"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a
butterfly."
~Richard Bach
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One of My Favorite messages!
Forgive and Move On!
Today's Scripture:
"But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven
forgive your trespasses." (Mark 11:26)
Today's Word from Joel and Victoria:
No one promised that life would always be fair. People are imperfect;
we make mistakes and bad decisions. You may have been hurt by others
in the past, but the important part is how you choose to deal with
that hurt. Failing to let go of the past and holding on to grudges
and anger can only cause harm in your life. If you want to keep your
joy and remove what could become some huge roadblocks in your path,
decide to forgive others, whether or not they ask for forgiveness.
God says His daily forgiveness, in the sense of His daily favor and
blessings, is based on your willingness to forgive others. When you
forgive, you will find new strength and begin to experience God's
breath-taking blessings!
A Prayer for Today:
God, thank You for Your forgiveness. I know that I don't deserve it,
but I praise You for faithfully forgiving me. Help me to clear any
roadblocks in my path by forgiving others, even as You forgive me. In
Jesus' Name. Amen.
The Present
Two men, both seriously ill,
occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour
each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.
His bed was next to the room's only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.
They spoke of their wives and families,
their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the
military service, where they had been on vacation.
Every afternoon, when the man in the bed
by the window could sit up, he would pass the time
by describing to his roommate all the things he could see
outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for
those one hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity
and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while children
sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in
arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view
of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this
in exquisite details, the man on the other side
of the room would close his eyes and imagine t
his picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon, the man by the window
described a parade passing by.
Although the other man could not hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman
by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water
for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the
man by the window, who had died peacefully in
his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital
attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man
asked if he could be moved next to the window.
The nurse was happy to make the switch,
and after making sure he was comfortable,
she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up
on one elbow to take his first look
at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the
window besides the bed.
It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could
have compelled his deceased roommate who
had described such wonderful things
outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind
and could not even see the wall.
She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue:
There is tremendous happiness
in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow,
but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich,
just count all the things you have
that money can't buy.
"Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present."
Author unknown
Heaven and Hell
The Difference between
Heaven and Hell
A holy man was
having a conversation with the Lord one day and said,"
Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The
Lord led the
Holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked
in. In
The middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of
the table
Was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's
mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared
To be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that
were strapped to
Their arms and each of them found it possible to reach into the pot
of stew, and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than
their arms, they could not get the spoon back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said,
"You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the
first one. There was the large round table with the large pot
of stew, which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were
equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were
well-nourished and laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I
don't understand." "It is simple" said the Lord,
"it requires but one skill."
"You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the
greedy only think of themselves."
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Living the Abundant Life
Living the Abundant
Life
God desires that you be so blessed that you can turn around and be
a
blessing everywhere you go! He wants you to have so much peace, so
much
joy, so much victory that when other people get around you it
spills over
onto them! In the book of Psalms, David said, "My
cup runs over." He was
overflowing with the anointing--the
tangible, effective power of God. Too
many people today have a
barely-get-by-mentality. They settle for thoughts
like, "I can
barely pay my bills...I have an okay job... I have an
okay
marriage." But Jesus came so we can live an abundant life! That
means
an abundance of joy, an abundance of peace, an abundance of
health, an
abundance of finances. You may not see it right now, and
maybe you haven't
experienced it in the past, but don't
get complacent and just settle for
where you are. Get a vision for
your future! Get a vision for increase! Get a
vision for Abundance!
Psalm 35:27 says, "Let them say continually, 'Let the
Lord
be magnified Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His
children.'"
God delights to see you prosperous and
successful. When you choose to think
God's thoughts and choose
God's way, you'll see that increase and victory in
every
area of your life. Now is the time to move forward and live
the
abundant life God has planned for you!
By: Joel Osteen
A Dog's Purpose... Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, Lisa, his wife, and their little boy, Shane were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I had never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can lean how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
"Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me and I'll remember.
Involve me and I'll understand."
- Confucius
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Completely Satisfied
Today's Scripture
"Blessed, fortunate, happy and spiritually prosperous...are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, uprightness and right
standing with God, for they shall be completely satisfied"
(Matthew 5:6 AMP).
Today's Word from Joel and Victoria
God longs to pour out his abundant blessing on every area of your
life. He wants you to live completely satisfied. When you hunger and
thirst for righteousness--God's way of doing things--then you
will live in complete satisfaction. You direct your hunger by choosing
what you focus on. For example, if you focus on your favorite food, if
you start thinking about it early in the morning, and all throughout
the day, chances are, by the end of the day you'll be eating it!
What you give your attention to, you will desire. In the same way, the
more you give your attention to God and His Word, the more you will
hunger for Him. Just like the scripture promises, when you hunger for
righteousness, you will be completely satisfied. The world offers so
many things for you to give your attention to, but they aren't
things that will satisfy. You might think you want a particular car,
or certain clothes, or live in a particular neighborhood.
There's nothing wrong with those things, but understand that
"things" won't ever satisfy you. Recognize that only
God will satisfy you. As you hunger for Him, you'll live in
peace and blessing and live completely satisfied all the days of your
life!
