"Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceable with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord
Romans 12:17-19
The sermon I heard today at church was titled: "Repay no one evil for evil."
Bullying was mentioned. We have heard a lot about bullying in the newspapers and on TV lately. Often the person who is bullied has a handicap that sets them apart from others. One child says unkind things to another. Sometimes even hitting them or throwing something at them.
There could be may reasons one child bullies another child. Often the bully has been abused at home and hitting another is his way of retaliating. Real damage can be done; not only to the physical body, but it can cause mental anguish as well.
As a child growing up when someone teased you, it meant they liked you. We are familiar with the boy sitting behind the girl in school and the boy dunked the girl's pigtail in the inkwell. It was obvious the boy liked the girl and wanted to get to know her better. It seems we have a need to educate our children to understand these differences, and to know what to do in a situation where bullying takes place.
"Let brotherly love continue." Hebrew 13:1
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
Patience
We have created for ourselves instant lifestyles, like wireless phones and wireless computers. If things don't happen right now we get impatience.
Sometimes my computer don't work fast enough and when this happens I tend to give it more instructions, one after another and then if slows down even more. What I need is a little patience.
Have you ever put new license plates on your car? The screws are too tight to loosen, the hole doesn't line up for the screws. How about the vehicle registration sticker? If you get a corner just right, it will peel right off, but then what to do with the gooey mess left on the windshield. What I need is a little patience.
I always get in the longest line at the grocery store or the bank, and the wait seems endless. What I need is a little patience.
The Metroplex population keeps growing and so does the traffic. A long wait at a traffic light or waiting for a train to pass, or work on the road or a car wreck means I need a little patience.
We get impatience even with God, especially when we are undergoing a trial. When God wants to make a giant oak he takes many years. Yet, we wonder, if He can create something out of nothing in an instant, why doesn't He act? Maybe, when our patience is being stretched, we are being given an opportunity to expand. There is a 'right time' to bring us to maturity and a strong faith. We read in the scriptures:
"We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us, they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady," Romans 5:3-5 Living Bible
Sometimes my computer don't work fast enough and when this happens I tend to give it more instructions, one after another and then if slows down even more. What I need is a little patience.
Have you ever put new license plates on your car? The screws are too tight to loosen, the hole doesn't line up for the screws. How about the vehicle registration sticker? If you get a corner just right, it will peel right off, but then what to do with the gooey mess left on the windshield. What I need is a little patience.
I always get in the longest line at the grocery store or the bank, and the wait seems endless. What I need is a little patience.
The Metroplex population keeps growing and so does the traffic. A long wait at a traffic light or waiting for a train to pass, or work on the road or a car wreck means I need a little patience.
We get impatience even with God, especially when we are undergoing a trial. When God wants to make a giant oak he takes many years. Yet, we wonder, if He can create something out of nothing in an instant, why doesn't He act? Maybe, when our patience is being stretched, we are being given an opportunity to expand. There is a 'right time' to bring us to maturity and a strong faith. We read in the scriptures:
"We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us, they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady," Romans 5:3-5 Living Bible
Saturday, July 27, 2013
FEAR/FAITH
I was given a book on grieving when my husband died. This quote by C.S. Lewis caught by attention: "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
It seems fear embraces us when we meet grief. It was fear that knocked at my door. Fear of the unknown. What will happen tomorrow, next week, next year. I found fear was ruling my life, intruding into every situation.
It was fear that whispered advice while trying make decisions. It was robbing me of much needed sleep.
FEAR masquerades in countless forms and under many names: Doubt, Indecision, Procrastination, and Anxiety.
FAITH too assumes other shapes and names, but FAITH is real, fear is shadow. FAITH met in prayer with the Almighty enabled me to say goodby to fear. FAITH supported me as confidence in myself.
Many years ago , Ralph Beebe saw these words written over the fireplace of the Hind's Head Hotel in Bray-0n-Thames, not far from London: "Fear knocked at the door, FAITH answered. No one was there."
I have learned to keep FAITH as a constant companion. When fear knocks at my door I send FAITH to answer. FAITH dissolves the shadow of fear that would blot my every thought and action.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I John 5:18
It seems fear embraces us when we meet grief. It was fear that knocked at my door. Fear of the unknown. What will happen tomorrow, next week, next year. I found fear was ruling my life, intruding into every situation.
It was fear that whispered advice while trying make decisions. It was robbing me of much needed sleep.
FEAR masquerades in countless forms and under many names: Doubt, Indecision, Procrastination, and Anxiety.
FAITH too assumes other shapes and names, but FAITH is real, fear is shadow. FAITH met in prayer with the Almighty enabled me to say goodby to fear. FAITH supported me as confidence in myself.
Many years ago , Ralph Beebe saw these words written over the fireplace of the Hind's Head Hotel in Bray-0n-Thames, not far from London: "Fear knocked at the door, FAITH answered. No one was there."
