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

Take heart. . . your sins are forgiven.
Matthew 9:2

Come near to God and he will come near to you.
James 4:8

The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you.
2 Chronicles 15:2

I have in my hands two boxes which God gave me to hold. He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box, and all your joys in the gold." I heeded His words, and in the two boxes both my joys and sorrows I stored, but though the gold became heavier each day the black was as light as before. With curiosity, I opened the black, I wanted to find out why, and I saw, in the base of the box, a hole which my sorrows had fallen out by. I showed the hole to God, and mused, "I wonder where my sorrows could be." He smiled a gentle smile and said, "My child, they're all here with me." I asked, "God, why did you give me the boxes, Why the gold, and the black with the hole?" "My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, The black is for you to let go."
Author Unknown

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

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

Surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
Psalm 5:12

Jesus said, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24

Hello God,
I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.
You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.
Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.
I thank you God for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.
Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.
So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!
Author Unknown

Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
Pamela Vaull Starr

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7

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

The way to God has properly been described as “letting oneself fall,” and has been compared with the first flight of a baby eagle, pushed out of the nest by its parents and then discovering to its amazement that the invisible ocean of light in which it is dropping is capable of bearing it up. The presence of God which surrounds everyone is like this invisible ocean which bears us up more surely than do all visible means of security.
Karl Heim

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7, 8

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

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Psalms 32:8

Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.
Helen Keller

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:12, 13

But I tell you; Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matthew 5:44

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Do not value the THINGS you have in your life. But value WHO you have in your life!
Author Unknown

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

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

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

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life from aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin,
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Emily Dickinson

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

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

Today is for itself enough…
Shelley

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

Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation!
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."
Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"
To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Author Unknown

Into all our lives, in my simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this element of joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly brighten our days, and fill our eyes with light. He drops this added sweetness into his children’s cup, and makes it to run over. The success we are not counting on, the blessing we were not trying after, the strain of music in the midst of drudgery, the beautiful morning picture or sunset glory thrown in as we pass to or from our daily business, the unsought word of encouragement or expression of sympathy, the sentence that meant for us more than a writer or speaker thought – these and a hundred others that everyone’s experience can supply are instances of what I mean.
Samuel Longfellow

"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

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

Gracious God, thank you for opportunities where I can grow and be lifted up. Thank you for your love shown in different and exciting ways. Thank you for your direction in my life, so that I am challenged to be all that you want me to be. Help me to spread your word in this world. Amen

When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:18–19

Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Light tomorrow with today.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The strength and happiness of a man consists in finding out the way in which God is going, and going in that way too.
Henry Ward Beecher

Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men.
Colossians 3:23

Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
Luke 6:38

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

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

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 will 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

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

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

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

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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