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~A Rare Flower*s Pad~

~Inspirations 2~

~"Food For The Soul 2"~

Always Have Faith:

It is not easy to live life sometimes. And face the world with a smile when you're crying inside. It takes a lot of courage to reach down inside yourself, Hold on to that strength that's still there, And know that tomorrow is a new day-with new possibilities. But if you can just hold on long enough to see this through, You'll come out a new person-stronger, With more understanding and with a new pride in yourself from knowing you made it. -???

Your Angel:
If ever you need to talk, if ever you need some cheer, remember you have a friend
who always will be here... She doesn't want a lot, only to see you smile; and just to see you happy, she'll walk that proverbial mile. Always know she cares, no matter what you do. You'll always find her there to give you hugs when you are blue. There is a saying that goes: 'You don't have to love in words, because even through the silences, love is always heard.' -???

People In Our Lives:

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts, and We are never, ever the same. -???

Touch My Heart:
Touch my heart and I'll touch yours. With a gentle word or two. For kindness bears the sweetest fruit. That makes our dreams come true.
Touch my life with tenderness. And fill my cup with love. Share my dreams as I share yours. Beyond the stars above.
Take my hand as I grow old. And lead me when I'm blind. Show me that you really care. Good Friends are hard to find.
Touch my heart and I'll touch yours. A little more each day. And then we both find happiness. Somewhere along the way. -???

Special Things:
It's The Special Things In Life That Make It Mean So Much. The Sun, The Rain, The Sky; The Thoughts and The Touch. If We Let These Precious Things Float Out To an Endless Sea, We Lose Our Hope, Our Love, And Most, Our Reason To Be. -???

Do It Anyways:

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them any-way. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway." -???

Believe In Yourself:
"There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren't the way you had hoped they would be. That's when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down. But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself. There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them. Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are. So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be. Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to cometrue for you. Keep Believing Yoursel" -???

Inspiration:

The Women and The Stone. A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking, "he said," I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone." -???

Treasures:
There are treasures in life, but owners are few; Of money and power to buy things
brand new.
Yet you can be wealthy and feel regal too; If you will just look for the treasures in you.
These treasures in life are not hard to find; When you look in your heart, your soul, and your mind.
For when you are willing to share what's within; Your fervent search for riches will end.
The joy and the laughter, the smile that you bring; The heart unafraid to love and to sing.
The hand always willing to help those in need; Ones quick to reach out, to labor and free.
So thank you for sharing these great gifts inside; The caring, the cheering, the hug when one cried.
Thanks for the energy, encouragement too; And thank you for sharing the treasures in you.-???

Hold Your Head High:
Standing for what you believe in regardless of the odds against you, and the pressure that tears at your resistance ...is Courage. Keeping a smile on your face when inside you feel like dying, for the sake of supporting others ...is Strength.
Stopping at nothing and doing what's in your heart that you know is right...is Determination.
Doing more than is expected, to make another's life a little more bearable, without uttering a single complaint... is Compassion. Helping a friend in need, no matter the time or effort, to the best of your ability... is Loyalty.
Holding your head high and being the best you know you can be when life seems to fall apart at your feet. Facing each difficulty with the confidence that time will bring you better tomorrows. And never giving up... is Confidence.
Hold your head high and make your life better every day! -???

The Trouble Tree:
I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job, a flat tire made him lose an hour of work & his electric drill quit, his ancient one ton truck refused to start. As I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving he invited me in to meet his family.
As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. Upon opening the door he had undergone an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do at the little tree. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again. "Funny thing is", he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."-???

Life's challenges make us stronger:
"A Butterfly" "A man found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. Something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the small opening of the cocoon are God`s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through all our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Not only that, we could never fly." -???

