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

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.
Hamilton Wright Mabie

To leave the old with a burst of song,
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;
To forget the thing that binds you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that’s past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worthwhile of the days grown old,
To dare to go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that’s new;
To help your brother along the road
To do his work and lift his load;
To add your gift to the world’s good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.
Author Unknown

In the old McGuffey’s Reader is a story about the clock that had been running for a long, long time on the mantelpiece. One day the clock began to think about how many times during the year ahead it would have to tick. It counted up the seconds – 31,536,000 in the year – and the old clock just got to tired and said, “I can’t do it,” and stopped right there. When somebody reminded the clock that it did not have to tick the 31,536,000 seconds all at one time, but rather one by one, it began to run again and everything was all right.
Nenien C. McPherson, Jr.

Heavenly Father, in this time of New Year and New Beginnings, help me to hold on to what is good and to let go of that which you want me to. Please guide me throughout the coming year. Thank you for your love that sets me free to start anew. Help me to live one day at a time. Amen

Do not attempt to make-up the whole batch at one time for it works best if you work on just one day at a time: Into each day put:
Twelve parts of confidence,
Eleven parts of patience,
Ten parts of grit,
Nine parts of elbow grease,
Eight parts of faith,
Seven parts of hope,
Six parts of charity,
Five parts of kindness,
Four parts of prayer,
Three parts of rest,
Two parts of meditation, and
One carefully selected resolution.
Then – put about a cupful of folly, a jigger of laughter, a sprinkling of play and a heaping cupful of good humor. Cook thoroughly in a fervent heat, garnish with a lot of smiles, a sprig of joy, then serve quietly with unselfishness and cheerfulness --- and a Happy New Year is a certainty.
Author Unknown

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
Hal Borland

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. Author Unknown
Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.
Author Unknown

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.
Henry Ward Beecher

O Lord, in this New Year with new resolutions, help me to make a fresh new year living one day at a time, not worrying about the yesterdays or the tomorrows. Help me to see what I can accomplish, if I only put my trust in you. Help me to take time for myself, to take time for others, and most of all, to take time for you before I begin my day. Please use me to lift up others even as You have sent others to lift me in my times of need. Amen

New Year's Day is every man's birthday.
Charles Lamb

The Old and The New
Let this New Year be the beginning of a new life in each of us wherein “old things are passed away.”
Not the old thoughts, of course, which are still true: but those that remain to nurse and encourage our prejudices.
Not the old emotions that are filled with kindness: but all anger and bitter feeling and railing.
Not the old reverence for the authority of God: but all fears born of our unworthy service apart from him.
Not the old gracious ministries that blessed mankind: but the harsh words, the suspicious looks, the clenched hands, and the unwilling feet.
Not the old habits that keep us in the straight way: but the new fashions that make us unmindful of those things which hold life together in the unity of good manners.
Not the old friends who grow more beloved each year because their worth is better appreciated: but the new associations made from mercenary motives.
Let all blessed old things stay, but let the clutter of our heads and hearts be removed, that new inspirations and new affections may come in to gladden our lives.
Chester Burge Emerson

No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.
Charles Lamb

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.
Brooks Atkinson

The kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:21

Just for today, I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

Just for today, I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, that “most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my “luck” as it comes, and fit myself to it.

Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do—just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt; they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.

Just for today, I will be agreeable, I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticize not one bit, not find fault with anything and not try to improve or regulate anybody except myself.

Just for today, I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.

Just for today, I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. During this half-hour, sometime, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.

Just for today, I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.

Just for today, I will spend time reading your word.
Kenneth L. Holmes

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Anything is possible if you have faith.
Mark 9:23

Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8

I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you. Do not fear; I will help you.
Isaiah 41:13

Memo from God

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 inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. I know, I already gave you the 10 Commandments. Keep them. But follow these 10 guidelines, also.

1. 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?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST
Something needs being 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.

3. 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. Problem with finances? 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.

4. 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
you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do My job.

5. 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's 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.

6. 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 for 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?

7. 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. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. 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 six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. 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.

10. 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 neighbors. 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!

