Spiritual Thoughts

  B e strong now because things will  get better. It might be stormy now  BUT it can't rain forever. ~ Hailee H e set a limit for the rain and a course for the thunderbolt. ~ Job 28:26

  T he beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you. ~ B. B. King L et the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance - for understanding. ~ Proverbs 1:5-6

  E ventually we all have to accept full and total responsibility for our actions, everything we have done, and have not done. ~ Hubert Selby, Jr. F or we believers will be called to account and must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be repaid for what has been done, whether good or bad, that is each will be held responsible for his actions, purposes, goals, motives - the use or misuse of his time, opportunities and abilities. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:10 (Amplified)

  R eal generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out. ~ Frank A. Clark   S o when you give to the needy,  do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ~ Matthew 6:2-4 

Friday Tale - Leadership without Words   F rom 1949 to 1958 Pee Wee Reese was captain of baseball's Dodgers. Named not for his size, but for playing marbles as a kid with a pee-wee shooter. He was a great shortstop, a daring base runner, and a superb clutch hitter.     He was an eight-time All Star and sparked the Dodgers to seven National League pennants. He fielded the final ground ball in Brooklyn's first World Series championship in 1955. He never earned more than $35,000 playing the game he loved.     During his total of sixteen years on the field for the Dodgers, Reese was respected as a person as well as a ballplayer. His fellow Dodgers called him simply "The Captain" and deferred to his judgment on many matters.     He wasn't good at speeches. His leadership came from inner confidence, integrity, and consistency. His manner had the unpretentious effect of causing people to trust and follow him.  ...

A good example is  the best sermon. ~ Benjamin Franklin   I n all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech that is beyond reproach. ~ Titus 2:7-8

  S omeone's sitting in the shade today  because someone planted a tree  a long time ago. ~ Warren Buffett   T rust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and cultivate faithfulness. ~ Psalm 37:3

  I t only takes a split second to smile  and forget, yet to someone who needed it,  it can last a life time. ~ Steve Maraboli   S o then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people. ~ Galatians 6:10

  A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided. ~ Tony Robbins   J esus said, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ~ Matthew 7:24

  Friday Tale - the Daffodil Principle   S everal times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.            "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.            Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.            "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"        ...

  T he price of anything is the amount of  life you exchange for it. ~ Henry David Thoreau BUT where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed as its price. Behold the reverential and worshipful fear of the LORD - that is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding. ~ Job 28:12, 15, 28

  I f we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living. ~ Gail Sheehy   BUT speaking the Truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even Christ. ~ Ephesians 4:15 

P atience is also a form of action. ~ Auguste Rodin   I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. ~ Ephesians 4:1-2

S ome people could be given an entire field of roses and only see the thorns in it. Others could be give a single weed and only see the wildflower in it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude a key component to joy. ~ Amy Weatherly   T each me discernment and knowledge, for I believe in Your commandments. ~ Psalm 119:66

  Friday Tale - Jump Out!   O ne day an army general was visiting a military base where paratroopers were training on jumping out of airplanes.     During a conversation, the general asked this question to a group getting ready to go up in the air: “How do you like jumping out of planes?”    The first paratrooper responded, “I love it, sir.”     He then asked the next. “It’s a fantastic experience, sir!” exclaimed the soldier. “I couldn’t imagine not doing it.”    “How do you like it?” the general asked the third one.    “I’m scared to death, sir, and don’t much like it,” he honestly said.    “Then why do you do it?” the general queried.     “This group has a passion for jumping, sir, they’re excited about it, and I like being around people who enjoy what they do! The worst bankrupt in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm....

  W hen we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes  out, and the tide of love rushes in. ~ Kristin Armstrong   T herefore since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which  we may offer to God an acceptable  service with reverence and awe. ~ Hebrews 12:28

  R ain is grace; rain is the sky  descending to the earth; without rain there would be no life. ~ John Upkike   S ing to the LORD with thanksgiving. Sing praises to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, who provides rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. ~ Psalm 147:7-8

  T here is always goin to be bad stuff  out there. BUT here's the amazing  thing - light outdoes darkness, every time. You can stick a candle  into the dark, BUT you can't stick  the dark into the light. ~ Jodi Picoult   Y ou are like light for the whole world. No one would light a lamp   and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a stand,  where it can give light to everyone. ~ Matthew 5:15-16 

A cloudy day is no match  for a sunny disposition. ~ William Arthur Ward A joyful heart makes   a cheerful face. ~ Proverbs 15:13

  Friday Tale - A Stone Cutter   A n old story tells of an unhappy and discontented stonecutter. One day he came upon a merchant and was awe-struck by all of the marvelous goods the man had for sale. “I wish I were a merchant,” said the stonecutter and, quite amazingly, his wish was granted.     Not long afterward he saw a parade pass his little shop. Spying a prince dressed in splendor such as he had never before seen, he said, “I wish I were a prince.” And he became one.     But it wasn’t too many days later that he stepped outside and felt the discomfort of the hot summer sun beating down upon his head. “Even a prince cannot stay cool in the sun,” he said. “I wish I were the sun.” This wish, too, was granted.     He was happy being the sun until, one day, a cloud came between him and the earth. “That cloud overshadows me,” he said. “I wish I were a cloud.”     Again, his wish was gran...

  D o all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, At all the places you can, To all the people you can, As long as you ever can. ~ John Wesley   L et us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. ~ Galatians 6:9 

  J ust as a man cannot live without dreams he cannot live without HOPE. If dreams reflect the past, HOPE summons the future. ~ Elie Wiesel   W hy are you in despair, o my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? HOPE in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. ~ Psalm 42:11