Happy and/or Thankful Prayer Day and an Award

There seem to be a lot of bloggers who "take off" for the week-end or do short posts, so I didn't post yesterday even though I could have squeezed it in (after spending 5 long hours outdoors helping at the HOA picnic!)...then I thought, hmmm...it's Sunday, how about something nice about happy and/or thankful prayer? The Holy bible is chock full of references about the need and value of prayer. It also reminds us that we should be grateful and happy prayers (or prayOrs? or people of prayer) even if our situations may not be so happy due to stress, concerns, strife, illness, finances etc. etc.

Hard to do...you bet! Impossible...nope! Just refocus...like a picture of a happy little angel child praying...

Or an adult smiling beside a prayerful whimsical figure.....

Look for happy and thankful thoughts and they will come to you while praying. Put images of a happy resolution in your prayer, with everyone smiling. Thanking God for all the blessings you have received even as you ask His help or guidance is a great way to have happy and meaningful prayer. Sometimes it takes baby steps to get to constant happy or thank filled prayer, but it can be done. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have failed at this, but it gets better and easier.

Incredible as it may seem, the times in my life (and they have included severe medical problems, deaths, financial disasters and unfair and very hurtful accusations...to name a few) I have realized that THOSE times I most needed to thank God for all the good times that I kind of forgot about till the rough stuff knocked me off my feet! So, even after I lost my beloved husband Mario, I would always and still do say thank You, thank You, thank You, dear God that I did have him and that I was so blessed, even as I was crying my eyes out.

So, maybe, just maybe, today would be a good day to thank first, smile first, then ask your Creator for what you need or are having a problem resolving in any way.

In closing, I would like to tell you about another award that I have been blessed with by Jackie @Teacher's Pet. These award things only humble me (seriously)because I know that I am just a work in progress, sometimes a pretty lumpy piece of clay at that, but I DO want to be that better person and that uplifting person. Most of all, I pray that this awesome world becomes so much better, one kindness, one prayer and one smile at a time...knowing the wonderful people in blogland, my village, it is so doable!!!

I don't even know the 'rules' here as Jackie didn't give me any rules...so I'm pretty much rule-less here as well as clueless. Psst...Jackie...what now...are there any rules??? Do I sing or dance (I did both as a little three year old and my poor mother had to pull me out of the aisle in church!!!)?

May God bless and be with all of you in every way everyday!

The Sunday Funnies:

Why did the cows go to church?They heard there was a new pasture!

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A very small female janitor (4’10’, 90 pounds) worked at an amusement park and was told to go out and sweep up the trash.As she was getting ready to start cleaning up her supervisor noticed her putting rocks in her pockets.When the supervisor asked her what she was doing, she said, “It’s very windy out there and I’ll get knocked over by the wind… So, now I weigh me down to sweep.”

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A Minnesota couple decided to vacation to Florida during the winter. They planned to stay at the very same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules.

So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday. His wife would fly down the following day.The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile.....somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister of many years who was called home to glory following a sudden heart attack. The widow decided to check her e-mail, expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've Arrived

Date: 16 May 2009

I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send e-mails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is not as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is hot down here!

~~~Thank You Heavenly Father, for the blessings of the many ways of prayer that You have shown me through so many wonderful people.