On Courage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Study with Sara-On Whom do we Depend?
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7
We have heard a lot in the recent years about Co-Dependence. I understand with a thumbnail snapshot that this means ‘one seeks to find their sense of self from someone other that the God image that is within them.’ They look to a person they can see, hear, touch and feel their pain and emotions to find their self worth. When the other person is no longer in there life or have no further need of their support they have no sense of worth.
“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
QUOTE FOR OUR WEEK
Risk to Blossom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anais Nin
“And the day came
when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud
was more painful
then the risk it took to blossom.”
STUDY WITH SARA-litmus test
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NKJV
This verse is so often quoted and loved for it’s poetic flow, by me and many others. We so often work on our speech or our thoughts but how often does one work on the harmony and truth of both.
We see very clearly from the words of this Psalm of David that God only honors our words when they match the thoughts and intents of our heart and mind. And, when they do not match, we have opened a door for trouble to crouch and hide and attack at an opportune time. Remember the story from Cain’s sacrifice found in Genesis 4:1-10. Cain had in him angry that turned into thoughts of revenge on his brother and that is what he did, spoke it or not, he killed his brother.
Proverb 16:23 states, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.”
My Visit with Mrs. Davis
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of again visiting Mrs. Davis (of Mrs. Davis Garden) as she had called me for a landscape consultation regarding her boxwood. It was my initial visit with Mrs. Davis and seeing her beautiful boxwood gardens and her passion and love for them that inspired the song on my CD, ‘Gardening Therapy‘, Mrs. Davis Garden. In fact the Lord gave the tune and many of the words as I drove home form her house that day.
It was a windy, cold day on this recent visit to her lovely home, but the warm reception from her and her gracious daughter-in-law made me forget all about that. They welcomed me with hugs and kisses and couldnt stop thanking me for the CD and telling me how much they loved it. I noticed it lay displayed on a coffee table between them. Mrs. Davis said to me that her grandson, a music major at Drew University, had been listening to it and playing along with his guitar. How honored, I told her, I felt by that. As we conversed, I discovered that Mrs. Davis was quite an artist. Her beautiful paintings hung on the walls all around us in the cheery parlor. She commented that she had no musical talents like other members of her family but she did possess the gift of art
Our Quote for the week
Green Bough & Singing Birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
A Chinese proverb expresses this truth: “If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”
Here are five “green boughs” we should strive to keep in our hearts:
The green bough of Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is not only contagious, it is attractive. The singing bird of success is drawn toward the green bough of enthusiasm. Where there is enthusiasm, there is excitement, and where there is positive excitement, there is more joy in the job, more sparkle in the eye, and more zest in living.
The green bough of Kindness. Kindness is the Golden Rule in action. Surely what the world needs now is more kindness. The green boughs of kindness grow from the tree of love, and when we truly love others, kindness is natural and instinctive. We should remember the little girl’s prayer: “God, help the bad people be good…and please help the good people to be nice.”
“Deliver us from Evil”
“Give us this day our daily bread” Matthew 6:11
“Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34 NKJV
Now same verse from the message:
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the times comes.”
“Exhort one another DAILY, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13
We all have watched and heard the unfolding of the tragedy that has taken place at Virginia Tech. We are watching daily the loss of lives that happen almost daily in Iraq on behalf of our Nation and other Nations. Our communities are losing young men and women both in war zones and at home. Hebrews 3:15 says, “Today, please listen, don’t turn a deaf ear…”
Study with Sara-A Beautiful Leopard
Passage Jeremiah 13:23 Ampl.
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also can you do good who are accustomed and taught [even trained] to do evil.”
Do you think that we have practiced an evil for so long that it is impossible to do good?
Do you think rebellion or stubbornness is just so enjoyable and fulfilling that we do not want to do good?
Do you think we may have practiced telling lies for so long that it just comes so easy for us that we have no conscious thoughts of truth, or even a desire to tell truth? Rev. 22:13-17…”outside the gates will be whosoever loves and practices a lie.”
What about other habitual habits we have practiced and have no desire to give up? We justify them no matter what?
Continue reading “Study with Sara-A Beautiful Leopard”
Biographer: Einstein Struggled with God
Voices: Walter Isaacson Says Physicist’s Religious Beliefs Informed His View of Science
April 8, 2007 — – Walter Isaacson, the biographer of Ben Franklin and Henry Kissinger, is tackling Albert Einstein in his new book, “Einstein: His Life and Universe.” According Isaacson, Einstein, arguably the greatest scientist of the 20th century, struggled with God.
Isaacson: You know, he was at a dinner party once in Berlin and everybody assumed he was an atheist and he said, “No. I have a deep feeling of faith, a deep religiosity that comes from my appreciation of the way the Lord made the universe,” and everybody was stunned.
Quote of the Week
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
– Ghandi
thedailylily.com 