The Cat

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his
church.

He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then
was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk,
etc. The kitty would not come down.

The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided
that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the
tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

He did all this, checking his progress in the car frequently,
then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree
would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten.

But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through
the air  - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible.

He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen
a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he
prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and
went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his
church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and
was amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and
everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food
when you hate cats so much?"

She replied, "You won't believe this," and told him how her
little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept
refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again,
so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well if God gives you
a cat, I'll let you keep it?"

(Can you see where this is heading?)

She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get
on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you
won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes.

A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws
outspread, and landed right in front of her."

Never underestimate the Power of God and what may appear to be
breaking on one end, is answering prayer on another.

Mr. Crow and Mr. Rabbit

Mr. Rabbit was walking down the road when he spotted a crow at
the tiptop of a very tall tree.

He shouted, "Good Morning, Mr. Crow."

Mr. Crow shouted back down, "Good Morning Mr. Rabbit."

Mr. Rabbit shouted up, "Whatcha doin' today?" and the answer
shouted back down was, "Absolutely nothin' Mr. Rabbit,
absolutely nothin' and loving it."

Well, that sounded pretty good to Mr. Rabbit, so he shouted back
up, "Do you think I could do that too?"

Mr. Crow shouted back down, "I don't see why not!"

So, Mr. Rabbit lay down on the side of the road and began
doing absolutely nothing.

In 30 minutes, a fox came along and ate him.

The moral of the story is:
You can get away with doing absolutely nothing,
but only if you are really high up.

Tap Tap

Two men were walking home after a Halloween party and decided to
take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs. Right in
the middle of the cemetery, they were startled by a tap-tap-
tapping noise coming from the misty shadows. Trembling with fear,
they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at
one of the headstones.

"Holy cow, Mister," one of them said, after catching his breath,
"You scared us half to death! We thought you were a ghost!
What are you doing working here so late at night?"

"Those fools!" the old man grumbled. "They misspelled my name!"

From A Distance

From a distance the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope
It's the voice of peace
It's the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common land
Playing songs of hope
Playing songs of peace
They're the songs of every man

God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting is for

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it's the hope of hope
It's the love of love
It's the heart of every man (every man)
It's the hope of hope
It's the love of love
This is the song of every man

And God is watching us
God is watching us

God is watching us from a distance
Oh, God is watching us
God is watching
God is watching us from a distance

from the song 'From A Distance'
Written by Julie Gold, sung by Bette Midler

Five Simple Rules

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start.
Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow,
sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day,
comfort for the tears and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road humps, they slow you down a bit
but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards.

Don't stay on the humps too long. Move on!!

When you feel down because you didn't get what you wanted, just
sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something
better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it
means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to
laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone
who can be loved, the rest is up to the person to realize your
worth.

The measure of love is when you love without measure.

In life there are very rare chances that you'll meet the person
you love and loves you in return. So once you have it don't ever
let go, the chance might never come your way again.

It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose
the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or
finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should
be perfecting the love we give.

When you truly care for someone, you don't look for faults, you
don't look for answers, you don't look for mistakes. Instead,
you forgive the mistakes, you accept the faults, and you
overlook the excuses.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can
take his place. Friendship is like wine; it gets better as it
grows older.

Check Your Email

Corporations go through a great deal to get a good name for a
product. Businesses know the difference a good name makes.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam's job was naming things.
It was the first Biblical occupation of man - Naming Things.

It could well be called, "The world's oldest profession."
It is still a job we all have.

We don't choose our birth names, our parents do.
We do choose our email names.  Your email name can go around the
world faster than the speed of thought.

 Your email name often reflects what we think of ourselves.

Some of you reading this may need to change your name.

As I read some of the email names, I often

say, "this person is calling negative things upon
themselves because they are calling themselves something
negative and sending it all over the world."

We can't blame anyone else for our email names; we chose them.

