🌲True Christmas🎄

 

 

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, 

I'm just another decorator. 

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, 

I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love, 

it profits me nothing. 

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, 

attend a myriad of holiday parties

and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, 

I have missed the point. 

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss a loved one. 

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. 

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, 

but is thankful they are there to be in the way. 

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't. 

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, 

pearl necklaces will be lost, 

golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure

The best Judgment

 *Actual Judge's sentence in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.* 

 There was a fifteen year old boy in Atlanta. He was caught stealing from  a store.  

On trying to escape from the hold of the guard, a shelf of the store was also broken.

 The judge heard the crime and asked the boy, "Did you really steal something, a packet of bread and cheese"?

 The boy responded by looking down.  ;- Yes'.

 Judge,: - 'Why?'

 Boy,: - I needed.

 Judge: - 'Could have bought.

 Boy: - 'There was no money.'

 Judge: - Take it from the family.  

Boy: - 'There is only mother in the house.  Sick and unemployed, Bread and Cheese were also stolen for the same

 Judge: - You don't do anything?

 Boy: - Used to wash a car.  When I took a day off to take care of my mother, I was fired.

 Judge: - Dont you ask someone for help?

 Boy: - Had left the house since morning, went to about fifty people, took this desperate step at the very end.

 When the arguments ended, the judge began to pronounce the verdict, "the theft and especially the theft of Bread is a very shameful crime and we are all responsible for this crime.  Every person in the court, including me, is a perpetrator, so every person present here is fined ten dollars.  No one can get out of here without giving ten dollars. "

 Saying this, the judge took ten dollars out of his pocket and then picked up the pen and started writing: - In addition, I fined the store a thousand dollars for handing over a hungry child to the police.  

 If the penalty is not deposited within 24 hours, the court will order to seal the store.

 By giving the full amount of collections to this boy, the judge & court ask for forgiveness from that boy.

 After hearing the verdict, tears were pouring from the eyes of the people present in the court. That boy's hiccups were also relentless.  The judge  came out court with tears in his eyes.

 Are our society, systems and courts ready for such a decision?

 Chanakya has said that if a hungry person is caught stealing bread, then the people of that country should be ashamed.

 If this post touches your heart, do share it with others too. 😊🤗💯%

Joy of giving

 

*I want to remember your Face so that when I meet you in Heaven, I will be able to recognize you and Thank you once again -*

In a telephonic interview,

the Radio Announcer

asked his guest,

a millionaire,

"What made you

Happiest in life ?"

The millionaire replied :

I have gone through

Four stages of

Happiness in my Life 

Finally I understood the

Meaning of True Happiness. 

The First Stage was

to Accumulate

Wealth and Means.

But at this Stage

I did not get the

Happiness I wanted. 

Then came the Second

Stage of Collecting

Valuables and Items. 

But I realized that the

Effect of this thing

is also Temporary & the

Lustre of Valuable Things

Does not last long.

Then came the

Third Stage of Getting

Big Projects like

Buying a football team,

Buying a tourist resort etc. 

But even here I did not

Get the Happiness

I had imagined.

The Fourth time

A Friend of mine

Asked me to buy

Wheelchairs for

Disabled children.

At the Friend's request, I immediately bought some Wheelchairs.

But My Friend insisted

That I go with him and

Hand over the Wheelchairs

To the Children myself.

So,I went with him &

Gave the Wheel chairs

To those Children

with my own hands.

I saw the Great

Glow of Happiness

On the Faces of

Those Children. 

I saw them all

Sitting on the Chairs,

Moving around

And having fun.

It was as if they had

Arrived at a Picnic.

But I felt Real Joy

When I started to leave

And one of the Kids

Grabbed my leg.

I gently tried to

Free my leg - but the

Child stared at my face

And held my leg tightly.

I bent down and

Asked the Child :

"Do you need

Anything else?"

The answer the Child

Gave me not only

Made me Happy

but also Changed

My Life forever.

The Child said : 

"I want to remember

Your Face, so that

When I meet you

in Heaven, i will be

Able to recognize you

& Thank you once again."

