Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when she      was asked to share her  'beauty tips'.

            It was read at her funeral years later:

    For attractive lips , speak words of kindness,

    For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people,

    For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry,

    For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it a

        once a day. 

    For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone, 

    People, even more than things have to be restored, renewed,     

    revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

    Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one

    at the end of each of your arms.

    As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;

    one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.

    If you share this with another woman, 

    you will boost another woman's self-esteem, and 

    she will know that you care about her. 

l

                      

                Wits and Wisdom learned in 

                        my seven decades of life.

                                God

                 If I say, there is no God ,

                I must be either totally blind

                in both my eyes or in mind

                Or I must be someone so arrogant

                stiff necked to have walked on this planet.

                How could I say that there is no God

                when my eyes behold  His handiwork

                all around me day after day

                and night after night.

                Can anyone look at the mesmerizing hues of sky at dawn

                when the sun leaves his chamber with all its majesty

                that no earthly king could stand in comparison.

                Even the blind with no sight to behold this beauty

                had ever denied the presence of God Almighty.

                For, they keep the  eyes of their heart wide open

                to see Him in their mind to craft songs like 

                " Blessed assurance"

                and " To God be the Glory, 

                Praise Him, Praise Him ! Be thou Exalted.' 

                Smelling God's love in the fragrance of flowers 

                Hearing His care in the sweet melodies of tweeting birds

                And sensing His touch in the embrace of friends and strangers

                Even the blind could see much deeper and higher than many of us

                living with wide eyes to see.

                Or haven't we wondered how a baby grow 

                                                    in the mother's womb

                Or our own bodies working so perfectly in unison

                 the brain with heart  and heart in turn with lungs 

                 and liver pumping live giving blood through

                 numerous paths of vessels in amazing co-ordination 

                that no regime in military could rival in comparison.

             You, who have denied God's existence so far

             for reason only you know.

            Please do take a moment to see the loveliness of sunlit sky 

            and the sparkling of starlit sky.

            Hear Him in the calling of birds 

            and patter of the rain that makes plants grow.

            See Him! Hear Him, and Come to know Him

             in and through everything He has created

            for you and me to embrace and enjoy an abundant life on earth!

What Have We Become

 Oh, Mighty God , Giver of life\

Awesome is Your name.

Almighty is Your power

Justice is Your heartbeat

Mercy is Your love song.

What a beautiful earth You made

What a joy, You want us to have.

So long, so badly we've messed this up

Beauty into chaos we have made it with our choices.

Patience all along You've shown us so far

Loving and waiting, You gave us many second chances

Father, have mercy, we are so dumb

To choose right from wrong, we've forgotten

                            somewhere along the way..

Good old path and good old ways

No more delight our hearts.

Stressed and joyless, we tarry along

mumbling and grumbling with no laughter at home. 

                        

                  There's a stream of trouble across my path

                               It is black and deep and wide.

                         Bitter the hour the future hath

                         When I cross it s swelling tide.

                         But I smile and sing and say:

                        " I will hope and trust alway;

                  I'll bear the sorrow that comes tomorrow, 

                        But I'll borrow none today."

                                   (Taken from the devotional-Streams in 

                                                                                                    the Desert-June 9)

                (Taken from the devotional Streams in the Desert)

                    O Thou of little faith, 

         God hath not failed thee yet!

       When all looks dark and gloomy,

                Thou dost so soon forget--

             Forget that He has led thee,

         And gently cleared thy way;

    On clouds has poured His sunshine, 

        And turned thy night to day.

        And if He's helped thee hitherto, 

       He will not fail thee now;

   How it must wound His loving heart

      To see thy anxious brow!

    Oh! doubt not any longer, 

   To Him commit thy way, 

Whom in the past thou trusted,

  And is " just the same today."

               July 4

                                              Something to Ponder.
           

I read this piece in a church's centennial celebration magazine. Since I found the statements valuable,  I thought of sharing it through my blog post.

1.Only God can turn a Mess into a Message; A Test into a Testimony, a Trial into a Triumph, and a        Victim into a Victory.

2. Don't ask God to guide your steps, if you are not willing to move your feet.

3. When you are tempted to lose patience with someone, think how patient God has been with you all      the time.

4. Life is an echo. What you send out comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get.
    What you see in others -exists in you.

5. Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He is the rock at the bottom.

6.The Bible is meant to be the bread for daily use, not a cake for special occasion.

