Slow Me Down Lord

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace.

Give me, amidst the day's confusion, the calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles,

With the soothing music of singing streams that live in my memory.

Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.

Teach me the art of taking "minute vacations"...

Slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend,

To read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me of the fable of the hare and tortoise;

That the race is not always to the swift;

That there is more to life than measuring its' speed.

Let me look up at the branches of the towering oak,

And know that it grew slowly and well.

Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values,

That I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.

Slow Me Down Lord! -Author unknown

Thanks LilAngel once again! God bless you!

The Difference

When my earthly father says, "You are nothing."
My Heavenly Father says, "You are my beloved child."

When my earthly father says, "I'll give you the piano, if you learn how to play it."
My Heavenly Father says, "Use your talents wisely."

When my earthly mother says, "Just wait until your father gets home."
My Heavenly Father says, "Just wait until my Son takes you home."

When my earthly father says, "You will never amount to anything."
My Heavenly Father says, "You will always be something special to me."

When my earthly father says, "Go stand in the corner."
My Heavenly Father says, "Go into every corner of the world and tell about My Son."

When my earthly father says, "Clean up this mess."
My Heavenly Father says, "If your life is a mess, I will clean it up for you."

When my earthly father says, "You will never do anything right."
My Heavenly Father says, "I will make all things right."

When my earthly father says, "I am going to write you out of my will."
My Heavenly Father says, "I will give you the kingdom."

When my earthly father says, "Go to bed without your supper."
My Heavenly Father says, "My storehouses are full. Come and dine."

When my earthly father says, "Go away. Can't you see I'm busy?"
My Heavenly Father says, "I am available for you twenty-four hours a day."

When my earthly father says, "Why don't you grow up?"
My Heavenly Father says, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

When my earthly father says, "I hate you."
My Heavenly Father says, "I love you so much. I gave my Son for you."

When my earthly father says, "I don't have time for you. I'm in a hurry."
My Heavenly Father says, "Time means nothing to me. I have all the time you need."

When my earthly father says, "I am not going to hold you. You need to do something by yourself."
My Heavenly Father says, "I will wrap My loving arms around you."

When my earthly father says, "Why don't you pick up your feet?"
My Heavenly Father says, "I will walk with you and help you up when you fall."

When my earthly father says, "I don't love you anymore."
My Heavenly Father says, "I love you with an everlasting love that will last throughout all eternity."

When my earthly father says, "You are no longer welcome in our home."
My Heavenly Father says, "Heaven is your home. I have a mansion prepared for you."

And with this, I close.

Think about it!! It's great to have a Heavenly Father who loves us and cares about us.

Today's thought is not intented to be demeaning to all fathers in general. There are many fathers who understand the love of God, the Father and pass that love on to their children. However, there are many of us, who's fathers do not pass on such love. We tend to look at God, our Father, through the eyes and examples of our own fathers, who did not live up to part they were intended to play. Today's thought is to encourage those whose fathers shattered the image of what a true father is supposed to be and to encourage those fathers, who are the Promise Keepers, that bring back the love and principles of Godly Fatherhood!

The Birdcage

A man was on the side of the road with a large birdcage. A boy noticed that the cage was full of birds of many kinds. "Where did you get those birds?" he asked.

"Oh, all over the place," the man replied. "I lure them with crumbs, pretend I'm their friend then when they are close, I net them and shove them into my cage."

"And what are you going to do with them now?"

The man grinned, "I'm going to prod them with sticks and get them really mad so they fight and kill each other. Those that survive, I will kill. None will escape."

The boy looked steadily at the man. What made him do such things? He looked into the cruel, hard eyes. Then he looked at the birds, defenceless, without hope.

"Can I buy those birds?" the boy asked.

The man hid a smile, aware that he could be on to a good thing if he played his cards right. "Well," he said hesitantly, "The cage is pretty expensive, and I spent a lot of time collecting these birds, I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll let you have the lot, birds, cage and all for ten pounds and that jacket you're wearing."

The boy paused, ten pounds was all he had, and the jacket was new and very special, in fact it was his prized possession. Slowly, he took out the ten pounds and handed it over, then even more slowly he took off his jacket, gave it one last look then handed that over too.

And then (well, you've guessed it) he opened the door and let the birds go free.

The enemy of the world, Satan, was on the side of life's road with a very large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it was crammed full of people of every kind, young, old, from every race and nation. "Where did you get these people?" the man asked.

"Oh, from all over the world," Satan replied. "I lure them with drink, drugs, lust, lies, anger, hate, love of money and all manner of things. I pretend I'm their friend, out to give them a good time, then when I've hooked them, into the cage they go."

"And what are you going to do with them now?" asked the man.

Satan grinned. "I'm going to prod them, provoke them, get them to hate and destroy each other; I'll stir up racial hatred, defiance of law and order; I'll make people bored, lonely, dissatisfied, confused and restless. It's easy. People will always listen to what I offer them and what's better, blame God for the outcome!"

"And then what?" the man asked.

"Those who do not destroy themselves, I will destroy. None will escape me."

The man stepped forward. "Can I buy these people from you?" he asked.

Then satan snarled, "Yes, but it will cost you your life."

So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid for your release, your freedom from satan's trap, with His own life, on the cross at Calvary. The door is open, and anyone, whom satan has deceived and caged, can be set free.

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