Friday was World Prayer Day, I hope everyone remembered to pick a region and take a few minutes to pray for them. Today I would like to ask for prayers for the many people in the path of the deathly tornadoes that ripped through the Ohio Valley region on Saturday. This is the area where I live and the destruction was very close to me but I was blessed with no damage. Every day we have miracles.
I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches. Alice Roosevelt Longworth
All too often, we complicate our lives. We can wonder and worry our way into confusion; obsession or preoccupation it's often called "What if?" "Will he?" "Should I?" "What do you think?". We seldom stop trying to figure out what to do, where to do it, now to meet a challenge, until someone reminds us to "keep it simple".
What we each discover, again and a again, it that the solution to any problem becomes apparent when we stop searching for it. The guidance we need for handling any difficult, great or small, can only come into focus when we remove the barriers to it, and the greatest barrier is our frantic effort to personally solve the problem. We clutter our minds; we pray for an answer and yet don't become quiet enough, for long enough, to become aware of the direction to go, or the steps to take. And they are always there.
Inherent in every problem or challenge is its solution. Our greatest lesson in life my be to keep it simple, to know that no problem stands in our way because no solution eludes a quiet, expectant mind.
I have opportunity every day to still my mind. And the messages I need will come quietly. My answers are within me, now.
Showing posts with label Saints and Scriptures Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saints and Scriptures Sunday. Show all posts
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saint and Scriptures Sunday
There must be a reference to a scripture somewhere in this. Actually, it was my morning meditation yesterday. I loved it so much I thought I'd share, because it's so true.
A complete revaluation takes place in your physical and mental being when you've laughed and had some fun.
Norman Cousins, in his book Anatomy of an Illness, describes how he cured his fatal illness with laughter. Laughter recharges our entire being; every cell is activated. We come alive, and full vitality restores us physically and emotionally. Many of us need both emotional and physical healing, but perhaps we've overlooked the times to laugh because we've been caught in a negative posture.
Unfortunately, negativity becomes habitual for many of us. However, it's never too late to turn our lives around, to laugh instead of complain. Choosing to see the bright side of life, to laugh at our mistakes, lessens our pain, emotional and physical. Laughter encourages wellness. It is habit forming and, better yet, contagious. Bringing laughter to others can heal them as well.
We all want health and happiness in ourselves and others, and we can find it by creating it. The best prescription for whatever ails us may well be a good laugh.
Today I'll seek out those chances to dispense a little medicine.
A complete revaluation takes place in your physical and mental being when you've laughed and had some fun.
Norman Cousins, in his book Anatomy of an Illness, describes how he cured his fatal illness with laughter. Laughter recharges our entire being; every cell is activated. We come alive, and full vitality restores us physically and emotionally. Many of us need both emotional and physical healing, but perhaps we've overlooked the times to laugh because we've been caught in a negative posture.
Unfortunately, negativity becomes habitual for many of us. However, it's never too late to turn our lives around, to laugh instead of complain. Choosing to see the bright side of life, to laugh at our mistakes, lessens our pain, emotional and physical. Laughter encourages wellness. It is habit forming and, better yet, contagious. Bringing laughter to others can heal them as well.
We all want health and happiness in ourselves and others, and we can find it by creating it. The best prescription for whatever ails us may well be a good laugh.
Today I'll seek out those chances to dispense a little medicine.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Jesus Doesn't Change - Saints and Scriptures Sunday
Hebrews 13:1-9
Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you.
Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I'm, fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?
Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn't change - yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself.
Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them.
Please visit Dianna at The Kennedy Adventures each Sunday for more Saints and Scriptures.
Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you.
Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I'm, fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?
Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn't change - yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself.
Don't be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don't seem to do much for those who buy them.
Please visit Dianna at The Kennedy Adventures each Sunday for more Saints and Scriptures.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Work The Words Into Your Life-Saints and Scriptures Sunday
Luke 6:43-49
You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It's who you are, not what you say and do that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
Why are you so polite with me, always saying "yes sir," and "That's right sir." but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.
Have a Blessed week, and for more Saints and Scriptures visit Dianna at The Kennedy Aventures.
You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It's who you are, not what you say and do that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
Why are you so polite with me, always saying "yes sir," and "That's right sir." but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.
Have a Blessed week, and for more Saints and Scriptures visit Dianna at The Kennedy Aventures.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Empty Promises - Saints and Scriptures Sunday
How many times have we heard someone say, "I'll keep you in my prayers, bless her heart or I'll add you to our prayer list at church". You know they have forgotten it as soon as they walk away. This is basically what Matthew had to say about that.
Matthew 5:33-37
"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying 'God be with you'. and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no'. When you manipulate words to get your own way, you are wrong.
More Saints and Scriptures at The Kennedy Adventures - Saints and Scriptures Sunday.
Matthew 5:33-37
"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying 'God be with you'. and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no'. When you manipulate words to get your own way, you are wrong.
More Saints and Scriptures at The Kennedy Adventures - Saints and Scriptures Sunday.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee - Saints and Scriptures Sunday
We have all known people like this in our life. Most of them I can get rid of in a hurry, but no matter how hard you try one will sneak back in from time to time. Who knows maybe they will be reading the post this morning.
Luke 18:9-17
Jesus told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noises at the common people "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: "Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, crooks, adulterers, or heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income."
"Meanwhile, the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give me mercy, a sinner.'"
Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."
People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
For more Saints and Scriptures - Sunday please visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Luke 18:9-17
Jesus told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noises at the common people "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: "Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, crooks, adulterers, or heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income."
"Meanwhile, the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give me mercy, a sinner.'"
Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."
