CHAPTER 7, PAGE 31

Be happy. Talk happiness.

Happiness calls out responsive gladness in others.

There is enough sadness in the world without yours....

never doubt the excellence and permanence

of what is yet to be.

Join the great company of those who make

the barren places of life fruitful with kindness....

Your success and happiness lie in you....

The great enduring realities are love and service....

 Resolve to keep happy and your joy

and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Helen Keller

GOOD MORNING !

It is the end of July and it’s great BEACH weather here in Ohio. Oh how I dream of a day on the beach…Lying on my BEACH towel on the sand.

Listening to the seagulls and the waves lapping. It sounds like a little bit of heaven to me. Our weather predicts sunny skies and hot weather all week long. If anyone was lucky enough to have a vacation at the BEACH this week , they will be truly blessed.

Looking ahead at the calendar, my next vacation days won’t be until Labor Day weekend and then it won’t be BEACH weather at all. That will be in September and it’s when most of the pools and BEACHES close up for the year around here.

Maybe there will be a weekend sometime before then that I can squeeze a trip in. We’ll see…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

All things are possible until they are proved impossible – and even the impossible may only be so, as of now. 

 Pearl S. Buck

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 7, PAGE 30

Hope is not the closing of your eyes

to the difficulty, the risk, or the failure.

It is a trust that ...

If I fail now... I shall not fail forever;

 and if I am hurt, I shall be healed.

It is a trust that life is good, love is powerful,

and the future is full of promise.

Anonymous

  GOOD MORNING !

This past Sunday marked the middle of Ordinary Time (33 weeks total) in our church calendar. There are 5 months until Christmas and 4 months until the new Church year beginning in Advent.

This is a good time to start planning for the Holidays ahead. So often the time comes and we rush to get everything done and then we really don’t enjoy it at all.

I know that the stores now have back to school things ready for all those headed back next month and all the summer things are now on sale. Time flies by so fast that it seems summer just began. I think the stores are always a month ahead of the actual season.

I like to decorate with special table clothes, flowers and knick knacks for each season of the year. Summer is mainly red white and blue and Fall isoranges, yellows and browns. Winter is reds and greens and Spring is pastels of blue yellow and pink. That way I don’t get tired of looking at the same things all the time and it gives me a little cause for celebration too.

Today I go back to work and I look forward with anticipation of the new week. Each new day and the gifts that it may bring needs to celebrated just as though it were a special holiday for sure.

   THOUGHT FOR TODAY

If you are suffering from a bad man's injustice,

forgive him lest there be two bad men.

St. Augustine

May your day be blessed by a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart!

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 7, PAGE 29

I Asked God…

Author unknown

I asked God to take away my pain.

God said, No. 'It is not for me to take away,

but for you to give it up.'

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.

God said, No. 'Her spirit was whole,

her body was only temporary.'

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 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 he loves me.

God said... 'Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.'

GOOD MORNING !

I know you’ve probably seen the little story above before, but I felt like it needed to be read again.

As always I pray for all of you and the list often looks like the one above. I pray for those that are suffering and in pain. I pray for the handicapped, one of which is our 'Sweetheart' who has suffered from Epilepsy since she was 6 months old. I pray for the ones that sick and afflicted, the poor and the needy, for our Troops at home and abroad, and for Peace in our world.

God in his own good time answers each and every prayer. Love is the beginning and the end of all things. I needed this reminder today. If we can love others as God loves us it the right idea for sure !

Today is the wedding shower for one of my nephew’s bride to be. It will be a happy time and I’m sure one that she won’t forget for a long long time. I can still remember the wedding shower that I had many many years ago. I don’t remember the gifts I received, I remember the celebration and the happiness of the day. We’ll all join in wishing them well and give gifts to help them get started in their new life together.

Before all that I will be going to church, of course. I do need my weekly dose of R & R. Don’t forget to bless your soul today. We all need it to get through the joys and sorrows of the week to come.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

In this wavering world of unbelief

We are filled with doubt and questioning fear—

Oh, give us faith in things unseen

So we may feel Thy presence near

Helen Steiner Rice

Thy way was through the sea, thy path through the great waters; yet thy footprints were unseen.

Psalm 77:19

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 7, PAGE 28

The Power of Holding Hands

By Rabbi Harold Kushner

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work building an elaborate sand castle by the water's edge, with gates and towers and moats and internal passages.

Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work.

But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson.

All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spent so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure.

Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh

Good Morning !

As I was doing my search for something nice to share with you all , two things really stood out in the articles I read.

1. We really need other people

2. We need to be able laugh together

Sometimes we get caught up in wondering what others think about us and trying to put on a good front, that we forget to be ourselves.

A true friend does just that. They let us be ourselves. They like us for what we are , not what they would like us to be.

I guess you could say the same for those in our families. We may not always like what they do, but we love who they are.

They may not like everything I do or say, but I know that they are there for me whenever I need them, their love never stops, just changes direction now and then.

