Praying Hands
There are hands that help and comfort,
Hands that plan and teach,
Hands that rest and hands that strive
For a goal just out of reach,
Hands that grasp and hands that give,
Hands that work and play,
Friendly hands and loving hands
That soothe life's cares away.
But praying hands are dearest,
In the sight of God above
For in their sweet and earnest clasp
Are reverence and love.
No hands can do an unkind act Nor cause another care
Nor sin against Our Father's love
When they are clasped in prayer.
Author Unknown

Dear God, As I welcome a new day with you, direct the path you would like me to follow. Help me to be ready for the challenges you have for me to do today. Place me with those you want me to meet. Lead me through the tasks you have set before me. Give me wisdom to dare to try, to keep on learning, caring, and growing. Fill me with Your boundless love, so that I may pass it on to those I meet. Amen

Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. No one is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and no one is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and is nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as he who has none to give.
Author Unknown

Dear Lord, Help me to create happiness with a smile. May I never be so busy that I don’t notice when one is needed. May I never be so tired that I can’t bring sunshine to another. Amen
Happiness is the full use of your powers along lines of excellence in a life affording scope.
John F. Kennedy

In 1902, an aspiring young writer received a rejection letter from the poetry editor of The Atlantic Monthly. Enclosed with a sheaf of poems the 28-year-old poet had sent was this curt note: "Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse." He rejected the rejection, however, and went on to see his work published. His name was Robert Frost.
In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a Ph.D. dissertation as being fanciful and irrelevant. The young physics student who wrote the dissertation rejected their rejection and went on to develop some of his fanciful ideas into widely accepted theories. His name was Albert Einstein.

In 1894, a sixteen-year-old found this note from his rhetoric teacher at Harrow, in England, attached to his report card: "A conspicuous lack of success." The young man rejected the rejection and went on to become one of the most famous speakers of the twentieth century. His name was Winston Churchill.

Reject the rejection you may receive today, and go on to achieve real achievement.
Author Unknown

Dear Lord, Help me to know when to reject a rejection. Help me not to be afraid to attempt to tackle that which I have never tried before. Show me how to help others when they are rejected, and to be your hands in showing love to others. Amen
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.
Robert Louis Stevenson

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.
John Foster Dulles

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. George Washington
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

All human beings have failings, all human beings have needs and temptations and stresses. Men and women who live together through long years get to know one another’s failings; but they also come to know what is worthy of respect and admiration in those they live with and in themselves. If at the end one can say, "This man used to the limit the powers that God granted him; he was worthy of love and respect and of the sacrifices of many people, made in order that he might achieve what he deemed to be his task," then that life has been lived well and there are no regrets.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Dear Lord, I thank you for being with me through all my yesterdays. I trust you to hold all my tomorrows in your hand. Amen
Throw away all ambition beyond that of doing the day’s work well. The travelers on the road to success live in the present, heedless of taking thought for the morrow. Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition.
William Osler

Show me a thoroughly satisfied man, and I will show you a failure.
Thomas A. Edison

A man once approached a construction site and noticed three men-shoveling dirt out of a long ditch. He asked the first man what he was doing. The man sneered back with a surely-you-can-figure-it-out-yourself attitude, "Digging a ditch."
He walked on to the next man and asked the same question. The reply was only slightly more kind, "I’m makin’ a living. Just makin’ a living. Gotta feed the wife and kids, you know."

When he asked the third man what he was doing, the man said with a great deal of positive energy and pride, "Sir, I am creating part of a masterful set of irrigation channels that are going to turn this dry ol’ valley into a garden rich with produce to feed the world’s hungry!"

Look beyond the seemingly meaningless chores and minor failures of today and see a bigger picture – ultimately, one that serves others. You’ll find greater satisfaction in your daily grind if you see yourself as making jewels for the Lord’s crown, rather than simply polishing rocks.
Author Unknown

Dear Lord. Help me to take make jewels today. Remind me to look beyond the chores, to set goals and never be discouraged and afraid of failure. Give me eyes to see and hands to work for you and the faith to do it. Amen
Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts.
Coleman Cox

Spiritual maturity begins when we realize that we are God’s guests in this world. We are not householders, but pilgrims; not landlords, but tenants; not owners, but guests.
C. Willard Fetter

West Point Cadet Prayer
O God, our Father, thou Search of men’s hearts, help us to draw near to thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of thee be natural. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy. Guard us against flippancy and irreverence in the sacred things of life. Grant us new ties of friendship and new opportunities of service. Kindle our hearts in fellowship with those of a cheerful countenance, and soften our hearts with sympathy for those who sorrow and suffer.
Clayton E. Whear

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.
George Bernard Shaw

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2

In order to communicate among themselves, Serbian shepherd boys developed an ingenious system. They would stick the blades of their long knives into the ground of a pasture, and when one of the boys sensed an approaching cattle thief, he would strike the handle of his knife sharply. The vibration created a signal that could be picked up by other shepherd boys, their ears pressed tightly against the ground. It was by this unique system that they outwitted thieves who tried to creep up on their flocks and herds under the cover of darkness and tall corn.

