I thought I'd post this for those people out there that are spending Valentine's Day alone.
Whether you are in a committed relationship and your partner is away for the holidays or you just do not have a date on Valentine’s Day, spending this day alone can be very sad for some people. Women especially are likely to dwell on the fact that they are alone this day but some men may wish they had someone special to spend the day with as well. However, spending Valentine’s Day alone does not have to be such as sad day. This article will offer a few tips for how to have fun on Valentine’s Day even if you are alone for the day.
Those who are in long distance relationships often find themselves alone on days such as Valentine’s Day, anniversaries or birthdays. If you are in this situation you likely realize there will be times when you are spending Valentine’s Day apart from your loved one. For example if you and your partner live miles away from each other because of work and only see each other on the weekends, you will likely be alone on Valentine’s Day if it falls during the week. However, there are other ways you can make the day seem special. For example if you know you are going to be alone on Valentine’s Day, try to keep yourself busy throughout the day. Schedule appointments such as manicures or pedicures, run errands or make plans to meet a friend for lunch or dinner. This will help to keep you from dwelling on the fact that it is Valentine’s Day. You can also make plans for the following weekend ahead of time so you will have something to look forward to. You may still be alone on Valentine’s Day but if you know you will be celebrating on the weekend it will help to make the day feel less sad and will help to make you feel less lonely.
If you are alone on Valentine’s Day because you are not in a relationship, you can still have a great time on Valentine’s Day. One way to do this is to rent a few movies and order in diner from a really nice restaurant. Try ordering from a restaurant you have always wanted to try or from a place which you know is very popular with couples on Valentine’s Day. This will help to make the day more special for you and you will be less likely to feel as though you are left out from the day’s activities. Just because you are alone does not mean you can’t enjoy a great meal and have a fabulous night by yourself.
If you have other friends who are single, you might consider hosting a singles only party on Valentine’s Day. You can invite all of your single friend and ask them each to bring someone else who is single. You and your friends will enjoy spending time together away from all of the couples who can make Valentine’s Day seem so lonely for those who are not in a relationship. You might even wind up meeting someone great at your Valentine’s Day party and next year you will not be alone on Valentine’s Day. You can even try playing match making games at the party which encourage the guests to get to know each other. Even if you do not wind up meeting someone great, one of your friends might. Examples of games you might play are the dating game or scavenger hunts which encourage guests to find other participants who have certain interests or personality traits.
Finally, if you are alone on Valentine’s Day, it is important to remember it does not mean you will always be alone. One of the biggest mistakes singles often make on Valentine’s Day is spending too much time dwelling on the holiday. It is very important to remember that being alone on Valentine’s Day is not the end of the world. Try doing something for yourself like giving yourself a manicure, going for a run or taking a long bath. This will help you to focus more on yourself and your good qualities than the fact that you do not have a date on Valentine’s Day.
One of our duties during lent is to give alms to the poor.
Why are there so many poor children in the world? Because God's people have forgotten to give alms to the poor.
(Luke 12:33 NIV) Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
What Jesus said about Alms:
Mat 6:1-21 mentions three duties of the Christian: giving alms, prayer and fasting. While prayer is acknowledged by most Christians as important, both giving alms and fasting are usually ignored. Giving alms is basically giving to the poor; those who struggle for the basic necessities of life. We should note that Jesus said 'When you give alms...' not 'If you give alms...' Jesus says that we are to give alms secretly before God and not publicly before men and then we shall be rewarded openly before men by God. In giving alms we are laying treasure for ourselves in heaven. When we die we cannot take our money with us but our deeds will follows us (Rev 14:13). So by giving to the poor now, in this life, we are laying up treasure in heaven for eternity. Luke 12:33 goes further and tells us to sell our possesions and to give to the poor, then we will have treasure in heaven. Luke 12:34 goes on to add 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'. Do we value our earthly possesions more than our treasure in the next life? We can choose to be rich in this life, which only lasts a short time, and to be poor in the next life, which lasts for eternity.