7. When you feel like you are drowning in life, take comfort that your Lifeguard walked on water.

8  Jesus died for you in public, so don't live for him in private.

9. If you kneel before God, you can stand before anyone or anything.

10. Be yourself. No matter what other people think of you, God made you this way for a reason.
      Besides, an original is always worth more than a copy.

11. Faith is like the W-Fi. It is invisible, but it has the power to connect you to what you need.

12. Don't be a part-time Christian when God is not a part-time Savior.

A Little Child shall Lead Them- Sulochana Vinayagamoorthy

This morning, I was reading the Classic Writings of Billy Graham, where Mr.Graham had tried to explain how we may be sincere in our desires to serve Christ, but that does not make us perfect or fault-free. To simplify his point, he chose a letter written by a five-year-old to her dad, a Scottish preacher, who was away in New Zealand on a mission tour.

'Dear father, I wrote all this myself. I send you a kiss from Elsie.' the child wrote. The father did see the crooked strokes, his child's struggle to print large capitals, and the absence of a single properly formed letter. Yet, he showed no displeasure nor blamed the child for her poor writing. Instead, he treasured the letter like an art piece. He knew for sure, it was the best his darling five-year-old could do to convey her love to him. The child had put her whole heart into the letter, sealed it with a kiss and sent it to him from faraway. How could anything be more precious to him than that ?

As I was reading the story, my thoughts reeled back to the time when I wrote somewhat a similar letter to my father, whom I lovingly called,Pappa. Probably, I too would have been around her age at that time. That summer, my mother, two older sisters and I were holidaying at our aunt's house in a hilly country side, skirted by cocoa and pepper plantation. My father couldn't join us on this trip due to work and that made me, the youngest of the five to miss him the most.


 So, whenever I saw my mom write  to my father, I scribbled something on a piece of paper and sent it along. And when the postman brought my father's letters, I eagerly awaited on my mom's lap to hear her read the part where my father had inquired about me. Then, one day, my mom came and handed me an envelope addressed to me. A letter for me? I couldn't believe my eyes.  My chubby cheeks beamed when I saw the handwriting of my dear father. The fact that he had written specially to me made me  squeal and run around the house showing the letter to everyone.

 Today, I cannot recall what my father had written in that letter, but I do remember of carrying the letter all day long  in my frock pocket (yes, we did have cute pockets in our dresses) and reading it again and again.  In a day or two, I could easily recite the letter by heart. Soon, it became a past time for my sisters and cousins to call upon me to recite the letter in front of others. Shy, I might have been by nature, but when it came to recite my father's letter, I didn't shy away at all. My curly hair pinned up in two colorful barretts, I stood there with my chin up and my squint eyes gleaming, and recited my father's entire letter for my onlookers amusement.


I wish I could say that I read my heavenly Father's letter (God's Word) too with the same fervor and devotion. Maybe at times. Other days, I do it because I ought to, rather than I love to. But, that doesn't mean that my Heavenly Father loves me less, nor His grace towards me is going to be shortened.   However, it's my sincere desire that I will regain my childlike trust and devotion, and  bring much delight to Him in the coming days, months and years.***

Count Yourself Blessed
                      by Sulo Moorthy

O Daugters of mine and others out there
Bright, bold and beautiful
Whatever color, shape or place you're in
Count yourself blessed for the time 
You're living in, when
Your voice does matter 
And your work and ideas get recognized.

Do take a bow to the women in the past
Who braved the winds to give you the life
they could only dream of.
Take not this life for granted
and waste no more time to please the world
which try to dictate how you should look, weigh or buy.

Choices lay many before you today
You could run to become Madame President, if you want to
Or stay at home and raise a future president, scientist or writer if you wish to.
Choose whatever is right, noble and proper
So that your children and their children
would take a bow for you one day
for what you've done to better and beautify their world.***
             

                                  What Does Reading Offer?

This Sunday morning, as usual I read through Ann Voskamp's (Author of One Thousand Gifts and The Broken Way) blog posting for this week. 

I've been a voracious reader all my life. Reading books have definitely strengthened my writing life as well as my spiritual and mental growth. Surely the enjoyment I get reading good and well written
books is something like biting into a soft and sweet peach or the drip of honey on my tongue. I could almost taste the goodness of the words in my mouth. 

But I never went to the extent to which Ann Voskamp went to understand the value of reading as Ann had done.
As such, I couldn't help but share what I've read  this morning. As always, Ann has a unique way of conveying her thoughts in words that glitter and pulsates with beauty and content. 
Following is an  excerpt from her posting for this week on Reading Good Books.

