Feb 22 2009
Dear Friends and Readers,
I have decided to suspend updating this Blog — TrueQuotes.
I will be putting my efforts into my other Blog: God Family Crafts
It is my hope that you will visit God Family Crafts often, and also, that you will make plentiful use of the archives here at TrueQuotes.
Please check back from time-to-time and see if I have posted any special notices, and…
in the mean time - see you at God Family Crafts.
Peace be with you,
Ann
Feb 18 2009
To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
(from Ps 116)
When God asks for a sacrifice, we most likely think of something difficult, something we must give up, or something that will cause us a feeling of loss. We see sacrifice as negative.
But today’s scripture reading talks about a “sacrifice of praise”. How beautiful! How positive! What an opportunity!
How does this praise become a sacrifice. For a moment or an hour or even a day, we step outside ourselves. We remove ourselves from our selfishness and we give all our attention to the Lord God. In giving Him this attention we focus on His goodness. We praise Him for goodness. I praise Him for His generosity, for His kindness, for His everlasting love.
An then the lines begin to blur and we realize that we praise Him because He is Love, He is All Goodness. Can we praise God without also thanking Him? No, so we thank him for his gifts and goodness to us.
To You Lord, I offer this time, these words, this work — as my sacrifice of Praise. I also praise you Lord for all the generous gifts you have given me, for all your kindness and care. I see now, Lord that your sacrifice for us, was also a sacrifice of praise to God the Father, and that you have done this willingly, and that your Sacrifice on the cross is Positive. It fills each of your people with the joy of salvation and with the desire to offer You a sacrifice of praise!
Jan 14 2009
“Pray without ceasing.”
The life of a mother is sometimes a very creative way of praying. I’m sure you will agree!
Jan 13 2009
Lying is done with words and also with silence.
– Adrienne Rich
How true, how true! The sin of omission, it is sometimes called. But that covers many things including our resposibilities. But to omit to tell the whole story…lying. To omit to correct a wrong impression given by another…hmmm, lying. To be silent when great wrongs are being committed, when the truth should be known…lying.
Rich has tapped into a dangerous area of our communication - the silence when there is need to talk. Silence when there is need to speak. Silence when there is a need for words.
To be silent when the truth needs to be told is…lying.
Jan 12 2009
Be sincere; be brief; be seated.
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Well I really like this quote, and I think I will be taking this advice the next time I am called upon to speak in public. So often we attend an event to see something, to visit with someone, or celebrate an occasion, and we find a person taking the stage and making a speech or an announcement! There have been times when I have had to do an introduction, and I try to observe FDR’s advice. After all, the guests didn’t come to stand around and listen — and while a little of this (standing around, listening) is okay, there are better things to do!
Jan 11 2009
Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.
– May Sarton
Nobody likes to be lonely. Cultivating a friendship with oneself and one’s own interests could be the first step in conquering loneliness. In today’s world this might be difficult with all the outside distractions we have. If we live in a home that has the television on at all times, or the radio or other music, it would be hard to cultivate this friendship with oneself.
Solitude on the other hand has a ring of appeal to it. Even the word is peaceful. Solitude is something we seek, and sometimes we find it. Sarton calls it a “richness of self”. It is our reward for having worked on our relationship with the person closest to us - ourselves.
Here’s my wish for you: richness of self.
Jan 10 2009
We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.
Maxwell Maltz
Each thing we undertake, each project we set out to do has an end goal. It is these end goals that that we pursue, it is for these that we willingly confront obstacles, in order to come to a successful end. Something as simple as writing a letter may present obstacles – finding the time, how to express oneself, who to write to and what to write about. When all is done, we have a feeling of accomplishment, happiness and satisfaction. We have reached our end goal and we feel empowered.
Of course, the real goals can be much bigger and end in a feeling of greater satisfaction. Whether it painting a room for the first time, making homemade bread with success, or changing a flat time. All present obstacle, all have end goals, all yield satisfaction.
Jan 09 2009
The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.
– Joe Ancis
Just think of it! Each and every one of us may look “normal” to others - those on the outside. But just like we know that we are not normal, (boring… who wants to be normal?!) it should be obvious by the transitive property of mathematics. If it applies to one, it applies to all.
Seriously, folks, normal is only a state of mind, and what we don’t see we don’t figure into the equation. This is why we roll our eyes more at family and relative, and maybe are even more willing to tolerate the quirks of others. Then again, we don’t have to be around them all the time either.
Jan 08 2009
I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.
– Xenocrates
The mouth is the source of much trouble, many problems. Not only do we, as humans, have the tendency to eat too much, and sometimes drink too much, but often we say too much. It is an age-old problem. It is one that could be a problem for us today, or maybe it was yesterday, or maybe it will be tomorrow.
So how is it that we speak then regret, but rarely remain silent and regret it? Perhaps we need to stop, think and decide if what we have to say is the right thing to say at that moment. Being impulsive is what causes one to speak before thinking. It can happen to any of us, but with practice, we can speak only when me really mean to.
Jan 07 2009
The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get
the urge to throw a snowball.
– Doug Larson
Well, if this is all I need for assurance that I am not getting too old, too fast, then I’m okay.
The sticky snowman snow, that my young daughter has been asking for, is finally here. As we pushed the Christmas Tree our the door today, in came a bit of snow. We scooped it up, and sure enough it stuck together. Within moments, she had thrown the snowball, as befits her age.
When I am outside with some of my older children, I have to say that the urge catches me too. Or perhaps it is my husband who get the snowball — up near the collar is always good.
I began wondering if there are other childish signs, whose grasp upon us, show that we are not aging too fast. What about climbing a tree? Sound good to me.
