Spiritual Thoughts

  T hose who are animated by HOPE can perform what would seem impossibilities to those who are under the depressing influence of fear. ~ Maria Edgeworth   B e strong and let your heart take courage, all you who HOPE in the LORD. ~ Psalm 31:24

  C ourage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air. ~ John Quincy Adams   W ait for the LORD, be strong   and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD. ~ Psalm 27:14

  Friday Tale - a Taxi Driver   T wenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, and made me laugh and weep.   But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night. I was responding to a call from a small brick four-plex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town.   When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a

  N ot to know is bad. Not to want to know is worse. ~ The Gambia   H ow much better to get wisdom than to get gold, to get insight  rather than silver! ~ Proverbs 16:16

  L ife without a mission is a tremendous omission. ~ The Best of Bits & Pieces   H e, Jesus, is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this mission I strenuously content with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. ~ Colossians 1:28-29

  T here is nothing wrong with people possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess people. ~ Billy Graham   I nstruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, BUT on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. ~ 1 Timothy 6:17

  Y ou cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never now how soon it will be too late . ~ The Best of Bits and Pieces   L ove your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless and show kindness to those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. ~ Luke 6:27, 28, 31

  Friday Tale - I Drink From My Saucer   I 've never made a fortune, And I'll never make one now, But it really doesn't matter 'cause I'm happy anyhow.   As I go along my journey I'm reaping better than I've sowed. I'm drinking from the saucer 'Cause my cup has overflowed.   I don't have a lot of riches, And sometimes the going's tough But with kin and friends to love me I think I'm rich enough.   I thank God to the blessings That His mercy has bestowed. I'm drinking from the saucer 'Cause my cup has overflowed.   He gives me strength and courage When the way grows steep and rough, I'll not ask for other blessings for I'm already blessed enough.   May we never be too busy To help bear another load. Then we'll all be drinking from the saucer When our cups have overflowed. ~ John Moore   N ow may our God and Father himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and

  T he distance a person goes is not as important as the direction. ~ The Best of Bits and Pieces   L et me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk, For to You I lift up my soul. ~ Psalm 143:8

  L ife is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in it, you don't get anything out. And that's the truth. ~ W. C. Handy   L et us therefore make every effort to enter that rest of God, to know and experience  it for ourselves. ~ Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified)

  I f I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. BUT when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in the beginning. ~ Mahatma Gandhi   F inally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. ~ Ephesians 6:10

  D o not fear going forward slowly, fear only to stand still. ~ Chinese Proverb   BUT one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 3:13-14

Friday Tale - I understand   I stopped by to introduce myself to my next-door neighbor in the new neighborhood where we were moving. We talked. He's a local radio personality, Si-Man Baby.   As we talked about various aspects of life, Si-Man Baby would nod and speak two words, "I understand."   They were simple words, yet so profound.   They were words that we need to speak more often among friends, family, spouses, co-workers, and even nations. The simple words of, "I understand."   After talking with Si-Man Baby for about 45 minutes, I left his presence, but his presence didn't leave me.   Days later I found myself listening to others, nodding my head and uttering, "I understand."   I found myself repeating "

  A pessimist is one who makes difficulties out of his opportunities; an optimist is one who makes opportunities out of his difficulties. ~ Reginald B. Mansell   S o then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people. ~ Galatians 6:10

  T he people in your life are like the pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up, and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's enough to know they are standing by. ~ Merle Shain   L et me benefit from you   in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. ~ Philemon 1:20

W ords of comfort,  skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man. ~ Louis Nizer   P raise be to the God and Father of   our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of  compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we  ourselves receive from God. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

  T here are people in your life who will  either lift you up  or weigh you down. Which one are you to them? ~ Anonymous   A nd we urge you warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:14

    Friday Tale - The Horseman   It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many, many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind. He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path.   Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by... and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider's eye and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn't app

  D on't be afraid of death, be afraid of the un-lived life. ~ from the movie "Tuck Everlasting"   I will not die, BUT live, and tell of the works of the LORD. ~ Psalm 118:17

  A lways keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. ~ Unknown   P leasant words are a honeycomb; sweet to the soul, and healing to the bones. ~ Proverbs 16:42

  N ever put both feet in your mouth  at the same time, because  then you don't have a leg to stand on. ~ Unknown   T he one who guards his mouth   preserves life; the one who opens wide his lips  comes to ruin. ~ Proverbs 13:3

  W e cannot tell what may happen to us  in the strange medley of life. BUT we can decide what happens IN us - how we can take it, what we do with it, and that is what really counts in the end. How to take the raw stuff of life and make it a thing of worth and beauty - that is the test of living. ~ Joseph Fort Newton   BUT only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. ~ Luke 10:42