Pages can be preparation, the smell of old books can be comfort, and a way to prepare for anything is to read the best things, the way to live a good story, is to read the wisest stories, the way to prepare for what’s up ahead, is to read the hearts of those who have gone ahead.
” ‘We read to know we are not alone,'” says C.S. Lewis’ Shadowlands. Every crisis we’ve ever battled through, I can remember exactly what book stayed by my side, the scent of ink on paper like the scent of home, like a welcoming.
I hadn’t known: When we abandon ourselves to stories — we know we aren’t abandoned in our own stories.   
I have long felt that tall stacks of books on end tables are ebenezers, guideposts, trail markers to reach for, a kind of hands to hold on to, and gird us with a brave strength for the hard roads, the steep inclines, the days when we feel forgotten and left behind.
I have held pages and felt held. “Literary experience heals the wound….” C.S. Lewis reaches out with steadying words.
A book can be your feelings pulsing through the veins of another. 
A book can be courage for the obstacle course that is your life.
A book can be a saw that breaks you out of the box — that breaks you free. 
Reading words can rewrite your life. Hope can come as gentle as turning pages.
We could read toge(s)ther. One year. 12 Books. For such a time as now.

Prepare for whatever’s coming and grab hope off the end table, off the shelf, off the nightstand, and do more than wield good books like a sword.

Eat good books and The Best Book.

Hunger every day for strengthening words, have a voracious appetite for them, digest them, swallow them, get them in your veins and let them become you and you become them, let them become your spine, your beating heart, your mind, let them become what you breathe and speak and think and the air you move in, because you aren’t taken aback by what you’ve taken time to prepare for, and books can prepare you for the test that is your every day, your new year.

               Book Review: Orange is The New Black- A Memoir 
                                                                       by Piper Kerman.

A good read and an eye opener to those of us who have no clue or don't even care what goes behind prison walls. Piper Kerman cracks open the prison doors to reveal what goes behind bars through this memoir of hers. In her twenties, wanting some adventure Piper got involved with a woman who was in the business of drug smuggling. Little did Piper realized that the small part she played in the business would land her in the the prison ten years later. Even though she had severed all connection with the drug dealer friend for ten years and leading a professional life as a creative director for a web service, she got convicted and served thirteen months in the minimum security correctional facility for women in Danbury,Connecticut.

Blue eyed , blond haired and educated, Piper encountered stares and raised eyebrows questioning "what the hell are you doing here" when she first walked down the long main hall of the prison trying to make no eye contact. Soon, she learned that when a new prisoner arrived, their tribe-white, black,Latinos or the few and far between 'others' would immediately assess the situation, get them settled and steer them through the prison rules and rituals.

Piper takes us through her good, bad and challenging experiences in this thought provoking, well written, but slow moving memoir.  Surprised to find kindness and comradeship inside the prison camp made her to realize she had more in common with these women  dressed in khaki uniforms and heavy black work shoes

Many of the inmates were serving long term sentences for non-violent offences.Most of them were poor, poorly educated and came from neighborhoods where narcotic trade provided the most job opportunities. Some of them were serving eight to twelve years for low level offences like allowing their apartment for drug deals, passing messages and serving as couriers for low wages. Limited resource for defence and staggering caseload of Legal Aid Lawyers ended up putting these women for unjustified long term imprisonment.

Piper couldn't understand how long timers like her friend Natalie who served eight years kept her dignity and interact with grace in such a rotten place. The advice she received from many quarters was, "Do your time. Don't let the time do you." How could anyone be funny and mellow with an easy laugh under such dire condition? Piper writes that she needed to see things with a new perspective and learn survival techniques like some of her fellow inmates to make her prison life tolerable.

Skill wise too, Piper learned things which she wouldn't have bothered to learn in the free world outside. Since the prison facility is mainly run by inmates,everyone there is required to work and thus assigned to a job. She ended up working in the electric shop in Construction and Maintenance service. After being confined to the prison camp for a month,the bus ride to her work site made Piper happy.  If the women didn't have GED, they couldn't earn over fourteen cents an hour, which could barely pay for toothpaste and soap. It's out of their earned prison account they have to pay for phone calls, toiletry,fines etc. It saddened Piper to find her  bunk buddy Natalie who worked in the prison kitchen as a skilled baker for many years was never paid more than $ 5.60 for forty hours of work.

