I cannot change the way I am, I never really try
GOD made me different and unique, I never asked Him why
If I appear peculiar, there's nothing I can do
You must accept me as I am, as I've accepted you
GOD made a casting of each life, then threw the mould away
We all are different from the rest, unlike as night from day
So often we will criticise, the things that other do
But, do you know they do not think the same as me or you
So GOD in all His wisdom, who knows us all by name
He didn't want us to be bored, that's why we’re not the same
Said the Robin to the Sparrow
"I should really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush about any worry so?"
Said the Sparrow to the Robin
"Friend, I think that it must be that they have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you and me!!"
Dust if you must
Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture or write a letter,
Bake a cake or plant a seed.
Ponder the difference between want and need.
Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
Music to hear and books to read,
Friends to cherish and life to lead.
Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around again.
Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go and go you must,
You, yourself, will make more dust
WORRY's like a rocking chair, it doesn't get you anywhere.
Put your feet down on the ground, walk about and look around
Don't just sit there - up and do
Don't let worry worry you!
17th Century Nuns Prayer
Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every occasion.
Release me from craving to straighten out everybodys affairs.
Make me thoughtful, but not moody: helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but
thou knowest Lord I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details, and give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and the love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains,
but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint, as some of them are
hard to live with ~ but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places,
and talents in unexpected people.
And give me Lord the grace to tell them so.
Give me amidst the confusion of the day. the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tension of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical restorative power of sleep. Teach me the art of making minute vacations...
Of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day of the fable of the Hare and the Tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift: that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look up to the branches of the towering oak, and know that it grew because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow
towards the stars of my great destiny. Amen
If I get to heaven. I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be to see many there whom I did not expect to see: the second wonder will be to miss many people who I did expect to see; and the third and greatest of all will be if I find myself there.
(with apologies to John Newton 1725-1807)
Evangelist and hymn writer
Sometime, when you're feeling important,
Sometime, when your Ego's in bloom,
Sometime, when you take it for granted
You're the best qualified in the room.
Sometime, when you feel that you.r going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow this simple instruction
And see how it humbles your soul:
Take a bucket, and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it, up to the wrist,
Pull it out, and the hole that's remaining,
Is a measure of how you'll be missed.
You can splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint example,
Is to do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself, but remember,
There is no indispensable man !
Author unknown
Mary, Queen of Scots Prayer
Keep us O Lord from all pettiness.
Let us be large in thought, word, and deed.
Let us be done with fault finding, and all self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense, and meet each other
face to face without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgement
and always generous.
DESIDERATA
(Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927)
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender be on good terms with all people.
Speak your truth quietly, and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and agressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real posession in the changing future of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs: for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is:
many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be Yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the councel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself..
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars: you have a right ot be here. And whether or not is it clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God - whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labour and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy
IN HIS FOOTSTEPS
When someone does a kindness
it always seems to me,
That's the way God up in heaven
would like us all to be...
For when we bring some pleasure
to another human heart,
We have followed in His footsteps
and we've had a little part.
In serving Him who loves us -
for I am very sure it's true.
That in serving those around us
We serve and please him, too.
~By Helen Steiner Rice~
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me
Serenity - to accept the things I cannot change
Courage - to change the things I can, and
Wisdom - to know the difference
(Reinhold Neibuhr-theologian, 1934)
God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,
the good fortune to recognize the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference.
To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hate, may I bring love;
Where offence, may I bring pardon;
May I bring union in place of discord;
Truth, replacing error;
Faith, where once there was doubt;
Hope, for despair;
Light, where there was darkness;
Joy to replace sadness.
Make me not to so crave to be loved
as to love.
Help me to learn that in giving I may receive;
In forgetting self, I may find life eternal
AN IRISH BLESSING
May the roads rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand
One Little Rose
I would rather have one little rose
From the garden of a friend,
Than to have the choicest flowers
When my stay on earth must end.
I would rather have one pleasant word
In kindness said to me,
Than flattery when the heart is still
And life has ceased to be.
I would rather have a loving smile
From friends I know are true,
Than tears shed round my coffin
When this world I've bid adieu.
Bring me all your flowers today
Whether pink, or white, or red;
I'd rather have one blossom now
Than a truckload when I'm dead!
~ Author Unknown ~
SEE IT THROUGH
When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!
Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whatever you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through.
Author unknown
There’s a miracle of Friendship
That dwells within the heart
And you don’t know how it happens
Or where it gets its start
But the happiness it brings you
Always gives a special lift
And you realize that Friendship
Is God’s most precious gift
