A Daily Devotional

[ckfmem]

My mother shared this daily devotional with me this morning. I wanted to share it with the forum members as I feel it fits in our lives perfectly. I believe we are on a walk like none other and prayer is a sustaining factor. Hope you all find it uplifting.

Keep the instruction of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn yourself.

1 Kings 2:3

When you pray, wait for the Lord. This means to look for, to expect, and to hope in God. This isn't a passive state of mind, but one of expectancy.

Tell Him, "God, I have hope in You. I believe that You are working on my problems. I believe that You are making arrangements for my day. You are posting angels everywhere throughout my walk, everywhere along my path where You already know I am going to walk today. Thank You, Lord, that You are a pioneer who has already gone before me and made a way for me to have a blessed day."

[TeyandTy's Mom]

Thank you Celeste!

I needed this today...more than you know! How suiting for your current situation.

The angels are definately all around us.

Sabrina

[the wilders]

I know that most of us at least have some idea about both our BP and BF- thanks to the wonderful job the Abrazo girls do but I was sent this email from a friend and thought I would share---

Who's Your Daddy?

David Langerfeld

Mar 29, 2006

"Who's Your Daddy?"

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here."

But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice. "Oklahoma," they answered.

"Great to have you here in Tennessee." the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?"

"I teach at a seminary." he replied. "Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great... Just what I need... another preacher story!"

The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's Your Daddy?'

Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's Your Daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.

When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's Your Daddy?'. But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, Who's Your Daddy?'

The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your Daddy'. This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy...

'Wait a minute!' he said. 'I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.' He patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'

With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of God'." The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great story!

As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?"

The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they are one of God's children! "For you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father'. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit, that we are God's children." (Romans 8:15-16

This touched my heart- hope it does yours as well!

Ashley

[Stork Central]

A beautiful message for the day, from Rabbi Harold Kushner, who wrote "When Good Things Happen to Bad People" after suffering through his own loss of his young son, gone too soon.

When I was congressional Rabbi here at Temple Israel, I would deal with so many people who could not forgive their parents for the mistakes they made raising them and for so many people who could not forgive themselves for the mistakes they made raising their children. You see, children are convinced that they need perfect parents to make it through childhood.

We don't do our children any favors by trying to be perfect, by never admitting we have made a mistake. By never confessing that we are wrong. If they think we are perfect, they will feel like failures when they find out they are not perfect themselves. Look at all those people whose stories we read in the Bible. There is Abraham who mistreated both of his wives and almost killed both of this children. There is King David who had an affair with a married woman and arranged to have her husband murdered for his convenience. And these are the good guys. And what we learn from that, is you can be an awfully good person without being a perfect one. And you can be a wonderful parent without being a perfect parent.

Children think they need perfect parents to survive childhood, but they are wrong. Parents think they deserve perfect children and they are wrong too. Parents have this idea sometimes that children are not a brand new generation. Children represent a chance to live their life over again and maybe get it right this time. When you have a child, you start to dream of how this kid will grow up and make you proud. The only thing you can predict with 100% certainty is that the reality will diverge somehow from that dream. Some of our children will disappoint us by not being the scholars we hoped they would be. Some children will disappoint us by not being the athletes we hoped they would be. Some will disappoint us by coming out and telling us they are gay and they won't give us grandchildren. Some of our children will disappoint us by moving far from home when they finish college and we never see them. And some will disappoint us by moving back home when they finish college. The real question is not, what book can I read, what technique can I use to raise a perfect child? The real question is how will you handle that gap between the child you dreamt of having and the real child growing up in your home.

What have I learned from traveling around the country, telling my story to audiences and having them tell their stories to me? What I have learned is that any religion, if you do it wrong, will leave people feeling condemned and dismissed and unworthy and any religion, if you do it right, will leave people feeling cleansed and affirmed. If I am not stretching a metaphor too far by describing myself as a rabbi embarked on a crusade, my crusade is to make sure that people see religion in a second light and not just the first.

I want to expand on the notion of forgiveness because it is something a lot of us have trouble with. We have trouble forgiving people who have hurt us or disappointed us because we think forgiveness means approval. Excusing, say it is ok. It wasn't so bad. Are we not prepared to say that? I want to give you a different way of understanding what it means to forgive somebody. Not as a sign of weakness and concession, but as indication of strength.

Some years ago on Yom Kippur, on the Jewish Day of Atonement, I gave a sermon in Temple Israel about the importance of forgiving people in our lives. The next morning I got a phone call from a woman in the congregation, very upset with me because of the sermon. She had to talk to me about it. She came in, she looked up at me and said, "Rabbi, ten years ago my husband walked out on me and the kids, ran off with a younger girlfriend. For ten years I have had to hold two jobs to pay the bills. For ten years I have had to tell my kids there was no money to go to the movies. You want me to forgive him for what he did to us?"

