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."
Friday, October 29, 2004
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.
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
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
DECK OF CARDS
Deck of Cards
A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning over in Afghanistan. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't made a noise. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord." The sergeant said, "Looks like you're going to play cards." The soldier said, "No sir, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards." The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?" "You see the Ace, Sergeant, it reminds that there is only one God. The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments. The Three represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Four stands for the Four Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Five is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them were glorified. The Six is for the six days it took God tocreate the Heavens and Earth. The Seven is for the day God rested after working the six days. The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives, in which God saved the eight people from the flood that destroyed the earth for the first time. The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten but nine never thanked Him. The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone. The Jack is a reminder of Satan. One of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell. The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary. The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings. When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, each is a week, 52 weeks in a year. The four suits represents the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each suit has thirteen cards, there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter. So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?" Pleaselet this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting for us.
A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning over in Afghanistan. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't made a noise. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?" The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord." The sergeant said, "Looks like you're going to play cards." The soldier said, "No sir, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards." The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?" "You see the Ace, Sergeant, it reminds that there is only one God. The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments. The Three represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Four stands for the Four Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Five is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them were glorified. The Six is for the six days it took God tocreate the Heavens and Earth. The Seven is for the day God rested after working the six days. The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives, in which God saved the eight people from the flood that destroyed the earth for the first time. The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten but nine never thanked Him. The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone. The Jack is a reminder of Satan. One of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell. The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary. The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings. When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year. There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, each is a week, 52 weeks in a year. The four suits represents the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each suit has thirteen cards, there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter. So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for." The sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?" Pleaselet this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting for us.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
A SPECIAL GROCERY LIST
A special grocery list
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store.
She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said:
"Please, sir!
I will bring you the money just as
soon as I can."
John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice,
"Do you have a grocery list?"
Louise replied, "Yes sir."
"O.K" he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries."
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head
still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it."
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had
gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said:
"It was worth every penny of it ... Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs."
Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store.
She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.
She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she said:
"Please, sir!
I will bring you the money just as
soon as I can."
John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.
The grocer said in a very reluctant voice,
"Do you have a grocery list?"
Louise replied, "Yes sir."
"O.K" he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries."
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head
still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it."
The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.
It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had
gathered and stood in stunned silence.
Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said:
"It was worth every penny of it ... Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs."
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
THE COMPANY I KEEP
The Company I Keep
Let me be known by the company I keep;
By the One who determines each day that I greet;
From the moment I wake 'till He rocks me to sleep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
When the valleys are low and the mountains steep;
By the One who holds fast when swift waters are deep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
By the One who implores me to sit at His feet;
And quickens my soul to discern what is deep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
Eclipsed by Your presence that I may decrease;
'Till all You have chosen this traveler to meet --
No longer see me but the Company I keep.
Author Unknown To Me
Let me be known by the company I keep;
By the One who determines each day that I greet;
From the moment I wake 'till He rocks me to sleep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
When the valleys are low and the mountains steep;
By the One who holds fast when swift waters are deep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
By the One who implores me to sit at His feet;
And quickens my soul to discern what is deep;
Let me be known by the company I keep!
Let me be known by the company I keep;
Eclipsed by Your presence that I may decrease;
'Till all You have chosen this traveler to meet --
No longer see me but the Company I keep.
Author Unknown To Me
Sunday, June 13, 2004
LIFE
"Life"
Life isn't about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if
you're alone.
It isn't about who you're dating, who you used to date,
how many people you've dated, or if you haven't been
with anyone at all.
It isn't about who you have kissed.
It's not about sex.
It isn't about who your family is or how much money
they have.
Or what kind of car you drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on,
or what kind of music you listen to.
It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown.
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are,
how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how
smart standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you're in or how good you
are at "your" sport.
It's not about representing your whole being on a piece
of paper and seeing who will "accept" the written you.
LIFE JUST ISN'T.
But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful,
maybe heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why. And who
your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and
spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or
poison other people's hearts in such a way that could
have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and
those choices are what life's all about.
Life isn't about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if
you're alone.
It isn't about who you're dating, who you used to date,
how many people you've dated, or if you haven't been
with anyone at all.
It isn't about who you have kissed.
It's not about sex.
It isn't about who your family is or how much money
they have.
Or what kind of car you drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on,
or what kind of music you listen to.
It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown.
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are,
how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how
smart standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you're in or how good you
are at "your" sport.
It's not about representing your whole being on a piece
of paper and seeing who will "accept" the written you.
LIFE JUST ISN'T.
But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful,
maybe heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why. And who
your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and
spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or
poison other people's hearts in such a way that could
have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and
those choices are what life's all about.
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