Matthew 6: 26

“A Lesson From Our Feathered Friends”

“I heard a bird at break of day

Sing from the autumn trees

A song so musical and calm,

So full of certainties,

No man, I think, could listen long

Except upon his knees.

Yet this was but a simple bird

Alone among dead trees.”

Author Unknown

What lessons have I learned in my life as I have witnessed creatures in nature?

What problems in my life do I need to turn over to my heavenly Father?

“Take courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into material for spiritual progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching you, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions.”

Francis de Sales

Transformation Garden

Personal fortune or agreeable circumstances are no excuse for dismissing the importance of our fellow man.  Worth is not measured in human terms, nor can it be, since we did not create ourselves.  Our value is seen only in the light of who made us.  It is in this light that we cannot endure the ill treatment of our fellow creatures any longer.  This respect is the root of our love for others.

Be blessed.

Craig Thompson

Treachery of Infidelity

¹⁰ Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

The movie

Watch on You Tube

“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”  —Author Unknown

Yesterday has left you forever

Yesterday has left you forever
you cannot relive it
you cannot undo the things that were done
You cannot retrieve the words that were spoken
You cannot pull back the blows that were thrown

Tomorrow is forever out of your reach
you cannot live it today
nor can you substitute it for yesterday
you cannot live your life waiting for it to come

Today is always with you
you can live it to its fullest
you can always give it your best
its is always the first day
of the rest of your life

—Mychal Wynn”I do not ask to walk smooth paths
nor bear an easy load.
I pray for strength and fortitude
to climb the rock-strewn road.

Give me such courage and I can scale
the headiest peaks…and transform
every stumbling block into a stepping stone.”

—Gail Burket

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
“Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.“

Start each day as a brand new page in your life – it is the only day where you can make and change decisions – and let yesterday be for what is will be… yesterday

What if… tells the story of Ben Walker (Kevin Sorbo), who fifteen years ago left his college sweetheart Wendy (Kristy Swanson), and his calling to be a preacher, in order to pursue a business opportunity. Now with a high-paying executive gig, a trophy fiance’, and a new Mercedes, he hasn’t considered a family nor felt the need to set foot in a church.

But God has other plans. While on a thrill ride outside the city, his new car mysteriously breaks down, and he’s visited by a tow truck driver named Mike (John Ratzenberger) who claims to be an angel sent to show Ben what his life would look like had he followed his true calling. Suddenly Ben wakes up in the middle of domestic chaos as his “wife” Wendy and daughters (including Disney Channel’s Debby Ryan) are getting ready for church, where Ben is the new pastor.

Before he can get back to his old life, Ben must first embrace this reality and discover the value of faith and family, and perhaps restore his love for those who were heartbroken fifteen years ago: Wendy…and God. In the tradition of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Family Man,” What If… is a story of finding your true purpose in life.

auch wenn es dich verwundbar macht.

Achtsames Leben is nicht anders möglich

By Scott W:

“If someone has been kind, thank him or her today.
Yes, we can wait and buy that person dinner next week.
but how about writing an e-mail this afternoon or leaving
a message on a telephone answering machine telling how
much you appreciate the kind words or deeds?

We cannot show gratitude without sharing it with someone.
When we show our gratitude, it’s a way of sharing our joy
with that person. Even when we do something as simple
as burning a candle to show gratitude to God, it shares
our joy with everyone who sees the flame of the candle.
It strengthens their faith and reminds them to show
their gratitude, too.

Make showing and sharing your gratitude a part of
your life. If someone does something nice for you,
share your happiness with that person. Send a card
or make a phone call. If you believe that a prayer has
been answered by God, share your gratitude with God.
Tell someone, or thank God publicly at your worship service.
If you have had a victory in your recovery, show your gratitude
by sharing it with others in your group.
Then share your gratitude with them for the help they’ve given,too.

Demonstrate gratitude in your actions every day. Gratitude is
more than just a thought process and more than just a
Sunday-morning church activity. Demonstrate your gratitude
through your compassion, and your tolerance. Gratitude
strengthens and supports our relationships with God and
with other people. Make a commitment to show your
gratitude by sharing it with others whenever you have the opportunity.

We can show our gratitude for life in even our smallest actions.
Find a way to demonstrate your gratitude to the universe.
Feed the birds! Action gives life to ideas. When we start to look
for ways to show our gratitude, we will find more and more to be grateful for.

Gratitude is a form of self-expression that must be shared.
We cannot have an attitude of gratitude without having an
object of that gratitude.”

thank you Scott for these words

In working through repetitive conflicts, we begin to see our shadows and old baggage more clearly. There’s an old Zen story that makes this point very well:

It concerns an interesting “couple,” two monks who were walking in silence by a river at sunrise, early in the spring. Swollen with the melting snows, the river had overflowed its banks and swamped the small footbridge that was the only point of crossing for many miles.

A young woman, in much distress, stood forlornly by the swiftly running river, pleading with her eyes for the monks’ help. Sweeping her into his arms, the older monk bore her aloft through the swirling current and put her down safely on the other side. The two monks walked in silence until sunset, when the vows of their order allowed them to talk.

The younger monk then turned on his brother with unbridled fury. “How could you have picked that woman up!” he accused. His face grew red as he shook his fists at the older monk. “You, of all people, know the vows of our Order. It is forbidden even to think of a woman, let alone to touch one! You have defiled yourself. Indeed, you have shamed the entire Order!”

The elder monk turned to him complacently. “My brother,” he said. His eyes were soft with the wisdom of forgiveness. “I put that woman down on the other side of the river this morning. It is you who have been carrying her around all day.”                                                                                      (Joan Borysenko)