Spiritual Thoughts

  L ife is not about waiting  for the storm to pass. It is about learning how  to dance in the rain. ~ Vivian Greene   I n this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 1:6-7

  T he problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise, and thinking that having problems is a problem. ~ Theodore Isaac Rubin   T hough I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; Your right hand will save me. The LORD will accomplish what concerns me. ~ Psalm 138:7-8

  Friday Tale - Just a Letter   W e were a group of friends in the midst of an after-dinner conversation. Because Thanksgiving was just around the corner and prosperity wasn't, we talked about what we had to be thankful for.           One of us said, "Well I, for one, am grateful to Mrs. Wendt, an old school teacher who, 30 years ago in a little West Virginia town, went out of her way to introduce me to the works of the poet, Tennyson."           Then he launched into a colorful description of Mrs. Wendt, a lovely little old lady who had been his high school teacher and who evidently had made a deep impression on his life. She had gone out of her way to awaken his literary interest and develop his gifts of expression.           "And does this Mrs. Wendt know that she made that contribution to your life?" someone put in.           "I'm afraid she doesn't. I have been careless and have never, in all these years, told her either face-to-fac

  T he miracle of gratitude is that it  shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see. ~ Robert Holden   T herefore, since we receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude . ~ Hebrews 12:28

  If the only prayer you say in your   entire life is ‘ Thank You ,’ that would suffice. ~ Meister Eckhart    Now therefore, our God, we thank You , and praise Your glorious name.  ~ 1 Chronicle 29:13

  B est of all is it to preserve everything in a pure still heart, and let there be for  every heartbeat a thanksgiving , and for every breath a song. ~ Konrad von Gesner    B e anxious for nothing, BUT in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ~ Philippians 4:6

T he thankful receiver bears  a plentiful harvest. ~ William Blake    E nter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His loving-kindness is everlasting. ~ Psalm 100:4-5

  Small Friday Tale -  Rainbows and Butterflies   O ur "Rainbows and Butterflies are the small miracles of our life - The little things that are so easy to overlook, yet so awe inspiring when we take a moment to notice and to pay attention. Give thanks for the rainbows,  for the butterflies for all God's creatures, large and small, for the bright blue sky and the soft fog and the gentle rain, for the tree veiled in the season's first frost, for the baby's laugh, for the touch of a hand, and the whispered "I love you." ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in hi, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, ... abounding in thanksgiving. ~ Colossians 2:6-7

  I n the midst of movement and  chaos, keep stillness inside you. ~ Deepak Chopra   Y ou keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You. ~ Isaiah 26:3

  T he more you recognize and  express gratitude for the  things you have, the more  things you will have to  express gratitude for. ~ Zig Ziglar   W hatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ~ Colossians 3:17

  G ratitude is the inward feeling of  kindness received. T hankfulness is the natural  impulse to express that feeling. T hanksgiving is the following of  that impulse. ~ Henry Van Dyke   S ince we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and love. ~ Hebrews 12:28

  T hank you, God, for this good life, and forgive us if we do not love it enough. ~ Garrison Keillor   F or everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4

  Friday Tale - A Little at a Time   T he fabled USS Constitution was a 19th Century American warship affectionately called “Old Ironsides.” During the 1812 conflict between Britain and America, the crew of the Constitution sighted what appeared to be several American ships blockading a harbor. Overnight the ship joined her supposed allies, only to find in the morning that she had closed up with five enemy British vessels. The worst thing was that there was no wind, making it impossible to sail away again.          With the Constitution in deep danger, her captain had to come up with another way of moving. For two days he and the crew crept slowly away from the British ships by sending an anchor ahead in one of the ship's lifeboats, dropping it, and then using the capstan to pull the ship towards safety. In this fashion, hour after hour the ship inched ever-so-slightly away from the enemy. The arduous work of pulling up anchors from the bottom of the bay, loading them into sm

  L ife is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~ Albert Einstein   B less our God, O peoples, and make the sound of His praise be heard abroad, Who keeps us among the living and does not allow our feet to slip or stumble. ~  Psalm 66:8-0 (Amplified)

  B alance activity with serenity, wealth with simplicity, persistence with innovation, community with solitude, familiarity with adventure, constancy with change, leading with following. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, BUT a just weight is His delight. ~ Proverbs 11:1

L ife is part ups and part downs. Suppose you went to hear a symphony orchestra and all they played were the little, happy, high notes?? Would you leave soon? Let me hear also the rumble of the bass, the crash of the cymbals, and the minor keys. ~ Jim Rohn   P raise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with tabret and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! ~ Psalm 150:4,6   

  N ever let frustration or disappointment tarnish your appreciation for all that is good life. Every day say "Thank you" to the Source of all that is good. ~ Unknown   I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it. ~ Psalm 52:9 

Friday Tale - In Prison?   T he late Dr. Jay Dishman, wrote about habits and the Alcatraz prison.         "Recently I visited Alcatraz prison. Once it housed the most hardened of criminals. Today it is open to tourists under the direction of the United States Parks Department. Many men have tried to escape Alcatraz, no one is known to have succeeded. As I listened to the tour guide explain the impossibility of escape, I thought of other prisons equally confining but where the doors are never locked, no guards walk the halls, and escape is encouraged and possible. That prison is habit."         Our habit of thinking about ourselves and our environment as a jail or a paradise. We need but to look around us to see people who are rich emotionally and materially because they think and feel rich. We also see people who are laden with emotional and material debt because they think lack. Some are inspired with vision, others are encumbered with doubt. Some are moved by ambitio

I n the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you. ~ Deepak Chopra B e still before the LORD; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him; do not fret, whine, agonize, because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. ~ Psalm 37:7

I n prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then - Listen! ~ Johannes Tauler   B ut the LORD is in His Holy Temple. Let all the earth hush and be silent before Him. ~ Habakkuk 2:20

D well in stillness. Observe . ~ Jon Kabat Zinn   B e still and know, recognize, understand, that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth. ~ Psalm 46:10

  G od's voice is still and quiet and easily buried under an avalanche of clamor. ~ Charles Stanley   D o not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites calmed all the people saying, "Be still, for the day is holy, do not be grieved" ~ Nehemiah 8:10-11