The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Oh, what a comfort! Oh, what a joy!  To know that we God’s people will be blessed with peace.  And how do we cash in on this offer — by truly Heart, Mind, Soul and Body becoming “his people”!  We do this with our thought words and actions.  We do this by the way we treat others. We do this by the way we remember God.

Yes, the Lord will bless us with peace,but first we must deserve it and be blessed by taking up the challenge to be his people!

Peace be with you,

Ann

Ps 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10

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

 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!

 

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

– Ps. 32

Where can you go to help when there seems to be no help?  To the Lord.  Even if we do not get an answer to our immedicate need, we can be reminded of the Joy of our Salvation!  Salvation is available to each and every one of us, and this very fact should bring us consolation.

Who else might we turn to?  In time of trouble we might turn to our parents, to our children, to other family members, and of course, to our spouse. Sometimes these people have things to offer us — advice, consolation - but often the problems are bigger (or seems bigger) than their help.  The place we can get God-sized help for Big troubles is with God the Lord.

His ever-present Love and help, His ever-present promise of salvation can bring us joy. Indeed, should bring us joy. Let us resolve to bring out troubles to Him, that He might fill us with the renewed JOY of our salvation.

Peace be with you.

Changes Coming !!

And YOU can help me make them!

I will be calling my Blog the same name, but my focus will change somewhat.

The format for benefits for today.com has changed and I want to focus my readership on readers who will:

•  know what to expect and
• will come back daily to find inspiration.

I am more than interested in your comments and requests. E-mail me at stouts@nhvt.net or send a comment to this page.  In particular, I would like to know what my  readers would like to see stay the same, and what new things they would like to see

** If you don’t see changes before Jan 22, then come back Feb 1st. I will be in Rome during that time, with limited computer access.  I will pray for you all.

The same with my other blog, God, Family, Crafts  but you may enjoy reading the archives there!

Peace be with you,

Ann

“Pray without ceasing.”

The life of a mother is sometimes a very creative way of praying. I’m sure you will agree!

1. Lord Jesus, may everything glorify You!
2. Whew! thank you Lord that that glass of milk didn’t spill.
3. Our Father who art in Heaven….
4. How am I supposed to handle this, God?
5. They’re late getting home … please protect them Jesus.
6. I’m going to get my [heavenly] reward for this, right? (not sure if that is really a prayer
7. Lord God, your creation is wonderful
8. Thank you God for giving me this opportunity to lift someone up
9. Forgive me Lord.
10. Thank you Lord for forgivng me
11. God, give me strength
12. Jesus I love you!
13. Help me keep my patience, Lord
14. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost…”
15. Non-traditional prayer: changing a diaper, getting breakfast and lunch for a child, reading a book aloud when you’d rather be sewing
16. Help me Lord to get rid of some of this junk so I can spend more time and attention on you.
17. Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen.
18. By observing the wonder of a child developing, and knowing it comes from God.
19. By spending wholesome time with family
20. By attending Holy Mass, or making a visit to the Eucharist
21. By teaching a child about God

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.

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!

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.

 

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.