“When it rains soup the poor man has no spoon.” (Swedish Proverb) – from the Jack’s Winning Words blog. Jack went on to write about the good works of the Capuchin Soup Kitchens, which provide so many meals for those in need.
The Swedish Proverb seems rather negative or down on the poor man. I might prefer something that says if the poor man turns his face upward and opens his mouth in prayer God will provide nourishment that needs no spoon. Perhaps that is nourishment for the soul.
There are certainly plenty of stories in the Bible of God providing when called upon, some of them even involving food or drink. The Bible is also full of references of mankind “hungering or thirsting” for religious signs or reinforcement of beliefs. It’s as if we can only go so long on one serving of faith before we need another “meal”, another helping of God’s love. That new helping of faith comes through prayer. We ask God and He provides. We need no spoon for the nourishment for our souls that comes looking upward and opening our mouths in prayer.
Try it this morning and see how God fills your soul with nourishing faith for the day.
Posted by Norm Werner 
The ELCA church has an annual day of service called “God’s Work, Our Hands”, which is coming up soon. On that day congregations around across America find special ways to give back to the communities in which they are located, through service projects.
God to fix the problem for you. The path to resolution of all problems still involves our hands, even if they are doing the work that God has directed us to do.
Many times we may be saying “Thank You” for surviving things that we should have been praying “Help me” for in the first place. The free will that God gave mankind oft turns to a curse when it becomes an ego too big to ask for help. Sometimes it is our own insecurities
that hold us back or make us afraid to even try to solve our own problems.
party goin’ on.” Obviously he was dancing to the music inside.
Hope that the other three candles were re-lit. We all go through periods of turmoil in our lives, although the crises in most of our lives are usually relatively minor when compared to what others face. One has only to watch the nightly new to witness what real crises look like. Scenes of earthquake survivors picking through garbage dumps to find something to eat can quickly put our personal emergencies into some perspective. Coverage of those wailing at the loss of a loved one in a suicide terrorist attack can deliver a dose of reality into our sheltered lives.
find our Faith and Love and Peace again. They are a connected series of things in our lives. It is hope that supports our faith that there is a better life; if not here, then in the next life. With hope and faith it is possible to love ourselves and others. Once we have achieved the ability to love through our hope and faith we will quickly discover that we are at peace – a peace that passes all understanding.
quite a philosopher. His views on religion were focused around how you lived your life as a Christian example, rather than how loudly you might proclaim your faith. We could us more of that thinking in politics today, where loud and vociferous claims of being an evangelical seem to be the order of the day.
even been despised in the community in those times, whether they were lepers or women of ill repute or tax collectors. I suspect that He would have difficulty with many of the “holier than thou” attitudes that drive modern day words and actions of the so-called evangelicals directed against those with different appearances, opinions or lifestyles.
that one devoted to loud proclamations of evangelism while acting in bigoted and hateful ways. So, don’t yell about your faith; let that faith shine through in the way that you live your life.
can grab or force their fingers into that allow them to keep climbing until they reach their goal. In life we may have to look hard to find the things that we need to hold onto to provide us those grips that let us keep on moving towards our goals. Many times rock climbers may have to traverse the face of the rock that they are on at an angle because that is where the little grips that they need take them. Life can be like that, too. Sometimes we have to move sideways in order to move up. We may even encounter dead-ends that require us to go backward a bit and search for a different path, but the key thing is to keep searching for that next place to Get a Grip.
challenges to overcome and we all need to find ways to hold on and keep moving forward. For me and for many, our faith provides those things to hold onto, whether through prayer or through reading the Bible, there are always thigs that we can grab onto that will help us through whatever we face in life. We don’t need a safety rope to make sure that we don’t fall, because we have been told in Isaiah 41:10 – Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (New Living Translation) How comforting is that? It enables us to face our challenges without fear of failure because through our beliefs we are able to Get a Grip.
begin to make new endings for ourselves. It begins with Easter, which is a celebration of the new beginning that was ransomed for us by the death and resurrection of Christ. If one can accept and embrace that thought, then the trials and tribulations of this life fade into the background noise.
maze, life starts for everybody at the same point and ends at the same point. It is the journey through the maze that is different for each person. Perhaps, if you look at all of life’s trials or set-backs up until now as learning experiences, you’ll find it easier to see the path through the maze. The other thing that can help in traversing the maze of life is a good moral compass rooted in faith. If you stop and really consult that compass at each decision point in your life you may find it easier that you think to make the right 
decisions.
People with children or even pets know what it feels like to be the one in whom trust is placed. Most children run to their parents when they are afraid and many pet will do the same if frightened. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to sit calming our shivering dogs when there is thunder and lightning outside. Little did they know how I was calming my own fears.
advantage of having God with you throughout the day. Say a little prayer and ask Him to stay by your side and guide and help you through the day. That way, when you do hit something that requires His help, he’ll already be there with you and you won’t have to be afraid.
Those secrets take on a life of their own. The life of Herbert Philbrick sometimes became very complicated as he worked to make sure that the secret life that he was leading for the FBI didn’t somehow spill over or disturb the other lives he led and a family man and a businessman. Our lives can get like that as we try to juggle the “facts” of the various lives that we might be leading. It is trying to keep track of the facts verse the lies that becomes complex when you lead multiple lives. It is an oft-used phrase that, “my life is an open book”; however, it is often a book with a few chapters that the speaker chooses to leave out.
point at which we start thinking about the “end game” in our own lives. For most people it is something that is there, in the back of your mind for years, which slowly works its way forward until it demands some thought time and attention.
you are a Christian, you understand that the only way to enter the place that is there for you is through your belief in Jesus Christ. For all who truly embrace Jesus there is a lifting of the fear of death, for it was His promise that, through his death on the cross, He had forever banished death from those who believed in Him.
they embrace the saving grace of Jesus. For some there is a new sense of purpose and a desire to share the good news. For a few there is a sense of mission that leads to a new way of life. For all of those people the starting point to that new life is the removal of the fear of death.
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