~Wanting to have someone I know in great need of healing because of not having long to live, told by doctors,
I wrote this to make people reflect on how much we can help one another through our pain.
May you find wisdom in this and give!~

 

This was written down when our record player was still working and I was listening to and old 45rpm record. That was a song I loved allot
and that record had played so much that it had quite a few scratchy spots here and there.
Reflecting on that, this came to mind:
"A scratchy record can be like our prayers, who are repeated over and over again until they may sound 'scratchy' like, because of our constant asking to the Ears of Our Father."
That is so true.  We pray and pray all our lives.  I think I was praying at the age of four.  I was certainly praying at six years of age, when I celebrated my First Holy Communion.  So, all those years of praying must sound 'scratchy' to Our Father's Ears. 

 

 

We were driving to our vacation destination with our Fifth Wheel camper, and were on Route 1 enjoying the scenery.  Then arrived to an area where road construction signs started to appear by the side or the road.  Being with our camper my husband was driving and watching carefully where we were directed to by the construction's red rubber dummies that were creating the path to drive through.
At around one hundred feet, or so, to where the construction crew had made a hole in the road, still driving towards the directed path, by the side of that path stood a sign written in red:
"Pass at your own risk ..."
"Well, jee-whiz", I said,
"what a great place to put that final sign, just as the front of our truck was in the dirt path now - no more asphalt road, and, for that matter, no place to - Stop and turn around!  As if one would have wanted to do just that, where do we turn?  Your know!"
 
Then reflecting on that sign as we were inching along in the rough terrain, this came up:
 
Life  is like that, a "Pass at Your Own Risk  state if one is not guided by the Faith we received at our Baptism, by the Holy Spirit guiding us on the "right" path!
On earth, we "Pass at Our Own Risk" when we want to go it alone, when we think that we "know" what's the best way to to, when we say I want this, or that and we do it our way, and when we think we know better that God exactly what is right for us, and that God does not care for little ole me/you!
We "Pass at Our Own Risk" when we say we don't have to go to confession/reconciliation and confess to GOD that we did knowingly hurt HIM when we hurt a fellow human being because of our selfishness, by our lack of loving HIM by not loving the people HE put in our lives, to LOVE others as HE LOVES us.
Yes, we do "Pass at our Own Risk" when we fail to follow the "right path".  The path that is marked with Crosses and signs to guide us through the safe route, we are on!
And, unlike the situation our truck was in, that we could NOT "turn around" that was absolutely impossible because there were other vehicles in back, and in front of us, and there was not enough free ground by the side of that path for even a car to turn around, much less our rig!
In our own lives we do have multiple ways to go through , in times when it's a situation of "Pass at Your Own Risk". 
We were given a SOUL.
We were given Faith to fee our SOUL.
We were given the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
given for remembering Jesus giving us HIS BODY AND BLOOD to feed our Faith.
We were given the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession to heal the broken parts
of our "path" (the dangerous - "non smooth road") to safely bring us back to safety.
That Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession is so that we can "Stop and turn aroundnot pass in a RISKY way" before it's too late and find ourselves where there is no turning back, but must follow the path that humans have created for us to pass through.  This earthly passing through is indeed a "Pass at your own risk" journey if one does not have any ONE to guide one.
 

 

~The King and his four Wives~

Once upon a time there was a king who had four wives.
He loved the fourth woman more than all the others.
He would give her elaborate gifts and surrounded her with much care.
He would shower her with the best.
 
He loved also his third wife, and would present her with pride to other neighboring kings.
But, he was concerned that she would leave one day with another king.
He also loved his second wife.  
She was his confidant;
every time he had a problem, he would talk to her about it.
 
The king's first wife was his companion.
His most loyal companion; it was with her that he built his kingdom.
However, he didn't sufficiently love his first wife.  
He'd give her less importance.
 
One day the king fell gravely sick.
On the verge of death, he started to reflect:
"I have four wives, but, when I'll die, I'll be alone".
 
