The Bouquet

For some time I've had a church member provide me with a rose boutonniere to pin on the lapel of my suit every Sunday. Because I always got a flower on Sunday morning, I really did not think much of it. It was a nice gesture that became routine.

One Sunday, however, what I considered ordinary became very special. As I was leaving the Sunday service a young man approached and said, "Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?" At first I did not know what he was talking about, but then I understood. I said, "Do you mean this?" as I pointed to the rose pinned to my coat. He said, "Yes sir. I would like it if you are just going to throw it away." The little boy said, "Sir, I'm going to give it to my granny. My mother and father got divorced last year. I was living with my mother, but I could not stay, so she sent me to live with my grandmother. She has been so good to me that I want to give that pretty flower to her for loving me." 

When the little boy finished I could hardly speak. My eyes filled with tears and I knew I had been touched in the depths of my soul. I reached up and unpinned my flower. With the flower in my hand, I looked at the boy and said, "Son, that is the nicest thing I have ever heard, but you can't have this flower because it's not enough. If you'll look in front of the pulpit, you'll see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best." 

If I hadn't been touched enough already, he made one last statement and I will always cherish it. He said, "What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet." 

A Change in Plans

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly.This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it.I'm talking about my annual "Guilt Trip."

I got tickets to fly there on "WISHIHAD" airlines. It was an extremely short flight.

I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what might have been.

No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.

As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year's most important event, the Annual Pity Party.

I wasn't going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there.

First, there would be the Done family, you know, Should Have, Would Have and Could Have.Then came the I Had family.You probably know ol' Wish and his clan.Of course, the Opportunities would be present, Missed and Lost.The biggest family would be the Yesterday's. There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share.Then Shattered Dreams would surely make and appearance.And It's Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded by Don't Blame Me and I Couldn't Help It.

Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed.

But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent "pity party" could be cancelled by ME!

I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. I didn't have to be depressed.

One thing kept going through my mind, I can't change yesterday, but I do have the power to make today a wonderful day.I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City of Regret immediately and left no forwarding address.

Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in the past? YES! But there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you're planning a trip back to the City of Regret, please cancel all your reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a place called, Starting Again.

I liked it so much that I have now taken up permanent residence there. My neighbors, the I Forgive Myselfs and the New Starts are so very helpful.

By the way, you don't have to carry around heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival.God bless you in finding this great town. If you can find it — it's in your own heart — please look me up.I live on ICANDOIT street.

“I can't change yesterday, but I do have the power to make today a wonderful day.”-- Anonymous

Challenge Yourself

I recently went bungee jumping. So far the people I have showed the pictures and video of my jump to have looked at me with incredulous and worried looks to say the least. Most have not really had the nerve to say it to my face but I read it in their expressions, they all think I am crazy, especially those that know me well. You see if you know me then you also know I have always had three great fears. 1. I have a fear of any large expanse of water. I have never learned how to swim and some of my worst nightmares are of me drowning. It’s so bad you practically have to hold my hand while I watch my son swim. 2. I have a fear of all creatures other than humans. Animals and insects terrify me, from the largest of animals to the smallest and probably least harmful of them. If isn’t human then I am afraid of it. 3. Fear of heights. I have stood on tables to change a bulb and then practically been stuck when the time came to get off. I am afraid of falling from any height.

So now the big question is how did I then, under no duress whatsoever, in a completely sober state, allow myself to be tied to a rope and sent dangling down a hundred and eleven meters? My only answer, I was sick and tired of being crippled by my own fear so I challenged myself. It just felt like the right time to be bigger than atleast one of my fears. And so I jumped. And yes, I won’t lie to you, initially it felt like I had made the biggest mistake of my life and I wouldn’t come back up conscious, but then that feeling was quickly replaced by a freedom I could never manage to put in words. During the walk back up from the bottom of the bridge to the top where I had come from, I didn’t walk with my head raised high (I figured there was plenty of time to do that), instead I walked daringly looking down at those rails and for once in my life not being afraid of what I saw beneath me. Veni vidi vici, I came, I saw and I conquered. I had risen above my fear and I came back up affirming to myself if I could do this I can do anything.

My jump also brought with it an “aha” moment. I realized that life is a little like that fear of mine and the bungee jump I took. If you are just willing to take the leap you might just discover strength in you that you might not have found otherwise. Life shouldn’t be easy. An easy life doesn’t help you aspire or encourage you to want more and fight for it. You absolutely need to be challenged and face challenges. You also need to face your fears. You need to look at yourself in the mirror and say I am bigger than any situation or mountain that may be laid in my path.

