/blog/Briteblueyz/?pid=f3104 Thoughts for a New Year...I am new to blog land. I do a bit of lurking once in awhile and sometimes comment but have never posted one so here goes... One of my favorite, inspirational stories is The Most Beautiful Heart.The Most Beautiful Heart One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared  "How can he say his heart is more beautiful?" they thought. The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears." "Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared." "Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?" The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side. Author: Unknown [B][COLOR darkblue]"Be of good courage, And he shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord" Psalm 31:24[/COLOR][COLOR skyblue][B]Let your gentleness be evident to all. Philippians 4:5 [/B][/COLOR][COLOR purple]Colossians 3:12-17 12. So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;13. bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.16. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.17. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.[COLOR orange][B]Proverbs 15:30 Bright eyes gladden the heart and good news brings health to the bones.[/COLOR][/B][/COLOR] Dear Father,For the Peace WithinMay I trust in You that I am exactly where I am meant to be...May I not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May I use those gifts that I have received, and pass on the love that has been given to me...May I be content knowing I am a child of God...Let this presence live and shine in me, and inspire my soul to continue to sing, dance, praise and love. God bless us all...Amen /blog/11894/post_178076.html?pid=f3104&m= I read something this morning by Dave Burchett:Below is paraphrased what he had to say about gossiping:...Coming out of church, Mrs. Smith asked her husband, "Did you see that piercing that the Johnso Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:10:27 -0800 /blog/11894/post_178076.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_177837.html?pid=f3104&m= Love Others (A devotional by Cliff Young) ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’—Matthew 22:39In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers asks us the question:“Are we experiencing the ‘much mor Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:39:12 -0800 /blog/11894/post_177837.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_176890.html?pid=f3104&m= I love the book of Romans. There are so many encouraging verses in it. Here is one I read today...Romans 12:18, “As much as is possible, live peaceably with all men.” In other words, we need to s Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:55:16 -0800 /blog/11894/post_176890.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_176861.html?pid=f3104&m= As followers of Christ, we sometimes focus on developing and presenting the right image while neglecting the spiritual discipline of integrity. Our public lives are only as authentic as our private li Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:38:42 -0800 /blog/11894/post_176861.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_176787.html?pid=f3104&m= If so, please share the title and a little of what it is about. Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:46:02 -0800 /blog/11894/post_176787.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_172774.html?pid=f3104&m= Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28, NIV.) A Story I recently read:I recall as a young child, rocking Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:35:47 -0800 /blog/11894/post_172774.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_154908.html?pid=f3104&m= Thoughts from a devotional on peace:“Work hard at living in peace with others” (1 Peter 3:11 NLT).Life is all about learning how to love, and God wants us to value relationships and make Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:38:36 -0800 /blog/11894/post_154908.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_153531.html?pid=f3104&m= There are many ways we leave a mark of where we have been or what we have touched. Fingerprints are left on everything we touch. Footprints show where we have tread. I was thinking about that the othe Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:13:08 -0800 /blog/11894/post_153531.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152864.html?pid=f3104&m= Should spouses pray together? Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:10:10 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152864.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152821.html?pid=f3104&m= ...To this day that is probably the biggest word I know. I read a devotional within the last couple days about words. I have a grandmother who will be 94 years old in July. She amazes me. I had the h Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:42:47 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152821.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152648.html?pid=f3104&m= The world outside my window callsTo time and place I've yet to know.Dare I stay? Or shall I go?His loving path, I will follow. The One who created me knows me well.My life is a story for Him to tell.T Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:29:37 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152648.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152582.html?pid=f3104&m= The other night I was with a group of people who were talking about long-distance relationships. They were referring to geographical distance. However, the conversation stayed with me and time has all Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:53:29 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152582.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152567.html?pid=f3104&m= Where are you going, where have you been?My dear, close, and quiet friend,As we sit in the soft spring evening's endTaking comfort in each other once again.Tell me your stories and I'll tell you mine; Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:08:30 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152567.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_152110.html?pid=f3104&m= Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. ~William Shakespeare Fri, 29 May 2009 17:24:45 -0800 /blog/11894/post_152110.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_150702.html?pid=f3104&m= "There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality, and then there are those who turn one into the other."~Author Unknown Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:54:59 -0800 /blog/11894/post_150702.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_149157.html?pid=f3104&m= Just One: Children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Christian school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. Someone had written a note and placed it next to the apples. It Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:14:53 -0800 /blog/11894/post_149157.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_147921.html?pid=f3104&m= I remember when I was a very, little girl... that I used to just love (and still do) at the end of the church service when the pastor would say "And now... May the peace which passes understanding kee Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:01:37 -0800 /blog/11894/post_147921.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_146598.html?pid=f3104&m= A story passed along to me... Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home.. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weeken Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:23:49 -0800 /blog/11894/post_146598.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_146497.html?pid=f3104&m= Hi Everyone,Happy Valentine's Day! I have always loved the books of Hebrews and Jeremiah in the Bible. One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11. However, I read a devotional this morning about love Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:31:23 -0800 /blog/11894/post_146497.html?pid=f3104&m= /blog/11894/post_144698.html?pid=f3104&m= "I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems. Please remember that I do not need your help. If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:51:23 -0800 /blog/11894/post_144698.html?pid=f3104&m=