LIFE IS A SERIES OF RIPPLES (Comfort folder inserts)

Life Is A Series Of Ripples

     

Just as ripples spread in the wake of a trip across the lake, encouragement can have far -reaching effects. Those ripples will influence everyone you meet and send forth ripples of...
~rJs

If you look back on your journey thus far, you can see that the days of extreme weakness have been precious times. ~anonymous but edited by me.

"...And if I do not want what He has to give me?"
"If you are not willing that God should have His way with you, then, in the name of God, be miserable--until your misery drive you to the arms of the Father."'
"Oh, but this is only about a mundane matter. I do trust him in spiritual matters."

"Everything is an affair of the spirit, If God has a way of dealing with you in your life, it is the only way. Every little thing in which you would have your own way has a mission for your redemption. And he will treat you as a willful little child until you take your Father's way for your own." ~George MacDonald, Unspoken Sermons.

 "Even though we are totally dependent on Him for our next breath, with that breath we may declare that He does not exist or that we refuse to do what He wants us to do. We live by the life He gives us, moment by moment. We enjoy rain, sunshine, the growth of crops and flowers, sensations, delights, satisfactions of many kinds.
Yet we often act as though we were sufficient in ourselves, needing no interference from Him. I can, by the power mysteriously granted me by my Creator and Redeemer, declare myself master of my fate, captain of my soul, and say, "My will be done."
That the Lord should expose Himself to this effrontery(Shamless boldness) in a million forms of days and nights, is the mystery of love and grace. Still He draws us with cords of love, calls us to come, waits (amazing grace) for us to bow and say, "My Lord and my God!"
~E. Elliot

"When you are going through very tough times and there is no relief in sight, you usually start looking for a way out. These escapist longings stem from self-pity and a sense of entitlement: You think you deserve better conditions than your current situation. But when you think this way, you are ignoring My sovereignty over your life. Though your circumstances may indeed be painful and difficult, they are not worthless." -Jesus Today by Sarah Young, p. 144

"Don't judge me too quickly

,my damage had not defined me,but-it is refining me...you may think I'm at the bottom of life's bin, but Jesus paid as high a price for those of us at the bottom as He did for those that are proudly displayed on the top shelf"- Carol Davis #we are All special and loved by our heavenly Father!

"There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them on a quest, in turn to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. 
 The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and returned, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
 The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second son said that it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms and smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen only one season in the tree's life.

 He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person by only one season. That the essence of who they are; the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it's winter you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer and the fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
 Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches, and better things are sure to come in time. Live simply. Aspire to inspire before you expire. Love generously. Care deeply. And leave the rest to God. Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong, sorrows keep you human, failures keep you humble, success keeps you growing, but only God keeps you going. 
 We are facing a winter season but we know that God has a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven."
We should also remember not to give up on another person in their difficult season because their spring could be just around the corner."
Author unknown