Daily Devotional and Daily Quotes

[Ayesa86]

"There has got to be more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good-looking."--Derek Zoolander.

[grumpypirate]

THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS
A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go
rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she
went with her group to a tremendous granite
cliff In spite of her fear, she put on the
gear, took hold of the rope, and started up
the face of that rock.
Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a
breather. As she was hanging on there, the
safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and
knocked out her contact lens.
Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with
hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet
above her. Of course, she looked and looked
and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge,
but it just wasn't there.
Here she was, far from home, her sight now
blurry. She was desperate and began to get
upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to
find it.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her
eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was
no contact lens to be found. She sat down,
despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting
for the rest of them to make it up the face of
the cliff.
She looked out across range after range of
mountains, thinking of that verse that says, "The
eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the
whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see
all these mountains. You know every stone and
leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens
is. Please help me."
Finally, they walked down the trail to the
bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of
climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.
One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody
lose a contact lens?"
Well, that would be startling enough, but you
know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving
slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it
on it's back.
Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist.
When she told him the incredible story of the
ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew
a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens
with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want
me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and
it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You
want me to do, I'll carry it for You."
I think it would probably do some of us good to
occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you
want me to carry this load. I can see no good
in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want
me to carry it, I will."
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the
called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of
existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning
each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing,
but with Him...I can do all things through
Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

[HY]

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is. --Sir Francis Bacon

[keysunset]

grumpypirate!

I came in here today to post a version of Phillipians 4:6,7 (The Message) and saw your story! Thanks.

Here tis:

Don't fret or worry, Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Hoping you all will find your center today, whatever that center is for you, and all worry will be displaced.


Hammeredyoung - I really like that Sir Francis Bacon quote! Thanks for that, too!

[keysunset]

A Song of the New Creation (Isaiah 43:15-21)

'I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your king.'

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,

'Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.

'Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

'I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,

'The people whom I formed for myself,
that they might declare my praise.'


Some days I really need to remember that "rivers in the desert" part ... when I feel like I am in those "desert" times in my life.

[oceancat46]

When you are in doubt, be still, and wait;
when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage.
So long as mists envelop you, be still;
be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists
-- as it surely will.
Then act with courage.
--White Eagle

[Trees]

Thanks oceancat46 for this quote!! A wonderful daily reminder and teaching

[grumpypirate]

Friends are those rare people
who ask how we are
and then wait to hear the answer.
Ed Cunningham

[feather]

If you meet Buddah on the road, kill him.
......ancient Zen Buddhist saying

[grumpypirate]

Age is of no importance
unless you are a cheese.

~Billie Burke~

[Ayesa86]

"You can neither win nor lose if you don't run the race."--David Bowie

[grumpypirate]

PLANT IMPOSSIBLE GARDENS.
Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies.
Swing as high as you can on a swingset, by moonlight.
Cultivate moods.
Do it for love. Take lots of naps.
Take moonbaths.
Giggle with children.
Listen to old people.
Drive away fear. Play with everything.
Entertain your inner child.
Build a fort with blankets.
Get wet. Hug trees. Write love letters.
SARK

[Ayesa86]

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero."--Tyler Durden

[Zuraxichea]

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds' worth of distance run, than yours is the earth and everything that's in it, and, which is more, you'll be a man, my son!" -Rudyard Kipling

[Ayesa86]

"You can go farther in this world with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone."--Al Capone

[Cheza]

Okay, I've seen some Helen Keller quotes along the way, but I haven't seen the one I have on a poster in my classroom:

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow..." -- Helen Keller

I've always loved that quote. The majority of her quotes are so profound. I sometimes have a hard time facing that sunshine...I imagine we all do in our struggles.

Here's one more for the road, which was my original sig here :

"To love another person is to see the face of God." -- Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

I'm loving this thread too...even though I'm just getting started with it.

Peace.

[jillywilly65]

Thanks Cheza
I needed that today. Here in Chaos Colorado. I hear ya on the Peace thing. Its hard to not get wrapped up in business and forget the reason for the season. For me anyway.

Take care

Jilly

[keysunset]

Thanks from me too Cheza.

Don't worry about repeating quotes, I don't always read all the way back to the beginning of a thread everytime I visit, so that helps me out anyhow!

I read this today:

"God is Spirit and the Source of all love.

Our spiritual journey calls us to seek and find this living God of Love in prayer, worship, spiritual reading, spiritual mentoring, compassionate service to the poor, and good friends.

Let us claim the truth that we are loved and open our hearts to receive God's overflowing love poured out for us. And living fully each day let us share that love in all our wonderful and difficult relationships, responsibilities, and passages" - Henri J.M. Nouwen

I was especially struck by the seeking and finding this love in "good friends," like we have in the .org. And also in sharing that love in the "wonderful AND difficult" times of our lives.

peace and love to you all.

[oceancat46]

Over time, offering loving kindness to all beings everywhere, including ourselves, unites us to one another, so that we know we cannot go forward forgetting those left behind. We cannot experience true happiness without the development of kindness and compassion.
The Force of Kindness, by Sharon Salzberg

[Ayesa86]

"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."--George Orwell (1984)