A Lesson Learned

Words can never show
What's really down inside
Our actions show our truer 'selves'
The 'me' we try to hide.

We fight to stuff it all within,
The guilt and shame we feel.
It's not until we start to "let go"
That we begin to really heal.

Tears come welling up, I'm scared!
Of the demon that's within.
I want to change but feel so weak
To fight what some call Sin.

Again, it's "letting go" I need,
To acknowledge I have NO power.
Then, and only then I'll see,
That this is my finest hour!

In now, my greatest weakness,
I finally fall to my knees.
In humble broken powerlessness
I now see my "Sin disease".

Tears, they come as floods
I think I won't survive.
But in the midst of the death I feel,
Perhaps I am for the first time "alive".

Can it be? That all this pain,
Was not a waste of my life?
But rather I had valuable lessons to learn
Through disappointment and strife?

I see more clearly with each day
That the "hell" that I've been in,
Is really my "dying to self"
So that a new life could begin.

Could God not help me??
In the chaos I was in?
Yes, I suppose He was,
But I had to let Him in.

In past times, I would not really let go
And let God enter in.
I wanted life to be as I prescribed it
Which was my greatest Sin.

With devastation all around me
And my life hopelessly out of my control.
I cannot fix others whom I love
Much less, myself console.

God help me learn to love
The way you want me to.
Grant me the serenity to accept
The love that comes from You.

I am a new creation
And learning how to truly "live"
Taking each day as a gift from God
A truer love I now receive and give.

Anon

God's Love

It's amazing and incredible, But it's as true as it can be.
God loves and understands us all, And that means you and me.

His grace is all-sufficient, For both the young and old.
For the lonely and the timid, For the brash and for the bold.

His love knows no exceptions, So never feel excluded.
No matter who or what you are, Your name has been included.

And no matter what your past has been, Trust God to understand.
And no matter what your problem is, Just place it in His Hand.

For in all of our unloveliness, This great God loves us still.
He loved us since the world began, And what's more,
God always will!

Letter Written by Fra Giovanni

I am your friend and my love for you goes deep.
There is nothing I can give you which you have not
got, but there is much, very much, that, while I
cannot give it, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find
rest in today. Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in
this present little instant. Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it,
yet within our reach is joy. There is radiance and
glory in the darkness could we but see - and to see
we have only to look. I beseech you to look!

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its
gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly,
or heavy or hard. Remove the covering and you
will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of
love, by wisdom, with power.

Welcome it, grasp it, touch the angel's hand that
brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a
sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angel's hand
is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an
overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not
content with them as joys. They, too, conceal
diviner gifts.

Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of
beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find
earth but cloaks your heaven.

Courage, then, to claim it, that is all. But courage
you have, and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims
together, wending through unknown country, home.

And so, at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the
world sends greetings, but with profound esteem
and with the prayer that for you now and forever,
the day breaks, and the shadows flee away.

On The Anvil

“For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
(I Peter 1:6-7)

With a strong forearm, the apron-clad blacksmith puts his tongs into the fire, grasps the heated metal, and places it on the anvil. His keen eye examines the glowing piece. He sees what the tool is now and envisions what he wants it to be—sharper, flatter, wider, longer. With a clear picture in his mind, he begins to pound. His left hand still clutching the hot mass with the tongs, his right hand slams the two-pound sledge upon the moldable metal.

On the solid anvil, the smoldering iron is remolded.

The smith knows the type of instrument he wants. He knows the size. He knows the shape. He knows the strength.

Whang! Whang! The hammer slams. The shop rings with the noise, the air fills with smoke, and the softened metal responds.

But the response doesn’t come easily. It doesn’t come without discomfort. To melt down the old and recast it as new is a disrupting process. Yet the metal remains on the anvil, allowing the toolmaker to remove the scars, repair the cracks, refill the voids, and purge the impurities.

And with time, a change occurs: What was dull becomes sharpened, what was crooked becomes straight, what was weak becomes strong, and what was useless becomes valuable.

Then the blacksmith stops. He ceases his pounding and sets down his hammer. With a strong left arm, he lifts the tongs until the freshly molded metal is at eye level. In the still silence, he examines the smoking tool. The incandescent implement is rotated and examined for any mars or cracks.

There are none.

Now the smith enters the final stage of his task. He plunges the smoldering instrument into a nearby bucket of water. With a hiss and a rush of steam, the metal immediately begins to harden. The heat surrenders to the onslaught of cool water, and the pliable, soft mineral becomes an unbending useful tool.

Max Lucado

Lord I'm Lonely Tonight

I give all that I have, all that I am-no matter how empty and sad that I am. I give and I give, never counting the cost-but lord I'm lonely tonight.

I've travelled some distance and chanced a few things. Broken some hearts and been broken instead but I give and I give never counting the cost-but Lord, oh Lord I'm lonely tonight.

