TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKINGTHROUGH THE DESERT.
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT;
AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE.
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.
THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH
THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE ! AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.
AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:
'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE '.
THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM,
'AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,
YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'
THE FRIEND REPLIED
'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT.'
LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.
THEY SAY IT TAKES A
MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL
PERSON, AN HOUR TO
APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY
TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN
AN ENTIRE LIFE
TO FORGET THEM.
Why doens't the media focus on the "good news"???
>
Higher power? You bet!!!! IN GOD WE TRUST!
>
I am sure that all of you heard about the sandstorm in the beginning of the Iraq war, (the worst in 100 years some say) and the drenching rain that followed the next day. Our troops were bogged down and couldn't move effectively. The media was already wondering if the troops were in a "quagmire" and dire predictions of gloom and doom came from the left wind media.
>
What they didn't report was that after the weather had cleared, the marine group that was mired the worst looked out at the plain they were just about to cross. What did they see? Hundreds if not thousands of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines had been uncovered by the wind and then washed off by the rain. If they had proceeded as planned, many lives would have undoubtedly been lost. As it was, they simply drove around them and let the demolition teams destroy them.
>
Someone once asked George Washington if he thought God was on his side. His reply is reported to be, "It is not that God should be on our side, but that we be on His."
1. Wake Up!!
Decide to have a good day.
"This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up!!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7
3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.
"He who guards his lips guards his soul."
Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!
...for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."
Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up!!
....to the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me".
Philippians 4:13
6. Reach Up!!
...for something higher.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up!!
...your prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING."
Philippians 4:6
Mom,
I leave my sticky fingerprints
on every single wall.
I am noisy and makes messes racing up and down the hall.
But all to soon I'll leave this house when I grow big and tall,
so here's one last precious handprint to remind you always...
of the days...
when I was small.
Shortly after the culmination of the Second World War, a devastated city in England began it's heartbreaking and wearying work of restoration. In the old city square had stood a large statue of Jesus Christ, with His hands outspread in an attitude of invitation. On the pedestal were carved the words, "Come unto me".
*
In the process of the restoration of the statue, with the aid of master artists and sculptors, the figure eventually was reassembled, except for the hands, of which no fragments could be discovered anywhere in the surrounding rubble. Someone made the suggestion that the artists, since the former hands could not be found, would have to fashion new hands.
*
Later came a public protest, couched in the words, "No, leave Him without hands!" So today, in the public square of that English city. The restored statue of Christ stands without hands, and on its base are carved the words, "Christ has no hands but ours!"
This gift of common Jell-O is to do with as you may
Create a culinary fete or tuck the box away.
Should you choose to "tuck away" and keep its promise hidden,
You will never know the masterpiece you might have hidden.
*
But if, instead, you choose to spur its creativity,
It becomes far greater than it was originally.
Within each box of Jell-O as within humanity,
Are the seeds of latent promises of something yet to be.
*
But the seeds are not so lowly within the human soul,
When fed with love and prayer, Eternal life becomes the goal.
For the greatness in each one of us is touched by Godly powers,
And when it manifest itself, our soul's potential flowers.
*
---Gloria Ashton
Why do people go to the trouble,
to give other people some trouble?
Why do they bust someone's bubble,
when they know it comes back to them double?
Why do we go to the effort to hurt
someone we actually love?
Why can't we say something sweet, 'stead of curt?
A push only leave to a shove.
Why can't we treat other folks with respect?
With a smile or a kind word or two.
Treat them with honor, the way you'd expect they should act,
when they're dealing with you.
Why can't we overlook others mistakes?
We've all surely been there before.
Love and forgiveness is all that it takes,
to boot Satan's butt out the door.
---Johnny Hart
B.C. Cartoon
Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions. It is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair--these bow the heart and turn the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the star like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what next, and the joy of the game of living.
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
--Samuel Ullman
"It is very important that we not assume the perspectives of mortality in making the decisions that bear on eternity."
---Elder Neal A. Maxwell
"We don't have to be perfect today. We don't have to be better than someone else. All we have to do is be the very best we can."
---Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
November Ensign 2001
When it's springtime in Wyoming,
Where the gentle breezes blow about 70 miles an hour
And it is 52 below
You can tell you're in Wyoming,
When the snow drift you can cut,
And you take a breath of springtime air
And your nostrils both freeze shut.
The weather here is different,
So I guess I'll hang around,
I could never leave Wyoming,
My feet are frozen to the ground!
Rubber Band: To remind you to hug others- We are all united through Jesus Christ.
Tissue: To remind you to dry their tears, when they are sad or struggling.
Button: To remind you to "button your lips" against gossip, back biting, or talking when inappropriate.
Toothpick: To remind you to pick out the good qualities in everyone.
Band Aid: To remind you to heal any hurt feelings.
Candy: To remind you that everyone needs your sweetness.
Eraser: To remind you that everyone makes mistakes and that there is forgiveness for everyone.
Lifesaver: To remind you to think of Jesus Christ as your "lifesaver". Whenever you need to talk, He will listen.
Mint: To remind you that you are "mint" to be there for your sisters.
As we fellowship one another, we value one another in Christ.
"Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but eternal joys as well."
---Spencer W. Kimball
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because some day in life, you will have been all of these.
---George Washington Carver
