Saturday, October 30, 2004

FOUR WORDS

FOUR WORDS
===========

A king called all of his wise men and counselors together for a
meeting.  He addressed them and said, "I want you to go and
think, read, and research.  Consult the wisest and most learned
men in the land.  Spare no expense."

"I want you to find the ONE statement that will get me through
all situations in life.  Whether I am on top of the world or in
the pits, find that statement."

"Find me a MountainWings Moment statement."

"I don't want to learn long and complicated philosophies.
I want one simple statement.  Find it or write it; I don't care,
just bring me the statement."

The men left and consulted for months.
They finally returned and handed the King a scroll.

The King unrolled the scroll.  On it was written four words.

"THIS TOO SHALL PASS"

That was it.

The wise men explained.

When you are on top of the world, that is but a fleeting
moment, things change, always remember, this too shall pass.

When you are in the pits, all nights are followed by day, at
your lowest moments remember also, this too shall pass.

All external circumstances and material things change.

No matter what your circumstances, remember,

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

The wise men reminded the great King that this would get him
through his earthly things but the truly wise knew there were
things beyond this earth and life. . .

Things that were eternal.

True wisdom they reminded the King was in the ability to
recognize the fleeting temporal things of the material world
from the truly eternal things.

O Great King they said, "Most of the things that you worry or
gloat about are temporary and our four words apply."

For most of your situations. . .


THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

SIMPLE ACT OF KINDNESS

A Simple Act of Kindness

It was 12:00 noon on a Monday and everyone was rushing to lunch.

As I pulled into a local fast food restaurant and parked,
I noticed an old pickup truck with a trailer attached.

The driver had pulled into the narrow parking lot and mistakenly
tried to exit via the one way drive through lane.  Unfortunately
he was going the wrong way and cars were stacked up waiting to
get out.

When I arrived, he was frantically trying to get turned around
and out of everyone's way.  There were a lot of people watching
but no one offered to help.

I walked over to the driver's window and asked if he needed
help.  The driver was an older gentleman.  He was completely
exhausted.

The truck did not have power steering and in his attempt to get
turned around he had jackknifed the trailer.

I could tell that he was scared and did not know how to get out.

After stopping all the traffic and asking everyone to be patient
for a few minutes, I guided him back and forth until he finally
got the truck and trailer turned around.  I patted him on the
shoulder, told him "God Bless you and good luck."

He stated to me that he had just been released from the
hospital and that he was so scared; he thought he was going to
have another heart attack right on the spot.

He said, "you're a good man and I can never thank you enough."
I could tell that his thank you was truly from the heart.
He then drove away.

Working in construction all my life, I have been required to
drive vehicles with a trailer behind them.

To me this was a fairly easy situation to correct.
To an inexperienced driver it can be a nightmare.

A simple thank-you was certainly sufficient for such a little
gesture of kindness.

What happened next was a total surprise and an event I will
never forget.

As I opened the door and walked into the restaurant, everyone in
the restaurant stood up, clapped and shouted "good job".

No words can ever explain how good I felt.

Friday, October 29, 2004

PUMPKIN ANALOGY

A woman was asked by a co-worker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"   
The co-worker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin.  God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.  Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.  He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

WEB OF LOVE

WEB OF LOVE

Listen to how a simple ball of yarn became a web of love for one
classroom of high school students.

Their teacher seated the students in a circle on the carpeted floor.
One member of the group was instructed to toss a ball of yarn to
someone across the circle, holding tightly to one end. The recipient
took hold of the string and listened as the one who tossed it shared
something that she especially liked about him. Keeping hold of the
string, he then tossed the ball across the circle to someone else and
affirmed something positive about her. The ball of yarn was tossed
across and around the circle until everyone had both heard and shared
encouragement...and thus the yarn became a woven web of love and good
feelings....

Before they went their separate ways, the teacher took scissors and
snipped through the web. Each person took a piece of yarn away as a
remembrance of the special words they heard. Surprisingly, many of
them wore cherished pieces of yarn around their wrists for days and
weeks afterward.

Every year now, students ask their teacher to end the term with the
Web of Love. It has become an annual tradition in their high school!
Which goes to show how much encouragement means to most people.

Why wait? We can find opportunities to affirm others throughout the
day. Few people grow weary of hearing sincere appreciation and praise.
And each time you give it you help to create an invisible web of love
that can last a lifetime.

Friday, October 1, 2004

THE MOST.......

The most destructive habit..............................Worry
The greatest Joy.......................................Giving
The greatest loss........................Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work.......................Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.....................Selfishness
The most endangered species.................Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource.......................Our youth
The greatest "shot in the arm"..................Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome.........................Fear

The most effective sleeping pill................Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease....................Excuses
The most powerful force in life..........................Love

The most dangerous pariah..........................A gossiper
The world's most incredible computer................The brain
The worst thing to be without.... . Hope

The deadliest weapon...............................The tongue
The two most power-filled words......................."I Can"
The greatest asset......................................Faith

The most worthless emotion..........................Self-pity
The most beautiful attire..............................SMILE!
The most prized possession......................... Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication.............Prayer
The most contagious spirit.........................Enthusiasm