inspirational readings...

contains off-topic and miscellaneous discussions on anything and everything other than audio -- jokes, inspirational articles.

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Postby vintage_dog » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:14 pm

There was an atheist couple who had a child. The couple never told their daughter anything about the Lord. One night when the little girl was 5 years old, the parents fought with each other and the dad shot the Mom, right in front of the child. Then, the dad shot himself. The little girl watched it all. She then was sent to a foster home. The foster mother was a Christian and took the child to church. On the first day of Sunday School, the foster mother told the teacher that the girl had never heard of Jesus, and to have patience with her. The teacher held up a picture of Jesus and said, "Does anyone know who this is?" The little girl said, "I do, that's the man who was holding me the night my parents died."

........
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says. (Or is it scary?)

Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).

Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.

Funny how we can go to church for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week. (Are you laughing?)

Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me. (Are you thinking?)

Yes, I do LoveGod!
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Quotes

Postby vacuumtubes » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:55 am

A Successful Man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A Successful Woman is one who can find such a man. :wink:
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Postby Quiel » Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:34 pm

SACRIFICE PLAY
Author Unknown
Jul 5 2006


In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire
school career, while others can be main streamed into conventional schools.

At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all that attended. After
extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son Jerry?

Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts
and figures as other children do. Where is God's perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the father
answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that He seeks is in the way people react to this child."

He then told the following story about his son Jerry:

One afternoon Jerry and his father walked past a park where some boys Jerry knew were playing baseball. Jerry asked, "Do you think they will
let me play?" Jerry's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team. But Jerry's father
understood that if his son were chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.

Jerry's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Jerry could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his
teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning Jerry's father was ecstatic as Jerry smiled broadly. Jerry was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jerry's team scored a few runs but was still behind
by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jerry's team scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning
run on base, Jerry was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually let Jerry bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Jerry was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Jerry didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Jerry stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Jerry should at
least be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and Jerry swung clumsily and missed. One of Jerry's teammates came up to Jerry and
together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball
softly toward Jerry.

As the pitch came in, Jerry and his teammate swung the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the
soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Jerry would have been out and that would have ended the game.
Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.

Everyone started yelling, "Jerry, run to first. Run to first!" Never in his life had Jerry run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide
eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman that
would tag out Jerry, who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second."

Jerry ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.

As Jerry reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Jerry rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming,

"Jerry run."

Jerry ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand
slam" and won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."
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Something to remind us of Him and His power

Postby usai » Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:23 pm

Ten Guidelines From God
>
>Effective Immediately,
>please be aware that there are changes YOU need
>to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be
>completed in order that I may fulfill My promises
>to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in
>this life. I apologize for any inconvenience,
>but after all that I am doing, this seems very
>little to ask of you. Please, follow
>these 10 guidelines
>
>
>1. QUIT WORRYING:
>Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit
>and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here
>to take all your burdens and carry them for you?
>Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little
>thing that comes your way?
>
>
>2. PUT IT ON THE LIST:
>Something needs done or taken care of. Put it
>on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY
>to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care
>of the problem. I can't help you until you turn
>it over to Me. And although My to-do-list
>is long, I am after all... God. I can take care
>of anything you put into My hands. In fact,
>if the truth were ever really known, I take
>care of a lot of things for you that you never
>even realize.
>
>
>3. TRUST ME:
>Once you've given your burdens to Me,
>quit trying to take them back. Trust in
>Me. Have the faith that I will take care of
>all your needs, your problems and your trials.
>Problems with the kids? Put them on My list.
>Problem with finances? Put it on My list.
>Problems with your emotional roller coaster ?
>For My sake, put it on My list. I want to
>help you. All you have to do is ask.
>
>
>
>4. LEAVE IT ALONE:
>Don't wake up one morning and say,
>"Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think
>I can handle it from here." Why do you think
>you are feeling stronger now? It's simple.
>You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking
>care of them. I also renew your strength
>and cover you in my peace. Don't you
>know that if I give you these problems back,
>you will be right back where you started?
>Leave them with Me and forget about
>them. Just let Me do my job.
>
>
>
>5. TALK TO ME:
>I want you to forget a lot of things.
>Forget what was making you crazy.
>Forget the worry and the fretting because
>you know I'm in control. But there's one
>thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't
>forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU!
>I want to hear your voice. I want you to
>include Me in on the things going on in your life.
>I want to hear you talk about your friends
>and family. Prayer is simply you having
>a conversation with Me. I want to be your
>dearest friend.
>
>
>
>6. HAVE FAITH:
>I see a lot of things from up here that you
>can't see from where you are. Have faith in
>Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me;
>you wouldn't want the view from My eyes.
>I will continue to care for you, watch over you,
>and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me.
>
>
>Although I have a much bigger task than you,
>it seems as if you have so much trouble just
>doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?
>
>
>7. SHARE:
>You were taught to share when you were
>only two years old. When did you forget?
>That rule still applies. Share with those who are
>less fortunate than you. Share your joy with
>those who need encouragement. Share your
>laughter with those who haven't heard any in
>such a long time. Share your tears with those
>who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith
>with those who have none.
>
>
>
>8. BE PATIENT:
>I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime
>you could have so many diverse experiences.
>You grow from a child to an adult, have children,
>change jobs many times, learn many trades,
>travel to so many places, meet thousands
>of people, and experience so much. How can
>you be so impatient then when it takes Me
>a little longer than you expect to handle
>something on My to-do-list? Trust in My
>timing, for My timing is perfect. Just
>because I created the entire universe in
>only six days, everyone thinks I should
>always rush, rush, rush.
>
>
>
>9. BE KIND:
>Be kind to others, for I love them just
>as much as I love you. They may not dress
>like you, or talk like you, or live the same way
>you do, but I still love you all. Please try
>to get along, for My sake. I created each
>of you different in some way. It would be
>too boring if you were all identical.
>Please, know I love each of your differences.
>
>
>
>10. LOVE YOURSELF:
>As much as I love you, how can you not
>love yourself? You were created by me for
>one reason only -- to be loved, and to love
>in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me.
>Love your neighbors. But also love yourself.
>It makes My heart ache when I see you
>so angry with yourself when things go
>wrong. You are very precious to me.
>Don't ever forget......
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Postby Quiel » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:03 am

