Jan, 6, 2023

I came across these items that I want to shre with you as I think they are thought provoking

 

Pope Francis’ New Year’s message is absolutely brilliant..!

 

*You can have flaws, be anxious, and even be angry, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can stop it from going bust. Many appreciate you, admire you and love you.

 

Remember that to be happy is not to have a sky without a storm, a road without accidents, work without fatigue, relationships without disappointments. 

 

To be happy is to find strength in forgiveness, hope in battles, security in the stage of fear, love in discord. It is not only to enjoy the smile, but also to reflect on the sadness. It is not only to celebrate the successes, but to learn lessons from the failures. It is not only to feel happy with the applause, but to be happy in anonymity. 

 

Being happy is not a fatality of destiny, but an achievement for those who can travel within themselves. To be happy is to stop feeling like a victim and become your destiny's author. It is to cross deserts, yet to be able to find an oasis in the depths of our soul. It is to thank God for every morning, for the miracle of life. 

 

Being happy is not being afraid of your own feelings. It's to be able to talk about you. It is having the courage to hear a "no". It is confidence in the face of criticism, even when unjustified. It is to kiss your children, pamper your parents, to live poetic moments with friends, even when they hurt us. 

 

To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. 

It is to have maturity to be able to say: "I made mistakes". 

It is to have the courage to say "I am sorry". 

It is to have the sensitivity to say, "I need you". 

It is to have the ability to say "I love you". 

 

May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness ... 

That in spring may it be a lover of joy. In winter a lover of wisdom. 

And when you make a mistake, start all over again. 

 

For only then will you be in love with life. You will find that to be happy is not to have a perfect life. But use the tears to irrigate tolerance. 

 

Use your losses to train patience. 

Use your mistakes to sculptor serenity. 

 

Use pain to plaster pleasure. 

Use obstacles to open windows of intelligence. 

 

Never give up .... Never give up on people who love you. Never give up on happiness, for life is an incredible show.* (Pope Francis).

 

Apparently, the White House referred *to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year,* which prompted CBS presenter Steven Levy to present this piece.

 

The following was written by *Steven Levy and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.*

 

*My Confession*

 

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. *I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.* I have no idea where the concept came from, *that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat*...

 

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from *that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?* I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering *where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.*

 

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, *this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.*

 

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.. *I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.* Then someone said *you better not read the Bible in school*... The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. *And we said OK.*

 

Then Dr. Steven Benjamin Spock said *we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide).* We said an expert should know what he's talking about.. *And we said okay.*

 

Now we're asking ourselves *why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.*

 

Probably, *if we think about it long and hard enough,* we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with *'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'*

 

Funny how simple it is for people *to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.* Funny how *we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.* Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, *but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.* Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, *but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.*

 

Are you laughing yet?

 

Funny how when you forward this message, *you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.*

 

Funny how *we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.*

 

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, *if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.*

I decided to send it on. *Will you?*u