Did you ever wonder why successful entertainers often change
their names? You don't know most of the movie star's birth
names, you only know their changed names.

They chose a new name because they wanted something different
out of life.

Look at your email name.

What does it say about you?

What are you calling yourself?
What are you calling upon yourself?
Is it something or someone who you want to be?
Is it somewhere you want to go?

Maybe your email name is neutral, but maybe it is not.

Here are some examples of email names that don't reflect good
things or destinations for the owner: booboo@, hardtimes@,
maddog@, devilwoman@, got_no_money@, sickpuppy@, brokenhearted@,
badmama@, uglyduckling@, lonelyheart@, missingher@ and nightmare@.

There are thousands that literally call out

bad things. Each time that you hit "SEND," maybe you
are sending to more than just the recipient.

Do you ever think, "Maybe I am sending out into the world
vibration and spirit saying, 'this is whom I call myself,'
respond to me accordingly."

Look at your email name, the name YOU have chosen.

Remember an email name is an address.
It reflects your habitation and destination.

Where do you live?

Bill Gates of Microsoft is one of the richest men in America.
His first name is Bill, as in dollar Bill. His last name is
Gates, as in the structure that keeps things in or out.
All large piles of Bills are guarded by some kind of Gates.

That's true on more than one level.

Bill's given name is William. Will "I Am."
My "will," will ultimately determine what "I am."

Moses said unto God, "whom shall I say has sent me?"
God replied, "Tell them 'I AM' has sent me to you."

Often when God changed the nature, role and destiny of men,
he changed what they were called. He changed the "I Am..."

Look at your email name, the name you have chosen,
your cyberspace habitation and destination.

As one of Microsoft's slogans says,

"Where do you want to go today?"

Bill Gates knows, and I'll bet his email address reflects it.

Naming Things - Check your email.

The Real Salesman

Ek company ne ek naya gujarati salesman hire kiya. Sales badhne lagi-din
dugni, raat chauguni. Malik ne socha is ladke se mujhe milna hai.

Malik showroom par aaya, usne dekha ladka ek customer ko fishing-rod
bech raha tha. Woh door pe hi khada ho kar usko customer se deal karte
dekhne lagaa. Ladke ne fishing-rod bech di. Customer ne kaha kitne
rupaye, ladka bola Rs.800/-. Yeh kahkar ladke ne customer ke shoes dekhe
aur bola, itne mehange shoes pahankar fishing karne jayenge? Ek sport
shoe bhi kharid lijiye, customer ne sport shoes bhi kharid liye. Ab
ladke ne kaha talaab kinare dhoop mein baithna padega, ek cap bhi kharid
lijiye to theek rehega, customer ne cap bhi kharid li. Ab ladke ne kaha,
machli pakadne mein bahut intezar karna padega, kuchch eatables, wafer,
biscuits, bhi le jayiye, customer ne woh bhi kharid liye. Ladka bola!
machli pakdenge to rakhenge kahan ? Yeh ek Rs.100/- ki basket bhi le
lijiye, customer ne woh bhi kharid li. Ab total bill bana Rs.2000/- ka.

Malik bahut khush hua. Usne ladke ko bulaya aur kaha, tum to kamal ke
salesman ho. Woh aadmi fishing rod kharidane ayaa . . aur tumane usey
itna sara samaan bech diya, very good. Ladka bola, "Woh aadmi to
"Stayfree" napkin kharidane ayaa tha, maine kaha, char din tu ghar par
kya karega `Jaa Machli Pakad` "