Jesus told the rich young ruler, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mat 19:21), his problem was that money was his god. We are warned that we cannot serve two masters, money or God, we will love one and despise the other (Mat 6:24). Life's riches are one of the things that choke the word of God in us and prevent maturity (Luke 8:14), Luke also mentions life's worries and pleasures.
The early Church on Alms:
It was the practise in the early church for those who had an abundance of possessions to sell some of them to give to those in need (Acts 4:34-35, Rom 15:26). It was also the practise of Paul (Acts 24:17, Gal 2:10). Cornelius was a 'devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always' Acts 10:2. When an angel came before him he said 'Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God' (Acts 10:4) italics added.
I for one, know that it gives me a great feeling...an inner peace whenever I give to charity without expecting anything in return. I hope you will do the same. Those less fortunate than yourselves are praying for your generosity. Take care and God Bless.
Feb 8, 2008 1:04 pm Mood: contemplative, 467 Views
Matthew 6
1. "However, scrutinize your charitable acts, so you do not do them to show off before people. Otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2. "When you do charity, do not blow your own horn,* As do the hypocrites in synagogues and market places, so as to be glorified before humanity. And amen I am telling you, they have received their recompense. 3. "You, however, when you do charity, let not your left [hand] know What your right [hand] is doing. 4. "So that your charity is unseen, And your Father, who sees the unseen, shall compensate you in the open.
5. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, Who love to stand in the synagogues and the market place corners to pray, So as to be seen by humanity. And, amen, I am telling you, They have received their recompense. 6. "You, however, when you pray, Enter your home and shut your door, and pray to your Father unseen. And your Father who sees the unseen, will repay you openly. 7. "And when you pray, do not chant like the pagans, For they expect through babbling,* they will be heard. 8. "Thus do not imitate them, for your Father knows what you need, Before you ask for it. 9. "Therefore, this is how you shall pray: Our heavenly Father, hallowed is your name. 10. "Your Kingdom is come. Your will is done, As in heaven so also on earth. 11. "Give us the bread for our daily need. 12. "And leave us serene, just as we also allowed others serenity. 13. "And do not pass us through trial, except separate us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory To the end of the universe, of all the universes." Amen! 14. "For if you forgive human beings their faults*, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15. "But if you do not forgive human beings, your Father will not forgive your faults also.
16. "However, when you fast, do not look* sour like the hypocrites, For they put on a different face for others,* to look like they are fasting. And amen I am telling you they have received their recompense. 17. "But when you fast, wash your face and anoint your head, 18. "To appear as if you are not fasting, except to your Father in secret, And your Father who sees in secret, He will repay you.
19. "Do not set your treasures on earth, where rust and pestilence destroy, and where thieves dig and steal. 20. "Except, set your treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor pestilence destroy, And where thieves do not dig or steal. 21. "For where your treasure is, There your heart will also be. 22. "The beacon* of the body is the eye; If your eye is thus pure* your whole body is bright. 23. "But if your eye is wicked, your whole body is in darkness. If your light is thus murky, how much more your darkness!
24. "No human being can work for two masters. Either he hates the one or is kind to the other one, Either he respects the one or criticizes the other one. You cannot work for God and Mamounah* 25. "Therefore, I am telling you, do not concern yourself about what you will eat or what you will drink, Or upon your body, what you will wear. Is the being not more precious than food,* And the body more than clothing? 26. "Look at the birds of the sky, That do not sow or reap, and they possess no riches,* And your Father in Heaven satiates them. Are you not, behold, greater than them? 27. "Which one of you, by worrying, can raise his stature one level? 28. "And why do you concern yourself about clothing? Observe the shushanneh* of the field, where they grow, That do not toil and do not weave. 29. "I tell you, however, not even Solomon, in all his glory, Was arrayed like one of them. 30. "Then if that which grows one day in the field and is cast into the fire at once, God has thus arrayed, would [He] then not [do] more for you, O little of faith? 31. "Thus do not worry or say, 'What will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear?' 32. "For all these things the people of the world want. Your Father in heaven knows, however, That all these things are sought by you also. 33. "Seek first, however, the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be granted to you. 34. "Do not worry then that morning is approaching, for the morning will have its own worries, There is enough evil in each day.
