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 soothes 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

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of this challenging life. Teach me to grasp each opportunity to be kind to someone today – and then to another. Help me to open my heart to others. Amen

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.
Ruth Ann Schabacker

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.
Elton Trueblood

Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.
Jean Anouilh

Give what you have. To some one, it may be better than you dare to think.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There are those who give little of the much they have – and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gift unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
Gibran Kahlil, The Prophet

If I can do some good today,
If I can serve along life’s way,
If I can something helpful say,
Lord, show me how.
Grenville Kleiser

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
Elizabeth Bibesco

Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
William Wordsworth, 1806

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

Thank you, God, for the love I have received. Help me to give to others as you have given to me. Help me to take advantage of each opportunity. May I learn to uplift the spirits of the lives I touch today. Amen

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

One day a rich man of a miserly disposition visited a rabbi, who took him by the hand and led him to a window. “Look out there,” he said.
The rich man looked out into the street.
“What do you see?”
“I see men and women and little children.”
Again the rabbi took him to a mirror. “What do you see now?”
”I see myself.”
“Behold, the window there is glass and the mirror is glass also. But the glass of the mirror is covered with silver. No sooner is silver added than you cease to see others and see only yourself.”
Author Unknown

The only gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.
Mother Teresa

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.
George MacDonald

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm

What is bought is cheaper than a gift.
Portuguese Proverb

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. William Arthur Ward

What life means to us is determined not so much by what life brings to us as by the attitude we bring to life; not so much by what happens to us as by our reactions to what happens.
Lewis L. Dunnington

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

Dear God, Place me with those you want me to meet. Fill me with Your boundless love, so that I may pass it on to those I meet. Awaken me to what I am and help me become the most I can be for You. Amen

It cost nothing to say a ‘hello’ here and there.
To friends that you pass in the street.
It costs nothing to smile at a stranger,
Or at any new friend that you meet.
It costs nothing to show your emotions,
Or your feelings when things don’t go right.
It costs nothing to help the unfortunate,
Who are blind or who have no sight.
It costs nothing to be happy.
And happiness can be found.
Happiness is like butter,
So go on and spread some around.
Jeanette Achilles

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"
William A. Ward

Life is like a library owned by an author. In it are a few books which he wrote himself, but most of them were written for him.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Every man’s life is a plan of God.
Horace Bushnell

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

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20

It cost so little, I wonder why
We give it so little thought;
A smile, kind words, a glance, a touch –
What magic by them is wrought.
Author Unknown

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

Drop a pebble in the water, And its ripples reach out far; And the sunbeams dancing on them May reflect them to a star.
Give a smile to someone passing, Thereby making his morning glad; It may greet you in the evening When your own heart may be sad.
Do a deed of simple kindness; Though its end you may not see, It may reach, like widening ripples, Down a long eternity.
Joseph Norris

Life is a pure flame, and we live by an invisible sun within us.
Thomas Browne

I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
Seneca

For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
John 13:15

True generosity requires more of us than kindly impulse. Above all it requires imagination, the capacity to see people in all their perplexities and needs, and to know how to expend ourselves effectively for them.
I. A. R. Wylie

A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it's easy to exchange.
Author Unknown

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

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

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.
Washington Irving

Dear Lord, I thank you for being with me through all my yesterdays. I trust you to hold all my tomorrows in your hand. Guide me onto the paths that lead to Your way. Amen

We never live so intensely as when we love strongly. We never realize ourselves so vividly as when we are in the full glow of love for others.
Walter Rauschenbusch

The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it in turn will look sourly at you; laugh at it, and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion.
William Makepeace Thackeray

Most of us can afford to take a lesson from the oyster. The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this. Irritations get into his shell. He does not like them; he tries to get rid of them. But when he cannot get rid of them he settles down to make of them one of the most beautiful things in the world. He uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing that an oyster ever has a chance to do . If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl. It may have to be a pearl of patience, but anyhow, make a pearl. And it takes faith and love to do it.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving. Take what you are given, not what you want to be given. Give what cannot be taken.
Idries Shah

Go often to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand.
Psalm 31:14-15

Whoever falls from God’s right hand is caught into his left.
Edwin Markham

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
David Viscott

I have found that prayer is the most wonderful gift in God’s great bag of blessings. It is the great adventure of the Christian faith. No matter who we are or what our life circumstances may be, prayer can become for us a thrilling, daily adventure. So many of us are needlessly living at a level far beneath that which God wants for us. He has a storehouse full of rich provisions, just waiting to be distributed to all those who will simply ask Him to open His hand. So often it is true that we have not because we ask not.
David Jeremiah

God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.
Eleanor Powell

Our friends are the people whom we choose; usually friends are the same sort of people as ourselves. My neighbor is the man whom I do not choose; he is the man whom god gives to me. He is the man who happens to live in the house next to mine; he is the man who happens to sit opposite to me in the train; he is the clerk who works at the desk next to mine. I have no right to say that he is no concern of mine, because, if I am a Christian, I know that he is the man whom God has given to me.
Stephen C. Neill

Open your heart to the promise of daybreak. Welcome each morning, embrace all it brings. See every dawn as the Father’s own promise. For life is a gift, and it holds wondrous things.
Ezekiel 34:26

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
Babatunde Olatunji

This day is almost done. When the night and morning meet it will be only an unalterable memory. So let no unkind word, no careless doubting thought, no guilty secret, no neglected duty , no wisp of jealous fog becloud its passing. Now, in token of our deep and abiding love, we would lay aside all disturbing thoughts, all misunderstandings, all unworthiness. If things have gone awry, let neither of us lift an accusing finger. Who is to blame is not important; only how shall we set the situation right. And so, serving and being served, loving and being loved, we shall make a peaceful home, where we and our children shall learn to face life joyfully, triumphantly, so near as God shall give us grace. Life is like a library owned by an author. In it are a few books which he wrote himself, but most of them were written for him.
F. Alexander Magoun

Dear God, fill me with Your boundless love. Show me how to be a gift to others. Open my eyes so that I may see where my help is needed. Carry my yoke and place me with those you want me to meet. Help me to take advantage of each opportunity I have to offer someone a helping hand, a kind word, a listening ear, a pat on the back, hope. Lead me through the tasks you have set before me. Fill me with Your boundless love, so that I may pass it on. Let me feel Your presence and guidance. As I extend my hand, let me feel Your reassuring grasp and abundant love. Help me to become the most I can for You. Amen

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

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts
they perform for us in our time of need.
I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

You go no where by accident.
Wherever you go, God is sending you.
Wherever you are, God has put you there.
He has a purpose in your being there.
Christ who dwells in you has something
He wants to do through you where you are.
Believe this and go in His grace and love and power.
Richard C. Halverson, Chaplain of the United States Senate

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.

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