💐🙂

*"THE JOY OF GIVING".*

🙏The Good Shepherd 🐑

 

Every once in a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind.

These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken.

These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the Shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the Shepherd does?

He takes that rejected little one into His home, hand-feeds it and keeps it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to His chest so the bummer can hear His heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the Shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock.

But that sheep never forgets how the Shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the Shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to Him first?

That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows His voice intimately.

It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the One who loves it and has experienced that love one on one.

So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heartbeat.

I am a bummer lamb adopted and loved by The Good Shepherd!

You are not home yet!!

After forty years of faithful service to the Lord as a missionary to Africa, Henry Morrison and his wife were returning to New York.  As the ship neared the dock, Henry said to his wife, "Look at that crowd.  They haven't forgotten about us".  However, unknown to Henry, the ship also carried President Teddy Roosevelt, returning from a big game hunting trip in Africa.  Roosevelt stepped from the boat, with great fanfare, as people were cheering, flags were waving,  bands were playing, and reporters waiting for his comment, Henry and his wife slowly walked away unnoticed.  They hailed a cab, which took them to the one bedroom apartment which had been provided by the mission board. 

 

Over the next few weeks, Henry tried but failed to put the incident behind him.  He was sinking deeper into depression when one evening, he said to his wife, "This is all wrong.  This man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody throws a big party.  We give our lives in faithful service to God for all these many years, but no one seems to care." 

 

His wife cautioned him that he should not feel this way.  Henry replied "I know you're right, but I just can't help it.  It just isn't right."

 

His wife then said, "Henry, you know God doesn't mind if we honestly question Him.  You need to tell this to the Lord and get this settled now.  You'll be useless in His ministry until you do."

 

Henry Morrison then went to his bedroom, got down on his knees and, shades of Habakkuk, began pouring out his heart to the Lord.  "Lord, you know our situation and what's troubling me.  We gladly served you faithfully for years without complaining.  But now God, I just can't get this incident out of my mind..."

 

After about ten minutes of fervent prayer, Henry returned to the living room with a peaceful look on his face.  His wife said "It looks like you've resolved the matter.  What happened?"

 

Henry replied, "The Lord settled it for me.  I told Him how bitter I was that the President received this tremendous homecoming, but no one even met us as we returned home.  When I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But Henry, you are not home yet!'" (copied)

It is not yet time to congratulate ourselves neither is it time for us to tell ourselves that we have done enough. Heaven is the home and as long as we are not yet there, we have to keep pressing on.

God help us!

Power of Appreciation

Question :What is the best advice your mother ever gave you? 

Answer By Jonathan Pettit

I was about ten. My mom had just finished creating one of her amazing meals, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Delicious. Later, as I was washing the dishes, my mom came up to me. “Sorry, dinner was so awful again,” she said.

I was shocked. “What? No, it was great. I loved it.”

“Really?” she said, with mock surprise. “You always eat so quietly, never saying anything. You’ve never told me you liked my cooking, so I thought you hated it.”

“No, you’re the best cook I know.”

“Then you should tell me that,” she said. “Whenever someone does something nice for you, you should thank that person. If you don’t, then she might think she’s not appreciated and stop doing those nice things.”

Something clicked right then. From that day onward, I thanked everyone for literally everything. If anyone did something that even vaguely helped me, I thanked that person profusely. It became a habit, something I didn’t even think about, and that’s when the magic started happening.

People liked me more. They talked to me more, shared with me, were more friendly. In my first year of high school, during the final week, I came home and found a giant freezie (a kind of sweet frozen snack) waiting for me. “Thanks, mom!” I said instinctively.

“This isn’t from me, she said. “This is from your bus driver.” He had been driving that bus for years, and my siblings and I were the first people to ever thank him as we got dropped off. Those two simple words made a huge difference, so much so that he went out of his way to tell our mom and give us a present.

That’s the power of appreciation. When you have it, all is right in the world, but when it’s missing life is empty. My mom taught me many things, but taking two seconds to say ‘thank you’ every time, in any situation, was the best.

