Problems/Promises

I had bills from the doctor that has already been paid. My prescriptions were messed up, I got the wrong food at dinner, my parking space was taken; little annoying things but it made me wonder, ”why is everyone always picking on me;” words from a song I remember .Then the words from another song came to mind, “into each life some rain must fall,’

Every human being has some problems. Many people are out of work. The tendency is for individuals to believe that their problems are bigger than others. You’ve heard about the man who didn’t have any socks, and then he saw a man who didn’t have any legs. That’s why when you tabulate your problems, also consider your blessings, and maybe you’ll find out that you really aren’t so bad off .

Also, it is good to remember that adversity and difficulties are sometimes the real test of a person’s caliber and strength. It takes adversity to really test a person’s fortitude, and difficulties to strengthen the mind. A’ big ‘ person meets problems with clear thinking and can generally solve them. I read somewhere that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond.

Some people virtually owe their achievements to their ability to ’bounce back’ and overcome their difficulties. “You’ve got to roll with the punches,” is a phrase I have often heard. Remember that in almost every difficulty there is a way out.

If you continue to look on the dark instead of the bright side of life, you will bring constant unhappiness to yourself and also to others. To start on the road away from self-pity and gloom, try thinking of something humorous, and then start laughing.

Laughing Matters by Karen Jones
If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when,
Through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
If you can do all these things,
Then you are probably the family dog.

Trials may be very painful, but if by God’s grace we endure them, our faith can emerge purer and stronger than it was before.”

God’s promises are greater than life’s problems. Romans 4:13-25 At times Abraham must have wondered if God’s promises to him were secure. Their fulfillment must have seemed impossible to him, but God makes no promises He does not keep.

I see not a step before me as I tread on another year;
But I’ve left the past in God’s keeping--
The future His mercy shall clear;
And what looks dark in the distance may
Brighten as I near.
Mary Gardiner Brainard

To Be Happy

We just celebrated Mardi Gras here at Chambrel . We had a parade with beads being thrown, just as they do in Louisiana when celebrating Fat Tuesday. Every employee was in the parade, the chefs and servers, housekeeping, maintenance, bus drivers and all the Executive staff, even our Director. We had floosies, acrobats, a mermaid, an octopus and the award went to the residents from Assisted Living who came dressed as Jesters.

Everyone was hollering and clapping, obviously having a good time….’Happy.’ It was the first time, here at Chambrel, I witnessed such a large group letting loose and enjoying themselves. What does it take to make one happy? You don’t have to participate in the event or you don’t have to win to have fun. As one song says, ‘enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.’

Whether you are young or old, you can chart your own course to be happy. Life is not really that serious. Basically , it is learning to enjoy ourselves . All work and no play can make for a dull person., as the saying goes. Happy is the person who can give his time and his talent to others. Happy is the person who knows who he is and what he can and cannot do. Happy is the person who has developed an optimistic outlook on life . Happy is the person who takes time to play , time to relax and time to pray.

Above all we need to pray and stay focused on Christian Principles. When we remember God’s goodness and when we put Him first, He blesses our life. That is the true way “To Be Happy.’

Presidential Trivia

Since this is Presidents Day, I thought a little trivia is in order.
1. What relation did FDR and Teddy Roosevelt have to each other?
2. How many presidents died in office?
3. Which president flew 58 combat missions in WWII?
4. Which president’s Secret Service code name was “Rawhide”?
5. Which President gave the White House its name?
6. Who was the only president to later serve as chief justice?
7. During the Great Depression which future first lady received a $2.50 wedding ring?
8. How many presidents have been named George?
9. Who was the oldest president to take office?
10. Who was the tallest president standing at 6’4”?





Answers:
1. Fifth Cousins
2. Eight: William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James
Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, FDR, and John F.
Kennedy.
3. George H. W. Bush
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Teddy Roosevelt
6. William Howard Taft
7. Lady Bird Johnson
8. Three - Washington, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.
9. Ronald Reagan- he was 69 when inaugurated
10. Lincoln

Valentine's Day

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT VALENTINE’S DAY
Although St. Valentine’s Day is a well-established American holiday, little is known about the man after whom the day is named. Here are some answers to questions about St. Valentine and his day:

St. Valentine was a priest and physician who lived in Rome during the third century. At that time, Christianity was a persecuted faith and Valentine was imprisoned. When he would not recant his faith, Valentine was put to death on February 14.

According to legend, when Valentine was a priest in Rome, Emperor Claudius II ordered young men not to marry, believing if they did not have wives, they would be more willing to go to war. Moved by compassion for the young lovers, Valentine married them secretly.
February 15 was the date set aside to honor he Roman god, Lupercus. On that day, young women would write love notes and deposit them in a large urn. The young men would take the notes out and then court the women whose messages they had drawn. When Christianity became the official religion of Rome, the church merged the Roman holiday with the martyrdom of St. Valentine on February 14.

Valentines came to the U.S. with the earliest English settlers. John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote his wife: “February 14, 1629, Thou must be my Valentine.”
Esther A. Howland of Worcester, Mass., developed the first cards in 1847. That year, she sold an amazing $5000 worth of cards. Her fancy valentines made St. Valentine’s Day very popular. Soon other manufacturers were making cards. In 1993 , one billion Valentine's Day cards cards were sold.

