Good afternoon Wouldee that was a good word, I wish more people would give that more thought! I am no innocent, but I am consiously watching my step!

Thank you!

Faith

What a cute pic Cleo. Happy St Patrick's Day to all.
Tiffa - hope you have a wonderful day.

A Forest Hymn
by William Cullen Bryant

The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned
To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave,
And spread the roof above them,---ere he framed
The lofty vault, to gather and roll back
The sound of anthems; in the darkling wood,
Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down,
And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks
And supplication. For his simple heart
Might not resist the sacred influences,
Which, from the stilly twilight of the place,
And from the gray old trunks that high in heaven
Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound
Of the invisible breath that swayed at once
All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed
His spirit with the thought of boundless power
And inaccessible majesty. Ah, why
Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect
God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore
Only among the crowd, and under roofs,
That our frail hands have raised? Let me, at least,
Here, in the shadow of this aged wood,
Offer one hymn---thrice happy, if it find
Acceptance in His ear.

Father, thy hand
Hath reared these venerable columns, thou
Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down
Upon the naked earth, and, forthwith, rose
All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun,
Budded, and shook their green leaves in the breeze,
And shot towards heaven. The century-living crow,
Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died
Among their branches, till, at last, they stood,
As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark,
Fit shrine for humble worshipper to hold
Communion with his Maker. These dim vaults,
These winding aisles, of human pomp and pride
Report not. No fantastic carvings show
The boast of our vain race to change the form
Of thy fair works. But thou art here---thou fill'st
The solitude. Thou art in the soft winds
That run along the summit of these trees
In music; thou art in the cooler breath
That from the inmost darkness of the place
Comes, scarcely felt; the barky trunks, the ground,
The fresh moist ground, are all instinct with thee.
Here is continual worship;---Nature, here,
In the tranquility that thou dost love,
Enjoys thy presence. Noiselessly, around,
From perch to perch, the solitary bird
Passes; and yon clear spring, that, midst its herbs,
Wells softly forth and wandering steeps the roots
Of half the mighty forest, tells no tale
Of all the good it does. Thou hast not left
Thyself without a witness, in these shades,
Of thy perfections. Grandeur, strength, and grace
Are here to speak of thee. This mighty oak---
By whose immovable stem I stand and seem
Almost annihilated---not a prince,
In all that proud old world beyond the deep,
E'er wore his crown as lofty as he
Wears the green coronal of leaves with which
Thy hand has graced him. Nestled at his root
Is beauty, such as blooms not in the glare
Of the broad sun. That delicate forest flower
With scented breath, and look so like a smile,
Seems, as it issues from the shapeless mould,
An emanation of the indwelling Life,
A visible token of the upholding Love,
That are the soul of this wide universe.

My heart is awed within me when I think
Of the great miracle that still goes on,
In silence, round me---the perpetual work
Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed
Forever. Written on thy works I read
The lesson of thy own eternity.
Lo! all grow old and die---but see again,
How on the faltering footsteps of decay
Youth presses----ever gay and beautiful youth
In all its beautiful forms. These lofty trees
Wave not less proudly that their ancestors
Moulder beneath them. Oh, there is not lost
One of earth's charms: upon her bosom yet,
After the flight of untold centuries,
The freshness of her far beginning lies
And yet shall lie. Life mocks the idle hate
Of his arch enemy Death---yea, seats himself
Upon the tyrant's throne---the sepulchre,
And of the triumphs of his ghastly foe
Makes his own nourishment. For he came forth
From thine own bosom, and shall have no end.

There have been holy men who hid themselves
Deep in the woody wilderness, and gave
Their lives to thought and prayer, till they outlived
The generation born with them, nor seemed
Less aged than the hoary trees and rocks
Around them;---and there have been holy men
Who deemed it were not well to pass life thus.
But let me often to these solitudes
Retire, and in thy presence reassure
My feeble virtue. Here its enemies,
The passions, at thy plainer footsteps shrink
And tremble and are still. Oh, God! when thou
Dost scare the world with falling thunderbolts, or fill,
With all the waters of the firmament,
The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods
And drowns the village; when, at thy call,
Uprises the great deep and throws himself
Upon the continent, and overwhelms
Its cities---who forgets not, at the sight
Of these tremendous tokens of thy power,
His pride, and lays his strifes and follies by?
Oh, from these sterner aspects of thy face
Spare me and mine, nor let us need the wrath
Of the mad unchained elements to teach
Who rules them. Be it ours to meditate,
In these calm shades, thy milder majesty,
And to the beautiful order of the works
Learn to conform the order of our lives.

"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Mark 16:15 (NIV)

aahhh...

the newness of life is just but a thought away and yet ever nearer for the moment that gives it place.

new.

every morning.

nice thought.

WHAT IS A FRIEND?

