Sim, Bradley, and I are like ducks, Above the surface looking composed and unruffled
Below the surface, paddling like crazy!
poem about Nick / MOM
The Long Forever
You left us so quickly, there were no goodbyes. How long this forever, your death and our lives.
The sadness, the anger, the loneliness of three, preferring four always, how small, this new we.
Why Not Ask Me?
I hear it again and again, one friend asked another how I've been. How hard, really, would it be to pick up the phone and just ask me?
Thinking of Simeon Nicholas / Rlelena
To Every Thing there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.
LETTER FROM GOD TO MOM & DAD /
Letter From God
My Dear Child; Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes you need to make in your life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill my promises to you, to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenievce, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. I know, I already gave you the 10 Commandments, but please do your best to follow these guidelines. Also: QUIT WORRYING Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way" PUT IT ON THE LIST If something needs to be done or taken care of, put it on the list. No, not YOUR list, put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to me. And although my to-do-list is long, I am after all, God. I can take care of anything you put into my hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize. TRUST ME Once you've given your burdens to me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids, put them on my list. Problems with finances, [ut it on my list. Problems with ill health, put it on my list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster, for my sake, put it on my list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask. SHARE You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you, share your joy with those who need encouragement, share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time, share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry and share your faith with those who have none. LEAVE IT ALONE Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple, you gave me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give these problems back to you, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with me and forget about them. Just let me do my job. TALK TO ME I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy, forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there is one thing I pray you never forget. Please don't forget to talk to me ... OFTEN! I love you. I want to hear your voice. I want you to include me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with me. I want to be your dearest friend. HAVE FAITH I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in me that I know what I'm doing. Trust me, you wouldn't want the view from my eyes. I will continue to care of you, watch over you and meet your needs. You only have to trust me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be? BE PATIENT I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime, you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes me a little longer than you expect to handle something on my to-do-list? Trust in my timing, for my timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only seven days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush. BE KIND Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you or talk like you or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for my sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please know I love each of your differences. With all my heart I love you, Your Father, Life/Source/CreatoR
LOVE YOURSELF As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only, to be loved and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love me. Love your neighbours but also love yourself. It makes my heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget that.
THOUGHTS TO PONDER / Mom &. Dad
Thoughts To Ponder
The best thing to give your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity Francis Maitland Balfour - morphologist (1851-1882) Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness James Thurber We are often so caught up in our destination, that we forget to appreciate the journey, especially the goodness of the people we meet along the waY When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us Alexander Graham Bell People should learn to use things and love people, instead of loving things and using people Sorrow looks back Worry looks around Faith looks up Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded, it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again - this is the brave and happy life J.E. Buchrose How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it Marcus Aurelius Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again Og Mandino If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything Mark Twain Be courteous to all, but intimate with few and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation George Washington We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey Stephen R. Covey Everyone who does evil, hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth, comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done, has been done through God John 3:20-21 Truth is seen in what it does and whom it seeks Darkness cannot drive out darness, only light can do that. Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that Martin Luther King Jr Resolve to never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life Jonathan Edward When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly Edward Teller Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the entire world Albert Einstein To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men - that is genius Ralph Waldo Emerson Nothing goes by luck in composition. It allows of no tricks. The best you can write will be the best you are Thoreau I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use Galileo Galilei Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow Helen Keller Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation Knowlege, in truth, is the great sun in the firmament. Life and power are scattered with all its beams Daniel Webster Never ask God to give you anything, ask Him to put you where things are Mexican Proverb We are never so happy or unhappy as we think Francois de La Rochefoucauld Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks Samuel Johnson Action will remove the doubts that theory cannot solve Tehyi Hsieh If you have made mistakes there is always another chance. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down Mary Pickford It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action Al Batt The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook William James If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in your mind, give it more thought Dennis Roch To be successful, you've got to be willing to fail Ronald Reagan If you cry "Forward," you must make plain in what direction to go Anton Chekov If you want to see the sun shine, you have to weather the storm Frank Lane Opportunities are seldom labeled John A Shedd Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much Oscar Wilde Knowledge is the power of the mind, wisdom is the power of the soul Julie Shannahan It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business Gertrude Stein Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, and acquaintance or a stranger Franklin P Jones Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it Helen Keller Life consists of what man is thinking about all day Ralph Waldo Emerson With each sunrise, we start anew Anon To love another person is to see the face of God Victor Hugo "Les Miserables" I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating Sophocies Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision is a dull one that hacks and tears, leaving ragged edges behind it Let us make one point that we meet each other with a smile, when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family Mother Teresa There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action Johann von Goethe I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once Jennifer Unlimited You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important John Dewey Don't be resentful. It allows someone you don't like to live in your head rent free A laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing Herman Melville A healthy family is sacred territory The most wasted of all days is one without laughter E E Commings Both humor and faith are the expressions of the freedom of the human spirit, of its capacity to stand outside of life, and itself, and view the whole scene Reingold Niebuhr Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope and that enables you to laugh at life's realities Dr Seuss Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child Henry Ward Beecher The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it Arnold H. Glasgow A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked Bernard Meltzer A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty Winston Churchill If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused Walter Mondale We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next door neighbour G. K, Chesterton Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but doesn't make any progress Alfred A. Montapert When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail Abraham Maslow Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave; when they think that their children are naive Ogden Nash Success: The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, caution lights called family, and you will have flats called jobs. But . . . if you have a spare called determination, an engine called perseverance, insurance called faith, and a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called success! That about sums it up, wouldn't you say? Life is an opportunity, benefit from it Life is a beauty, admire it Life is a dream, realize it Life is a challenge, meet it Life is a duty, complete it Life is a game, play it Life is a promise, fulfill it Life is sorrow, overcome it Life is a song, sing it Life is a struggle, accept it Life is a tragedy, confront it Life is an adventure, dare it Life is luck, make it Life is life, fight for it Mother Teresa The devil finds work for idle hands A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs, jolted by every pebble in the road
Happy moments, praise God Difficult moments, seek God Quiet moments, worship God Painful moments, trust God Every moment, thank God It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from underneath us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet and what is sand Madeleine L'Engle Never ruin an apology with an excuse Kimberly John I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining I believe in love, even when I don't feel it I believe in God, even when He is silent Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses Alphonse Karr All human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope Alexandre Dumas In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there has always been times like these Paul Harvey Experience is that marvellous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again Franklin We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stopped playing Never miss a good chance to shut up Be fishers of men - you catch them - he'll clean them People should learn to use things and love people, instead of loving things and using people When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice Otto Von Bismarck Salvation is a process which begins when a person first becomes a christian, then continues through the rest of his or her life and concludes on the last day If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it Aristotle True faith goes into operation when there are no answers Elisabeth Elliot Be careful of your thoughts; they may become words at any moment Ira Gassen You can only be young once, but you can be immature forever Happiness is the journey, not the destination
PACIFYING THEOLOGY / MOM &. DAD
Pacifying Theology
In the Western church today, intimacy with Jesus has become a sweet and often-heard phrase echoing in church halls as believers quote from Philippians 3:10 "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." But many don't finish the verse: ". . .and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." This irony is a powerful revelation - that intimacy comes THROUGH SUFFERING! That is why the Holy Spirit chose to use Paul, not only to pen these words, but also to demonstrate them through his own life of suffering for the gospel. The Western church has developed a pacifying theology of telling herself that suffering is not the will of God, but that it is Satan having his way in the life of a believer. Accusations rise up in our hearts against a sovereign God's inability to alleviate pain and suffering in our lives, preventing us from embracing the Cross.
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