Prison vs Work-prison

Prison L vs. Work-prison J

J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J JJ J J J J J J J J Just in case you ever got the two mixed up, this should make things a bit more clear... IN PRISON... you spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell; AT WORK... you spend the majority of your time in a 6X8 cubicle. IN PRISON... you get three meals a day; AT WORK... you only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it. IN PRISON... you get time off for good behavior; AT WORK...you get rewarded for good behavior with more work. IN PRISON... the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you; AT WORK... you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself. IN PRISON... you can watch TV and play games; AT WORK... you get fired for watching TV and playing games. IN PRISON... you get your own toilet; AT WORK... you have to share IN PRISON... they allow your family and friends to visit; AT WORK... you can`t even speak to your family. IN PRISON... all expenses are paid by the tax-payers, with no work required; AT WORK... you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners. IN PRISON... you spend most of your life looking through bars from inside wanting to get out. AT WORK... you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars. IN PRISON... there are wardens. AT WORK...they are called managers. But cheer up, because IN PRISON... you have to stay all the time. AT WORK...you get to go home sometimes !!! J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J JJ J J J J J J J J

 

Clutter

I installed a new hard drive in my laptop computer. I have a
lot of programs and files and the hard drive fills up fast.

The laptop came with a 160 gigabyte hard drive. That was the
largest one that I could purchase when I bought it. It was 60
gigabytes bigger than my last laptop.

I was down to less than 10 gigabytes of unused space. I was
running out so I bought a new 250 gigabyte hard drive. Instead
of just using a utility to transfer all of the contents of my
old hard drive onto the new hard drive, I reinstalled
everything. I only installed the programs and data that I
really used.

When I finished, I had only used 100 gigabytes. Over 50
gigabytes of "stuff" wasn't there. I was a MountainWings
Moment.

I thought that I "needed" everything on my notebook but not
only did I now have everything that I needed installed, my
notebook's screen was a lot neater and it ran a lot faster.

Our lives are often like that.

We have a lot of extra stuff that we really don't need and
rarely use. Our closets are cluttered. Our drawers are
cluttered. Our garages are cluttered. Our computers are
cluttered.

Even our bodies are cluttered. Just look at belly buttons.

Not only is it physical. Our spirits are also cluttered with a
lot of stuff that is cluttering and detrimental to us..

Touch Me !!!

The man whispered, "God, speak to me"
and a meadowlark sang.

But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled "God, speak to me"
and the thunder rolled across the sky.

But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you"
and a star shone brightly.

But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle"
and a life was born.

But the man did not notice.

So the man cried out in despair, "touch me God,
and let me know you are here."

Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.


I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us
in the little and simple things that we take for granted...

Even in our electronic age... so I would like to add one more:

The man cried "God, I need your help"...

. . .and an email arrived

reaching out with good news and encouragement.

But, the man deleted it and continued crying...



Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way
that you expect.

Wrong Feet?

One day when my sister was about three years old,
she put her shoes on.

As three year olds sometimes do, she put them on the wrong foot.

My mother said, "Denise you have your shoes on the wrong feet!"

My sister looked down and innocently said,

"But mommy, these are the only feet I have!"

It's Your Call

He doesn't have an e-mail,
His address is unknown,
you can't call information
to find His telephone.

But His line is never busy,
He answers every call,
He's always there to help,
even when you fall.

All you need to do is pray,
You need no fancy words,
it costs no money for the call,
and every prayer is heard.

So if you are in pain,
and feeling lonely too,
just reach our for His help,
His love for you is true.

The Secret of Success

"Sir, What is the secret of your success?"
a reporter asked a bank president.

"Two words"

"And, Sir, what are they?"

"Right decisions."

"And how do you make right decisions?"

"One word."

"And, sir, What is that?"

"Experience."

"And how do you get Experience?"

"Two words"

"And, Sir, what are they?"

"Wrong decisions"

A Look at Relapse

Although this is about a relapse into alcoholism, it applies to
many other areas of life, from overeating to relationship and
money problems. Read it carefully.


1. EXHAUSTION - Allowing yourself to become overly tired or in
poor health. Some Alcoholics are also prone to work addictions
- perhaps in a hurry to make up for lost time.
Good health and enough rest are important. If you feel well you
are more apt to think well. Feel poorly and your thinking is
apt to deteriorate. Feel bad enough and you might begin
thinking a drink couldn't make it any worse.

