Inspiration

Forever Mercy

The earthly things I think will last just crumble and decay.
They break and cease to function as they slowly rot away.

Relationships that seem so strong and destined to endure,
Soon fade away to nothingness, without a hope of cure.

But only God’s great mercy will withstand the test of time.
It guides me and upholds me as I feel His love sublime.

I sin and need forgiveness, and I go to Him in prayer.
He gives me strength and comfort, and His mercy’s always there.

When life seems overwhelming, and I don’t know where to turn,
His mercy calms my fears, and gives the peace for which I yearn.

When each day is a struggle, filled with sickness and despair,
I’m strengthened by His mercy, as I cast on Him my care.

I praise Him for His mercy that comes fresh and new each day,
Surrounding and sustaining me as close by Him I stay.

Anon

Precious Gifts From The Heart

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. Consider it pure joy, my dear ones, whenever you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be complete not lacking anything, If you lack wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.
James 1: 17, 2-5

Lord, I wish for roses,
Perfuming my day.
For, walking on a petal strewn path
Would be such a happy way.

But, I find I don't have all I wish;
At least not, yet, awhile.
For, would You be desiring something better,
Found through a deeper trial?

Do you keep me from knowing all,
For, too much I'm unable to contain?
Are You showing me there's greater joy,
In learning faith through pain?

Are You letting me know a darkness,
So I will seek Your light;
To search until I find You, as the door,
To escape the gloom of night?

Will You allow me these limitations,
So I can learn the more,
Just as a jewel will shine
When tumbled to remove a flaw?

In new challenges that descend,
Shall I find You of a truth?
Will I learn, then, how to trust Your love,
Rather than all I can and cannot do?

Would You let me struggle,
To find the answers You can give?
And, if I ask, will You bestow the wisdom
That I will need to live?

For, if things don't come my way,
Will I learn a grateful heart;
To enter into a real joy,
For contentment that will last?

Is this key of gratitude,
What turns the bad things into good,
So that troubles become a blessing;
To grow just as I should?

For, life is such a journey
Where I may feel betrayed.
But, what understanding will I learn for others,
That are crying in the shade?

If it wasn't for the times
I learn my God is near,
I wouldn't know where to find the strength;
With faith to persevere.

For, everything I cannot know
Gives me so much to learn
And all the things I don't have, yet,
Become an expectant hope to yearn.

So, take me on Your path, dear Lord,
With Your roses, all the way.
Shower me with the loving gifts
That You have planned, today.

Give me, from Your heart of love,
All that You say to give away.
Shall I, then, thank You
For the heartaches, Lord?
For, they are really Your bouquet.

Anon

Some things to think about

"It may be true that you know the Word of God, but do you really know the God of the Word?"

"Our peace is destroyed by focusing on what is wrong around us, rather than HE who is right within us."

"Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give but an occasional pluck at the rope; but he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might."

"Sometimes when we ask God our "Why?" questions, instead of giving us answers He gives us Himself."

"We have been created to love and to be loved."

"If you can see, what others can't find; then either you are mad, or they are blind."

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

"All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions."
"There are some defeats more triumphant than victories."

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