*Debriefing of this Story*

You would have met people who call themselves as good critics but have you ever met a person who says I am good at appreciating others? Isn't that a sad part of our society?

Let's start appreciating people more frequently especially people who are close to us. 

"The sweetest of all sounds is praise"

*Sending you good vibes to start with positive energy*

🙏🙏🌹

Mother's prayer- story

 

“Susanna Wesley”

It would be an understatement to say Susanna Annesley came from a large family. She was the twenty-fifth child of a well-known London minister. She was also an intelligent, deeply spiritual girl. Susanna’s daily prayer was “Dear God, guide me. Help me do Thy will. Make my life count.”

Susanna lived in fear that her father would be arrested for his preaching. He was a preacher in the Dissenters’ church. The Dissenters were Christians who worshiped God in their own way rather than following the rules of the Church of England. In the late 1600’s it was against the law to preach for any church other than the Church of England. Dissenters had been branded, had their ears cut off, and been burned alive. Once, soldiers came to the Annesley’s  home and took many of their belongings as a fine because of her father’s preaching.

Susanna dearly loved and respected her father. From him she learned to study and pray at the same time every day—a habit she would one day teach her own children. When she was nineteen, Susanna married Samuel Wesley. Samuel was not only a very committed minister, but he too was highly intelligent and well educated. He also loved to write. Unfortunately for Susanna, he was not a practical man.

Their first home was drab and tiny. Samuel’s job at a small church in a village near London paid very little. They soon had a baby boy and named him Samuel after his father. Susanna prayed that God would use their son and the children that would come later to make a difference in the world.

After a few years, Samuel got a job in a bigger church in the country, one hundred miles from London. Although his pay was better and a house was provided for them, the move was difficult for Susanna. One hundred miles was a long way to be separated from family and friends when the only means of travel was by horse and carriage. She might never see them again.

Samuel spent most of his free time writing magazine articles and poetry, so it was up to Susanna to see that their growing family was clothed and fed. But in spite of Samuel’s shortcomings, Susanna loved him.

Her strong faith saw her through many hardships. Three of their first seven children died. Her oldest son had never talked. On top of that, Samuel made an important man angry by telling the woman he was living with is not his wife and what they were doing was sinful. This meant he we sure to lose his job.

During those dark days, Susanna turned to God for help. She was given a ray of joy when little Samuel finally began to talk when he was five years old. She began teaching him to read and found he had a very quick mind and memorized easily.

Then her husband was offered a job in another town. It paid better still, and a big house on three acres of land was included. Now they could grow their own food. But there were moving expenses, their growing family needed more furniture. They also needed to buy equipment and animals before they could do any farming. All of this put them in debt equal to a year’s salary.

The unschooled church people in the new place didn’t get along well with the Wesleys, who were educated and had famous and important ancestors. They also didn’t like Samuel’s political ideas and his loyalty to the king. A lonely Susanna turned to God for comfort.

One time while Samuel was away, the family was kept awake by gunshots and an angry mob’s pounding and shouting. Because Susanna was recovering from giving birth, a nurse was taking care of her baby across the street. When the mob finally left, the tired nurse fell into a deep sleep and rolled over on the baby and smothered it.

Some time later, an angry church member demanded that Samuel pay him some money he owed him right away. Samuel couldn’t, so the man had him put into prison for three months. While he was gone, one of his enemies killed all their cows, Susanna’s main means of support. Friends helped her and paid Samuels’s debt.

In 1702, a fire ruined two-thirds of their home. Rebuilding the house put them deeper in debt. Seven years later, another fire destroyed nearly everything they owned.

As if constant money troubles and problems with the townspeople weren’t enough, seven more of Susanna’s children died. Of their nineteen children, only nine lived to be adults.

Through it all, Susanna spent six hours a day teaching them. Determined that her children would learn their duty toward God and their neighbours, she wrote three religious textbooks for them. Her teaching was so effective that every one of them grew to love learning and godly living. Somehow, Susanna managed to spend two hours a day in her own Bible reading and prayer.

In the end, Susanna’s teaching, her daily prayers for her children, and her own godly example made a great impact on her world. While her sons John and Charles were studying at college, they started a club with other students who wanted to know and serve God better. The group became known as Methodists, because they had methods for praying, fasting, and studying the Bible at set times.