2. DISHONESTY - This begins with a pattern of unnecessary
little lies and deceits with fellow workers, friends, and
family. Then come important lies to yourself. This is called
"rationalizing" - making excuses for not doing what you don't
want to do, or for doing what you know you should not do.

3. IMPATIENCE - Things are not happening fast enough. Others
are not doing what they should or what you want them to do.

4. ARGUMENTATIVENESS - Arguing small and ridiculous points of
view indicates a need to always be right. "Why don't you be
reasonable and agree with me?"  Looking for an excuse to drink?

5. DEPRESSION - Unreasonable and unaccountable despair may
occur in cycles and should be dealt with - talked about.

6. FRUSTRATION - At people and also because things may not be
going your way. Remember -- everything is not going to be just
the way you want it to be.

7. SELF-PITY - "Why do these things happen to me?"
"Why must I be an alcoholic?"
"Nobody appreciates all I am doing - for them?"

8. COCKINESS - Got it made - no longer fear alcoholism -
going into drinking situations to prove to others you have no
problem. Do this often enough and it will wear down your
defenses.

9. COMPLACENCY - "Drinking was the furthest thing from my
mind."  Not drinking was no longer a conscious thought, either.
It is dangerous to let up on disciplines just because everything
is going well. Always to have a little fear is a good thing.
More relapses occur when things are going well than otherwise.

10. EXPECTING TOO MUCH FROM OTHERS - "I've changed, why hasn't
everyone else?"  It's a plus if they do, but it is still your
problem if they do not. They may not trust you yet, may still
be looking for further proof. You cannot expect others to
change their style of life just because you have.

11. LETTING UP ON DISCIPLINES - Prayer, meditation, daily
inventory, AA attendance. This can stem either from complacency
or boredom. You cannot afford to be bored with your program.
The cost of relapse is always too great.

12. USE OF MOOD-ALTERING CHEMICALS - You may feel the need to
ease things with a pill and your doctor may go along with you.
You may never have had a problem with chemicals other than
alcohol, but you can easily lose sobriety starting this way -
about the most subtle way of having a relapse.
Remember you will be cheating!  The reverse of this is true for
drug-dependent persons who start to drink.

13. WANTING TOO MUCH - Do not set goals you cannot reach with
normal effort. Do not expect too much. It's always great when
good things you were not expecting happen. You will get what
you are entitled to as long as you do your best, but maybe not
as soon as you think you should.
"Happiness is not having what you want,
but wanting what you have."

14. FORGETTING GRATITUDE - You may be looking negatively on
your life, concentrating on problems that still are not totally
corrected. Nobody wants to be a Pollyanna - but it is good to
remember where you started from, and how much better life is
now.

15. "IT CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME" - This is dangerous thinking.
Almost anything can happen to you if you get careless.
Remember you have a progressive disease, and you will be in
worse shape if you relapse.

16. OMNIPOTENCE - This is a feeling that results from a
combination of many of the above. You now have all the answers
for yourself and others. No one can tell you anything.
You ignore suggestions or advice from others. Relapse is
probably imminent unless drastic change takes place.

I'm Smart

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
'Cause two is more than one!

And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes--I guess he didn't know
That three is more than two!

Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes,
And four is more than three!

And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
And five is more than four!

And I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head--
Too proud of me to speak!

Legs

A young college student had stayed up all night studying for his
zoology test the next day. As he entered the classroom, he saw
ten stands with ten pairs of legs on them. Each bird had a sack
over its head; only the legs were showing.

He sat in the front row because he wanted to do the best job
possible. The professor announced that the test would be to
look at each of the birds' legs and give the common name,
habitat, genus and species.

The student looked at each of the birds' legs.
They all looked the same to him.
He began to get upset.

He had stayed up all night studying and now had to identify
birds by their legs.

