Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Every moment of every day is your choice unless you give it away.
Lord, I choose to live peacefully today and ask for patience and strength
when I feel stress from the demands others place on me.

Scripture for the day:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly." ~John 10:10

Meditation for the day:

We can have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental,
physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. These we can have if
we follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift
of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care
to stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest God has to
offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away
from it, reject it, and will have none of it. We need not let this be
true of us.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual
life. I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability.

Hello my friends! Today's blessings - good night's sleep with Ollie here,
and all morning he was very tired and rested and Sammy too! It was so nice!
He was good until Lori came to pick him up - and she now doesn't think she's
allergic to the dog - she was away from him about 24 hours and the rash
didn't get better, so her RN friend believes it's a heat rash! But Ollie's
bath sure must have done him good, he was itching quite a bit before and now
not at all! After Mass tonight - we again had to go tonight because he
worked all day - we ate out and then Lori called and invited us over - so we
went there straight from the restaurant. Ollie wanted to play ball with
LInus, he loved Linus!! When we got there, Ollie was so happy to see me, he
jumped high up on me! Guess I must have gave him a good impression when he
was here. It will be fun watching him get trained and seeing him learn so
many new things and his personality is so funny!! I was blessed today that
Lori actually took some time to visit with me before taking him back - and
that was nice, she even got us something to eat. How neat is that? Praying
for all of you - thanks for your prayers!
Lucy - praying that this week will go smoothly - may God be with you all
with His peace!

PRAYER FOR
TRUE FRIENDSHIP
Jesus, loving companion of Your children,
You have extended Your friendship to all.
You opened Your arms without discrimination,
Offering Your warmth to those seeking comfort.
Endow me with the virtue of such a friendship,
To know, love and trust all on an equal basis;
To share my patronizing without favorism,
And to be pleasant towards the destitute.
Fashion my heart to reflect Your qualities,
Those befitting of a cordial association.
Jesus, You showed me the way to true friendship:
Blessed is Your amazing and warm Person!

MY DAILY OFFERING
(As each day begins, please try to lift your mind and heart to your heavenly
Father, and offer to Him the new day He has given you.)

Most loving Father, I thank You for the gift of this new day. Please help
me to use it for your honor and glory. By Your grace, may all my thoughts,
words, and actions be pleasing today in Your sight. In Your great kindness,
Lord Almighty, preserve me this day without sin, and protect all people from
every evil. May the ever-blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Savior, keep us
under her protection and by her prayers, and the aid of all your Saints,
keep us ever intent on doing good today for your sake. We ask these
blessings through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen. (At times
throughout the day, it is well to pause briefly in the midst of your work to
renew your daily offering. This can be done without words, but simply by
lifting the mind and heart to your Father in heaven. A simple external
gesture of touching the heart will confirm and strengthen your interior
intentions. As opportunity permits, you may wish to pray verbally in this
way.) Again I thank You, Father in heaven, for the blessings and graces you
have given me this day. Once more I entreat Your continuing protection.
Conscious of my own weaknesses and frailty, of my many faults, I entrust
myself and all dear to me to Your care. (This prayer has been taken from a
pamphlet written by the Good Franciscan Mission Associates, PO Box 598,
Mount Vernon, NY 10551

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME
Author Unknown
A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door. It
had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College,girls, career,
and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country
in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had
little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife
and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.Over the
phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is
Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat
quietly remembering his childhood days."Jack, did you hear me?"Oh, sorry,
Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry,
but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said."Well, he didn't forget
you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about
the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told
him."I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said."You know, Jack, after
your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's
influence in your life," she said."He's the one who taught me carpentry," he
said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot
of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there
for the funeral," Jack said.As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught
the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and
uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had
passed away.The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped
by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the
doorway,Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another
dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as here
membered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of
furniture... . Jack stopped suddenly."What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom
asked."The box is gone," he said."What box? " Mom asked."There was a small
gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a
thousand times what was inside. All he'd evertell me was 'the thing I value
most,'" Jack said.It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how
Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser
family had taken it."Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack
said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."It had
been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day
Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No
one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three
days," the note read.Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The
small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago.
The handwriting was difficult to read,but the return address caught his
attention."Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and
ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope.
Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside."Upon my death, please forward
this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in
my life."A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears
filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a
beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely
etched casing, he unlatched the cover.Inside he found these words engraved:
"Jack, Thanks for your time!Harold Belser."The thing he valued most...was..
.my time."Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and
cleared his appointments for the next two days."Why?" Janet, his assistant
asked."I need some time to spend with my son," he said."Oh, by the way,
Janet...thanks for your time!"Life is not measured by the number of breaths
we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"Thank you for your
time.....

Friendship

However strange or unique--
friends are given to us as gifts from God--

When a friend rejects a friend, they also reject the gift.

When we Thank God for a good friend--we ask him to guide us in that
friendship.

Sometimes God sees fit to take some friends away for our own good and so
they reject us ...losing a friend can be just as a scar from a sword or a
burn--especially one dear to heart.

In my lifetime I have had many a friends but also many parted.

When a friend dies and passes on to Heaven we know that we will meet again.

A friend disposed of -- by meanness or hurt is never retrieved.

Those whom God has given the gift of friendship must thank him for
that--whether short or long friends.

Many a friend I have thanked God for that I will never see again if they
reject God and God's laws later in the future... there is absolutely nothing
I can do about that but pray for them to return to God.

Better to lose a friend than to lose one's ticket to heaven.

Because of Your Mercy
Lord God, omnipotent Father, creator of all things, you gave me a body and a
soul, and created me in your image before time was. O Lord, my God, I
confess my offenses to you; I have sinned before you and before your angels,
and my sins are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. Yet for your love
have mercy on me, God, let me not perish. Do not turn your face from me
since I do not seek your forgiveness because I think I deserve it, but
because of your mercy. Look down on me, Lord, from the holy seat of your
majesty, and illumine the shadows of my heart with the radiance of your
splendor. Protect me, Lord, with the shield of your truth and faith, so that
the glowing darts of the devil may not pierce me. Have mercy, Savior of the
world, who live and reign for ever.

Latin - 10th century