome? Do we flee the scene or ‘fudge’ the truth? On the other
hand, do we use the truth as a weapon for evening old scores or feeding our
self-righteousness? Have we learned to watch wisely for a moment when the
truth can be received and heard? (Do we place that moment somewhere in the
fourth millennium?!)

To speak the truth as Jesus would is to speak it in love and not to wield it
as a weapon. Give the truth as a gift and you’ll never go wrong.

T H E H A N D

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun
assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were
thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but
still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional
goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects
of most of her student's art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different
kind of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and
unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand
close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind
those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of
something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just
an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand
could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because
farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the
police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand
of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went -- until the
teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at
Douglas' desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.

The little boy looked away and murmured, "It's yours, teacher."

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here
or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, "Take
my hand, Douglas, we'll go outside." Or, "Let me show you how to hold
your pencil." Or, "Let's do this together." Douglas was most thankful
for his teacher's hand.

Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about
teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship,
and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not
always say thanks. But they'll remember the hand that reaches out.

-- Author Unknown

Thanksgiving Prayer

My Heavenly Father, as we approach this day set aside to give thanks for all
the blessings that You have given to us, help us to remember the most
important blessings...The blessings of Family, The strength of Friendship,
the joy of Life, and the Peace in You. Help us to remember to give thanks
not only on this day, but everyday. Help us, also, to remember that the
gifts You have given to us were meant to be shared with others. Lord, I love
you and I thank you for my life.


A Thanksgiving Story
By Andrea Nannette Mejia
It was the day before Thanksgiving – the first one my three children and I
would be spending without their father, who had left several months before.
Now the two older children were very sick with the flu, and the eldest had
just been prescribed bed rest for a week.

It was a cool, gray day outside, and a light rain was falling. I grew
wearier as I scurried around, trying to care for each child: thermometers,
juice, diapers. And I was fast running out of liquids for the children.
But when I checked my purse, all I found was about $2.50 – and this was
supposed to last me until the end of the month. That's when I heard the
phone ring.

It was the secretary from our former church, and she told me that they had
been thinking about us and had something to give us from the congregation.
I told her that I was going out to pick up some more juice and soup for the
children, and I would drop by the church on my way to the market.

I arrived at the church just before lunch. The church secretary met me at
the door and handed me a special gift envelope. "We think of you and the
kids often," she said, "and you are in our hearts and prayers. We love
you." When I opened the envelope, I found two grocery certificates inside.
Each was worth $20. I was so touched and moved, I broke down and cried.

"Thank you very much," I said, as we hugged each other. "Please give our
love and thanks to the church." Then I drove to a store near our home and
purchased some much-needed items for the children.

At the check-out counter I had a little over $14.00 worth of groceries, and
I handed the cashier one of the gift certificates. She took it, then turned
her back for what seemed like a very long time. I thought something might
be wrong. Finally I said, "This gift certificate is a real blessing. Our
former church gave it to our family, knowing I'm a single patent trying to
make ends meet."

The cashier then turned around, with tears in her loving eyes, and replied,
"Honey, that's wonderful! Do you have a turkey?"

"No. It's okay because my children are sick anyway."

She then asked, "Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?"

Again I replied, "No."

After handing me the change from the certificate, she looked at my face and
said, "Honey, I can't tell you exactly why right now, but I want you to go
back into the store and buy a turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie or
anything else you need for a Thanksgiving dinner."

I was shocked, and humbled to tears. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes! Get whatever you want. And get some Gatorade for the kids."

I felt awkward as I went back to do more shopping, but I selected a fresh
turkey, a few yams and potatoes, and some juices for the children. Then I
wheeled the shopping cart up to the same cashier as before. As I placed my
groceries on the counter, she looked at me once more with giant tears in her
kind eyes and began to speak.

"Now I can tell you. This morning I prayed that I could help someone today,
and you walked through my line." She reached under the counter for her
purse and took out a $20 bill. She paid for my groceries and then handed me
the change. Once more I was moved to tears.

