Leaves of Life

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER SEVENTH

Cicero assassinated B. C. 43.
John Dalton born 1766.
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, born 1542.

It is virtue--yes, let me repeat it again--it is virtue alone that can give birth, strength, and permanency to friendship. For virtue is a uniform and steady principle ever acting consistently with itself.

-- Cicero .


A common friendship--who talks of a common friendship? There is no such thing in the world. On earth no word is more sublime.

--Henry Drummond.


But thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need.

--Deuteronomy 15. 8.


Lord God, wilt thou reveal to me my weakness if I may be insincere; and give me the strength that I lack to keep me true. May I not take advantage of the ignorant, or thoughtlessly lead the innocent into temptation. Grant that I may be a trustful and kind friend. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER EIGHTH

John Pym died 1643.
Richard Baxter died 1691.
Thomas De Quincey died 1859.
Elihu Burritt born 1810.
Robert Collyer born 1823.

Into the dusk of the East,
Gray with the coming of night,
This may we know at least--
After the night comes light!
Over the mariners' graves,
Grim in the depths below,
Buoyantly breasting the waves,
Into the East we go.

On to a distant strand,
Wonderful, far, unseen,
On to a stranger land,
Skimming the seas between;
On through the days and nights,
Hope in each sailor's breast,
On till the harbor lights
Flash on the shores of rest!

--J. H. Jowett.


So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

--Psalm 107. 30.


Lord God, I pray that thou wilt provide me with thy indwelling peace. May it keep me reconciled to the decline of years, and enable me to bear the earthly separation from those whom I love. May I always have hope and trust in thee. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER NINTH

John Milton born 1608.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck died 1641.
Joel Chandler Harris born 1848.

Doth God exact day labor, light denied?
I fondly ask: but Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work, or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best; his state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."

--John Milton.


"'Tain't on'y chilluns w'at got de consate er doin' eve'ything dey see yuther folks do. Hit's grown folks w'at oughter know better," said Uncle Remus.

--Joel Chandler Harris.


Wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to God with reverence and awe.

--Hebrews 12. 28.


My Father, teach me to select my work from that which is noble and true. May I not mold my life in affectation or feel that I must imitate the lives of others, but grant that I may perfect my life through experiences which are worthy of increasing endeavors. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER TENTH

Thomas Holcroft born 1745.
Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet born 1787.
Eugene Sue born 1804.

Be of good cheer. Do not think of to-day's failures, but of success that may come to-morrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will have a joy in overcoming obstacles--a delight in climbing rugged paths which you would perhaps never know if you did not sometimes slip backward, if the road were always smooth and pleasant. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.

--Helen Keller.


We rise by things that are beneath our feet,
By what we have mastered by good and gain,
By the pride deposed and passion slain,
And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.

--J. G. Holland.


He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with, me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.

--Revelation 3. 21.


My Father, I pray that I may not be given to contradicting and doubting, nor take for granted that which needs to be considered. Grant that I may have the faith and strength of heart to fulfill the longings of my soul. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER ELEVENTH

Sir Roger L'Estrange died 1704.
Dr. William Cullen born 1712.
Colley Cibber died 1757.

Lord, subdue our selfish will;
Each to each our tempers suit,
By thy modulating skill,
Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

--Charles Wesley.


One of the last, slowly murmured sayings of Whittier , was this: "Give--my--love--to--the--world." And this is the world's supreme need to-day; more than our eloquence, or our knowledge, or our wealth, or all else besides, it needs our love. True, even love may sometimes err; but the cure for love's mistakes is just more love; we often blunder because we do not love enough. God help us all that, like Whittier , we may live and die, giving our love to the world.

--George Jackson.


Love never faileth.

--1 Corinthians 13. 8.


Lord God, help me to see the beauty of the world, and through my duty may I find the love in the world. May I not spend my life in discontent, but may I remember that thou hast said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Fill my heart with compassion, that I may love my fellow man as I love myself. Amen.

[frawin]

Lord God, help me to see the beauty of the world, and through my duty may I find the love in the world. May I not spend my life in discontent, but may I remember that thou hast said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Fill my heart with compassion, that I may love my fellow man as I love myself. Amen.

Judy, keep telling me this, some days I think I am losing faith.
Frank

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER TWELFTH

Chief Justice John Jay born 1745.
Gustav Flaubert born 1821.
Robert Browning died 1889.

A people is but the attempt of many
To rise to the completer life of one.
And those who live for models for the mass
Are singly of more value than they all.

--Robert Browning.



Give me the power to labor for mankind;
Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak;
Eyes let me be to groping men and blind;
A conscience to the base; and to the weak
Let me be hands and feet, and to the foolish, mind;
And lead still further on such as thy kingdom seek.

--Theodore Parker.



I was eyes to the blind,
And feet was I to the lame.

--Job 29. 15.


Almighty God, wilt thou guide me in the direction where I may choose a useful life; open wide my heart as well as my eyes, that I may early see my work and be diligent in its prosecution. Reveal to me, when I may have failed, that I may do better to-morrow. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER THIRTEENTH

William Drummond born 1585.
Dr. Samuel Johnson died 1784.
Joseph Noel Paton born 1821.
Phillips Brooks born 1835.
Hamilton Mabie born 1846.

When the clouds of sorrow gather over us, we see nothing beyond them, nor can imagine how they can be dispelled; yet a new day succeeded to the night, and sorrow is never long without a dawn of ease.

--Dr. Samuel Johnson.


The fountains of joy and sorrow are for the most part locked up in ourselves....

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER FOURTEENTH

Daniel Neal born 1678.
Rev. Charles Wolfe born 1791.
George Washington died 1799.
Frances Ridley Havergal born 1836.

Seldom can the heart be lonely,
If it seek a lonelier still;
Self-forgetting, seeking only
Emptier cups of love to fill.
--Frances R. Havergal.

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought.
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste
      *      *      *      *      *
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored, and sorrows end.
--William Shakespeare.
The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him that is weary.
--Isaiah 50. 4.

Gracious Father, keep me cheerful and courageous, that I may not be given to weary murmurings. May my hours of solitude be spent profitably as they pass. Grant that I may be a help to those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, and through the peace that is given to me help them to a tranquil life. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

DECEMBER FIFTEENTH

Catherine of Aragon born 1485.
George Romney born 1734.
Franklin B. Sanborn born 1831.

Yet frequent visitors shall kiss the shrine,
And ever keep its vestal lamp alight;
All noble thoughts, all dreams divinely bright,
That waken or delight this soul of mine.
--F. B. Sanborn.

One small cloud can hide the sunlight;
Loose one string, the pearls are scattered;
Think one thought, a soul may perish;
Say one word, a heart may break.
--A. A. Procter.

Self-scrutiny is often the most unpleasant, and always the most difficult, of moral actions. But it is also the most important and salutary; for, as the wisest of the Greeks said, "An unexamined life is not worth living."
--J. Strachan.

Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves.
--2 Corinthians 13. 5.

Gracious Father, help me that I may not be thoughtless and unkind. May I be gentle and sympathetic. Forgive me for any unhappiness which I may have made, and may it be mine to know the rejoicing that comes hi lifting a discouraged life in time. Amen.