Philemon 1:6 - I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith
Words of Wisdom
Reading

Slow Down

Some people understand life better, and they call some of these people 'retarded'.

... At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally
disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the
race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back......every one of them.

One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will
make it better. " Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story...

Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is
more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win,
even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

~ Original Source Unknown ~

How You See Others

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
The young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others
depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Beautiful Thoughts

It was a busy
Morning, about 8:30, when an elderly
Gentleman in his 80's
arrived to have Stitches removed from his thumb.
He said he was in a hurry as he had an
Appointment at 9:00 am.
I took his vital
Signs and had him take a seat,
Knowing it would be over an hour
Before someone
Would to able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch and
Decided, since I
Was not busy with another patient,
I would evaluate his wound.
On exam, it was
Well healed, so I talked to one of the
Doctors, got the needed supplies to
Remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of
His wound, I asked him if he
Had another doctor's appointment
This morning, as
He was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he
Needed to go to
The nursing home to eat breakfast
With his wife. I inquired as to her
Health.

He told me that
she had been there
For a while and that she
Was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we
Talked, I asked if she would be
Upset if he was a bit late.

He
Replied that she no longer knew
Who he was, that she had not
Recognized him in
Five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him,
'And you still go every
Morning, even though she
Doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he
Patted my hand and said,

'She doesn't
Know me, but I still know who she is.'


I had to hold back
Tears as he left, I had goose bumps
On my arm, and thought,

'That is
The kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is
Neither physical, nor romantic.

True love is an
Acceptance of all that is,
Has been, will be, and will not
Be.

The
Happiest people don't necessarily
Have the best of everything;
They just make
The best of everything they have.

I hope you share this with someone you
Care about. I just did..

'Life isn't about
How to survive the storm,
But how to dance
In the rain.'
We are all getting Older
Tomorrow will be our turn.

A Prayer from TD Jakes

From Bishop TD Jakes 

My prayer for you today:
 
(1) You will find favor with someone you don't expect.

(2) You will be too relevant to be ignored.

(3) You will encounter God and will never remain the same.

(4) The grace for completion will come on you, you shall be blessed until the 'blessed' call you 'blessed'.

(5) The hand that send this message to others shall not labour in vain.

(6)  The mouth saying 'Amen' to this prayer shall laugh forever......

Amen.

One Solitary Life

How One Solitary Life Made a Difference

One Solitary Life was written by James A. Francis in 1926. In 248 words he captured the essence of how the life of Christ has made a powerful difference for over 2000 years.

I want to share an excerpt from One Solitary Life
. This poem puts the humanity of Jesus in perspective...and reminds us that He truly loves us. He loves us so much that He became human and lived through the most challenging trials of life.

From One Solitary Life
by James A. Francis

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.

He grew up in still another village where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family.
He never owned a house.
He never went to college.
He never visited a big city.

He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.

He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to His enemies
and went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

While He was dying His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth.

When He was dead He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today Jesus is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind's progress.

All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that have ever reigned
put together

Have not affected the life of mankind on this earth as much as that one solitary life.

 

 

The Green Thing

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

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

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

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned 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 we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

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

But she was right; we didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We 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: we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we 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 (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

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

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

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we 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 walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service..

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen  
appliances.  And we 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 we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?



Think You've Got It Bad?

Man, just when you think your life is getting too full of unwanted 'STUFF', you hear about several friends and/or family
members whose lives are being bombarded with 'junk'.
It really puts your brain and your mouth back into the gear it should be.

Charlie's Advice


Are you upset little friend?
Have you been lying awake worrying?
Well, don't worry...I'm here.
The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will
shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you.

~ Charlie Brown to Snoopy ~

Every once in a while, an astoundingly, astonishingly awesome
statement will come out a 'daily cartoon'.... such as above. When I first read this, I thought that it could have been said by God, because He does promise us that He will take care of us.

I will repeat my favorite scripture:
Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."

Unfortunately, there are times when the "human" side of us forgets
this, and that's a shame. If we repeatedly remember His promise, we can live our lives with joy, coming from our strength in our faith.

Psalms 51:12
- "Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me
with a willing spirit."

Psalms 126:5
- "May those who sow in tears, reap with shouts of joy!"

Ecclesiastes 5:20
- "For he will not much remember the days of his
life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."

Isaiah 35:10
- "And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come
to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

Jeremiah 31:13
- "...... I will turn their mourning into joy, I will
comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow."

Colossians 1:11
- "May you be strengthened with all power, according
to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy"

1 Chronicles 16:27
- "Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and
joy are in His place"

John 15:11
- "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in
you, and that your joy may be full."