Feb 8, 2008 11:39 am Mood: contemplative, 586 Views
There's something inspiring about a really good quote. Some say what you want to but better, while others remind you of important lessons you've learned, while others touch a spark in your mind that sends your thoughts in directions they've never travelled. Below are a few of my favorites...care to share yours?
******************************************** Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise. -- David Seabury
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.-- Albert Einstein
It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great god who made him. -- Abraham Lincoln
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. - Chinese Proverb
"All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience". -- Goethe (1749-1832)
Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm; it moves stones, it charms brutes. Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity and truth accomplishes no victories without it.. -- Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. " -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Meaning of the Word "Lent" The word Lent comes from Anglo Saxon times which means spring. In Latin, Lent is quadragesima which means forty days. In Greek, it is tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste). Period of Lent The season of Lent is the period of forty days before the celebration of the great feast of the Church, Easter.
In determining this period of forty days the examples of * Israel (wandering for forty years in the desert, Deut 8:2,4), * Moses (who stayed on Mt Sinai for forty days and forty nights, Ex 24:1, * Elijah ( who walked for forty days and forty nights to Mt Horeb, 1 Kg 19: and * Christ (who fasted forty days and forty nights in the desert, Mt 4:1-2) must have exercised a predominant influence, but it is also possible that the fact was borne in mind that Christ lay forty hours in the tomb. On the other hand just as Pentecost (the fifty days) was a period during which Christians were joyous and prayed standing, though they were not always engaged in such prayer, so the Quadragesima (the forty days) was originally a period marked by fasting, but not necessarily a period in which the faithful fasted every day.
In order to have an exact forty days of fasting, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday as Sundays (even during Lent) are considered non fasting days.
Acts The famous threefold acts during Lent are fasting (Mt 6:16-1, almsgiving (Mt 6:2-4) and prayer (Mt 6:5-6). These acts are not practiced in order to be seen by people. (Mt 6:1) Rather they are penance for repentance and goodwill towards others.
Practices In former days, the forty days of Lent are forty days of fasting with only one meal (without any flesh meat) per day usually taken in the evening. However nowadays, the rule has been greatly relaxed with two fasting days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The faithful is also encouraged to fast from daily pleasure, not necesarily food for example smoking cigarettes, giving up a favourite TV program, etc.
During Fridays in Lent, the faithful gather as a community for the devotion Stations of the Cross in churches. By praying the Stations, we reflect on the sufferings of Christ and how we can make use of each station in our daily life.
Some of my favorite quotes I like to read every now and then. It gives me a model of how I should live my life whenever I feel down. It somehow lifts my spirit. Hope it lifts yours as well.
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No one can go back and make a brand new start But anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, But He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.
Disappointments are like speed bumps, They slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards. Don't stay on the bumps too long. Move on!
When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, Just sit tight and be happy, because God has thought of something better to give you.
When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.
You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, The rest is up to the person to realize your worth.
It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, Than to lose the one you love because of pride.
We spend too much time looking for the right person to love Or finding fault with those we already love, When instead we should be perfecting the love we give.
Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take their place.
If I could I'd like to be, a great big movie star An overnight sensation, drive a big expensive car I would buy you everything your little heart desires These things I do, ‘cause I'm stone in love with you (Stone in love with you)
If I were a business man, I'd sit behind a desk I'd be so successful, I would scare Wall Street to death I would hold a meeting for the press to let them know I did it all, ‘cause I'm stone in love with you (Stone in love with you)
I'm just a man, an average man Doing everything the best I can But if I could, I'd give the world to you I'd like to someday be the owner of the first house on the Moon There would be no neighbors, and no population boom You might say that all I do is dream my life away I guess it's true, ‘cause I'm stone in love with you
I guess it's true, ‘cause I'm stone in love with you
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