The more he thought about it the madder he got.

Finally he could stand it no longer.
He went up to the professor's desk and said,

"What a stupid test!  How could anyone tell the difference
between birds by looking at their legs?"  With that, the student
threw his test on the professor's desk and walked to the door.

The professor was surprised. The class was so big that he
didn't know every student's name so as the student reached the
door the professor called,

"Mister, what's your name?"

The enraged student pulled up his pant legs and said,

"You tell me buddy!

You tell me!"

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she
should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good
for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the
green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former
generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its
day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer
bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to
be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same
bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an
escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the
grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every
time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have
the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy
gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really
did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their
brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back
in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in
every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a
handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the
kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have
electric machines to do everything for you.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a
wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic
bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to
cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They
exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to
run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using
a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water.
They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new
pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of
throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their
bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their
moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in
a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.
And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal
beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find
the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the
old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back
then?

Ghosts

I think that I have ghosts in my house.

Few days before I was missing something from my room that I knew was
there. It wasn't anything big, just a pen. It was a Parker pen

I bought from Chandigarh when I was there on my official duty.

I knew that it was on my table but it was clearly missing.

I asked each person in my house that whether they

have taken my pen. Each one responded in negative

and they were totally ignorant about that. 

No one in the house had touched it or seen it.

I knew no burglar had broken in or surely they would have taken
more than a pen. If no human had done it, what other
explanation was left other than some supernatural explanation.

Once I came to grips that we must have ghosts in the house, I
then realized that not only did we have ghosts, but we also had
a bunch of one-legged ghosts and that explained where the other
sock was disappearing to.

Case solved.

Divorce :)

The first divorce directly related to the September 11th terrorist attack was filed in New York.

 

It appears a guy with an office on 103rd floor of the World Trade Centre spent the morning at his girlfriend's apartment with his phone turned off. He wasn't watching TV either. When he turned his phone back on at about 11am, it rang immediately.

 

It was his hysterical wife, "Are you OK? Where are you?"

He said, "What do you mean? I'm in my office of course!"

The Blind Sign

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his
feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."
There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and
dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it
around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that
everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving
money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how
things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,
"Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?

What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but
in a different way."

"I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first
sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people
that they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be
surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:
Be thankful to GOD for what you have.
Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you
have 1,000 reasons to smile.

After all, you can read this post.

The Most Important Body Part

My mother used to ask me:
"What is the most important part of the body?"

Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the
correct answer.

When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as
humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy."
She said, "No Many people are deaf.
But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon."

Several years passed before she asked me again.  Since making my
first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer.  So this
time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody,
so it must be our eyes.  She looked at me and told me, "You are
learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are
many people who are blind."

Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge.  Over the
years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer
was, "No, but you are getting smarter every year, my child."

Then last year, my grandpa died.
Everybody was hurt.
Everybody was crying.
Even my father cried.
I remember that especially because it was only the second time I
saw him cry.  My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say
our final good-bye to Grandpa.

She asked me,
"Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?"

I was shocked when she asked me this now.
I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me,
"This question is very important.
It shows that you have really lived in your life.

For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you was
wrong and I have given you an example why.
But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson."

She looked down at me as only a mother can.
I saw her eyes well up with tears.  She said,

"My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder."

I asked, "Is it because it holds up my head?"
She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend
or a loved one when they cry.

Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear.
I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will
always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."

Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a
selfish one.  It is sympathetic to the pain of others.

People will forget what you said...
People will forget what you did....
But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel.

The Flawed Jeans

I put on my favorite pair of jeans this morning; they are so
soft and comfortable.

I needed to spend the day at the hospital with my husband in the
Intensive Care Unit. We had gone to the emergency room yesterday;
he was having chest pains.

The doctors say there is no sign of damage to his heart and they
will release him this afternoon, but he will need to return for
a stress test in three to four weeks.

