A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His
...father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book. Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL. How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?
Women are all born angels. And when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly …................ on a broomstick. Be warned — we are flexible like that.
Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest: Each morning
your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.
Of course, as in any game, there are rules.
The first set of rules:
Anything that you don’t spend each day, you lose.
You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
You are the only one that may spend the money.
Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another
$86,400.00 for that day.
The second set of rules:
The bank can end the game without warning; at anytime it can say, game over? It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.
What would you do?
You would buy anything and everything you wanted...right? Not only for
your self, but for all people you love...right? Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself...right? You would try to spend every cent and use it all, wouldn’t you?
Actually, you are already playing this game. It’s called REALITY!
Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank. We just don’t seem to see it.
The magical bank is TIME.
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is gone!
What we haven't lived up that day is forever lost. Yesterday is forever
gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your
account at any time without warning!
So what will you do with your 86,400 seconds? They are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.
Think about that, and always think of this:
Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.
Take Care of your self, be Happy, Love Deeply & Enjoy Your Life!
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'
Well, all she had was a flat tire,
but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Bryan never thought twice about being paid.
This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.'
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her
feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have
been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to
clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the
money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'
There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today I sent you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.
Don't delete it, don't return it. Simply, pass this on to a friend
Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
"When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for
dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when
she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening
so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely
burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone
noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom,
and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him
that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on
that toast and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my
mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget
what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.'
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him
if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and
said, 'Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's
real tired.. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!'
You know, life is full of imperfect things......and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook.
What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each
other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is
the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and
lasting relationship.
And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the
good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet
of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only one who will be able to give
you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker! We could
extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base
of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or
friendship!! "
Hello dear friends,
Tonight I am reaching out to all of you with a promise of prayer. So many of my clients are going through a tough time right now and I've asked them if I could add them to my prayer list. Since becoming a reader on Keen, my list has grown and grown. I believe that through prayer, miracles can happen.
If you would like to be added to my prayer list, just email me and let me know who you are and who or what you would like for me to pray for.
I wish only the best for you all.
Love and Blessings,
Dana
"When I stand before God
at the end of my life,
I would hope that
I would have not a single bit
of talent left and could say,
I used everything You gave me."
Erma Bombeck
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" There was once a wise woman traveling in the mountains who found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and she opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked her if she would give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew that the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. A few days later, he came back to return the stone to the woman who had given it to him. "I've been thinking," he said , " I know how valuable the stone is, but I'm giving it back in the hope that you can give me something much more precious. I want you to give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."
Author Unknown
This is about the best thing I've ever read as an explanation. We all wonder many many many times over WHY?
Sometimes
we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do
this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her
Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her
boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile,
her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a
snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."
"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"
To
which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by
themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make
a wonderfully delicious cake! "
God
works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through
such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these
things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to
trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
If you like this, send this on to the people you really care about.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
I hope your day is a piece of cake!
This is a true story and it's worth the read:
Messages from God
This story is about my mother, who was an LPN working on the cardiac floor at Lakeland Regional Hospital in Lakeland, Florida.
She and my Dad had just gone through a divorce and up until that point she had done everything possible to prevent that from happening. She prayed to God to put his hand in the situation and speak to my Dad and show him that the decisions he was making were wrong. She fasted for many days, to the point where she would pass out at work. She prayed and asked God to protect our family from all the negative things that were happening. Well, the divorce ended up happening in spite of all the faith and prayers she had held onto. At the time, she felt like God had deserted her and didn't care. There was no evidence to her that God was around. She said that she even got to the point where she could not pray. She wouldn't go to church.
After some time had passed, she broke down and got on her knees and prayed. She asked God to show her that He cared. She said, " Dear God, I am so far away from the faith the I once had and I don't know what to do. If You care for me and my children, show me. I need a sign that can only come from you. A sign so obvious that cannot be mistaken, because I'm not good at picking up on clues."
About a couple of weeks later, she was at work and they brought in a man from Tampa and assigned him as one of her patients. He wasn't as critical as the others so she spent very little time with him. He stopped her and said,"I need to talk to you." She told him that she would come back as soon as she had some time. Well, @ 3pm her head nurse came by and asked if she wanted to work another shift? She agreed.
She went in to talk to the man who asked to speak with her earlier. He said, "I'm going home tomorrow. There's nothing really wrong with me. God sent me here to tell you that He does care and loves you very much. He wants you to come back to Him." Then, the man asked if he could pray with her. So they prayed. After the prayer, she told him that there was no way that he would be going home the next day because, no one gets released after just one day with heart problems. The next day, the man was released and was told that NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH HIM.
My mother wrote this off as a weird coincidence.
Three weeks later........my mother gets an older lady as a patient. Again, she wasn't in critical condition so she needed less attention. The lady asked to speak to my mom and again, she put her off. The head nurse came around at 3pm like last time and asked her to work another shift.....again she accepted. She went in to check on her patient, and the older lady said, "There's nothing really wrong with me. God sent me here to talk to you. I will be going home tomorrow." Of course, my mom tells her that no one gets released after just one day. That just doesn't happen. The lady said, "God wants me to tell you that He does care and that He loves you very much. He knows what you are going through and He's there for you. He wants you to come back to His loving arms." She and the lady prayed together. The next day, believe it or not.......the lady was released and went home. NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH HER! Again, my mother dismissed it as a weird coincidence.
Two weeks later, she was assigned an elderly man as a patient. He asked to speak with her, but again he wasn't one of her most critical patients so she was busy with other patients. The head nurse came around and asked if she would work another shift and again, she accepted. That evening, she went in to check on the elderly man and he told her that he was going home the next day, and that there was nothing wrong with him. He said, "God has sent me here to speak to you. He says that He does care, and He knows what you're going through and He wants you to come back to Him." The man asked if she would pray with him and they did. The next day, the man went home.....why?.....BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM!
My mother fell to her knees and prayed to God. She says that from that point on, she has never doubted God's love for her. That no matter what has happened in her life, she knows that HE is there for her and He has his hand in all situations.
He is there for you too.
TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD, AND HE WILL GRANT YOU YOUR HEART'S DESIRE.
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Watch your thoughts…for they become your words.
Watch your words….for they become your actions.
Watch your actions….for they become your habits.
Watch your habits….for they
Become your character.
Watch your character….
For it becomes your destiny.
Do
not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your
feet.
-Anonymous
To be afraid is to have more faith in evil
than in God.
An extremely modest man was in the hopital for a series of tests, the last of which had left his bodily systems extremely upset.
Upon making several false alarm trips to the bathroom,he decided the latest episode was was another and he stayed put.
He suddenly filled his bed with diarrhea and was embarrassed beyond his ability to remain rational.
In a complete loss of composure he jumped out of bed, gathered up the sheets, and threw them out the hospital window.
A drunk was walking by the hospital when the sheets landed on him. He started yelling, cursing, and swinging his arms violently trying to get the unknown things off, and ended up with the soiled sheets in a tangled pile at his feet.
As the drunk stood there, unsteady on his feet, staring down at the sheets, a hospital security guard (barely containing his laughter) who had watched the whole incident walked up and asked, "What the heck is going on here?"
The drunk, still staring down, replied: " I think that I just beat the shit out of a ghost!"
Happy Halloween!
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked. "What's the point, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I?
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle Adversity? ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
Don't tell GOD how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your GOD is!