The important things in life are the people in it, the relationships we have. It’s nice to have a home and all the things in it, but if there is no one to share it with, it’s not very valuable at all.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Do not desire to be other than you are, but desire to be very well what your are.

St. Francis de Sales

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE  to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 7, PAGE 27

If you must have motivation,

think of your paycheck on Friday

Noel Coward

GOOD MORNING !

It is finally Friday. The weekend is just ahead. Saturday will be a day of ‘house blessing’ and Sunday will be the shower for my nephew's bride to be. It sounds like a little bit of heaven to me. I never thought the day would come when I was glad to be able and stay home to do housework.

The thunder is rumbling out side this morning, guess we are starting the day with some more rain.

Yesterday’s trip to the dentist proved to be a short appointment to merely do some kind of wax mold on my mouth for the new partial I’m getting. They had me bite down on this mold to see just how my bite was so they could make the teeth properly.

Next Thursday I go for another appointment for the partial . After that I get the fillings and the cleaning. I must be getting old when I start telling you all about my teeth. Sorry to be so boring.

Anyway the time has come and I must be on my way to start this day...

I owe , I owe, so it’s off to work I go….

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Worry pulls tomorrow's cloud over today's sunshine.

Author Unknown

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart

MA

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER 7, PAGE 26

When criticizing someone, you might want to consider this. First offer a word of praise and appreciation. Remember the barber always lathers the customer before applying the razor.'

Author Unknown

People never react in the same way to criticism but always react in the same positive way to praise and appreciation.

GOOD MORNING !

Today is THANKFULLY Thursday !

We made it over the hump and are sliding fast into the weekend. Someone mentioned listing things we are thankful for in our journals every Thursday and I said I would remember to do that each Thursday. However I cannot remember who the someone was.

 I really thought it was a great idea so here goes…

Today I am THANKFUL for :

My health and that of my family

My family which includes 6 DS's and 1 DD and their spouses and families and 2 sisters, 1 BIL, 3 nephews and 2 nieces and their spouses and families. When we start counting Aunts , Uncles and cousins the list is unending so I’ll stop counting for now.

My home to come to each evening

My job which is for the most part stress free

And for the rain we had that was so badly needed.

Maybe you too can think of some things to be THANKFUL for and post them in your journal. Even if you don’t have an AOL journal, it is a great idea to find a blank notebook and enter your blessings each week. We really do have so much to be thankful for.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back,a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank or in your wallet, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

Author Unknown

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart!

MA

 

 

graphics by:

www.untilthengraphics.com

CHAPTER 7, PAGE 25

Sign Language For The Dentist

You know how hard it is to talk to your dentist when your teeth are being cleaned or you are getting a filling? Well, I decided I would make up a sort of sign language that you could use to express yourself without having to mumble. Below are 10 common things you might wish to say, numbered 1-10. These would be printed on a poster and mounted on the ceiling above the dentist chair. It would give you something to read since procedures can be boring. When a phrase seems appropriate, you would just hold up the corresponding number of fingers to express yourself. The dentist would not need to stop to ask you to repeat yourself and could fix the problem right away.

1. Everything is fine, but my nose itches.

2. When you get a chance, there seems to be spit running down my neck.

3. So, I guess you had garlic again for lunch today?

4. You realize that wasn't my tooth that you just poked with that incredibly sharp tool.

5. I would REALLY prefer you didn't do that again.

6. Could you please suction the chunk of debris that you missed before I gag?

 7. Remember how I said I was numb? I think I may have been mistaken.

8. Wait a minute -- maybe I am allergic to latex.

9. Just so you know, if I don't get to take a break soon, I may bite you.

10. Please stop asking me stupid questions about myself or I will take that paper mask off your face.

author unknown

GOOD MORNING !

As I’m going to the dentist tomorrow ,  this little list seemed appropriate right now. I must add too, that I don’t like going to the dentist at all and wouldn’t if my teeth weren’t so necessary.

It’s Over the Hump day and I’m glad of it. Now we have the downhill slide to the weekend.

It’s supposed to rain here for the next 4 days..or at least we have a chance of it each of the next 4. After the dry and hot summer we’ve had so far it will be a welcome sight.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

It's important that people should know what you stand for.

It's equally important that they know what you won't stand for.

Mary H. Waldrip

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart

MA

 

 

graphics by: www.graphicgarden.com

 

CHAPTER 7, PAGE 24

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

You give me so much hope, Lord, that I can't help but be joyful. You are the focus of my hope and the source of my delight. Whatever I face today, may I face it with the attitude of Romans 12:12.

Joni Eareckson Tada

GOOD MORNING !

Rain is in the forecast around here for the next few days. I don’t think it will be a lot, but it will be welcome.

I managed to get through Monday, which is always the hardest day of the week for me to get going. I’m usually all rested up on Sunday, then stay up too late so I suffer for it on Monday. I made sure I was in bed early last night.

