Evening Prayer

Bring us, O Lord our God,

at our last awakening

into the house and gate of heaven,

to enter that gate

and dwell in that house,

where there shall be

no darkness nor dazzling,

but one equal light;

no noise or silence,

but one equal music;

no fears nor hopes,

but one equal possession;

no ends nor beginnings,

but one equal eternity;

in the habitations

of your glory and dominion,

world without end.

— John Donne

Life Isn't About Keeping Score

Life isn't about keeping score.

It's not about how many people

you number as your friends,

Or how accepted you are.

Nor about your plans this weekend

or if you'll be alone.

It isn't about who your family is

or how much money they have.

Not what kind of car you drive,

Or where you went to school.

It's not about how beautiful

or ugly you think you are.

Or what clothes you wear,

Or what kind of music you listen to.

It's not about if your hair is blonde,

red, black, or brown,

Or if your skin is too light or too dark.

Not about what grades you get,

how smart you are,

how smart everybody else thinks you are,

or how smart standardized tests say you are.

It's not about what clubs you're in

or how good you are at "your" sport.

It's not about the talents

you were born with,

Or your chosen vocation in life.

Life is about who you love and who you hurt.

It's about who you make happy

or unhappy with intent.

It's about keeping or betraying trust.

It's about friendship,

used as a sanctity or a weapon.

It's about what you say and mean,

maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.

About starting rumors

and contributing to petty gossip.

It's about what judgments you pass
and who they trickle down to.

It's about who you've ignored

with purpose and full control.

It's about jealousy, fear,

anger, ignorance, and revenge.

It's about carrying inner hate and love,

letting it grow and spreading it.

But most of all...

it's about using your life to touch

or poison other people's hearts

in such a way that could have

never occurred alone, without you.

It's about lifting people up,

instead of contributing to their downfall.

It's about spreading joy and hope,

instead of sorrow and despair.

Only you can choose the way

those hearts are affected

by your touch...

and those are the choices

that life is all about.

The Retirement Dinner...

A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the Parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner.

However, he was delayed, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited...

"I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had an affair with his boss's wife; taken illegal drugs and gave an STD to his sister. I was appalled... But, as the days went on, I learned that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed come to a fine parish full of good and loving people ....."

Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk:

"I'll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived," said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession."

Moral: Never, never, never be late :-)

The Spatula...

Peter invited his mother for dinner. During the course of the meal; his mother couldn't help but notice how lovely Peter's flat mate, Joanne, was.

She had long been suspicious of a relationship between the two, and this only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Peter and his flat mate than met the eye.

Reading his mum's thoughts, Peter volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Joanne & I are just flat mates' .

About a week later, Joanne came to Peter saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the Spatula, you don't suppose she took it do you?

'Well I doubt it, but I'll e-mail her just to be sure,' said Peter.
So he sat down and wrote:

DEAR MOTHER,

I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU 'DID' TAKE THE SPATULA FROM MY HOUSE. I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU 'DID NOT' TAKE THE SPATULA BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT IT HAS BEEN MISSING EVER SINCE YOU WERE HERE FOR DINNER...

LOVE PETER

Several days later, Peter received an email from his mother which read:

DEAR SON,

I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU 'DO' SLEEP WITH JOANNE AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU ‘DO NOT ' SLEEP WITH JOANNE, BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT IF SHE WAS SLEEPING IN HER OWN BED ...... SHE WOULD HAVE FOUND THE SPATULA BY NOW.

LOVE MUM

What Happens In Heaven...

This is one of the nicest stories I have seen and is so true:

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, ' This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received. '

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments"

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked..

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. "

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world ' s wealthy. "

"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.."

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation .... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."

"If your parents are still alive and still married ..you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."
Ok, what now? How can I start?
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are!!

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.

"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it. "
If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been blessed with, how can you not copy this & send it on???? I thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends!!

I LOVE YOU!

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore."

No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."

Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.

This is true for marriage ...and old cars, and children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, family and aging parents and grandparents.

We keep them because they are worth it ..... because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce.

There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important. We only have one.

We only have one Mom, one Dad, one unique brother or sister or friend.

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'!

So I posted it here so all the people I think of in that same way, could see it no matter when they logged on - Day or Night!

Now it's your turn to send this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the person who sent it, if you feel that way. Or Post it for your Family & Friends to See too!

 

Suppose one morning you never wake up. Do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking.....I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said..

Let every one of your friends and family know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.

And just in case GOD calls me home. . .

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.

Flower Delivery...

I would rather have one rose & a kind word from a family member or a friend while I'm here, than a whole truck load when I'm dead & gone forever.

These Are For You!!!

Happiness - keeps you Sweet,

Trials - keep you Strong,

Sorrows - keep you Human,

Failures - keep you Humble,

Success - keeps you Glowing,

But Only Friends - Keep You Going!

KIDS IN CHURCH

 3-year-old Reese :

'Our Father, Who does art in heaven,

Harold is His name.  Amen.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little boy was overheard praying:

'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it.

I'm having a real good time like I am.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the christening of his baby brother in church,

Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car.

His father asked him three times what was wrong.

Finally, the boy replied,

'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home,

and I wanted to stay with you guys.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One particular four-year-old prayed,

'And forgive us our trash baskets

as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they

were on the way to church service,

'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?'

One bright little girl replied,

'Because people are sleeping.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3

The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.

Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson.

'If Jesus were sitting here, He would say,

'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said,

' Ryan , you be Jesus !'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A father was at the beach with his children

when the four-year-old son ran up to him,

grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore

where a seagull lay dead in the sand..

'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked.

'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied.

The boy thought a moment and then said,

'Did God throw him back down?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A wife invited some people to dinner.

At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said,

'Would you like to say the blessing?'

'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied.

'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' the wife answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said,

'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?'

JESUS LAUGHING!

I like to think he did.

I received this in an e-mail & thought it was Beautiful... Let the art speak for themselves. I looked carefully and saw the drawings were signed, 'Jesus Painter.' What a Concept: Christ laughing! Something I hadn't seen before. Beautiful pencil drawings.

The Three Trees...

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when:

The first tree said, 'Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest... People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, 'and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the Woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my

tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong

enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it...

The moral of this story is: that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best. May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palms of His hands...

My Cleaning Poem...

I asked the Lord to tell me

Why my house is such a mess.

He asked if I'd been 'computering',

And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny

And tidy up the house.

And so I started cleaning up...

The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shined the topside.

That really did the trick...

I was just admiring my work.

I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops I found

A real absorbing site.

That I got SO way into it.

I was into it all night.

Nothing's changed except my mouse

It's very, very shiny.

I guess my house will stay a mess....

While I sit here on my hiney.

MySurvey.Com Is Awesome!!

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Thanks,

Chrissy Whale

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