In Danbury, however Piper had the pleasure of participating in events like Halloween, Christmas, birthdays and send off parties for the fellow mates. With the minimum resources available, the women somehow creatively made cards, banners and posters and decorated the place and gifted hand made gifts like knitted or crocheted socks, slippers or  caps.
However when she was moved to the large Federal prison camp in Chicago before she was released,she found out that such events and send off parties were non-existent. She missed Danbury, specially her fellow inmates who would have given her a send off party and given her hugs amidst tears..
Piper knew that she had a loving family, a home to go back and an opportunity to land in a job when she got released. But it was not so with many of the prisioners. Though none of them wanted to comeback to prison again, several of them returned because the outside world barred them in so many ways from  integrating into the society. Because they had to put a check mark in the square marked for 'convicted' on job and rental apartment application forms, they ended up getting denied for a job or apartment. As such, many of the inmates  dreaded the approaching date of their release. Such scenario saddened Piper, who had come to know and admire the entrepreneurial spirit and strength of some of the women at Danbury.
I haven't yet seen the Netflix series of  Orange is The New Black. But I would recommend the book to be read first to get the true story.

 A New Year Has Dawned  !

2016 had whizzed by

With memories of good

and bad to take away.

2017 has just stepped in

with a fresh blank sheet 

to record its events for history.

Yes, a New Year has dawned

to list a few new resolutions

to start a fresh journal

to hang a new calendar on the wall.

And to have a new President in the White House.

What is in store for us this year

As a family, country or the world as a whole

No one knows and none could predict.

We could only hope and pray 
this year would bring  smiles, not pain

More solutions than problems

So that all could live in peace and with no fear.

O God, You have given us a beautiful world to live in

It's a pity we spend no time to see its beauty or enjoy it.

Help us to see, help, forgive and love more this year

So that 2017 become a great year to remember.

Book Review:  An Unquenchable Thirst –Following Mother Theresa in Search of Love, service and an Authentic Life-by Mary Johnson

Mother Theresa stands atop of my list of people I admire the most. In a world that worships celebrities, she is of another kind of celebrity. Draped simply in a whilte sari with a blue border, Mother had acquainted princesses to paupers with the same genuine smile and humble meaner.

So, when I spotted the book-An Unquenchable Thirst –Following Mother Theresa in Search of Love, Service and an Authentic Life, on the shelf on my local library, I grabbed it at once. It is a memoir of an ex-nun at Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

As Sister Donata, the author Mary Johnson had been a nun for twenty years at the mission until she left it in 1997. Drawn by the picture of Mother Theresa on the cover of Times magazine in 1975 and reading about the poor dying on the streets of Calcutta, the high school student from Texas decided to follow her heart and join the Missionaries of Charity.

 In her memoir, the author vividly shares an honest picture of her ups and down experiences within the walls of her community. By writing about her meetings with Mother Theresa and her travel with Mother as her personal aid to Sweden, she gives a glimpse of the saint in close shot. Also, the author takes us inside the Vatican to give us a rare view of the interior and her audience with Pope Paul VI. She also give us peek of Princess Diana’s visit with Mother. 

In her unique way, the author had weaved her twenty year vocation period in this well written, humor sprinkled book. It was such a page turner that I was able to finish the 500 paged book in  just five days.

Donata found her working with the poor, even with the gypsy community rewarding. Yet, independent spirit and questioning mind got her into trouble with her superiors. Obedience to authority at any cost seemed senseless and became her biggest challenge. Restriction to build any friendship with fellow sisters further grated on her. Unable to share her inner turmoil with a friend drove her seek comfort in a relationship with the priest to whom she went for confession.

 With courage and honesty, the author reveals her struggle with sexuality, obedience, her inability to be creative and productive in her service, and the physical and mental strain brought by over work, guilt and lack of understanding from some of her superiors. Though privileged to study at Regina Mundi, the Ivy League of ecclesiastical schools, a prestige assignment offered to fewer than on in a hundred missionaries of Charity and even found her eligible to revise The  Constitutions -the new Code of Canon Law, Donata was denied the promotion to become the Superior post she deserved until the very last. How painful and degraded she would have felt to serve under the novices she had once trained.

On page 222, we could read her conversation with God, just before she asked permission from Mother to take her final vows.

 “Lord, I think we both know I’m not going to be perfect. I can only promise to do

my best as a Missionary of Charity according to my understanding. I won’t try to live someone else’s model again. Are You okay with that?

