A thought for the Day

[Dan Murphy]

Give of yourself

When you give more than you expect to receive, you'll end up receiving more than you ever expected. That which you give, comes back to you many times over, while that which you withhold never goes anywhere or accomplishes anything.
Nothing makes you feel more positive about yourself than giving of yourself to others. And when you truly, sincerely feel positive about yourself, you can achieve magnificent things.

If all you're ever concerned with is what's in it for you, there will never be very much in it for you. Yet when you expand your focus and give the best you have, in return you'll experience the best there is.

If you wait to receive something first before you ever begin to give, you'll miss out on ninety percent of life's best opportunities. Unfortunately, that's an approach that all too many people adopt.

But there's no need to be held back by the shortsightedness of others. Take the first step, give of yourself, with enthusiasm, with positive energy, and with the best of expectations. Keep it up, and you'll find that those expectations, high as they may be, will always, in time, be greatly exceeded by the positive and valuable difference you make.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[CRB#33]

And along those lines Dan...

"Fun, exhilaration, and the absence of tension--which are all good in themselves and have a place in every life--can never add up to human fulfillment or a meaningfull life.

"A meaningful life can result only from the experience of love, and this implies a commitment and dedication to another. Love rejects the question, 'What am I getting out of this?' as the only criterion of fulfillment. Love understands by direct experience those often quoted words of Francis of Assisi: 'It is in giving that we receive.' Egoistic concern and concentration on self can lead only to the loss of self. It is a strange and painful paradox that we must all learn. The most perceptive insite of contemporary personalism is that I become a person only if I receive my personhood from someone else through the gift of affirmation.

"Giving the gift of myself in love leaves me with a deep and lasting satisfaction of having done something good with my life. I live with the sweet memory of having contirbuted a gift of love to the lives of others. Likewise I am left with a sense of having used well the gifts which God has invested in me. Love takes time, demands a history of giving and receiving, laughing and crying, living and dying. It never promises instant gratificaiton, only ultimate fulfillment. Love means believing in someone, in something. It supposes a willingness to struggle, to work, to suffer, and to join in the rejoicing. I doubt that there has ever been one recorded case of deep and lasting fulfillment reported by a person whose basic mind-set and only question was: What am I getting out of this?

"It is, of course, the paradox of the Gospels: satisfaction and fulfillment are the by-products of dedicated love. They belong only to those who can reach beyond themselves, to whom giving is more important than receiving."

John Powell

 

[EROS]

"If America is to be great in the future, it will be if we understand that our source is not civic and temporal, but our source is godly and eternal."

-- John Ashcroft

(Isn't it great that the BIG GUY has chosen to ride in the saddle with the good ole U.S. of A?????? )

 

[glo]

Thanks EROS I really like that one!!!

 

[CRB#33]

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;
...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.


The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

I've been posting this everywhere today . The world would be a much better place if we could all stive to be like this.

 

[EROS]

"Christianity is a faith in which God sends his son to die for you, [while Islam is] a religion in which God requires you to send your son to die for him."

-- John Ashcroft,

 

[Goofyposter]

 

[helenabear]

CRB#33, I have always loved that... thank you so much for sharing that one with us tonight

 

[EROS]

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother...

-- Matthew 10:34-35 (AV)

 

[Disney Doll]

