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

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught.
Oscar Wilde, "The Critic as Artist," 1890

With boldness and wonder and expectation, I greet you this morning, dear Lord. This is a brand new day, a whole new beginning. I rejoice in the beauty of its light and warmth. I ask you now to bless this day and to be present in each moment guiding me through all of it. Show me what you want me to study and may it lead me down the pathway of service to you. Amen

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 13:11-13

I hope that my achievements in life shall be these - that I will have fought for what was right and fair, that I will have risked for that which mattered, and that I will have given help to those who were in need that I will have left the earth a better place for what I've done and who I've been.
C. Hoppe

There is just one life for each of us: our own.
Euripides

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unknown, but not uncharted, tomorrow waits for our arrival – a day designed, a place prepared with tender care by the One who goes before us … Let us walk with faith behind him in the footprints of his love.
Psalm 37:23

There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises." Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.
Orrin Hatch

Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn't always have to be their top priority.
William Arthur Ward

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
Sydney J. Harris

What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
Job 22:28

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.
Ralph Marston

If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
Vince Lombardi

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.
Edmund Hillary

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
Henry Ford

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart
but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
Mark 11:22-2

Often God has to shut a door in our face, so that He can subsequently open the door through which He wants us to go.
Catherine Marshall

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of this day and for remaining at the center of it. Thank you for the challenge of each and every day. Help me to rejoice instead of complain – help me to always find ways to celebrate, instead of looking at the impossible. Grant me the wisdom to use this opportunity wisely and to celebrate the goodness in life. May I always see your grace above and beyond any pain – always remembering the darkest clouds have brilliant silver linings and that the glass is not half-empty, but almost full! Sometimes, I just have to look for it. When I’m wallowing in pain, remind me to forgive, forget and not to waste a moment on the yesterdays, but to take care of the now and where you would want me to be and to get excited about the tomorrows and where it will lead. Amen

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Beverly Sills

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
Pslms 128:2

The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions.
Bishop Mandell Creighton

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was a joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
Joann C. Jones

The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein

There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read.
G.K. Chesterton

Don't waste time learning the "tricks of the trade." Instead, learn the trade. Attributed to both James Charlton and H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

If you feel that you have both feet planted on level ground, then the university has failed you.
Robert Goheen, Time, 23 June 1961

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.
Tom Brokaw

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.
Proverbs 22:4

You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it.
John Updike

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.
Harold Geneen

Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. Wendy Wasserstein

Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.
David Lloyd George

Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back

Your schooling may be over, but remember that your education still continues. Author Unknown

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.
Colossians 3:23

The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.
Henry Ford

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. Arnold H. Glasow

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
Henry Ford

The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.
Proverbs 15:6

There are so many men who can figure costs, and so few who can measure values.
Author Unknown

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. Albert Einstein

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
Deuteronomy 28:11-13

The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.
Ralph W. Sockman

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Francis Bacon, Essays, 1625

My father always told me, "Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
Jim Fox

That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:13

The best helping hand that you will ever receive is the one at the end of your own arm.
Fred Dehner

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book

We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.
Author Unknown

Put your future in good hands - your own.
Author Unknown

Gracious God, Thank you for being with me through all my yesterdays. I trust you to hold all my tomorrows in your hand. Amen

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Judy Garland

Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.
Art Linkletter

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:19

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
Milton Berle

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
John Wooden

Each day, I discover new gifts you offer me, and the list of reasons to be thankful grows. As I accept your gifts, guide me to become a person who shares with others so that they too can live abundantly. Help me to recognize that my giving can only spring from what has already been given. Stir me into vision and action and to recognize when to wait and to understand when to move. Help me to recognize your presence in this nudge to movement. May I never forget that a gathering of two is really a fellowship of three as you are always there with us. Amen

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
Nelson Henderson

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
e.e. cummings

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
Les Brown

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is no need to reach high for the stars. They are already within you - just reach deep into yourself!
The Quote Garden

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucius

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

Dear Lord, Breathe Your love deeply into my being. Live in me and energize me that I may not only touch life, but be touched by it. Remind me Lord, that your gifts to me are meant to be shared in love, with others. Cleanse my heart by the Holy Spirit. Renew my spirit, so I will hear your whispers and You can be seen in my every action and heard in my every word. 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

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

I see your hand, Lord, in everything around me, and in every aspect of my life, I seek 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

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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