I said, "Yes, I want you to forgive him. Not to excuse him, not to say it was ok. Sounds like it was a very selfish thing to do. I want you to forgive him as a way of saying, he has no right to live inside your head any more than he has a right to live inside your house. I want you to be able to say that this guy does not deserve power to define you as a rejected woman. Why are you giving him that power?" I said to her, "Look. Look what you have been doing for been standing in Natick holding a hot coal in your hand, waiting for your ex-husband to come buy so you could throw it at him. For the last ten years he has been living in New Jersey and you haven't hurt him at all, but you have burnt your hand in the process. Can you understand forgiveness is a favor you do yourself, not a favor you do the other person. Forgiveness is something you can do when you are strong enough to let go. When you are strong enough to say, you, because of what you did to me, don't deserve the power to be the ghost inside my head."

[mwalker]

That IS a beautiful message and one that is so inspiring. It could not have been more timely! And it's so true. I had read something similar and tell myself in those situations that I should not let some folks live rent free in my head!!

[TomCol1325]

Knowing that we have hit a rough patch with our birthmother, my principal went in search of a prayer for me. She turned to St. Gerard who is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Although I am not Catholic (though I teach at a Catholic school) this prayer really touched me, and the thougtfulness of my principal made my heart swell. She promised she would say it with me every day until the arrival of our child. I wanted to share it with everyone:

O good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor before the throne of God, wonder-worker of our day, I call upon you and seek your help. While on earth, you always fulfulled God's designs; help me, too, always do God's holy will. Beseech the master of life, from whom all parenthood proceeds, to bless me with offspring, that I may raise up children to God in this life and heirs to the Kingdom of God's glory in the life to come.

Amen

[TheEnglishes]

Knowing that we have hit a rough patch with our birthmother, my principal went in search of a prayer for me. She turned to St. Gerard who is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Although I am not Catholic (though I teach at a Catholic school) this prayer really touched me, and the thougtfulness of my principal made my heart swell. She promised she would say it with me every day until the arrival of our child. I wanted to share it with everyone:

O good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor before the throne of God, wonder-worker of our day, I call upon you and seek your help. While on earth, you always fulfulled God's designs; help me, too, always do God's holy will. Beseech the master of life, from whom all parenthood proceeds, to bless me with offspring, that I may raise up children to God in this life and heirs to the Kingdom of God's glory in the life to come.

Amen

Coleen, I love this prayer! I have it and say it often. I was raised Catholic and I wear a St. Gerard medallion that is very special to me. That was so sweet of you principal. Thank you for sharing this with all of us! You, Tom and your birthfamily are in our prayers.

[TheEnglishes]

I just received this in an email and although I've seen it before it really made more sense to me today than ever before. Amazing how these messages happen!

DANCING WITH GOD

When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance at the

end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead

and to guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,

please share this message with someone else,

for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive.

There is no cost but a lots of rewards;

so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance

Edited October 4, 2006 by TheEnglishes

[laura taylor]

What a beautiful picture - perfect for this rainy, autumn day

Thank you for sharing - Laura

[TKSingh]

I just received this in an email and although I've seen it before it really made more sense to me today than ever before. Amazing how these messages happen!

DANCING WITH GOD

When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance at the

end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.

One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness,

and attentiveness from one person

and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G: I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday.

May you abide in God as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead

and to guide you through each season of your life.

This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.

If God has done anything for you in your life,

please share this message with someone else,

for prayer is one of the best gifts we can receive.

There is no cost but a lots of rewards;

so let's continue to pray for one another.

And I Hope You Dance

What an awesome message! I am saving this one and framing it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kathy

[ElizabethAnn]

Thank you, Kathy, for a beautiful message that so many of us needed today! (and everyday to follow.) As you head to court to get legal recognition of the family you've already become, I celebrate your journey and that little girl who's sure to inspire you to dance through life from this day forward!

[TheEnglishes]

I enjoyed this and hope you will too.

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back

1. Time

2. Words

3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person

1. Anger

2. Pride

3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose

1. Hope

2. Peace

3. Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable

1. Love

2. Family & Friends

3. Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain

1. Fortune

2. Success

3. Dreams

Three things that make a person

1. Commitment

2. Sincerity

3. Hard work

Three things that are truly constant

Father - Son - Holy Spirit

I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today; to guide you and

protect you, as you go along your way. God's love is always with you,

God's promises are true. And when you give God all your cares, you

know God will see you through.