We hear so many times of individuals that struck gold and all we dare say is boy weren’t they lucky. Well I disagree; I really doubt it has anything to do with luck. These so called lucky individuals were just willing to take a chance where and when no one else would. They were willing to take the challenge. We hear these real life rags to riches stories every single day but for some reason most of us just choose not to act on it, we just don’t get it. You need to take a chance. It isn’t okay to stay hidden in the shadows and just get by. Well atleast not for me anyway. One of my favorite quotes is by Marianne Williamson and it says “Your playing small does not serve the world.” So why are most of us humans content at sitting in the shadows, why do we feel it’s okay to just get by? Why not get by and get ahead while you are at it? Doesn’t that seem like a better alternative? Why are we afraid of challenging ourselves???

This is the year I have decided to challenge myself and made affirmations that I constantly remind myself of; I believe there is no job I cannot do. I believe that there is nothing I cannot achieve. I believe it is important for me to face challenges and that these challenges are simply sharpening my skills in preparation for the big strike of gold ahead of me, I don’t believe these challenges are there to cripple me. I believe that every stumbling block that has been placed in my path was not set there to make me stumble and fall but to help me discover potential that has to be excavated out of me. Most of all I believe that I now only have 2 fears and if you speak with me in a couple of months I will probably be down to one if not none. I have one final belief and that is that anyone can be someone if only they take that Leap of faith. So go ahead, right now, this very moment take your leap (and it doesn’t have to be a bungee jump). Challenge yourself and aspire and dare to be more. ~Lissa 

Rosebuds

A new minister was walking with an older, more seasoned minister in the garden one day.


Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.


The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to  open it without tearing off any of the petals.



The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry.



But, because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do.



Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud, without tearing it, the older preacher  began to recite the following poem...



It is only a tiny rosebud,


A flower of God's design;


But I cannot unfold the petals


With these clumsy hands of mine.



The secret of unfolding flowers


Is not known to such as I.


GOD opens this flower so easily,


But in my hands they die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,


This flower of God's design,


Then how can I have the wisdom


To unfold this life of mine?



So, I'll trust in God for leading


Each moment of my day.

I will look to God for guidance


In each step along the way.



The path that lies before me,

Only my Lord and Savior knows.


I'll trust God to unfold the moments,


Just as He unfolds the rose.





What Are You Going To Do With Your Circumstances?

One morning a sixteen-year-old boy was kidnapped from his house by a band of knife-wielding thugs and taken to another country, there to be sold as a slave. The year was 401 AD.

He was made a shepherd. Slaves were not allowed to wear clothes, so he was often dangerously cold and frequently on the verge of starvation. He spent months at a time without seeing another human being -- a severe psychological torture.

But this greatest of difficulties was transformed into the greatest of blessings because it gave him an opportunity not many get in a lifetime. Long lengths of solitude have been used by people all through history to meditate, to learn to control the mind and to explore the depths of feeling and thought to a degree impossible in the hubbub of normal life.

He wasn't looking for such an "opportunity," but he got it anyway. He had never been a religious person, but to hold himself together and take his mind off the pain, he began to pray, so much that "...in one day," he wrote later, "I would say as many as a hundred prayers and after dark nearly as many again...I would wake and pray before daybreak -- through snow, frost, and rain...."

This young man, at the onset of his manhood, got a 'raw deal.' But therein lies the lesson. Nobody gets a perfect life. The question is not "What could I have done if I'd gotten a better life?" but rather "What can I do with the life I've got?"

How can you take your personality, your circumstances, your upbringing, the time and place you live in, and make something extraordinary out of it? What can you do with what you've got?

The young slave prayed. He didn't have much else available to do, so he did what he could with all his might. And after six years of praying, he heard a voice in his sleep say that his prayers would be answered: He was going home. He sat bolt upright and the voice said, "Look, your ship is ready."

He was a long way from the ocean, but he started walking. After two hundred miles, he came to the ocean and there was a ship, preparing to leave for Britain, his homeland. Somehow he got aboard the ship and went home to reunite with his family.

But he had changed. The sixteen-year-old boy had become a holy man. He had visions. He heard the voices of the people from the island he had left -- Ireland -- calling him back. The voices were persistent, and he eventually left his family to become ordained as a priest and a bishop with the intention of returning to Ireland and converting the Irish to Christianity.

At the time, the Irish were fierce, illiterate, Iron-Age people. For over eleven hundred years, the Roman Empire had been spreading its civilizing influence from Africa to Britain, but Rome never conquered Ireland.

The people of Ireland warred constantly. They made human sacrifices of prisoners of war and sacrificed newborns to the gods of the harvest. They hung the skulls of their enemies on their belts as ornaments.

Our slave-boy-turned-bishop decided to make these people literate and peaceful. Braving dangers and obstacles of tremendous magnitude, he actually succeeded! By the end of his life, Ireland was Christian. Slavery had ceased entirely. Wars were much less frequent, and literacy was spreading.

