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Grace To Help

Most people are familiar with the story of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and her three companions follow a yellow brick road to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard of Oz for what they need: Dorothy needed to get home to Kansas, the Scarecrow needed a brain, the Tin Man needed a heart, and the Cowardly Lion needed courage. They discover, of course, that the Wizard is a fraud.


But the idea of approaching a throne for help is much older than The Wizard of Oz. The writer of the Bible's Book of Hebrews encouraged his readers to "come boldly to the throne of grace" to find "mercy" and "grace to help in time of need." What else would one expect to receive at a throne of grace but grace? And therein lies an important theological and practical truth: Regardless of what we think we need in terms of help, we really only need one thing: the grace of God. When God pours out His grace, we receive what He knows we need: provision, endurance, wisdom, patience, strength, resistance, courage, and more.

If you are facing a need right now, regardless of the specifics, go to the throne of grace and ask God for that which you are certain to receive: the grace of God.

They travel lightly whom God's grace carries.
Thomas à Kempis

Have a wonderful day everyone!wave wave wave
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Woul'da Coul'da

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.


Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to
depart from their routine.


I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?


How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television?


I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.


Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!


We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.


Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'


When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an
elevator for a bungee cord.


My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.


Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?


Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.


Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?


When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?


When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away..... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.


Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND including me if you consider me a friend. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.


I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do. We have some history together.











wave wave wave
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Best Laid Schemes

A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9


Robert Burns was plowing a field one day when he inadvertently destroyed a mouse's nest. Seeing the destruction at his feet, the poet realized his plowing had upended all the plans the mouse had made for winter. It was late in the season, and now the mouse, which had carefully prepared for the coming snows, was in a fight for survival. That’s what led Burns to write "To a Mouse," which includes one of the most famous lines in poetry: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley [go often awry]."


Without a firm belief in God's personal guidance of our lives, our plans would go often awry. Without warning, our world can be upended and our best-laid schemes derailed. But the Bible assures us of God's watch-care over our days and His guidance of our lives. He leads us in paths of righteousness. Psalm 32:8 promises, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

God's plan for our lives is good, and His plans for us never go awry.

God governs the world right down to the smallest events like birds falling to the ground. Therefore, no harm can befall you but what God wills. This confidence has given great courage to the followers of Jesus for centuries.
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Mercy and Grace

When a newborn wakes his parents crying in the middle of the night, he is nursed back to sleep by a weary and understanding parent. When a two year old accidently knocks over a cup of juice, it is wiped up by a patient and understanding parent. And when a fussy five-year old refuses to take her nap, she is led to her bed by a firm, but understanding, parent!

What is it that makes parents respond with understanding-that keeps them from punishing an infant, toddler, or five-year-old for accidents or typical behaviors? It's the same thing that God extends to us: mercy and grace. We understand that children are not mature; they make mistakes and have accidents; they don't know right from wrong. So we extend mercy and grace and love toward them as God does for us. It's the same mercy and grace God extends throughout His creation.

Just as a parent is patient with their child, God patiently bestows his rich mercy and grace upon us-giving us not what we deserve, but what we desperately crave.

Have you experienced God's mercy and Grace?
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Man With Coffee

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband was not in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee.

He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

“What’s the matter, dear?” she whispers as she steps into the room.

“What are you down here at this time of night?”

The husband looks up from his coffee. “Do you remember twenty years ago when we were dating, and you were only 16?” he asks solemnly.

“Yes, I do,” she replies. The husband paused.


The words were not coming easily. “Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car ?”

“Yes, I remember” said the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him. The husband continued.

“Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, “Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for twenty years?”

“I remember that, too” she replied softly. He wiped another tear from his cheek and said “I would have been out of jail today and a free man!“


HEAVENLY MARITAL HELP

Betty and Tim die in a car accident on the eve of their wedding. In Heaven, they ask St. Peter if they can still be married.

"Well, let me find out if this is possible. Stay here and I will be right back."

Six months pass and Peter returns. "Yes, we can do this for you."

The couple asks, "Well, as we have spent so much time together waiting for your answer, we need to know that if things don't work out, is there a possibility that we can be divorced?"

To which St. Peter answers, "It took me six months to find a priest up here -- how long do you think it will take me to find a lawyer?"



rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing
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I Have A Question

I have a question! Are there any people on CS from the country of Kenya? If so, do you know if Barack Obama was born in Kenya and if so, what proof would you have to show here? I have heard different opinions of where he was born. I would like to know the truth if someone out there knows the truth!
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My First Drink With My Son

My First Drink with my Son

I was reading an article last night about fathers and sons and memories came flooding back of the time I took my son out for his first pint. Off we went to our local pub which is only two blocks from the house.
I got him a Fosters. He didn't like it – so I had it.

Then I got him a Carling Black Label, he didn't like it, so I had it.

It was the same with the Guinness Stout and Beck's Beer.

By the time we got down to the whisky I could hardly push the stroller back home.

rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing wave wave wave
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Light Humor

An actor had been out of work for 15 years because he always forgot his lines. Then one day he got a phone call from a director who wanted him for a big part in a play. All he had to say was “Hark! I hear the cannon roar! After much worry the actor decided to take the role. Opening night arrived, and while he waited in the wings, the actor muttered to himself “Hark! I hear the cannon roar! Hark! I hear the cannon roar! The time for the entrance finally came and as the actor made his appearance, he heard a loud brooooom! He turned around and said, “what the hell was that?”

Joe grabbed his suitcase off the luggage carousel and headed outside to hail a taxi. A taxi promptly picked him up and they were on there way. Twenty minutes into the ride Joe had a question for the taxi driver, “Excuse me sir” said Joe tapping the driver on the shoulder. “AHHHH HHH” screamed the taxi driver swerving the taxi across three lanes of traffic finally stopping the car on the opposite shoulder. “What the heck was that all about?” demanded Joe thoroughly shaken. “I’m sorry,” said the taxi driver, wiping his brow, “this is my first day on the job, I’ve been driving a hearse for the last fifty years!”

Three men, a Frenchman, an Italian, and a Jew, were condemned to be executed. Their captors told them that they had the right to have a final meal before the execution. They asked the Frenchman what he wanted. “Give me some good French wine and French bread,” he requested. So they gave it to him, he ate it, and then they executed him. Next it was the Italian’s turn. Give me a big plate of pasta,” said the Italian. So they brought it to him, he ate it, and then they executed him. Now it was the Jew’s turn. “I want a big bowl of strawberries, ” said the Jew. “Strawberries!!! They aren’t even in season!” “So, I’ll wait…”



rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing wave wave wave
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The H-Word

The H-Word

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Romans 2:1


We are all disappointed when someone we know, or thought we knew, shocks us by being involved in an immoral or illegal activity. Our disappointment is the deepest when the guilty party has previously stood for the very opposite behavior he has been found guilty of. It seems harder to forgive when the H-word "hypocrisy" is involved.


Judging another person for some act while practicing the same thing ourselves is plainly hypocritical. Jesus said it bluntly: "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye ...." So what should we do? Should we never stand and speak for righteousness for fear that we might one day commit the very sin we stand and speak against? Should we never call out sin when necessary? No, we should always stand and speak for righteousness -- but with a serious measure of grace, knowing that, "There, but for the grace of God, go I" (1 Corinthians 15:10; see 1 Corinthians 10:12). And if we do fail or fall, we must repent with equal grace and humility.

When others fail, let us forgive them and pray that God will keep us from the same end.

Grace that cannot be seen, like light, and tasted, like salt, is not grace, but hypocrisy.
J. C. Ryle
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