Inspiration Shared By Lady Braids

Inspiration On 04/29/11

 

“He went into the hills to pray.”  Mark 6:46

What does Jesus do while we are in the storm? You’ll love this.
He prays for us . . .

So where does that leave us? While Jesus is praying and we
are in the storm, what are we to do? Simple. We do what
the disciples did. We row . . .

Much of life is spent rowing . . . Getting out of bed.
Fixing lunches . . . 

More struggle than strut.

 -- Max Lucado Daily: We Row

 

 

Inspiration On 04/28/11

A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday
evening on "The Love of God."

On that day as the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through
the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the
altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First
of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands,
then the marks of the spear wound and then the two wounded feet.

In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel.

There was nothing else to say.

 -- Author Unknown

Inspiration On 04/27/11

Teachers and health care workers are all taught to be alert for
scars that indicate child or elder abuse. But many pass by unnoticed
because the scars that don't show can be carried on the inside of
a person. Proverbs 12:18 says, "There is one who speaks like the
piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health."
Spoken abuse can pierce like a sword and leave scars that most
don't see.

Words can hurt and damage or they can soothe, encourage and heal.
They can rob us of confidence and make us feel small and unimportant.
Children brought up in a home where words were used carelessly know
very well the hurt and damage they can do and still carry their scars.

But words can also promote health. Words of love, encouragement and
endearment give us strength and confidence. They can make us feel
valuable and loved. Those are the words we need to hear and those are
the ones we need to be speaking to each other and our children.

A word fitly spoken will never be a wasted word.

 -- Sharon Paxton - Guidewords

Inspiration On 04/26/11

Worship is a universal urge, hard-wired by God into every fibre of our
being - it's as natural as breathing. If we fail to worship God we always
find a substitute, even if it ends up being ourselves. The reason we were
made this way is because, "the Father seeks... worshippers" (Jn 4:23
NASB). Depending on your religious background, you may need to expand
your understanding of worship. For example:

(1) Worship's far more than music. Some folks say, "At our church we have
the worship first, then the teaching." No, it's all done for God's glory!
If worship's just music, then what about all those poor souls who can't
carry a tune in a bucket?

(2) Worship's not a style. The music style you prefer says more about
you, than it does about God. One group's music style usually sounds like
"noise" to another. But not to God - He loves variety so He enjoys it
all.

(3) Worship's not for your benefit. When you say, "I didn't get anything
out of the worship today," you worshipped for the wrong reason. Sure
there are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves.
Our motive should be to glorify God - in whatever we do!

(4) Worship isn't confined to church. Martin Luther said, "A dairymaid
can milk cows to the glory of God." The secret of true worship is doing
everything "as unto the Lord." Listen: "Take your everyday, ordinary life
- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and
place it before God as an offering" (Ro 12:1 TM). Then you're a
worshipper!

 -- from "The Word for Today"

Inspiration On 04/25/11

One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes
us feel so helpless.  We are so accustomed to relying upon words
to manage and control others .  If we are silent, who will take
control?  God will take control; but we will never let Him take
control until we trust him.

Silence is intimately related to trust.

  -- Richard J. Foster

Inspiration On 04/22/11

The resurrection cannot be tamed or tethered by any utilitarian
test. It is a vast watershed in history, or it is nothing. It
cannot be tested for truth; it is the test of lesser truths. No
light can be thrown on it; its own light blinds the investigator.
It does not compel belief; it resists it. But once accepted as
fact, it tells more about the universe; about history, and about
man's state and fate than all the mountains of other facts in the
human accumulation.

 -- Life Magazine

Inspiration On 04/21/11

Hang on to the world as it spins around
Just don't let the spin get you down 

Things are moving fast
Hold on tight and you will last 

Keep your self respect, your manly pride 
Get yourself in gear
Keep your stride

Never mind your fears
Brighter days will soon be here 

Take it from me, someday we'll all be free, yeah 

Keep on walking tall
Hold your head up high
Lay your dreams right up to the sky 

Sing your greatest song
And you'll keep going, going on 

Take it from me, someday we'll all be free 

Hey, just wait and see, some day we'll all be free

It won't be long, take it from me, someday we'll all be free
 
 -- Written by Edward Howard
     Sung by Donny Hathaway

Inspiration On 04/20/11

A young nurse was assisting a surgeon for the first time. As he was
completing the operation, she told him he had used 12 sponges, but she
could account for only 11.

The doctor curtly replied that he had removed them all from inside the
patient. The nurse insisted that one was missing, but the doctor
declared he would proceed with sewing up the incision.

The nurse, her eyes blazing, said, "You can't do that! Think of the
patient!"

The doctor smiled and, lifting his foot, showed the nurse the twelfth
sponge, which he had deliberately dropped on the floor. "You'll do
fine!" he said. He had been testing her.

Pray for strength to stand up for your convictions.

-- Our Daily Bread, September 30, 2003

Inspiration On 04/19/11

One young man acquired a job in a grocery store. On the first day of
work, the manager handed him a broom and said, "I want you to sweep
the floor."

Stunned, the new employee said, "But I'm a college graduate!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the boss, "I didn't know. Here then, give me
the broom and I'll show you how."

He wouldn't stoop that low! He had risen above sweeping. But one of
life's peculiar lessons is that in occasionally lowering ourselves we
find true contentment. We sometimes believe that if we can only rise
to a particular standard of living, or if we can rise above a certain
income level, or as­cend to a certain educational level that we will
be happy. But we are never all that happy until we learn the values of
simplicity and service. It's a matter also of lower­ing ourselves --
learning how to stoop!

It is as if life's gifts are all on shelves, one above the other. But
the greatest gifts are on the lowest shelves, one beneath the other.
So it is by stooping lower, always going down, that we get the best
gifts!

 -- Steve Goodier

Inspiration On 04/18/11

 

There were four clergymen who were discussing the merits of the various
translations of the Bible. One liked the King James Version because of
its poetically beautiful English.

Another liked the American Revised Version best because it is more
literal and came nearer to the original Hebrew and Greek.

Still another liked New International Version because of its up-to-date
vocabulary.

The fourth minister was silent. when asked to express his opinion, he
finally replied, "I like my mother's translation best."

The other three expressed surprise. They did not know that his mother
had translated the Bible.

But he assured them, "She translated it into life, every day of her
life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw."

-- Author Unknown