Psalm 73:1-2; 21-28

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.  

But for me, my feet almost slipped; 

I had almost lost my foothold.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 

I was senseless and ignorant, 

I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with You, 

You hold me by the right hand, You guide me with your counsel

and afterward you take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You.

And earth has nothing I desire besides You.

My flesh and my heart will fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those who are far from You will perish;

You destroy all those who are unfaithful to you.

But for me, it is good to be near God.

I have made my sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell all your deeds.

Song ~ In memory of Mary Derham Warnecke

Song~

When I am dead, my dearest

Sing no sad songs for me

Plant no roses at my head

Nor shady cypress tree

Be the green grass above me

with showers and dew drops wet

If thou wilt, remember

and if thou wilt, forget

I shall not see the shadows

I shall not feel the rain

I shall not hear the nightengale

sing on, as if in pain

and dreaming through the twilite

that doth not rise or set

Happily, I may remember

and happily, I may forget

~Christina Rossetti

IF

IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, ' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! ~Rudyard Kipling

Tough questions from kids - Why was Jesus born in a stinky stable?

At the time when Jesus was born, Herod, the evil ruler of the area, had great forts and palaces built so he could feel safe and powerful.  One reason Jesus was born in a stable was to show us that He and His ways were opposite of the world's.  Jesus' kingdom doesn't come by force by by God working in each person.  Jesus; birth in a stable also lets us know that He came for all people, not just the rich and famous.

And and angel came unto them ~

For a Savior is born .......:)

The Shepherds and the Angels.....

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,  "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  Luke 2:8-20

Loving others as you would yourself...

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?"  Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the prophets hang onto these two commandments.  ~Matthew 22:36-40

Tough questions from kids - Why do we pray for our enemies?

The main reason to pray for our enemies is because God tells us to. In fact, He tells us to love our enemies. Praying for our enemies and loving them is God's way.  Another reason is that all people, especially bad people, need prayer.  There is no better way to change them.  If we want bad people to stop being bad, we need to ask God to do it.

I Don't Ask For Your Pity, but your understanding, not even that , no, just your recognition in you, the enemy, time in us all..~Sweet Bird of Youth ..Tennessee Williams...........

The Parable of the Lost Son

There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.  After he had spent everything there was severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to the fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said, "How many pf my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Make me like one of you hired men."  So, he got up and went to his father.

The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy of being called your son."

But the father said to his servants, "Quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let's have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and now is found." So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.  So he called one of his servants and asked what is going on.  "Your brother has come" He replied, "and your father  has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound."

The older brother got angry and refused to go in.  So his father came out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I have been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.  Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when that son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him."

"My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we have to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and now he is found."

~Luke 15:11-31

Looking out with faith and hope

1st Sura of the Qu'ran

We begin in the Name of God

Everlasting mercy, infinite compassion

Praise be to God, loving Lord of all worlds.

Everlasting mercy, infinite compassion

Eternal strength of every living being

Whose majestic power embraces us on the day of the Great Return

Only you do we adore, and to you alone do we cry for help

Guide us, O God, on the path of perfect harmony

The path of those whom you have blessed with the gifts of peace, joy, serenity and delight

The path of those who are not brought down by anger

The path of those who are not lost along the way

So be it

The Na'at

O, dear Master, Friend of Truth

O, beloved God, the divine message bearer of the Creator without equal.

You are the pure One, whom the Lord of majesty has chosen among his creatures.

O, my Friend, my King

You are well beloved of the Eternal, the Light of our eyes.

O, protector, Friend of Truth.

O, my Friend and King,

messengers of God

Thou knowest how weak and defenseless are Thy people.

Thou art the guide of the powerless and the humble in spirit,

Friend of Truth, my King.

Thou art the cypress in the garden of prophets.

Thou art the spring season in the world of knowledge.

Thou art the rose-tree in the garden of the way of harmony and surrender.

Thou art a nightingale of the world above.

The sun of Tabiz has praise the glory of the Lord.

Thou art purified, the Chosen, the Exalted.

