Community Chat

[gloriajean]

It is much harder to see today if you are looking at yesterday. Lord, help
me to live and appreciate each moment as I am experiencing it so that I am
prepared more fully for the next moment.


Scripture for the day:

"Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and
slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and
sacrifice to God." ~Ephesians 4:31-5:2


Meditation for the day:

We cannot believe in God and keep our selfish ways. When we believe
more strongly in God, we begin to abandon our selfish ways. The old
self can shrivel up and die, and God's image can become much clearer.
The gradual elimination of selfishness in the growth of love for God and
our fellow human beings is a wonderful goal in our lives. As the
picture grows, we can reveal more and more of the likeness of God until
those who see us can see in us the power of God's grace at work in a
human life.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may grow in my likeness to God. I pray that others may see in
me some of the power of God's grace at work.

Hello my friends! Today's blessings - his day off, he got a lot done in the
yard, and got the car polished - never saw it so clean! With every breath
I take I thank God for, and do not even take that for granted. Thank you,
Lord, for our breath, our sleep, our friends, our family and of course
thanks for our Faith in you! If you keep on thinking positive, it wears off
on you!


The Seven Wonders

I heard about a group of Geography students who studied the Seven Wonders of
the World. At the end of that section, the students were asked to list what
they each considered to be the Seven Wonders of the World.

Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes:
Egypt's Great Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal,
the Empire State Building, St. Peter's Basilica and China's Great Wall.

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student, a quiet girl,
hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having
trouble with her list.

The quiet girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are,
to touch and to taste, to see and to hear . . . " She hesitated a little,
"and then, to run and to laugh and to love."

It is far too easy for us to look at the exploits of man and refer to them
as "wonders" while we overlook all that God has done, regarding them as
merely "ordinary."

May you be reminded today of those things which are truly wondrous!

- Author Unknown



A Prayer for Loved Ones

Lord, be their Shepherd,
Keep them with the flock,
Watch them and tend him,
Be their solid rock.

Don't let them falter,
Don't let them fall,
Wait with them, Father,
Be there for their call.

Hold their hand firmly,
The path grows so steep,
Wipe their tears gently,
Should they start to weep.

Teach them to follow,
In Your humble way,
Help them to walk,
In Your shadow each day.

Strengthen their body,
Weaken their will,
Should they deny You,
Stay with them still.

Give them Your shoulder,
On which they may rest,
Embrace them warmly,
Next to Your breast.

Please place Your hand,
Upon their dear head,
And give them Your blessing,
As their spirit is fed.

Quiet their mind,
Comfort their soul,
Put peace in their heart,
Make their life whole.

Give them a vision,
Of Your tender smile,
Let them feel loved,
All of the while.

HEAVE'N'S GROCERY STORE
Author Unknown

As I was walking down life's

highway many years ago

I came upon a sign that read

Heavens Grocery Store.

When I got a little closer

the doors swung open wide

And when I came to myself

I was standing inside.

I saw a host of angels.

They were standing everywhere

One handed me a basket and said

"My child, shop with care."

Everything a human needed

was in that grocery store

And what you could not carry

you could come back for more.

First I got some Patience.

Love was in that same row.

Further down was Understanding,

you need that everywhere you go.

I got a box or two of Wisdom

and Faith a bag or two.

And Charity, of course,

I would need some of that, too.

I couldn't miss the Holy Ghost

It was all over the place.

And then some Strength and Courage

to help me run this race.

My basket was getting full but I remembered I needed Grace,

And then I chose Salvation for

Salvation was for free

I tried to get enough of that to do for you and me.

Then I started to the counter

to pay my grocery bill,

For I thought I had everything

to do the Masters will.

As I went up the aisle I saw

Prayer and put that in,

For I knew when I stepped outside

I would run into sin.

Peace and Joy were plentiful,

the last things on the shelf.

Song and Praise were hanging near

so I just helped myself.

Then I said to the angel

"How much do I owe?"

He smiled and said

"Just take them everywhere you go."

Again I asked "Really now,

how much do I owe?"

"My child " he said,

"God paid your bill a long, long time ago."


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

MAY YOU ALWAYS FEEL LOVED
Author Unknown

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always
understand.

May the pain you have known and the conflict you have experienced give you
the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with optimism
and courage.

Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be
there, even when you feel most alone.

May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace.

May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile be yours every day of your
life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.

Teach love to those who know hate, and let that love embrace you as you go
into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire become part of you, so that you may
call upon them.

Remember, those whose lives you have touched and who have touched yours are
always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have
wished.

May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place
immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is
different in our own way.

What you may feel you lack in one regard may be more than compensated for in
another.

What you feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in
the future.

May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility.

Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself,
and not be dependent on an other's judgments of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

--
THE STORY OF THE SEED
By Francis Kong

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to
choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one
of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something
different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I
have decided to choose one of you. 'The young executives were shocked,
but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED
today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it,
and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from
the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you
bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story.
She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.
Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After
about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about
their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a
plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had
nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just
kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to
grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that
he wasn't going to take an empty pot...

But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to
his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his
life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the
boardroom. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants
grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes
and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his
colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young
executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and
flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be
appointed the next CEO!'

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his
empty pot.. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the
front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure!
Maybe he will have me fired!'

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his
seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and
then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief
Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his
seed.

'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said.

Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a
seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it
back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it
was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and
honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one
who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!'

End of story.

I have read variations of this story credited to anonymity but in
terms of lesson is worth repeating specially in a country like ours
that need to be reinforced with lessons on virtuous leadership.

Scriptures say whatsoever you sow you shall reap.

Plant honesty and reap trust.

Plant goodness and you reap friends.

Plant humility and reap greatness

Plant perseverance and reap contentment

Plant consideration and reap perspective

Plant hard work and reap success

Plant forgiveness and reap reconciliation

Plant faith in GOD and reap a harvest.

I guess the question is what are you planting now?