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Dayzee's Food For the Soul

  
(Page 120 of 125: Viewing entries 1191 to 1200)  
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Wed Jan 25, '12 4:35pm PST 
Butterfly Attack

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia , I saw a water puddle ahead on the path.

I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly attacked!

Yet I did nothing for the attack was so unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected.

I was startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt, it was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again.

He rammed me in the chest with his head and body, striking me over and over again with all his might, still to no avail.

For a second time, I retreated a step while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat a third time. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a
butterfly. This time, though, I stepped back several paces to look the situation over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where he landed. Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to attack me for his mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her.

Now I knew why and what he was fighting for. There was really only one option left for me. I carefully made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was only inches wide and
extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed. left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.

Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge obstacles facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Thu Jan 26, '12 6:24am PST 
Open the Rose

A beautiful story/poem with a meaning we should all listen to...

A young, new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day and feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was inquiring of the older preacher. The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.

The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the WILL OF GOD for his life and for his ministry. Because of his high respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to TRY to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact...It wasn't long before he realized how it was impossible to do so.

Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud while keeping it intact, the older preacher began to tell the following poem...

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of GOD's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.
The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they fade and die.
If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of GOD's design,
Then how can I think I have wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?
So I'll trust in Him for His leading
Each moment of every day.
I will look to Him for His guidance
Each step of the pilgrim way.
The pathway that lies before me,
Only my heavenly Father knows.
I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Fri Jan 27, '12 9:26am PST 
One Day

A beautiful reminder about just how generous and loving God is smile


If God gave us only one day of life, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one springtime or fall, one summer or winter, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one day of laughter, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one beautiful meal, beautifully served in a secure home, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one friend to share the journey of time, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one child, sound in mind and body, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one storm that left us unharmed, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one day for a good time with friends, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one talent for creating beauty, it would have been generous.
If God let us laugh only once in the face of calamity, it would have been generous.
If God gave us only one moment's pride in the success of those we love, it would have been generous.

But God has given us life and time, joy and sorrow,
sunshine and storms, laughter and tears,
gifts to share and days to remember.
God has given us friends and lovers, children and parents,
you and me, and Himself as well.

It is God who gives us life,
who tells us ever after to choose life,
God who is our resurrection and our hope,
who dwells within our hearts as the spirit of life,
the vanquisher of death,
and the comforter of the afflicted.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Mon Jan 30, '12 7:47am PST 
If I Were the Devil
Reading this really makes you reflect on the current way things are in the world. Let's always keep Jesus in our decisions to help back against the devil.

------

If I were the Devil I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a law suit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young;

I would get sports heroes to take on the job to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family, the backbone of any nation;

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable.....If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would try to convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

Paul Harvey.............Good Day.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Tue Jan 31, '12 7:36am PST 
Facing Trials Like a Blacksmith
The next time you face a trial in life, remember this story:

You perhaps recall the story of the blacksmith who gave his heart to God. Though conscientious in his living, still he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that from the time of his conversion more trouble, affliction and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed to be going wrong.

One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped at the little gorge to talk to him. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials, the friend said "It seems strange to me that so much affliction should pass over you just at the time when you have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here you are, God's help and guidance, and yet things seem to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why it is."

The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he said "You see here the raw iron which I have to make into horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more. And this I do until it is finished."

"But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe."

He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of his shop. "When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be good for anything."

He went on, "I know that God has been holding me in the fires of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so, in all these hard things my prayer is simply this: Try me in any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap."
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Mon Feb 20, '12 5:25am PST 
Have Enormous Faith in Jesus

"Elisha said, 'Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few.' " 2 Kings 4:3 (NIV)

How big is your God? That's a silly question. He's as big as ever. He's the God who created the world, parted seas, raised the dead, paid for our salvation with his Son's life. Maybe a better question is, How big is your faith in your God? Yesterday I spent time praying over various needs—mine, my family's, my loved ones', the world's. As I laid concerns at Jesus' feet, I yearned for a reminder that He would be as big—if not bigger—than what I hoped for.

And then this morning I read the story from 2 Kings 4:1-7 of the poor woman and her oil jars. It spoke directly to my prayers. Elisha knew absolutely that he served the limitless God. I love how he instructed the woman to collect jars and then added, "Don't ask for just a few." He knew that God would provide beyond what the woman knew to ask for. The oil flowed until the woman and her sons ran out of jars—which leads me to assume it would have kept flowing if they had collected ten times as many jars!

Many generations later Jesus met another desperate woman with great big faith. (See Luke 8:43-48.) She had been sick for twelve years, but she knew that all she needed for complete restoration was to draw close enough to touch his robe. She didn't need a specific prayer formula, educated words, impressive skills, the right look. Nope. A little bit of Jesus was enough for her need. Imagine how much more fulfillment a whole lot of Jesus brings.

Tap into His limitless resources, draw close and let Him keep nourishing your faith.