The sweet cashier then said, "I am a Christian. Here is my phone number if
you ever need anything." She then took my head in her hands, kissed my
cheek and said, "God bless you, honey."

As I walked to my car, I was overwhelmed by this stranger's love and by the
realization that God loves my family too, and shows us his love through this
stranger's and my church's kind deeds.

The children were supposed to have spent Thanksgiving with their father that
year, but because of the flu they were home with me, for a very special
Thanksgiving Day. They were feeling better, and we all ate the goodness of
the Lord's bounty – and our community's love. Our hearts were truly filled
with thanks.



The poor are great people
Bl. Mother Teresa

The poor do not need our sympathy and our pity. The poor need our love and
compassion. They give us much more than we give them.
During a terrible time when millions of refugees fled to India, we asked for
help and many volunteers came and spent some months with us, just loving,
serving, giving tender love and care to our people. On their departure, they
said they had received much more than they had given.
In Calcutta, some time ago, we went out at night and picked up four or five
people from the street and took them to our Home for the Dying. One of them
was in a very bad condition and I wanted to take care of her myself. I did
for her all that my love could do. When I put her into bed, she took hold of
my hand and there was such a wonderful smile on her face. She said one word:
"Thank you" and she died.
She gave me much more than I had given her. She gave me her grateful heart
and I thought: what would I have done in her place? My answer was: I would
have tried to draw some attention to myself, I would have said: I am hungry
or I am cold or I am dying. But she, she was so great, she was so beautiful
in her giving.

Defeat
We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what
to do, but we do
not give up the hope of living. (2 Corinthians 4:8 NCV).


Sometimes it seems like one little thing goes wrong, and it starts a chain
reaction of
disappointments and negative expectations. The power of this process is in
its
cumulative nature. Like the straw that breaks the camel's back, one defeat
sits on
another until it brings us down. God says His mercies are new every morning.
Each
day is a new beginning. He wants us to put our troubles behind us and cling
to the
hope of living. Psalm 108:13 says with God we will gain the victory.

God wants us to understand that even thought we will experience troubles, we
are
immune to lasting defeat. Even when we lose, we win because God sees to it
that we
gain wisdom and understanding from our losses. He reaches out to us with
comfort
and consolation. Each loss actually brings us closer to victory. Learn from
your defeats,
and then turn your back on them and reach for God's mercies because His
mercies are
always there.

I don't remember if I posted this before or not - Keith, I know personally,
knew his whole family.

Thanksgiving Day Thoughts


What is Thanksgiving day all about? Yes eating turkey, mashed potatoes,
gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie and visiting with family, friends and loved
ones. But that is only part of it.
Thanksgiving is a day to find a quiet moment or room and just take some time
to think or recall all the good things and times to be thankful for during
the past year. Some things that come to my mind right now is to be thankful
for a job (good or bad), family, friends, good times and yes for life.
What is thankfulness? That depends on more than what we have. It’s realizing
where our blessings come from. Thankfulness is gratitude, a response to
someone who has met our needs.
God’s goodness ought to be the deepest source of our thankfulness.
Everything we are or possess is because of his loving kindness. Therefore it
is good for all of us to pause at least once a year and say a big Thank You
to God.
Are you thankful that the best thing in life - Forgiveness, Assurance, Peace
and Joy are still free? Why? Because Jesus paid it all when he died for you
and me on the cross.
What better time is there than Thanksgiving to tell God: “I’m sorry for my
sins, believing we are sinners. I now repent, I trust Christ as my savior. I’m
thankful for his mercy to me.”
Now that you have some idea of my thoughts of Thanksgiving, take that spare
time you may have today (even if it’s only 5 minutes or less) and call,
write a letter or even a note and let them know how thankful you are of
them, whatever the reason may be.
I promise you this much, when the day is over and done with, you will feel
good about yourself. You will have made someone feel special and made their
day a little better also.

Love and Friends in Christ
Keith & Agatha Stangler


Written by Keith Stangler

Good night and God bless you all - Sweet Dreams - Have a great Wednesday!!!
Count your blessings!!