I have learned to keep FAITH as a constant companion. When fear knocks at my door I send FAITH to answer. FAITH dissolves the shadow of fear that would blot my every thought and action.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I John 5:18
Friday, December 31, 2010
A New Year
The end of one year and the dawning of a new one provides an excellent opportunity to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start.
The following are excerpts were taken from a column written by Norman Vincent Peale many years ago.
William Ewart Gladstone , once a minister of Great Britain said: " It is a dangerous thing for any person to start out a new year without the thought of God."
None of us can see very far ahead of life's pathway. We are surrounded on every hand by insecurity. The only certain and for sure factor in this world is the Eternal, 'the same yesterday, today and forever.' God is our security. So it is well to keep God in mind as Gladstone suggests.
As a young boy Norman Vincent Peale said his father would bring a Bible to the dinner table on every New Year's Eve and solemnly, he would open it, turning to its very beginning to read the first four words of the first chapter of Genesis. "In the beginning God." That was all-just those four words. He never explained , but that they are still remembered shows that they registered. It is very true that anyone who will make those four words basic philosophy will have what it takes to meet whatever problems come during the year.
This is so because such reliance on God and His power activates a new start and with it the belief that you can forget yesterday and go forward confidently into the future. The Bible is filled with emphasis on new starts and fresh beginnings. . Such words as: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before," " I press toward the mark..." And again : "Old things are passed away; all things become new." and still again, "Behold, I make all things new."
Don't lug the past into the future. You have made mistakes, done dumb things. Who hasn't ? Extract from them what experience they contain and then turn and face the future to those wonderful new starts and great new beginnings.
Yes, we can leave the sins and failures of this past year behind us, accept His forgiveness, and press on to higher ground. Remembering God's faithfulness and forgetting past mistakes will make entering the new year a time of joyous anticipation. And don't forget "In the beginning God."
The following are excerpts were taken from a column written by Norman Vincent Peale many years ago.
William Ewart Gladstone , once a minister of Great Britain said: " It is a dangerous thing for any person to start out a new year without the thought of God."
None of us can see very far ahead of life's pathway. We are surrounded on every hand by insecurity. The only certain and for sure factor in this world is the Eternal, 'the same yesterday, today and forever.' God is our security. So it is well to keep God in mind as Gladstone suggests.
As a young boy Norman Vincent Peale said his father would bring a Bible to the dinner table on every New Year's Eve and solemnly, he would open it, turning to its very beginning to read the first four words of the first chapter of Genesis. "In the beginning God." That was all-just those four words. He never explained , but that they are still remembered shows that they registered. It is very true that anyone who will make those four words basic philosophy will have what it takes to meet whatever problems come during the year.
This is so because such reliance on God and His power activates a new start and with it the belief that you can forget yesterday and go forward confidently into the future. The Bible is filled with emphasis on new starts and fresh beginnings. . Such words as: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before," " I press toward the mark..." And again : "Old things are passed away; all things become new." and still again, "Behold, I make all things new."
Don't lug the past into the future. You have made mistakes, done dumb things. Who hasn't ? Extract from them what experience they contain and then turn and face the future to those wonderful new starts and great new beginnings.
Yes, we can leave the sins and failures of this past year behind us, accept His forgiveness, and press on to higher ground. Remembering God's faithfulness and forgetting past mistakes will make entering the new year a time of joyous anticipation. And don't forget "In the beginning God."
A Prayer for the New Year
God grant us this year a wider view
So we see others faults through the eyes of You-
Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue,
Neither the Adult...nor the Young
Give us patience and grace to endure.
And a stronger faith so we fell secure
And instead of remembering, help us forget
The irritations that caused us to fret
Freely forgiving for some offer
And finding each day a rich recompense
In offering a friendly helping hand
And trying in all ways to understand
That all of us whoever we are
Are trying to reach "an unreachable star"-
For the Great and Small...the Good and Bad,
The Young and Old...the Sad and Glad
Are asking today "Is Life Worth Living"
And the answer is only in Loving and Giving
For only Love can make men kind
And kindness of Heart brings Peace of Mind
And by giving Love, we can start this year
To Lift the clouds of Hate and Fear.
Helen Steiner Rice
Monday, December 6, 2010
A Christmas Prayer For You
LORD
We welcome You
into our hearts
and homes.
Bless us with
Your peace, fill us
with Your joy,
surround us with
Your love.
We celebrate You
and thank You
for coming.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!
Amen.
We welcome You
into our hearts
and homes.
Bless us with
Your peace, fill us
with Your joy,
surround us with
Your love.
We celebrate You
and thank You
for coming.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!
Amen.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
President Bushs' Thanksgiving proclamation
Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, the people we love and the gifts of our prosperous land.
Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God, and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first national Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts and we pray for their safe return.
While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of Gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.
This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of American, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2007, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved one to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God, and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first national Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts and we pray for their safe return.
While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of Gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.
This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of American, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2007, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved one to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
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