SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS

Here's another poem from the book I quoted from last week. There is a lot of good stuff in that old book. Hubby used illustrations from it in his sermons for many years. Now he uses poems from it in his blog from time to time.

You Never Can Tell

You never can tell when you send a word

        Like an arrow shot from a bow

by an archer blind, be it cruel or kind,

        Just where it may chance to go.

It may pierce the breast of your dearest friend,

       Tipped with its poison or balm,

To a stranger's heart in life's great mart

       It may carry its pain or its calm.

You never can tell when you do an act

       Just what the result will be,

Bu with every deed you are sowing a seed,

       Though the harvest you may not see,

Each kindly act is an acorn dropped

       In God's productive soil;

You may not know, but the tree shall grow

       With shelter for those who toil.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do

       In bringing you hate or love,

For thoughts are things, and their airy wings

       Are swifter than carrier doves.

They follow the law of the universe--

       Each thing must create its kind,

And they speed o'er the track to bring you back

       Whatever went out from your mind.

          Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Today for Spiritual Sundays I would like to share a poem with you from an old old book that we have had forever. It's called Poems that Touch the Heart. This one is called Thank You, God.

Thank You, God

Life can hold such lovely things!

Apple-blossom-scented springs;

Purple mist of haze and heather;

Books to read in stormy weather.

Common as a cooky jar,

Things I hold the dearest are:

A small white house, a small brown dog;

Sunlight breaking through a fog!

And as sweet as summer rain,

Understanding after pain.

Life holds all these lovely things.

Thank you, God, for all it brings.

                Nina Stiles

To the things listed in this poem, I want to add my thanks for my blogging friends.

Thank you, God, for each friend I have made in the blogging world.

Charlotte

Be sure to visit Spiritual Sundays for links to more spiritual/inspirational posts. That blog was created for people like you would would like to share your thoughts with others. You are invited and encouraged to participate each week.

ANDY ROONEY AND PRAYER

Andy Rooney says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for
singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't
go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of
Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because
someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big
deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts.
They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety
to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America , a country founded on
Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches
outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect --
somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a
Jewish prayer...

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim
prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone
pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome .....

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to
pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking
too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom.
Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell
thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a
football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our
courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us
to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to
pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are
telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one
or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't
care what they want. It is time that the majority
Rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to
say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend
services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but
by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are
fighting back, and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... Especially those who denounce Him , God
bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of
all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray
and worship God.

Let's make 2009 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God
back as the foundation of our families and institutions .. And our military
forces come home from all the wars.

Keep looking up.

JESUS SHOWS US THE HEART OF GOD

"In Jesus Christ, God reveals himself as the Judge who possesses life-and-death power, but who is ready, even eager, to forgive those who repent. He is the Father who waits with fresh robe, ring and fattened calf for his wandering children's return. He is the Physician who heals because he cares and loves. Jesus shows us God the Almighty who becomes a human infant, weak and dispossessed, to save those who have no strength themselves. He reveals God as the offended deity who, incarnate in the Messiah, embraces the offenders' guilt, then personally accepts, absorbs and annuls sin's horrible consequences until his own body is broken and his own blood poured out on a Cross."

"Grace" is not just a theory, a concept or a doctrine. It is God-in-Christ-for-sinners. Nothing we do can earn it, create it, or make it happen. We can only receive it with the empty hands of faith, trusting God and relying on his promise that he has forgiven our sins and has accepted us for Jesus' sake. Until we do that, all our rules, requirements, conditions and obligations only miss the point and waste our time. But when we do trust the gospel promise that God receives sinners, we may happily entrust ourselves to such a God -- eager to seek and to know what pleases him, confident of his goodness and of his love."

from Edward Fudge Ministries

http://www.edwardfudge.com/gracemail/today.html

I read the above on Edward Fudge's website and thought it was so good that I wanted to share it for Spiritual Sundays.

You can click on the Blogger Spirit icon to go to that blog for more Spiritual Sundays links. 

Quail On Our Fence

Sometimes it's nice to have more than one blog. I just posted a "What's On Your Wall Wednesday" post on my Charlotte's Weblog blog. I could have let it go at that, but no, I had these outdoor pictures that I took a couple of days ago and I wanted to share them. 

My camera just happened to be in the kitchen when I looked out the window and saw these three quail walking along our fence. So, I grabbed the camera and took the pictures through the window. I'm glad I could zoom in on them. If I had tried to go outside they would have taken off before I could snap their pictures. I think they are so cute. We see them quite often. 


Yesterday I posted some birds that I found on the internet that live in our area. Today I wanted to show these birds that actually were in our yard.

Be sure to go visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for links to more Outdoor Wednesday posts.

BIRDS IN OUR AREA

Is this turning into a "bird blog"? No, I don't think so, but I found some pictures of birds on the internet that are found in our area. We have lots of Hummingbirds too but I didn't get a picture. I have posted pictures of Hummingbirds before though.

