Today is not only my regular prayer group meeting, but it is also Ascension Thursday when our Saviour, Jesus Christ, rose to be with His Father after rising from the dead and spending time with His apostles and disciples...always thought of this as a good reminder to keep our minds and hearts looking upward instead of just around us.
"Every morning God gives us a blank sheet to create a story of ourself and the people and situations that come by. Be an author that writes with love and hope. "
Since this world is so full of tragedies and problems, one might question where our wonderful Creator is, amidst all this chaos, which we ourselves (unless we have NEVER done anything wrong or made any wrong choices) are directly and indirectly responsible for!!
God will never, never:
(But I don't suggest you do this to your local stop signs unless you like wearing black stripes...as in prison garb.)
A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders.The man says, 'A hamburger, fries and a coke,' and turns to the ostrich, 'What's yours?''I'll have the same,' says the ostrich.
I label this one:
"Every morning God gives us a blank sheet to create a story of ourself and the people and situations that come by. Be an author that writes with love and hope. "
Since this world is so full of tragedies and problems, one might question where our wonderful Creator is, amidst all this chaos, which we ourselves (unless we have NEVER done anything wrong or made any wrong choices) are directly and indirectly responsible for!!
Even though, we and our parents and theirs etc. etc. have caused this mess the world is in to come about, our Creator's love is ever obvious, even when we don't "feel" it.
In high school I was blessed with this awesome analogy told to us by a nun. Whenever you are questioning how God can "let" something happen in our lives that is tragic, it is important to remember that we have been blessed with free will by a loving Supreme Being.
She proceeded to ask us to imagine yourself flying around in a helicopter, just enjoying the scenery on a beautiful day. Your flight is going to take you above a crossroads in the countryside and, while you are well above it, you are close enough to see clearly what's going on down below.
There is a stop sign there, for one direction, but none the other way. Perhaps, due to carelessness (bad choices) someone has not trimmed the high hedges that somewhat block the view.
You now see two vehicles approaching the intersection at approximately the same time. In one of them you recognize three family members. In the other vehicle you see a couple of your best friends.
Some sort of distraction is occurring in both vehicles with each driver (the world is such a huge distraction from spirituality). You can tell that something tragic is about to happen and it breaks your heart...you call out, but they are distracted and can't hear you. So, too, God never wants or wills anything bad to happen but free will is both a curse (when we misuse it) and a blessing (when we do good things for others).
God will never, never:
(But I don't suggest you do this to your local stop signs unless you like wearing black stripes...as in prison garb.)
"Pray unceasingly..."
Here are some funnies:
Careful What We Ask For
A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders.The man says, 'A hamburger, fries and a coke,' and turns to the ostrich, 'What's yours?''I'll have the same,' says the ostrich.
A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.
The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, 'A hamburger, fries and a coke.'The ostrich says, 'I'll have the same.'Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.
This becomes routine until the two enter again. 'The usual?' asks the waitress.
'No, this is
Saturday so I will have a steak, baked potato and a salad,' says the man. 'Same,' says the ostrich. Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, 'That will be $32.62.' Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table. The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer.
'Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?
'Well,' says the man, 'several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.'
'That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!' 'That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,' says the man..
The waitress asks, 'What's with the ostrich?' The man sighs... pauses and answers, 'My second wish was for a chick with long legs and who agrees with everything I say.'
What does a Chinese chicken say?
Wok wok wok wok wok
I label this one:
MORE WRONG CHOICES
A man was out for a walk and saw a funeral procession. But this one was strange. There were two funeral cars... then a man and a dog walking behind them... then a very, very long line of people.
Curious, he went up to the man and asked, "who died?" The man answered "my mother-in-law and my wife" So then the man asked "if you don't mind me asking, how did they die? " The man answered "my dog killed them" The man thought for a moment then asked "Can I borrow your dog?" The man pointed behind him and said "Get in line"
~~~Thank you Lord for the awesome blessing of loving us and not wanting us to make any wrong choices, please keep us prayerful so that we make good decisions.
As usual this was so insightful and inspiring. This was especially helpful to me today because last night just before I went to sleep I saw something on TV about children being abused (a form of exorcism in the name of Jesus), people thought these toddlers were possessed and it was the saddest thing to see them abused in Our Savior's Name, babies being burnt and ostracized, and they were crying and looking around for help and no one stepped in to save them. It made me sick to my stomach and I just kept praying over and over as I went to sleep for God to not allow it.
ReplyDeleteSo thanks for this post today, Marcy, I needed it.
That last joke was mean...but very funny!!!!! And I loved your nun story Marcy, that was a great way to explain why sometimes bad things happen. I was telling Eileen that Ascension Thursday is one of my favorite church services. I've not missed one yet but I'm not sure about tonight.Hopefully!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring post Marcy ♥ Happy Ascension Thursday.
ReplyDeleteYou have just the right mix Marcy...serious inspiring words full of faith that make us think and light hearted words that make us smile...Take care!
ReplyDeleteYou always have a way of keeping me riveted to your words. Today is no exception! Thank you! Cathy
ReplyDeleteWow, you pack a lot in a post!
ReplyDeleteGlad I stopped by.
Ellie from Illinois