Thanks Vinny.  That was certainly my hope and prayer, that God would use
those verses and words to minister to others.  I know you have really been
going through it, so will continue to pray for both you and your wife.

Vicki

----- Original Message -----
From: "vinny samarco" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 7:02 PM
Subject: Re: Reflections


> Hi Vicki,
> I enjoyed this post very much.  I have been going through about seven
months
> of this reflections, but  haven't come up with anything like that.  I have
> questioned everything, including did God abandon me Etc.
> vinny
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "j.ireland" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2003 8:42 AM
> Subject: Reflections
>
>
> > Reflections
> > You might think the next few sentences are old news; like hitting the
cue
> > and review button on the cassette recorder.  Well, you're not exactly
> right,
> > so please read on.
> >
> > This week I came down with about the worse case of flu I can ever
remember
> > having had.  When I finally got to the doctor on Wednesday, after
camping
> > out on the couch solid for two days, he said,   "Did you get the license
> > plate of the truck that hit you?"  As much as I hurt already, I managed
a
> > good laugh.  I told him no but I wished I had, discovered I didn't have
> > pneumonia and was probably going to live at least a few more days, got
> some
> > meds for my misery, and promptly returned to my vegetative state on the
> > couch.
> >
> > It is a good thing we have the Dish Satellite Network for entertainment.
> > The package includes only seven Discovery Channels and five home
shopping
> > channels, plus all the CNN, sports (yes, including golf) and ShowTime
> > offerings available for one's viewing pleasure.  However, I found it a
> > challenge to keep up with more than one or two shows at once.  Expert
> > channel surfer that I'm not, I did see some good shows ones, though I
> don't
> > remember them now.  The question that soon arose was, how much TV can
one
> do
> > round the clock, especially if not normally a block tv watcher.  There's
> > always reading and listening to the radio, those were good things too.
> They
> > worked to fill some of the time.  As the hours crept slowly by, I turned
> to
> > my own thoughts. I wondered why this flu hit me so hard and was so
> > debilitating.  Most people who have gotten this were hit hard with it,
> > first.  But second, I felt the still small voice of the Lord making
> himself
> > known in a very loud way.  No, he didn't cause me to become sick, but he
> did
> > take the opportunity to call me aside for some prayer, personal
> reflection,
> > and to have a simple lesson on listening.  Sometimes we listen best when
> the
> > frailty of our human body, this box we live in, is placed in sharp
> contrast
> > with the Lord's power and might  and his abilities and purposes for us
and
> > in us.
> >
> > Phil 2:13
> > "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the
> power
> > to do
> > what pleases him."
> >
> > 1 Cor. 619-20
> > "Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who
> > lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
> > for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your
> body."
> >
> > I have some to go before I'm well, though I was certainly not as sick as
> > some people we know on this list that shall remain nameless, but I'm
> > thankful God drew me aside.  Reminds me of a Keith Green song "Draw Me."
> In
> > part, the words are:
> > "Draw me, oh, draw me, please draw me, my Jesus.
> > Into your presence, where I cannot lie.
> > My soul is so thirsty, I cannot endure it.
> > And if I can`t get closer, I surely will die."  Obviously a figurative
> > representation of the artists intense longing for a closer relationship
> with
> > Christ.
> >
> > Thankful for the time of reflection, you'll probably be hearing more
about
> > that from me. Psalm 63:1-2
> > "O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts
> for
> > You,
> > my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no
> water
> > is.
> > So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your
> >  glory."
> > ©
> > Thankful for the time of prayer.  Again, thinking of the words to a
song:
> > "In the secret in the quiet place
> > In the stillness You are there
> > In the secret in the quiet hour
> > I wait only for You
> > 'Cause I want to know You more
> > I want to know You
> > I want to hear Your voice
> > I want to know You more
> > I want to touch You
> > I want to see Your face
> > I want to know You more
> > I am reaching for the highest goal
> > That I might receive the prize
> > Pressing onward pushing every
> > Hindrance aside
> > Out of my way
> > 'Cause I want to know You more
> > More and more"
> >
> > Thankful for the lesson on listening. Is. 55:2-3.
> > "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what
> does
> > not satisfy?
> >         Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul
> > delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear,
> > and your soul shall live;
> >         And I will make an everlasting covenant with you--   The sure
> > mercies of David"
> >
> > Thankful for the challenge to walk boldly, soar to higher heights and
> press
> > my system roots toward the water source once again.
> >
> > And thankful for a faithful prayer answering God.
> > 1 Thes. 5:24
> > "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
> > Phil 1:6 ( a little modified)
> > There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who
> started
> > this
> > great work in you (includes me too) would keep at it and bring it to a
> > flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
>