Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Whatever your problem, know that there is a solution. Lord, I trust
in You always even to the point of a miracle.

Scripture for the day:

"I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:38-39

Meditation for the day:

God is our helper and our strength. We need not ask God to come to
us. God is always with us in spirit. At our moment of need God is
there to help us. If we knew God's love and God's desire to help us,
we would know that God needs no pleading for help. Our need is God's
opportunity. We can learn to rely on God's strength whenever we need
it. Whenever we feel inadequate to any situation, we can realize that
the feeling of inadequacy is, in its own way, disloyalty to God. We
can say to ourselves: I know that God is with me and will help me to
think and say and do the right thing.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may never feel inadequate to any situation. I pray that
I may be buoyed up by the feeling that God is always with me.

Hello my friends! Today's blessings are: cooler weather today, but really
nice out! Time spent with Sister LaDonna - we had a sing along, I chorded
on the piano and we sang like old times - it was really nice. Now while I'm
doing this, she is playing the piano and it's so nice and peaceful! Darla
and Greg took Linus out tonight for a drink and fellowship - belated
Father's Day Gift. Darla and Greg were here for lunch and we all had a
very nice visit before they were off to another appointment - getting things
organized for the Wedding. They leave again Saturday and will come back
just before the Wedding. It was nice they could come today and with Sister
LaDonna here, they could visit with her too. Today was filled with many
blessings, ordinary ones which we won't take for granted, but thank God for
all He does for us daily - yes, every day!!!

DON'T WE ALL
Author Unknown
July 30, 2012


I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come from
the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. Coming my way
from across the parking lot was what society would consider a bum. From the
looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There
are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just
don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't want to be bothered
times."

"I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought.

He didn't.

He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look like
he could have enough money to even ride the bus.

After a few minutes he spoke.

"That's a very pretty car," he said.

He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond
beard keep more than his face warm.

I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came.
As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if he
needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the
inner voice.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We
often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of
higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched
grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me.

"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the
street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun.

Don't we all?

I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed
help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but
enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words
still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have
accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter
how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep,
you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.

You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They
are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different
perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily
chaos, that only you through a torn world can see.

Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he
was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to
minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said,
"go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help."

Don't we all?

IT'S IN THE VALLEYS I GROW



Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It's then I have to remember
That it's in the valleys I grow.

If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God's love
And would be living in vain.

I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it's in the valleys I grow.

I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.

My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan's loss.

Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I'm feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it's in the valleys I grow.

Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.

Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it's in the valleys I grow!

Have a blessed day!

O Holy Spirit of God, abide with us
Prayer by John Baillie

O Holy Spirit of God, abide with us;
inspire all our thoughts;

pervade our imaginations;

suggest all our decisions;

order all our doings.

Be with us in our silence and in our speech,

in our haste and in our leisure,

in company and in solitude,

in the freshness of the morning and

in the weariness of the evening;

and give us grace at all times humbly to rejoice

in Thy mysterious companionship.
--
During the Great Depression, there was a man who lost his job, his wife, his
home and his fortune. He hung on tightly to the one thing he still had left
. . . his faith in God.

One day, he stopped to watch some men doing stonework on a church. One of
the workers was chiseling a triangular piece of stone. He asked the worker,
"What are you going to do with that?"

"See that little opening way up there near the spire?" the worker asked.
"Well, I'm shaping this piece of stone down here . . . so it will fit up in
there."

As he walked away, tears filled his eyes, for it seemed God had spoken
through that worker to explain the ordeal he currently was experiencing:
"I'm shaping you down here, so you will fit in up here."



Unceasing Prayer

Dear Father, who answers our prayers,

Help me to be steadfast in my praying to you, even to stay awake that I may
pray!

Fill my life with thanksgiving to you.

O God, I pray for all your servants everywhere that you may open a door for
us to proclaim your Word, to declare the now-public secret - Christ
crucified, glorified, and coming - and to make the message clear, as we
ought to speak.

In the name of Jesus I ask you to fill our lives with your holy life and to
claim all our motives and deeds as your own. Amen.

Good night everyone!
May you all have a good night's sleep and sweet dreams, and a very good,
positive outlook on your Friday!

Praised be Jesus Christ!