Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale - Multiply Force   In mechanics, the function of a lever is   to reduce the amount of force necessary to perform a particular task. When we use a crowbar to move a heavy rock, for example, we are using the principle of "leverage" to  substantially multiply the amount of force  we are applying.   Something similar occurs when we use the   head of a hammer to remove a nail, or  when we use scissors to cut through paper,   cardboard, cloth, and, with the right  kind of scissors, even metal.   The principle of leverage has often been effectively   employed as a metaphor. With the right kind of lever,  Archimedes famously claimed he could move the earth.  The neuroscientist Sam Harris wrote: "A belief is  a lever that, once pulled, moves almost  everything else in a person's life."    What is YOUR lever in YOUR life? ~ Anonymous   B ehold, God is my salvation, I will trus...

  M ultiply it by infinity, take it to the depths of forever, and you'll still only have a wee glimpse of how much God loves us. ~ Anonymous   M any, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts towards us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count . ~ Psalm 40:5

T he process of change is made up of subtraction and addition. Taking something off and then putting something on. ~ Creflo A. Dollar   T he night is almost gone and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ~ Romans 13:12

  W e improve the quality of what we are doing by reducing the quantity of what we should not be doing. ~ Saisuman T ake words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, " Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so that we may present the fruit of our lips. ~ Hosea 14:2

M athematics is not only for solving numbers. It's also for dividing Sorrow, subtracting Sadness, adding Happiness, and multiplying Love and Forgiveness. ~ Saisuman T o sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted and humble in spirit. ~ 2 Peter 3:8

  Friday Tale - Rating Blessings The Travelers and the Plane Tree T wo travelers, worn out by the heat of the summer's sun, laid themselves down at noon under the wide- spreading branches of a Plane Tree (see picture). As they rested under its shade, one of the Travelers said to the other, "What a singularly useless tree is the Plane! It bears no fruit, and is not of the least service to man." The Plane Tree, interrupting him, said, "You ungrateful fellow! Do you, while receiving benefits from me and resting in my shade, dare to describe me as useless and unprofitable?" Some men under-rate their blessings. Do you? ~ Steve Goodier O  Lord, You are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise and give thanks to Your name, for You have done marvelous things, plans formed long, long ago, fulfilled with perfect faithfulness. ~ Isaiah 25:1

  E very problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds. ~ Norman Vincent Peale   B lessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

  A true friend is the greatest  of all blessings. ~ Francois de la Roucefoucald   G reater love has no one that this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. ~ John 15:13-14

  G ratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary  opportunities into blessings. ~ William Arthur Ward   F or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4

  I n their own way, problems can be  blessings. They can be the prod  to get us out of  our complacency  and into action. ~ Unknown   Consider it nothing BUT joy whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith through experience produces endurance, leading to spiritual maturity and inner peace. ~ James 1:2-3 (Amplified)

  Friday Tale - Run Down T wo natural gas company service personnel (one a senior training supervisor and the other a young trainee), were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of an alley and worked their way to the other end.      At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. When they finished, the senior supervisor, proud of his physical condition, challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race back to their truck. As they approached the truck, they realized that the woman was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong.     Gasping for breath, she replied, “When I saw two gas company men running as hard as you two were, I figured I’d better run, too!”      In another way, we spend a great deal of time running, don’t we? We are running to catch up at work. ...

  S ometimes when I'm talking, my  words can't keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we speak. Probably  so we can think twice. ~ Bill Watterson A time to be silent and a time to speak. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:7

  T he greatest discovery of any generation is that a human can alter his life by altering his attitude. ~ William James L et the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. ~ Colossians 3:15

  I t's always sunny above the  clouds. Always. Every day on  earth - every day I have ever had - was secretly sunny after all. ~ Caitlin Moran T hen Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, BUT will have the Light of life." ~ John 8:12

  W e are product of our past, BUT  we don't have to be prisoners of it. ~ Rick Warren T here is a time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:6

Friday Tale - Slow Dance I once heard the chairman and CEO of a huge public company tell a roomful of ambitious, hardworking, dedicated executives that if he had to do it all over again, he would have spent more time with his family. That's not news, but to Type-A personalities, it's easier said than done.  David L. Weatherford's poem Slow Dance sends the message in a particularly compelling way: Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round Or listened to rain slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight Or gazed at the sun fading into the night? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, Time is short, the music won't last.   Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask, “How are you?” do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores running through your head? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, Time is short, the music won't last. Ever told your child, “We'll do...

  A n empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly. ~ Unknown   T he eye is the lamp of your body, when your eye is clear, your  whole body also is full of light; BUT when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ~ Luke 11:34

  I n every day there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440  daily opportunities to make  a positive impact. ~ Les Brown   S o teach us to number our days, so that we may present to You a heart f wisdom. O satisfy us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, so that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. ~ Psalm 90:12, 14

  F ollow your heart BUT  take your brain with you. ~ Alfred Adler W hen we were children, we thought  and reasoned as children do. BUT when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. For now there are  faith, hope and love. BUT of  these three, the greatest is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:11, 13

  W rite it on your heart that every  day is the best day of the year. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson T hen Nehemiah said to them, "Go, eat of the meat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the JOY of the LORD is your strength." ~ Nehemiah 8:10

  Friday Tale - Make a Difference   A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him. While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.     When he finished painting, he received his money and left.     The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.     The painter was surprised and said “You've already paid me for painting the boat, Sir!”     “But this is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the hole in the boat.”     “Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”     “My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:    ...