The tears that I've shed in silence and pain, never showing another my heart's not to blame. But I give and I give, never counting the cost-but Lord, oh Lord, I'm lonely tonight.

The days I can hide through a smile and a wave, the dread of the night when my life seems in vain. Yet I give and I give, never counting the cost-but Lord, oh Lord, I'm lonely tonight.

The years they have passed as if in a daze, I danced and I loved like a moth to a flame. It scorched me, it tore me, my heart bore the pain. Yet, I give and I give, never counting the cost-but Lord, yes Lord I'm lonely tonight.

Life can seem perilous but what can I do? I dont live for me, I live to please You. Why are You so silent? Why don't You speak when my tired heart cries out and reaches for You. But I give and I give, never counting the cost-But Lord, oh Lord, I'm lonely tonight.

It takes all you've got this thing we call life, the pain and the passion is all that we've got. It's not about winning, it's not about loss..It's about giving and giving, until it has cost. So I will give and I'll give, never counting the cost-But Lord, my sweet Lord...I'm lonely tonight.

For a Friend-Who gives and gives, never counting the cost.

Written by Marie

Laughter Is The Best Medicine LOL

Culinary Meme

1. What food does your best friend not like?

A. Anything too spicy

2. What is your favorite cookbook?

A. Barefoot Contessa

3. Are you more of a sushi person or a lamb person?

A. I love lamb (I worked with sheep once. This is my revenge! Munch munch!lol)

4. Given a choice of something fried and salty or something baked and sweet, what would you choose?

A. Both

5. Do you buy whole chickens and boil them and pick the meat off or does that gross you out?

A. I buy BBQ Chicken already cooked!

6. How do you feel about butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and half and half?

A. I can't eat a lot of rich food so rarely eat creamy stuff. Er, what is half and half?

7. (Skip this question if you are a vegetarian) If you are a carnivore, would you be willing to hunt or butcher your meat? Or to watch someone do that for you or would you rather not think of it? Or are you grateful for the animal who gave its life to sustain your life?

A. Only if I could shoot with my eyes closed *wink* and I never ever ask how something is made for a REASON! lol

8. What is the most exotic ingredient or spice in your cupboard?

A. Er BBQ Seasoning. I know we are SO boring! zzzzzz

9. What is your favorite vegetable?

A. Peas, Cauliflower, pumpkin

10. What is your favorite fruit?

A. Oranges, strawberries, cherries, sultana grapes. I hate loathe and detest Pineapple, banana's and apples!

I tag:

Anyone who wishes to take part.

Thanks Jean for the Meme

Are The Jews Saved?

God does not renege on His Promises, even when we fail Him with our infidelities and ingratitude. This also applies to the Jewish people, for God, unlike fickle man keeps His Covenant even with an errant and 'stiff necked' people. God does not nor cannot revoke a Covenant, for The Triune Spirit is not capricious nor does God rely on man to feel validated.

Therefore the Promises and Covenants which God made to the Jews, also applies and incorporates the Gentiles. For if God were to break His Covenant with the Jews, what then would save us?

Do we consider ourselves so perfect, so holy that we would stand before God as His equal? Therefore we may disregard God's Promise to the Gentiles because we can now Save ourselves?

For if we go on the premise that God will not keep His Covenant with Israel, because of their infidelities and rejection of the Promised Messiah, what hope then is there for the Gentiles?

Do we not also when we sin, reject the Messiah? Yet we hold as Truth that God will never abandon us. The confusion comes when we think we are loved because we are good. No! We are Loved because God is Good and through God's Mercy and the Sacraments of our Church we are Saved through God's Love.

When God made His Covenant with the Jewish people, He did so in full knowledge that these same people would reject His Beloved Son, Jesus. For unlike man God has Predestination and He knows the outcome before He reveals and establishes His Covenants with the Israelites and also with the Gentiles.

There are some who believe that because God made these Promises in the Old Testament, therefore they have no relevance in the New Testament. In that Jesus, brought a New Law, this is correct, but Jesus also came to fulfill the Old Testament not to break it! Hence this is the reason why Paul asserts in his letter to the Romans that, "God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew"(Rom 11:2). Obviously Paul is referring to Jeremiah 31:34; and Paul continues to say, "As far as the Gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable."(Rom 11:28-29).

It cannot be stated more plainly than this, God does not break His Covenants, however unfaithful His children will be. For upon Jesus birth, death and Resurrection a Light was shone in the world in which NO power can extinguish.

Written by Marie

It Is Hard

To Forget

To Forgive

To Apologize

To Take Advice

To Admit Error

To Be Unselfish

To Save Money

To Be Charitable

To Be Considerate

To Avoid Mistakes

To Keep Out Of The Rut

To Make The Best Of Little Things

To Shoulder Blame

To Keep Your Temper At All Times

To Begin All Over Again

To Maintain A High Standard

To Keep On Keeping On

To Think First And Act Afterwards, But

It Pays

Anon

Laughter Is The Best Medicine LOL