[xyzcf]

I saw this on the subscribers side today and felt the need to post it over here.

St Teresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content, knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing and dance.
It is there for each and every one of us.
Amen.

[LittleDragonfly]

Saw this on a testimonials page, and felt as if God was saying "Be patient. I'm doing My work here."

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

[FindingJoJo]

This is the scripture I have been given these last two weeks.  While I don't see any changes in the physical I have faith. 

Isaiah 43:19

New King James Version (NKJV)

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

[xyzcf]

Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I want to share a few things I read today. It helps me to comprehend why I am standing and how, even though it is difficult, the importance of doing whatever we can to maintain those family ties and bonds, leaving the return of our MLCers in God's hands.


I know that you may find this difficult to read, as our families have been smashed and destroyed..but meditate on this message and find comfort in knowing that what we as LBSers are doing is fighting against a society that strongly states that family is NOT important.

"The family is the privileged setting where every person learns to give and receive love...The family is an intermediate institution between individuals and society, and nothing can completely take its place...The family is a necessary good for peoples, an indispensable foundation for society and a great and lifelong treasure for couples. It is a unique good for children, who are meant to be the fruit of the love, of the total and generous self-giving of their parents....The family is also a school which enables men and women to grow to the full measure of humanity...O God, who in the Holy Family left us a perfect model of family life lived in faith and obedience to your will, help us to be examples of faith and love for your commandments" (Pope Benedict XVI

And a few of the prayers of the faithful for today:

For those charged with protecting society; that they will build a world in which family life is revered, protected and promoted.

For family members who are alienated or estranged; that the unfailing power of the mercy of Jesus will reunite and reconcile loved ones to begin their family life anew.

I shall be praying for all our families and ask that you join with me, for this is the one thing the LBSer can do, is pray for their loved ones who are so lost.

May God bless you and your families.

[Mitzpah]

This thread has provided moments of comfort, oasises (sp/correct plural?), in these last couple of days...
Timely reminders that we are not in this alone.

From one of today's readings:

   Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
      Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
(Psalm 34:8 ESV)

As we start this new year, many of us are in despair, many are giving up hope - I come so close every day, I confess... 'Lord, help me in my unbelief!'

Let us remember that God is good.

[LittleDragonfly]

I know some of you in this thread follow Charlyne Cares devotions, but today's devotional (from her husband Bob) seemed so very appropriate for the LBS, that I felt moved to repost it here.


Source: http://charlyne.org/
THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.  James 5:13

What would it take to make you really happy? What would make you the kind of person who awakens each morning saying, "Thank You, Lord? Another new day! I am so happy to be alive!" Instead, many people wake up thinking, "Why am I even here?" Today let’s explore what it would take to make you a happy and content person.

Right now, you are saying, "He already knows what would make me really happy - the return of my spouse." Before you give that answer, let’s look at what seems to make people happy.

Maybe it’s money. If you are struggling to pay the bills, money would certainly seem to be the key to your happiness. I once heard a Christian multi-millionaire speak on "It’s Lousy To Be Rich." He said that even though he had six homes around the world, he still could only sleep in one bed at a time. He had few real friends because people he wanted to be close to were either after his money or were intimidated by his vast wealth. This large man said that he could only eat about four times a day, even though he could travel by private jet and eat anywhere he desired. He could only wear one of his fine suits at a time. He had nothing to wish for, to save money for or to dream about. Hearing that man’s sincerity, I suspected he would have gladly traded places with anyone in that congregation.

Do you think fame would make you happy? Imagine not being able to go out to a restaurant without being mobbed by fans or having to have bodyguards everywhere you went. Your every move would be reported by some publication. Everything you did would be under constant scrutiny. (The church has even made celebrities of some called-out men and women of God.) Being famous might bring you more hindrances than happiness.

Good looks? That might be it! Would being a beautiful person make you happy? Be warned that you would have to be so careful not to damage your beautiful body, even restricting what you ate and the activities you participated in, for the sake of your beautiful body. Your happiness would be so fragile that an accident could take it away.

Would good health make you happy? If an individual were healed today, they could still count their time remaining on earth in years, as opposed to all of eternity. To someone depending on good health for their happiness, a different affliction could strike them down at any time.

Since none of these worldly secrets to happiness can make an individual happy, how about a bit from each? Maybe if you had just a little more money, just a few more people appreciated you, you looked just a little better, and had health that was somewhat improved. Would you then be happy? You have only increased your risk of losing your happiness four-fold, just as Job did.

I forgot! Your spouse coming home would make you happy, correct? It would thrill us also, but if your entire happiness depends on another individual, their being called home by the Lord would some day take away your happiness.

How, then, can you experience real happiness consistently, day after day, for the rest of your life? Here comes the key:

Finding the will of God for your life and then doing it.

Happiness is that simple. Once you discover what the Lord wants you to do, and start doing it, you will achieve happiness.

This is what the LORD says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea."  Isaiah 48:17-18

Each day Charlyne and I hear over and over how miserable prodigal spouses appear. We read what they have told their standing mates and about their actions, as well as their appearance. The bottom line is that your prodigal is miserable because they are living outside of the will of God.

As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.  Psalm 68:2-3

Here is the bottom line. If you are serious about seeking real happiness, get alone with God and discover His will for your life– and then go about doing it with everything you have. Then tomorrow, get alone with God and discover His will for your life– and then go about doing it with everything you have. The following day, do the same thing. Doing this every day for the rest of your life will bring you happiness.

The Lord may not be calling you to be a missionary to a distant country, but He may be calling you to be a missionary to a friend or co-worker who needs to know about Jesus. He may be calling you to change diapers in your church’s nursery. If He is, even that assignment will bring you happiness.

Some of the most miserable people we have met are men and women who God has told to stand for their marriage and they have walked away from that assignment. Some of the happiest people we know are standers, who have none of the happiness traits the world envisions, but they have discovered the will of God for their marriage and are standing in His strength, not their own but for the duration, until Jesus brings their prodigal home. We do not have to wonder, "How is so-and-so doing this week?" Yes, certainly they will have their ups and downs, but they have allowed Jesus to watch over them, and we don’t have to.

The standers we know best are the men and women who come to Rejoice Pompano Beach on Monday night for Bible study. Many of those people have horrible circumstances, yet you should hear that room when we sing praises to God. We do not hear from most of those people from one week to the next. You would think they would be calling us or showing up at the door every day. How did these people become so mature in standing and so happy? By hearing Charlyne teach the Word of God, having the truths drilled into them, over and over. (That’s why we suggest CDs for you).

If God has told you to stand for marriage restoration, you will not be happy doing anything else.

If God has told your prodigal spouse to repent and to go home, I can assure you from experience, they will never be happy until they do.

The one you love may not follow God’s will the first time they are told, but His voice to the prodigal only gets louder with time.

Charlyne and I pray that today both you and your spouse may find the true will of God and do it. That is when marriages are restored!

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:11-13

Praying you find happiness in Jesus,
Bob Steinkamp

[Mitzpah]

LDF
I have read this and reread it several times now! It also struck me as being very meaningful, especially this

Here is the bottom line. If you are serious about seeking real happiness, get alone with God and discover His will for your life– and then go about doing it with everything you have. Then tomorrow, get alone with God and discover His will for your life– and then go about doing it with everything you have. The following day, do the same thing. Doing this every day for the rest of your life will bring you happiness.

[xyzcf]

 “Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.”  Colossians 1:9-12 
 
May your unendurable spill over into joy.  His joy…..  I’m praying for you.