Week End January 19, 2018
{quotes}
Don’t tell your problems to God, tell your problems about God.
There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Wherever you go, whatever you do – go and do with all your heart.
Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward. -Oscar Wilde
There’s always something to be thankful for.
Joy is power. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you catch souls.
{blessings}
Celebrate the Victories
Celebrate how far you’ve come. In a lifetime of ups and downs it’s easy to get hung up on the downs. May you be blessed with a selective memory which chooses to remember the victories.
Done Well
Strength is yours in the overcoming. Try something new, something challenging, something that takes you out of your comfort zone. May you be blessed to feel accomplishment from a tough job done well.
Atonement
Atonement. It’s much more than just asking for forgiveness. It’s asking for forgiveness after confessing the error. It’s deciding to never make the same mistake again. It’s going to the person you offended, to make it right. When you act differently from that point on, that’s atonement. May God bless you with resolve to atone for your sins.
Look Up
Look up from your work, from your phone, from your deep concentration and well…yes…your self-involvement. Notice the people around you, the activity of life, and the presence of God. May you be blessed with the power of observation.
Take a Side
Take a side. Will you shake and shudder on the side of fear or will you boldly stand on the side of confidence? May God bless you with a new sense of self which makes the choice to never be afraid again.
{prayers}
Prayer for Community
We thank You for this faith community, founded upon Your Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but to go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depend on us and not upon You. Help us to realize that you created us to shine like stars and live on through all eternity. Keep us we pray, in peace help us to walk all together, pray all together sing all together, and live all together until a day when all God’s children, Black, White, Red and Yellow will rejoice in our common band of humanity in the kingdom of our Lord God. Amen
Tired of Being Hard
God, I want to surrender to the rhythm of music and sea, to the seasons of ebb and flow, to the tidal surge of love. I am tired of being hard, tight, controlled, tensed against tenderness, afraid of softness. I am tired of directing my world, making, doing, shaping. Tension is ecstasy in chains. The muscles are tightened to prevent trembling. Nerves strain to prevent trust, hope, relaxation. Surrender is a risk no sane man may take. Sanity never surrendered is a burden no man may carry. God give me madness that does not destroy wisdom, responsibility, love.
Prayer for My Cousins
Dear God, People come and go in my life, but my cousins came and stayed. They cheer me on in my victories, they bring encouragement in defeat. Together we celebrate life’s high points and together we are, when we’re down. Thank You for creating the link in our family’s chain which connects my cousins to me. Amen
Live and Let Live
Help me hold my tongue when it starts wagging the wrong way – in criticism, unsolicited advice, and gossip. I strive to accept the people in my life as they are. Erase the tendency in me to climb on my high horse and look down on those “poor misguided souls.” Replace my judgment with faith that says: live and let live.
Dolphins Dance
In choppy waters, through churning seas where only the dolphins dance I am lighter than air. Though problems weigh heavy I am not crushed. With the slap of disappointment I bounce back. You dance with me I let You lead. My God! I am buoyant in Your protection.
{stories, video, features}
Story: With or Without Prayer
Story: What God said to Dr. King
Video: 5 yr old Sings Gospel
Audio: Testimony by Michael S.
Columnist: Wager for Eternity
Video: Comedy Pastor Impersonations
Blog: My Kind of Prayer Meeting
{bible & affirmations}
Matthew 5:44
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
– I pray for those who are against me. I offer blessings to them.
Nehemiah 9:19
Because of Your compassion You did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not stop guiding them on their path, nor did the pillar of fire by night stop shining on their way.
– I’ll get there when I get there, and I’ll get there safely.
Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.
– I will speak the Lord’s name when I am in trouble and rely on Him to protect me.
Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord and you will receive the desires of your heart.
– I am upbeat and positively giddy with God.
Psalm 16:11
You fill me with joy in Your presence.
– Just for today…I will be filled with joy in the presence of God!