Got this from email. Not really inspirational, quite disturbing or stimulating ( :?: ) in fact, but relevant thread nonetheless...

A Stygian Lifeboat:

One of Alfred Hitchcock's most memorable films was his 1944 classic Lifeboat, which depicted eight survivors adrift in a boat after their ship had been sunk by a Nazi submarine. Their story is one of courage, self-sacrifice, and Christian charity in the face of tremendous odds. Working together helped them survive their terrible ordeal.

The Horns of a Dilemma
Moral perceptions have greatly changed since 1944. Fewer than 30 years after Lifeboat, liberal Catholic Martin Sheen starred in The Last Survivors. After a typhoon had sunk his ship, Sheen assumed command of a lifeboat, bursting at the seams with survivors. The boat is in serious danger of floundering and possibly losing everyone. Sheen is forced to play God, and decide who may remain in the boat and who would be cast overboard. These hard decisions impaled him on the horns of dilemma. He arbitrarily establishes a natural selection: human value. The elderly are the first to be jettisoned, followed by the weak and unfit. In an over-crowded lifeboat, an elite of scientists, intellectuals, and authority figures always seem to head the survivors' list.
For an historical parallel, one need only look to Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. One of Hitler's first acts in purifying the German race was the elimination of all useless eaters; the weak, the elderly, and the infirm because they were sinking the Nazi lifeboat. His notorious T-4 Program in 1939 euthanized over 250,000 Germans. The program's success served as a bellwether for the Final Solution to the Jewish problem.
This Naziesque attitude is now current in the West. To leftist environmentalists the world is a big lifeboat, bursting at the seams with unnecessary humanity. The earth's resources are limited. The world is running out of petroleum, water, and all the resources to sustain life. Led by such disoriented neo-Malthusians, like Paul Ehrlich, Green Marxists have preached a gospel of death and the annihilation of the world's useless population. Birth control, abortion, global plagues, a DDT ban, and wars are mere tools in their store of destruction.

The Boatman of Death
Garrett Hardin, Professor Emeritus of Ecology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, coined the term Lifeboat Ethics. He believed rich nations were lifeboats and the sea around them filled with poor people who would swamp the boat if helped. Government leaders should stifle their better angels and deny aid to the world's poor people. Hardin is more akin to a modern Charon, the Stygian boatman of death who ferried souls across the Underworld's River Styx.
Hardin's lifeboat metaphor has infected many schools and universities. Ethics teachers and moral philosophies have established numerous examples of life's difficult choices that involve railroad tracks, trolleys, shipwrecks and inadequate food. In each case, there is a hierarchy of human values that decides the tough moral choices. In each example, innocent people must perish or be violated for the greater social good. Some of the euphemisms which hide the immorality of their twisted examples include altruistic adultery, sacrificial suicide, and merciful murder. Some cases even favorably countered the family pet against total strangers. Such exercises reduce objective morality to a situation ethic that customizes moral choices to one's life style and personal needs.

The River of History
Communists and many Liberals also deny absolute truth. They will never admit human nature exists. They think mankind can be sculpted and molded like clay. Their solemn vow to change human nature is written in a century of violence and 170-million dead.
The ancients knew better. Greek philosopher and the Father of History, Heraclitus, wrote that history is like a river, which flows through time. Paradoxically the river is always changing yet remains the same river. While there have been many variations in governments, cultural attitudes, language, style, and technologies, the one constant has been the inner struggle that is evident in each and every human being. It is the universal tug of war between good and evil.
Pagan Indian tribes have portrayed this inherent trait as two wolves, the one representing peace, love and honor and the other hate, greed and lust. When asked which one wins, the answer is the one you feed. St. Paul revealed the same moral civil war in Romans 7:19 For I do not the good I want but the evil I do not want. The Catholic Church has called this innate quality original sin, an attraction for evil, present in everyone.