Nehemiah 8:10
- "Then he said to them .....for this day is holy to our
Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Psalms 28:7
- "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in Him my
heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him."

Isaiah 40:31
- "but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Ephesians 3:16
- "that according to the riches of His glory He may grant
you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man"


Ephesians 6:10 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His
might."

2 Thessalonians 3:3
- "But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and
guard you from evil."

Psalm 55:16
- "
As for me, I shall call upon God, and the LORD will save me."

Hope you have a blessed day. Maggie

Are We There Yet?

Luke 6:21
"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."

John 15:11
"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be made full."

I'm going to start exercising AFTER vacation. I'm going to clean out the garage when the weather's not so hot. I'm going to
write to that friend when
I have more to say...... same about phoning another friend. I'm going to clean and organize my
entire house after this headache stops. I'm going to start reading more of the Bible every day. I'm going to pray more, even when there's no 'catastrophy'.  Have you ever been 'there'? Let's face it, there's hardly ever a 'perfect' time to do everything we'd LIKE to do. Guy Penrod sings a song in which is said, "It's not that you fall, but that you get back up." It's STARTING the race, the project, the 'Resolution'...... THAT's the hard part.

Hope you have a great, cool day.
Maggie
 
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Be of Good Cheer


"And now I exhort you to be of good cheer." (Acts 27:22)

What do you do when you're in a really perilous situation?

What is a faith cry? It's calling things that be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). It's what the Bible means when it says, "Let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 3:10).

The Apostle Paul knew how to use the faith cry. That's why in Acts 27 he exhorted the men on that battered, sinking ship to "be of good cheer." He was telling them to start acting by faith. Can't you imagine what those sailors thought when he said that? "Listen to that stupid preacher. We're sinking and he says be of good cheer. We've thrown everything we have overboard and he says be of good cheer."

You may feel just like those sailors did, right now. You may feel like your ship's going down. You may feel like crying out in desperation. But don't do it. Instead, do what Paul said and be of good cheer!

Cry out to God in faith and say, "Lord, I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to despair. I'm going to be of good cheer because Your Word says You'll deliver me from this situation" (Psalm 34:19 -
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.)

Then start being cheerful. It may take more determination than anything you've ever done before, but God will give you the strength to do it. He'll give you the power to be cheerful in the middle of the most ungodly darkness the devil can bring up.

Instead of crying out in desperation, take a faith stand. Sing and rejoice and praise God for your deliverance. Be of good cheer and you can be sure God will bring you through the storm just fine!

- Kenneth Copeland
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The Splinter
- from MountainWings

Once there was a man who thought to cross America on foot.
He bought a map of the USA and carefully plotted out his course.
He would take the back roads and walk from morning till night,
viewing the beautiful land all around him as he went, stopping
at wayside inns and spending the night, rising the next morning
to begin his journey again.

On the morning of the beginning of his journey, he walked
outside on his porch and viewed the beautiful sunrise.

As he headed back into his house, his foot caught on a loose
board and a splinter wedged in the ball of his right foot.
The man sat down and lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter,
"Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"

Rising, he went inside and finished preparing for his journey.
Heavy socks and thick walking shoes were to be his protection
against the hard earth. T-shirt and shorts would be his main
clothing. A backpack with a change of clothes and trail mix, a
map and plans for the trip, identification and a first aid kit
along with various other items completed his gear. A full belly
and plenty of sunscreen and he was off on his journey.

The man had not gone very far from home when he started to limp.
The splinter seemed to grow larger and larger. But the man was
determined and continued on his way.

That night he stopped at a little Bed and Breakfast Inn and got
a room for the night. After eating supper at a local diner, he
prepared for the morning before going to sleep. Finishing his
shower, the man sat on the side of his bed, lifted his right
foot and yelled at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot!
Out, I say!" And then he went to bed.

The following morning, the man rose up and started dressing for
the day. He lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter, "Out!
Get out of my foot! Out, I say!" Then he renewed his journey.

The sun rose with a spectacular view as the world shimmered
awake, but the man limped by with his eyes on his right foot,
glancing up only now and then, missing a lot of the views.

The roadside bloomed in wonderful shades of blues, greens, reds,
yellows, purples, oranges and burgundies. Rabbits hopped and
deer cropped in the fields all around. The birds sang and flew
all around the man, but he was unaware. The splinter was bigger
now, of that he was sure, as big as a two by four or maybe
more.

The sunset came that evening in glorious hues of purples, reds,
oranges and blues, but the man did not notice. He focused on the
painful throbbing of his right foot.

His mornings and nights started rolling together as the splinter
grew and grew and grew, and his limp got bigger and bigger and
bigger. His views got smaller and smaller as he focused more and
more on his right foot.

