Keeping the Spirit Alive

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 Keep the Spirit Alive.    We Live by faith,

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?" said the father. "I'm the new minister at your church," he replied. "When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head." "I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, "Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always." Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o' clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?" The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

--- Author Unknown -

Do You Believe in Angels? There's one right inside of you.

An Angel In All Of Us

There was once a young lad walking down the streets of Rome, from one end of the city to the other, on his way to visit a relative. While walking, he happened to pass a beautifully impressive cathedral and heard loud sounds coming from the building; they sounded like a lot of pounding.

Deciding to please his curiosity, he approached the building, opened the heavy monolithic door (which creaked as he opened it) and peeked inside the church. Well, all he could see was an old man in front of a big piece of marble, chipping away with a chisel and a hammer.

The young man probably thought to himself, "Well, it must be something very important because he doesn't even notice me". He then left the cathedral and continued on his journey.

Days later, he returned on the same route. It seemed like the old man was still going at it, so he decided to ask him what he was really doing.

He again went to the monolithic door, opened it and looked inside. To his amazement, there was a big statue of a cherub standing right between the presbytery and the sanctuary, with wings spread out wide open, almost as if in full flight, light shining on it through the stained glass windows, and graced the front of the church.

He could not help it but the next moment he was right next to the old man, with his jaw hanging wide open. He stared with absolute amazement and a puzzled look on his face. He just could not understand how the old man knew that there was an angel in that piece of marble and he could not help but asked him, "Sir, how did you know that there was an angel in that piece of marble?"

The old man turned around and looked at him straight in the eyes and replied: "Son, there is an angel in each and everyone of us. All we need to do is to take a hammer and a chisel and chip away all those little pieces that do not look like an angel."

Moral Of The Story: There is an angel in all of us. Just chip away all those bad pieces that look nothing like an angel and we are all complete, with wings and a halo.

--- From A Visiting Catholic Priest --- Submitted by Olehile Thataone
I heard this story almost 15 years ago, told by our Catholic Church visiting Priest, whose name and face I cannot remember   .http://women4today.com/

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The novel is bursting with vibrant themes such as adolescent challenges, sexuality, spirituality, and race relations. At the same time, the novel centers around the communications differences between men and coming of age, and women who struggle to save their individuality, not only in her, own relationship but also in family.-Sandra

 

Little Angels

USA Stands with Israel

With Thanks to Ronen Cohen, an Israeli, who has taken the time to show and share his Grief with us all, by making this Badge.....רונן תודה רבה לך אחי

Shalom, Chaverim, Friends,
שלום חברים- ולילה טוב -אני פתוח שהלב של עם ישראל יחד עם האמריקנים באסון שקרה אז בבקשה לכתוב משהו באנגלית לחברים האמריקנים לתת להם לב של עם ישראל ולהגיד להם שאתם ישראלים תודה רבה שבוע טוב חברים

Time for us in Israel to say "Laila-Tov"- "Good Night"- Again we can only say we grieve with the families whom have lost their Loved Ones,and Yes, "Israel Stands with the USA"......and in honor of those brutally slain....we in Israel, wear this Badge as a symbol of the horrific Grief you are all going through.....G-d bless You all and G-d Bless America.......with much love .

Israel Stands with the USA- At this time of great grieving sorrow that we pray the Almighty, Blessed me his name, help to heal the loss of such young lives. What can one say to a grieving, Mother, Father, Brother and Sister May G-d bless them and help them with their great loss...

The Time to Remember

The angel praises were of peace
The night of Jesus' lowly birth;
Yet trouble here still does not cease,
And wars and wrongs remain on earth.
Where is this "peace on earth" for men
That rang so sweet on Bethlehem's hills,
That sent the shepherds seeking then
The Saviour who would cure their ills?
I've found this peace is at the cross
Where all our sins on Christ were laid;
For while He suffered untold loss,
The sinner's peace with God was made.
I've found it also at His throne;
For Christ who died, now also lives;
And as I've met Him there alone,
I've known the peace the Saviour gives.
Someday the world will know real peace,
For Christ will come as King to reign;
Creation then will find release,
And "on earth peace" will ring again.
...Roger F. Campbell



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Reaching Out

Reaching out

Posted by captainmsn on Dec 13, 2012 12:36:06 PM

My agenda is to :Repost

Inspiration can be an elusive companion. Sometimes, it seems like we can't get inspired at all. Other times, we get inspired for a short time, and then, for various reasons, we lose it.

 

There will be times along your journey that you will be faced with extreme obstacles and setbacks. They will make you reconsider your ability to accomplish your dream. They will make you come up with excuses to procrastinate. They will make you feel hopeless, powerless, and frustrated.

 

These are the times when you will find out what you’re really made of. These are the moments you will find out just how much you want your dreams. These are the times when your character is built. Having tools like inspiring speeches and all the other tools on this website can help you stay positive and focused on what matters during those moments. What you choose to focus on when things get tough will determine everything.

 

It won’t be easy, if it were, they wouldn’t be called obstacles, and they wouldn’t force you to grow. Remaining focused and determined on your goals isn’t an easy task. It’s easy to be side tracked. I’ve had problems with this myself. Many times I would be working on something, just to have something else catch my attention and become side tracked only to forget what I was originally doing later on.

 

Remaining focused when things are easy is, well, easy. It’s when things get tough, when your confidence gets damage when things aren’t go your way, these are the times when you need some recharging. Hopefully, each of us will take time to enjoy our families and loved ones, this time of year and come back with, a renewed outlook, and inspirational ideas ,

Respectfully M.S.Nola..http://women4today.com/

Happy Hanukkah

hanukkah Candle Lighting 

One candle is added to the menorah each night. The first night, you light only the shammus (the one at a different height) and one Chanukkah candle. By the eighth night, you light all of the candles.

