Spiritual Thoughts

  A small act is worth  a million thoughts. ~ Ai Weiwei   BUT love your enemies, and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. ~ Luke 6:35

  T he mind is like a car battery -  it recharges by running. ~ Bill Watterson   D o you not know that those who run in a race all run, BUT only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24

Friday Tale - If You Could   IF you could change anything in the world, what would it be? If you could truly make a difference in the lives of those around you, how would you do it?     If you suddenly realized that today was like no other, with each moment a special, priceless and irreplaceable treasure, how would you spend it? If the world was depending on you to move it forward, what would your first step be?     If you could clearly see tomorrow, how would it look? If you could create tomorrow just the way you wanted, what would it be like? If you could tell others exactly what you thought, what would you say? If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?     The truth is, you can do all...

  He who spends time regretting the past, loses the present,  and risks the future. ~ Quevedo   B ut Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." We should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. ~ Luke 9:62; Titus 2:12-13

  Y ou gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt   F inally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the false accuser. ~ Ephesians 6:13

  O ne can choose to back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be over come again and again. ~ Abraham Maslow   S ow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you. ~ Hosea 10: 12

  T he wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from the danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within which endangers him, not the storm without. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson   T he LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army besiege me, my heart shall not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. ~ Psalm 27:1, 3

  Friday Tale - Don't Wait till Later!   B arely the day started and... it is already six in the evening. Barely arrived on Monday and it is already Friday. ... and the month is already over. ... and the year is almost over. ... and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed. ... and we realize that we lost our parents, friends and we realize it's too late to go back... So.. . Let's try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time... Let's keep looking for activities that we like... Let's put some color in our grey... Let's smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts. And despite everything, we must continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. Let's try to eliminate the afters... such as: I 'm doing it after... I'll say after... I'll think about it after...    We leave everything for later like ′′ after ′′ is ours. Because what we don't understand is that: Afterwards, the coffee gets cold......

  I f a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it way from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. ~ Benjamin Franklin   T ake my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. ~ Proverbs 8:10-11

A sking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won't laugh at you. ~ Jim Rohn A sk and it will be given to you;  seek and you will find;   knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened. ~ Matthew 7:7-8

  S how me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things. ~ Lawrence Bell   H is master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's joy!' ~ Matthew 25:21

  N ever compare your inside   to someone else's outside. ~ Anne Lamott   S top judging by mere appearances, BUT instead judge correctly. ~ John 7:24

  Friday Tale - A Miracle Morning   I stumbled out the door of a mountain cabin where I was spending the weekend working with youth and their families at a rustic resort center. I had a 7:30 AM appointment to keep and squinted from the early autumn sun peeking over pine-blanketed mountaintops.     I was started by a voice behind me. “Today is a miracle!” I turned to find one of the teenagers following behind.     “How?” I asked her. It looked like it might be pleasantly warm later in the day. Otherwise, fairly ordinary. The word “miracle” seemed like an overstatement. Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I could handle much excitement this early in the morning.     “Think about it,” she smiled. “The sun rose, didn’t it?”     “Yeah.” I found it easy to hide any enthusiasm. It seemed to rise on every other morning without my getting involved.     “That’s a miracle! It is miraculou...

  Y ou do not have the power to make life "fair," BUT you do have the power to make live joyful. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing. ~ Proverbs 17:22

  W hen you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God. ~ Charles L. Allen   J esus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" ~ John 11:39-40

  O ur character is what we do when we think no one is looking. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.   H e who walks in integrity and with moral character walks securely. ~ Proverbs 10:9 (Amplified)

  I t is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher   T his day is ho  ly to our Lord.   Do not be grieved, for the joy  of the LORD is your strength. ~ Nehemiah 8:10

  Friday Tale - the Elephant Story   In india elephants are used for manual labor. But there’s a problem. On a building site, when the elephants aren’t working, their handlers need to restrain them. Here’s what they do ... An enclosure with three-foot-thick concrete walls will restrain a full-grown, 9,000-pound elephant, but it’s expensive and not portable. The solution the handlers came up with is surprisingly simple.            They discovered that they could program the elephant while he’s still young — “imprint” self-imposed limits into his thinking — and he’d restrain himself, without an enclosure. Here’s how:            When the elephant is small, weighing less than 200 pounds, they tie him to a tree with a heavy rope, giving him about six feet of slack. All day, the elephant tugs at the rope, whines and squeals, spins in circles and even attempts to chew it. But he ...

  New year or not, set your resolve: Show the world what you’re made of; Set your goals and start them now, Get to pushing, get behind the plow.   You may not succeed at all the first time ; You may fall off the wagon and get behind. The key is to try again, and try it soon, Whether it’s January or whether it’s June.   The chance for change is always there, As long as we’re breathing God’s precious air. Little is really out of your range, Just don’t miss the chance, the chance for change. ~ from MountainWings   Y ou were taught to put off your old self.... to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:22-23 

  I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself.... ~ Neil Gaiman   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

Y ou don't need a new year or a new day to start over. You only need a new mindset. ~ Hazel Hira Ozbek   D o not conform to the pattern of this world, BUT be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:1 (NIV)

T oday is the second blank page of a  365 page book. Write a good one! ~ Brad Paisley (amended)   D o not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ~ Proverbs 3:3