Love and Laughter

"Be calm, be true, be quiet. I watch over you. Rest in My Love. Joy in the very Beauty of Holiness. You are mine. Deliverance is here for you, but Thankfulness and Joy open the gates. Try in all things to be very glad, very happy, very thankful. It is not to quiet resignation I give my blessings, but to joyful acceptance and anticipation. Laughter is the outward expression of Joy. That is why I urge upon you Love and Laughter." From the book "God Calling".

I have learned that having thankfulness and acceptance of all things in my life is the only true way of happiness and joy in this worldly life. It is not always easy to be so when parts of life are hard or sad and there are times when I find it difficult to be thankful for what I have. Nonetheless, I find that when I am thankful, even for the rough roads, I do find an inner joy that heals the wounds upon me. To love and to laugh makes my life joyful and, therefore, thankfulness seems to come naturally.

Today I am grateful to know how to love and laugh and to be thankful and joyful.

Peace Through Humility

"Esteem not thyself better than others, lest perhaps in the sight of God, who knoweth what is in man, thou be accounted worst than they. Be not proud of good works, for the judgments of God are different from the judgments of men, and that often offendeth Him which pleaseth man. If there be any good in thee, believe better things of others, that so thou mayest preserve humility. It doth no hurt to thee to set thyself lower than all men, but it hurteth thee exceedingly if thou set thyself before even one man.Continual peace is with the humble; but in the heart of the proud is envy and frequent indignation." Thomas a Kempis

A dear friend of mine, Petey, gave me this wonderful little book, Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, and I find great comfort and peace from the above reading. What I find so comforting is that I can refrain from the temptations of this world to be the best and the brightest of my fellows and,therefore, need not put myself above any other. I can, however, become the best and brightest Light if I allow myself to be humble within His will and try to love, as He does, every soul that I find myself amongst.

Today I am grateful that the greater my humility the greater my peace shall be.

All Is Well

"Remember My Words to My Disciples. 'This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.' Can you tread the way I trod? Can you drink of My cup? 'All is well.' Say always, 'All is well.' Long though the way may seem, there is not one inch too much, I, your Lord, am not only with you on the journey--I planned, and am planning the journey. There are Joys unspeakable in the way you go. Courage--Courage--Courage."

I simply love this meditation from "God Calling". It helps me so on my way to wherever I shall go. I know that I can trod the road by simply saying "All is Well". My prayer is that I only go any way through His will and by His love with courage that only He shall give me. My path my be long and winding, but through Him I can always trod the road joyfully.

Today, I am grateful that He has planned and continues to plan my journey!

The Redeemer of My Soul

The Redeemer of My Soul
(by Melissa Webb)

There are times during the stillness of night
when I feel my life has truly been a waste.
I know without Your loving grace,
Your beautiful light, I would not rise.

The warmth You give overwhelms me with fear,
fills my heart with everlasting love.
Reminding me I truly owe my life,
my very soul, to You forever.

The mere thought of Your everlasting love
surrounds me with a wonderful joy.
I pray Your greatness will be know by all,
The redeemer of my life, my very soul.



Today I am thankful to the Redeemer of my soul and His loving grace, everlasting love and wonderful joy!

Inward Peace

"Be desirous, My son, to do the will of another rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always the lower place, and to be inferior to every one. Wish always, and pray, that the will of God be wholly done in thee. Behold, such a man entereth within the borders of peace and rest." Thomas a Kempis - Imitation of Christ.

This is one of my favorite readings. I cannot take credit for always obeying these four simple ways of having inward peace. However, when I do continually strive to follow these callings I do find great peace and rest. Whenever I find disquiet within myself I know that I have strayed to the callings of self will rather than that of God. I reflect on the above reading and can almost immediately see where I have failed to do the above. Only through the grace of God can I readjust my thoughts and actions to follow these four things and regain that inward peace that gives me rest in His loving arms.

Today I am grateful for the simple ways to find peace rather than the callings of worldly thoughts and actions.

Calmness of the Storm

"O let me hear Thee speaking
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will.

O speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
O speak and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul."
(anonymous)

The above came from a reading in my favorite book "God Calling". The reading is about how "all sacrifice and suffering is redemptive'; that His plan is perfect and all that we sacrifice and suffer is not by chance, but is to teach us or to be used to help others. I know for me, this is often hard to accept. However, I also know that when I see others suffer, or myself, all that I can do is to go to Christ and ask Him to embrace us, heal us, and show us His loving Light. I do not always hear him in the midst of my self will; however I know that he will quiet the storm so that I can listen and know that he is the 'Guardian of my soul' and of others. Only He can speak to us in the sufferings we bear.

Today I am grateful that I can go to Him and hear the calmness of the storm.