With his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek he replied, thank you, thank you.

Good evening, as this day quickly comes to an end, I pray that you and yours have had joy this first day of the New Year. 

In prayer this evening I thanked God for all of you, for being in my life and for always standing in the gap when I am in need of prayer. I love the fact that I can come to you at any time for personal prayer or for prayer for others and you so eagerly pray with/for me. I am so very blessed to have you in my life. Kind Father in Heaven, give us the kindness to hear with compassion, to offer support, loving comfort, and care. Give us courage to do what is needed, the wisdom to choose what is right and fair. Give us the vision to see what is possible. Give us faith that will help pave the way for a present that is hopeful, a future that is peaceful. Give us a heart to bring joy to each day. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

The Circus

Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by- two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives.

The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and basking in pride, looking at her as if to reply, "You got that right."

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."

The ticket lady quoted the price.

The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?"

The ticket lady again quoted the price.

The man didn't have enough money.

How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?

Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."

The man knew what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking, embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied, "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."

My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We didn't go to the circus that night, but we didn't go without.

Will you share today??????

 


  Hello and happy Wednesday! I pray this "hump" day has been filled with grins and giggles this morning and that the remainder of the day will be smooth sailing with no hitches in your giddy-up:)
     It is an absolute beautiful morning here in Utah, 43 degrees, sunshine, very light breeze and clear skies as far as the eye can see! What an amazing God we have! Praising his holy name:) In prayer this morning as I sat in the clear cold outside, I prayed my normal and usual prayers, I added several people who have special specific requests, a friend have a procedure this morning for some thyroid problems, another who suffered the night with a migraine and upset stomach, praise the Lord for her report is a great one this morning, she had a good nights rest and is feeling much better, for my special friend who will be battling through the diet thing with me, for a most inspirational person in my world who is caregiving for her sweet mother as she begins her transition to paradise..I asked God to bless each and every one of you by answering your needs and concerns, by allowing you to sit in his lap and confess to him your concerns and troubles, I asked him to allow each of us to feel his strong and mighty arms of answer and for us to come away hope filled and with a renewal of faith! I then sealed these prayers up and lifted them straightway to Jesus Christ our savior and ask him to special deliver them to Father God. Allow God to work in your life today, open your heart, have faith and believe that each and every prayer is answered, maybe not as you have expected  but still answered for your own good! He has written the book and as we all know only the author can make changes in the storyline !!! As I was closing my prayer I had the most wonderful thought come across my heart, what if God ran a special today, what if he said, every time you smile at someone from the heart, not just a face smile..there is a huge difference as you know...every time you felt empathy today and act upon it with true heart actions, every time you said something nice and meant it...you would receive an extra blessing! How many would go in search of persons in need? How many people would wipe the haze from their eyes and be aware of everyone around them, looking for the opportunity to receive that extra blessing? I tried to envision everyone walking around, trying to see if there was anyone in need of kindness and love! I think it would amaze people who really began to look around at how many people they have daily contact with that are in need, people they just pass by without a thought each and every day! I think that once the haze cleared and our eyes are opened that we would not have to look for people in need for they are all around! I invite you to take this challenge and let me know if you come across anyone in need!
     May this day provide for you only good things, may you be aware of those around you and may you execute if you see needs! Smiles are free, kind words are free, being a true example of Christ  is free...if you are not losing but only gaining by giving any of these things away...why are you not sharing them? God bless you with a haze free day so that you can see the hearts in need:) See and Hear with your heart today!  Love in Christ to each of you and know you are here for a reason, that you are on earth with a purpose and that God smiles when he sees us sharing what we were taught in the spirit world!



   
     

Share your heart and make a mark!!!

  

  Good morning and happy Sunday, this morning as I sit outside enjoying the beauty I am amazed at how little things make me so happy. The sky is clear and blue, no gray to be seen, no angry clouds, nothing but blue as far as I can see, the sun has just begun to break and it is standing tall in all its glory, ready to give warmth and joy, the birds are singing in such a sweet melody that you know they are just happy to be alive, a gentle breeze is blowing allowing the trees to sway back and forth in a beautiful rhythm, it is quiet, no one has ventured out as of yet to begin their day and I sit here taking it all in and thanking God for allowing me another day!
     Last evening I had opportunity to have dinner and sit outside enjoying the evening and wonderful word. I had opportunity to meet someone new and got to share thoughts. As I sat there listening, sharing, laughing and yes even crying at one moment I once again thanked my Father in Heaven for my life. The lady I had chance to meet has been dealt a very ugly hand in life's card game , as we talked I looked at her, not her physical appearance, but i looked at her heart and I saw such a beautiful person, I saw love, I saw kindness, I saw strength, I saw grace....But on the outside I saw pain, I saw insecurity, I saw loneliness, and I saw defeat. In all that life had dealt her she had given up, the beauty inside was totally overshadowed by the weather. The storms in her life had all but erased her inner being! This happens so many times in life, we almost have the game won and boom, someone pulls an ace out of their sleeve, throws it on the table and once again we "lose" I see so many times, people who have been defeated so often that it becomes expected, I see so many times that people have tried, and tried and tried and with each try there is less zeal, there is less zest and finally they just accept defeat as a way of life. It saddened me to see such a beautiful spirit sitting there not representing the inside, but allowing the outside to be her way of life. I have been faced with the storms of life, we all have been battered by the wind, soaked by the rain, have slipped on the slick ground, have fallen down and wondered if we could get back up. We all have gone in to battle with our swords drawn only to have it knocked from our hands leaving us standing vulnerable and scared! It is the way in which we take cover from the storm that makes the difference, it is the way we pick ourselves up that shows how strong we are, it is the umbrella we choose to keep us dry, it is the attitude that we choose that brings us through.
     This morning as I sit here in reflection of the different roads I have traveled, at the sink holes that I had to take detour around to keep from disappearing, at all of the times that that "ace" trumped me...I thank God for giving me his love, for placing people in my life who have seen "me" who have been prompted to share with me the lives they have been dealt and how they have overcome. Today as I sit here I wonder how many times people have seen the storms of life swallowing me and have not taken time to  listen to the promptings and followed through with a smile or a kind word, a hand of acknowledgement that they know how it feels. When I left this lady last night, I can only pray that she felt better, that she felt the love of our father in heaven for allowing us to chat, I pray that as she wakes this morning that she sees her day in a new light, that she looks into the mirror and sees the "inside" that she recognizes her strengths and that she pulls that umbrella out and decides to walk in the rain without getting wet! 
     My prayer for each of us is that we recognize the beautiful, wonderful, God given blessings that are presented to us each day, that instead of telling God how big our storms are that we tell our storms how big our God is, I ask God to give each and every one of us super X ray glasses today so that we might see the inside of a person in need, that we might recognize the beauty within and be there to help slough off the grime on the outside. I pray that this will be the day that instead of seeing a need and saying oh poor such in such, that we can go to that person and through the love in our hearts make a mark! God give us the courage and the strength to take upon ourselves the ability to see need and to execute. God gives us love in our hearts to share, may you be blessed today with the "give away" may God place someone in your path that is in need of "you" May you open your eyes, follow his footsteps and share his gift of "self"! Share your heart and leave a mark:)  Blessings this day for a wonderful, beautiful eye opening, heart warming experience:) Love to each of you in Christ, amen!