Such an openness to God reveals Donata’s trust and reliance in Him, despite the expectation of those above her.

In no way does the author intends to stain the image of the Missionaries of Charity or their service. Instead, through this book she brings out the overlooked human need of the sisters like friendship, physical discomfort due to overwork, sickness etc. The book could be an eye opener for those who dive into a vocation with over enthusiasm and too little awareness of themselves for such a commitment.

Along with the satisfaction of reading a well written, humor sprinkled memoir, I’ve some take away as given below to help me in my own spiritual quest.

              1.   “ Silence  gives us a new outlook on life. 

                      In it we are filled with the energy of God   Himself that makes us do all things                           with joy.”

               2     The less we think of ourselves, the more God thinks of us.

               3.    Let Jesus use you without consulting you.

              4.       Be faithful and persevering.

              5.      To forgive means to be willing to suffer from someone until your loving                                   kindness  heals  them.

                            The Power of Silence

I. In silence, I can hear the small voice-the soft whisper of God.

2. Silence makes me to hear the pain pangs of those who are hurting.

3 Silence makes me to realize how much  un-needed words I speak out and how little I listen when         others speak.

4. Silence creates a space for me to think and contemplate.

5  Silence distracts the chattering around me and make me focus on the awesomeness of the                      surrounding and the mystery of life.

6. Silence instills humility and gratitude towards God.

7  Silence enables me to rethink and make better choices.

8 Silence dispels confrontation and stifle anger outbursts.

9 Silence has a catalytic effect for prayer and meditation.

10. Silence makes the space sacred and conducive for creativity.

Earth's Crammed with Heaven

Earth's crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberriess.
And daub their natural faces unaware
More and more from the first similitude!





       Love Abiding

...We abide
Not on this earth, but for a little space
We pass upon it; and while so we pass,
God through the dark hath set the Light of Life
With witness for Himself, the Word of God,
To be among us Man, with human heart,
And human language, thus interpreting
The One great Will incomprehensible
only so far as we in human life
And able to receive it.

(taken from The complete Works of Oswald Chambers)

Book Review: Why God Allows Us to Suffer by Kevin Tewes.

Many theologians and writers had tried to provide reasonable answer to satisfy our never ending question-How could a loving and all powerful God allows pain and evil to dwell on earth?
Some have claimed that suffering is used by God for character building purposes. Others have argued it to be the fair retribution of of wrongful acts or the free- willed decision making by the individual or society around.

Kevin Tewes delves deeper into the problem of pain with a different lens. In Part 1 of the book, he make us to focus on the main four characters of God-all powerful, loving, wise and just.
In Part 2, he freshen up our memory of the story of Creation and Fall and methodologically reason out why pain and evil still exist.

The Great Commandment requires us to love God whole heartedly, and to love our fellow beings with no selfish motives. When we violate the commandment to love, the problem of pain shows up,

God, who made us in His own image wants us to love-the central purpose of human existence. And humanity exists only because God prioritized love over justice when the first act of sin was committed.

Tewes explains it beautifully as follows:
Indeed the problem of pain is unsolvable when one approaches it unmindful of the fact that love cannot occur without the presence of certain prerequisites. When unawareness of this fact is combined with a dismissive attitude regarding the consequence of sin, or a superficial understanding of the nature and character of God, the result is always the same-the conclusion that God is either not powerful enough or loving enough to prevent pain.

A must read book for insightful concepts on the problem of pain and suffering.

I received a complimentary review copy of the book through Bookcrash in exchange for an honest review.

                                Selected from Pilgrim's Progress


                 " I longed to walk along an easy road
                 And leave behind the dull routine of home
                Thinking in other fields to serve my God
                But Jesus said, "my time has not yet come."

                I longed to sow the seed in other soil
               To be unfettered in the work and free
               To join with other laborers in their toil
                But Jesus said, "Tis not My choice for thee."

               I longed to leave the desert and be led
               To work where souls were sunk in sin and shame
               That I might win them; but the Master said,
               " I have not called thee, publish here My name."

              I longed to fight the battle of my King
              Lift high His standards in the thickest strive.
              But my great Captain bade me wait and sing
              songs of His conquests in my quiet life.

              I longed to leave the uncongenial sphere
              where all alone I seemed to stand and wait
              To feel I had some human helper near
              But Jesus bade me guard one lonely gate.

