Because I have been given much.....

Good morning and happy Saturday to all. I pray this morning has allowed you time to sit in quiet splendor with our Father in heaven, to share with him all of your thanks, all of your fears, all of your worry and hurts. He is always right there just waiting when you are in need of talking. Once I referred to him as my Father and to Christ as my buddy and was scolded by an elder in the church. I did not take it personally but wondered if her relationship with him was personal. HE is indeed my Father, HE is the one I turn to when I need validation, He is the one I cry to when I am sad, He is the one I give thanks to each day for giving me so much to be thankful for. I do love Jesus Christ, He is the one I pray to my Father through, He is the one I give thanks to for loving me enough to give his very life to save mine, He is the one I am humbled by and He is the one I wish to model my life after. No matter how you refer to each of them....REFER to them, they stand in wait in all that you do, they are the ones who love you unconditionally and the ones who, in the end, will determine if you will join them in paradise! May you all have a blessed day and may you be filled with the HOLY SPIRIT to go out and make a difference.

Please continue to pray for my sweet friend who lost her grandmother this week, the grandmother who raised her from an infant on up, the grandmother who was also my special friend, a woman filled with grace and beauty. I ask also that you continue to pray fervently for the little baby whose mommy has been in a coma since before his birth, she continues each day to show more and more signs of life, I stand and believe that she will wake up and that they three of them will be a complete and healthy family unit. If you will please join me in prayer for all who are in need today, for all who are struggling and for all who are lost and need an example of goodness to get them back on track. Please pray for our country as this election draws near that God's will be done and the right leader be chosen. I will not share my thoughts as I know that we all have free agency in voting, but I pray you listen to not just the left or right sides but that you listen to your hearts and do what is right and what is best for our country. I stand in prayer for all who continue to suffer from the aftermath of the storms on the east coast, that they soon have power restored and that the clean up and the rebuild will be one that will be easy and quick. Please pray with me for my daughter as she and Derek have undertaken the endeavor of raising his nephews and pray for these boys mother that she might open her eyes and see what devastation has been done due the choices she has made. I ask you all to join me in giving thanks not just for the 30 days of November but for each and every day of the year. Without God we would have no pleasures, we would have no beauty around us and we would have no hope of returning to heaven to live free from anything but LOVE.  Know that I pray for you daily, that I stand on my faith that all will be well with you and that I am here if you ever have need for special prayers. God bless each of you and enjoy the gifts that God is giving! "Because I have been given much I too must give" is one of my favorite songs, I look around at my little, simple, do without life and I could be down and depressed that at my age I really have nothing, but I look a little deeper and I see that God has blessed me immensely, not with material possession but with much love! 

Here is a great little read to go with what I will be spotlighting for this month...the gift of giving, the gift of empathy and the gift of compassion, good things happen when we do good things..if you don't believe me, do something good for someone in need and watch what happens in your own life.....

Two Boxes Of Rice

I drove to a local supermarket the other day. My shopping list was long and my wallet was light. Still, I needed to get a week’s worth of groceries for my family. I parked my car, looked down at my list, and hoped I could afford it all. 

As I approached the door I saw a man with kind eyes and a gentle smile. He said he was collecting for a local food bank that helped to feed the hungry in my area. He handed me a second shopping list of things they could use and asked me to help if I could. I smiled back, took the list and walked into the store. I really wanted to help but wasn’t sure if I could this time. 

I walked through the store getting vegetables, soup, spaghetti, bread, milk, cereal, macaroni, bananas, and a dozen other things. I slowly marked each item off my list until I was done. When I looked down at my full cart I wondered again if I even had enough to pay for it all. Then as I put my own list back into my pocket I saw the food bank list under it. I smiled and decided to trust in the Heavenly Father who loves us all. I went over and picked up two of the biggest boxes of rice the store had for the food bank and put them in my cart. It took another six dollars out of my wallet to pay for them, but my heart felt six times larger when I did. And when everything was totaled, I had just enough to pay for it all. 

It takes so little to make our world a better place. It takes so little to do God’s work here. A few dollars can help to fill a child’s hungry belly. A smile and hug can help to heal a hurting heart. An encouraging word can inspire someone else to live and to love. A random act of kindness can change another’s day and life. It is up to you, though. You can think only of yourself and those close to you or you can see that we are all Children of the same God. You can save a few bucks on rice or you can share a love that will last for all eternity.