Each morning and each night, the man would lift his foot and yell
at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"

Halfway across America he went, inch by painful inch. Finally he
could stand it no longer, caught a bus and went home.

Calling his best friend along the way to tell him he was coming
home, the man settled into the swaying of the bus. Every so
often, he would take off his right shoe, remove his right sock
and yell at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"

Home at last, the man limped down his driveway to find his best
friend waiting for him on his doorstep. All excited, his friend
asked him about what he had seen, where he had gone and what he
had done.

The man had nothing to tell him but the splinter that was lodged
in his right foot. It hurt so much that he didn't feel like
looking at the view. It hurt so much that he didn't feel like
walking, much less going anywhere special. It hurt so much that
he didn't feel like doing anything exciting. It hurt so much
that he came home with his journey incomplete.

Then his friend asked the man,

"Why didn't you remove the splinter?"

So many times in life, we let splinters get in our way.
Instead of removing them and enjoying the rest of our journey,
we simply yell at them thinking they will respond to our
complaining and fussing. Then we cut the trip short.

What splinters do you carry?

~ Author Unknown ~
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Take Charge of Your Emotions

Take Charge of Your Emotions

The danger of failing to manage your emotions is enormous. If you respond to a slight (real or imagined) negatively, it is possible not only to turn a friend into an enemy, but also to damage your own soul—and body.  Even storing “bad” things in memory and recounting them can harm your health.

Of course, the rewards of self-control are also spiritual and eternal. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

And Ecclesiastes 7:9 warns us, “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

The good news is that it is possible for you to change your habits and control your emotions, regardless of how deeply embedded those habits may be.

· Watch out for negative feelings such as fear, anger, worry, resentment, and jealousy—and refuse to give in to them. Concentrate on the positive emotions and attitudes of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, and self-control (Galatians 5:22).

· When you do become angry or tense, do something to distract yourself. Go for a walk or run. Listen to soothing music. Do some deep breathing exercises. Relax. Cool down!

· Use the resources of your faith. Keep a Bible close by. And, remember, prayer works for every mood.

· Mentally picture the advantages of being in control of your emotions. Then, with God’s help, start being in control!

The Power of Attitude

From The Power of Attitude
by Mac Anderson

The Good News Girl

Recently, I stopped by a convenience store to get a newspaper and a pack of gum. The young woman at the check-out counter said, "That'll be five dollars please," and as I reached into my wallet, the thought occurred to me that a newspaper and gum didn't quite make it to five dollars.

When I looked up to get a "re-quote", she had a big smile on her face and said, "Gotcha! I got to get my tip in there somehow!" I laughed when I knew I'd been had. She then glanced down at the paper I was buying and said, "I'm sick and tired of all this negative stuff on the front pages. I want to read some good news for a change."

She then said, "In fact, I think someone should just publish a Good News newspapera paper with wonderful, inspirational stories about people overcoming adversity and doing good things for others. I'd buy one every day!" She then thanked me for coming in and said, "Maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow; maybe we'll get some good news," and she laughed. She made my day.

The following day after my business appointments, I dropped by the same store again to pick up bottled water, but a different young lady was behind the counter. As I checked out I said, "Good afternoon," and handed her my money for the water. She said nothingnot a word, not a smile...nothing. She just handed me my change and in a negative tone, ordered..."Next!"

It hit me right between the eyes: Two people, same age; one made me feel great, and the other, well, made me feel that I had inconvenienced her by showing up.

By the choices we make, by the attitudes we exhibit, we are influencing lives every day in positive or negative ways...our family, our peers, our friends, and even strangers we've never met before and will never meet again.

So when you brush your teeth every morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself this important question, "Who do I want to be today?" "The Grouch" or "The Good News Girl?" Your answer will go a long way toward determining your success in business and in life.

What can we do to develop and maintain a positive approach to life? I wrote The Power of Attitude with that in mind.

This is one of 28 short chapters in my book, The Power of Attitude. It was written to give you that little "shot of inspiration" when you need it most.

It is my hope that this book will be a useful tool in helping you:

  • Manage your energy levels
  • Keep your soul alive
  • Take new paths
  • Reduce stress
  • Develop the "Human Touch"
  • Attack your fears
  • Live in awe
  • Savor small successes
  • Burn brightly without burning out
  • Hang on when the storms blow through

Attitudes are contagious, and from time to time, we need to ask yourselves..."is mine worth catching?"

Keep this book handy and whenever you feel a little down, pick it up and read a few pages. I guarantee it will make you feel better for the journey ahead.

All the best,

Mac Anderson