God Dancing on Your Potato Chips

Not too long ago, I had "one of those days". I was feeling pressure from a writing deadline.I had company arriving in a couple fo days and the toilet was clogged.I went to the bank, and the trainee teller processing my deposit had to start over 3 times.I swung by the supermarket to pick up a few things and the lines were serpentine.By the time I got home, I was frazzled and sweaty and in a hurry to get something on the table for dinner.Deciding on campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup,I grabbed a can opener, cranked open the can, and then remembered that I forgot to buy milk at the store.Nix the soup idea.Setting the can aside,I went to Plan B,which was leftover baked beans.I grabbed the Tupperware container from the fridge,popped the seal, took a look and groaned.My husband isn't a picky eater,but even HE won't eat baked beans that look like caterpillars.Really frustrated now,I decided on a menu that promised to be as foolproof as it is nutrition free...hot dogs and potato chips.Retrieving a brand new bag of potato chips from the cupboard,I grabbed the cellophane and gave a hearty pull.Nothing happened.I took a breath,doubled my muscle,and gave the bag a hearty wrestle.With a loud pop,the cellophane suddenly gave way,ripping wide from top to bottom.Chips flew sky high.I was left holding the bag,and it was empty.It was the final straw.I let out a blood curdling scream."I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" My husband heard my unorthodox cry for help.Within minutes, he was at the doorway of the kitchen,where he surveyed the damage...an opened can of soup,melting groceries, moldy baked beans,and one quivering wife standing ankle deep in potato chips.My husband did the most helpful thing he could think of at the moment....he took a flying leap,landing flat-footed on the pile of chips.And then he began to stomp, and dance, and twirl,grinding those chips into mylinoleum in the process. I stared.I fumed.Pretty soon I was working to stifle a smile.Eventually I had to laugh.And finally I decided to join him.I,too,took a leap onto the chips, and then I danced.Now I'll be the first to admit that my husband's response wasn't the one I was looking for.But the truth is, it was exactly what iIneeded.I didn't need a cleanup crew as much as I needed an attitude adjustment,and the laughter from that rather funky moment provided just that.So now I have a question for you,and it's simply this:Has God ever stomped on your chips?I know that in my life, there have been plenty of times when I've gotten myself into frustrating situations and I've cried out for help,all the while hoping God would show up with a celestial broom and clean up the mess.What often happens instead is that God dances on my chips,answering my prayer in a completely different manner than I had expected,but in the manner that is best for me after all.Sometimes I can see right away that God's response was the best one after all.Sometimes I have to wait weeks or months before I begin to understand why God answered a particular prayer the way He did.There are even some situations that,years later,I'm still trying to understand.I figure God will fill me in sooner or later, either in this side of Heaven or beyond.Do I trust Him?Even when He's answering my prayers in a way that is completely different from my expectations?Even when he's dancing and stomping instead of sweeping and mopping?Can I embrace what He's offering?Can I let His joy adjust my attitude?Am I going to stand on the sidelines and sulk,or am I willing to learn the steps of the dance He's dancing with my needs in mind?I'll be honest with you...sometimes I sulk.Sometimes I dance.I'm working on doing more dancing and less sulking.I guess the older I get the more I realize that He really does know what He's doing.He loves me and I trust Him...even when the chips are down!

 

[Disney Doll]

One more...
If God leads you to it, God will lead you through it.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear
disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes
useless, faith makes serviceable.

- Harry Emerson Fosdick

It has been said that the opposite of fear is faith. But how do we change
our fears into faith if we have little or no faith? How do we start having
faith? One of the easiest ways to develop an alternative to fear is to ask
ourselves during a moment of fear: What is the worst that could
happen? Once we know the answer to that question, we have dealt with
the source of our fears - the unknown.

What do we fear now? First we need to identify all the unknowns that
we fear. Once we recognize all the things that can happen, we will be
able to prepare ourselves for possible failure, loss, or sadness. By
recognizing the fears, we take away some of their power over us. We
can then believe we will be all right.

What do I fear and why do I fear it? I know I am okay because I have
identified my fear.

--Night Light

 

[EROS]

"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand."

Bertrand Russell

 

[helenabear]

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful."
--John Constable

 

[EROS]

All religions are auld wives' fables, but an honest man has nothing to fear, either in this world or the world to come.

-- Robert Burns,

 

[Disney Doll]

You and God

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered...forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives...be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies...succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you...be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight...create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous...be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten...do good anyway.

Give the best you have and it may never be enough...give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God...it was never between you and them anyway.

--Mother Theresa

 

[Big Dude]

Men talk of finding God but no wonder it is difficult: He is hidden in the darkest hiding-place, your heart, You yourself are a part of him.

Christopher Morlev


Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Big Dude]

"A seeker once asked God, 'How is it that a loving Creator allows people to be disabled, lonely and poor? Why don't you do anything for them?' And God replied, 'I did. I created you...' "

~Mary Manin Morrissey


Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Dan Murphy]

Nice to see you stopping by, Adam. Stop by often.

Invest in kindness

A snide remark gains you nothing, yet costs you much. A selfish act brings no lasting value, yet it attracts the enduring resentment of others. A kind word, on the other hand, costs you nothing. And it can bring about a lifetime of value.
What if, just once each day, you were to stop yourself before making a cruel remark and replace it with a sincere word of encouragement? Such a thing would cost you absolutely nothing, and yet it would bring real, positive value to your life and your world.

Cruelty is a waste of precious time and energy. Kindness is an investment which pays endless dividends.

If you desire a life of value, then do the things which bring true value, as often as you can. Fill your moments with kindness, and fill your world with value.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[CRB#33]

Beautiful Dan, Adam, and Elaine.

Sincere words to open your heart to and live by.