Category: Inspiration

Do Not Lose Heart

…But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

~ 2 Corinthians 4: 16 – 18

Magnify Him

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. ~ Psalm 69:30

Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.

God is your creator, deliverer, supreme benefactor, and good provider, He created you just as He gives you every good thing, since without His goodness you could not live even for a minute. You do not see your Benefactor with these eyes, but you see the benefits He has given you. You see the sun, the moon, and His stars which illumine you. You see the fire that warms you and cooks your food. You see the food which satisfies you, you see the clothing by which your naked body is covered. You see all other countless blessings which He gave you for your needs and comfort. Seeing, then, and receiving these benefits, remember your unseen Benefactor everywhere and always with love, and thank Him for all His benefits with a pure heart. ~ St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Marvellous!

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ~ Psalm 139:14

Rudbeckia Hirta (Black-Eyed Susan Flower) is a perennial wildflower and relative of the sunflower. Another old fashioned name for this flower is Golden Jerusalem… Reminiscent beauty of God’s handiwork.

Having Beheld

Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We worship Thy cross, O Christ, and Thy holy Resurrection we hymn and glorify. For Thou art our God, and we know none other beside Thee. We call on Thy name. O come, all ye faithful, let us worship Christ’s holy Resurrection. For behold, through the cross joy hath come into all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we hymn His Resurrection: for having endured crucifixion, he hath destroyed death by death.

~ Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ is sung in Tone 6 after the Gospel Reading of Sunday Matins

Sunflower Sense

A friend shared this wonderful quote by St. John of Tobolsk.

O Christian! Remember this once and for all: even on cloudy days the sunflower continues to follow the sun in its focused love, even though it cannot see the sun. The Sun that illumines our life’s path is the will of God. It does not always shine on us without clouds, often, clear days are followed by overcast days when rains, winds, and storms arise, No Christian is safe from these phenomena, these changes in spiritual weather. May our love for the Sun, the will of God, be as strong as the sunflower’s, so that even in days of hardship and sorrow, we will continue to sail unerringly along the sea of life, following the directions of the barometer and compass of God’s will that leads us to the safe haven of eternity. ~ St. John of Tobolsk from The Sunflower

Give Good Gifts

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.~ James 1:17

Wholehearted gratitude helps our spirits flourish, and it behooves (such a delightful word!) us to do good things with the good gifts we are given!

It’s a Christian privilege and duty to be generous and kind to others. Even if all we have for someone is a smile… besides prayer, it could well be the most important gift to someone at that particular moment. It can lift their soul up. 

A smile says I care about you. It says I see you, I respect you, I see our Lord in you.

When we have sincere compassion for others, God notices and surprises us with many blessings, sometimes more than what we deserve.

…It is more blessed to give than to receive. ~ Acts 20:35

A beautiful 19th century hymn – Give Good Gifts comes to mind. Our youth choir has sung this “anytime” song throughout the year at different events. 

Give good gifts, one to another,

Peace, joy and comfort, gladly bestow,

Harbour no ill ‘gainst sister or brother,

Smooth life’s journey as you onward go!

(Repeat)   

♥                        

Broad as the sunshine, free as the showers,

So shed an influence, blessing to prove;

Give for the noblest of efforts your pow’rs;

Blest and be blest is the law of love.

(Repeat)

Mt. Lebanon N.Y.
 

Blessed Silence

We recently received this beautiful, unusual icon of Jesus Christ. It is known in Russia as Spas Blagoe Molchanie – Saviour of Blessed Silence. 

Here we see Christ, young, beardless, the Eternal existing Word and Wisdom of God, also depicted as The Angel of Great Counsel.

He wears an eight-pointed glory (slava) crown, known in iconography as the star of the Ancient of Days. This symbolises the six days of creation, with the seventh day of rest and the eighth day of eternity.

With His precious hands crossed over His chest (as we do receiving the Holy Sacrament of Communion), our Lord and Saviour silently invites us to inner prayer.

He waits patiently.

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