Moral Cracks
During the long reign of the Catholic Church in Europe, moral issues were more black and white. Of course there was hypocrisy, some bad popes and inconsistent thinking, but until the 16th century, morality was objective. The writings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized that the laws of God were written in the hearts of each and every human being. Men would be judged for all eternity by their ability to follow the dictates of their consciences, formed by these natural laws.
With the advent of the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther's ideas about the absolute freedom of conscience, the first crack in the dike of faith appeared. Luther's notions gradually clouded the teaching of absolute morality, leading to a more subjective understanding of sin and punishment. The comprehension of what was right and wrong evolved into a choice of one's own truth and one's own morality.
Another fissure in the Christian moral edifice surfaced in 1513 with the publication of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. He observed that his political contemporaries lived by the maxim of I must kill you before you kill me. He concluded that since the Italians of his day were morally weak, cowards, or poor, traditional rules had to be altered. Machiavelli's ideal prince could be decent, and principled but he must never let his principles get in the way of the evil he must do to preserve himself and his state. His cardinal rule had to be the ends always ratified whatever means be must employ. According to Arthur Hippler, in The Wanderer Newspaper, Machiavelli was the first Western thinker to promote the idea that moral evil is necessary for political good. One need only view most American Catholic politicians to witness how prevalent his ideas have become.

Winds of Doctrine
Following the lead of several of his papal predecessors, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger set the course of his papacy with his homily on April 18, 2005. In it he condemned the many dangerous ideological currents that have tossed the small boat thought of many Christians on waves of Marxism, liberalism, collectivism, radical individualism and . . . a vague religious mysticism. Echoing St. Paul's warnings to the Ephesians (4:14-16) the future pope (now Pope Benedict XVI) stressed that we must no longer be children, tossed to and fro carried about by every wind of doctrine. Every day new sects are created, underscoring St. Paul's warning to beware of the human trickery, which tries to draw those into error. This has inevitably ensconced the world in a dictatorship of relativism, threatening the foundations of moral truth.
This dictatorship is especially true of the United States. Moral relativism has emerged as the ruling heart of secularism and has permeated every aspect of American culture. Cardinal Ratzinger recognized this in his book, Truth and Tolerance, when he referred to Egyptologist Jan Assmann, who claims that it was Moses who introduced the notion of truth into religion and insisted that the Jews reject all false idols. According to Assmann, Moses' destruction of the Golden Calf was responsible monotheistic intolerance. He falsely asserts that it was the Jewish religion that introduced intolerance for the liberal virtues of diversity, tolerance, mutual respect, and civil peace, which is in direct contrast to organized religion, and brings on wars and persecutions. In order to understand how wrong Assmann is, one need only cite the surfeit of liberal hate crime legislation, designed to squelch any criticism of government's protections for its favored minorities.

Nose of the Camel
Today the freedom of conscience combined with Machiavelli's scandalous promotion of evil actions are necessary for political good are the dominant philosophical underpinnings of American secularism. No place is more evident than in the moral clash over the life issues: abortion, euthanasia, and Embryonic Stem Cell Research. The abortion movement, which attached its lucky star to the comet of the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, has been saturated with freedom of conscience and the good end justification since then. In a self-indulgent culture, the idea of choice resonates well with millions of Americans, especially women who have bought the radical feminist message of the Cultural Marxists.
The logic, morality, or even the rhetoric of the right to an abortion has been never challenged or explored by its advocates. No thought is ever given to what is chosen. It started with an emphasis on the tough cases, the small percentage of unwanted pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest. These cases, which accounted for less than 1%, were the nose of the camel that eventually opened the flap for abortion on demand. For some 33 years and 42-million unborn dead in this country, the ends justifying the means rhetoric has held fast, despite the public's growing unease with unrestricted abortions.
With the precedent of abortion rights firmly entrenched within the cultural, social and legal American edifice, the proponents of the culture of death moved on to the country's elderly population. The rhetoric of personal choice and heroic ends has the same resonance. Only the targets have changed. The elderly have been conditioned to feel like a burden to their children and to society. Fear of disability and pain, plus the inevitable loss of youth and vitality, makes their lives seem meaningless and desperate. Right to Die movements, with their assisted suicides, especially in Oregon, will inevitably lead to involuntary euthanasia, which is gaining momentum around the world.
The latest and potentially most outrageous issue has been Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Under the mere promise of a cure for many dreaded diseases from Parkinson's, ALS, paralysis, diabetes, Alzheimer's and others, a new line has been drawn in the sand. Billions of dollars of government grants have been wasted without any track record of success. To deceive the public these purveyors of false scientific hope cruelly parade victims or relatives of these dreaded diseases, such as Nancy Reagan, the late Christopher Reeve, and actor Michael J. Fox, who has been suffering from Parkinson's for years.
The unpublicized truth of this stilted debate is that Adult Stem Cells, procurement and use are perfectly moral, have track records of helping and even curing victims of at least 66 diseases. But since they involve no tampering with the delegated powers of creation, it is not attractive to those who have replaced the Christian ethic with what Ann Coulter calls a Godless Religion, one that is powered by a Stygian lifeboat.