With all My heart,
I love YOU!
GOD
Author Unknown

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jerimiah 29:11

He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit.
John 15:5

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

And this is the confidence that we have in him,
that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
1 John 5:14

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28–30

Every trouble is an opportunity to win the grace of strength. Whatever else trouble is in the world for, it is here for this good purpose – to develop strength. For a trouble is a moral and spiritual task. It is something which is hard to do. And it is the spiritual world as in the physical, strength is increased by encounter with the difficult. A world without any trouble in it would be, to people of our kind, a place of spiritual enervation and moral laziness. Fortunately, every day is crowded with care. Every day to every one of us brings its questions, its worries and its tasks, brings its sufficiency of trouble. Thus we get our daily spiritual exercise. Every day we are blessed with new opportunities for the development of strength of soul.
George Hodges

Prayer reminds us of our constant need for God and reassures us of His presence with us. Prayer is part of God’s plan for our growth and for His program in the world. In prayer, we don’t tell God what to do; we find out what He wants us do to.
David Hubbard

Sometimes I ask the question, "My Lord, is this your will?" It's then I hear you answer me, "My Precious Child ... be still."
Sometimes I feel frustrated, cause I think I know what's best. It's then I hear you say to me, "My Busy Child ... just rest"
Sometimes I feel so lonely and I think I'd like a mate. Your still small voice gets oh so clear and says, "My Child ... please wait"
"I know the plans I have for you, the wondrous things you'll see; If you can just be patient, Child, and put your trust in me. I've plans to draw you closer. I've plans to help you grow. There's much I do you cannot see and much you do not know. But know this, Child ... I LOVE YOU. You are Precious unto Me. Before I formed you in the womb, I planned your destiny. I've something very special I hope for you to learn. The gifts I wish to give to you are gifts you cannot earn. They come without a price tag, but not without a cost; at Calvary, I gave My Son, so You would not be lost. Rest Child, and do not weary of doing what is good. I promise I'll come back for you just like I said I would. Your name is written on my palm, I never could forget; Therefore, do not be discouraged when my answer is... "Not Yet"
Author Unknown

The best time to stand up to any of life’s situations is immediately after you get up from praying on your knees.
O. A. Battista

Put your life into your prayer, and let it be the most real and most immediate business of your life.
Walter Rauschenbusch

I got up early one morning, and rushed right into the day.
I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task.
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak
I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish, that I had to take time to pray.
Author Unknown

We can all pray. We all should pray. We should ask the fulfillment of God’s will. We should ask for courage, wisdom, for the quietness of soul which comes alone to them who place their lives in His hands.
Harry S. Truman

Thank you for the everyday gifts I so often take for granted. Remind me to open my eyes and see your divine touch in all things around me. Amen

My message has been very simple. To live well we must have a faith fit to live by, a self fit to live with, and a work fit to live for – something to which we can give ourselves and thus get ourselves off our hands. We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens in us – how we can take it, what we do with it – and that is what really counts in the end. How to take the raw stuff of life and make it a thing of worth and beauty – that is the test of living. Life is an adventure of faith, if we are to be victors over it, not victims of it. Faith in the God above us, faith in the little infinite soul within us, faith in life and in our fellow souls – without faith, the plus quality, we cannot really live.
Joseph Fort Newton

Most of us wait until we’re in trouble, and then we pray like the dickens. Wonder what would happen if, some morning, we’d wake up and say, “Anything I can do for You today, Lord?”
Burton Hillis

I need never feel abandoned or afraid.
I am totally, eternally secure in Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that can change that blessed assurance.
Romans 8:38, 39

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Do you but hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms. Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or he will give you strength to bear it.
St. Francis De Sales

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
Dale Carnegie

Remind me Lord, that your gifts to me are meant to be shared in love, with others.
1 Samuel 16:23

Once in an age, God sends to some of us a friend who loves in us, not a false-imagining, an unreal character, but, looking through all the rubbish of our imperfections, loves in us the divine ideal of our nature, -- loves, not the man that we are, but the angel that we may be.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face.
St. Francis of Assisi

