God, Angels, Love and Life

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The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: 

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 

...where there is injury, pardon; 

...where there is doubt, faith; 

...where there is despair, hope; 

...where there is darkness, light; 

...where there is sadness, joy; 

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 

...to be consoled as to console; 

...to be understood as to understand; 

...to be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive; 

...it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

...and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
 


"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
"...and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
1 John 4:8,16,1818 NKJV

"Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything."
Phil 4:6 LB

 


May you always have an angel by your side. Someone there to catch you if you fall. Encouraging your dreams. Inspiring your happiness. Holding your hand and helping you through it all.

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"Love is felt deep within your heart, and is a gift, treat it as just that, the gift you have been given." -Blueeye942

A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived:
Happiness, Sadness, and all of the others including Love. One
day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink,
so all repired their boats and left. Love was the only one who
stayed. Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment
When the island was almost sinking, Love deicided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness,
can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No I can't..There is
a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place for you here."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by by in a beautiful
vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all
wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness let me go
with you." "Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not
even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an
elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask
the elder her name.

When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Love
realizing how much he owed the elder, asked Knowledge, another
elder, "Who helped me?"

"It was Time", Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time
is capable of understanding how great Love is."

Contributed by ShellyDH71

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there.

- Contributed by AngewaCA

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Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant,
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.


Often cited as having been "found in old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore, dated 1692," the piece was in fact written by Max Ehrmann in 1927. In 1956, the rector of Baltimore's St. Paul's Church anthologized the poem in a pamphlet of inspirational writings. Someone reprinting it, separated from its original credit. The year 1692 is in fact the founding date of St. Paul's Church and has nothing to do with the poem.

 


20 Ways to approach life:

1.No one is more important than you are and no one is less important than you are.
2.Learn from the past, plan for the future and live in the present.
3.Remember that life is 10% what actually happens and 90% how we react to it.
4.Live in peace with things you cannot change, change the things you can, and have the wisdom to know the difference.
5.Accept responsibility for who you are and where you are in life.
6.Communicate.....communicate....communicate.....
7.Always look for possibilities.
8.Mind your own business.
9.Adapt quickly to change.
10.Take risks.
11.Have a sense of humor.
12.Say " What if....." not " Yes but........"
13.Never stop asking questions.
14.Be forgiving.
15.Accept people for how they are towards you.
16.If you don't know something......admit it.
17.When you are wrong.....admit it.
18.If someone asks your oppinion....give it.
19.Never take yourself seriously.
20.Continually evaluate how you approach life.

30 reasons why you should feel good about yourself:

1· If you must examine your "faults", do so with a mirror, not a magnifying glass don't allow them to get out of proportion. For example restate, "I'm buried in debt," as, "I owe $5,000 on credit cards". Then find a way to change this, and do it!
2· Learn to do without the word "should". Instead of telling yourself, "I should have finished that job on Friday," substitute the word "could". Realize you have the option of exercising your own choice.
3· Rethink your mistake as lessons learnt which will help you to prevent future ones.
4· Next time somebody compliments you, don't automatically protest, but graciously accept.
5· Discard the myth of perfection. Nobody does perfectly.
6· Brooding never fixes the problem. To let go of something that's nagging you, give yourself 15 minutes of worry time, then move on.
7· Never compare yourself with others. The point is to improve on your own past performance.
8· Keep a written list of all your accomplishment, however small. Next time feelings of inadequacy threaten to dampen your spirits, you'll have something to look back on and be proud of.
9· Give yourself time to feel good. When you reach an objective, allow for a period celebration before going on to the next goal.
10· Keep a diary to validate all your thoughts and feelings.
11· Spends time with a friend who cares about you and lets you know it. Friends are an important source of support and objectivity.
12· Make a list of all people and things in your life for which you are grateful. Recognizing that you are deserving of all these good thinks will make you feel good about who you are and what you've done.
13· Plan an escape. For example, on a sunny day, rent a convertible and take a drive with the top down.
14· Become more interesting by being more interested ( in people, new hobbies, current events, etc )
15· Give yourself a pep talk. Encourage yourself just as you do your best friend, or as a best friend would do for you.
16· Look at old photograph and reflect on the richness of the events or relationship depicted and how they have enhanced your life. Then plan how you can add more of these events or relationships to your life.
17· Wake up happy. Begin each day with fun routine. Sing in the shower. If you're not already in a cheerful mood, put on your favorite upbeat tape or CD, load it into the stereo the night before.
18· When you break a negative habit, replace it with a positive one. This way your life won't seem emptier. For instance, if you give up your daily chocolate block, either put the money saved towards a weekly bouquet of flowers or a visit to cinema.
19· Start each morning with a vision of yourself doing all right things at work, at play and at home. Mentally rehearse the act of winning, just as professional athletes do.
20· Tell yourself that you are brave as well as likeable. Next time you feel tempted to say hello to a person in a line, go right ahead.
21· Have a clean out and pass items you no longer use to those old possessions; you make space for wonderful new ones, thoughts and even experiences.
22· Learn a new skill such as dancing, preparing gourmet cuisine or pottery. Learning the basics will give you taste of success.
23· Spend a weekend at a deluxe hotel and have breakfast in bed. Pamper yourself by the pool.
24· Have a fabulous new haircut, or perhaps a manicure and facial.
25· Take risks. You'll accomplish more and feel good about being brave.
26· Set easy to meet incremental goals. Don't say, "I'm taking charge of my career." Instead, join a professional group or take on a work-related course. You'll feel so good about the results that taking the next step will be much easier.
27· Don't wait to get sick to take good care of your health. Order a salad for lunch. Signup for an exercise class. Snack on fruit instead of junk food.
28· Even if you're not feeling confident, act as if you are. Soon you will realize you're no longer faking it. Smile, act like you are glad to be alive.
29· Affirm your power to change - or to remain the same. If you aren't ready to give up a bad habit such as smoking, accept that at this time you choose this habit as a method of coping, and that you can replace it with a healthier one.
30· Make a collage of what you want to create in life. Cut out pictures of things you want ( a car, a child, a garden ) the thing you want to do ( travel, learn computer, do charity work ) and words or images that represent qualities you want more of in life (love, adventure )



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