A Civil Union
The entertainment industry has adopted freedom of conscience and the good end justification. Ironically it was the lawlessness of the 1960s and early 1970s that produced the vigilante film. These films celebrated loners, portrayed by actors Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson, who circumvented the bureaucratic facade of law and order to protect their families and society from the leftist decisions of Supremacist judges. Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies lionized Harry Callahan who was tired of seeing his good police work undone by liberal judges and his stiff bureaucratic superiors. He constantly disregarded their authority by any means possible, even defiantly killing some of the criminals he encountered. Charles Bronson was a private citizen whose family had been violated by a gang of thugs who danced around justice and punishment with ease and dexterity. In the Death Wish quadrilogy, the public and the police silently applauded his acts of deadly retribution.
No current television series better demonstrates the civil union of Luther's free conscience and Machiavelli's wrong means to good ends, than the extremely popular 24, starring Keifer Sutherland. Over the course of its five seasons, the show has moved slowly toward the abyss of moral nihilism. Inspired by 9/11, Sutherland plays the refractory Jack Bauer, who works for a fictitious government agency CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit). In the course of his service, Bauer has faced national threats such as nuclear bombs, the release of a deadly virus, and the sabotage of American nuclear plants. He has broken every moral rule in the book. This antinomian hero is a modern Prometheus unbound from any conventional idea of moral order, except the seriously pragmatic goal of protecting his family and saving the world. In relentless pursuit of his goal, Bauer has tortured, even murdered suspects, done drugs, robbed and terrorized citizens — all in the name of the greater good. In one gruesome episode, he executed one of his CTU superiors on the command of a virus-toting terrorist. Under the guise of entertainment, the immoral attitudes of shows, like 24, have subtlety dulled the American people's sensitivity to what is right and wrong.

A Rock in a Poisoned River
Arguments that promise cures, safety or an easier life are attractive to all human beings — even devout Catholics. The secret is to recognize the insidious nature of these seductive arguments and focus on the moral principle that one can never do evil to effect good. The first rule of moral choice is what pagan medical pioneer Hippocrates urged: first do no harm!
St. Thomas Aquinas wrestled with this moral quandary over 500 years ago and arrived at the principle of the double effect, which has helped alleviate much of the anguish over such human responses. Not to be misconstrued as a compromise with moral evil, his underlying principle is that if an action has two results, one of which is good and the other which is evil, the action may be performed if the evil effect is not intended. Self-defense of individuals, families, and states flows from his saintly reasoning. Church teachings, based on St. Thomas, have allowed governments, soldiers, and private citizens to morally defend themselves against invasions, criminals and personal assaults. No anti-abortionist can ever take the life of abortionists, even though it would save countless lives. A soldier or civilian who throws his body on a grenade or flies his plane into an on-coming torpedo may do so, only to save the lives of others, not to end his own life.
Truly the greatest and most frequent temptations revolve around one's family. How many parents have assisted or looked the other way when their daughter sought the services of an abortionist, or their son married outside the Church. How many have accepted the shacking up before marriage?
All of the above underscores the fact why it is imperative that absolute moral truth never be eliminated from democratic rule. Otherwise the country will be doomed to follow the moral behavior dictated by moral pragmatism and hegemonic power. Catholics and all moral minded people must eschew the temptations of today's culture and remain firm in their beliefs, like rocks in a poisoned river of relativism.
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CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS

Postby mojo_jhelo » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:30 am

CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about
what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in
vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or
that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often
too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over
time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern,
find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety . If
you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary
purchases.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house
key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can
prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your
quality of life.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small
problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try
and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is
often a good "Thank you Jesus."

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best
they can).

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the
universe.

36 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for
that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING
THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
(Romans 8:31)

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26)
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The Price of Children

Postby mojo_jhelo » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:55 am

The Price of Children

I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child,but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch tertiary education.
But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm bickies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with lollies or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies
* wish on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a football team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

>You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren !!!!!!!

It's the best investment you'll make

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
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The Greatest Advice

Postby mojo_jhelo » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:35 am

THE GREATEST ADVICE
Rick Warren, the Purpose Driven Life

Don't date because you are desperate.
Don't marry because you are miserable.
Don't have kids because you think your genes are superior.
Don't philander because you think you are irresistible.

Don't associate with people you can't trust.
Don't cheat. Don't lie. Don't pretend.
Don't dictate because you are smarter.
Don't demand because you are stronger.

Don't sleep around because you think you are old enough & know better.
Don't hurt your kids because loving them is harder.
Don't sell yourself, your family, or your ideals.
Don't stagnate!

Don't regress.
Don't live in the past. Time can't bring anything or anyone back.
Don't put your life on hold for possibly Mr. Right.
Don't throw your life away on absolutely Mr. Wrong because your
biological clock is ticking.

Learn a new skill.
Find a new friend.
Start a new career.
Sometimes, there is no race to be won, only a price to be paid for some
of life's more hasty decisions.

To terminate your loneliness, reach out to the homeless.
To feed your nurturing instincts, care for the needy.
To fulfill your parenting fantasies, get a puppy.
Don't bring another life into this world for all the wrong reasons.