Happpy Valentine's Day!

And, "may the blessing of love be on you,

live within you and all around you.

May it be your shelter in the storming hours,

and your warming fire when chill winds blow.

May love make soft your path,

that your steps never falter,

and widen your path that friends may

alway walk beside you.

May love shine out of the soul of you

like a welcoming light so that

when others speak your name, it will

be to say there is one whose heart has

never cared too little."

Copied

The Father;s Love

Bill & I just got the news that we have another great grandchild (that totals 14). Most of the grandchildren and their families live a 2 hr. drive away. That limits the availability of seeing them very often, but it doesn’t limit the love we have for each one.

Steve Blow, a Dallas Morning News Columnist, talked about the ’expansion of love’ in one of his columns. Upon the birth of his second grandchild, he marveled at the love he had for this child. The same love he had for his first grandchild. And I’m sure he would have the same love for each future grandchildren. I thought about our Father (God) and the love he has for each one of us. He loves us equally ,and still has the same abundance of love for those in the future.

.God’s nature is steadfast love, and this is not a fleeting attraction but an eternal bond supporting us always. There are many things said in the Bible about how we are to live, but none is given more weight than love. Just as an earthly father loves his children and wants the best for them, God loves us and wants the best for us.

Unconditional love, such as God has for us encourages full communion with Him. This is what it means to love God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul. A growing relationship is essential not only with our children, but God desires a true relationship and long-term relationship with Him.

In Corinthians 13: 7,8 you will see these words:
Love knows no limit to its endurance.
No end to its trust.
No fading of its hope;
It can outlast anything
Love still stands when
All else has fallen.

In the Song of Solomon you’ll find this: Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it..
And finally, as one song goes: The greatest thing you’ll ever learn…..is to love and be loved in return.

Courage

A miracle happened instead of a tragedy when Chesley Sullenberger, pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 safely landed on the Hudson River, after both engines went out due to a flock of birds, thereby saving the lives of 150 people.


The pilot ‘Sully’ had courage, a vital attribute. The dictionary defines courage as : ’the state of quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger with self-possession, confidence and resolution.’ Actually the word, courage comes from the old English word, ’corage’ which means heart as the seat of feeling. Thus in the heart is where courage gets its start.


That thing called courage has a historical background. One philosopher warned that true courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason. Another pointed out that the courage that grows from constitution, often forsakes a man when he needs it, but courage which arises from a sense of duty acts in a uniform manner.


The late President, John F. Kennedy once said: “The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment, it is no less than a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must…in spite of personal consequences ,…in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures...and that is the basis of all human morality.” And the late Lyndon B, Johnson commented: “I’d rather give my life than be afraid to give it”.


You can start on the road toward courage in several ways: Say positive things about yourself, accept sincere compliments about yourself, express your opinions freely and honestly. Respect others views and they’ll respect yours.


The great lesson all of us should learn from this near tragedy is that friendship is about the cement that will hold the world together. It seems that love, sympathy, compassion and feelings of genuine brotherhood surface at such a time.

Grace and Gratitude

It seems fitting to start the New Year off with understanding the meaning of mercy and grace in our life and to be grateful to God for this unsurpassable gift.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalm 23:6) The Psalmist is not concerned with what goes before him but he is rejoicing in what will follow him all the days of his life. It displays what sort of a man he is when his paths are tracked with goodness and mercy. Lives have been made better all along his path. I think the reason the psalmist has such confidence that goodness and mercy shall follow him all the days of his life is because he has turned his life over to God and he follows the instructions in the Bible.

The first priority then is being thankful to God, for being alive, for receiving the gift of salvation.
Let us remember that salvation is what we receive, not what we achieve. We are saved by grace and grace alone. We can do nothing to earn it. Our redemption is a gift from God. Our part is to acknowledge our sinfulness and inability to save ourselves. We must place our trust in Jesus, believing that He died on the cross for our sins. God provides salvation - that’s His part.
Receiving salvation by faith - that’s our part.

A unique explanation of mercy and grace. If you spread your arms about a foot
wide-that’s mercy. If you spread your arms as far as you can, than imagine the space between being endless-that’s grace.

Because of God’s grace, we enjoy many blessings we don’t deserve, and because of His mercy we don’t receive those things we do deserve. So when we receive God’s grace & mercy, our hearts should swell in Gratitude. Grace and gratitude should go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other .Our gratitude to God should be as habitual as the reception of mercies is constant.

There is something within us that wishes God would reward our faithfulness with prosperity and protection. But God is working far beyond what we can see and is accomplishing His purposes. Our life often carries yesterday’s problems, but God’s grace is new each morning. Exactly what we need to meet each new challenge. It is inexhaustible ,an ever-fresh supply. Sometimes He removes the trial and sometimes He doesn’t . He will, however, sustain us through every difficulty with His grace and mercy. We can be confident of God’s presence and power . God’s great mercy to the unsaved is surpassed only by His mercy to the saved.

All we need, to have a right relationship with Him. is to cast ourselves on His mercy and trust Him and realize it is He who does the saving and be thankful for the indescribable gift of Grace.

Gratitude

We are prone to take the blessings
We receive from day to day
Without a word of ‘thank you
Till they pass away.
Let us express appreciation
For our blessings, come what may
And try to be more worthy
Each and everyday.
Wilhelmine