Tuesdays are normally pretty quiet days. There is just a lot of data entry to do at work so hopefully I got enough sleep and won’t be nodding off as I sit at my desk today. Data entry is on the boring side for sure. I would like to be able to get by on 6 hours of sleep, but 8 hours is what I really need.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

RICH ME

This morning I searched my wallet. It was empty.

Then, I checked my pockets. I found a few coins.

I then searched my heart and found you.

Then, I realized how rich I really am...

Always remember this...

A smile is such an easy thing to pass along the way,

 Like a ray of summer sunshine,

On a somewhat gloomy day!!

That little joke or note, or just a simple "Hi",

Could be like a ray of sunshine from the sky!

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

 

graphics by:  www.graphicgarden.com

 

CHAPTER 7, PAGE 23

There is always room for improvement.

And the fact that there is, is truly a blessing.

There is always something new to be learned.

There are always fresh ideas to be explored.

No matter how good life is,

there are ways to make it even better.

Love and joy and fulfillment do not ever get used up.

You can make today more beautiful, more productive,

more meaningful than yesterday.

And you can make tomorrow even better.

Each moment is another opportunity to create new value.

Each day is yours to fill with positive experience.

Whether you've been up or you've been down,

whether life is now good or not so good,

this is the time to make it better.

Make a little improvement, and then a little more,

and keep reaching higher and higher.

Ralph Marston

GOOD MORNING !

Our comfort zone feels safe, familiar and relaxing. The problem is, if we’re spending too much time there we may not be growing and evolving.

Life is constantly changing and sometimes it isn’t easy to adapt. We are forced to move out of those comfort zones and confront the changes.

I think we all try to deal with changes in different ways, some good…some not so good. Like the little message above says—we just need to keep reaching higher and higher.

My place of comfort always has been my home. It’s my sanctuary and the place I know I’ll find peace from life’s trials. It’s nothing fancy for sure. An old house full of old things but it’s home.

I do move out of that zone every day to work, to church, to shop, or to visit with family or friends. I love being able to do all those things but it’s always nice to come home.

 THOUGHT FOR TODAY

There is no such thing as a 'self-made' person. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.

George Matthew Adams

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

Graphics by:  www.untilthengraphics.com

 

CHAPTER 7, PAGE 22

PRAYER FOR PEACE

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi

Hypothetical Situation

Total Casualties

(dead and injured) ..........................100

Each casualty has the following associates, who are affected in some way:

10 relatives ..........................1,000

10 friends .............................1,000

10 neighbours ......................1,000

10 workmates ......................1,000

10 acquaintances .................1,000

Each casualty will have, in the course of the incident and its aftermath, a minimum of the following:

2 police officers .......................200

2 ambulance crew ...................200

2 nurses ...................................200

1 doctor ....................................100

Grand total ...........................5,800

Frightening, isn't it? Just the numbers alone make a valid argument for putting an end to all fighting across the world.

Prince of Peace, may your reign come soon!

http://pauseandpray.com/

GOOD MORNING

R & R day is here once more and more than usual, I really do need to be refreshed and renewed for another work week.

Today will be a fun day as I’ll be going shopping after church for a shower gift. One of my nephews will be getting married come October and next weekend is the shower so I need a gift to take.

Any more the places they register at for gifts is all on line and you can really do the shopping without even going to the store, but I prefer to go and get my gift personally. I don’t like to give money for gifts either. I like to give something , not just an envelop with cash.

The sale is done, but we still have a few little odds and ends that didn’t sell. The rest of these will be donated to one of my dad’s favorite charities. Amen.

It is another part of the process of closure. The treasured memories will never be sold or taken away. I’ll never forget the hours around the table with our good cups of coffee and the many stores told there. We really learned more about our parents in the few years before they died than we ever knew as children growing up at home. I’m so thankful for the time I was blessed to have spent with them both. My mom passed away just one year ago in March and my dad just this past June.

Please make sure you are able to bless your soul with a little R & R today too. I will continue to pray for all of you . Your needs and concerns are very important . Don’t forget to turn them over to the Lord . He hears and answers every prayer.

Sometimes we get discouraged and feel like things won’t ever take a turn for the good. Just remember this too shall pass and there really are brighter days ahead.

A Prayer from yesterday’s devotional

O God of my heart, I am amazed at your wonder. My soul is filled to overflowing because I know I am your beloved child. Thank you for bestowing your mercy on me so that I might eventually incline my heart to receive you. Thank you for seeing in me everything I could not see. May I continue to grow in your grace. May I reach out to the world around me so that they too might know this unfathomable love. Amen.

www.d365.org

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Little prayers for little things

Fly heavenward on little wings,

And no prayer is too great or small

To ask of God who hears them all.

Helen Steiner Rice

Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings.

Psalm 17:8

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

PS  I did put a couple of links in today’s entry. They are just a few of the places that some of my quotes and stories come from. I hope you will enjoy them too.

 

 

 

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