To make yourself happy, pursue your passions & be the best of what you
can be.
Simplify your life. Take away the clutter.
Get rid of destructive elements: abusive friends, nasty habits, and
dangerous liaisons.
Don't abandon your responsibilities but don't overdose on duty.

Don't live life recklessly without thought and feeling for your family.
Be true to yourself.
Don't commit when you are not ready.
Don't keep others waiting needlessly.

Go on that trip. Don't postpone it.
Say those words. Don't let the moment pass.
Do what you have to, even at society's scorn.
Write poetry.
Love Deeply.
Walk barefoot.
Dance with wild abandon.
Cry at the movies.

Take care of yourself. Don't wait for someone to take care of you.
You light up your life.
You drive yourself to your destination.
No one completes you - except YOU.

It isn't true that life does not get easier with age.
It only gets more challenging.
Don't be afraid. Don't lose your capacity to love.
Pursue your passions.

Live your dreams.
Don't lose faith in God.
Don't grow old. Just grow YOU!

When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your
life that you'll never get back.
Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give to
someone is your time.
Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is
T-I-M-E because the essence of love is not what we think or do or
provide for others, but how much we give of ourselves.

God is good all the time!
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Postby B747 » Fri Nov 24, 2006 12:58 am

LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY

Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons from Karnataka. He is known not just for building the biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity. Almost every important dignitary visits Infosys campus.
He delivered an interesting speech during an employee session with another IT company in India. He is incidentally, one of the top 50 Influencial people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session :

"LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU"

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more.
Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the
long term is harmful to the person and to the organization.

There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit.
Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue.
Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others.

I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.
Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them.

Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.
As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office.

First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides! people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday.

Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt,play with your kids, etc.
5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.

Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts.
They are hard for some of us because that requires 'personal change'.
They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son.
When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no m! atter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss something.

Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares.
He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office.

The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening.

That is life !! Things happen 24 hours a day.
Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap.
Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will have the energy to catch
up when you wake.

Hence...

" LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY"
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Would you take this job? (assuming it's a pay increase)

Postby Quiel » Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:38 pm

may be more of reflection reading than inspirational

What Matters
CTALK By Cito Beltran
The Philippine Star 02/09/2007


Having opted to live a less stressful lifestyle away from the limelight
or the Rat Race, it's but normal for people who made the choice, to
sometimesvwonder if they did the right thing.

They experience pangs of guilt about being under employed, less
productive and certainly reduced in their income potential. While everyone else is BUSY making a LIVING, you ask yourself if it's a mature thing to be at home or semi-retired at the farm.

Are you wasting all your God-given talents raising kids, growing your
own food, or simply living on very little money and simple needs? Shou
ldn't you be involved in today's politics, today's technology? And are your
friends right about saying "Sayang Ka"?

Last month, a friend called me about an opening in a major corporation
that was paying P300,000 a month, all the perks, and even a brand new Volvo. My friend asked me how I would react if the job was offered to me since I was very qualified.

It took me all of 5 seconds to tell her I wouldn't accept it.

To begin with P100,000 would certainly end up with the government as
taxes. That would leave me with only P200,000.

To earn that, I would have to be at work by eight everyday, instead of
coming up with imaginative tricks to wake up my daughter like placing
her puppy in her bed, or simply standing over her watching this angelic
child in her field of dreams.

I would have to eat breakfast by six, leave the house by 6:30 . That
means no more breakfast conversations with my wife and certainly an end to our morning prayers not just for us but for family and friends.

From the P200,000, I would have to spend at least P20,000 a month or
10% of net to pay for gasoline driving the brand new Volvo to office everyday.

So in effect, I would only be earning P180,000 or even less. Not to
mention that my friends who sell Mercedes Benzes, Jaguars, etc. would brand me as a traitor.

From the net salary of +/- P180,000, I would have to give up the lunch
I have with my wife 3 to 4 times a week at home.

Instead my power of choice adds another burden where I would have to
decide daily where in the business district I ought to have lunch, merienda if needed, and from time to time even dinner. I would have to choose from a menu instead of whipping up something in my kitchen.

When you add up the bill, plus service charge, plus VAT you can easily
average another P20,000 in expenses. Which means, that what we
originally thought would be a net income of P200,000 has now gone down to P160,000.

In the absence of maintenance you can enter about P10,000 as your
average monthly repair bill for labor and materials. So now, you discover
you're only earning P150,000 a month.

Instead of being in a HOME I own, I will have to try to be "at home" in
an office where I will be spending more of my "awake time". This finally
solves the puzzle; why do we always fill our offices with personal
stuff which we will have to take home in a box when we retire, resign or get fired?

From having my independence and personal views, I would then have a
real live flesh and bones Boss (because of what I thought was P200,000 a
month salary) can tell me how to jump! Someone who's seniority or proprietary rights automatically makes him right even if he's stupid.

Because you now have to spend most of the time at the office or behind
a desk, you can't do your regular walk in the park or jog around the
village which is also your bonding time with your spouse, your kids, or your dogs. You either join a gym or get a personal trainer.

