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
