Jack’s Winning Words 10/3/13
“Have confidence in God’s mercy, for when you think he is a long way from you, he is often quite near.”  (Thomas a Kempis)  When do you feel nearest to God?  I’ve read that as the Titanic was sinking the band was on the deck playing “Nearer, My God, To Thee.”  Some people say that they feel nearest to God while taking a walk.  There’s a promise in the Bible that God will never leave us, that he with us now!  Wow!    ;-)  Jack

  FROM JK:  Thanks  for  this  One! I  needed  to  hear  that. :)====JACK:  Yours was the first response I received after posting WWs...and it was almost immediate.  God works in mysterious ways.

 FROM TARMART REV:  It seems to me, as I've heard and experienced this closeness often in my life and in the life of others, it most frequently happens "on the mountain tops of God's splendor or in the deep valleys of life's despair" . . . unfortunately, if becoming settled in one of these two places, God's Presence can eventually be replaced with the feeling of self-entitlement or embitterment. 0;-/====JACK:  Mountaintop experiences don't last forever.  After meeting with Jesus "on the mountain," the disciples had to go back to the "real" world.  Sometimes we don't realize that God is with us in the real world, too.====REV:  My turn w/ a song: "Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings see what God hath done, Count your blessing, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God hath done."

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  I think today's WW is a perfect follow-up from yesterday's WW. I am closer to God when I am being charitable, sharing the gifts, blessings, and talents afforded myself with others who might also benefit from them; sharing the fruits of all that I have been given and the harvests of my own toil by my will as it is synchronous with God's will. That is not only when I feel closest, it is when I am closest.  ====JACK:  I, too, needed a break from yesterday.  On the spur of the moment, I decided that this was the WWs that I wanted to post.  Cue the theme of The Twilight Zone.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  For me, it varies: a beautiful or awesome nature scene, a meaningful time of prayer, sometimes family gatherings,  or crisis situations.....but I "talk" to God mentally, sometimes even out loud throughout the day, and believe he is with us in all things. Read a quote in Guidepost recently: "Your day will go the way your mouth turns".  Something to think about!====JACK:  Some days I sense God's presence more than on others...and, yet, he is omnipresent!  Eeerie1

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  Every Day in everything.  BTW thank you so much for the WW.  The years have gone by so fast since that class reunion that you first mentioned your undertaking. This afternoon I have an OLLI class on the Civil War in the West.  It was years after our children were grown that I heard that it was the War of Northern Aggression in the classrooms down here.====JACK:  I try to learn something new every day.  For example, I had a crown replaced this morning...one stop.  The dentist was able to take laser photos, feed them into the computer, and in a few minutes, out popped the new crown, ready to be installed, and it was a perfect fit.  I'm amazed at today's technology..

 FROM HCC CHUCK:  And I firmly beleive that!!!!!!====JACK:  You're on solid ground.

 FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  Here's my take on today's WW.....God"s eye is on the sparrow, so I know....." I believe that I truly feel His presence, see His presence, hear His presence.....full time. I'm not always reciprocal, but much of the time.====JACK:  We have mostly sparrows at our bird feeder, but we also get finches, cardinals, bluejays, grackles, woodpeckers and doves.  An occasional hawk swoops down.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  This is kind of silly, but when I hear or sing one of the old hymns, I feel Jesus right next to me.  The words in some of those old hymns are overwhelmingly beautiful and meaningful. ====JACK:  Jesus put up with a lot of silliness when he walked on earth.  He can listen to you and me sing, too.