Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale - Reflection - Image   Malachi 3:3 says: " He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”   This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.   That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.  As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.   The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says:   "He sits as a refiner and purifier of

C hange might not be fast, and it is not always easy, BUT with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped. ~ Charles Duhigg   D o not conform to the pattern of this world, BUT be transformed by the renewing of your mind. ~ Romans 12:2

A lways continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, IF you first get to know who you are, and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it. ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox   But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing...how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ~ 2 Timothy 3:14-15

Y ou can't do everything BUT you can do one thing, and then another, and another. Start modestly, BUT start. ~ George Leonard   N ot that I've already obtained the resurrection of the dead, BUT I press on to make it my own, Because Jesus has made me his own. ~ Philippians 3:12 (ESV)

E very tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of Anxiety OR the handle of Faith. ~ Henry Ward Beecher (born June 24, 1813)   J esus said to him, "'IF you can?' All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief!" ~ Mark 9:23-24

Friday Tale - STUFF? or TIME????   Y ou always have enough time if you use it wisely.  Don't serve time, make time serve you.   The TRUTH is, that all of the “STUFF” here on earth we work SO hard to buy and accumulate, does NOT mean a thing compared to how we spend our TIME.       At the end of our day...people will be cleaning out our "STUFF", going thru our "STUFF", figuring out what to do with all of our "STUFF".... this "STUFF" we've accumulated in our life. The only thing of VALUE that remains are the MEMORIES and what we deposit into others.   May we all learn to spend less time accumulating "STUFF" and spend way more time making MEMORIES.   Our lives are not determined by what happens to us BUT by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, BUT by the attitude we bring to life.”   To choose time is to save time.   So count your blessings and share each enjoyed moment! ~ Jim Gentil (amended

C ircumstances do not defeat you. You defeat yourself  when you give up. ~ Jonathan L. Huie   D o not be over come by evil, BUT over come evil with good. ~ Romans 12:21

L iving each day as if it were our last will make us appreciate how wonderful it is that we are alive and have the opportunity to fill this day with worthwhileness. ~ William B. Irvine   D o this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for to you to awaken out of sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.   The night is almost gone, and the day is near. ~ Romans 13:11-12

E verything that happens to you is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose. ~ Wayne Dyer   B lessed is the one who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the   heat comes, BUT its leaves will be  green, and it will not be anxious in  a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit. ~ Jeremiah 17:7-8

T ime is an equal opportunity employer.  Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientists can not invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you STILL have an entire tomorrow. ~ Denis Waitley   T herefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise people, BUT as wise, making the most of your time. ~ Ephesians 5:15-16

  Friday Tale - H.M.W.I.P.   "H ow d o you do it?” I asked him. “How do you always seem to have a smile on your face?” My jovial friend, who seems to have mastered the sense of calm, contentment, and joy all of us are desperately after, looked up with twinkling eyes. “HMWIP.”   “Whip who? What?”   “HMWIP,” he said again, before spelling it out. “H-M-W-I-P.”   “What does that mean?”   “Well, throughout the course of my day, I stop to ask myself, ‘HMWIP,’ which stands for ‘How Much Would I Pay?’. If I just finished eating lunch, I think about how much I would be willing to pay for the opportunity to eat food with my mouth if that capacity should ever be taken from me and my eating experience confined to a feeding tube.   If I am washing my hands after using the restroom, I think, ‘HMWIP!’ – if I had some kind of infection that prevented my body from functioning properly, how much would I pay to be able to use the restroom as I just did?   If I look up at the clouds i

E asy to spot a yellow car when you are always thinking of a yellow car.  Easy to spot opportunity when you are always thinking of opportunity. Easy to spot reasons to be angry when you are always thinking of being angry. You become what you constantly think about.  Watch your thinking. ~ Unknown   I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies. ~ Psalm 119:59

  C onstant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.  Albert Schweitzer   D o not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on   the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute  in the sight of God and man. ~ Proverbs 3:3-4 

T oday is a great opportunity to say something positive about the people you come in contact with. Celebrate today by offering sincere compliments to people you know. ~ Audri and Jim Landford   T herefore encourage one another and build up one another. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

H ealing is a matter of time, BUT it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity. ~ Hippocrates   BUT continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today" and there is an opportunity , so that none of you  will be led away by    the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Friday Tale - Never Too Late F or what it's worth ... it's never too late ….          to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you're not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again . ~ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button   B e strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. ~ Joshua 1:9 (also Hebrews 13:5-6)

  I f you take the responsibility for your life, you can start changing it. ~ Osho   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 3:23-24

  W hatever you want in life, start today.  Not tomorrow - today. Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning. Your happiness depends on starting today - every day. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   BUT encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be burdened by the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

O ne tree can start a forest. One smile can begin a friendship. One hand can lift a soul. One word can frame a goal. One candle can wipe out darkness. One laugh can conquer gloom. One touch can show you care. One life can make a difference. Be that one today. ~ Unknown   A nd we urge you.... encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:14

S tart by doing what is necessary. Then do what is possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible. ~ Francis of Assisi   F or we have become partakers, sharers of Christ, IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance until the end. ~ Hebrews 3:14