Keep yourself young in spirit always by thinking new thoughts and getting
rid of old habits. Lord, may my spirit never become a frail and my abilities
never become barren.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things
but on human things. 'Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose
their life for my sake will find it.'" ~Matthew 16:23-25
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
We were born with the Divine within us. Living a selfish life can hinder
the Divine from being expressed and shared. The celestial fire has to be
tended and fed so that it will grow into a real desire to live the right
way. By trying to do the will of God, we grow more and more in the new way
of life. By thinking of God, praying to God and having communion with God,
we gradually grow more like God. The way of our transformation from the
material to the spiritual allows God to work in and through us.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may tend the spark of the Divine within me so that it will
grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to the
new and fuller life.
Hello my friends! Well we got cooler weather and that was nice - got a few
more raspberries, more are there but not ripe yet. They had a few weeks
rest. Our cantaloupe is runnung wild!
We should have a few of them - also some volunteer acorn squash - from the
compost. Got a call from Darla that they are home safe and she was in
school preparing things and he was at work. I'm blessed today with good
friends, good family, talked to both girls, and that is a blessing, and our
health. For supper Linus made a whole chicken on the grill, with a beer can
on the bottom, and it turned out great, and moist! He heard about that so
wanted to do it. Had our fresh yellow and green beans for supper!
Wonderful, also a fresh tomato sliced! Praying for all your needs and thanks
much for your prayers for us.
VACANT PAGES
By Marion Smith
Ecclesiastes 3:11
At one time my daughter pursued a second career. Besides
being a first grade teacher, she decided to sell scrapbook/ photo
albums, and teaching folks how to organize and enjoy their boxes of
saved photos. The initial class starts, and most women who attend buy
a blank photo album. All pages empty- ready to fill with saved
memories. I had a lifetime of photos and trip memorabilia which I was
ready to categorize and paste. I filled my multiple albums with photos
of family and friends which reminded me of relationships through the
years-many of them now gone. There were travel photos and keepsakes,
photos depicting accomplishments, and pictures of nature which seemed
important to me at one time. All the photos showed me things of
temporary happiness and short lived beauty.
Temporary is fine, as long as we realize it for just what it
is-something which lasts only for a little while. It is wonderful to
go back through the years and review happy moments, but each heart
longs for something, or someone, who will be there forever. I know
just that someone.. God . That longing in our heart for that someone
is explained in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 3:11. It says, “God has set
eternity in the hearts of men.” Eternity is not temporary or
fleeting. It is forever, and we have someone to share it with. It
begins when we realize this fact, and lasts forever.
God can fill the empty pages of our heart’s blank album
with all that He is. He is eternal and never ending,, and you can have
a love relationship with Him starting today---- it will last
forever!!!
Straight Ahead
At sometime during World War II, a passenger ship set sail from Great
Britain headed for port in New York City. The Captain of the ship being
afraid of enemy vessels, sought the advise and guidance of the British
Admiral.
The Admiral calmly assured the captain that no matter what happens, he
should be sure to sail his ship straight ahead. "Do not take any detours --
sail the ship straight ahead -- continue on-ward, heading straight towards
the intended mark" he said.
After several days of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean which was undeniably
filled with submarines and enemy vessels of all kinds, the Captain spotted
an enemy destroyer off his forward bow.
Nervously he grasped the handset and called for assistance.
The calm voice replied, "Keep on straight, Do not detour, just sail the ship
straight ahead. Everything will be just fine. Just keep on going - straight
ahead."
After a couple more days the ship pulled safely into the great harbor of New
York city.
Shortly after docking the great British battleship "Man-of-War" pulled into
port behind the passenger vessel. The Captain realized that while he did not
see the British battleship, she was there, standing bye. Standing ready to
come to his defense should it prove necessary.
So it is in our lives. God is standing by. We may not always see Him there,
but He is. Waiting. Bidding us onward toward the mark...
Keep your ship on course. Keep on going - straight ahead...
- Author Unknown
Count Your Blessings
Count your blessings instead of your crosses,
Count you gains instead of your losses,
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your courage instead of your fears,
Count your laughs instead of your tears.
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count you health instead of your wealth,
Count on God instead of yourself.
~ Author Unknown
Prayer to be Said by a Sick Person
(May be used for a novena)
O Merciful Infant Jesus! I know of Your miraculous deeds for the sick. How
many diseases You cured during Your blessed life on earth, and how many
venerators of Your Miraculous image ascribe to You their recovery and
deliverance from most painful and hopeless maladies. I know, indeed, that a
sinner like me has merited his sufferings and has no right to ask for
favors. But in view of the innumerable graces and the miraculous cures
granted even to the greatest sinners through the veneration of Your holy
infancy, particularly in the miraculous statue of Prague or in
representations of it, I exclaim with the greatest assurance: O most loving
Infant Jesus, full of pity, You can cure me if You will! Do not hesitate, O
Heavenly Physician, if it be Your will that I recover from this present
illness; extend Your most holy hands, and by Your power take away all pain
and infirmity, so that my recovery may be due, not to natural remedies, but
to You alone. If, however, You in Your inscrutable wisdom have determined
otherwise, then at least restore my soul to perfect health, and fill me with
heavenly consolation and blessing, that I may be like You, O Jesus, in my
sufferings, and may glorify Your providence until, at the death of my body,
You bestow on me eternal life. Amen.
Mother Teresa Said...
In the silence of the heart, God speaks and you have to listen. Then in the
fullness of your heart, because it is full of God, full of love, full of
compassion, full of faith, your mouth will speak.
Storms Can Make Music
There is a legend about a German nobleman who had a castle in the hills
along the Rhine. Being a music lover, he stretched some wires between the
towers of his castle with the hope that the winds might vibrate them and
make music. But the gentle Rhineland breezes produced no sounds.
Then one night a great thunderstorm swept up the valley. Furious winds beat
against the castle. Even the mountains roundabout seemed to shake.
The baron opened a sheltered window to watch the progress of the storm and,
to his astonishment, he heard the strains of beautiful music. Now those
wires were humming like guitar strings. It had required a windstorm to bring
out the music!
Is it not often so with us? In the day of calm prosperity, little spiritual
beauty is seen in us. But when God sends the tempest, he can make music out
of it which we never expected to come out of a storm of trouble.
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