Your Heart is your Love
Your love is your Family
Your family is your Future
Your future is your Destiny
Your destiny is your Ambition
Your ambition is your Aspiration
Your aspiration is your Motivation
Your motivation is your Belief
Your belief is your Peace
Your peace is your Target
Your target is Heaven
Heaven is no fun without FRIENDS

Good morning friends

Good evening everyone.

Hope you had a good day Cleo.

It is still sunny out here this evening although it has been somewhat of a blustery day.

Blustery in Louisiana (SW) too.

Good morning everyone, hope you all have a blessed day.

Wouldee - question for you.

How would you define hate?
what does it mean to you from a biblical standpoint?

Good morning all

Hi Britty

"Ill will seeking a victim" is hate.

Hatred of God and man grieves love of God and man.

We have all heard that loving ones neighbor as oneself is a good thing, and that we ought to love our enemies as well; and that is harder than vengeance upon those that would despitefully use you and I (as Christians knowing the love of God that dwells in our hearts).

As the Lord was made perfect through suffering, likewise are we.

When exercising sound judgement one can expect falsehoods and deceits and ill will to be made evident by the fruit of the doings of those engendering strife and contention for selfish advantage and the priveleges of rule or leadership.

Knowing then that sufficient constraint exists to witness hate and that there exists a liberty of hate to be expreseed, it is important to meditate on hate as an action and not a person.

One must be mindful of things that abridge love.

In 2Chronicles 19, for example, the king is warned of the seer that such things that embrace duplicity weaken unity.

2. " And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.
3. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God."

In so establishing judges in the land for the people, and priests in his own house for advice and council in the LORD, the king was determined to establish accountability before God for the sake of the people and their good before God.

This represents confronting ill will and abating its influence that the heart may turn itself to the good.

In verse 11, the chapter closes with this, "Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good."


Have a blessed day all!

After Communion
By Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894)

WHY should I call Thee Lord, Who art my God?
Why should I call Thee Friend, Who art my Love?
Or King, Who art my very Spouse above?
Or call Thy Sceptre on my heart Thy rod?
Lo now Thy banner over me is love,
All heaven flies open to me at Thy nod:
For Thou hast lit Thy flame in me a clod,
Made me a nest for dwelling of Thy Dove.
What wilt Thou call me in our home above,
Who now hast called me friend? how will it be
When Thou for good wine settest forth the best?
Now Thou dost bid me come and sup with Thee,
Now Thou dost make me lean upon Thy breast:
How will it be with me in time of love?

Thank you wouldee for your response to my question.

"This represents confronting ill will and abating its influence that the heart may turn itself to the good."

Have you thought of hate in terms of 'turning away from..'?

Morning... thank you for making me think a little deeper today Britty and wouldee!

I have a verse for you today...

Psalm 37:7-9

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself-it tends only evildoing.
For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord shal inherit the earth.

Thank you lurchs_sister for that verse.


"Be still and know that I am God".

The heart rests on that.




by the way - how did you come up with that 'handle', screen name?

That was beautifully done Wouldee!

The Lord's Prayer is the most efficient prayer for those who are mindfull of the hate and discord we experience today.

There have been times when I've wanted to absolutely hurt someone for the wrong done to me. I had to repeat over and over the part of forgiveness, where the Lord forgives as we forgive.
The Lord's Prayer Matt 6:9-13, is so good and complete in what Jesus requires of us.

We belong to a society that outright openly looks for victims, from businesses (mortgage companies, other types of retail companies, credit card companies, universities) to the personal man/woman on the street. Hate is rampant in our society! What makes it so bad is that it is an indescriminant, cycling type of hate. People are hating and hurting people that have nothing to do with their source of hurt and pain.

When I had to deal with people (supervisor) on the job who were just out to get anyone, my favorite scripture was Psalms 91:1-16, that reassured me of the Lord's presence in my circumstances.

Britty, my little brother was the greatest man I ever knew and whne he died he was 6'10" and everyone called him Lurch so it just seemed fitting to honor the man I so greatly respected.

turning away from.....God?

good question. Thought provoking, yes.

Turning away from good or God would suggest knowing it in advance and willfully embracing it as a lapse of sound judgement, I would imagine.

That is a very deep and sorrowful thought, indeed.

I can't recall where such a choice has been noted in scripture as a willful defiance of righteous contemplation, but rather as pronounced as a bankrupt void of virtue in those that truly lack treasure in their heart for their own true good, and that good unknown to the person that harbors such ill will.

Truly, we can be our brother's keeper to some degree by our example. Not for our neighbor's good on their terms, but out of the generosity of our own hearts to their best interests without abridging our own in the process.

I shall contemplate this some more.

ah, Vicki dear, sorry you lost your brother. That is
indeed a nice way to honor his memory.

God bless,

Hi all.......on daughters computer as mine crashed and it was bad, You would think a computer teacher would back up her computer....duh.......so I Will get on when I can and looking now for a replacement computer.


God Bless you all




Debbie