Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", "When You're Down to Nothing God's UP to Something", Inspirationals.
Tags: accident, advice, age, aim, air, anger, babies, baby, beacon, beauty, belief, bell, bells, Bible, blessings, bliss, bouquet, breath, bridge, brilliance, burden, cancer, candle, candles, care, cemetery, challenge, check, Christ, clerk, cloud, clouds, cold, color, colors, comfort, Comforter, companion, concentration, couple, courage, creek, cross, cure, dad, depression, destination, divorce, doctor, drugs, encouragement, era, exam, experience, eyes, faith, family, father, feeling, feelings, fire, flame, florist, flowers, focus, force, friends, friendship, funds, gas, gem, gems, genuine, ghost, glory, goal, God, goodness, grace, gratitude, guidance, gynecologist, hair, hairstyle, happiness, healing, health, heart, highway, history, holiday, holidays, home, House, husband, ice, inspiration, Jesus, journey, joy, King, language, laughter, learning, lesson, letter, life, lifestyle, lifetime, light, load, Lord, love, mail, man, marriage, Mathematics, might, mind, moment, money, mountain, noise, obituary, ocean, others, pain, partner, path, perfection, period, phone, physician, power, prayer, promise, quiz, rain, rainbow, reading, Redeemer, rivers, rose, roses, Savior, sea, shape, shapes, sheep, shepherd, size, smiles, son, sound, source, specialist, spouse, spring, stream, strength, stress, struggles, sunshine, surgeon, surprise, teaching, test, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, thorn, thorns, thought, time, tips, torch, touch, travel, treasure, trials, tribulation, trip, triumph, triumphs, truck, trust, truth, vacation, value, vehicle, victory, voice, water, weight, wife, wind, woman, wonder, words, worries, worry
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The Blessing Of Thorns
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..
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed
against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had
been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of
her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her
ease.
..
During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son.
She grieved over her loss. As if that weren’t enough, her
husband’s company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose
annual holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not
come.
..
What’s worse, Sandra’s friend infuriated her by suggesting her
grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to
empathize with others who suffer. “She has no idea what I’m
feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder.
..
“Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered aloud. For a
careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-
ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of
her child?
..
“Good afternoon, can I help you?”
..
The shop clerk’s approach startled her.
..
“I….I need an arrangement, “stammered Sandra. “For
Thanksgiving?
..
Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the
Thanksgiving Special?” asked the shop clerk.
..
“I’m convinced that flowers tell stories,” she continued.
..
“Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this
Thanksgiving?
..
“Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months,
everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. ” Sandra
regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk
said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”
..
Then the door’s small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, “Hi
Barbara…let me get your order.” She politely excused herself
and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared,
Read More
Apr 06 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: accomplishment, America, anticipation, belief, Bible, Christian, circumstance, control, destination, direction, earth, excitement, expectation, experience, faith, friends, God, guidance, heart, Heaven, home, humanity, ideas, inspiration, learning, life, Lord, love, money, plans, prayer, process, purpose, relationship, reservation, responsibility, scripture, sharing, smiles, thought, ticket, trust, understanding, vision, voice
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How many times have we picked up United States’ coins or currency and noticed the verbiage “In God We Trust?” As Christians what if we were required to have our foreheads imprinted with the words “In God We Trust?” Could we boldly wear that imprint, or would we be living a lie?
..
Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Most of us like to think that we do that, but when the mortgage is due and God hasn’t answered our prayers by 5 p.m. on Friday, if we trust God, why do we need a Plan B?
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I have a friend who, whenever I share my ideas and thoughts with her, always asks: “And, if that doesn’t work, what’s Plan B?” She sometimes gets upset with me because I’m learning to live without a Plan B. Don’t get me wrong, I know that if I plan to take the Amtrak to Washington D.C., I can’t just sit in a chair and expect to arrive at my destination because I trust that God will get me there. There’s some human responsibility that needs to occur. It’s prudent and
Posted: under "When You're Down to Nothing God's UP to Something", "YUMMY FOOD FOR THOUGHT".
Tags: advice, anxiety, beacon, belief, Bible, blessings, burden, candle, candles, Christ, cross, depression, direction, exam, example, faith, fire, flame, focus, food, God, influence, inspiration, instruction, Jesus, leader, life, lifestyle, lifetime, light, load, pain, quiz, role model, scripture, stress, sunshine, teacher, test, testimony, thought, trust, truth, weight, worries
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“If you are being tested today…
It’s because God will be using your testimony tomorrow!”
Mar 26 2010
Posted: under "YUMMY FOOD FOR THOUGHT".
Tags: Bible, Christian, day, food, knowledge, meditation, quotes, scripture, thought, understanding, wisdom
Christian Quote of the Day
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Most people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.
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- Mark Twain
Mar 14 2010
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: Bible, blessings, family, friends, gift, God, inspiration, Jesus, life, phone
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Ever wondered what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phones?
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What if we carried it around in our purse or pocket?
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What if we flipped through it several times a day?
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What if we turned back to get it if we forgot it?
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What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
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What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
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What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
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Read More
Mar 05 2010
Posted: under Inspirationals.
Tags: action, appreciation, attitude, belief, Bible, encouragement, fish, fishing, food, gift, God, happiness, hope, inspiration, Jesus, joy, kindness, life, miracle, sandwich, satisfaction, sharing, smiles, spirit, talent, time, wishes, world
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Today’s Message:
“The Boy and the Fish Sandwich”
By Bob Perks
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I don’t preach. I believe, but I can’t conveniently quote the
Bible when those words would come in handy. I can say
something and mention that I believe it’s ” in there somewhere.”
I even know where to look.
.
It doesn’t make me less Christian, just lazy.
.
Still, God uses me just the way I am. I understand that’s
how the Apostles got their jobs working for Him, too. He
took them “just the way they were.” So, there is hope
for you and I!
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Every so often I come across something that really strikes
me as incredibly significant. Something that I must share.
So, I struggle to inspire others with hopes that they, too,
will be overwhelmed by it.
.
I have learned that no one is EVER as enthusiastic about
my ideas as I am. I saw a movie once that inspired me so
much that when I got out of my car I was literally jumping
in the air. Someone who saw me thought I won the lottery.
When I explained the movie to them they laughed at me.
I suddenly lost my enthusiasm.
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But this is significant.
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You may have heard about Jesus and the loaves and fish.
Great miracle! Terrific story.
Read More
Feb 25 2010