Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Never let the abundance of gifts from God cause you to forget the Giver.
Lord, may I start and end each day with a thank you to You for all of my
blessings including those which I take for granted.
Scripture for the day:

"This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe
in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."
~John 6:40

Meditation for the day:

Faith can be the bridge between us and God. It is not possible for all to
be seen and known. We do not see or know directly, but we can experience
the power of God's spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us
and God, which we can take or not, as we will.
There could be no morality without free will. We can make the choice
ourselves.
We can make the venture of belief.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray
that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need.

Hello my friends! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving day today - and gave
thanks for everything! We had a very nice time with my sister and her
family. My great niece has her own business on line - in which she creates
and sells hair products that are naturally made. She did a lot of research
on this, and now it got her a good business. Ok, for instance - golden
flax seed, boil with just water, and the liquid you use instead of gel or
mousse. You strain it then, and use the juice and it can be frozen until
ready to use too, or refridgerated, I'm going to try this, and so will Deil.
She cooked up some for Deil while we were there. I've got her business
card - so I may even order some of her homemade shampoos and conditioners
when I run out. She is very knowledgeable. She has her husband have such a
cute little 5 year old girl who acts so grown -up for a kindergartener. Fun
to talk with her. On the way home we thank our Lord for a safe journey
back - it was snowing all the way home. Praying for you all for all your
needs and the needs of your loved ones, thanks for your prayers for us.

I AM THANKFUL

I am thankful I can walk;

there are those who have never taken their first step.

I am thankful I can see the beauty all around me;

there are those whose world is always dark.

I am thankful I can hear music playing;

there are those who entire life has been spent in silence.

I am thankful my heart can be broken;

there are those who are so hardened they cannot be touched.

I am thankful I can move about freely and express my beliefs;

there are those who live in constant fear.

I am thankful I have been loved;

there are those for whom no one has ever cared.

I am thankful I can work;

there are those who have to depend on others for even their most basic
needs.

I am thankful to wake up in the morning and take a deep breath of fresh air;

there are those who never got that far.

I am thankful for the opportunity to help others;

there are those who have not been so abundantly blessed as I.

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

THE BLESSING OF THORNS

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a
November
gust and the florist shop door.

Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of
her
second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole that from her.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved
over
her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a
transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying
she
could not come for the holiday.

Then Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given
path
to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. She
has
no idea what I'm feeling, thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose
truck
was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her
life
but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving
"Special?"
asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she
continued.
"Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that
could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said,
"I
have the perfect arrangement for you."

Just then the shop door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi,
Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked
toward
a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of
greenery,
bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were
neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want
rose
stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara, replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think
after
three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its
significance,
but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped
her
chest. And she left with her order.

"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh....she just left with
no
flowers!

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call
it
the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!"
exclaimed
Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel
today,"
explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for.
She
had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was
into
drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the
first
time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no
husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've
always
thanked God for the good things in my life and never questioned the good
things
that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask questions! It
took
time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed
the
'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's
comfort.
You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from
His
consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend
had
tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a
baby
and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to
the
balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special....12 thorny,
long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped
arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me
asking
why she wants something that looks like that?"

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I
nearly
divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's
grace
and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our
marriage.
Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her
of
what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I
took
home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a
specific
"problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said.
"It's all too...fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns
make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during
trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that
Jesus
wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident,
she
loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed
thorns,
please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a
minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first
year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to
Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like
to
read it first."

It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You
a
thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the
glory of
the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have
climbed
closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the
colors
of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

Praise Him for your roses; thank him for your thorns!

-- Author Unknown

A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the
head and the heating system of the heart.

Dialogue with Christ: Jesus, I don’t want to base my life just on feelings
and on what makes me happy. I want to live for you, to take a risk for you.

Resolution:I will start a constant prayer life by praying the Rosary every
day this week.


Prayer of Thanksgiving for Graces Received
from the Infant Jesus

I prostrate myself before Thy holy image, O most
gracious Infant Jesus, to offer my most fervent
thanks for the blessings Thou hast bestowed on me.
I shall incessantly praise Thy ineffable mercy and
confess that Thou alone are my God, my helper, and
my protector. Henceforth my entire confidence shall
be placed in Thee! Everywhere I will proclaim aloud
Thy mercy and generosity, so that Thy great love
and the great deeds which Thou perform through this
miraculous image may be acknowledged by all. May
devotion to Thy holy infancy increase more and more
in the hearts of all Christians, and may all who
experience Thy assistance persevere with me in
showing unceasing gratitude to Thy most holy infancy,
to which be praise and glory forever. Amen.