Community Chat

[gloriajean]

The gift of listening is often more valuable than the advice that we'd like
to give.
Lord, help me to be a good listener and then help me to let others work
things
out according to Your plan for them, not mine.


Scripture for the day:

"My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider
it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith
produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you
may be mature
and complete, lacking in nothing." ~James 1:2-4

Meditation for the day:

As we look back over our lives, it is not too difficult to see that what
we went through was for a purpose and helped to prepare us for some
valuable work in life. Everything in our lives can help make us of some
use in the world. Each person's life is like the pattern of a mosaic.
Each thing that happens to us is like one tiny stone in the mosaic, and
each tiny stone fits into the perfected pattern of the mosaic of our
life, which has been designed by God.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may not need to see the whole design of my life. I pray
that I may trust the Designer.

Hello my friends! I always do try to be a good listener. That's really
important! Today's blessings - well, first the computer got goofy when DH
was using it, the blessings were getting the answer through the board and
emails. It's nice to have the menu bar back in place again, because without
it, I wouldn't be able to get this thread out! I have to use the edit up
there to paste this thread. I type it all out on email first then it goes
to draft, and then copy and paste to the board, only by using the edit up on
top. Too bad we wasted time trying to figure it all out on our own. Right
now my desk top has our pictures in it for our screen savor, but they got so
huge now! That I don't have a clue how to change to normal, but at least
the main thing works now. What a blessing that was that we didn't have to
hire a computer tech to come and fix it. I'm so scared to upgrade things
now. Yet somethings need to be upgraded, right? Today's blessings were
getting a big pot of chili made with using lots of fresh veggies, tomatoes,
green beans, (yes, for the first time I used green beans in chili) yellow
pepper, some squash, some carrots, and cans of chili beans etc. It really
turned out great! I got to empty the fridge a bit for it, so nothing got
wasted. What a blessing! Also got more raspberries today, more beans, and
tomatoes. I ate two tomatoes, diced, with salt and pepper, and some of my
organic safflower mayo. Delish and filling!
Praying for all of you for all your intentions - thank you for your prayers
for me.

Truly blessed

Here's a great way to quickly change your attitude about anything and to put
yourself in a positive frame of mind. Wherever you are, whatever has
happened, in every situation, consider yourself truly blessed. If there's
something which must be done, that you'd really rather avoid, consider that
you're truly blessed to be doing it. That simple change in thinking can put
an amazing positive spin on the experience.

If there's a troublesome situation confronting you, consider yourself truly
blessed to be able to face it. It will help you to fashion your most
positive, effective and resourceful response.

Sure, it's difficult to think of yourself as truly blessed when you're in
the middle of something unpleasant, frightening or frustrating. Difficult as
it may be, though, it sure beats the alternative of giving in to despair and
negativity.

It may not make sense at first to your logical mind, yet in some very
positive and empowering way your spirit will understand. Indeed, you are
truly blessed, and it can be a powerful positive boost to remind yourself of
that fact. Just do it and see for yourself what a difference it can make.

Ralph Marston

THE FOUR CANDLES
Author Unknown


The Four Candles burned slowly. Their Ambiance was so soft you could
hear them speak...

The first candle said, "I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to
keep me lit."

Then Peace's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely.

The second candle says, "I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer
indispensable. "

Then Faith's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely.

Sadly the third candle spoke, "I Am Love and I haven't the strength to
stay lit any longer." "People put me aside and don't understand my
importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them."

And waiting no longer, Love goes out completely.

Suddenly...

A child enters the room and sees the three candles no longer burning.

The child begins to cry, "Why are you not burning? You are supposed to
stay lit until the end."

Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the little boy, "Don't be
afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn, we can re-light the
other candles."

With Shining eyes the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other
three candles.

Never let the Flame of Hope go out of your life.

With Hope, no matter how bad things look and are...Peace, Faith and
Love can Shine Brightly in our lives.

The Choice Is Yours

My friend Kenny is a used car dealer. He's also a committed Christian.
He has a sign out front that says, "Heaven Or H ell, the choice is
yours." A lot of Kenny's customers are curious about the sign. Kenny
says it sparks a lot of conversations that allow him to share his
faith with others.

I thought of Kenny's sign awhile back when I watched a re-run of an
episode of the popular Seinfeld show. In the episode, Elaine borrows
boyfriend David Puddy's car. She's surprised to find all of the radio
preset buttons tuned to Christian stations. She expresses her surprise
to Jerry and George and wonders if Puddy really is a Christian. She
even steals the "Jesus Fish" from the back of his car to show them
as evidence of her suspicions.

Always trying to find a solution that includes good humor, George and
Jerry advise her to tune the radio buttons to different settings before
taking the car back to see what happens. Sure enough, a few weeks later
she borrows Puddy's car again and all of the settings are back on
Christian stations. When she shares this with George and Jerry, she
wonders aloud, "Perhaps Puddy has more depth that I thought."

Later she confronts Puddy and, realizing her own lack of a relationship
with God, starts asking about his faith. Eventually, she poses the
question, "Puddy, aren't you at all concerned about my lack of faith."
Without pausing he replies, "No." When she asks why, he calmly replies,
"Because I'm not the one who's going to go to h ell."

We are all free agents. We are responsible for our own decision when
it comes to Christ. While it was played for dramatic effect by the
Seinfeld scriptwriters, there is a great deal of truth in Puddy's
stance. Each of us, as individuals, is called to make a decision about
the one we call Christ. No one else can make that decision for you.

When you die and you are asked why you should be allowed to enter
heaven, it won't be what your friend says that matters. It's what you
say. Can you claim that it is because Christ died for you and you have
accepted his resurrection on faith? As my friend Kenny would say,
"Heaven or H ell, the Choice is yours."

By Keith Todd

Good Morning Heavenly Father

Thank You dear Lord, for protecting and preserving me during the night and
for giving me this new day.

Good morning Heavenly Father, and thank you for the glory of the sun. And
thank you for the health I have to get my duty done.

I shall devout the hours of this golden day to You, by honoring Your Holy
Name in everything I do. I shall pursue my daily art without complaint or
fear and spend my every effort to be friendly and sincere

I know there have been many days that I have wiled away. But this is one
that I will try , to make Your special day.

And so once more, Good Morning Heavenly Father . And please depend on me
because I want to honor you for all eternity. Amen

Hourly Prayer



God of All Glory.

Amen Amen

We pause to Pray.

The Hour has come.

We Offer Prayers for our Brethren.



Let Your Love and Truth

Preserve All Thy Children.



Let Your Grace and Mercy

Cover All Thy Children.



Let Your Holiness and Righteousness

Adorn All Thy Children.



Let Your Peace and Joy

Heal All Thy Children.



We Offer Prayers for our Brethren.

The Hour has come.

We pause to Pray.

Amen Amen

God of All Glory.

Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Ephesians
3:1

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.
Colossians 2:7



Strong and Resilient

When the rains subsided and the sun peeked out, roots of the mangroves were
clearly visible at the canal’s edge.

“Aren’t they a perfect example of what it says in the Bible about roots?”, I
thought.

These tropical roots are strong and resilient. They are firmly entrenched,
below the surface of the water, into the ground. Thick, intertwined, bunched
together.

Many hurricanes have come and gone here in the Florida Keys. Houses have
flooded out, trucks and cars ruined, fruit trees blasted away by gale force
winds. But the mangroves survive. They have weathered the storms. They
come back. And, they flourish.

We will have adversity. One way or another. That’s not the good news. If
we put down roots, into the soil of God’s Word, we will do OK when the
storms of life come. That is good news.