HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

More and more of our liberties are being taken away. Makes me think a little about the frog in the pot that didn't notice how hot the water was getting until it was too late. I think that is what is happening. Many do notice, but way too many are apathetic to what is happening. I'm afraid they don't even want to think about it. The above graphic was shared on Facebook and if you go there you probably saw it more than once. This truth is displayed in such a beautiful way that I decided I wanted to share it here on my blog. My goodness. How I have neglected my blogs since I got addicted to Facebook. Amazing.

Many blessings to all who come here for a visit.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day will come around again in a couple of days. Since I haven't posted anything on this blog for a long time, I decided to repost what I said about St. Patrick's Day three years ago. Where did the time go? I did add this delicious cupcake for your enjoyment. It was not included in the previous post. (Smile) So here is that 2012 post.

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

Father's Are Wonderful People

Happy Father's Day to all father's who read this post. A special Happy Father's Day to the father of my two children. I'm sure they both would tell you they couldn't have asked for a better dad. We will be so blessed to spend this special day with them.

Clif always smiles and even laughs a little when I share a Helen Steiner Rice poem, because back when he was the pastor of our last church and I was secretary we often needed "filler" for our newsletter. He would many times come up with one of her poems. One day I told him I thought we shared too many Helen Steiner Rice poems. Now I'm thinking "maybe not." LOL I think I appreciate her poems more now than I did then. That was over 12 years ago. Anyway, now I find myself sharing many of her poems on my blog. Here's one about fathers.

Fathers Are Wonderful People

                              Fathers are wonderful people
                                   too little understood,
                              And we do not sing their praises
                                   as often as we should . . .
                              And fathers struggle daily
                                   to live up to "his image"
                              As protector and provider  
                                   and "hero of the scrimmage" . . .
                              And perhaps that is the reason
                                   we sometimes get the notion
                              That fathers are not subject
                                   to the thing we call emotion,
                              But if you look inside Dad's heart,
                                   where no one else can see,
                              You'll find he's sentimental
                                   and as "soft" as he can be. . .
                              Fathers are just wonderful
                                   in a million different ways,
                              And they merit loving compliments
                                   and accolades of praise,
                              For the only reason Dad aspires
                                   to fortune and success
                              Is to make the family proud of him
                                   and to bring them happiness.
                              And like Our Heavenly Father,
                                   he's a guardian and a guide,
                              Someone that we can count on
                                   to be always on our side.
                                               - Helen Steiner Rice

Spiritual Sundays is a place where many people go each week to share a spiritual/inspirational post on their blogs by linking there. If you are not familiar with Spiritual Sundays I hope you will go there now by clicking right HERE. You might want to leave a comment first, and then go there.

          

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

                   

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

                    by Kelly Strong

                    I watched the flag pass by one day.

            It fluttered in the breeze.
            A young Marine saluted it,
            and then he stood at ease.
            I looked at him in uniform
            So young, so tall, so proud,
            He'd stand out in any crowd.
            I thought how many men like him
            Had fallen through the years.
            How many died on foreign soil?
            How many mothers' tears?
            How many pilots' planes shot down?
            How many died at sea?
            How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
            No, freedom isn't free.

            I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
            When everything was still
            I listened to the bugler play
            And felt a sudden chill.
            I wondered just how many times
            That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
            When a flag had draped a coffin
            Of a brother or a friend.
            I thought of all the children,  
            Of the mothers and the wives,
            Of fathers, sons and husbands
            With interrupted lives.
            I thought about a graveyard
            At the bottom of the sea
            Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
                           No, freedom isn't free.

In reading this poem and thinking about this holiday, I am reminded that freedom definitely is not free. I'm reminded of the great price the Son of God paid for our freedom from sin. Memorial Day has a special meaning for me because it was on Memorial Day 1948 that I was baptized. That was definitely one of the best days of my life and one I will never forget even though that was many years ago and I was just 11 years old.  

For links to lots of inspirational posts, please click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog.

God's Jewels

Sunday is Mother's Day and like so many who do not have their mother with them here on this earth, I was feeling nostalgic when I was looking for a poem to share for the occasion. I opened up one of Helen Steiner Rice's books on poetry and the first page I opened up to was a poem entitled God's Jewels. Before I read the poem, I thought to myself. That describes my mother. She certainly was and is one of God's Jewels. So I'm dedicating this to my precious mother who left this earth in 1999.

GOD'S JEWELS

            We watch the rich and famous
          Bedecked in precious jewels,
          Enjoying earthly pleasures,
          Defying moral rules—
          And in our mood of discontent
          We sink into despair
          And long for earthly riches
          And feel cheated of our share—
          But stop these idle musings,
          God has stored up for you
          Treasures that are far beyond
          Earth's jewels and riches, too—
          But never, never discount
          What God has promised man
          If he will walk in meekness
          And accept God's flawless plan—
          For if we heed His teachings
          As we journey through the years,
          We'll find the richest jewels of all
          Are crystalized from tears.

                                - Helen Steiner Rice 

I think one of the reasons this reminded me of my mother is because she never had very many earthly possessions but she had great faith and lots of love to share. The older I get the more I realize how short this life is and the importance of storing up treasures above as the Bible says to do. My mother had a lot of treasure stored up above and I believe she is enjoying it now. But I also believe the greatest treasure she has is being with her Lord.

I hope you will visit the Spiritual Sundays blog. You will find many many links to wonderful inspiring posts. Just click HERE to go there.

St. Patrick

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

VINTAGE 4TH OF JULY

Since I am almost a vintage person, I thought it would be fun to post some vintage 4th of July pictures. So here they are. Independence Day has always been special to me and I love it that America's independence has been celebrated through the years.

The flag below has 48 stars. This is the kind of flag we saluted when I was in school.

