Prayer for the Day
Dear God
So far today I have done all right.
I have not gossiped.
I have not lost my temper.
I have not been greedy, grumpy, nasty,
selfish, proud or overindulgent.
I am very thankful for that....
But in a few minutes, God,
I am going to get out of bed.
|
When
one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully
upon theclosed door that we do not see the ones which open for us. Alexander Graham Bell
The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies and caution lights called Family.
You will have flats called Jobs.
But, if you have a spare called Determination, an engine
called Perseverance, insurance called Faith and a driver called Jesus, you will make it to
a place called Success.
Big Rocks
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an
illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered over achievers
he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes."
Then he said, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel.
He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table
and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted.
Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. He asked the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"
No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first,
you'll never get them in at all." What are the 'big rocks' in your life?
God; your children; your loved ones; your education; your dreams; a worthy cause; teaching or mentoring others; doing things that you love; time for yourself; your health; your significant other.
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the
sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big,important stuff(the big rocks).
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks'
in my life?
Then, put those in your jar first.
Gift of the Heart
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for
wasting a roll of wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became
infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas
tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next
morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his
earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was
empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you know when you give someone a present,
there's supposed to be something inside it?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty, I blew kisses
into the box. All for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms
around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. It is told that the
man kept that box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged,
he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had
put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us as humans, have been given a container
filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family
or God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
Top
A Man reaps what he sows
"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. A man reaps
what he sows" (Galatians 6:7, NIV). So do Nations!
Let's see. . .
I think it started when Madelyn Murray O'Hair complained that she
didn't want any prayer in our schools.
And we said O.K.
Then someone said, "You had better not read the Bible in
school-the Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal,
and love your neighbor as yourself."
And we said, O.K.
Remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, who said we shouldn't spank our
children when they misbehave, because their little personalities
would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem?
And we said, O.K.
Then someone said that teachers and principals better not discipline
our children when they misbehave. And our administrators said,
"Whoa, no one in this school better touch a student when they
misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely
don't want to be sued."
And we said, O.K.
Then someone said, "Let's let our daughters have abortions if they
want, and we won't even have to tell their parents."
And we said, O.K.
Then someone else said,"Let's give our sons and daughters all the
condoms they want, so they can have all the "fun" they desire, and
we won't have to tell their parents."
And we said, O.K.
And then some of our top officials said that it doesn't matter what
we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And we said, "As long as
I have a job and the economy is good, it doesn't matter to me what
anyone does in private, it's nobody's business."
In short, it's O.K.
So now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience,
why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother
them to kill.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with "we reap what we sow."
Top
The Carpenter
An elderly carpenter was
ready to retire. He told his employer, a building contractor, of his plans to
leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife,
and enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to
retire. They could get by.
His employer was sorry to see
his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal
favor. The carpenter said yes, but it was easy to see that his heart was no
longer in his work. He had lost his enthusiasm and had resorted to shoddy
workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his
career.
When the carpenter finished
his work and his boss came to inspect the new house, the contractor handed the
front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said,
"my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame!
If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so
differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
So it is with us. We build
our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up
less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort.
Then with a shock we
look at the situation we have created and find that we
are now living in the house we have built for ourselves.
If we had realized, we would have done it differently. Think of
yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you
hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It
is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only
one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.
The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Who
could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your
attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the
Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24
Top
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: L I T T L E T O N
FROM: G O D
DATE: A P R I L 2 1, 1 9 9 9
Dear Parents, Friends and Loved Ones,
Of these precious youth you've lost,
I see your broken spirits,
I know the terrible cost.
Though evil reigned at Columbine,
And horror filled the air,
I wanted all of you to know,
I left Heaven and came there.
I summoned Heaven's Angels,
Long before the call came in,
To share the dreadful warning,
Of what would soon begin.
The angels' wings were folded,
They knew what was to come,
When I said, "I'll lead this mission."
They followed one by one.
"I will go and get these babies,
And bring them home with me,
Where they'll live in Heaven's Schoolhouse, Where it's safe
and terror free."
Yes, I've prepared a Special Schoolhouse,
It stands out from all the rest,
The Welcome Mat reads, "Columbine,"
It's reserved for Heaven's best.
I was hovering all around them,
In the Library and the Hall,
When the evil forces entered,
Your children heard me call.
I wrapped my arms around them,
Pulled them close unto my breast,
"I've come to take you with me,
We must go and leave the rest."
"Your friends will long remember,
All the cool times that we shared,
And the Angels will remind them,
How very much you cared."
Yes, I took those precious children,
In the twinkling of an eye,
We were on our way to Heaven,
To their Schoolhouse in the sky.
I know your hearts are broken,
I know the pain you bear,
My heart is also broken,
By the evil everywhere.
Please help me fight this battle,
To keep our children safe,
Through prayers and love and sharing,
And holding to the Faith,
That Peace will surely reign one day,
In schools throughout the lands,
For all our future hopes and dreams,
Rest in our students' hands.
I'll give you peace to fill your heart,
Send sun to break the night,
Provide the strength to move beyond,
The wrongs and do what's right.
You ask how I can know your pain,
From the loss of your dear one,
It's because it seems like yesterday,
When I, too gave up a Son.
For all of you so far away who have this day been forced to
sacrifice your own flesh and blood for such a senseless act. As a mother
and Grandmother, I had to tell you in some way how much my heart hurts
tonight.
Fran Maiers
Rochester Hills, MI
Top
The eyes of a Child
This is reported as an eye witness account which happened in the City of
New York, on a cold day in December....
A little boy about 10 years old was standing in front of a shoe store on
Broadway, barefooted, peering through the window and shivering with
cold.
A lady approached the boy and said, "my little fellow, why are you
looking so in that window?" "I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes" was the
boy's reply.
The lady took him by the hand and went into the store, and asked the
clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he
could give her a basin of water and a towel. He replied "certainly" and
quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the
store and removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet and dried them
with a towel.
By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon
the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes and tying up the
remaining pairs of socks, gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said,
"no doubt, my little fellow you feel more comfortable now?"
As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and
looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these
words, "Are you God's wife?"
Top
The Present
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning
with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every
evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use
during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course !!!!!
Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME. Every morning, it
credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as
lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it
opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of
the day. If you failed to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the
"tomorrow".
You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it
so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The
clock is running.
Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a
grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to
a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, Ask the editor of a weekly
newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting
to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask the lovers who missed the
train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided
an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a
silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! