Spiritual Thoughts

    Thought for the Day 9/29/2023 Friday Tale - Constraints T he  airline limits the weight of your bag to 50 pounds. They're doing you a favor.     They're forcing you to prioritize, to be thoughtful and intentional about what to take with you and what to leave behind. By working within such constraints you become more purposeful, more innovative, more focused on what's truly meaningful.     The reality is, you don't have infinite space or time or resources with which to do whatever you seek to do. By embracing that reality, by figuring out how to live within the limits, you can live with amazing richness.     Your nature is to be creative and resourceful as well as purposeful. You've been operating within reality's constraints your whole life and you've become skilled at doing so.     And though you'd often prefer to be free of limits, those limits provide a clearly defined realm in which to operate with success and fulfillment. Without limits life wou

    Thought for the Day 9/28/2023 W e cannot always choose our external circumstances, BUT we can always choose how to respond to them. ~ Epictetus D o not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good. Show me Your ways, LORD, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. ~ Psalm 25:7, 4-5      

In the long run, we shape our lives., and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.~ Eleanor Roosevelt Who, then, are those who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. ~ Psalm 25:12-13

  Y ou are where you are because of your choices. There is nothing to gain by regretting things. Review your past decisions for lessons and make a new decision to change. Take Action Today. ~ Craig Ballantyne   H e leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way. All the paths of the LORD are loving-kindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. ~ Psalm 25:9-10

O nly you can live your life. Only you can taste your victories. Only you can suffer the sting of your defeats. Make your own choices, and accept your own consequences, for better or worse. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie W ith the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. ~ Proverbs 18:20

  Friday Tale - Acceptance   H ere are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life: *    Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. *    Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. *    Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be "Recalled" by their maker. *    If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. *    If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, It was probably worth it. *    It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others. *    Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. *    Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. *    When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. *    Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live. *    You may be only one person in the world, but you may also

  T he great thing about getting older  is that you don't lose all  the other ages you have been. ~ Madeleine L'Engle   G rey hair is a crown of splendor, it is attained in the way of righteousness. Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. ~ Proverbs 16:31; Leviticus 19:32

  T he best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow   A s the rain and snow come down from heaven, and does not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, SO is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, BUT will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ~ Isaiah 55:10-11

  T he way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. ~ Dolly Parton   M any are the afflictions   of the righteous, BUT the LORD delivers  him out of them all. ~ Psalm 34:19

  P rayer is the antidote for the  disease of self-confidence. ~ Unknown   H umble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. ~ James 4:10

Friday Tale - the Ripple Effect   S hortly before his death, 80-year-old farmer Hody Childress asked his daughter to continue a practice he’d quietly conducted for years: taking a $100 bill to a local pharmacist on the first of every month. For years, Childress anonymously came to the aid of neighbors in Geraldine, Alabama, who couldn’t afford medications. “Don’t tell a soul where the money came from,” he instructed store owner Brooke Walker. “If they ask, just tell them it’s a blessing from the Lord.”   Thanks to the farmer’s generosity, Walker could fill prescriptions for about 24 uninsured or underinsured people each year. “I was honored he allowed me to do that,” she said, “and it really encouraged me to do the same in my life.”   Childress wasn’t wealthy but “always gave what he could,” said daughter Tania Nix. “I think he felt like he couldn’t not give,” she added. “Giving that way, that just got on his heart.” After word spread about Childress’ generosity, other people wer

T he greatest blessing and joy of prayer is not necessarily receiving an answer, BUT rather in being and becoming the type of person God can trust with the answer. ~ Unknown T he LORD protects His people, and they can come to Him in times of trouble. the LORD helps them and saves them from the wicked BECAUSE they run to Him. ~ Psalm 37:39-40

  L earn to pray, NOT because you need something, BUT because you ought to thank HIM for everything. ~ Stephen Mansfield   I thank you from my heart, and I will never stop singing your praises,  my LORD and my God. ~ Psalm 30:12

  W hat you do in your spare time, defines who you are. ~ Unknown   S eek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on you, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. ~ Isaiah 55:6-7

T ell me with whom you travel, and I'll tell you who you are. ~ German proverb   D o not be deceived, "Bad company corrupts good morals." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33

  Friday Tale - Stress   A speaker , when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked; 'How heavy is this glass of water?'          Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g (3/4 oz to 16 oz).          The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.           If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.          If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.          If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.          In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'          He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management.          If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. '          'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and re

  T ruth is always exciting. Speak it then. Life is boring without it. ~ Pearl S. Buck   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

  W hat a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can not re-read a phone call. ~ Liz Carpenter   B eloved, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you content earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. ~ Jude 3

  L ife is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what is going to happen next. ~ Gilda Radner   T herefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise, BUT as wise ones, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ~ Ephesians 5:15-16

  T ry to relax  and enjoy the crises. ~ Ashleigh Brilliant   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 coming of Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 1:6-7

  Friday Tale ~ Knowledge to Live By    Ø   The most destructive habit:  Worry Ø The greatest joy;  Giving Ø  The greatest loss:  Loss of self - respect Ø The most satisfying work:  Helping others. Ø  The ugliest personality trait:  Selfishness Ø Our greatest natural resource:  Our youth Ø  The greatest "shot in the arm:  Encouragement Ø The greatest problem to overcome:  Fear Ø   The most effective sleeping pill:  Peace of mind Ø The most crippling failure disease:  Excuses Ø  The most powerful force in live:  Love Ø The most dangerous outsider:  A gossiper Ø  The world's most incredible computer:  The brain Ø The worst thing to be without:  Hope Ø  The deadliest weapon:  The tongue Ø The two most power-filled words: " I can " Ø  The greatest asset:  Faith Ø The most worthless emotion:  Self - pity Ø   The most beautiful attire:  Smile ! Ø The most prized possession:  Integrity Ø  The most powerful channel of communication:  Prayer Ø The most contagiou