Cath's Corner - Weekly Food For Thought

Weekly Food For Thought

Need an inspirational thought...a chuckle or two... something to inspire you and get you through the day? Well, you've come to the right place. Check here at least weekly for new bits of inspiration. Sometimes more than once per week...sometimes not...but check often so you don't miss anything.

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(Thursday, April 29)

PRAY FOR CHILDREN:

who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
who like to be tickled,
who stomp in puddles and ruin new pants,
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes in math books
who can never find their shoes.

AND PRAY FOR THOSE CHILDREN:

who stare at photographs from behind barbed wire,
who can't run down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places we would not be caught dead in,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an x-rated world.

PRAY FOR CHILDREN:

who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish,
who hug in a hurry and forget lunch money,
who cover themselves with band-aids and sing off-key,
who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
who slurp their soup.

AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO NEVER GET DESSERT:

who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any room to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on any dresser,
whose monsters are real.

PRAY FOR CHILDREN:

who spend their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store,
who shove their dirty clothes under the bed,
who squirm in church and talk on the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at,
and whose smiles can make us cry.

AND PRAY FOR THOSE:

whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.

PRAY FOR CHILDREN WHO WANT TO BE CARRIED:

and for those who are crippled and must be carried,
and for those who don't have a second chance,
and for those who are smothered with love and affection,
and for those who will grab the hand
of anybody kind enough to offer it...

AND PRAY FOR ENOUGH STRENGTH AND PATIENCE FOR OURSELVES TO

NEVER GIVE UP ON CHILDREN!

I do not know who wrote this. Please contact me if you know the name of the author or where this was published.

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(Monday, April 26)

Someone pushed the "fast forward" button on real life, and I seem to be a "day late" and a dollar short these days. My posting has been what I've let slip. My apologies.

"At times you may feel it's the end of the world. Just remember that what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."

--life coach Martha Beck

printed in Guideposts - May 2004

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(Sunday, April 11)

HAPPY EASTER

**********

it's friday. . . .
but Sunday's Coming

it's friday	Jesus was nailed dead on a cross,
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	Mary's crying her eyes out 'cause her baby Jesus is dead
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	The disciples are running in every direction like sheep without a shepherd,
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	Pilate's strutting around, washing his hands 'cause he thinks he's got all the power and the victory,
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	People are saying, "As things have been, so they shall always be. You can't change anything in this world,"
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	Satan's doing a little jig saying, "I control the whole world,"
	...but Sunday's Coming
it's friday	The temple veil ripped from top to bottom ~ the earth shook ~ the rocks split and tombs opened. The centurion screamed in fear, "Truly He was the Son of God!"
	...Sunday's Coming
It's Sunday~	The angel, like dazzling lightning, rolled the stone away, exclaiming,
	"He is not here! He is risen!"
IT'S SUNDAY ~ IT'S SUNDAY IT'S SUNDAY

from Fresh Elastic for Stretched Out Moms by Barbara Johnson

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(Saturday, April 10)

From the beginning of time, God has been extending radical love, grace, peace and joy to the world that he created and to his children. Even when we haven't noticed, God has continued to love us. Even when we were far away and oblivious to the love, God was still extending it to us. Even when we were too self-absorbed, selfish, arrogant or busy to notice, God has been lavishing love toward us, and when we couldn't get it, God came in human form to show us "in real time" just how great that love is.

If I, being human, can be thrilled to the core of my being by the love that came back to me [from my Granddaughter], unexpectedly, on a busy spring morning , how must it make God feel when one of us completes the loop and extends love back to God?

The gift of Easter is love.

Easter love is a radical love that heals, transforms, liberates and empowers. Who wouldn't want that?

Accepting that love and giving it back is completing the loop, and when we do that, we participate and perpetuate the power of Easter. And that is good news!

from Jeanie Miley's 4-10-04 newspaper column: "What's the Gift of Easter?"

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(Tuesday, April 6)
The story of Easter is the story of an empty tomb. It is a story of betrayal, suffering, and death, followed by resurrection, rejoicing, and eternal life. The story of Easter is God's message to the world that through Him we can--indeed we must--have hope. The story of Easter is the story of God's love, God's miracles, and God's offer of salvation.

Christ died so that we might have spiritual abundance, earthly peace, and eternal life. As we consider the empty tomb and all that it signifies, let us praise the Father and the Son for gifts that are too numerous to count, too profound to understand, and too costly to ever take for granted.

from The Crown, the Cross, and the Nails
compiled by Dr. Criswell Freeman

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(Monday, April 5)

ON MY CROSS
(sung by FFH)

How wide is Your love
That You would stretch Your arms and go around the world
And why...for me...a Savior's cry be heard
I don't know why You went where I was meant to go
I don't know why You loved me so

Those were my nails
That was my crown
That pierced Your hands and Your brow
Those were my thorns
Those were my scorns
Those were my tears that fell down
And just as You said it would be
You did it all for me
And after You counted the cost
You took my shame, my blame
On my cross

How deep is Your grace
That You could see my need and choose to take my place
And there for me these words I'd hear You say,
"Father no...forgive them...for they know not what they do
I will go because I love them so."

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(Sunday, April 4)

LOVE HUNG ON A CROSS

He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.

Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio. . . .

Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill, . . .faces tear-streaked.

All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.

"It must be done . . ." he said, and withdrew.

The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful . . ."

The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love."

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(Thursday, April 1)
I have something against the lying voices that noise our world. You've heard them. They tell you to swap your integrity for a new sale. To barter your convictions for an easy deal. To exchange your devotion for a quick thrill.

They whisper. They woo. They taunt. They tantalize. They flirt. They flatter. "Go ahead, it's OK." "Don't worry, no one will know."

The world rams at your door; Jesus taps at your door. The voices scream for your allegiance; Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. The world promises flashy pleasure; Jesus promises a quiet dinner . . . with God.

Which voice do you hear?

from In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado

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back to INSPIRATION!

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