Daily Jots

Thought of the Day:
“O God, my heart desires
the warmth of your love,
and my mind is searching
for the light of your Word.
Increase my longing
for Jesus. Amen” “Living God’s Word: Reflections on the Weekly Gospels”
Learning About Advent
Thinking Outside of the Box:
Christmas has changed from a purely Christian holiday to a season of the year that is represented by December holding the major holiday for many religions and faiths. As a Catholic I would like to go “on record” as saying there is nothing wrong with that; it creates a time of the year where the …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“I have resolved from this day on, I will do all the business I can honestly, have all the fun I can reasonably, do all the good I can willingly, and save my digestion by thinking pleasantly.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Thinking Outside of the Box:
I don’t know who originally coined the phrase, “All things in moderation,” as there is a debate whether it was Aristotle or Socrates (if so, he should have tried that with hemlock.) But this quote reminded me of that phrase and of the part of the Bible in Ecclesiastes that talks about …read more

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THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN
St. Francis’ Song of Joy
O most high, almighty, good Lord God,
to you belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing!
Praised be my Lord God with all your creatures,
and especially our Brother Sun,
who brings us the day and who brings us the light.
Fa ir is he and shines with a very great splendor:
O Lord, he signifies you to us!
Praised be my Lord for our Brother Wind,
and for air and cloud, calms and all weather
through which you uphold life in all creatures.
Praised be my Lord for our Sister Water,
who is very useful to us and humble
and precious and clean.
Praised …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“Our faith in the present dies out long before our faith in the future. Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.”
Josh Billings
Thinking Outside of the Box:
I have been pouting this week, or rather the past couple of days, because I caught what I fondly call, The Crud. The Crud isn’t the flu, it isn’t a bacterial thing like strep, and it isn’t really anything at all. It is just a garden-variety upper respiratory infection guaranteed to bring all of your activities to a screeching halt. You ache …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content.”
Lin Yutang
Thinking Outside of the Box:
I have always liked autumn the best of all of the seasons. I find …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“When I was born I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half!”
Gracie Allen
Thinking Outside of the Box:
There is something about Gracie Allen that reminds me of my daughter Hannah. First of all, Hannah means, “full of grace,” but that isn’t the main thing. When Hannah was little, I would say, “Say goodnight, Gracie,” being silly and thinking she wouldn’t catch on to it at all. After all, Gracie Allen and George Burns pulled this routine years before Hannah was born. But she did catch on and replied back (at the …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
John Bunyan – Author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress”
Thinking Outside of the Box:
People often think that in order to approach God in prayer, they have to have an organized plan of attack. In other words, as when entering a business meeting with a proposal, an outline is constructed to make the presentation clearer and easier to understand. But should we approach God that way? That seems a bit contrived to me. And prepared or memorized prayers arent the problem. …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp.”
John Berry, Flight of White Crows
Thinking Outside of the Box:
The American Constitution grants us the right to pursue happiness. We are entitled to, and almost obligated to, chase happiness until we find it. It is the basis of democracy. The precious gift of freedom. But is it? I mean, is it a gift, a privilege, a right? Perhaps it is none of these. Perhaps the right to pursue happiness means the right to accept happiness should …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“Tell me whom you love, and I’ll tell you who you are”
African American Proverb – Unknown
Thinking Outside of the Box:
Current thinking says that we cannot, particularly as women, lose our identity in the one we love. But can we truly love if we do not? Do we not need to merge our identity with someone so fully, so entirely, that we are unsure of where we end and where he begins? Love seems to be all about identity; not retaining it but being willing to surrender to someone who will protect it, nurture it, …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“The pessimist complains about the wind; The optimist expects it to change; The realist adjusts the sails.”
William Arthur Ward (A Christian Author & Teacher)

Thinking Outside of the Box:
My daughter told me the other day that I was a pessimist. She added that I needed to think more positively about things. I can’t remember what we were talking about but I know I am the eternal optimist. (After all, I still think that she will stop making comments like that one, uninvited!) But actually, I realized, when I found this quote I …read more

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