God broke the years to hours and days,
That hour by hour
And day by day,
Just going on a little way,
We might be able all along
To keep quite strong.
George Klingle

Living One Day at a Time
Our lives are made up of a million moments spent in a million different ways.
Some are spent searching for love, peace, and harmony, others are spent surviving day by day.
But there is no greater moment than when we find that life, with all it’s joys and sorrows, is meant to be lived one day at a time.
It’s in this knowledge that we discover the most wonderful truth of all.
Whether we live in a forty-room mansion, surrounded by servants and wealth,
or find it a struggle to manage the rent month to month.
We have it within our power to be fully satisfied and live a life with true meaning.
One day at a time – we have that ability, through cherishing each moment and rejoicing in each dream.
We can experience each day anew, and with this fresh start we have what it takes to make all our dreams come true.
Each day is new, and living one day at a time
Enables us to truly enjoy life and live it to the fullest.
Author Unknown

We live on a moving line between past and future. That line is our lifeline.
George A. Buttrick

A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most complete prayer.
Gotthold Lessing

A prayer, in its simplest definition, is merely a wish turned heavenward.
Philips Brooks

Just for today. . .
Take time to pray . . . it helps to bring God near and washes the dust of earth from your eyes.
Take time for friends . . . it is the source of happiness.
Take time for work . . . it is the price of success.
Take time to think . . . it is the source of power.
Take time to read . . . it is the foundation of knowledge.
Take time to laugh. . . it is the singing that helps with life’s loads.
Take time to love. . . it is the one sacrament of life.
Take time to dream. . . it hitches the soul to the stars.
Take time to play. . . it is the secret of youth.
Take time to worship. . . it is the highway to reverence.
Author Unknown

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.
Saint Augustine

O Lord, Guide me to hear your whispers and to live each day a new one for you. Help me to remember that if I get the little things right, the big things will take care of themselves. Open the door of my heart. Make me a stone in your temple of love. Amen

I bring thee now, O God, the parcel of a completed day. For I have wrapped it in my thoughts, tied it with my acts, and stored it in the purposes for which I live.
As the evening falls and while I seek thy face in prayer, grant unto me the joy of good friends, the curative power of new interests, the peace of the quiet heart.
Bestow upon me, Eternal spirit, light as darkness comes –
Light not of the sun but of the soul, not for the eye but for the mind.
Light by which to judge the errors and the wisdom of the day’s work.
Light for the path that the soul must find in the tangled ways of coming days.
And grant thou again the healing touch of sleep.
Percy Roy Hayward

Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

Always keep your eyes open for the little task, because it is the little task that is important to Jesus Christ. The future of the Kingdom of God does not depend on the enthusiasm of this or that powerful person; those great ones are necessary too, but it is equally necessary to have a great number of little people who will do a little thing in the service of Christ.

The great flowing rivers represent only a small part of all the water that is necessary to nourish and sustain the earth. Beside the flowing river there is the water in the earth – the subterranean water – and there are the little streams which continually enter the river and feed it and prevent it from sinking into the earth. Without these other waters – the silent hidden subterranean waters and the trickling streams – the great river could no longer flow. Thus it is with the little tasks to be fulfilled by us all.
Albert Schweitzer

A happy heart makes the face cheerful.
Proverbs 15:13

If you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley – but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can’t be a tree.

If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of the grass,
Some highway happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie, then just be a bass –
But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here,
There’s big work to do, and there’s lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.

If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun, be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail –
Be the best of whatever you are!
Douglas Malloch

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room.
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what’s true,
One life can make the difference,
You see, it’s up to you!
Author Unknown

O Lord, in this New Year with new resolutions, I thank you for the wonderful gift that You have provided in giving me this day. Direct my steps. No matter what happens today, I trust you to see me through. Open the door of my heart and help me to be a beacon of light, hope and encouragement. Amen

Those who trust in the Lord for help
will find their strength renewed.
They will rise on wings like eagles;
they will run and not get weary;
they will walk and not grow weak.
Isaiah 40:31

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.

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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