             I longed to leave the round of daily toil
             where no one seemed to understand or care
             But Jesus said, "I chose for thee this soil
            That thou might raise for Me some blossoms rare.

            And now I have no longing, but to do
            At home or else afar, His blessed will
            To work amid the many or the few
            Thus "Choosing not to choose" my heart is still.

Book Review-Your Story Matters by Emra Smith

               
"God takes your story, which is composed of all you have experienced, wrapped in your personality, skills and the person you are, and molds you to become more than you can dream of."writes Emra Smith, the author of this 73 paged book Your Story Matters.

An easy to read paperback that can be slipped into your purse to be read at your lunch break or on travels.

 In the first chapter, the author tells her personal story that is intertwined with pain caused by parental abandonment in childhood, her unfulfilled expectations in marriage leading to relationship outside marriage, divorce followed by loneliness and how God intervened and turned her life around.

In the next eight short chapters, which read more like a devotional, the author encourages the readers to see the importance of everyday life, and pay attention to the little stories, events and experiences they normally overlook.

The title of the book speaks for itself what the author strongly believes and what she wants to convey through this book. Her message can be summarized as follows;
However big or small, challenging or mundane our stories may be, every one's story does matter.. Mindful sharing of  one's story during a dark time helps in the healing process,
Cease to be busy; rest in God and spend more time with Him.
Pause.Ponder.Leave all the unanswered questions behind.
Be more. Live more. Love more.

At the end of the book, helpful scriptures and books for reading are provided.

My thoughts:
A well written, inspirational book.
I liked the bold step Emra Smith took in revealing  her part in the relationship outside her marriage and making herself vulnerable in order to help those who had made bad choices and living with guilt and regret.
If not watchful, even a Christian with strong faith could give into temptation and suffer the repercussions, her story reveals.
 By telling about how God had filled her void and turned her life around for greater purpose, the author brings comfort and hope to such audience through this book.

I would have preferred if the author had added more anecdotes (small stories) and thereby added more pages to the book and weight to her story..
Definitely, it is a helpful book for personal growth and Christian living.

Emra Smith is an inspirational speaker, author of the book, Teatime Stories books and Life Coach.
Find her at EmraSmith.com

I received a complimentary review copy of this book through Bookcrash, in exchange for an honest review.

Short and Simple Prayers of Oswald Chambers that reflects His devotional life

1.    O Lord, enchain me to Thyself with great bonds of adoring love; en-wheel me around with Thy Providence for Thy Purposes; enlarge me until I am more and more capable of being of  use to Thee.

2.     O Lord, grant that in sweet and gracious likeness to Thyself I might delight Thy heart this   day, perfect my own life, and be an unalloyed blessing to all around me.

3     O Lord, how excellent it is to commune with Thee in the early morning hours. Enable me by patience to reproduce these exalted moments of calm into the activities of the day.

4.     O Lord, this day put Thou Thy touch, great and ennobling  and inspiring upon us all. Save completely our minds from panic and our spirits from undue haste.

 5.     O Lord, in simple dependence on Thy Holy Spirit indwelling in me and uniting me with Thy nature, I look to Thee; cause me to be all Thou wouldst have me be.

6       Lord, breathe on me until my frame is knit to Thy thought. Lift me until I see Thy face and trust   Thine Almightiness without fear or insidious unbelief.

7      O Lord, how I need infilling and invigorating by Thy presence. Give me that buoyant quiet confidence in Thee which is the witness of the Spirit.

8.     O Lord, I would crave more and more to put on love like a garment, that in my contract with men that is what they will most lastingly recognize.

9      I praise Thee that all I am is Thine. Oh, that I could delight Thee as the lily does, or the tree, or   even the sparrows, just living the life Thou has granted.

10    Lord, when I remember all Thy goodness, thy wonders and Thy grace, I alternate between   praise  and apprehension. O Lord, that all Thou seekest in me should be carried out in experimental life is my prayer.

       

Discerning the Fake

"Never allow anything to fuss your relationship to Jesus Christ,neither Christian work, nor Christian blessing, nor Christian anything. Jesus Christ first,second and third; and God Himself by the great indwelling power of the Spirit within will meet the strenuous effort on your part and slowly and surely you will form the mind of Christ and become one with Him as He was one with the Father. The practical test is- "Is Jesus Christ being manifested in my bodily life?"- Oswald Chambers

" My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,but with a demonstration of the Spiritual power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."-1 Corintians 2:4

"The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to Him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2: 14-15.

