You know the man who was invalid for 38 years and was lying at the Bethesda pool, waiting for someone to help him get in the waters after they were stirred? Jesus came by:"Do you want to get well?" Did he answer Jesus?

Those lying around the pool are an example of mankind, those who need Jesus. He was healed physically, but not spiritually. Jesus spoke to him later and told him not to sin anymore unless something worse would happen to him. Spiritual healing is much more important than physical healing.

What would you want Jesus to do for you today to make you whole spiritually? What responsibility will you carry to prove your willingness?

Yesterday my second cousin told me she reads my xanga and it encourages her... Having her say that encouraged me greatly. I guess my Love Language is Words of Affirmation. But I also have all the other Love Languages in full measure. *LOL*... (sigh)

Maybe my daughter will put this on her Xanga..

Little Tori came to her the other day: "I hurt my feelings!"
April: (knowing by now what she means) "Where?"
Little Tori: (pointing to her toe) "Right there."

I've hurt my feelings, too, only it's not right there.

Today's Sunday School lesson is "Cultivating Noble Friendships". Of course, I'm going to emphasize BEING a noble friend.

We as women smile a lot and feel hurt if people don't smile back at us. We have intuition and can perceive 'the person' and don't know how we can. We just can.

We are nurturers. Physically we are equipped to carry babies under our heart and nurse them at our breasts. Emotionally, our hearts are full and can stretch beyond full for one more person.

But there is the dark side of being crazy-glued. We have this uncanny ability to draw circles and leave people out. We keep them tight and we could even be disloyal to dear friends to keep a circle intact.

The feminine sex deserves the reputation for back-stabbing. Men can be nasty, but women are vicious in words and actions. True, we can make ourselves vulnerable in relationships but then we also have more to tell.

As a Christian woman, are you driving your friend to God or are you roping them in to yourself?

There are times to be silent, but there are times to speak up. Are you holding the hand of your friend while they are plunging over the cliff? Maybe they are considering abortion, suicide.. maybe their marriage is dissolving..

These are some random thoughts that I've gotten from some notes I've kept down through the years.

Today I was at WalMart. A young girl around 3 years old hollering and fussing, following her mother who was marching ON. I went to my car which was half way down Row One. I could still hear her screaming.

Something is wrong about this picture.
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Thanks for the responses... I have much to learn

Well, it is different working with Dial-up. I'm with my four grands while parents are on Honey trip. I'm was going to say all is quiet on the.....ummm... Western Front.. but that didn't sound quite right. But the house is quiet. Bible stories told, Prayers prayed, I told each one I loved them with all my heart... And now no one is here to tuck me in and tell me they love me.... sigh

And Facebook isn't working for me tonight, either.

FORGIVENESS

Two children, brother and a sister,
Born to a father who was a slave to wine.
They do remember their younger years of sorrow,
How their daddy used to hurt them, time after time.

Somehow they grew to be so different,
Their lives turned out to be like day and night,
One lives in peace out in Alberta,
One was bitter ‘til the day she died.

I wondered what could make the difference in the two of them,
Both had reasons to be bitter, one was so sweet.
How could one live in peace and not the other?
Not long ago the answer came clear to me.
I saw the brother at his daddy’s grave
Placing flowers there, his eyes were filled with tears.
He said, “Daddy, once again I do forgive you
For the way you made us suffer through the years.”

Now I can see how the two can be so different,
How their lives turned out to be like day and night.
He lives in peace out in Alberta.
She was full of hate until she died.

He lives in forgiveness out in Alberta.
She was bitter ‘til the day she died.

A bitter heart was the reason that she died.

Bathtub Test

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started.

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug in the drain. Do you want a bed near the window?"

DID YOU PASS THE TEST, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE?

Proverbs 9:10 The wisdom that leads to life and ultimate joy begins with knowing and fearing God....fearing to run away from him. It means fearing to seek refuge, and joy, and hope anywhere but in God. It means keeping before our eyes what a fearful prospect it is to stop trusting and depending on God to meet our needs.  I find it heart stirring that we have so much instruction on WHY we should seek/keep Wisdom before us.  Isn’t that a given???