You wouldn't think there would be Mallard ducks in the desert, but they do drop by here. I've seen many of them in man made lakes and even after a rain floods a particularly low area.

These quail are some of my favorite birds. They are so cute walking along in single file usually. They don't fly much. Mostly they walk. 

This is a Cactus Wren - state bird of Arizona.

I love these little Roadrunners too. We see them occasionally running along. They don't fly much either. It always makes me think of Wylie Coyote and the Roadrunner.

SOMETHING TO PONDER

I liked what this e-mail from a long time friend said so I'm passing it on to you. Looks to me like this is exactly where we are headed - and fast.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

 

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.  You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

 

~~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 - 2005 ~~~~~

LOVE FOR SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS

Where There Is Love

(a poem by Helen Steiner Rice)

Where there is love

the heart is light,

Where there is love

the day is bright.

Where there is love

there is a song

To help when things 

are going wrong,

Where there is love

there is a smile

To make things 

seem more worthwhile,

Where there is love

there's quiet peace,

A tranquil place

where turmoils cease--

Love changes darkness

into light

and makes the heart

take "wingless flight"

Oh, blest are they

who walk in love,

They also walk

With God above--

And when man walks 

with God again,

There shall be peace

on earth for men.

Be sure to visit the Spiritual Sundays

blog for spiritual/inspirational posts today.

Click HERE to go to that blog.

Blessings,

Charlotte

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE BIRDS

YELLOW ROSES

Jan at Rose Haven is hosting Rose Wednesday over at her blog. Be sure to go visit her. She's into roses too. Thanks Jan for hosting this lovely meme.

We had a lot of roses (30 bushes) when we lived in Stockton, CA. These pictures were taken in the 70s. Pink roses are my favorite, but I like all - well almost all - colors. We had a lot of lavender ones in the front yard but unfortunately I don't have many good pictures of them. In fact, these pictures here today are not very good pictures.  The camera we had in those days was pretty puny. 

I enjoyed bringing some of the roses in the house. In this picture I used the yellow roses to decorate the tables for my parents' 50th anniversary celebration at our house. 

Here are some of the roses that were in our front yard. Not a very good picture. They were much prettier than they look here.

AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE

Yes I know. We lost. I'm not talking about the football game. I'm talking about the election. I received an interesting e-mail yesterday that I wanted to share with you to show some contrast in administrations.

January 2009:

• Outgoing President George W. Bush quietly boards his helicopter and leaves for Texas, commenting only: "Today is not about me. Today is a historical day for our nation and people."
  

January 20 eight years ago:

• Outgoing President Bill Clinton scheduled two separate radio addresses to the nation, and organized a public farewell speech/rally in downtown Washington D.C. schedules to directly conflict with incoming President Bush's inauguration ceremony.
  

January 20, 2009:

• President Bush leaves office issuing a single Presidential pardon, only granting a commutation of sentence to two former border agents convicted of shooting a convicted drug smuggler. He does not grant any type of clemency to Scooter Libby or any other former political aide, ally, or business partner.
  

January 20 eight years ago:

• President Clinton issued 140 pardons and several commutations of sentence on his final day in office. Included in these are: billionaire financier, convicted tax evader, and leading Democratic campaign contributor Marc Rich; Whitewater scandal figure Susan McDougal; Congressional Post Office Scandal figure and former Democratic Congressman Dan Rostenkowski; convicted bank fraud, sexual assault and child porn perpetrator and former Democratic Congressman Melvin Reynolds; and convicted drug felon Roger Clinton, the President's half-brother.
  

January 20, 2009:

• The Bush daughters leave gift baskets in the White House bedrooms for the Obama daughters, containing flowers, candy, stuffed animals, DVD's and CD's, and heartfelt notes of encouragement and advice for the young girls on how to prepare for their new lives in the White House.

January 20 eight years ago:

• Clinton and Gore staffers rip computer wires and electrical outlets from the White House walls, stuff piles of notebook papers into the White House toilets, systematically remove the letter "W" from every computer key-pad in the White House and damage several thousand dollars worth of furniture in the White House master bedroom.

Headlines On January 20, 2005:

• "Republicans spending $42 million on inauguration while troops Die in unarmed Humvees"
• "Bush extravagance exceeds any reason during tough economic times"
• "Fat cats get their $42 million inauguration party, Ordinary Americans get the shaft"

Headlines on January 20, 2009:

• "Historic Obama inauguration will cost only $170 million"
• "Obama Spends $170 million on inauguration; America Needs A Big Party"
• "Everyman Obama shows America how to celebrate"
• "Citibank executives contribute $8 million to Obama Inauguration"

Do you weep or get angry? I think maybe both.

SAD ENDING

Well, it was an exciting game for sure. They almost won. Maybe next year. They need to get some better defense though. 

Congratulations to The Steelers.