Leaves of Life

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY FIFTH

Sir Robert Peel born 1788.
Ole Boreman Bull born 1810.
John Muir born 1810.
Dwight L. Moody born 1837.

When a great man dies, then has the time come for putting us in mind that he was alive!
--Thomas Carlyle.

If I practice one day, I can see the result. If I practice two days, my friends can see it. If I practice three days, the great public can see it.
--Ole Bull.

Those who say they will forgive but can't forget an injury simply bury the hatchet while they leave the handle out, ready for immediate use.
--Dwight L. Moody.

But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course.
--Acts 20. 24.

Almighty God, if I am uncertain, and tremble at the crossroads in doubt of the right way, may I wait and be led by thee, and follow on, even if the way be dark and rough. May I be faithful and have thy presence as thou promised at the end. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY SIXTH

Queen Anne of England born 1665.
Aaron Burr born 1756.
Sir Henry Irving born 1838.

Nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair. I encourage myself in the Lord my God and go forward.
--David Livingstone.

To expect defeat is nine tenths of defeat itself.
--Marion Crawford.

I do not see how any man can afford, for the sake of his nerves and his nap, to spare any action in which he can partake.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Art is a jealous mistress, she requires the whole man.
--Michael Angelo.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
--1 Corinthians 16. 13.

Almighty God, help me to have true conceptions, that my life may not be secured to needless purposes. May my soul be influenced by high ideals, and my work be the production of truth and not of selfishness. Protect me from evil that I may be kept pure and strong for my work. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY SEVENTH

Millard Fillmore, New York, thirteenth President United States born 1800.
Sir Thomas More born 1478.
Charles Dickens born 1812.
Anne Radcliffe died 1823.
Sidney Cooper died 1902.

Let no man turn aside ever so slightly, from the broad path of honor, on the plausible pretense that he is justified by the goodness of his end. All good ends can be worked out by good means.
—Charles Dickens.

If evils come not, then our fears are vain;
And if they do, fear but augments the pain.

—Sir Thomas More.


A human heart knows aught of littleness,
Suspects no man, compares with no one's ways,
Hath in one hour most glorious length of days,
A recompense, a joy, a loveliness;

Like eaglet keen, shoots into azure far,
And always dwelling nigh is the remotest star.

—William Ellery Channing.


Teach me thy way, O Jehovah;
I will walk in thy truth:
Unite my heart to fear thy name.

—Psalm 86. 11.

Gracious Father, I pray that thou wilt control my impulses, and protect me from false interpretations. May I have wisdom, and search for the high and holy ways. Help me to be patient for thy purposes, and may my relations to life be triumphant in thy standards. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY EIGHTH

Samuel Butler born 1612.
John Ruskin born 1819.
General Sherman born 1820.
Jules Verne born 1828.
Richard Watson Gilder born 1844.

If you want knowledge, you must toil for it; and if pleasure, you must toil for it. Toil is the law. Pleasure comes through toil, and not by self-indulgence and indolence. When one gets to love work his life is a happy one.
--John Ruskin.

Whatever sceptic could inquire for,
For every why he had a wherefore.
--Samuel Butler.

Through love to light! O wonderful the way,
That leads from darkness to the perfect day!
From darkness and from sorrow of the night
To morning that comes singing o'er the sea.
Through love to light! through light O God to Thee!
Who art the love, the eternal light of light!
--Richard Watson Gilder.

We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
--John 9. 4.

My Father, I pray that I may not weight my life with worthless efforts. May I be guided to the right work, and through the love of it find strength for my soul. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY NINTH

C. F. Volney born 1757.
William Henry Harrison, Virginia, ninth President United States, born 1773.
Anthony Hope (Hawkins) born 1863.
George Ade born 1866.

A man's own observation, what he finds good of, and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health. But it is a safer conclusion to say, "This agreeth not well with me, therefore I will not continue it"; than to say, "I find no offense of this, therefore I may use it." For strength of nature in youth passeth over many excesses, which are owing a man till his age.
—Francis Bacon.

