Being Blessed

When you've cried for so long and your heart is in such anguish...God has counted your tears.
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If you feel that your life is on hold and time has just passed you by... God is waiting with you.
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When you're lonely and your friends are too busy to call or can't understand...God is by your side.
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When you think you've tried everything and don't know where else to turn...God has a solution.
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When nothing makes sense and you are hurt, confused or frustrated...God has the answer.
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If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope in life.....God has whispered to you.
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When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for...God has blessed you.
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When something amazing happens and you find that special someone...God has smiled upon you.
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When you have a dream to follow and also a reality to live...God has opened your eyes and called your name.
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Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are facing now... GOD KNOWS!!
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"You can tell the true character of a man by the way he treats someone who can do absolutely nothing for him." –
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Author Unknown
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Good Day Starter

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this
morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You
have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for
everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.
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I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me
to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each
and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that
I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.
And It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.
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I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the
weak... Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for
those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe.
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But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than G od. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees it.
God
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I love you and I need you, come into my heart, please.

Act Like A Mule

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer  heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened ... and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back ... a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back ... HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up ... shake it off and step up ... shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought 'panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like would bury him, actually blessed him ... all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity ... THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US!

Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER--PRAISE and HOPE ... all are excellent ways to "SHAKE

IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

No Do Overs

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road humps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards. Don't stay on the humps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God is thinking of something better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, and the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.

The measure of love is when you love without measure. In life there are very rare chances that you'll meet the person you love and loves you in return. So once you have it don't ever let go, the chance might never come your way again.

It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.

When you truly care for someone, you don't look for faults, you don't look for answers, and you don't look for mistakes. Instead, you fight the mistakes, you accept the faults, and you overlook the excuses.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

Pass it on to your dear friends....

The Empty Chair

A man's daughter had asked the parish priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

"I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?" said the father.

The priest told him his name and then remarked, "I see the empty chair; I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the priest shut the door.

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "  But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.

I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, `Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest.' Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised; `I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

So I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.

The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.  But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head in the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

The priest wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

Put The Glass Down

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.

 He demonstrated the weight of water. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience,

"How heavy would you guess this glass of water is?"

The students answered between 5 ounces & 500 mg.

"It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it.

"If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.

 "If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.

"If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.,

"It is the exact same weight in each case, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

The lesson . . .

"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier."

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again."

We have to put down our burdens periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down, don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow, if you must. Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment, if you can.

Pick it up again later when you have rested. . .

Rest and relax.

Life is short, enjoy it!!

My Quilt

As I faced my Maker at the last Judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with the other souls.  Before each of us laid our lives, like the squares of a quilt, in many piles.  An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.  But, as my Angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was.  They were filled with giant holes.  Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life.  I saw hardships that I had endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me.  Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune.  I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.  My Angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.  Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth.  The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries.  So filled their lives had been.

My Angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground in shame.  I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes.  I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness and death, and false accusations that took from me my world as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I had spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life.  I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully; each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.  And now, I had to face the truth.  My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it had been.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.  An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with eyes wide.  Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image. The face of Christ.  Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes.  He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.  Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through. -Author Unknown