A Prayer for Today
Father in Heaven, I come to You today, I ask for forgiveness for
allowing anything to capture my heart and attention more than You. I
choose today to give You top priority, and choose to hunger for Your
righteousness. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Thriving not Surviving
You're not a survivor. You are more than a conqueror.
It's easy to get into a survival mode. When times get tough and things
aren't going our way, it's tempting to just settle where we are, not
believe for increase and not believe to go any further. It's tempting
to think, "If I can just hold on. If I can just make it through
another year." If we're not careful, we'll develop a survival
mentality to where we're not releasing our faith. We're not believing
to rise any higher. We're just hoping to maintain. We'd be satisfied
if we could just break even. But we're not supposed to break even.
We're supposed to break through to a new level, to more of God's
favor, increase and promotion.
God says in the book of Jeremiah that if we'll keep the Lord as our
trust and confidence, God will prosper us even in the desert. He'll
prosper us even in difficult times. That means when others are going
under God says you'll go over!
God can prosper us even in the desert if we'll just be bold enough to
believe. You were created to thrive in life! Won't you believe that
for your life today?
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Big Rocks First!
By: Joel and Victoria:
A college professor teaching a course on time management set a large
jar on his desk and filled it with big rocks. He asked his students,
"Is the jar full?" They said yes. Then he poured a bag of small
gravel into the jar. He asked, "Is the jar full?" and again received
a "yes" answer. Then he poured in a bag of sand and a pitcher of
water until all the crevices of the jar were filled. Then he asked,
"All right, what does this illustration teach us?" One student
replied, "That's easy. It teaches us that no matter how busy your
life is, you can always make room for more."
"No, you've missed the point completely!" the professor said. "This
teaches us that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never
get them in at all." This is a great life lesson! The big rocks are
life's priorities, and they have to be first on our schedules or
they'll get crowded out by other things.
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George Orwell, 1984:
"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.
"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."
"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.
Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane."
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The Price of a Miracle
The Price of a Miracle
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even.
The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door
and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too
busy at this moment Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing.
She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster.
No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,"
he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the
same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick...and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head
and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry
but I can't help you ," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough,
I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down
and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick
and Mommy says he needs an operation.
But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.
"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man.
"A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers."
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten
and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother
and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in
neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and
it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the
chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery, her Mom whispered, was a
real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...
one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child.
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Great Sayings and Lessons to Learn and Live By!
1. I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.
2. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.
3. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
4. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
5. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
6. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
7. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
8. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
9. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so
that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.
10. Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened
11. There's always going to be people that hurt you. So what you have to do is keep
on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.
12. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know
someone else and expect them to know you.
13. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.
REMEMBER: WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
Somethings are good for the soul!
Somethings are good for the soul!
Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.
My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.
As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for
the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for
dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"
Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"
As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.
He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."
"Really?" my son asked.
"Cross my heart," the man replied.
Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."
Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.
He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already ."
The End
What a great story!
Sometimes, we all need some ice cream.
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FREE
SHIPPING
AND HANDLING!
Knock, Knock
I knocked at heaven's door this morning.
God asked me...
My child, what can I do for you?
And I said, Father, please protect
and bless those reading these inspirations.
God smiled and answered...Request granted.
The power of positive thinking!
John is the kind of guy you
love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to
say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any
better, I would be twins!'
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to
look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him,
'I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself,
you have two choices today.
You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or... I can choose
to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining,
I can choose to accept their
complaining or...
I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.'
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices.
When you cut away all the
junk, every situation is a choice.
You choose how you react to situations.
You choose how people affect
your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice
how you live your life.'
I reflected on what he said. Soon thereafter,
I left the Tower Industry to
start my own business.
We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life
instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident,
falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the
hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be
twins...Wanna see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind
as the accident took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be
born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground,
I remembered that I had two
choices: I could choose to live or..
I could choose to die. I chose to live.''Weren't you scared?
Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.
He continued, '..the paramedics were great.
They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into
the ER and I saw the expressions
on the faces of the doctors
and nurses,
I got really scared. In their
eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'.
I knew I needed to take action.''What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John.
'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and
nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.
I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.
Operate on me as if I am
alive, not dead.'
He lived, thanks to the skills of his doctors,
but also because of his
amazing attitude...
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about
itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.'
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
Reach for the moon - if you miss,
you will land among the stars!
Favor Has Been Released Into Your Future
Favor Has Been Released Into Your Future
God has already released good things into your future. When God laid
out the plan for your life, He lined up the right people, the right
circumstances, and the right breaks. In your future, He's
already released favor, supernatural opportunities, and divine
connections. The breaks you need in life have already been preordained
to come across your path. If you will stay in faith and go out each
day and be a person of excellence, you'll walk into these
appointments of favor. It will be just as if you stumbled into
God's blessings! When you really understand this principal,
you'll begin to get excited about every single day! You'll
have a spring in your step as you think about what blessing is coming
next! It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be next week.
Keep expecting. Keep believing. Stay focused on the fact that God has
already released into your future everything you need to fulfill your
destiny. Start declaring seasons of increase over your life. Declare
that the favor is on you and opportunities are coming. As you do,
you'll move forward into the favor and blessing God has ordered
for you!
By Joel Osteen
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