 Today the pulpits and Christian television programs are bombarding with so many messages in the name of Christ, but mostly honed towards a self-promoting,  prosperous and successful living. I don't know how many preachers of today can be counted to give such messages as Paul the apostle or Oswald Chambers. Surely there are now  many who preach with power and energy to the extent they jump, shout and sweat. No doubt these preachers  get auditoriums filled audience who are sincere in seeking God and hungry to be inspired and ministered .How do these people discern the ones who are  preaching under the influence of indwelling Holy Spirit from the ones who are fake?

Recently I watched the 'Kumare' documentary on NetFlix where the man faking as the spiritual guru was able get mass followers so quickly because people are ever seeking for love, acceptance and guidance. When they see someone elevated as a spiritual leader providing what they seek, they fall prey to him. Strangely when Kumare revealed himself to his followerd who he really was- a young man from New Jersey donned in Jeans and T-shirt conning them in religious garb and wisdom for a while, his followers didn't run away. They were thankful that Kumare gave them something to hold onto and make them a better person. All human beings want to be loved and to live a decent life. No one wants to become a bad or wicked person.

Unfortunately, circumstances make them to do what they do and who they become. They don't like what they do nor they want to continue to live the mediocre and miserable life they do. So, they seek out remedy. They become vulnerable to false teachers and spiritual gurus who prey on them. We, Christians are in no way better. We smile, we hug, we pray and we counsel for gospel sake. But, when we are pushed to a corner, our masks tend to fall out. When we are called out to the challenge of being real, we hit the floor. We are found to be fake too if we don't manifest Christ in our daily lives. The world is watching us. Unless our  relationship with Christ is like the Vine and the branches, we cannot demonstrate spiritual power to impact lives.

"The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship with God and has nothing to do with possessions. A sense of possessions is sufficient to render us spiritually dense because  what we possess often possess us.....When we no longer seek God for His blessings,we have time to seek Him for Himself." Oswald Chambers.***

It's Mother's Day!

                                                      It's Mother's Day

Yes, it's Mother's Day today and I thanked God this morning for  blessing me to have a wonderful mother who displayed unconditional love and patience all through her life and for blessing me to be the mother of two lovely, intelligent and loving daughters who gave me no tears or heartaches by any misconduct or behaviour. That is truly a God given gift and I'm always indebted to my Lord for that.

History has proven that no one could outshine the unconditional love of a mother. It is her love, wisdom and patience that had nourished, molded and brought forth great men and women to make history. Her unshakable faith and tears have unbound children caught in rebellious nature and made them to leave great biographies. She cares for no awards or recognition for the mundane service she does within the four walls for the sake of her family. Most of the time, she works behind the scene, goes un-noticed. The sacrifices she makes cannot be numbered. Sadly, many children take no time to notice and show gratitude unless a day like this called Mother's Day.

Today, moms are expected to be super moms taking care of the family as a care giver, chaueffer, cheer leader, counselor etc as well as showing up at work with utter confidence and authority to work, manage and run another kind of duty. To manage the two well, she is on the run gasping for breath and downing coffee or spring water. Meanwhile, she needs to keep in shape physically and mentally to keep her job at work and keep her family proud and happy.

The passive,patient and submissive mother the world portrayed in the past is no more to be seen around except in some closed community of religious background. When the world woke up to liberate women from their defined role and gave them voice to air their opinion and allowed them to join the work force, it failed to calculate their immense potentials. Given opportunity and confidence, women, they themselves were surprised what they were capable of.

Playing different roles and wearing different hats to suit the climate surely takes a toll on anyone. A woman, however super she tries to be tends to break down somewhere. No sooner a crack seems to be visible, the finger is quick to point in her direction. As human she too makes mistakes, looses her temper, barks at her children, have no time to listen to their woes. But do we hear her cry out to God  or see her wet pillows?

As a mother, she still loves her children and wants  the best for them. She may have adapted a different style and mode to suit the expectation and climate of the world today. But,  inside she's still the mom every child or  teenager wants to cuddle with. Her unconditional love lingers to comfort us even after she passes away.

It is because God cannot be everywhere in reality, He must have made Mothers to  to display his unconditional love,So, on this day, I salute all Mothers  -present and the past for making this world a worthy and beautiful place to live by your love, patience and sacrifice.

" Happy Mother's Day to me and to all the Mother's out there!"