Published 5-02-11     The Religion Network publishes every Monday

ON TODAY'S SITE:
Max Lucado, Melody Beattie, Yaacov Shulman, Iyanla Vanzant, James Martin
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Photo by Stephen Bowman            All rights reserved
   

Try this: before you climb out of bed,
mentally escort the Spirit into every
room of your house. Before your feet
touch the floor, open each vent. Got
anger in the bedroom? Unpayable bills
on a desk? Conflicts in an office? Need
some air in the cellar or a change of at-
mosphere in the hallways? Invite him to
fill each corridor of your life. Then,
having welcomed him into your whole heart,
go to your garage, climb into the passenger
seat, buckle up, and thank your Driver...



Excerpted from "Come Thirsty,"
by Max Lucado
W Publishing Group, 2004

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God's will most often happens in spite of us, not because of us.
We may try to second guess what God has in mind for us, looking,
searching, hypervigilant to seek God's will as though it were
a buried treasure, hidden beyond our reach. But if we're
not careful, we miss out.

...We may believe that we have to walk on eggshells, saying,
thinking, and feeling the right thing, while forcing ourselves
somehow to be in the right place at the right time to find
God's will. But that's not true.

...It is right there inside and around us. It is happening right
now. Sometimes, it is quiet and uneventful and includes the
daily discipline of responsibility and learning to take care of
ourselves. Sometimes, it is healing us when we're in circum-
stances that trigger old grieving and unfinished business.

...If it is a quiet day, trust the stillness. If it is a day of action,
trust the activity. If it is a time to wait, trust the pause.
If it is time to receive that which we have have been
waiting for, trust that it will happen clearly and
with power, and receive the gift in joy.

Excerpts from "The Language of Letting Go,"
by Melody Beattie
Hazeldon Foundation, 1990`

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Photo by Stephen Bowman            All rights reserved

                                                                                                                                 
PLEASE HELP ME WASH MY DAYS


O God, please help me wash my days
And hang them on the line to dry.
Please help me scrub my months
And shake them out,
Soak my years,
And dry them in the summer sun.
Please help me wear a suit
Of honest fabric, clean and plain.


Yaacov David Shulman

Excerpted from "Bedside Prayers,"
by June Cotner
HarperSanFrancisco, 1997



_________

We all signed up for life; that's why we are here.
...Now that we are in the class of life (2011),
we cannot act like we don't know what to do.
...We must stop saying that life is too hard.
...We must stop making excuses for the assignments
and opportunities we miss. If you miss one train,
there will be another! ... There is no excuse for
saying we can't hear because of the people rumbling
behind us. We are expected to listen within, not without!
...Now take out your notebook and a pen and act
like you intend to get something out of it!



Excerpted from "Faith in the Valley,"
by Iyanla Vanzant
Simon & Schuster, 1978