Candles should be added to the menorah from right to left (like Hebrew writing). See animation at right. The shammus candle is lit first. While holding the shammus candle, recite the following blessings. They are usually sung.

  Shammus is also called helper candle, the candle in the middle of the menorah.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - women4today

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - women4today 
Decide to Believe by Joyce Meyer - posted December 06, 2012

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. —James 1:2–4
Too often people stare at me with a blank look when I urge them to decide to believe. It’s as if I’m asking them to do something they can’t do. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God (see Romans 10:17), but it also involves a ­decision.
We enter into a relationship with God through believing in Jesus Christ, but that’s only the beginning.
Believing doesn’t end there. As I understand the realm of the Spirit, if we follow the Lord, we live with a growing faith. That means we learn to believe for bigger things. We learn to trust God for things we would never have thought of in our earliest Christian days.
When we become Christians, the Bible says we are adopted into the family of God: “. . . but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in . . . which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!” (Romans 8:15b).
That’s the beginning. That’s also where too many Christians stop. The Spirit keeps reaching for your hands so He can pull you forward. That’s when you must decide to believe—or you resist and stay exactly where you are in your Christian experience.
Read the verse at the beginning of this topic. It says your faith will be tested, but you must hold onto it and move forward. The testing may come when the devil attempts to make you doubt the promises God has given you.
There is never a stopping place in your spiritual growth—God wants to take you onward. But you have to make the choice to believe. Sometimes that takes courage, but that’s how the Christian life functions. We grow by taking steps of faith.
When God speaks to your heart—to your inner being—you need to learn to say without hesitation, “Let it be so, Lord.” You have to learn to agree with whatever the Spirit of God says or wants.
Instead, many tend to resist. They don’t say no. Satan is too subtle to nudge them to do that. He puts questions in their minds, urging them to ask, “How can that be?” They start asking God to help them understand. If your boss wants you to do a task, you can ask, “Why?”or ask for an ­explanation.
But that is not how the Holy Spirit works. You say, “Lord, if You’ll help me understand, I will believe and obey.” God says, “Just obey. If I want you to understand, I’ll make it clear to you.” God doesn’t have to explain anything to us.
It frequently happens that believers know something down deep in their hearts—in their inner beings—but their minds fight against it. They may consider themselves unworthy. They may ask, “Who am I that You would use me to change lives?” They waste a lot of energy by telling God why they can’t do what He wants them to do. God already knows everything that is wrong with us or ever will be wrong with us, and He is willing to work through us anyway. God requires availability not ability.
God asks you to do something quite simple: Believe. That’s all. If God speaks, you need to learn to say, “Even though I don’t understand, I’ll do it.” One of the best examples I can think of in Scripture is the story of Ananias of Damascus. God told him that Saul (later called Paul) was blind and in a particular house. He was to go and lay hands on him, and God would heal him (see Acts 9:10–19).
Ananias was afraid. Saul was the great persecutor of Christians, but God told him to go because the blinded man was a chosen vessel. Despite his fear and inability to understand why God would choose a great persecutor to be a chosen vessel, Ananias went and prayed for Saul, and the future apostle was healed.
That’s how God wants us to behave. He wants us to choose to believe Him even if what He’s asking us to do doesn’t compute in our thoughts.
Holy Spirit of God, help me always to believe Your promises, even when I don’t understand Your purpose. I want to learn to trust You more, as I move forward in faith to accomplish what You have for me to do. Help me always to be obedient, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.  http://women4today.com/

Women are Suckers...The Lies Men Tell

Book Reviews:

Women are Suckers…The Lies Men tell

·       I've read a lot of relationship books and it was the first one that I had read that really focused on a man's point of view and basically told women when it was time to walk away and how to recognize whether a man is a good decent man or not, not yet ready to commit or never will commit, etc. I'm giving this book four stars because it lives up to its title - its straight talk. He's telling women things they might not want to hear. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars because I know some men who are not portraying themselves anything like the men he describes. I don't doubt that his research is accurate for most men, though.-Penny

·       The advice for women looking for a man is basically to look your best all of the time, and to hold out on the bedroom for until you get to know him better - which requires being inquisitive and asking detailed questions. This book is chock full of great tidbits for women already in a relationship, living with a man, and married to help you get along with your man better.-SuzyQ

·       The novel is bursting with vibrant themes such as adolescent challenges, sexuality, spirituality, and race relations. At the same time, the novel centers around the communications differences between men and women coming of age, and women who struggle to save their individuality, not only in her, own relationship but also in family.-Sandra

·       The author manages to tackle complex topics while still keeping the tone of the novel fresh and entertaining. The crucial issues facing women and men are discussed in a meaningful way, throughout the dialogue of the each situation that a woman faces. This book will make you challenge your attitudes about sexuality, spirituality, and race relations and raising children to become young men.-Angela

·       Every woman who reads this book will see herself in one way or another, but more importantly they will see every man they ever knew, from their fathers to their husbands or lovers. Sometimes funny, sometimes revealing, an easy read that brings to light the good, the bad, and the ugly truth about the man of their dreams.  Jvece     

       

        Must read for the woman that wants to know what makes a man tick...The author takes you inside the mindset of a man. How he thinks, feels, what his words really mean...this book is eye opening, brutally direct, and truthful. You will laugh ,cry, be shocked ,get angry and think about the men in your life and your relationship’s...past, present and future...you will no longer be in denial.- L. Gilbert Available
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