Dear  Friend,

        How are you?  I just had to send a note to

tell you how much I care about you.

        I saw you yesterday as you were talking with

your friends.  I waited all day hoping you would want

to talk with me too. I gave you a sunset to close your

day and a cool breeze to rest you- and I waited. You

never came. It hurt me- but I still love you because

I am your friend.

      I saw you sleeping last night and longed to

touch your brow so I spilled moonlight upon your

face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so we

could talk. I have so many gifts for you!  You awoke

and rush off to work. My tears were in the rain.

     If you would only listen to me! I love you! I try to

tell you in blue skies and in the quiet green grass. I

whisper it in leaves on the trees and breathe it in colors

of flowers, shout it to you in mountain streams, give

the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you with warm

sunshine and perfume the air with nature scents. My

love for you is deeper than the ocean, and bigger than

the biggest need in your heart!

       Ask me!  Talk with me ! Please don't forget me.

I have so much to share with you!

      I won't hassle you any further.  It is   YOUR

decision.  I have chosen you and I will wait~

                                  I love you.  Your friend,

                                               JESUS

Transcript of Sandy's video, "There is Hope in the Cross of Christ"

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."  - Luke 9:23

"When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  - Romans 8:15-18

"...as you share in the sufferings you also share in the encouragement."  - 2 Cor 1:7 (NAB)

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,"  - 2 Cor 4:16-17

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."  - Romans 5:3-5

"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."  - Romans 8:24-25

"Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."  - Romans 12:12

Prayer to suffer in union with Jesus; "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, ... that I may gain Christ ... that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ... if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."  - Phil 3:8, 10-11

Dear Lord I am suffering right now. It's hard Jesus. I feel like I'm on the fringe of life.

O Father I would like to be released from this suffering. I prayed for healing according to Your will.

However, if You will that I suffer for a season, then I offer this suffering in union with Jesus my crucified Lord who willingly endured such suffering for me.

O Lord Jesus, I want to grow closer to you and that means taking up my cross each day and following you. Even so, thank you that your yoke is easy and your burden is light.

You help me to bear this suffering Lord, and in doing so You draw me closer to Yourself and to Your Sacred Heart.

For Love of You I unite my pains with yours and offer them to Your Father and mine.

I ask only the grace to grow in love and to bear this cross with heroism and grace all the way to the resurrection.

Thank You Jesus!

Amen.

"The everlasting God has, in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart.  This Cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.  He has blessed it with His holy name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God."  - St. Francis de Sales

"They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

"Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. ... he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." - Rev 21:3-5

"I am the Lord, your healer." - Ex 15:26

"Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." - Josh 1:9

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." - Rom 15:13

Please send this to all your friends and family. You never know if they, or someone they know might be suffering.

All Glory & Honor to God Peace & Love in Christ.

Sandy

(Sandy is a member of an outside online community group. ~ Tony) 

THE U IN JESUS


Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God stuck U in the name of His Son.

And each time U pray, you'll see it's true,
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.

And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.

'Go into the world and tell them it's true
That I love them all - Just like I love U.'

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?

It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know,
But it all starts with U.

A beautiful afternoon prompted a baseball game between my daughter Aimee and me. I pitch, Aimee bats . . . the entire time.

There is a fun routine to this game. I toss the ball toward Aimee, she swings the big red bat, and it usually soars over my head (she later becomes a fine softball player). I then declare it a homerun and begin to clap, cheer and yell as she rounds the bases with a big smile on her face. After she slides into home, I chase the ball and return to an almost identical scenario.

We play this for over one hour until her dad is pooped! We then walk into the house where I collapse on
the couch.

About one-hour later, Aimee comes to me and asks, "Daddy, can we go out and play ball some more?"

"Baby," I groan, "I’m really beat from chasing down all those homerun balls."

Having an answer for everything, Aimee states, "We will play different this time. We won’t use the bat and ball. You pretend to pitch and I’ll pretend to hit. Then you cheer and clap for me."

Therefore, we did . . . for another 30 minutes.

Far from a theologian, I see the Father in heaven moved with joy over His beloved children. We often think we have to do things an exact way or hit a homerun for His pleasure, while He just wants us to look to Him.

(The above picture is not of my daughter, but she looked identical to it at this age.)

On Watching "I Love Lucy"


Okay. I confess. I watched an "I Love Lucy" rerun the other day. For several years I avoided TV Land and those old TV shows of my youth. Not that I didn't like them back then. Nothing much else to do for a young Catholic girl with a strict mother. However, I have matured beyond that era - emotionally and spiritually. Right?

Well... I have to admit - what was funny then is funny now, even in this new 21^st millennium. Lucille Ball possessed a great talent to make even the sourest sourpuss break into uncontrollable giggles. Not many comedians make me laugh as Lucy did and still does. Most comics today  think they must lace their acts with sexual innuendo or political barbs. That may be funny for some, but gets old pretty quickly for me.

Other comics depend on profanity. When did foul language become the punch line? The "Lucy" show never used profanity, even when Ricky exploded after the redhead's shenanigans. Yeah, yeah. The TV powers-that-be of the 1950s imposed numerous restrictions on what could be portrayed. But, I liked it like that. I appreciate that decency more today, because TV has crossed a line I wish it had not.

Many African Americans still hold uneasy feelings about life in the '50s. What African American in his or her right mind wants a return to Jim Crow laws - second-class citizenship, riding in the back of the bus, and on and on? Not this one anyway.

