Category Archives: Holidays & Holy Days

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 27, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Holidays & Holy Days, Thanks & Praise

What Do Have to Complain about? It’s Thanksgiving!

Thank the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever. [Psalm 107:1 (NCV)]

“I need more chairs and a larger table … I have all this silver to polish … I wish I had a double oven.” I’ve been busy this week getting ready to celebrate a day of thanks and yet I’m complaining. I have a sneaky suspicion that I ‘m not the only one. My grumbling stopped when I remembered a school we visited in Tanzania. The cooks had neither table nor chairs; they squatted and prepped the vegetables on a plastic tarp laid on the dirt floor. They couldn’t run out to the grocery for provisions; the food they prepared was brought to school by the children from their family gardens. They had no ovens; in fact, they had no stoves. Five open fires burned on the ground; pots of vegetable stew lay on the coals. Yet, the headmistress was filled with pride at this new addition to their school and thankful for the blessing of this facility.

2013-11-27This morning I arranged flowers for a festive table, and gave serious thought as to which serving platter to use for the turkey, which bowls to use for the yams and mashed potatoes, and which plates to save for the pie and cookies. In the afternoon, I joined others in my church family and helped make and pack 1,200 Thanksgiving lunches for migrant workers. We filled paper lunch bags with a turkey sandwich, a packet of mayo, an apple, a bag of chips and a mini candy bar. There won’t be fresh flowers, linen napkins, or silver platters on their tables but they will be immensely thankful for what they have.

Lord, help me cease my many foolish complaints. May I be thankful for every blessing in my life. Show me how to share my bounty with those less fortunate.

 

A roast fowl is to the sight of a satiated man
Less valuable than a blade of grass on the table;
And to him who has no means nor power
A burnt turnip is a roasted fowl. [Gulistan of Sa’di]

I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet.[Indian proverb] 

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 4, 2013

Posted under

Holidays & Holy Days

GOD BLESS AMERICA – INDEPENDENCE DAY 2013

2013-7-4Those who know your name trust you, O Lord, because you have never deserted those who seek your help. [Psalm 9:10 (GW)]

 Thank you, Father in Heaven, for the nation in which we live. Flawed as it is, it is still the best place to be. Please bless this nation and its people.

 

“God Bless America”  [Irving Berlin]

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home
God bless America, My home sweet home.

 

When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect. [Adlai Stevenson]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 16, 2013

Posted under

Family, Friends & Fellowship, Holidays & Holy Days, Thanks & Praise

FATHER’S DAY 2013

2013-6-16

 

The father of a good person is very happy. A wise child brings him joy. [Proverbs 23:24 (ERV)]

Dear Lord, thank you not only for our fathers, but also for those men who taught, ministered, advised, led and supported us. Thank you for the men you brought into our lives who so willingly shared their wisdom and encouraged our efforts. You blessed us with men who served as mentors and coaches, helping us hone our various skills, and men who guided us through difficult times. May we be worthy of the time, love and effort they gave us and, in return, may we always give them joy in the way we conduct our lives.

Be a man of faith, and faith will sustain you.
Sustain a life of love, and love will embrace you.
Embrace God’s grace, and His grace will follow you.
Follow in his footsteps, and His footsteps will lead to life everlasting.
[Christine Lahee]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 12, 2013

Posted under

Family, Friends & Fellowship, Holidays & Holy Days, Thanks & Praise

ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY (2013)

2013-5-12


Grace and beauty can fool you, but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised. Give her the reward she deserves. Praise her in public for what she has done. [Proverbs 31: 30-31 (ERV)]

Lord, we offer thanks today, not just for our mothers, but for all the women who have been positive influences in our lives: grandmothers and mothers-in-law; daughters and daughters-in-law; sisters, cousins, aunts and nieces; teachers, doctors and nurses; business associates and mentors; friends and neighbors. Thank you for these women who loved us when we were unlovable, believed in us even when we didn’t believe in ourselves, gave us confidence when we doubted, encouraged us to learn and grow, respected us enough to let us walk our own paths, showed us how to conduct ourselves by their example, kept us accountable for our behavior, and never gave up praying for us and our happiness. Thank you.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

March 27, 2013

Posted under

God's Promises, Holidays & Holy Days, Salvation: A New You

HAPPY EASTER! WHAT DOES IT MEAN? (EASTER 2013)

Chapel of the transfiguration- Grand Teton Nat PKwebJesus said to her, “I am the resurrection. I am life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die.” [John 11:25 (ERV)]

If Easter says anything to us today, it says this: You can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. You can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!” [Clarence W. Hall]

The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances. [Robert Flatt]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

March 27, 2013

Posted under

Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

NOTHING CAN STOP HIM (HOLY SATURDAY 2013)

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what the deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off that we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. [Matthew 27:62-65 (NLT)]

What the Pharisees failed to understand was that neither rock nor seal, soldiers, not even an army, could prevent the Son of God from rising again! Nothing can stop our God!