The 7 Ups

The 7-Ups

Wake Up – Decide to have a good day today. “Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice & be glad in it” Psalms 118:24 {Lord I just want to thank you}

Dress Up – The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” I Sam 16:7 so dress it up.

Shut Up – Say nice things & learn to listen. God gave us 2 ears & 1 mouth so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. “He who guards his lips guards his soul” Proverbs 13:3 “Gossip betrays confidence avoid men who talk too much” Proverbs 20:19 “Listen to advice, accept instruction & in the end, you will be wise” Proverbs 19:20

Stand Up – For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything. “Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good…” Galatians 6:9-10 get out of your comfort zone & stand up.

Look Up – To the Lord. The shortest distant between a problem & a solution is the distance between your knees & the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything so Look up and say..”I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13

Reach Up – For something higher. As Jiminy Cricket sings “High Hopes” Always try to better yourself reach up and get your blessing.

Lift Up – Your Prayers. “Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING” Philippians 4:6

And you thought 7 UP was just a soda. .

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

A Paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer

<h2PARAPHRASE OF THE LORD'S

OUR FATHER most holy,
our Creator and Redeemer,
our Savior and our Comforter.

WHO ART IN HEAVEN
in the angels and the saints,
giving them light to know you,
since you, Lord, are light;
setting them afire to love you,
since you, Lord, are love;
dwelling in them
and giving them fullness of joy,
since you, Lord,
are the supreme, eternal good,
and all good comes from you.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME,
may we grow to know you better and better
and so appreciate the extent of your favors,
the scope of your promises,
the sublimity of your majesty,
and the profundity of your judgements.

THY KINGDOM COME,
so that you may reign in us by your grace,
and bring us to your kingdom,
where we shall see you clearly,
love you perfectly and,
happy in your company, enjoy you forever.

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN,
so that we may love you with all our heart,
by always having you in mind;
with all our soul,
by always longing for you;
with all our mind,
by determining to seek your glory in everything;
and with all our strength,
of body and soul,
by lovingly serving you alone.
May we love our neighbors as ourselves,
and encourage them all to love you,
by bearing our share
in the joys and sorrows of others,
while giving offense to no one.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD,
your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
so that we may remember and appreciate
how much He loved us,
and everything He said and did and suffered.

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES,
in your immeasurable mercy,
by virtue of the passion of your Son.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US,
and if we do not forgive perfectly,
Lord, make us forgive perfectly,
so that, for love of You,
we may really forgive our enemies,
and fervently pray to You for them,
returning no one evil for evil,
but trying to serve You in everyone.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION,
be it hidden or obvious,
sudden or persistent.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL,
past, present or future,
Amen.

- St. Francis of Assisi

The Lord is my Programmer – a modern Psalm

(~) The Lord is my programmer

The Lord is my programmer,
I shall not crash.
He installed His software on the hard disk of my heart;
all of His commands are user-friendly.
His directory guides me to the right choices
for His names sake
Even though I scroll through the problems of life,
I will fear no bugs, for he is my backup.
His password protects me.

He prepares a menu before me in the presence of my enemies.
His help is only a keystroke away.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,

and my file will be merged with His and saved forever.

When – a poem

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection:
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is lead forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action —
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

~ Rabindranath Tagore ~

(Gitanjali)

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FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

IMPORTANT NOTICE

You may have noticed the increased amount of notices for you to notice. Some of our notices have not been noticed. This is very noticeable. It has been noticed that the responses to the notices have been noticeably unnoticed. This notice is to remind you to notice the notices and respond to the notices, because we do not want the notices to go unnoticed.

“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”</i

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Prayerful thoughts

PRAYERFUL THOUGHTS

Help me to remember that the jerk who cut me off in traffic last night could be a single mother who worked nine hours that day and was rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help me to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly might be a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind me that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) possibly is a slave to addictions that I can only imagine in my worst nightmare.

Help me to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress could be savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Remind me each day that, of all the gifts you give me, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those I hold dear.

Open my heart not just to those who are close to me but to all humanity. Let me be slow to judgment and quick to forgiveness and patience and empathy and love.

AMEN!

Spiritual Garden

Winter has ben so mild this year that my thoughts are already tuned in for planting new things…

(~) Spiritual Garden

When you plant this garden, may God richly bless you in your
sincere endeavour

Plant three rows of squash:
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash criticism
3. Squash indifference

Plant seven rows of peas:
1. Prayer
2. Promptness
3. Perseverance
4. Politeness
5. Preparedness
6. Purity
7. Patience

Plant seven heads of lettuce:
1. Let us be unselfish and loyal
2. Let us be faithful to duty
3. Let us search the scriptures
4. Let us not be weary in well doing
5. Let us be obedient in all things
6. Let us be truthful
7. Let us love one another

No garden is complete without turnips:
1. Turn up for church (or other community of faith)
2. Turn up for meetings, in prayer, and Bible study
3. Turn up with a smile, even when things are difficult
4. Turn up with determination to do your best in God’s service.

After planting, may you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18.) And may you reap rich results.

“The measure of a person’s character is what he would do if he
knew he would never be found out.”
– Source Unknown

Prayers a – poem

Prayers

I asked for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak that I might obey.

I asked for falth that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of people,
I was given weakness that I might feel my need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I have received nothing that I asked for,
All that I hoped for,

My prayer is answered; I am most blessed.