How did he do it? He began by teaching people to read -- starting with the Bible. Students eventually became teachers and went to other parts of the island to create new places of learning, and wherever they went, they brought the know-how to turn sheepskin into paper and paper into books.

Copying books became the major religious activity of that country. The Irish had a long-standing love of words, and it expressed itself to the full when they became literate. Monks spent their lives copying books: the Bible, the lives of saints, and the works accumulated by the Roman culture -- Latin, Greek, and Hebrew books, grammars, the works of Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Homer, Greek philosophy, math, geometry, astronomy.

In fact, because so many books were being copied, they were saved, because as Ireland was being civilized, the Roman Empire was falling apart. Libraries disappeared in Europe. Books were no longer copied (except in the city of Rome itself), and children were no longer taught to read. The civilization that had been built up over eleven centuries disintegrated. This was the beginning of the Dark Ages.

Because our slave-boy-turned-bishop transformed his suffering into a mission, civilization itself, in the form of literature and the accumulated knowledge contained in that literature, was saved and not lost during that time of darkness. He was named a saint, the famous Saint Patrick. You can read the full and fascinating story if you like in the excellent book "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill.

"Very interesting," you might say, "but what does that have to do with me?"

Well...you are also in some circumstances or other, and it's not all peaches and cream, is it? There's some stuff you don't like -- maybe something about your circumstances, perhaps, or maybe some events that occurred in your childhood.

But here you are, with that past, with these circumstances, with the things you consider less than ideal. What are you going to do with them? If those circumstances have made you uniquely qualified for some contribution, what would it be?

You may not know the answer to that question right now, but keep in mind that the circumstances you think only spell misery may contain the seeds of something profoundly Good. Assume that's true, and the assumption will begin to gather evidence until your misery is transformed, as Saint Patrick's suffering was, from a raw deal to the perfect preparation for something better.

Ask yourself and keep asking, "Given my upbringing and circumstances, what Good am I especially qualified to do?"

Challenges

Challenges and difficulties are a part of life and words of encouragement can often help you get out of your rut. It’s easy to tell someone to hang in there and to keep a positive outlook when they are going through tough times but when it happens to you, keeping your chin up isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Even so, it’s not impossible. There are a lot of things you can do to help you stand back up and move forward. Whether you’ve been dealt with a setback while working towards your goal, lost a loved one, or just feel down, inspirational words of encouragement can help.

Words can have a powerful impact on your mindset. Although we’ve all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”, the fact is that words really do have an impact on how we feel. Often times, when things seem pointless, when you’ve just come face to face with yet another failure, it can seem as though it’s the end. It can seem as though no matter how hard you try, the life that you want will always be just out of reach.

During these times, some positive words of encouragement can help you shift your focus. When it comes down to it, how you feel is really just about what you focus on. What words of inspiration and encouragement will do for you is help you put things into perspective.

Who doesn’t go through failures, setbacks, and challenges? We all do. In fact, after you get through this challenging time, you will have more to come in the future. Although that sounds pessimistic, it’s also reality. Those who succeed in life and get what they want as well as those who are the most happiest aren’t people who never face difficulties. If anything, they probably deal with more challenges than most people. The thing that makes them different is how they respond and react to those obstacles.

Please click the link below to watch a must see video! So touching! 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rCAwXb9n7EY

Everything Happens For A Reason

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbor, coworker, longlost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count!!! Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Safe Landing

“For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” – Proverbs 24:16.

“His head was down, his feet were up, and he came whizzing by screaming.” Chris Hoyle had looked out her window just in time to see Ken Larsen on the way down from the top of a five-story building. Larsen survived the fall with no broken bones and was only bruised and scraped.

Ken Larsen’s frightening fall seems to be a picture of many of our lives, which for a variety of reasons may go out of those whose lives appear to be rapidly heading for a crash landing. Some have financial problems, health problems, marital problems, job problems, sin problems or a combination of problems. So what do you do when you find your life coming apart and you are falling? Ken Larsen was on top of the building laying telecommunications cable. He was walking backward pulling on the cable and his co-worker was holding the spool feeding it out. When Ken stepped off the roof he still had the cable in his hands. He held on gripping tighter and tighter which broke his fall. He landed on his feet even though much of the fall was head first. Meanwhile back on the roof his co-worker leaned against the spool of cable trying to slow the rate the cable fed out.

The only thing that will slow our fall is to hang onto God. In I Corinthians 15:58 we are told, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord….” To have a safe landing we must be steadfast, immovable in our confidence in God. It also helps as it did for Ken Larsen for others to be trying to slow our fall as well. It does make a difference when we do as the apostle exhorted us “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…” (I Timothy 2:1).