People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
For more Saints and Scriptures - Sunday please visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Ascension Day - Saints and Scriptures Sunday
This past week we celebrated Ascension Day. The story of Jesus doesn't end with Jesus. It continues in the lives of those who believe in him. The supernatural does not not stop with Jesus. Luke makes it clear that these Christians he wrote about were no more spectators of Jesus than Jesus was a spectator of God - they are in on the action of God, God acting in them, God living in them. Which also means, of course, in us.
Acts 1:6-11
When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?"
He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."
These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared - in white robes! They said, "You Galileans! - why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly - and mysteriously - as he left."
For more Saints and Scriptures Sunday please visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Acts 1:6-11
When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?"
He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."
These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared - in white robes! They said, "You Galileans! - why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly - and mysteriously - as he left."
For more Saints and Scriptures Sunday please visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Ruth - Saints and Scriptures Sunday
It could be that Ruth felt the same way a lot of mothers do on some days - what I do doesn't matter-I'll never make a difference in the world. Just not true.
This was taken from the introduction to Ruth in the The Message .
The outsider Ruth was not born into the faith and felt no natural part of it-like many of us. But she came to find herself gathered into the story and given a quiet and obscure part that proved critical to the way everything turned out.
Scripture is a vast tapestry of God's creating, saving, and blessing ways of the world. The great names in the plot that climaxes at Sinai (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses) and the great names in the sequel (Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon) can be intimidating to the ordinary, random individuals: "Surely there is no way that I can have any significant part on such a stage." But the story of the widowed, impoverished, alien Ruth is proof to the contrary. She is the inconsequential outsider whose life turns out to be essential for telling the complete story of God's ways among us. The unassuming ending carries the punch line: "Boaz married Ruth, she had a son Obed, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David."
David! In its artful telling of this "outsider" widow, uprooted and obscure, who turns out to be the great-grandmother of David and the ancestor of Jesus, the book of Ruth makes it possible for each of us to understand ourselves, however ordinary or "out of it", as irreplaceable in the full telling of God's story. We count-every last one of us-and what we do counts.
For more Saints and Scriptures Sunday, visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Happy Mother's Day!
This was taken from the introduction to Ruth in the The Message .
The outsider Ruth was not born into the faith and felt no natural part of it-like many of us. But she came to find herself gathered into the story and given a quiet and obscure part that proved critical to the way everything turned out.
Scripture is a vast tapestry of God's creating, saving, and blessing ways of the world. The great names in the plot that climaxes at Sinai (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses) and the great names in the sequel (Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon) can be intimidating to the ordinary, random individuals: "Surely there is no way that I can have any significant part on such a stage." But the story of the widowed, impoverished, alien Ruth is proof to the contrary. She is the inconsequential outsider whose life turns out to be essential for telling the complete story of God's ways among us. The unassuming ending carries the punch line: "Boaz married Ruth, she had a son Obed, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David."
David! In its artful telling of this "outsider" widow, uprooted and obscure, who turns out to be the great-grandmother of David and the ancestor of Jesus, the book of Ruth makes it possible for each of us to understand ourselves, however ordinary or "out of it", as irreplaceable in the full telling of God's story. We count-every last one of us-and what we do counts.
For more Saints and Scriptures Sunday, visit The Kennedy Adventures.
Happy Mother's Day!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
God's Cake
Isn't it wonderful to have friends, they are just as important as family. My friend Janice sent me this to use for Saints and Scriptures Sunday. Wasn't that sweet and thoughtful of her. I have read this before, but like most things I forget or need a reminder.
God's Cake
many servings
Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or Why did God have to do this to me. Here is a wonderful explantation.
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter
"How about a couple of raw eggs?' Gross Mom!
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which her Mother replies: 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!'
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!. We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers in the Spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Life might not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
Hope your day is a piece of cake!
Remember last week we talked about The Mayonnaise Jar? This week about God's Cake. You are so right, I'm getting ready to give you a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe. Coming right up!
God's Cake
many servings
Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or Why did God have to do this to me. Here is a wonderful explantation.
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter
"How about a couple of raw eggs?' Gross Mom!
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which her Mother replies: 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!'
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!. We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers in the Spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Life might not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!
Hope your day is a piece of cake!
Remember last week we talked about The Mayonnaise Jar? This week about God's Cake. You are so right, I'm getting ready to give you a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe. Coming right up!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Reality of Eternal Life
Yes, it is Saints and Scriptures Sunday again. I love it. Ever so often I receive a message from Friar Jack's E-spirations, that I always enjoy. Since we had talked about this in Bible Study a couple of weeks ago I thought I would share part of his message.
We just celebrated the greatest feast of our faith- the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday - without the Resurrection there would be no Christianity. Jesus would be remembered as a wonderful man, even a prophet. But it is the Resurrection that is the ultimate proof that he is the Son of God. That makes his teachings and actions - and the Gospels themselves - truly divine revelation. He was, and is, indeed the "way, the truth and the life".
"He who believes in me will live forever" (John 11:25). You and I know in our hearts that we never believe in eternal life more than when someone dies. We know we will be together again some day. Heaven simply means complete and total union with the God. And we know enough about God from what Jesus told us to be able to reflect on eternal life.
Have a Blessed week and I'll see you next Sunday.
We just celebrated the greatest feast of our faith- the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday - without the Resurrection there would be no Christianity. Jesus would be remembered as a wonderful man, even a prophet. But it is the Resurrection that is the ultimate proof that he is the Son of God. That makes his teachings and actions - and the Gospels themselves - truly divine revelation. He was, and is, indeed the "way, the truth and the life".
"He who believes in me will live forever" (John 11:25). You and I know in our hearts that we never believe in eternal life more than when someone dies. We know we will be together again some day. Heaven simply means complete and total union with the God. And we know enough about God from what Jesus told us to be able to reflect on eternal life.
Have a Blessed week and I'll see you next Sunday.
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