Monthly Archives: September 2015
866. An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language. ~Martin Buber
Questers of the truth, that’s who dogs are;
seekers after the invisible scent
of another being’s authentic core.
~Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
We can judge the heart of a man
by his treatment of animals.
~Immanuel Kant
Animals are such agreeable friends-
they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
~George Elliot
All of the animals except for man know
that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.
~Samuel Butler
The purity of a person’s heart
can be quickly measured
by how they regard animals.
~Author Unknown
Love the animals: God has given them
the
rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
~Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I love cats because I enjoy my home;
and little by little they become its visible soul.
~Jean Cocteau
Animals are not property or “things”
but rather living organisms, subjects of a life,
who are worthy of our compassion,
respect, friendship, and support.
~Marc Bekoff
If all the beasts were gone, men would die
from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens
to the beasts also happens to the man.
All things are connected.
~Chief Seattle of the Suwamish Tribe
Animals are God’s creatures.
He surrounds them with his providential care.
By their mere existence they bless Him
and give Him glory. Thus men owe them kindness.
~Catholic Church, Catechism
Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind’s capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality, but in a sense because they don’t; because they all stand unequal and powerless before us. Animals are so easily overlooked, their interests so easily brushed aside. Whenever we humans enter their world, from our farms to the local animal shelter to the African savanna, we enter as lords of the earth bearing strange powers of terror and mercy alike. ~Matthew Scully
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky, and they will tell you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hands is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind…” ~Job 12:7-10 ✝
**Images via Pinterest
865. Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation. ~Rumi
May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all else, may silence make you strong.
~Chief Dan George
When Christ said that man does not live by bread alone, he spoke of hunger. This hunger was not the hunger of the body. It was not the hunger for bread. He spoke of the hunger that begins deep down in the very depths of our being in silence. He spoke of a need as vital as breath. He spoke of our hunger for love. Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world…But with love, we are creative. With it, we march tirelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrifice for others. ~Chief Dan George
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. ~Psalm 13:5 ✝
**Images via Pinterest and the Internet
864. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~Apache Blessing
The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea speaks to me.
The strength of the fire,
the taste of the salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me
And my heart soars.
~Chief Dan George
It is as though the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore. ~Psalm 133:3 ✝
**Images via Pinterest
863. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feel so bad. ~Lyrics written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. ~Job 8:21 ✝
**Images via Pinterest, collage by Natalie
862. Nature is what we know – yet have not art to say – so impotent our wisdom to her simplicity. ~Emily Dickinson
Simplicity is beauty
and beauty is simplicity,
nothing more, nothing less.
~Oscar Wilde
In character,
in manner,
in style,
in all things
the supreme
excellence
is simplicity.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Simplicity, clarity, singleness:
These are the attributes that give
our lives power and vividness and joy
as they are also the marks of great art.
They seem to be the purpose of
God for his whole Creation.
~Richard Holloway
A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life. ~Proverbs 13:7 ✝
**Images via Pinterest, collages created by Natalie
861. The pen is the tongue of the mind.~Miguel de Cervantes
Keep a diary and
one day it’ll keep you.
~Mae West
It is necessary to write, if the days are not
to slip emptily by. How else, indeed,
to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?
For the moment passes, it is forgotten;
the mood is gone; life itself is gone.
That is where the writer scores over his fellows:
he catches the changes of his mind on the hop.
~Vita Sackville-West
However we go about the process, I believe those of us who write do find it necessary to do so. Perhaps, it’s because “clapping the net over the butterfly of the moment” helps define who we are for ourselves before “life itself is gone” and perhaps to help us know how who and what we are matters in the world. Whatever the reason, as tired as I am, I felt the need to put my fingers on the keyboard tonight. Thank you for all the prayers for my sister, Linda, and her husband, Dick. It seems that he blacked out last night because his blood pressure plummeted to critical levels. Then because the dropping of the blood pressure to such dangerously low levels causes the organs to start shutting down he went into renal failure. However, the good news tonight is that his BP is up to a normal range for him and his kidneys are functioning which means he is still on track for the transplant eligibility when a heart becomes available. Praise the Lord! The docs still have to find out what caused his blood pressure to drop so low, but I have faith that they will. Sadly he still does in fact look like he has been hit by a truck as his left eye is black, and he has a bad gash on the back of his head not to mention a whole bunch of large bruises. But they have put stitches in the cut above that eye, and as for the broken bones beneath his eye where it has turned pitch black, there is yet some question about what will need to be done, if anything, about those broken bones. They have also put staples in the cut on the back of his head, and thankfully, he apparently has no concussion. So, though very tired, we are grateful, more relieved, and praising God tonight.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ~Colossians 4:2 ✝
**Images via Pinterest; collage by Natalie
860. Prayer is the language of a man/woman burdened with a sense of need. ~E.M. Bounds
There’s a saying that when prayers go up,
blessings come down, and I’m praying and asking
for prayers for my youngest sister tonight.
~Natalie
Linda remarried 8 years ago after being divorced for 30+ years, and her husband is a really good man with a really bad heart. As of late, his heart conditioned has worsened considerably, and he is now on the list for a heart transplant. And then tonight, I got a text message from her that Dick had passed out in the kitchen hitting the front of his head first on the granite countertop as he went down and then the back of his head as he hit the tile floor. When she got in there, she said the kitchen looked like a crime scene. So she called 911, and he was rushed to the hospital in Dallas where he’ll have the transplant when a heart becomes available. His blood pressure was critically low, however, as of now that has come back up. But he has a black eye and broken bones under that eye and a staple in the back of his head from the blow to the back of his head. Thankfully at the moment they’ve patched him up and he is stable although he looks like he has been hit by a truck. So I’m asking for prayers that they he not only survive what happened tonight but that he lives long enough for a heart to become available. In the meantime I could be out of pocket for a few days and not able to post anything or read your posts. But I will be back as soon as I can, and I will keep you updated on my brother-in-law’s condition. Thanks for reading this and sending up prayers. Blessings and hugs, Natalie
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. ~Psalm 54:2 ✝
859. Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us. ~Boris Pasternak
I’m a great believer in the
beauty and power of surprise.
~Mark Gatiss
Even the dullest bird or face or object becomes interesting when you give it a good look in the wild/flesh. The way the shadow drops across the cheek, the light hits an eyebrow, and so on. There are many more angles and positions than you can ever imagine. My heart always makes a little jump when I see things in birds or faces or bits of nature that surprise me. ~Edited quote by Siegfried Woldhek
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. ~Psalm 29:8 ✝
**Image via Pinterest
858. Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn. ~William Arthur Ward
Faith is that tiny beautiful songbird in
one’s heart that sings wonderful melodies
even during the darkest moments
because it feels and sees the divine light
that is yet to arrive with the dawn.
Faith enables us to believe in something,
something that may be beyond
any
rationale, reasoning or logic.
And faith is also our inner strength that
empowers us to bring our dreams and vision
to fruition, with the Grace of God.
So take a leap in the unknown with
full faith in God and yourself.
~Author Unknown
The earth is filled with your love, Lord: teach me your decrees. ~Psalm 119:64 ✝
**Image via Pinterest
Sacred Touches 