Today's thought is:
We are making a response to life every waking moment;
our attitudes formulate the tenor of our responses.
When the sun warms our bodies and the flowers tease our nostrils,
it may be easy to love everyone and smile.
When we have a negative attitude,
we may snarl and all too quickly
criticize innocent bystanders,
as well as friends and family.
All we need is to make a simple decision
to look with love
as far as our eyes can see.
When our hearts are God-centered
and filled with love and laughter,
we'll find no experience too difficult to handle.
No problem will evade it's solution for long.
An attitude of love promises us gratitude in abundance.
We'll never doubt that all is well
when love is at our center.
MY VERY SPECIAL FRIEND
When I'm feeling really happy,
'Cause I have good news to share,
I need a friend, a buddy...
Someone who'll really care.
So I logon to my 'puter,
Dialup to the internet,
And there you are, my dear friend.
How I bless the day we met!
You're the one whom I can count on,
When I need some company.
And if I feel really sad,
You're there with sympathy.
Sometimes it's hard to comprehend
This special bond we share.
A thousand miles between us,
Yet, somehow, you're always there.
I hope you know, I'm here for you
Anytime you need a pal.
Just look me up on ICQ
Or I-M-A-O-L.
Perhaps we'll meet in person
Over coffee and some pie.
For now, we'll sip our Pepsi,
As we type a friendly, "Hi!"
You're a special part of my life,
Even though we're far apart.
Your friendship is a treasure
That I cherish in my heart.
I love you, my special friend,
and I just wanted you to know it!
Just Do Your Best, and Everything Will Be All Right
It's not always easy to know
which path to follow, which
decision to make, or what to do.
Life is a series of new horizons,
new hopes, new days, and changes
that come to you. And we all need
some help with these things from time to time.
===========
Remember these things:
Dream it.
Do it.
And discover how special you are.
Be positive,
for your attitude will affect the outcome of many things.
Ask for help when you need it;
seek the wisdom the world holds and hold on to it.
Make some progress every single day.
Begin.
Believe.
And become.
================
Give yourself all the credit you're due;
don't shortchange your qualities, your abilities,
or any of the things that are so unique about you.
Remember how precious life can be.
Imagine.
Invest the time it takes to reach out for your dreams;
it will bring you happiness that no money on earth can buy.
Don't be afraid;
no mountain is too big to climb if you do it at your own pace.
=========
What's the best thing to do?
That's simple:
Do Your Best.
And everything else will fall into place.
~ Collin McCarty ~
============== Who'll Take the Son?
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.
They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael.
They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war.
He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier.
The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door.
A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life.
He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a
bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.
He often talked about you, and your love for art.
The young man held out his package.
"I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist,
but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."
The father opened the package.
It was a portrait of his son,
painted by the young man.
He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured
the personality of his son in the painting.
The father was so drawn to the eyes
that his own eyes welled up with tears.
He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.
"Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me.
It's a gift."
The father hung the portrait over his mantle.
Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see
the portrait of his son before he showed them any of
the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later.
There was to be a great auction of his paintings.
Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the
great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel.
"We will start the bidding with this picture of the son.
Who will bid for this picture?"
There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted.
"We want to see the famous paintings.
Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted.
"Will someone bid for this painting?
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?".
Another voice shouted angrily.
"We didn't come to see this painting..
We came to see the Van Goghs,the Rembrandts.
Get on with the real bids".
But still the auctioneer continued.
"The son, The son, Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room.
It was the long time gardener of the man and his son.
"I'll give $10 for the painting."
Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10,who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10.
Let's see the masters."
"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry.
They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel.
"Going once,
twice,
SOLD
for $10".
A man sitting on the second row shouted.
"Now let's get on with the collection".
The auctioneer laid down his gavel.
"I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"
"I am sorry. When I was called
to conduct this auction,
I was told of a secret stipulation in the will.
I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time.
Only the painting of the son would be auctioned.
Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate,
including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets every thing"
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross.
Much like the auctioneer, His message today is,
"The son, the son, who'll take the son?"
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
--author unknown
**********************************************************
The Ultimate Test
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform,
and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station.
He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.
His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library.
Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book,
but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul
and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name,
Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City.
He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.
The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and
one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling
on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused.
She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.
When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting-
7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me,"she wrote,
"by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for
the a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell
you what happened:
A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim.
Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears;
her eyes were blue as flowers.
Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness,
and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive.
I started toward her, entirely
forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.
As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.
"Going my way, sailor?" she murmured.
Almost uncontrollably, I made one step closer to her,
and then I saw Hollis Maynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl.
A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat.
She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.
The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.
I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her,
and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly
companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump
face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle.
I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the
book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it
would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a
friendship for which I had been and must ever begrateful. I squared my
shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I
spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard,
and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"
The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about son."
She answered, "But the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear
this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you
that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some
kind of test!"
It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom.
The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.
"Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "and I will tell you who you are."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Boy, The Doll & the White Rose
I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts.
I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself.
I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do.
Christmas was beginning to become such a drag.
I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas.
But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department.
Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys.
And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.
I found myself in the doll aisle.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 years old holding a lovely doll.
He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently.
I could not seem to help myself.
I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for.
I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said,
"Are you sure I don't have enough money?"
She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough money for it."
The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other
things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle.
The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for.
He said,"It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas.
She just knew that Santa would bring it." I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it.
He said, "No, Santa can't go where my sister is.
I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her."
I asked him where his sister was.
He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said,
"She was gone to be with Jesus.
My Daddy says that Mamma is going to have to go be with her."
My heart nearly stopped beating.
Then the boy looked at me again and said,
"I told my Daddy to tell Mamma not to go yet.
I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store."
Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture.
I told him I would love to.
He pulled out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store.
He said "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she don't ever forget me.
I love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me,
but Daddy says she will need to be with my sister."
While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills.
I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?"
He grew excited and said, "Yes, I just know it has to be enough."
So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it.
Of course it was plenty for the doll.
He softly said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money."
Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll
so Mamma can take it with her to give to my sister, and he heard my prayer.
I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Mamma a white rose,
but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy her doll and a rose for my Mamma.
She loves white roses so very, very much."
In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away.
I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping
in a totally different spirit than when I had started.
And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier
about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother
was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support.
Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.
Two days later, I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support
and the young woman had died.
I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected.
Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and
took them to the funeral home where the young woman was.
And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll,
and the picture of the little boy in the store.
I left there in tears,
my life changed forever.
The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming.
And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I am thankful for...
· For this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.
· For this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.
· For those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night. I know that many have no bed.
· For the bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient.
· For this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly; it has served faithfully for many years. It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.
· For this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today; it has baked so many things over the years.
· For that tall grass that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking...we all enjoy the yard.
· For that slamming screen door. My kids are healthy and able to run and play.
· The presence of all these chores awaiting me says my family has been richly blessed. I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.
· Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, I am thankful that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
· Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, I am thankful that I can see. Many are blind.
· Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, I am thankful that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
· Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned and tempers are short, my children are so loud, I am thankful for my family. There are many who are lonely.
· Even though our breakfast table never looks like Martha Stewart's and the menu is at times not balanced, I am thankful for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
· Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, I am thankful for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
· Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest, I am thankful for my life.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
THE NEW TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one's.
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