Credit goes to Vintage Holiday Crafts. You might want to check it out. They have free clip art for Holidays. Here's the link: http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/category/patriotic/page/5/

Have a wonderful holiday.

My Spiritual Sundays post is on my other blog this week. http://char72.wordpress.com/

Mothers and Angels

Yes, I know, mothers are people, not angels. Sometimes when you have a mother as special and precious as mine was, you almost think of them as angels. I found this poem online and thought it described my mother so I wanted to share it here.

My mother left this earth over 11 years ago. I still miss her especially on special occasions like Mother's Day. The following picture of my mother and me was taken in the 1960s. I still remember this special day. I made my dress and the one my mother is wearing for Mother's Day that year. My dear Hubby bought the corsages for us. 

One of the things I appreciated most about my mother was her love for God, Jesus, and the church. Everyone who knew my mother loved her. She showed genuine interest in everyone she met. In fact, she used to drive me a little crazy when she would start telling me about someone she knew who I hardly knew or didn't know at all, and she would go into detail telling me all about something going on in their lives. I would think, "I don't care." "I don't even know these people." She was interested in everybody. I mean, it wasn't like she just did this once in awhile. She did it all the time. Now I wish she was here to tell me some of her stories. I have the feeling that when I see her in heaven she will have lots of stories about lots of people she has met there to tell me about. It will be a wonderful time. I totally look forward to it. 

I'm sharing this for Spiritual Sundays this week. You can click HERE to go to that blog. So many wonderful people share their hearts with us there. I hope you will check it out if you are not familiar with Spiritual Sundays.

RESURRECTION

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  - Matthew 28:1-8.

1 Corinthians 15:6-8 (The Message) 3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don't deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God's church right out of existence.

John 11:25-26 NIV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Because I think this is such an important subject, I'm doing something I've never done before. I'm posting this on this blog and also on my Charlotte's Weblog blog.  

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

Thank you to all my blogging friends who have been such an inspiration and blessing to me this past year. May 2011 be the best year ever.

I thought this poem by Helen Steiner Rice would be a good thing to share this week for Spiritual Sundays.

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

Yesterday's dead,

Tomorrow's unborn,

So there's nothing to fear

And nothing to mourn

For all that is past

And all that has been

Can never return

To be lived once again⏤

And what lies ahead

Or the things that will be

Are still in God's Hands

So it is not up to me

To live in the future

That is God's great unknown,

For the past and the present

God claims for His own,

So, all I need do

is to live for Today

And trust God to show me

The Truth and the Way ⏤

For it's only the memory

Of things that have been

And expecting Tomorrow

To bring trouble again

That fills my Today,

Which God wants to bless,

With uncertain fears

And borrowed distress ⏤

For all I need live for

Is this one little minute,

For life's Here and Now

And Eternity's in it.

Click HERE to go to the Spiritual Sundays blog to share and be blessed.

THE STORY

This week for Spiritual Sundays I'm sharing another page from the wonderful little book entitled Everything Christmas. The Story was written by Rebecca Currington.

You know the story ⎼⎼ an infant, born in a stable, worshiped by lowly shepherds and travelers from the East. Sweet story, but does it hold any meaning for your life today?

Consider this. The entire Bible pivots on this single event in history. The Old Testament predicts it, and the New Testament confirms it. The child lying in that tiny manger was no ordinary child ⎼⎼ He was God incarnate, who came to live and die for you. The story won't be fully told until you bow your knee to Bethlehem's Babe and call Him the Lord of your life.

What Can I Give Him?

                              by Christina Rossetti 

 What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, 

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a wise man,

I would do my part

Yet what can I give him?

I give Him my heart.

And a quote by Erma Bombeck: There's nothing sadder in this world than to wake

Christmas morning and not be a child.

❅ ❆ ❇ ❈ ❉ ❅ ❄

You will find lots of inspiring posts by clicking the links on Spiritual Sundays. You may even want to share a post on your blog with us there. Click HERE to go there where you will find instructions on how to participate.

Celine Dion - Happy Christmas

If you're not already in the Christmas spirit, this video should put you there. This has long been one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Be sure to click the music on my sidebar off before starting the video. (You can click on the little x to turn off the ads on the video.)

I hope you will drop by my other blog to read my Spiritual Sundays post.

http://char72.wordpress.com/

THE DAY AFTER

Thanksgiving is over. I hope you all had a great day. Wonderful day for me, but like many others did, I ate too much. Now, it's on to decorating for Christmas. Our son helped hubby set the tree up yesterday (major job). Now the fun begins. Decorate, decorate, decorate.

Since it's time to decorate I thought I'd start here by decorating my blog for Christmas. It is much colder here in the desert this morning. Makes it seem more like Christmas. Now if it would just snow a little. Not much chance of that. We've seen a little snow on two different occasions here in the last 21 years we have lived here. Oh well, we'll get along fine without the snow.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE! Hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon and homemade strawberrry ice cream are on our menu for today. What makes it special is our kids will be with us. But, before that, we will worship God with thousands of other Christians. It's almost time to go now. Have a great day and a great week.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

A M E R I C A

A

is for the Attitudes

that conquer any quest

M

is for the multitudes

who know just why they're blessed

E

pluribus unum

from sea to shining sea

R

for all the Riches found

where everyone is free

I

for individuals

who sacrifice their all

C

because our Christian faith

will answer every call, so one more

A

for attitudes

That live inside of us

God has blessed America

Cause God is who we trust

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

© 2001 William Heffner

I like this poem by William Heffner. I especially like the last part. "God has blessed America cause God is who we trust." Let us pray that once again the United States of America will be considered a Christian nation. And let's pray for a president who recognizes that fact.

I hope you will visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for more spiritual/inspirational posts. You can click HERE to go to that blog.