"Your children are not your children; they are the sons and daughters of Life;
They came through you but not from you;
They are with you but they belong not to you;
You may give them your love,
But not your thoughts;
For they have their own thoughts;
You may own their bodies but not their souls;
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, even in your dreams;
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backwards nor tarries with yesterday"
PoEtEsS
"Prayer is the 'HEART'
of my Faith!"
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing the first man prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing. Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that his wife and he could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered.
"His prayers were all unanswered, and so he does not deserve anything."
"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."
"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you!
Two traveling angels stopped to spend
the night in the home of a family. The
family was rude and refused to let the
angels stay in the mansion's guest room.
Instead, the angels were given a small
space in the old basement.
WHAT THEY SEEM
Two traveling angels stopped to spend
the night in the home of a family. The
family was rude and refused to let the
angels stay in the mansion's guest room.
Instead, the angels were given a small
space in the old basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor,
the older angel saw a hole in the wall
and repaired it. When the younger angel
asked why, the older angel replied,
"Things aren't always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest
at the house of a very poor, but very
hospitable farmer and his wife. After
sharing what little food they had,
the couple let the angels sleep in
their bed where they could have a good
night's rest.
When the sun came up the next morning,
the angels found the farmer and his wife
in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had
been their sole income, lay dead in the
field.
The younger angel was infuriated and
asked the older angel, "How could you
have let this happen? The first man had
everything, yet you helped him!" she
accused. "The second family had little
but was willing to share everything,
and you let the cow die."
"Things aren't always what they seem,"
the older angel replied. "When we stayed
in the basement of the mansion, I noticed
there was gold stored. He was so obsessed
with greed and unwilling to share his
good fortune, I sealed the wall so he
wouldn't find it.
"Then last night as we slept in the
farmer's bed, the angel of death came
for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.
Things aren't always what they seem."
1 ~ ALL ARE SIGNIFICANT
During my second month of nursing school,
our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a
conscientious student and he breezed through
the questions, until I read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who
cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen
the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I
know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving
the last question blank.
Just before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz
grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your
careers, you will meet many people. All are
significant. They deserve your attention and
care, even if all you do is smile and say
'hello.'"
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also
learned her name was Dorothy.
2 ~ PICKUP IN THE RAIN
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African
American woman was standing on the side of
an Alabama highway trying to endure a
lashing rain storm. Her car had broken
down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the
next car.
A young white man stopped to help her,
generally unheard of in those conflict-
filled 1960s. The man took her to safety,
helped her get assistance and put her into
a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry,
but wrote down his address and thanked him.
Seven days went by and a knock came on the
man's door. To his surprise, a giant console
color TV was delivered to his home. A special
note was attached.
It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me
on the highway the other night. The
rain drenched not only my clothes,
but also my spirits. Then you came
along. Because of you, I was able to
make it to my dying husband's bedside
just before he passed away. God bless
you for helping me and unselfishly
serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole
3 ~ ALWAYS REMEMBER THOSE WHO SERVE YOU
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost
much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a
hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A
waitress put a glass of water in front of
him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?"
he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his
pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well,
how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he
inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table
and the waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied."
The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the
bill on the table and walked away. The boy
finished the ice cream, paid the cashier,
and left.
When the waitress came back, she began to
cry as she wiped down the table. There,
placed neatly beside the empty dish, were
two nickels and five pennies. You see, he
couldn't have the sundae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 ~ THE OBSTACLE IN OUR PATH
In ancient times, a King had a boulder
placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself
and watched to see if anyone would remove
the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest
merchants and courtiers came by and simply
walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
king for not keeping the roads clear, but
none did anything about getting the stone
out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load
of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder,
the peasant laid down his burden and tried
to move the stone to the side of the road.
After much pushing and straining, he finally
succeeded.
After the peasant picked up his load of
vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the
road where the boulder had been. The purse
contained many gold coins and a note from the
king indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the
roadway. The peasant learned what many of us
never understand. Every obstacle presents an
opportunity to improve our condition.
5 ~ GIVING WHEN IT COUNTS
Many years ago, when I worked as a
volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a
little girl named Liz who was suffering
from a rare and serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother,
who had miraculously survived the same
disease and had developed the antibodies
needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy
if he would be willing to give his blood
to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only
a moment before taking a deep breath and
saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save
her..."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we
all did, seeing the color returning to her
cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his
smile died. He looked up at the doctor
and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I
start to die right away?"
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood
the doctor; he thought he was going to have
to give his sister *all* of his blood in
order to save her.
You see, understanding and attitude, after
all, is everything.
[Thanks, Jane]
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday
mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude
that comes with being the first to rise,
or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not
having to be at work. Either way, the first
few hours of a Saturday morning are most
enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the
basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee
in one hand and the morning paper in the
other. What began as a typical Saturday
morning, turned into one of those lessons
that life seems to hand you from time to
time.