Nevertheless, there is this longing in me to resurrect the morality and innocence of mid-20th Century America, when the entire family could watch any TV program - together. When there was never a need to censor or bleep. When writers, directors, and producers felt no pressure to broadcast raw sex and violence. When no commercials taught children that it's funny to be selfish and refuse to share. When no network bragged of "No Limits" programming.

Yes, I sure miss the stories where the good guy won in the end, and the bad guy got his comeuppance. Where characters always resolved their disagreements and forgave one another. That's right - by program's end. Where the storyline contained a lesson and the main character became a better person after learning that lesson.

Forgiveness is an ideal that's lacking in too much of today's popular writing, whether in print or broadcast media. No doubt in my mind that failure to forgive is why so many personal relationships or relations between nations writhe in turmoil. Why there is so much divorce and so many senseless wars. Hardness of heart is a prelude to hatred. But, can we get back to that spirit of forgiveness? Yes, if enough people, governments, and nations desire it. If our so-called leaders can rise to that level of consciousness.

Ricky always forgave Lucy. Now, what if Yasser Arafat had forgiven Ariel Sharon, or if all Israelis forgive all Muslims, and vice versa? Perhaps no Hamas government? No suicide bombers? What if all blacks forgive all whites for past injustices? What if racist whites turn away from hatred and prejudices and forgive black people for being black and Jews for being Jews? What if you forgive everyone who hurt you? What if you forgive yourself? What if we understood that we all fall short of God's glory? Like Satchmo, "I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

O Lord. Here they come. The raving, roving detractors. "Get real! Lucy and Ricky are dead and so are the '50s! Life just ain't like that anymore, lady."

Well, I think it should be. What do you think?

A NOTE FROM GOD:

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

This is God. Today I will be handling
All of your problems for you. I do Not
need your help. So, have a nice day.
I love you.


P.S. And, remember..
If life happens to deliver a situation to you
that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to
resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFGTD
(something for God to do) box. I will get to it in
MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but
in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not
hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus
on all the wonderful things that are present in
your life now.


Should you decide to send this to a friend;
Thank you. You may have touched their life
in ways you will never know!

Now, you have a nice day.

God

PPS:
God has seen you struggling,
God says it's over.
A blessing is coming your way.

AFTER A DAY OF CONTEMPLATION AND SOUL SEARCHING, I HAVE DECIDED TO REACH OUT TO MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES AND ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN TROUBLING ME FOR A LONG TIME.

OUR NATION IS/HAS BEEN ON THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO HELL FOR A LONG
TIME. IF YOU LOOK AROUND YOU WILL FIND CORRUPTION, GREED, MORAL
DECAY AND A STEADY MOVE AWAY FROM THE THINGS THAT MADE US GREAT. THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED ARE NO LONGER OUR BACKBONE. HOWEVER, WE CAN REVERSE THIS TREND.

IN GOD'S WORD HE STATES,"IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME
WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES, AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE, AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND HEAL THEIR LAND."

I AM CONVINCED THAT WE MUST PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS AND ASK FOR FORGIVENESS. SO I ASK YOU TO JOIN ME IN THIS PLEA TO OUR LORD.

WOULD YOU PLEASE SEND THIS TO AT LEAST 25 PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, (SEND IT TO ALL OF THEM). ASK THEM TO PRAY EVERYDAY. 25 TO THE 5TH POWER IS 9,765,625 PEOPLE. IMAGINE IF EACH PERSON REACHES TEN OTHERS.

IF YOU DO AND THEY COMPLY, WE WILL LIFT UP MILLIONS OF PRAYERS A DAY TO OUR CREATOR. HE WILL HEAR US AND IN FAITH WILL ANSWER.

"Lord, I pray for all government officials and especially for the leaders of my own country. I pray for the president, that he may conduct the affairs of national government with wisdom, bravery and true justice. I pray for the members of Congress that they may truly represent the needs of the people, and work in harmony for the advancement of all men, women and children. I pray for the judges that rule the courts of our land, that they may balance justice with mercy, and civil law with divine mandate.Grant to all of our national,state and local leaders the gifts of wisdom, justice, counsel and fortitude, that they may conduct the affairs of man in accord with the will of God. Grant to all men the gift of respect for lawful authority, justly exercised, that we may live as a united people, one nation under God. May all the governments of the world seek to reconcile power with the needs of society. May they all strive to form bonds of unity between countries, that we may one day share a united world of prosperity and peace. In Jesus Name Amen."


Let me just add a quote from Ronald Reagan -
"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." I truly believe this is why the United States of America is in the shape we are in today. Most people have forgotten that we are ONE NATION UNDER GOD! Let us as Christians stand up and remind people of this. ~ Have a Blessed Day!

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

I would like to share this we-site with you. I hope & Pray it will touch you as it did me. It is a Love Letter from our Heavenly  Father.  you will need to copy & Paste the address in your browser..sorry.   

http://www.bittybitznpieces.com/FathersLoveLetter~.htm

I said, "God I hurt."  And God said, "I know."

I said, "God, I cry a lot."  And God said, "That is why I gave you tears."

I said, "God, I am so depressed."  And God said, "That is why I gave you sunshine."

I said, "God, life is so hard."  And God said, "That is why I gave you loved ones."

I said, "God, my loved one died."  And God said, "So did mine."

I said, "God, it is such a loss."  And God said, "I saw mine nailed to the cross."

I said, "God, but your loved one lives."  And God said, "So does yours."

I said, "God, where are they now?"  And God said, "Mine is on My Right and yours is in the Light."

I said, "God, it hurts."  And God said, "I know."

Author unknown