Recipe For A Miracle


Ingredients and directions . . .

1 cup Tension
2 cups Stress
1 teaspoon of Guilt
2 heaping cups of Limited Time
3/4 tablespoon of Urgency
A dash of "No Other Choice"
3 heaping cups of Faith

Fold ingredients gently into a bowl. Mix vigorously and add a few tears as needed. You'll sweat a little as you knead the dough. Pack it firmly between your hopes and dreams and form into a perfect little ball. Sprinkle it with a little faith, rolling the ball in love until fully covered.

Place it under a veil of belief and allow it to rise.

Now put it in an oven that has been pre-set at the perfect temperature for the heat of trials and tribulations.

Allow it to brown under the warmth of God's love. Remove after due season and allow to cool in the confidence of His promise.

Garnish with your praises. Arrange neatly on a platter of thankfulness and serve to friends, families and, oh yes, strangers . . . invite them too!

Pass on this recipe to all who request it and let them know that with this recipe, they can have the makings of a miracle!


Addendum -- Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

List of Virtues

Acceptance To consider circumstances, especially those that can not be changed, as satisfactory.
Bravery A quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain without showing fear.
Caution Avoidance of rashness, attention to safety.
Curiosity A desire to find out and know things.
Defiance Bold resistance.
Determination Firmness of purpose.
Devotion A great love or loyalty, enthusiastic zeal.
Discretion Being discrete in ones speech, keeping secrets.
Flexibility Adaptable, able to be changed to suit circumstances.
Focus Concentrated awareness and effort.
Forgiveness To cease to feel angry or bitter towards a person or about an offense.
Generosity Giving or ready to give freely, free from meanness or prejudice.
Gentleness Moderate; mild, quite; not rough or severe.
Gratitude Being thankful.
Honesty Truthful; sincere; not lieing or cheating.
Humbleness Modest; not arrogant or boastful.
Humor The ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd.
Impartiality Fair.
Industry Diligent, hardworking.
Innocence Guileless, not guilty.
Justice Fair, impartial, giving a deserved response.
Kindness Friendly, helpful, well meaning.
Love A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
Loyalty Steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign. Faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty.
Majesty Great and impressive dignity.
Moderation The avoidance of extremes in one’s actions or opinions.
Obedience Willingness to obey, to be controlled when necessary, to carry out orders.
Openness Ready and willing to talk candidly.Unsecretive.
Patience The ability to endure delay, trouble, pain or hardship.
Peace Freedom from mental agitation; serenity.
Prudence Wise or careful in conduct. Shrewd or thrifty in planning ahead.
Reliability Can be trusted to do something.
ResponsibilityResponsibility Having control over and accountability for appropriate events.
Sensitivity Heightened awareness of oneself and others within the context of social and personal relationships.
Simplicity Straightforward; not complex or complicated. Unpretentious.
Sincerity Free from pretense or deceit in manner or actions.
Sobriety Serious, solemn and calm. Free from intoxication.
Spontaneity Natural, not planned.
Steadfastness Firm, resolute; determinedly unwavering.
Strength Capable of exerting great force.
Toughness Strong and durable; not easily damaged.
Tranquility Serenely quite and peaceful; undisturbed.
Trust Having confidence in others; lacking suspicion.
Trustworthiness Able to be trusted or depended on; reliable.

Virtues

Virtues are the essence of the human spirit and the content of our character.

assertiveness
caring
cleanliness
commitment
compassion
confidence
consideration
cooperation
courage
courtesy
creativity
detachment
determination
diligence
enthusiasm
excellence
flexibility
forgiveness


friendliness
generosity
gentleness
helpfulness
honesty
honor
humility
idealism
integrity
joyfulness
justice
kindness
love
loyalty
moderation
modesty
orderliness
patience


peacefulness
perseverance
purposefulness
reliability
respect
responsibility
self-discipline
service
tact
thankfulness
tolerance
trust
trustworthiness
truthfulness
understanding
unity

acceptance
beauty
commitment
compassion
confidence
contentment
courage
courtesy
creativity
detachment
devotion
diligence
discernment
enthusiasm
excellence
faith
flexibility
forgiveness


generosity
gentleness
grace
gratitude
humility
idealism
integrity
joy
justice
kindness
love
loyalty
moderation
order
patience
peace
perseverance


prayerfulness
purity
purposefulness
respect
responsibility
reverence
righteousness
sacrifice
self-discipline
service
tolerance
trust
trustworthiness
truthfulness
unity
wisdom
wonder

discipline

“Self-discipline is self-caring.”

“Discipline is remembering what you want.”

FORGIVENESS

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Forgiveness does not always lead to a healed relationship. Some people are not capable of love, and it might be wise to let them go along with your anger. Wish them well, and let them go their way.

Forgiveness is the healing of wounds caused by another. You choose to let go of a past wrong and no longer be hurt by it. Forgiveness is a strong move to make, like turning your shoulders sideways to walk quickly on a crowded sidewalk. It's your move.

It really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on.

Attitude

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.

Joy

The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts: and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.

Hope

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Kindness

A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.

We will be judged by 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.'

Hungry not only for bread -- but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing -- but naked for human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks -- but homeless because of rejection.

Courage

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves 'who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

Perseverance

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

dare

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

It is not the critic who counts;not the man who points out how the strong man stumbledor where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;who strives valiantly;who errs and comes short again and again;who knows great enthusiasms,the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while DARING GREATLYso that his place shall never bewith those timid soulswho know neither victory or defeat.