“Make time in your busy schedule now and then to contemplate and slow way down – to gaze at the landscape, marvel at the beauty and the majesty of the trees, and look up until you can almost touch that big, out of reach blue sky. Be thankful you can see

Be still and hear the sound around you. Listen to the birds speaking their own language. Here the universe singing in the world making its music in concert with the rhythms of the traffic. Tune in to those melodies in your heart for inspiration. Be glad you can hear.

Breathe in hope and joy, and feel the life-giving air. Breathe out fear and regret. Don’t worry about doing anything this moment except being where you are. Feel the harmony of your relationship with every living thing. Be mindful of the people who are positive influences in your life.

Take the time to fall in love with life with the innocence and wonder of a child.” Donna Fargo

“Find happiness in nature in the beauty of a mountain in the serenity of the sea. Find happiness and friendship in the fun of doing things together in the sharing and understanding. Find happiness in your family in the stability of knowing that someone cares in the strength of love and honesty. Find happiness in yourself in your mind and body in your values and achievements. Find happiness in everything you do” Susan Polis Schutz

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. John 11:17

The story of the raising of Lazarus shows a moment when Jesus is most human and most divine. He is most human: He really loves Martha, Mary and Lazarus. When he sees the others weeping for Lazarus, he is ‘perturbed and deeply troubled’ (verse 33). And when he stands outside the tomb of his good friend, he himself weeps. Such actions make us say of him, ‘He is truly one of us.’

At the same time, the account powerfully shows Jesus divinity. He prays to his heavenly Father, he calls Lazarus to come forth and a dead human being-now alive-stumbles out of a dark tomb still wrapped in his burial shroud. Some of the onlookers begin to believe in Jesus. But others run to the authorities to report what Jesus has done. The raising of Lazarus is the last straw: Jesus must be stopped, permanently.

Loving Jesus, may I never forget that you are both human and divine.” Sr. Melanie Svoboda, S.N.D.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Psalm 34:19

“This can only be learned in the crucible. If you are a person of faith and have lived long enough to experience a crushing, devastating heartbreak, then you know the surreal experience of being carried when you know perfectly well that you do not have the strength to walk a single step. This awareness is a beautiful gift, packaged in the most unattractive, awful wrapping paper.

You can only truly know the Lord saves those who are crushed from the perspective of being crushed. Until you feel it for yourself, the words are a nice sentiment. When you feel it for yourself, the words become personal, experiential, miraculous and lifesaving.

When you walk through a season that buckles your knees, you learned that you are not the one walking at all. You are being carried across the chasm of before and after, and what awaits you on the other side is a new level of faith, a new closeness with God and an experience with the divine that changes you forever.” Kristin Armstrong

Our God is always walking with us.

“My friendships are a strength that I know I can rely on. When I have true, meaningful friendships in my life, I know I have the support to handle anything that comes my way. I’ve always thought that friends are the angels that are sent down to help you along life’s path. They bring encouragement, understanding strength, fun, and laughter.” Miranda Kerr

I am so lucky to have such good friends in my life. Thank you God!