O, thou, who hears the heart,

the true friend of God.

O, God, give me light in my heart ~

O, God, give me the light in Your heart,

and light my tongue,

and light my hearing,

and light my sight,

and light in my feeling,

and light in all of my body,

and light before me,

and light behind me,

Give me, I pray thee:

light on my right hand,

light on my left hand,

and light above me,

and light beneath me.

O, Lord, increase light within me,

and give me light and illuminate me,

these are the lights that the Lord asked for

verily to possess such light

means to be contemplated by the light.

Meditation for the day~ I pray that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. I pray that I may rise and walk upright.

Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. Do not dwell upon your failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel.  You have a mediator between you and God - your growing faith - which can lift you up from the mire and point you toward the heavens.  You can still be reconciled with the spirit of God.  You can still regain the harmony with the divine principle of the universe.

Summertime remembered.....

Doxology - Awake My Soul......

Awake my soul, and with the sun

Thy daily stage of duty run

Shake of dull sloth and joyfully rise

To pay thy morning sacrifice

Lord, I my vows to thee renew

disperse my sins as morning dew

guard my first springs of thought and will

and with thyself, thy spirit fill

Direct, control, suggest this day

All I design or do or say

that all my powers with all their might

in thy soul glory may unite

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him, all creatures here below

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Then it doesn't matter which way you go, said the cat.................

God's grace......

We can believe that somehow the cry of the human soul is never unheard by God.  It may be that God hears the cry, even if we fail to notice God's response to it.  The human cry is for help must always evoke a response of some sort from God.  I may be that our failure to discern properly keeps us unaware of the response.  But one thing we can believe is that the grace of God is always available for every human being who sincerely calls for help.  Many changed lives are living proof of this fact.

Ode on Imitations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood

To me there came a thought of grief;

A timely utterance gave that thought relief,

And I am again strong.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's star,

Hath had elsewhere it s setting, and cometh from afar:

Not in utter forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God who is our home.

Though nothing can bring back the hour

of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, but rather find

strength in what remains behind.

In the primal sympathy which having been must ever be;

In the soothing thoughts that spring out of human suffering.

In the faith that looks through death.

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears, 

To me the meanest flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

~William Wordsworth

O, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil. (Prayer of Jabez)

Jonah's Prayer

In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

From the depths of the grace I called for help.

and you listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the deep, 

into the very heart of the seas,

and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers swept over me.

I said, I have been banished from your sight;

Yet I will look again to your holy temple.

The engulfing waters threatened me, 

the deep surrounded me;

seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sunk down;

the earth beneath barred me in forever.

But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.

When my life was ebbed away, I remembered you, Lord.

and my prayer rose to you holy temple.

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit

the grace that could be theirs.

But I, with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice for you.

What I have vowed, I will make good.

Salvation comes from the Lord.  

~Jonah 2:1-9

Tough questions from kids

The main reason to pray for our enemies is because God tells us to. In fact, He tells us to love our enemies.  Praying for our enemies and loving them is God's way.

 Another reason is that people, especially bad people, need prayer.  There is no better way to change them.  If we want bad people to stop being bad, we need to ask God to do it..

Colossians 2:2......My purpose to:

My purpose is that we may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that we may know the mystery of God, and that is Christ..

For this reason

For this reason, since the day we first heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  And we pray this for that you may live life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of the light.  For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins...~Colossians 1:9-14

Prayer for abundance in everything spiritual

Therefore ye shall lay up the Word; my words on your heart and in your soul, to bind them for a sign that is on your hand, that they may be as a frontspiece between your eyes. 

And you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up;

And you shall write the word on the doorposts of your house, and upon the gates, that your days may be multiplied, the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto the Father to give them as the days of heaven upon the earth..

~Deut 11:18-22

God displayed in his life....

As Jesus went along he saw a blind man from birth..His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents so that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God can be displayed in his work...~John 9:2-3

Loving God

Everything exposed to the light is visible; For it is light that makes everything visible; This is what is said: Wake up oh sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you...ephesians 13:14