By Ed Wrather

Transitions

Every day, we make transitions

from what was to what will be;

Moving on past twenty something

toward eternity.

Some folks tend to measure life

in years upon the earth.

But, it’s not the candles on the cake

that tell you what you’re worth.

And it’s not what you accumulate

as you go from day to day.

Real worth is only measured

by what you give away.

It’s what you do with what you have

that matters in the end.

It’s if you treat each one you meet

as if they were a friend.

Don’t think of being over the hill

or of running out of time.

Just remember, on God’s calendar

you’re always in your prime.

Jeff Hildebrandt © July 31, 2012

Envious

Did you ever stop to ponder

why you are the way you are?

Do you ever long for glory

or to be a movie star?

Are you envious of others?

Do you think that it’s a shame

that you weren’t given what they have;

good looks, good luck and fame?

Are your hips too big; top too small?

Do you look just like a pear?

Are you sure life would be better

if you just had curly hair?

Don’t fret that you’re not glamorous,

not a beauty or a hunk.

Remember, you’re a child of God

and God don’t make no junk.

If you just seek His Kingdom

and not focus on your own

God promises more riches

than this world has ever known.

When all is said and all is done

we won’t be envious.

Cause when Christ comes to take us home

it’s them, who’ll envy us. 

Jeff Hildebrandt © July 31, 2012

A Pair of Pears

There was a king who had a daughter who was very ill. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with her. She just seemed miserable and cried often.

One night the princess dreamed that if she ate a pair of very special pears she would get well. In order to learn what would make the pears so special, she would have to meet with each person who brought pears to her. Her mother the queen, decreed that whoever brought in the very special pears that healed the princess, would have the opportunity to marry the princess, if she wanted to marry him.

Hundreds of young men brought baskets of pears to the princess. She talked for a long time to each of the young men, and ate their pears, but none of them made her feel better.

One farmer who had very sweet and juicy pears as well as three sons told his eldest son, the most handsome of the three, to take a basket of pears to the princess. On the way to the princess the handsome son met a dwarf who related how hungry he was. The dwarf saw the basket and said, “You must be taking pears to heal the princess. Please give me a few pears so I will not starve.”

The handsome son didn’t want to give away even one pear, especially to a dwarf. He was afraid that any pear given away might turn out to be the special one of the pair that would heal the princess. Then he would lose the chance to marry her.

So he said to the hungry man, “The only pears I have in this basket are pairs of pig’s feet.” The hungry man, who was really the prophet Elijah in disguise, replied, “Amen! So shall it be.” Then he walked away.

When the handsome son was brought to the princess, he opened his basket to show her his pears, and it was filled with pairs of pig’s feet. The princess fainted. The king ordered the eldest son to be thrown out into the street.

When the handsome son returned home he didn’t want to tell anybody what had happened so he just said that the pears didn’t work. The farmer then decided to send his middle son, the one who was tall, strong and had lovely blond hair, to bring the farmer’s best pears to the princess.

On the road to the castle the tall blond son also met Elijah, who was disguised this time as a poor beggar who was deaf in one ear. The blond son also didn’t want to help the beggar, even though he seemed very hungry.

The tall blond son said, “I can’t help you. The only pears I have in this basket are pairs of pig’s ears.” “Amen!” said Elijah, “so shall it be.”

When the tall blond son was brought to the princess he opened his basket and it was filled to the top with pairs of pig’s ears. The princess became nauseous and threw up. The king had the blond son thrown out the window into the street. When the middle son returned home he also didn’t tell anybody what happened.

The youngest son wasn’t very handsome, and he wasn’t tall or blond, but he was very kind and considerate. He begged his father to let him go because he wanted to help the princess, although he didn’t think she would want to marry him. On the road to the princess he also met Elijah disguised as a beggar with ugly sores and scabs all over his face and arms.

He felt sorry for the ugly beggar, and even before the beggar asked, he offered half of the pears in the basket to the man saying, “I pray these pears are good for you.” Elijah took them and replied, “Amen! So shall it be good for you.”

When the youngest son opened his basket before the princess she asked why it was only half filled with pears. He told her about offering half the basket of pears to the beggar who was covered with sores and scabs. The princess began to cry. The youngest son apologized for making her cry, but to his surprise she suddenly hugged him. They spent the whole day talking and the princess felt better and better. By the next day she was feeling great. A month later she told the youngest son she wanted to marry him, and that is what she did.

The boy’s father could never figure out what was special about the pears that the youngest son brought to the princess.

By Allen S. Maller

He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.  Proverbs 19:17

A Different Kind of Prayer

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and was rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.  Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.  Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.  Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.  Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not just to those who are close to us but to all humanity.  Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive.  Bless us with patience, empathy and love.  AMEN!  Contributed by Patti