June 29
Being a Christian is like starting a journey on a complex highway system. We may feel intimidated as we round the first bend in the road; we may want to pull over and not go on. But if we continue our journey, we find that God goes with us, showing us the route to take, the bridges to cross, and where to slow down. He takes us through dark tunnels and perilous mountain passes, and as we go, we become more and more aware that he is going with us and the intimacy we experience is blessing indeed. --Mary Morrison Suggs
Yogi Berra quotations: 'Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours."
"Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage - they've experienced pain and bought jewelry."
"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens," Ed McMahon
Children are the living messages we will send to a time we can not see. - John W. Whitehead
"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." -- Brian Tracy
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -- Soren Kierkegaard
JOY 9
Older adults are the "Oak Tree's" of our society. They have deep roots and can stand the storms of life. They offer shade and comfort to the weary. In time of danger they can offer shelter. In times of desperation and disappointment they offer a place of solace and understanding.- Pauline Voyles
When life caves in, you do not need reasons - you need comfort.
You do not need answers - you need someone.
And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation -
He comes to us with His presence. - Bob Benson
"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." - Napoleon Hill
"Don't just do something, sit there! Sit there long enough each morning to decide what is really important during the day ahead." -- Richard Eyre
"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." - Susan Ertz
"The child had his mother's eyes, his mother's nose and his mother's mouth. Which left his mother with a pretty blank expression." - Robert Benchley
A colleague was planning a trip to my business office and asked me to find him a hotel with exercise facilities. I called all around town and wasn't having any luck. Finally I thought I had found one. I asked the receptionist if they had a weight room. Her reply?
"No, but we have a lobby. You can wait there."
"Be careful, the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful, the friends you choose for you will become like them." -- W. Clement Stone
"Every man dies. Not every man lives. The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the 'buts' you use today." -- Les Brown
On Walls and Barriers
"Welcome into your life each positive experience. Don't erect a wall to protect you from experiencing life. The same wall that keeps out your disappointment also keeps out the sunlight of enriching experiences. So let life touch you. The next touch could be the one
that turns your life around." - Jim Rohn
God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failing and mistakes. God leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterward, as we look back over the way we have come and reconsider certain important moments in our lives in the light of all that has followed them, or when we survey the whole progress of our lives, do we experience the feeling of having been led without knowing it, the feeling that God has mysteriously guided us. --Paul Tournier
The Idiot
There is a novel by the writer Dostoevsky titled, The Idiot. There is a central character in this novel, Prince Myshkin, who does not fit in to the society around him. His peers are striving for status and power. They judge each other on the basis of money or appearance or family connections. In their world, there is no real friendship or intimacy.
People use each other to meet their own needs. And into this world walks Prince Myshkin. He just doesn't get it. He treats everyone, whether poor or rich, with respect and kindness. He has no hidden agenda, no need to dominate others. He is pure in thought, word, and deed. This makes him a fool in other's eyes. At the same time, all these empty, cynical, status-seeking people are strangely drawn to him. He attracts others, not through money or power, but through the strength of his character.
The Idiot. If that is what an idiot is, I wish that we could all be idiots for Christ.
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous,
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
When you and I want direction for our lives, we may not always be clear about it or certain that the direction has been given -- even when we get it. That's not always because of weak faith. That may be just our human inability to know what God knows. God sees our tomorrows; we don't. Years of experience have taught me that God will probably leave me alone if I'm on the right path, but He will give me a good shove in the right direction if I'm not.
--Roger C. Palms
"Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft - today, it's called golf."
Our five-year-old son went to a church conference with my wife and me. He got restless, so my wife handed him a pad and pencil and suggested he mark down every time the speaker said the word "and." After a while, he grew bored, and I asked, "Would you like to listen for a different word?" "Yes," he whispered. "I'd like to listen for 'Amen'."
New Highs for Life Expectancy
Average U.S. life expectancy has risen to an all-time record of 78.1 years for babies born in 2006, says the Centers for Disease Control. What's more, the death rate for 11 of the top 15 causes of death — including heart disease, cancer and stroke — slowed in 2006. White males and black males have experienced an increased life expectancy to 76 years and 70 years, respectively. Black females enjoy a slightly longer lifespan at 76.9 years, and white females lead at 81 years. [webmd.com]
Have you ever tried to accomplish a task using the wrong tool? It’s like trying to turn a slatted screw with a Phillips’ screwdriver! They don’t fit, the screw doesn’t turn. You need the right tool to match the requirements of the job. Building a household of faith is much the same way. Our Scripture lessons for today tell us God needs willing hearts, attitudes of reconciliation, and “just the right person with the right gifts for the right job.” You may wonder if you possess the right tools/skills for “faith-building” - you do, God has already given them to you. So stop hitting that nail with the handle of the screwdriver!
There's a new religion just for the New Agers. It's called "Jehovah's Bystanders". That's a Witness who doesn't want to get involved.
In the days of America’s infancy, Alexis de Tocquerville wrote: “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and ample rivers, and it was not there; in the fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
PLANT HUMOR
"The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig."
"My wife's a water sign. I'm an earth sign. We make mud." (Rodney Dangerfield)
"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except how to grow in rows." (Doug Larson)
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.
"Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration." (Lou Erickson)
"...You know what? God has a calendar too and his is much bigger than ours. And he never gets behind. God has a calendar and he hasn't forgotten about you. He's got a calendar with your name on it and it's exactly on schedule. It's exactly as it should be." - Twila Paris
God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters. John Henry Jowett
Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -- Mark Twain
God Bless You!
