July 2016
MADE IN AMERICA   32nd Edition
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On September 4, 2016, Mother Teresa will be canonized and thereafter known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.  As such, we have been contemplating adding another one of her quotes to our line of stones.  As I searched through her various writings, I was particularly taken by the following: 

 
A friend of mine only last week told me she believes God won't give us more than we can handle.  Nevertheless, she cannot understand why she is facing one major hardship after another; nor does she know how she could withstand any more.  How often do we feel as if we are being bombarded by one struggle after another?  Too often we feel as if we cannot face another battle. 
 
In fact, Mother Teresa who founded the Missionaries of Charity working with the lost, the forsaken, and the abandoned of the streets of Calcutta experienced an emptiness in her own soul for nearly 50 years.  Yet she placed her complete trust in God as she brought His presence to others.
 
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."-- Jeremiah 29:11
 
It isn't who we are today, but who we are to become through the lessons learned and the perseverance accomplished throughout the endurance of our trials.  Although we may believe we can do no more, God knows our true potential.  He is strengthening us through each and every challenge....bringing us closer to him and forming us into His own image of goodness, mercy, strength and love. 
 
God knows our strengths and our weaknesses.  He knows how much we can handle.  It is the degree of what we can handle that is in direct proportion to the degree of trust we have in Him. As we place our trust in Him, He leads us through life's difficulties drawing us closely to Him.
 
Through these challenges, He opens our eyes to what is truly of value in this world.  He opens our minds to the potential of greatness within us.  As we begin to trust Him more deeply, our hearts take on the love for which he created us and our spirits take on the strength to persevere.
 
During the early years of Holy Land Stone, I questioned whether it was too much for me to handle.  However, I am grateful God trusted me enough to present me with this challenge.  I truly realize it is He who is in charge, and I trust Him to guide me each day.
 
Mother Teresa's faith assured her that God had not given her more than she could handle. Thus the magnitude of her life's work serving the poorest of the poor did not deter her from becoming a beacon of light to the entire world.
 
So too God is perfecting you as you travel through the hurdles of life...giving you perhaps more than you believe you can handle.  Nevertheless He is walking beside you waiting for you to place your trust in Him allowing Him to guide you safely home.
With blessings to you and yours,
  

 
Riddle Contest
 
It goes up but at the same time goes down. Up toward the sky and down toward the ground. It's present tense and past tense too; come for a ride just me and you. What is it?
 

 
All answers can be submitted to 

All correct answers with be placed in a random drawing.  The winner will receive a stone of their choice up to a $28.00 value.  
 
Answer to last month's riddle: 
"Post Office"
Winner:   Dan Keller

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