Sitting there reflecting on how fortunate we are, I noticed the
flaw in my jeans again. They have an irregularity in the weave
at the front of one leg. I noticed this flaw when I first tried
them on but purchased them anyway because they were so
comfortable.

I love them not because of the flaw but in spite of it.

Each time I wear the jeans I am reminded of God's love for us.

It is unconditional in spite of our flaws.

For Your Convenience

The modern world gives us many things. Some make us better
(maybe) and some weaker. The spell checker is one such thing.

The spell checker is great, it keeps me from making horrendous
and careless errors but it has made my spelling so much weaker.

I was writing a note telling someone that something was for
their convenience. I couldn't spell convenience!

It's not that convenience is an overly simple word. My guess, if
you asked 10 people how to spell it, a significant number would
either get it wrong or wouldn't even try. That's not the point.
The point is I should have known how to spell it but the spell
checker has just made my spelling weaker.

What did I do? I saw the red underline below what was the
obviously misspelled word and Right-Clicked to get a list of
suggestions on the proper spelling. Sure enough, there in the
list was the proper spelling.

Whenever you don't use something, you slowly lose it. I use my
knowledge of spelling less and less, I just let the computer do
it.

Perhaps sometimes too convenient is simply too convenient.

...or is it convineint?

One Lane

Wes Hayes III has a long drive to and from work. The drive can

take more than an hour on busy days.

"I learned something about driving," Wes told me. "I've learned
to stay in one lane." "One lane?" I thought "What does he mean
one lane?"

He explained how he timed the journey driving in the normal
pattern. The typical driver zigged and zagged and switched lanes
to find the fastest flow and to get out of the traffic and to
the destination sooner. Sometimes the highway looked like
driving a shalom course.

"I timed the journey switching lanes every few minutes and then
I tried another way. I tried driving all the way in just ONE
LANE. No matter what, I stayed in one lane," Wes explained.

"I was amazed! The time difference was negligible if any but the
peace difference was huge. There is far less stress and far more
calmness attained by just staying in one lane," Wes said.

As Wes relayed his new found direction, I thought about how much
ONE LANE could help us in life.

We constantly switch jobs. We switch romantic partners. We
switch houses, cars, clothes, computers, phones and even
friends. Much of the time it's not because we need to switch.
It's because fashion, style and updates makes us crave the
fastest and seemingly best.

In many countries people work for one company their entire life.
The thought of so much switching is completely foreign to them.

Perhaps Wes is on to something.

Perhaps WE need to stay in ONE LANE.

Lost and Found

A lady lost her handbag in the bustle of shopping. It was found
by an honest little boy and returned to her. Looking in her
purse, she commented: "Hmmm... That's funny. When I lost my bag
there was a $20 bill in it. Now there are 20 $1 bills."

The boy quickly replied: "That's right, lady. The last time I
found a lady's purse, she didn't have any change for a reward."

The Dog and The Leopard

A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa.  He took his
faithful pet dog along for company.  One day the dog starts
chasing butterflies and before long he discovers that he is
lost.  So, wandering about he notices a leopard heading rapidly
in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch.

The dog thinks, "Boy, I'm in deep doo doo now."

Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by, and
immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to
the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly,
"Man, that was one delicious leopard.  I wonder if there are any
more around here?"  Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in
mid stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away
into the trees.

"Whew," says the leopard, "That was close.
That dog nearly had me."

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a
nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and
trade it for protection from the leopard.

So, off he goes.  But the dog saw him heading after the leopard
with great speed, and figured that something must be up.  The
monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and
strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says,
"Here monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to
that conniving canine."

Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back,
and thinks, "What am I going to do now?"

But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his
attackers pretending he hasn't seen them yet.

Just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says,

"Where's that monkey.  I just can never trust him.
I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard,
and he's still not back!!"

