THE GIFT OF LIFE.

Life is a wonderful gift but it is also challenging and sometimes heart-wrenching. We can all use a little motivation and inspiration from time to time to help us navigate the small and large hurdles we encounter on our journey:

***Today before you think of saying an unkind word–
think of someone who can’t speak.

 
***Before you complain about the taste of your food–
think of someone who has nothing to eat.

 
***Before you complain about your husband or wife–
think of someone who is crying out to God for a companion.
 

***Today before you complain about life–

think of someone who went too early to heaven.

 

***Before you complain about your children–
think of someone who desires children but they’re barren.
 

***Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn’t clean or sweep–
think of the people who are living in the streets.
 

***Before whining about the distance you drive–
think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
 

***And when you are tired and complain about your job–
think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job.
 

***But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another–
remember that not one of us are without sin and we all answer to one maker.
 

**And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down–
put a smile on your face and thank God you’re alive and still around.

Often times, we are tempted to conclude that our present situation is worse than any other as such loose hope on God's Grace and plan for us.  

Life is not a matter of chance but a matter of Choice.. anything that happens in your life is the outcome of every decision you make..
Decide today to thank God for the Gift of Life he has given you and in Faith, believe that there is a fruitful future irrespective of the odds of today.
GOD is aware of your situation. 

Prayer:

O GOD, satisfy every hungry one,

clothe every unclothed one,

help every debtor pay his debts,

relieve every distressed one,

release every prisoner,

cure every sick one,

ease our poverty by Your wealth.

 

O GOD, Forgive Us when we fail to 

thank/appreciate you for your Gift of Life to us.

 

THE BLESSING IN GIVING.

A graduate has been seeking for job, for almost fifteen good years. No means to get money. Then one day she had only but one dollar with her, she entered in a restaurant and bought food with that money but just after she finished praying for the food three people came in looking so skinny and hungry. They asked her for the food, she had compassion on them and gave them the food.

They wanted to pray for her but she told them that they need the prayer more than her. She left them and when she was about to leave they gave her an old coin. She went and lay down under the bridge to sleep, she saw newspaper and picked it and when she was reading it, there was an adverts about an old coin that got lost in 1955. Anybody that brings it was to be payed 10million dollars.

As soon as she saw it she checked the coin and it was the same. Then she rushed down to the address and they confirmed it and issued her with a cheque of 10million dollars. She rushed back to that restaurant to see those three men but she didn't find them.

When she asked the waiters, they gave her a letter that the old men left behind and she opened it, and this is what was written:
"This is the God of the Father, the God of Son and the God of the Holy spirit. No man who praises God shall be left to suffer. Him, his son and grandson's shall live happy under the umbrella of God."

MORAL LESSON: Blessed is the hand that gives than the hand that receive... Praise God and your life will change...

A PRAYER FOR YOU: God will perform a miracle in your life this week that is bigger than you can ever imagine, a miracle that will shoot you straight to the top, IN JESUS NAME

If you believe in the prayer you just said and trust God to fulfill his promises in your life, write a comment in the box below to encourage someone today.

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HEART TOUCHING REFLECTIONS FOR CHRISTMAS.

Every moment of our life is most precious. We should not fritter it away in useless pursuits, but devote it in the search of self and God through prayers, meditation & reflections as we celebrate the Christmas.

• Let the season of Christmas be a period of stocktaking. Let us turn within, recognize our weaknesses and try to overcome them. Let us sink down all differences and sit together in all loving devotion for God. Let us purge our souls and cleanse our hearts, for unless we are pure, we cannot see the Kingdom of God, much less enter into it.          
   If you can love your God with all your heart, with all your strength and with all your soul and love your neighbors as yourselves; if you can forget your prejudices and differences, your hatreds and petty jealousies; if you can love even your enemies as Jesus did, who died uncomplaining on the Cross, then all things shall be added unto you and you will achieve spiritual peace here and hereafter. 
  • We have passed here now so many Christmas eves. There is need to take stock today where we stand, how far we have travelled. Let us do so calmly but seriously.  The Journey may be long but has to be completed. Life is running out, let not vain pursuits deflect us from our Noble Path.  The grace of God is overwhelming and is extending far and wide. Through His grace the long and tedious journey back to our Eternal Home is cut short and rendered full of melodious charm. His Gracious Love is overflowing, and He is waiting for you at the door of your heart. Let us open up to him in steadfast devotion and whole-hearted faith in Him.

• God is Love, our soul is also Love, and the way back to God can be achieved through Love. Men are in the clutches of perverted love. If it is developed in the right direction, under the guidance of God, way back is ensured by listening to the rapturous strains of the Word reverberating in all creation.                                                                                   Thus, Blessed are they who find refuge in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Once His, He never leaves or forsakes us till He fulfills His promised of guiding, whoever comes to Him, to the True Home of the Father.                                                                                                     Christmas is celebrated for Christ was born this day but the real Christmas will be celebrated when we really make up our minds to fulfill the aim of Christ's birth, viz., to enter the Kingdom of God within us, and bring the same on earth.      

•  May be worldly affluence has swayed you too much or you had thought the misfortunes have descended too quick, which may not in reality be so, for ups and downs are a normal feature of life. They come as a result of well planned Divine Dispensation. So worry not if dark clouds are overhanging or wild rumors of universal destruction are set afloat as even the darkest cloud has a silver lining somewhere, you have a clear way before you. Your duty is two-fold—corporal and spiritual—as you have the body and the spirit. Both are intertwined and interlinked and need to be performed diligently and lovingly without damping your enthusiasm in any way.                                                                                                                                           For to shirk one's duty is timidity, to face it with determination is manly, to take the results with cheer is bravery and to adjust one's life according to one's environments is invigorating and peaceful. Always remember that you are under the protective wings of our Lord Jesus Christ and he is always extending His grace and protection. He is always by your side.  You may stumble and fall, but His loving hands are always there to pick you up especially in this season of Christmas.

