Note to God

Management  consultant Stephen Covey thought that discipline was freedom: “The undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”. Leadership is about freely choosing thoughts and actions that lead to improvement. It’s denying the easy gratifications that surround us and keeping true to our goals. To ask others to demonstrate self-discipline involves us setting the example.

All of us would like a word of encouragement when things have not gone well, and would appreciate understanding from others when, once again, in spite of our best intentions we have made a mistake. We prefer others to have more regard to our positive deeds than to our shortcomings; we are glad to have a cordial atmosphere at our place of work or on coming home. We like to be stretched at work, but to be asked, nevertheless, with courtesy and in a kindly fashion to do what is required of us; we don’t like anyone to speak badly of us behind our backs; and if someone does, we’d be grateful to have another defend us in our absence; we would like others to be concerned about us when we are ill; we would not be averse to receiving fraternal corrections when we do something badly, instead of having our blunder gossiped about with somebody else; we would be happy to know that our friends pray for us ... These are things which, with humility and a spirit of service, we have to do for others: Di...

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Instead of saying " let's do sth", be specific - let's watch this show etc. Don't give her the mental load of deciding what to do

Oh God! What happiness to be thus embraced and to recline in the bosom of the Saviour. Remain thus, beloved daughter, and like another little one, Saint John, while others are tasting different kinds of food at the table of the Lord, lay your head, your soul and your spirit, in a gesture of utter trust, on the loving bosom of this dear Lord

You are my only hope, you are the source of my joy. When I could no longer cling to my normal supports I discovered that true support and real safety lie far beyond the structures of our world.

Friends are those who have been chosen as living signs of God's love to us.

When two people commit themselves to live their lives together, a new reality comes into existence. “They become one flesh,” Jesus says. That means that their unity creates a new sacred place.  Many relationships are like interlocking fingers. Two people cling to each other as two hands interlocked in fear. They connect because they cannot survive individually. But as they interlock they also realize that they cannot take away each other’s loneliness. And it is then that friction arises and tension increases. Often a breakup is the final result.  But God calls man and woman into a different relationship. It is a relationship that looks like two hands that fold in an act of prayer. The fingertips touch, but the hands can create a space, like a little tent. Such a space is the space created by love, not by fear . Marriage is creating a new, open space where God’s love can be revealed to the “stranger”: the child, the friend, the visitor. This marriage becomes a witness to God’s ...

Faithfulness, obviously, does not mean sticking it out together to the bitter end. That is no reflection of God’s love. Faithfulness means that every decision we make in our lives together is guided by the deep awareness that we are called to be living signs of God’s faithful presence among us . And this requires an attentiveness to one another that goes far beyond any formal obligation.