Though man a thinking being is defined,
Few use the grand prerogative of mind.
How few think justly of the thinking few!
How many never think, who think they do!

—Jane Taylor.


Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life.
—James 1. 12.
Almighty God, I would learn that while thou art a forgiving Lord, nature has no mercy on them that break her laws. Forgive me for all my neglect, and help me to see the way in which thou hast through mercy led me. Give me the power to endure and the strength to resist temptation. May I seek to understand thy laws, that I may not fail through ignorance. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TENTH


Rev. Henry Hart Milman born 1791.
Charles Lamb born 1775.
Sir William Napier died 1860.

Never let the most well-intended falsehood escape your lips; for Heaven, which is entirely Truth, will make the seed which you have sown of untruth to yield miseries a thousandfold.
--Charles Lamb.

We cannot command veracity at will; the power of seeing and reporting truly is a form of health that has to be distinctly guarded, and as an ancient rabbi has solemnly said, "The penalty of untruth is untruth."
--George Eliot.

The bat hangs upside down and laughs at a topsy-turvy world.
--Unknown.

The lip of truth shall be established for ever;
But a lying tongue is but for a moment.
--Proverbs 12. 19.

Lord God, give me the will to hold to the truth and the strength to help keep the world true; and may I help others to look up and catch the truth from the purest light. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY ELEVENTH


Mary, Queen of England, born 1516.
Daniel Boone born 1735.
Lydia M. Child born 1802.
Washington Gladden born 1836.
Thomas A. Edison born 1847.

Few, in the days of early youth,
Trusted like me in love and truth.
I've learned sad lessons from the years;
But slowly and with many tears;
For God made me to kindly view
The world that I was passing through.
And all who tempt a trusting heart
From faith and hope to drift apart,
May they themselves be spared the pain
Of losing power to trust again!
God help us all to kindly view
The world that we are passing through!
--Lydia M. Child.

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
--Isaiah 55. 12.

Lord God, I pray that I may not rest my hope in self alone, but know that the greatest joy is in the hope of the world. Help me to have faith in mankind; and with a loyal heart and a brave spirit be as kind to the world as I can. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY TWELFTH

Dr. Cotton Mather born 1663.
Peter Cooper born 1791.
Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky, sixteenth President United States, born 1809.
Robert Charles Darwin born 1809.
George Meredith born 1828.

With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds, ... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
—Abraham Lincoln.

The great moral combat between human life and each human soul must be single.... When a soul arms for battle she goes forth alone.
—Owen Meredith.

According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon.
—1 Corinthians 3. 10.

Almighty God, I thank thee for the courage that comes with a great life. Help me to be brave, even if it is only that others may be blest. May I lay a careful foundation and plan to build the best that I can afford. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY THIRTEENTH

David Allan born 1744.
Maurice de Talleyrand-Prigord born 1754.
Richard Wagner died 1883.

A man is not his hope, nor yet his despair, nor yet his past deed.  We know not yet what we have done; still less what we are doing.Wait till evening, and other parts of our work will shine than we had thought at noon, and we shall discover the real purport of our toil.
--Henry D. Thoreau.

When you make a mistake don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom.... The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.
--Hugh White.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
--Psalm 126. 6.

My Father, help me to survey my life. Make me compassionate and considerate, that I may be qualified to promote that which is helpful. May I appreciate that what is worth keeping I can obtain from thee. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

FEBRUARY FOURTEENTH
Saint Valentine's Day.

Captain James Cook killed 1779.
Jean Ernest Reynaud born 1808.

Oh! little loveliest lady mine,
What shall I send for your valentine?
Summer and flowers are far away;
Gloomy old Winter is king to-day;
Buds will not blow, and sun will not shine:
What shall I do for a valentine?

I've searched the gardens all through and through
For a bud to tell of my love so true;
But buds are asleep and blossoms are dead,
And the snow beats down on my poor little head:
So, little loveliest lady mine,
Here is my heart for your valentine.
--Laura E. Richards.

Oh rank is gold, and gold is fair,
And high and low mate ill;
But love has never known a law
Beyond its own sweet will!
--John G. Whittier.