When you total fees, travel, and outfits, your monthly fitness bill
would be around P5,000 which means your net pay just went down to P145,000 a month or less than half the original offered salary.

My dear wife reminds me to include clothing and image-related
expenditures specially for women. The clothes, the make-up, the jewelry, as well as the business accessories such as the laptop loaded with Vistas program, the latest cell phones, iPod etc.

Even if you paid all of that on installment for 24 months, it would be
in the area of P20,000 a month which further reduces your income to
P125,000 a month.

The problem with this major part of the expense is many people
mistakenly call them necessary investments, professional expense, but don't see them as deductions from PERSONAL wealth.

It would also mean, not sharing the responsibility of taking our child
to school, missing out on small talk that tell you big things in
children's minds, and dropping out on all the parent-child activities.

I would also nullify all the adjustments we made in the last 5 years
where we integrated home life with work in order to be more of a family than employees with a family.

Speaking of home life, anyone who spends a lot of time at work can
testify that in your absence you will have to hire a full crew to do all the
maintenance and repair you use to prevent or do yourself when you spend
time at home.

In your absence, who's going to fix leaking roofs, flooded toilets,
busted aircons, creaking doors, or all the usual things REAL MEN with real
tools do?

If I actually went out to get the job that pays P300,000 plus a brand
new Volvo, it would have cost me breakfasts with my wife, trips to school
with my daughter, morning talks and prayers with God, affirmation of my role as husband, father. I would be relinquishing responsibility for my house, as well as my home.

What we've done is determine what really matters, what and how much we really need, give up what we don't need or care for and trust in God
and not in men.

This is what I call real life cost-benefit analysis. To make an
accounting of what we think we're getting against what we know we're losing. Sometimes earning more actually costs more.
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Postby AA 1 » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:01 am

Here’s The Truth: You’re Only Limited By Your Love
& Imagination!
By Bo Sanchez

Many people ask me how I’m able to do all that I do.

Let me give you an idea of my responsibilities… (Warning: Some people actually feel tired just reading this list, so take a deep breath…)

I lead 4 ministry organizations. I speak in a daily Radio show, a weekly TV program, and a daily video show at www.preacherinbluejeans.com Each year, I churn out 3 books, produce 4 audio/video teaching series, and write more than 200+ articles. I publish 7 magazines, maintain 4 websites, send out my online newsletter and write my blog at this website. I lead a “virtual” community called the Kerygma Family and oversee an incredible “sales force” called the Kerygma Ambassadors. I also travel extensively, preaching 300+ times a year all over the Philippines and around the world—leading retreats, seminars, and prayer rallies. I also am proud to say that I read all my email and respond to most of them.

As if these aren’t enough, there are a “few” personal things that I do…

I run a homeschool center to help parents learn how to homeschool their kids (If you’re interested, log onto www.catholicfilipinoacademy.com) I lead a financial consultancy organization to teach Filipinos how to save for their future. I operate a tiny organic farm, a real estate business, and manage a few more small businesses. (Plus, my 7-year old boy still has his Bangus business, and he’s hired me to be his marketing consultant.)

Of course, I’m fanatical about spending time with my family. I play with my sons everyday and still bring my beautiful wife once a week in a romantic date. We also have 4 family vacations every year, and 2 of those vacations are long 2-week trips!

And each year, I read 3 books a week, listen to the same number of audio books, and each year read thousands of magazine and internet articles.

Oh, before I forget, let me mention that I hop on a stationary bike one hour a day.

How do I do all these things?

Let me share with you five principles…

Key #1:
Believe You’re Bigger

It’s common fact that we only use 10% of our brain’s capacity.

Can you believe that? We’re wasting 90% of what God has given to us!

I believe God has given us more capacities than we think we have.

The ultimate crime is that we belittle ourselves.

We think we’re insects, so we live an insect life, but actually—we’re giants!

Because of this, I believe you can earn a ten times more than whatever you’re earning right now. You can help ten times the number of people you’re helping now. You can serve ten times more than whatever service you’re doing now.

Don’t limit yourself.

You’re bigger than you think you are.

Key #2:
Be Consistent With The Fundamentals

Every morning, I enjoy time with God.

Every morning, I chew on His Word—the Bible.

Every morning, I pray, “Lord, let me love every person I meet today.”

Every morning, I read my life mission, my list of dreams, and my annual goals.

And throughout the day, instead of exposing myself to bad news, I digest good news available around me: I voraciously read inspiring books and listen to inspiring audio talks.

Every night, like a little boy, I kneel beside my bed and thank God for His blessings of that day.

In other words, the reason why I live such an exciting life is because I’m boring.

I’m monotonous.

I’m repetitive.

I do the same basic things again and again and again and again…

I now realize that the reason I can do all those thrilling, exciting, exhilarating stuff is because I do the boring basics every single day of my life. Everyday, I’m grateful. Everyday, I think positive. Everyday, I love. Everyday, I select what I watch, what I read, what I listen to—and stick to what can make me grow. Every single day.

The more I live on planet earth, the more I agree with Jim Rohn when he said that “There’s really nothing mysterious or magical about success. Success is simply the consistent application of fundamentals.”