• There is suffering in the world, and men and women wander in darkness. In such a world let us go about in prayers; giving love and compassion to all. Let us serve the poor and broken ones, serve our brothers and sisters and those around us. Let us not waste energy in questions and controversies. Let us light a few candles at the alter of suffering humanity. This will be achieved by having right understanding, viz., all mankind is one. The soul in man is the essence of God. We are members of the same family of God. We are all brothers in God.                                                                       When we learn that God resides in every heart we should have respect and love for all. This realization must dawn on mankind as we celebrate the season of Christmas

•  Each action has a reaction. As you sow so shall you reap. Let your physical sojourn be sweetly ethical, loving, co-operative and tolerant. Without these the great spiritual flights evade you. Be watchful. We are on way to perfection. We are not perfect. There may be failures on your part and misunderstandings amongst yourselves. The former ,should be met with by the motto of forgive and forget and the latter by reconciling them by mutual loving contacts. There may be a lot of dross and imitation displayed in colourful and charming fashion to deflect you. All movements which sanction you to sensual life cannot take you beyond the senses. Let not their catchwords waylay you. Be steadfast and careful.                                                                                                           Feelings, emotions, visualizations and inferences are all subject to error. You know because you see something beyond the emotions and feelings. Let not your faith give way to your detriment. With faith in God Almighty, proceed on from day to day.     Put your trust in Him and you will have all the necessary inner help to face the days ahead.

•  You may read libraries of books. Of what avail are they? You may have many meritorious acts. What avail are they? Far are you from the Beloved if there be not the longing in your heart. Consume hundreds of books in the fire. Let your heart blossom forth with the sweet remembrance of the Lord. Be absorbed in the white radiance of the Beloved. Be absorbed and you will know that the Jesus is but One with God. He appears in every picture. In every race and religion, every prophet and saint, every scripture and song, is the shining 'One' revealed.                                                                                                                                      Let your inner-self be overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ so much so that all thoughts of yourself be lost in Him. Saint Paul said: "It is I, not now I, but Christ lives in me." May his Peace reign in your life now and forever.. AMEN

•  Standing at this milestone in time we must recall our past and maintain a regular diary from day to day of all our thoughts, words, and deeds, and see where we stand. Devote time to spiritual practices so that you make a commendable progress on the spiritual Path and reach the Goal before us.                                                                                     This year is going out and the New Year will soon be ushered in. The present year is gone old. Let it depart. You need not worry. It had been kind to you--not so kind as it should have been. But God willed it so.                                                                                                                                             However, you must strive to be different from what you are during the present year. Strive to reach Him, be a true devotee, crave for blessings from the Almighty. Pray for His mercy. Promise unto Him that you will go up the Divine Path at any cost and nothing shall deter you from achieving this object.                                                                   The New Year will be happy for you if you do not waver in the Divine Path or slacken your pace therein. Remain firm and go ahead, trusting in  God’s plans for your Life.

•  Man is what he thinks about all day long. One can only live one moment at a time. Emerson said: "There is no moment in eternity more important than this moment." All real good or evil that may befall him is from himself. If a man lives in a good or bad way in the real present, he will ensure the same in the future. If you have bad thoughts for others, you will harm not them only but yourself as well, as thoughts are very potent.                                                                                                                                          So try to live in the living present, forgetting the past and the future—and fill every moment of your life with simple trust in Him in all loving devotion. He will manifest in you when you choose and turn your face to Him. God is love and love is God, and the way back to God is also through love.

-     Christmas is a festival of joy and jubilation celebrated all the world over to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ--the Prince of Peace. The fact that the Word (manifested at the human pole of Jesus) was made flesh and dwelt amongst us for the guidance of the bewildered humanity. He said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." "No man cometh to the Father, but by me".                                                                                                                 

     In all we do during this season, may we not be carried away by the feasting and forget the core value of Christmas: Christ came to redeem us thus giving us hope for life everlasting if we believe in him (John 3:16). 
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A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF DREAMS

Sometimes we get what we need and not what we want.......... 

Once there were 3 trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the 1st tree said, "Someday, I hope to be a treasure chest.
I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems and be decorated with intricate carvings. Everyone would see my beauty."

The 2nd tree said, "Someday, I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of other world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally, the 3rd tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching.
I will be the greatest tree of all time, and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees.
One came to the 1st tree and said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the 2nd tree, one of the other woodsmen said, "This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The 2nd tree was happy, because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the 3rd tree, the tree was frightened, because it knew that, if it is cut down, its dream would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, so I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the 1st tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was made into a feed box for animals, placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The 2nd tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The 3rd tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one filtered day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth, and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose, and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace," and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets, and the crowd mocked the man who was carrying it. Finally, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as possible, because Jesus Christ had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that, when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best. 

 Sometimes the heart sees what the eyes can't.
 

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SIMPLE YET...

  Life - 4 simple letters,
               yet so complicated.

  Love - 4 simple letters,
             yet so confusing.

   Destiny- 7 simple letters,
             yet so unpredictable.

   Feelings- 8 simple letters,
            yet so unexplainable.

  Words- 5 simple letters,
           yet there aren't enough to express.

   Regrets- 6 simple letters,
              yet they never seem to disappear.

    Silence- 7 simple letters,
                yet it can be so loud.

    Time- 4 simple letters,
                yet there is never enough.

   Sadness- 7 simple letters,
                 yet it lingers everywhere.

    Pain- 4 simple letters,
                 yet it takes so long to heal.

   Mistakes- 8 simple letters,
                  yet they can never be erased.

   Beauty- 6 simple letters,
                   yet so hard to see.