Most of the shepherd boys grew up and forgot about their ground signals, but one boy remembered. Twenty-five years after he left the pastures, he made one of the greatest inventions of the modern era. Michael Pupin changed the telephone from a device used only to speak across a city, to a long-distance instrument that could be heard across a continent.
Something you take for granted today or something others may consider to be ordinary or insignificant may actually become your key to greatness.
Author Unknown

Shoes divide men into three classes. Some men wear their father’s shoes. They make no decisions of their own. Some are unthinkingly shod by the crowd. The strong man is his own cobbler. He insists on making his own choices. He walks in his own shoes.
S. D. Gordon

Life is a race. Don’t whimper if the track is rough and the goal is distant. One day you shall reach it.
Life is a voyage. Don’t complain if the storms batter the hull or the winds tatter to shreds the sails. One day you shall come to your haven.

Life is growth. Don’t find fault if the seed lies smothered and submerged in the dark earth before it blooms and blossoms. One day you shall have your harvest.

Life is a pilgrimage. Don’t falter on the road through self-pity because stones cut your feet and leave your blood on the trail. One day you will come to Immanuel’s land.

The God who through the boundless sky guides the flight of the sparrow, who builds the blind bird’s nest, will see to it that in his good time you shall arrive.
Joseph R. Sizoo

"If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it."
Lord I love You and I need You, come into my heart, today.
For without You I can do nothing.
Author Unknown

Live in the active voice, rather than in the passive. Think more about what you make happen than what is happening to you.
Live in the indicative mood, rather than in the subjunctive. Be concerned with things as they are, rather than as they might be.
Live in the present tense, facing the duty at hand without regret for the past or worry over the future.
Live in the singular number, caring more for the approval of your own conscience than for the applause of the crowd.
William De Witt Hyde

I see your hand, Lord, in everything around me,
And in every aspect of my life, I see your will….
I see your plan, Lord, in all the years behind me.
And in the days and years to come, I’ll trust you still.
Jeremiah 29:11

He calls us out of the crowd and clamor, away from the noise of getting things done, accomplishing goals and achieving, away from reaching and striving, into the quiet and peace of just…being. In the simple out of being still and trusting – we finally fulfill his will.
1 Thessalonians 4:11

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done. But he with a chuckle replied, that "maybe it couldn’t" but he would be one who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin on his face. If he worried, he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn’t be done, and he did it. Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you’ll never do that. At least no one ever has done it." But he took off his coat and took off his hat and the first thing he knew he’d begun it, with the lift of his chin and a bit of a grin. If any doubt rose he forbid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn’t be done, and he did it. There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done. There are thousands to prophesy failure. There are thousands to point out to you, one by one, the dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle right in with a big of a grin, then take off your coat and go to it. Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing that cannot be done, and you’ll do it.
Edgar A. Guest

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
1 John 3:16

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6

Once, a young orphan girl despondent and lonely, walked through a meadow and saw a small butterfly caught in a thorn bush. The more the butterfly struggled to free itself, the deeper the thorns cut into its fragile body.

Filled with compassion, the girl released the butterfly. But, instead of flying away, the butterfly transformed into an angel and said gently, "To reward you for your kindness, I will do whatever you would like."

The girl thought for a moment, then replied, "I want to be happy!"

"Very well," the angel said. Then the heavenly creature leaned close to the girl and whispered something in her ear.
Many years later, as the orphan lay on her deathbed after a full and happy life, her friends gathered around her. "Won’t you tell us your secret now," they pleaded. With a labored smile, the woman answered, "An angel told me that no matter where I went in life, I would find people who needed me – people rich or poor, young or old, meek or self-assured – and meeting those needs would bring me happiness and satisfaction."
Author Unknown

God has a purpose for each one of us, a work for each one to do, a place for each one to fill, an influence for each one to exert, a likeness to his dear Son for each one to manifest, and then, a place for each one to fill in his holy temple.
Arthur C. A. Hall

Dear Lord. Help me to be a star on someone’s path today. Show me what needs to be done and help me to accomplish it. Be my guiding hand of everything I do. Help me to give to others as you have given to me. Thank you for holding me in the palm of your hand. Amen.

Remind me to take time to study the map
before racing down the road, to look for
signposts and wait for your direction
as I travel on the way.
Proverbs 19:2

God will not let your foot slip – he who
watches over you will not slumber…
The Lord watches over you –
The Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm –
He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121: 3, 5 – 8

O God, help me to touch someone today
with my eyes, my words, my smile,
my voice, my laughter, Your word.
Change my life, so I can make a difference.
Let my actions bring someone closer to you.
Help me to make Christmas last all year.
Help me to use my gifts for Jesus. Amen.

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