Spiritual Thoughts

  I t is not the load that breaks you down; it is the way you carry it. ~ Lou Holtz   C ome to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. ~ Matthew 11:29-30

N obody can go back and start a new beginning. BUT anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~Maria Robinson   T herefore prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 1:13

Friday Tale - Accuracy   God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. - those of the canary in 14 days; - those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; - eggs of ducks and geese in 28 days; - those of the mallard in 35 days; - The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.  (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)    God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. . . .  - The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. - No other quadruped is so made. - God planned that this animal would have a huge body too large to live on two legs. - For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily. - The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. - A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.   How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! - Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind. - Each orange has an even number of segments. 

I f we want to direct our lives, we must control our consistent actions. It is not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, BUT what we do consistently. ~Antony Robbins   BUT the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control , against such things there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:22-23

  T here has never been, and cannot be, a good life without self-control. Apart from self-control, no good life is imaginable. ~Leo Tolstoy   F or whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world BUT he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ~ 1 John 5:4-5

H e who over comes others is strong, BUT he who over comes himself is mightier still. ~Lao Tzu   H e who is slow to anger is better than the might, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. ~ Proverbs 16:32

Y ou may not control all the events that happen to you, BUT you can decide not to be reduced by them. ~Maya Angelou   D o not be over come by evil, BUT over come evil with good. ~ Romans 12:21

  Friday Tale - P R I O R I T I E S   I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is earned.     I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.     I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.     I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.     I asked God for all things that I might enjoy in life. God said No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.     I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as God loves me. God said... Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.     Stop telling God how big your storm is.  Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is !!!!!!!!  ~ from Jim Gentil's Positive e-newsletter I n this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary you have been di

  S ometimes you get what you want. Other times, you get a lesson in patience , timing, alignment, empathy, compassion, faith, perseverance, resilience, humility, trust, meaning, awareness, resistance, purpose, clarity, grief, beauty and life. Either way, you win. ~ Brianna Wiest   P atience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:8 

  P atience, persistence, and perseverance. A little more each day, a little better each day. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   S o, as those who have been chosen by God, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience . ~ Colossians 3:12

T he key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open. ~ Arnold H. Glasgow BUT the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience , kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:22-23

  P atience can't be acquired over night. It's just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it. ~ Eknath Easwaran   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

Friday Tale - Storms and Pictures   A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather one morning was questionable as clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up along, with thunder & lightning.           The mother of the little girl felt concerned her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.           Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school.            As she did, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile.  Another and another would follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.           When the mother's car drew up besid

  T he closer you walk with God, the less room for anything else to come between. ~ Unknown   W e have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ~ Colossians 1:9-10

  I f I walk with the world, I can't walk with God. ~ Dwight L. Moody   A ll the nations may walk in the name of their gods, BUT we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. ~ Micah 4:5, 7

  T he more you walk with God, the harder it is to scrape your knee. ~ Big K.R.I.T.   T he Lord GOD is my strength, my source of courage, my invincible army; He has made my feet steady and sure like hinds' feet and makes me walk forward with spiritual confidence on my high places of challenge and responsibility. ~ Habakkuk 3:19 (Amplified)

  T hose who walk with God always reach their destination. ~ Henry Frod   W e exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own Kingdom and glory. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:12 (ESV)

  Friday Tale - One Minute   D uring his college years, Mr. Rogers (a motivational speaker) spent a summer in an Idaho logging camp. When the superintendent had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge.      “What if the men refuse to follow my orders?” Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, an immigrant worker who grumbled and growled all day, giving the other men a hard time.      “Fire them,” the superintendent said. Then, as if reading Rogers’ mind, he added, “I suppose you think you are going to fire Tony if you get the chance. I’d feel badly about that. I have been logging for 40 years. Tony is the most reliable worker I’ve ever had. I know he is a grouch and that he hates everybody and everything. But he comes in first and leaves last. There has not been an accident for eight years on the hill where he works.”        Rogers took over the next day. He went to Tony and spoke to him. “Tony, do you know I’m in charge here today?” Tony grunted. “I was going to fire you the

  Y ou have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt   I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for and confidently expect the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage;  Yes, wait for and confidently expect the LORD. ~ Psalm 27:13-14 

  I do the very best I know how - the very best I can;  and I mean to keep doing so until the end. ~ Abraham Lincoln   W hatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. ~ Colossians 3:23

  P erhaps there is no more important component of character than steadfast resolution. ~ Theodore Roosevelt   T herefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

  G iving is the secret of a healthy life. Not necessarily of money,  BUT whatever a man has of encouragement, and sympathy, and understanding. ~ John D. Rockefeller, Jr.   W e have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift....is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently;  if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. ~ Romans 12:6, 8