Be boringly consistent when it comes to the basics.

And in time, you’ll find exciting success knocking at your door.

Key #3:
Focus On Your Core Gift

I have very few talents. Honest!

I don’t know how to cook, how to dance, how to write a computer program, and how to solve the Rubix cube. I don’t know how to do geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. I’m totally lost in chemistry, physics, and biology. I also can’t fix a leaking faucet or do carpentry or repair my car.

But this is what I can do very well: Communicate.

So I focus my entire life on that one thing.

I write well and I speak well. Period.

And I delegate everything to people who are better than I am.

Ask yourself now: What is my core gift?

I have a general rule I follow in my life: I don’t like complicating things just to impress you. So instead of giving you 329 psychological questions filled with scientific babble to discover your core gift (so I could impress you on how intelligent I am), let me just boil it down to 2 very simple questions. Stop reading this book until you answered both of these questions.

· What do you enjoy doing?

· What are you good at

For some of you, it’s technology.

For some of you, it’s teaching.

For some of you, it’s selling stuff.

For some of you, it’s cooking.

For some of you, it’s music.

For some of you, it’s advanced trigonometry. (Yes, I’ve heard there are such strange creatures walking on the face of the earth.)

Key #4:
Build Your Network

My wealth isn’t my money.

My real wealth is my network of friends.

Personally, I don’t think anything great is accomplished without a team.

Even Jesus had a team around him.

A few months ago, I was reading about the interesting world of horse-pulling competitions.

That’s where huge horses the size of elephants pull massive concrete blocks behind them.

Did you know that the grand champion horse could pull the incredible weight of 4,500 pounds? If the average weight of a Filipino is 140 pounds (which happens to be my weight before I eat my breakfast), that means this super horse could carry 32 Filipinos—without wheels! That monster could pull me, my wife, my kids, my parents, my siblings, their spouses, their kids, and all my in-laws combined.

And the second placer horse can pull only slightly lower than the first placer: 4,400 pounds.

That was when the organizers got curious. If these two horses pulled together, how many pounds could they carry? Could they pull 8,900 pounds?

They harnessed both horses and were shocked with the results.

Both horses, when pulling together, carried the mind-blowing weight of 12,000 pounds. That’s 85 Filipinos.

My message? Teams are powerful.

Alone, I can do a lot of things. But with my team, I don’t add but multiply what I can do.

I keep networking. I circulate. I meet people. I build bridges.

So I surround myself with a bunch of people who have impeccable character and fantastic skills. I network with Mentors, Preachers, Administrators, Accountants, Programmers, Lawyers, Financial Wizards, Multi-millionaires, Media Experts, Businessmen, Architects, Engineers, etc…

And everyday, I constantly expand my team.

Key #5:
Create An Autopilot System

Every time I enter into a project, I always do it with a team around me. Never alone. And I choose my team well.

I have a very simple criteria: I choose men and women who are humble (teamplayers) and who are experts in their field. In other words, I search for impeccable character and fantastic skills.

And together, we create a system for the project that’s replicable and duplicable.

In other words, it’s got to run on autopilot without my direct supervision.

Here’s my ideal leader: If I appoint someone to be project head (or organization director or business manager), and after six months, I don’t want him to bother me anymore except for major directional issues. If he still bothers me for tiny matters, I’ve chosen the wrong leader—or I trained him wrongly.

If You Love, The Universe Opens Up To You

Here’s what I’ve learned: Love is limitless! It has no boundaries.

I do what I do because I want to love people.

Each morning, I wake up and ask myself, “How can I bless people today?”

And so I stretch. I go just a teensy bit beyond what I think is my limit—and my capacities expand—because I want to bless the world.
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Postby lance_tr3z » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:04 pm

at the end of the day let's thank GOD for all the blessings that he gave us... :lol:
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Postby lance_tr3z » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:07 pm

A Little Boy's Explanation of God -- Fabulous!!! - Out of the mouths of the Babies--
I certainly don't think an adult could explain this more beautifully!
THIS IS FABULOUS!!!
It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives
in Chula Vista, CA. He wrote it for his third grade homework
assignment, to "explain God." I wonder if any of us could have done as well.... and he had such an assignment, in California, and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen !

EXPLANATION OF GOD:
"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to
replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers."
"God's second most important job is listening to prayers An
awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off."
"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere
which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't
have." "Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church." "Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and
to forgive them and God said O.K."
"His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all
his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important."
"You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you
because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time." "You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!
Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun
like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway."
"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the
dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep
water by big kids." "But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that's why I believe in God."
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Postby rlmaceda » Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:20 am

The difference between Heaven and Hell.


Josh was a very decent man. He loved God and all his life he lived selflessly so he can be assured of going to heaven. When Josh died, his guardian angel picked him up and brought him to the gates of heaven where he was welcomed by St. Peter.

“Come in Josh. We’ve been expecting you.”

“Thank you sir.” Josh said. “However, may I impose a favor before I enter heaven?”

A little puzzled and curious, St. Peter asks, “What is it you want?”