Let me tell you about it.
I turned the dial up into the phone portion
of the band on my ham radio in order to
listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along
the way, I came across an older sounding
chap with a tremendous signal and a golden
voice. You know the kind, he sounded like
he should be in the broadcasting business.
He was telling whoever he was talking with
something about "a thousand marbles."
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to
what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure
sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm
sure they pay you well, but it's a shame
you have to be away from home and your
family so much. Hard to believe a young
fellow should have to work sixty or seventy
hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you
missed your daughter's dance recital."
He continued, "Let me tell you something
Tom, something that has helped me keep a
good perspective on my own priorities."
And that's when he began to explain his
theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a
little arithmetic. The average person lives
about seventy-five years. I know, some live
more and some live less, but on average,
folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I
came up with 3,900, which is the number of
Saturdays that the average person has in
their entire lifetime. Now stick with me,
Tom, I'm getting to the important part."
"It took me until I was fifty-five years
old to think about all this in any detail,"
he went on, "and by that time I had lived
through over 2,800 Saturdays. I got to
thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five,
I only had about a thousand of them left
to enjoy."
"So I went to a toy store and bought every
single marble they had. I ended up having
to visit three toy stores to round-up 1,000
marbles. I took them home and put them inside
of a large, clear plastic container right
here in the shack next to my gear. Every
Saturday since then, I have taken one marble
out and thrown it away."
"I found that by watching the marbles
diminish, I focused more on the *really*
important things in life. There is
nothing like watching your time here on
this earth run out to help get your
priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before
I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife
out for breakfast. This morning, I took the
very last marble out of the container. I
figure if I make it until next Saturday then
I have been given a little extra time. And
the one thing we can all use is a little more
time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you
spend more time with your family, and I hope
to meet you again here on the band. 75 year
Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT,
good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the
band when this fellow signed off. I guess
he gave us all a lot to think about. I had
planned to work on the antenna that morning,
and then I was going to meet up with a few
hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife
up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking
you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with
a smile.
"Oh, nothing special," I said. "It's just
been a long time since we spent a Saturday
together with the kids. Hey, can we stop
at a toy store while we're out? I need to
buy some marbles."
[Thanks, Donna]
from:groups.yahoo.com
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The
Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the
Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak
to people?" After service he went out with some friends for
coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several
different ones talked about how God had led them in different
ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving
home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God.. If
you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will
do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the
strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook
his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get
a reply and started on toward home.
But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man
thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of
God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case
that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too
hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He
stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off
toward home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn
down that street." This is crazy, he thought, and drove on
past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn
down Seventh Street.
At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down
Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I
will". He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like
he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around.
He was in the semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the
best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods, either. The
businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark,
like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed
something - "Go and give the milk to the people in the house
across the street."
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked
like the people were either gone or they were already asleep.
He started to open the door and then sat back in the car
seat.
"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake
them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid."
Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk. Finally,
he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to
the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to
look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I
guess that will count for something. But if they don't answer
right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear
some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What
do you want?" The door opened before the young man could even
think of getting away.
A man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked
like he had just gotten out of bed. He had a strange look on
his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger
standing on his doorstep. "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, " Here, I brought
this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway, speaking
loudly in Spanish. Then, from down the hall, came a woman
carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following
her, holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears
streaming down his face.
The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just
praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of
money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just
praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an
Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the
money on him and put it in the man's hand. He turned and
walked back toward his car and now the tears were streaming
down *his* face.
He knew now that God still answers prayers.
[Thanks to my daughter, Alyson, for sending this classic]
From:groups.yahoo.com
It's amazing what can truly happen,
How your life can be so grand;
When you give up trying on your own
And let an angel hold your hand.
All the loneliness inside of you
Will completely disappear;
When you realize you're not alone,
That your angel is very near.
Your life will become more meaningful,
As well as totally rearrange;
You'll be amazed at all that you can do,
At the blessings of the change.
You will be able to handle anything,
There is nothing you can't face;
With your angel there to lead you
Your entire life will fall in place.
Just give up trying on your own,
And allow your angel to lead;
All of Heaven's blessings will come to you,
Nothing else you'll ever need.
No matter what you are called to do,
How simple or complex the task;
Your angel will be there to show the way,
All you have to do is ask.
Don't ever let yourself feel discouraged,
Feel this thought within your soul;
All the things you've ever dreamed of
Will become a reachable goal.
So let your angel hold your hand,
Your life will be so complete;
Prepare to conquer the tasks of life,
There will be no battle you can't defeat.
[Thanks to my friend, whose name really *is* Angel!]
from:groups.yahoo.com
