Community Chat

[gloriajean]

No troubles that we face are new to this world. Guide and protect

me, Lord, and strengthen my faith and trust in You so that I will

not falter.

Scripture for the day

"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will

believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father,

are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may

believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have

given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me,

that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you

have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." ~John 17:20-23

Meditation for the day

I can find the means of coming nearer to God. That's what really matters. I

can seek the true bread of life, which is communion with God.

I can grasp for the truth at the center of all worship. This central truth

is all that matters. My worship can have this communion with God as its

purpose and goal.

Prayer for the day

I pray that I may meet God in quiet communion. I pray that I may partake of

the Bread of Life which God has provided for me.

Hello my friends! Well the extraction is over and everything went well and

I'm not in much pain at all. Just took one pain pill earlier - another is

due, but I don't think I'll be needing it, thanks to your prayers for me!

It sure didn't take long for him to yank out those two teeth - just had

Novocain, wasn't put out at all, that was good. Linus bought me Ice cream

and pudding which I had this afternoon instead of lunch, for supper I made

some tomato soup (those that come in boxes) which I added some noodles and

cheese and it was great! Thank you, Jesus!

Darla and Greg are on their way home now - please continue to pray for their

safety and her soreness in her back. She said that her last fall in her

livingroom a few weeks ago she was more hurt than when she fell down the

stairs last year. Yet she made it here for Christmas! Another blessing is

that Linus is off now until the weekend and that will be his last weekend

he'll have to work - praise God! He's starting to get training for

Lighthouse now on line. Praying for you all for all your needs and thanks

much for your prayers for us.

The Toy

========

El and Josees, my 6 and 3-year-old boys, were wailing at the top of their

lungs in the back of the van. Tears were streaming down their cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not knowing who had upset whom and preparing to try

to figure out what would have stumped Sherlock.

"Josees won't give me the toy, and he's played with it already!" EL

exclaimed loudly through tears while tugging at the small airplane clasped

in Josees' Super Glue grip.

"I had it first!" Josees wailed.

It was not a simple solution. All parents have faced similar situations.

Suddenly, I had a brilliant flash of insight. I said, "I will let whoever

stops crying first play with the toy." I was smug in my wisdom. Here was a

solution that would help them consider not crying when they didn't get their

way and would allow me to administer some form of justice. I had not

counted on what happened next. Before I spoke my basis for judgment, the

van was a cacophony of sound, each trying to out cry the other.

"I will let whoever stops crying first play with the toy."

DEAD SILENCE

I mean not a peep. Instantly.....from them both. There was no basis for

rendering judgment because each of them shut up instantly. Not a single

whimper escaped. They were both quiet before my words could stop echoing. I

was standing there with my mouth hanging open wondering how could two kids

turn crying off so suddenly and completely.

How much whimpering, whining, complaining, crying, and bellyaching do we do

that we can really cut off if we want to? Maybe we don't have the toy we

want. Maybe someone else has what we want. So we cry. I learned a lesson

from my sons. Often if we choose, we can stop the crying. Instantly.

Christmas Comes But Once A Year

"Christmas comes but once a year,"

Is an old familiar phrase.

But what do you do with Christmas

Through all the other days?

With Christmas trees and Santa Claus

And tinsel shinning bright,

Many often fail to see

The star that shone that night.

Oh, truly Christmas is a time

For joy and much good cheer,

An a lot that goes with Christmas

Should come but once a year.

But the true meaning of Christmas

Is the love the Christ Child brought.

This should not just once a year,

But all your days be sought.

Please carry through the year to come

The truths Christ came to say---

And you will find within your heart

It's Christmas every day!

If our greatest need had been information,

God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,

God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,

So God sent us a Savior.

Merry Christmas!

Working Wrecks - by Joyce Guy

I came upon a wreck, Along the highway of life; A sick sadistic man, Abusing

his helpless wife.

He hadn't learned the scriptures written long before, Love your wife as

yourself; You'll love her more and more.

The next mishap I happened on, Was a kid high on drugs, Who had no one to

nurture him, Give guidance and some hugs.

A woman out in sin with no concern for her own soul; Hadn't been with Jesus,

Or He would have made her whole.

I came upon a marriage, broken, Overturned along the way; Instead of love at

home. Both had gone out to play.

An aged man and woman, Lives filled with tears; No one to love and care for

them, In life's sunset years.

I saw a fallen hobo, Drunk on cheap red wine; He hadn't had a meal, Didn't

have a dime.

I fed and clothed the fellow, Told him of God above; The rest is up to him,

May he embrace God's love.

A little child abandoned, By a mom who didn't care; I took her to a place of

safety, And left her with a prayer.

Someone with broken pride, Gone flat along the way, Punctured deeply by a

fickle friend, I patched them up today.

I often dial emergency, Speak each name in prayer, Bring them all to Jesus,

The fallen everywhere. I work for the Heavenly Highway Patrol, Pursuing

lives and doing checks, Directed by my Father; I've been out working wrecks.

The arrangement of the names of Christ, however, is manifold:

Lord, because He is Spirit;

Word, because He is God;

Son, because He is the only-begotten son of the Father;

Man, because He was born of the Virgin;

Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice;

Shepherd, because He is a guardian;

Worm, because He rose again;

Mountain, because He is strong;

Way, because there is a straight path through Him to life;

Lamb, because He suffered;

Corner-Stone, because instruction is His;

Teacher, because He demonstrates how to live;

Sun, because He is the illuminator;

Truth, because He is from the Father;

Life, because He is the creator;

Bread because He is flesh;

Samaritan, because He is the merciful protector;

Christ, because He is anointed;

Jesus, because He is a mediator;

Vine, because we are redeemed by His blood;

Lion, because he is king;

Rock, because He is firm;

Flower, because He is the chosen one;

Prophet, because He has revealed what is to come.

- Pope Damasus I (d.384)

Invocations To Jesus Master

Jesus Master, sanctify my mind and increase my faith,

Jesus, teaching in the Church, draw everyone to Your school.

Jesus Master, deliver me from error, from vain thoughts and from eternal

darkness.

O Jesus, Way of sanctity, make me Your faithful imitator.

O Jesus Way, render me perfect as the Father, Who is in heaven.

Jesus Life, live in me so that I may live in You.

Jesus Life, do not permit me to separate myself from You.

Jesus Life, grant that I may live eternally in the joy of Your love.

Jesus Truth, may I be light for the world!

Jesus Way, may I be example and model for souls!

Jesus Life, may my presence bring grace and consolation everywhere!

Christmas Prayer

Lord, in this holy season of prayer and song and laughter, we praise you for

the great wonders you have sent us: for shining star and angel's song, for

infant's cry in lowly manger. We praise you for the Word made flesh in a

little Child. We behold his glory, and are bathed in its radiance.

Be with us as we sing the ironies of Christmas, the incomprehensible

comprehended, the poetry made hard fact, the helpless Babe who cracks the

world asunder. We kneel before you shepherds, innkeepers, wisemen. Help us

to rise bigger than we are. Amen.