He then called his fourth wife and tells her;
"Love you more than all my other wives.
I gave you the best I have, now that I'm dying,
would you like to come with me?
Would you like to be my companion forever?"
"Are you crazy?" she answered, before leaving without adding a word.
Her answer penetrated deeply in the king's heart, like a sharp knife.
 
The king then tells his third wife;
"I loved you all my life.
Now that I'm dying, are you disposed to follow me?"
"NO!", she answered, "life it too beautiful.
When you are dead I will re-marry!"
That answer surprised the king, and it made him sadder.
 
He then tells his second wife:
"I always came to you in my difficult moments, and you always helped me.
Now that I will die, do you want to follow me?"
She answered: "I really am sorry I cannot follow you,
but I promise I will give you a nice funeral".
 
The king was at a loss.
All his life, he had mistaken himself on the sentiments of his wives.
He then heard a voice saying:
"Me, I will go with you.
I will follow you everywhere you will go!"
 
It was his first wife that had just talked.
The king looked at her and he became ashamed.
He then said;
"You are the one I should have loved the most out of all the others
when I was able to".
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
IN REALITY, each of us has four wives.
 
~Our fourth wife is our body.~ 
Whatever care we give it, it will leave us the day we will die.
 
~Our third wife is our wealth and social situation.~ 
At our death, we bring nothing with us.
 
~Our first wife is our SOUL that we often forget and treat so badly.~ 
Nevertheless, she is the only one who accompanies us everywhere.
Let's take the time to addend her,
to upkeep her so she will be beautiful and healthy,
NOW!
It is the biggest gift you can offer the world:
MAKE HER SHINE!
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
If you are convinced, then re-collect yourself a moment and pray an "OUR FATHER" for the person who created this.  She thought of your SOUL.  You think of your SOUL and others who needs this message.  And you will them them not to forget the Essential!
 
May GOD BLESS YOU and help you to watch over your
"FIRST WIFE"!
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
CORDIALLY
Author unknown to me.

~Going against the world's view~

One day I was watching the television channel that had a program about salmons, and on the screen showing several of them swimming against the current of the river, swimming "upstream" in the river they were in.  This thought came in mind:

I too am working hard to go against the flow to where I was meant to be.  To work hard to go against the flow where the pressures of this world's people's way of living, that is against respect for humans on any level.

I work hard to go against the flow of people's attitudes that says; "live it up now, because you don't know when you will die!" ways of living. 

I work hard to go against the flow of self satisfying people who says; "it's my way, live it or leave it"!

I work hard to go against the flow of blaming others for the things I have deliberately inflicted on them, and they, in turn, refuse to lower themselves to the point of telling the truth no matter what!

I work so hard, to put GOD first in my life, no matter who is trying in any way possible to block my way by telling me that I's a fool for doing so, a fool to work so hard to reach my designated goal!

I work so hard, to not STOP the "going against the flow" of working tirelessly for my goal, my HEAVENLY HOME!

As the television program continued, it id show that some of the salmons had made it upstream.  They reached the place where their instinct led them to, to lay their eggs.  They had never tire to work against the flow they had worked with all their might, to reach that designated place so that new life would continue on because of their efforts.

That has been my goal; ever since I can remember, when I learned that there was a Heaven and a hell.  My goal is to go to HEAVEN.  And, I'm working, really hard, to go there, against all odd; that this life has kept pushing me against that achievement.  But, with the help of the Holy Spirit, working in me, I pray that, like the salmons, I will continue to forge on, with all my might, to attain my goal.

~I received this "The Touch Of The Master's Hand"
in an e-mail several years back, and, I had kept it because it had touched me.
Coming upon it I decided to add it here.
It is a touching story that makes us reflect on God and His love for Jesus.
 
May the Holy Spirit touch your Soul when you read it, and always.
Blessed reflections!

~I received this also in an e-mail long ago, I also saved it
so I could go back and read it again,
and I knew I would use it one day.
It's a touching tale, that will make one reflect on.
Enjoy, and "know that HE is GOD" of everything!~

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