Yogi Berra quotations: 'Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours."
"Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage - they've experienced pain and bought jewelry."
"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens," Ed McMahon
Children are the living messages we will send to a time we can not see. - John W. Whitehead
"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." -- Brian Tracy
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." -- Soren Kierkegaard
JOY 9
Older adults are the "Oak Tree's" of our society. They have deep roots and can stand the storms of life. They offer shade and comfort to the weary. In time of danger they can offer shelter. In times of desperation and disappointment they offer a place of solace and understanding.- Pauline Voyles
When life caves in, you do not need reasons - you need comfort.
You do not need answers - you need someone.
And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation -
He comes to us with His presence. - Bob Benson
"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." - Napoleon Hill
"Don't just do something, sit there! Sit there long enough each morning to decide what is really important during the day ahead." -- Richard Eyre
"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." - Susan Ertz
"The child had his mother's eyes, his mother's nose and his mother's mouth. Which left his mother with a pretty blank expression." - Robert Benchley
A colleague was planning a trip to my business office and asked me to find him a hotel with exercise facilities. I called all around town and wasn't having any luck. Finally I thought I had found one. I asked the receptionist if they had a weight room. Her reply?
"No, but we have a lobby. You can wait there."
"Be careful, the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful, the friends you choose for you will become like them." -- W. Clement Stone
"Every man dies. Not every man lives. The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the 'buts' you use today." -- Les Brown
On Walls and Barriers
"Welcome into your life each positive experience. Don't erect a wall to protect you from experiencing life. The same wall that keeps out your disappointment also keeps out the sunlight of enriching experiences. So let life touch you. The next touch could be the one
that turns your life around." - Jim Rohn
God guides us, despite our uncertainties and our vagueness, even through our failing and mistakes. God leads us step by step, from event to event. Only afterward, as we look back over the way we have come and reconsider certain important moments in our lives in the light of all that has followed them, or when we survey the whole progress of our lives, do we experience the feeling of having been led without knowing it, the feeling that God has mysteriously guided us. --Paul Tournier
The Idiot
There is a novel by the writer Dostoevsky titled, The Idiot. There is a central character in this novel, Prince Myshkin, who does not fit in to the society around him. His peers are striving for status and power. They judge each other on the basis of money or appearance or family connections. In their world, there is no real friendship or intimacy.
People use each other to meet their own needs. And into this world walks Prince Myshkin. He just doesn't get it. He treats everyone, whether poor or rich, with respect and kindness. He has no hidden agenda, no need to dominate others. He is pure in thought, word, and deed. This makes him a fool in other's eyes. At the same time, all these empty, cynical, status-seeking people are strangely drawn to him. He attracts others, not through money or power, but through the strength of his character.
The Idiot. If that is what an idiot is, I wish that we could all be idiots for Christ.
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous,
teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to seek reward,
except that of knowing that I do your will.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
When you and I want direction for our lives, we may not always be clear about it or certain that the direction has been given -- even when we get it. That's not always because of weak faith. That may be just our human inability to know what God knows. God sees our tomorrows; we don't. Years of experience have taught me that God will probably leave me alone if I'm on the right path, but He will give me a good shove in the right direction if I'm not.
--Roger C. Palms
"Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft - today, it's called golf."
Our five-year-old son went to a church conference with my wife and me. He got restless, so my wife handed him a pad and pencil and suggested he mark down every time the speaker said the word "and." After a while, he grew bored, and I asked, "Would you like to listen for a different word?" "Yes," he whispered. "I'd like to listen for 'Amen'."
New Highs for Life Expectancy
Average U.S. life expectancy has risen to an all-time record of 78.1 years for babies born in 2006, says the Centers for Disease Control. What's more, the death rate for 11 of the top 15 causes of death — including heart disease, cancer and stroke — slowed in 2006. White males and black males have experienced an increased life expectancy to 76 years and 70 years, respectively. Black females enjoy a slightly longer lifespan at 76.9 years, and white females lead at 81 years. [webmd.com]
Have you ever tried to accomplish a task using the wrong tool? It’s like trying to turn a slatted screw with a Phillips’ screwdriver! They don’t fit, the screw doesn’t turn. You need the right tool to match the requirements of the job. Building a household of faith is much the same way. Our Scripture lessons for today tell us God needs willing hearts, attitudes of reconciliation, and “just the right person with the right gifts for the right job.” You may wonder if you possess the right tools/skills for “faith-building” - you do, God has already given them to you. So stop hitting that nail with the handle of the screwdriver!
There's a new religion just for the New Agers. It's called "Jehovah's Bystanders". That's a Witness who doesn't want to get involved.
In the days of America’s infancy, Alexis de Tocquerville wrote: “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and ample rivers, and it was not there; in the fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
PLANT HUMOR
"The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig."
"My wife's a water sign. I'm an earth sign. We make mud." (Rodney Dangerfield)
"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except how to grow in rows." (Doug Larson)
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.
"Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration." (Lou Erickson)
"...You know what? God has a calendar too and his is much bigger than ours. And he never gets behind. God has a calendar and he hasn't forgotten about you. He's got a calendar with your name on it and it's exactly on schedule. It's exactly as it should be." - Twila Paris
God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters. John Henry Jowett
Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -- Mark Twain
God Bless You!
posted by joypastordon at 8:41 PM
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