--There are many areas in which we are lacking, many because of technology. It's easier to send an email, than to write a letter, buy a card, buy postage, then knowing what to say, or sometimes 'what not to say'.

--COMMUNICATION / RELATIONSHIPS / COMPASSION

'The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said,'

--Peter Drucker
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'He who can no longer listen to his brother will soon no longer be listening to God, either.'

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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'The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It's the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted--of being deserted.'

--Mother Teresa
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-'Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.'

--George Eliot
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'We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away.'

--Walker Percy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

---THE WORD OF GOD ENDURES FOREVER ~~

-"ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL IT'S GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,

BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER."

[1 PETER 1:24, 25 -- / ISAIAH 40:6 ]
~~~~~~~

----YOU ALL ~~

---“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.”
------ (Philippians 1:3-4-- )

~~~One would suspect from his frequent use of the phrase “you all” that the apostle Paul had come from Alabama or Georgia! But in his writings, “you all” is not a southern idiom but a warm expression of Christian fellowship. His heart was burdened, not just for a few close friends and loved ones (as in most of our own prayers), but for “all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

He assured the Philippian church that he was, in every one of his prayers, praying for “you all.” He told them of his confidence in their continued growth in Christ, that it was altogether fitting for him to believe this of “you all,” thankful that “in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” (Philippians 1:7).

He wrote in a similar vein to the Thessalonians at the start of his (chronologically) first epistle: “We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Paul had a long prayer list.

To the Roman Christians he wrote: “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Romans 1:8). Then he wrote his benediction: “Now the God of peace be with you all” (Romans 15:33). He concluded his message to the Christians at Corinth: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Peter and John used the same expression in their writings, for they also were large of heart and concern. Finally, these are the very last words of the Bible: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:21).
--ICR/HMM
~~~~~~~~~

~~~DETERMINATION~~

~~Guideposts (9/95) published the story of Jim Stovall, who became totally blind at age twenty-nine. While he still had partial vision, he volunteered at a school for the blind. He was assigned to help a four-year-old boy, blind and severely handicapped. Stoval spent considerable time trying to convince the boy he could tie his own shoes. or climb stairs in spite of his limitations.

"No, I can't!" the boy insisted.
"Yes, you can," Stovall replied.

"No, I can't!" The verbal battle went on.
Meanwhile, Stovall fought his own limitations. Because of his deteriorating vision, he decided he had to quit his college courses. On his way to withdrawal from college, he decided to resign his volunteer position as well.

"It's just too tough," he explained. "I can't do it."
"Yes, you can!" said a little voice beside him. It was the four-year-old who refused to tie his shoes.

"No I can't!" said Stovall with conviction.
"Yes, you can!"

Stovall realized if he didn't continue, the child would give up too. So Stovall stayed in school and graduated three-and-a-half years later. The same week he graduated, his little friend tied his shoes and climbed a flight of stairs.

Philippians tell us we "Can do all things through Christ who gives us strength." ~~[Philippians 4:14]

--ISAIAH SAYS IT WELL ~~~

----"Let Us Reason" ~~

-"Come now, and let us reason together, Says the LORD,
Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool." --[Isaiah Chapter 1 verse 18 /NASB] ~

~~The Miracle of White Snow ~~

--'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.'
--[Isaiah 1:18]--

~~[PLEASE READ ISAIAH 1:15–20]

~~~In the seventeenth century, Sir Isaac Newton used a prism to study how light helps us see different colors. He found that when light passes through an object, the object appears to possess a specific color. While a single ice crystal looks translucent, snow is made up of many ice crystals smashed together. When light passes through all of the crystals, snow appears to be white.

The Bible mentions something else that has a certain color—sin. Through the prophet Isaiah, God confronted the sins of the people of Judah and described their sin as “like scarlet” and as “red as crimson.” But God promised they would “be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). How? Judah needed to turn away from wrongdoing and seek God’s forgiveness.

Thanks to Jesus, we have permanent access to God’s forgiveness. Jesus called Himself “the light of the world” and said whoever follows Him “will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). When we confess our sins, God forgives us and we’re seen through the light of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This means that God sees us as He sees Jesus—blameless.

We don’t have to wallow in the guilt and shame of what we’ve done wrong. Instead, we can hold on to the truth of God’s forgiveness, which makes us “white as snow.”

~~"Heavenly Father, thank You for the forgiveness You freely offer. Thank You for dying on the Cross to forgive us of all our sins. We praise You and bless You for who you truly are. 'I AM'~ amen~"
--ODB/LW~