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

Thank you Lord, for the everyday gifts we so often take for granted. Thank you for the dawn. Thank you for the smell of flowers permeating through the air. Thank you for the bird that chirps outside my window. Thank you for the chance to feel the heat and the gentle breeze. Thank you for the berries from the earth that taste so sweet. Thank you for the gentle rain falling softly on my head. But most of all, dear Lord, thank you for the rainbow. Amen

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5

During the days when the United States was taking shape as a nation, Andrew Bradford had an enviable business contract. His company was given the responsibility of doing all the public printing for the new state of Pennsylvania.

Bradford’s company had a reputation for sometimes producing shoddy work, and unfortunately, that was the verdict when Bradford was asked to print an important address the governor was planning to deliver. The document was put together in a careless, unimpressive manner.

Another young printer saw this example of sloppy work as a great opportunity. He prepared an elegant document of the speech, and forwarded it with his compliments to the governor and each member of the assembly. He was soon awarded the contract for all of Pennsylvania’s public printing. His name? Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin replaced what was inferior with something that was of quality and excellence.
Author Unknown

I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.
Abraham Lincoln

This is what I found out about religion: it gives you courage to make the decisions you must make in a crisis and the confidence to leave the results to a higher Power. Only by trust in God can a man carrying responsibility find repose.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Every great discovery I ever made, I gambled that the truth was there, and then I acted on it in faith until I could prove its existence.
Arthur H. Compton (Nobel Prize physicist)

Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
Karl Menninger [1893 – 1991]

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

Guide me, O Lord, that I may renew my strength. Live and grow in me so I may live and grow in you. Help me to run and walk my daily path toward you. Lead me on a journey where I will help others to know and follow you. Help me to let others know your name. Amen

A family sailing trip almost turned into a tragedy when gale-force winds and towering waves threatened to swamp their vessel. Their frantic call to the Coast Guard brought two ships to their rescue. Unfortunately, the first ship had only a rope ladder, a means of evacuation too dangerous in such rough seas. Then the 900-foot tanker, James N. Sullivan, arrived. It shielded the sailboat until, after several hours of maneuvering, a set of stairs could be lowered from the side of the tanker to the sailboat.

Using a safety line, Bob and Sherry made the transfer in good order, as did their two young children. Then it was Grandmother Laurie’s turn. Grandfather Dave passed her tether to Bob, but her harness got caught when she stepped across to the ladder. As the boats pulled apart, Laurie fell into the sea. With a surge of the waves, the boats came crashing back together. Dave was afraid to look – he knew that his beloved wife of 33 years could not swim, and even worse, he feared she may have been crushed as the boats collided. Nevertheless, he clung to the tether, refusing to let go. Grandmother later explained, "That’s the only reason I’m here."

No matter how troubled the seas of your life may become, hold on to the tether with your love. Remember to trust God for the impossible.
Author Unknown

When you draw close to God, God will draw close to you.
James 4:8

If you doubt there is a God, look deep into a rose;
See the velvet petals from the folded bud unclose;
Note the tint and texture and the lovely coloring;
Could blind Nature of itself evolve so fair a thing?

Feel the softness of the petal, breathe the fragrant scent;
Need you waste another thought on further argument?
Here is proof of a Creator: God made manifest;
In this little rose we see divinity expressed.
Patience Strong

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others.
Winston Churchill

Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.
Jennie Jerome Churchill [1854 – 1921]

Dear Lord, Thank you for all things bright and beautiful. Thank you for all things great and small. Thank you for landscapes. Thank you for memories. Thank you for the seasons of our lives. Thank you for the times of our lives – of hope, of faith, of harvest, of surrender and of trust. Thank you for the promise of your word. Amen

No mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has for those who love the Lord.
1 Corinthians 2:9

Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it.
Katherine Ann Porter [1890 – 1980]

Everywhere I find the signature, the autograph of God, and he will never deny his own handwriting. God hath set his tabernacle in the dewdrop as surely as in the sun. No man can any more create the smallest flower than he could create the greatest world.
Joseph Parker

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.
William Shakespeare

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

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

For a number of years, Jamie Buckingham periodically worked with evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. He wrote in Coping with Criticism: "Although Miss Kuhlman was very sensitive to criticism, she never let it deter her from her goal. Instead, she used it to help her get there ….

"Shortly after she went on nationwide television with her weekly program, she received a letter from a public school official….’ I love you and love your program,’ he wrote. ‘It would have been much better, however, if you didn’t have to spend so much time tugging at your skirt trying to pull it down over your knees. It was really distracting. Why don’t you wear a long dress instead?’ Kathryn read the letter. ‘You know, he’s right, she said to her secretary. She never wore another street-length dress on her TV program.

"A lesser person would have responded with anger, or passed it off as just another senseless remark. But she was not that sort of lesser person. She heard. She coped. She let it help her toward her goal of communicating. All of which was possible because there was no root of bitterness to give a bad taste to everything that came into her life which presented another viewpoint."
Author Unknown

The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. I have met people so empty of joy that when I clasped their frosty fingertips it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child’s hand, but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others.
Helen Keller

How bold one gets when one is sure of being loved!
Sigmund Freud

What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.
Saint Theresa of Avila [1515 – 1582]

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
Charles Dickens

Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:17-18

The more we love our friends, the less we flatter them; it is by excusing nothing that pure love shows itself.
Jean-Baptisete Moliere

Love is a great beautifier.
Louisa May Alcott

The Lord is my teacher. I shall not want. He maketh me to learn in God’s out-of-doors. He teacheth me by his written word. He instructeth my soul. He guideth me in the paths of true knowledge for his name’s sake. Yea, when the day’s task is done, and life’s lessons have been learned, I will fear no evil, for thou wilt be with me, my Teacher and my Comforter still. Thou teachest even my enemies to become pupils of the Great Teacher. Thou leadest me gently from the known to the unknown. Thou givest me satisfaction in my day’s work. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall be a learner in the school of the Great Teacher forever.
Frederic S. Goodrich

Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11

Gracious God, thank you for being present on the path of my life. As I veer off the path, gently guide me back to your footsteps that I may always follow you. Lead me gently from the known to the unknown, so my journey may reach out to paths unknown – so others might find nourishment in your word and you. Here I am Lord, save me – use me. Amen

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was. The students laughed.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, and your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
Author Unknown

Dear Lord. Help me to take care of the rocks first and to not fill my life with sand. Remind me to study the map before me each day. Help me to follow your direction and to greet those you have sent across my path. Make me a stone in your temple of love. Give me eyes to see and hands to work for you and the faith to do it. 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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