    Later, tens of thousands would hear John and Charles. John led the Methodist revival in England, which turned people back to the true gospel. And Charles carried the message to countless churches through the hymns

🍚Salt vs Rice🍛

 *Very Beautifully written, can’t stop sharing*

*Salt -VS- Rice...*

If you were to cook 3 cups of rice, would you add 3 cups of salt to it ?

Certainly not !

So, in every preparation of rice, the rice always outnumbers the salt, yet a little salt makes a huge difference /impact in the overall outcome.

In the room in which you currently are, look up at the ceiling... 

What is the size of the bulb compared to the size of the room ? 

It is probably a ratio of 1:5000.

Yet, darkness flees the entire space once the small bulb is flipped on.

If I am the salt of the earth, and the light of the world, then "little me" has the ability to make big things happen..

Sometimes, because we feel outnumbered or overwhelmed at the sheer magnitude of evil or wrong-doers, we then choose powerlessness, and decide to go with the flow, not standing up for what we believe is right.

Little doesn't mean insignificant.

You are significant.

Your presence should make a BIG difference. 

Stop waiting to be on the side of the majority.

They may be the majority, but they are the trivial majority, and you are the impactful minority.

They are the rice of the world, and you are the salt of the world..

They are the room and you are the light.

Make your influence felt!

Remember:

You are the world's seasoning, to make it beautiful...

So if we can just do the right seasoning to  make even one life beautiful our life is worth living. 

Have a blessed day😊

Onwards and Upwards ! 

Be the salt or the light in someone's life today🌟

👨‍🏫Specialty of teachers 👩‍🏫

 

An old man meets a young man who asks:

“Do you remember me?”⁴

And the old man says no. Then the young man tells him he was his student, And the teacher asks:

“What do you do, what do you do in life?”

The young man answers:

“Well, I became a teacher.”

“ah, how good, like me?” Asks the old man.

“Well, yes. In fact, I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you.”

The old man, curious, asks the young man at what time he decided to become a teacher. And the young man tells him the following story:

“One day, a friend of mine, also a student, came in with a nice new watch, and I decided I wanted it.

I stole it, I took it out of his pocket.

Shortly after, my friend noticed that his watch was missing and immediately complained to our teacher, who was you.

Then you addressed the class saying, ‘This student's watch was stolen during classes today. Whoever stole it, please return it.’

I didn't give it back because I didn't want to.

You closed the door and told us all to stand up and form a circle.

You were going to search our pockets one by one until the watch was found.

However, you told us to close our eyes, because you would only look for his watch if we all had our eyes closed.

We did as instructed.

You went from pocket to pocket, and when you went through my pocket, you found the watch and took it. You kept searching everyone's pockets, and when you were done you said ‘open your eyes. We have the watch.’

You didn't tell on me and you never mentioned the episode. You never said who stole the watch either. That day you saved my dignity forever. It was the most shameful day of my life.

But this is also the day I decided not to become a thief, a bad person, etc. You never said anything, nor did you even scold me or take me aside to give me a moral lesson.

I received your message clearly.

Thanks to you, I understood what a real educator needs to do.

Do you remember this episode, professor?

The old professor answered, ‘Yes, I remember the situation with the stolen watch, which I was looking for in everyone’s pocket. I didn't remember you, because I also closed my eyes while looking.’

_This is the essence of teaching : one need not humiliate to teach._

_*Happy Teachers day !*_

🏵The Daffodil day💐

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over."  I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. 

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. 

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!" 

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."  "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. 

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."   

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." 

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden."  We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. 

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers. 

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.  "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. 

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958." 

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. 

Daffodil garden is one of the greatest principles of celebration. 

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ... 

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" 

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?" 

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until your kids leave the house 

Until you go back to school

Until you finish school 

Until you clean the house

Until you organize the garage

Until you clean off your desk

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you gain 10 lbs.

Until you get married 

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die..

There is no better time than right now to be happy . 

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So work like you don't need money.

Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching. 

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.

I just did!

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!