Faith step: Ask Jesus to make your faith as big as He is, not merely as big as your logic.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Mon Feb 20, '12 5:29am PST 
How to Give and Get Respect
The secret to gaining esteem from others is found in Jesus' Word.

By Norman Vincent Peale

One of the deepest desires of human nature is to be well thought of, respected, loved. How do you gain the esteem of others? Jesus tells us the secret in John 13:34: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Here’s how to gain the respect you crave:

Give esteem, respect and love to other people.
In this life we only get back what we give. Give hate to the world and you will receive hate. Cultivate an attitude of superiority and you will be treated with an attitude of superiority. Practice feelings of prejudice and ill will and contempt and that is what you will get back. The whole universe is an echo cavern. What you send out reverberates back to you. That is what Christianity teaches. “A new commandment I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). That is the smartest, shrewdest, most subtle formula for abundant living that ever was created.

Never let people upset you.
If somebody is rude to you, bothers you, does something unjust to you, you have to be the kind of person who won't let himself become upset. If you can do this, gradually you will win over the people who have been attacking you, annoying you. You will gain their respect. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is a great thing and, with God’s help, you can do it. “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Put other people’s needs on a par with your own.
This is what Christ meant by loving your neighbor as yourself. Philippians 2:3-4 admonishes us to “in humility consider others” and to look “to the interests of others.”If you do this, amazing pathways of service will open up to you. You may run into opposition. You may be laughed at. But the rewards of meeting a need, of righting a wrong, of improving your world far outweigh the possible risks or hazards.

If we will do our part, God stands ready to do his. But he doesn't go where he's not invited. So the last and most important bit of advice I have to offer is three simple words: Ask him in. If you do, you will be blessed. And if you share this blessing with others, you will be loved…and respected.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Tue Feb 21, '12 7:09am PST 
Experience Grace

I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted study time right before the final in my Youth Issues class. When I got to class, everybody was doing their last minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us for just a little bit before the test. We went through the review, most of it right on the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that I had never heard of. When questioned about it, he said that they were in the book and we were responsible for everything in the book. We couldn't really argue with that.

Finally it was time to take the test.

"Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one and I'll tell you to start," our professor instructed.

When we turned them over, every answer on the test was filled in! The bottom of the last page said the following:

"This is the end of the Final Exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an 'A' on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced...grAce."

He then went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"

Now I am not a crier by any stretch of the imagination, but I had to fight back tears when answering those questions and thinking about how the Creator has passed the test for me.

Discussion afterward went like this: "I have tried to teach you all semester that you are a recipient of grace. I've tried to communicate to you that you need to demonstrate this gift as you work with young people.

Don't hammer them; they are not the enemy. Help them, for they will carry on your ministry if it is full of GRACE!"

Talking about how some of us had probably studied hours and some just a few minutes, but had all received the same grade, he pointed to a story Jesus told in Matthew 20. The owner of a vineyard hired people to work in his field and agreed to pay them a certain amount. Several different times during the day, he hired more workers. When it was time to pay them, they all received the same amount. When the ones who had been hired first thing in the morning began complaining, the boss said, "Should you be angry because I am kind?" (Matthew 20:15).

The teacher said he had never done this kind of final before and probably would never do it again, but because of the content of many of our class discussions, he felt like we needed to experience grace.

Have you thanked your Creator today because of the grace you have experienced?
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Thu Feb 23, '12 8:52am PST 
Through the Eyes of Children

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children!

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
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♥- Dayzee- ♥

I got THE- power!! Jesus.
 
 
Purred: Thu Feb 23, '12 9:11am PST 
The Lap of God

A little gray kitten taught me a valuable lesson on drawing closer to God.

By Oleeta J. Takao, Birmingham, Alabama

I used to have trouble keeping my mind from wandering and from worrying about my problems during my morning meditations. No matter how hard I tried my quiet time would have stressful moments where I couldn't feel God's comfort. Then one day when I was feeling restless and cranky I heard our silver kitten crying at my feet.

I tried to pick him up and put him in my lap where I could soothe him, but he would have none of it. He shrieked and scratched, then squirmed from my grasp. I was annoyed. Doesn't he see, I thought, that I want to comfort him?

Then a small voice seemed to answer: It's like you and God. He wants to hold you to comfort you, but sometimes you are so frantic that He cannot.

After that, I decided to try a little exercise during my daily prayer time. I began envisioning myself crawling up into God's lap. As I snuggled close to Him, I felt His strong arms enfold me. Then, taking a deep breath, I imagined that the power of God was flowing into my body. If a worry came to mind, I leaned my head against His great heart and listened. Slowly all the distortions in my thinking began to dissolve.

At last, I felt the unity with God that I had been seeking.
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  (Page 120 of 125: Viewing entries 1191 to 1200)  
[First 10 entry] Page Links:  112  113  114  115  116  117  118  119  120  121  122  123  124  125  [Last 10 entry]