>

Every doctor will someday need a doctor
Every preacher will someday need a preacher
Every teacher will someday need a teacher
Every mortician will someday need a mortician

No matter how much we know and have,
we all will need someone and something greater than us.

~E. J. O'Neil~

I Lied!!!

I must admit, I lied. I flat out, no doubt about it, lied.

Not only must I admit to that lie, but I've lied many other
times too. Some of you are shocked that I would lie and brazenly
admit it but if you examine yourselves you're not so pure either.

I lied to Apple.

I was downloading something from Apple and they presented me
with their updated Terms and Conditions for the iTunes store.
I had to check a box that said that I had read the Terms and
Conditions and that I agreed to them.

It was 58 pages on my phone.

58 PAGES!!!

Everyone who has an iPhone or who downloads from iTunes has to
say that they have READ and agree to the Terms and Conditions.

I am sure that some have read all 58 pages but I doubt if it is
anyone you or I know. Everyone we know lied too.

The symbol of Apple is an apple with a bite out of it. I wonder
where that is from? It forces everyone who downloads anything
from iTunes to either spend an hour reading the Terms and
Conditions the first time and every time it is updated or it
forces them to become liars.

Sure, it's just a little lie. It's just a little bite out of the
truth. What does a little lie matter?

I don't want to pick on Apple, other companies do it with their
Terms and Conditions and EULA's (End User License Agreements)
that would take a software lawyer an hour to read and
understand.

You should be given three options instead of two:

1. I don't agree and thus reject this product.
2. I have read the Terms and Conditions (or EULA) and agree.
3. I haven't read it because it would take a ridiculously long
time but I blindly accept whatever it says on faith that I won't
get unfairly treated.

They may want to leave that unfairly treated part out since you
may be treated unfairly. Other users probably want to substitute
a more vulgar term for unfairly treated.

Until that third option is added, to Apple and the other
companies with over a two paragraph Terms of Agreement
statement, I am forewarning you, I will lie.

Truthfully,
Pastor Nathaniel Bronner Jr.

Would You Listen???

THE SITUATION: In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold
January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach
pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000
people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a
musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds,
and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A
woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to
walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him,
then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him
along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again,
but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning
his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other
children, but every parent - without exception - forced their
children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people
stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but
continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total
of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one
noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all. No
one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the
greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most
intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million
dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston
where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play
the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C.
Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a
social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we
perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best
musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever
written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Remember ...
Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called: The Present.
Enjoy life NOW .. it has an expiration date

Cowboy in Church

One Sunday a cowboy went to church. When he entered, he saw that
he and the preacher were the only ones present. The preacher
asked the cowboy if he wanted him to go ahead and preach.

The cowboy said, "I'm not too smart, but if I went to feed my
cattle and only one showed up, I'd still feed him."
So the minister began his sermon.

One hour passed, then two hours, then two-and-a-half hours.
The preacher finally finished and came down to ask the cowboy
how he liked the sermon.

The cowboy answered slowly, "Well, I'm not very smart, but if I
went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn't
feed him all the hay."

Quick Start Guide

I opened the box with the fancy electronic gadget in it. It was
the latest version with all of the bells and whistles. Sitting
neatly on top inside the box was a plastic wrapped bundle. In the
bundle (among other things) was a thick manual and a four-page
Quick Start Guide.

The Quick Start Guide walked you through what you needed to
know to setup and operate the fancy equipment without all of the
in-depth details of the thick manual.

"Just tell me what I need to know to get this thing working,"
was going through my mind as I looked at the two documents.
So naturally I gravitated towards the Quick Start Guide.

I then thought, "Why doesn't life have a Quick Start Guide?"

You know, something that would give you the basics of what you
needed to know to get things going right.

Why doesn't someone think of that?

You would only need a few things; say ten or so and I think that
would be enough to get you going and perhaps keep you straight.

It would be a Quick Start Guide of life of ten or so things that
would guide you until you could read the full manual.

Why doesn't someone think of that?