An Angel Wrote.....

Many people will walk in and out or your life,

but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.

 

To handle yourself, use your head,

To handle others, use your heart.

 

Anger is only one letter short of danger.

 

If someone betrays you once, it's his fault.

If he betrays you twice, it's your fault.

 

Great minds discuss ideas;

Average minds discuss events;

Small minds discuss people.

 

God gives every bird its food,

but He does not throw it into its nest.

 

He who loses money, loses much;

He who loses a friend, loses more;

He who loses faith, loses all.

 

Beautiful young people are acts of nature,

but beautiful old people are works of art.

 

Learn from the mistakes of others.

You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

 

The tongue weighs practically nothing,

but so few people can hold it.

 

Friends, you and me ... you brought another friend...and then there were

3 ... we started our group...

Our circle of friends ... and like the circle ... there's no beginning

 

... there is no end.

Three Strangers

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

 

"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.

 

"No", she said. "He's out."

 

"Then we cannot come in", they replied.

 

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

 

"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in.

 

"We do not go into a House together," they replied.

 

"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

 

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success and I am Love."  Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

 

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed.  "How nice!!", he said,  "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

 

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

 

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

 

"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."

 

The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."

 

Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success:

 

"I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"

 

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.  Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!"

 

 

Your Cross

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."

 

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

 

The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed, and he did as he was told.

 

Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered

 

And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

 

When life's problems seem overwhelming, it helps to look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself far more fortunate than you imagined. YOUR CROSS Whatever your cross, whatever your pain. There will always be sunshine after the rain. Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall, But God's always there.

 

I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the

Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip he who watches over you will not slumber. Psalm 121:1

 

 

This Is Good

The story is told of a king who had a close friend with whom he grew up.  The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

 

One day the king and his friend were on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. In preparing one of the guns, the friend had apparently done something wrong, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

 

Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

 

About a year later, the king was hunting in a dangerous area. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to it.  As they approached to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So after untying the king, they sent him on his way.

 

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend.  He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.  You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off."  And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long.  It was bad for me to do this."

 

"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"

 

"What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

 

"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

 

Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of God is clear. If we love him and live our lives according to his precepts, even that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory and our benefit.  Hold on...God is faithful!

 

THE LESSON OF THE COFFEE BEAN

It's been quite a while since I've posted. Since losing my job in January, my fulltime job has been looking for another job! I would be lying if I didn't say it's been discouraging. I've had a few interviews, one where I even felt like I might get the job, but nothing has materialized so far. I've lost my health insurance and unemployment has not kicked in yet. I am trying very hard to fight off depression, but Satan keeps on getting up in my face telling me that I didn't deserve what happened to me. Perhaps from man's standpoint, I didn't. But it is God's standpoint that matters! The one thing that I have got to remember is that God doesn't put on us more than we can bear (Corinthians 10:13) and that he always provides all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

That leads me to the following post and reminds me that my genuine faith in the Lord will keep me strong and He is going to see me through yet another trial that I must go through.

The Lesson of the Coffee Bean

A daughter complained to her father about how hard things were for her. "As soon as I solve one problem," she said, "another on e comes up. I'm tired of struggling."

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen where he filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second, eggs, and in the last, ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After a while, he went over and turned off the burners. He fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He poured the coffee into a bowl. Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee, " she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted its rich flavor.

 

She asked, "What does it mean, Father?" He explained that each of them had faced the same diversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg was fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling water, they changed the water.

He asked his daughter, "When adversity knocks on your door, which are you?"

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you will have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us."
Romans 8:31-39 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us al-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long: we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
1Peter 4:1 "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin."

 

God Knows Just What You Need

A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter.

Upon returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She didn't know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do.

The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help.

Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?"

He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than one minute the car was opened.

She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."

The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison yesterday. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out less than 24 hours."

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"

God may not always send us what we expect, but He will always send us what we need. It's up to us to have the wisdom to recognize the difference and be thankful.

 

One Thing to Never Forget......

Your presence, is a present to the world. 

You're unique and one of a kind.

Your life can be, what you want it to be.

Take the days, just one at a time.
 

Count your blessings, not your troubles.

You'll make it through, whatever comes along.

Within you, are so many answers.

Understand, have courage, be strong.
 

Don't put limits on yourself.

So many dreams, are waiting to be realized.

Decisions are too important, to leave to chance.

Reach for your peak, your goal and your prize.

 
Nothing wastes more energy, than worrying.

The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.

Don't take things too seriously.

Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
 

Remember, that a little love goes a long way.

Remember, that a lot of love goes forever.

Remember, that friendship is a wise investment.

Life's treasures, are people... together.
 

Realize, that it's never too late.

Do ordinary things, in a extraordinary way.

Have health, hope and happiness.

Take the time, to wish upon a star.

 
And don't ever forget....

For even a day....

How very special you are.