Common Sense

This was sent to us by a friend who knew Common Sense and I feel compelled to share:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; accidents may happen; If it ain't broken, don't fix it; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home but the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little on her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughters, Responsibility and Integrity and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

This article was written by Lori Bergman and first published in the Indianapolis Star on March 15th, 1998.

All Men are Free to Worship God

“Fight in the way of God against those who fight against you, but do not yourselves be aggressors; for verily, God does not love aggressors….Fight against them until there is no longer oppression and all men are free to worship God.”

Holy Koran

29^th November 2011

Fear is a misguided thought

“Do not fear for fear itself is only a misguided thought, if you could see clearly all your fears would disappear today.”

Spiritual Truths

29^th November 2011

Anonymous Philosophy

 

“Never take life too seriously.  Nobody gets out alive anyway.”

 

Author Unknown

28^th November 2011

The Waves of Truth

“Teeth grind the waves of truth into pieces of wisdom found on distant shores.”

From the Spirit

27^th November 2011

Chapter of the Fathers

“It is not up to you to finish the work, and you are not free to stop doing it.”

From the Chapter of the Fathers

Giant Orb

Cathy wrote, "My husband took this picture in our backyard on August 13th.  We have always had orbs in our home, but this is the first like this we have ever seen.  Can you give us any insight as to what this one might mean?

Thank you for sending it to us.  The white light is actually made up of three large orbs and Mustafa said, “There is a state of tension within the home that is not there all the time, but the memory of it tends to be unsettling.  The orbs come in with a powerful energy source to return balance and harmony, where there has been this unrest. The orbs give you strength to do what is right and to say when situations get fraught.  They are happy to protect and bring love in to redress the balance.”

The One Great Scorer

“For when the One Great Scorer comes

To write against your name,

He marks - not that you won or lost -

But how you played the Game.”

(from the poem "Alumnus Football")

Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.

Peace Pilgrim

“We spend a great deal of time telling God what we think should be done and not enough time waiting in the stillness for God to tell us what to do.”

Peace Pilgrim

The Serenity of Perfect Security

“Prayer is not a way of making use of God; prayer is a way of offering ourselves to God in order that He should be able to make use of us.  It may be that one of our great faults in prayer is that we talk too much and listen too little.

“When prayer is at its highest we wait in silence for God's voice to us; we linger in His presence for His peace and His power to flow over us and around us; we lean back in His everlasting arms and feel the serenity of perfect security in Him.”

William Barclay

Are We Doing Enough and If Not - Why Not?

The following variation on the prayer attributed to Francis of Assisi was delivered by Mother Theresa when she addressed the United Nations in 1985.

Make us worthy Lord to serve our fellow men throughout the world,

who live and die in poverty and hunger.

Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread

and by our understanding love give peace and joy.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.

That where there is hatred I may bring love,

That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,

That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,

That where there is error I may bring truth,

That where there is doubt I may bring faith,

That where there is despair I may bring hope,

That where there are shadows I may bring light,

That where there is sadness I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

To understand than to be understood,

To love than to be loved.

For it is by forgetting self that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,

it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

What have we learned and what have we done to ensure that poverty and hunger have been eliminated from this planet of so much wealth?

What are we doing to ensure famines and war never blight the lives of those who God has created and expects us to protect and love?

Made To Be Immortal

Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were to be immortal.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Joel's Prophecy

Is this happening now as change is occurring all over this globe?

I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

Joel Ch 2 v 27-28

Entertaining Angels

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews Ch 13 v2

The Best Argument

The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.

William James

Find Your Pearl Within

If you look in deep water only, you will find the pearl.

If you keep to the shore, you will find broken shells only.

Sri Swami Sivananda

Let Everyone Pay Attention to This

“Let everyone pay attention to this:

                   If you are taken captive,

                   into captivity you go;

                   if you kill with the sword,

                   with the sword you must be killed.”

Revelation Ch 13 v 9-10

Love One Another

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

JOHN Ch 15 v 12-14

God does Not Live in Shrines

“The God who made the world and everything in it, the one who is Sovereign of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, and is not served by human hands, as though God needed anything, since God alone gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.”

ACTS Ch 17 v 24-25

Mustafa's Reminder

“Our mission in life is to go through the many trails and tribulations that come in to us – are sometimes thrown to us – to see just how we cope.

“One thing is for sure, we all survive and nothing is left to chance.”

It is Universal Law

Let the majority of the people decide – that is democracy

In a major speech to the State Department, Mr Obama said the Libyan opposition has organised a "legitimate and credible interim council".

"When Gaddafi inevitably leaves or is forced from power, decades of provocation will come to an end, and the transition to a democratic Libya can proceed."

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Mr Obama's comments were "delusional".

"He believes the lies that his own government and media spread around the world. It's not Obama who decides whether Muammar Gaddafi leaves Libya or not. It's the Libyan people."

BBC NEWS

As the World seeks Change and Freedom

'Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream.'

Amos 5.24

For Success Love What You Do

Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success.  If you love what you are doing, you will be successful – Buddha.

All We What We Have to Decide

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
British scholar & fantasy novelist (1892 - 1973)

Some Timely Words

          As someone once said to me, "Do you think there is enough suffering in the world? If so, do you think God wants you to add yours as well?" I remind myself of that when I am beating myself up!