– Anon.

Hippie Rant (from the past): If I only I could pray

I find myself praying a prayer that bothers me quite a bit.

I find myself praying that God will give each and every person on the Right, each and every member of of the Republican Party, each and every memeber of Tea Party a heasrt of compassion.

That in and of itself might be a good thing, if it weren’t for the fact that the wyat I would like to see God accomplish this probably isn’t very kind or loving.

I’d like to see them suddenly face, rhrough no fault o their own, the loss of their home

I’d like to see them suddenly have their insurance company suddenly and without warning’deop” them the insant they need coverage.

I’d like to see them lose their jobs because someone thouight they might be “homosexual”..

I’d like to see those who travel outside the USA suddenly picked up, held without charge, abd toroturd because someone thought they or someone they knew is a terrorist.

I’d like to see them find themselves in need of help, and find there is now one willing or able to help them.

Maybe then they would understand why “they should care” about anyone who is not of “them”.

And then, then, I hope that God would use someone, someone like the people they having been turning their back on, soneone like me to help them out.

Is that a bad prayer?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because [the Lord] has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. [The Lord] has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”
- Luke 4:18

“Civil disobedience is, traditionally, the breaking of a civil law to obey a higher law, sometimes with the hope of changing the unjust civil law. … But we should speak of such actions as divine obedience, rather than civil disobedience. The term ‘disobedience’ is not appropriate because any law that does not protect and enhance human life is no real law.”
- Sister Anne Montgomery, R.S.C.J.

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

IMPORTANT NOTICE

You may have noticed the increased amount of notices for you to notice. Some of our notices have not been noticed. This is very noticeable. It has been noticed that the responses to the notices have been noticeably unnoticed. This notice is to remind you to notice the notices and respond to the notices, because we do not want the notices to go unnoticed.

“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Off to a Bad Start

(~) Off to a bad start

Your morning is off to a bad start. The alarm didn’t go off, or perhaps you slept through it. Now you’re running late for work.

Rushing to get it all together and out the door, you hop in the car and it won’t start. After some fiddling, and more time, it’s up and running and you are finally underway.

You’re now really late for an early appointment and the traffic lights conspire against you. They all change to red as you get close and are extra long this morning. Traffic is
slow. Every idiot with a driver’s license is in your way! People like that shouldn’t be allowed to drive!

Weaving in and out of traffic, you have become a menace yourself. Finally, late, furious and thrown off for the entire day, you arrive.

Ever have one of those mornings? I know I’ve had my share.

God hasn’t crossed my mind the entire morning unless it’s to use His name in vain at the traffic or the time. For the entire day, I don’t think about Him, all I can think about is what a rotten day it has been.

Will He forgive me for this day? Absolutely! Will He be disappointed? Perhaps.

Let’s rewind the day.

The alarm didn’t go off, or perhaps you slept through it. Now you’re running late for work. You stop and say a brief prayer. After all, what’s an extra minute or two? You give thanks to God.

Rushing to get it all together and out the door, you hop in the car and it won’t start. It’s time for another brief prayer. After some fiddling, and more time, it’s up and running, you take a moment to call into work and say you are running a little late. That takes the pressure off.

You head into work, obeying the traffic laws and listening to some praise music or perhaps some Scripture on tape. If you’ve used God’s name, it’s probably not in vain this time. You still arrive late, but you’re refreshed and in touch with God.

The balance of your day seems to come together easier. Even if the rest of the day is rushed, you take a moment several times during the day to say short prayers on the run and seeking His help.

The days where we have the least time for God are the days when we probably need His help the most. It’s hard for the fruit of the Spirit to show itself if we’re totally self absorbed and have cut ourselves off from His power.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons we told to pray all the time:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

We didn’t choose to have our day get off to a bad start, but we can choose what we will do about it.

Until next time, no matter how your day starts, remember to make time for Him.

Be blessed.

Kevin Corbin

One Prayer at a Time = a Stillspeaking Devotional

One Prayer at a Time

Excerpt from 1 Samuel 1:21-28

“And [Hannah] said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord.’“

Reflection by Maren C. Tirabassi

My best communities of faith are recovery groups. Some of them have “anonymous” in their title and others do not. These communities teach me how to live one day at a time, how to simply take others at the one day they are having without judgment, how to tell my story and listen to the stories of others and how to pray really hard!

When it comes to addiction the world is full of misunderstanding. Hannah was praying her longing for a child and Eli said, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself?” Did he make an assumption because he knew Hannah from her annual visits, or because that was his go-to criticism of women? We don’t know.

Hannah didn’t become defensive. She shared her story and asked for his help, which shook the holier-than-thou right out of him. Eli was willing to sponsor her in prayer before God. He rejoiced with her years later when she came with her boy Samuel to show him how her life was changed. And Samuel never drank.

God changes lives. In spite of all the ways we can misunderstand, enable, judge, or expect the worst of one another, every day is an opportunity to re-make relationships and recover hope.

Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept everyone as they are, the courage to tell my own story, and the wisdom to trust God to take care of the rest. Amen.

Maren C. Tirabassi is Pastor of Union Congregational UCC of Madbury, NH. An updated version of Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship has just been published by The Pilgrim Press.

Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

“The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; [the Lord] upholds the orphan and the widow.”
- Psalm 146:7-9

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“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/