“You see sir, all my life I followed the way of our Lord so I can be by his side in heaven. But there is a part of me that wants to see hell, just so I can better appreciate what heaven is.”

“That’s a little unusual.” a smiling St. Peter said, “Buuut, you deserve it, so come with me and I’ll take you”.

So off Josh goes, with St. Peter, to hell. And to Josh’s surprise, it wasn’t hot at all. Hell was actually cool. The first thing he noticed was this enormous and extravagant banquet table filled with all the foods anyone could possibly desire. However, as he got accustomed to his surroundings, he saw the residents of hell and they were all emaciated. Their faces displayed years of yearning and despair. Wondering why, he turned and saw that there were men wearing black pointed masks, wielding sharpened axes, that were guarding the table. That would explain the missing limbs, Josh thought, and he concluded that hell is an eternity of torture; you have what you want but no way to get it.

“That’s not all Josh”, St. Peter said. “Do you see those 6 foot long chopsticks they’re holding?”

“I do, sir.”

“Well, with those they are able to get the food. But they are not able to put it in their mouths because the chopsticks are too long”

“Whooaa” blurted Josh. “That’s even more frustrating”.
“St. Peter, I’ve seen enough, please take me to heaven.”

St. Peter obliges, and before Josh even realizes, they are back at the gate. St. Peter opens it and says
“Welcome to heaven, Josh”.

The first thing Josh notices, again, is the same enormous and extravagant banquet table. “Goodie”, he thought, “I’m hungry, so let’s go eat.” So he starts heading towards the table when he is confronted by the same masked men guarding the food. This stops him in his tracks. “Surely this must be a mistake”, he thought. So he turns around to St. Peter and asks.

“Sir, are we in heaven?”

“Yes”, replies St. Peter, who then begins to walk to him with a pair of 6 foot long chopsticks.
“These are for you”, he says as he hands Josh the chopsticks.

Josh was taken aback. “But St. Peter”, he exclaims, “I thought you said we are in heaven”.

“We are.” assures St. Peter, who brings out his own pair of chopsticks and then reaches for some food.
“You see, the only difference between heaven and hell,” he pauses and smiles, “…is here, we feed each other.” After which St. Peter walks 6 feet away and offers Josh the food from his chopsticks.
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Postby bass_nut » Thu May 08, 2008 10:36 pm

WET PANTS


Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.


The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."


He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.


As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.


The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"


Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.


She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!"


Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."


May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good..


Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.


Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.




This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The Prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.
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Postby bass_nut » Sun May 25, 2008 9:54 pm

TWO GLASSES OF WINE...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours
in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses
of wine theory...

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items on his
desk in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf
balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.


The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas
between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was
full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the
jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'YES.'

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty
space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want
you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends,
and your favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and
only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house,
and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first', he continued, 'there is
no room
for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend
all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room
for the good things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play
with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner
out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. Do one more run down the ski
slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the
disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really
matter. Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine
represented.

The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show
you that
no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a
couple
of glasses of wine with a friend.' :wink:
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Postby bass_nut » Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:21 am

The greatest value of having a good (and a true) FRIEND is not what you get from him but the better person you become because of him.

GOD bless
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Re: inspirational readings...

Postby ordo » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:54 pm

The Russian boy Ivan fell heir to his father's small farm.
He wanted more land. Once, a stranger came by, apparently a man
of means and power, and offered to give him all the land he could walk
around in one day, on condition that he would be back at the spot
from which he started by sundown.

Early the next morning the boy set out, without eating any
breakfast or greeting anyone. His first plan was to cover six square
miles. When he finished the first six, he decided to make it nine,
then twelve and finally fifteen. That meant he would have to walk 60
miles before sundown. By noon he had covered 30 miles. He did not
stop for food or drink. His legs grew heavier and heavier.

About 200 yards from the finish line, he saw the sun dropping
toward the horizon. Only few minutes left. He gathered all his energies
for that one last effort. He staggered across the line, just in time.

Then he reached for his heart and fell down in a heap-dea.
All the land he got was a piece six feet by two... He died of greed.

This happens to thousands of people today....

- Tonne
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Re: inspirational readings...

Postby quarterback » Thu Jun 04, 2009 3:02 pm

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio





"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:



1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles; use the nice sheets; wear the fancy lingerie. Do not save it for a special occasion. TODAY is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone and everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
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My Own List of ....

Postby zenaudio » Sat Sep 05, 2009 12:43 pm

3 Things You Need

Before You're 10:
1. A childhood friend
2. A good English teacher
3. A sport

In Your Teens
1. A girlfriend/boyfriend or at least a crush
2. A good Math/Art/Computer teacher
3. A good dentist/derma

In Your 20's
1. Lifelong friends
2. Political beliefs
3. Your owns sense of style

In Your 30's
1. A family
2. A passion, business, or career
3. A good barber/hairdresser

In Your 40's
1. A good doctor/internist
2. A good banker
3. A good lawyer

In Your 50's
1. A spiritual adviser
2. A good name
3. A contribution to society

In Your 60's and Beyond
Pick Any 3 from the above.
The list doesn't actually come in sequence.
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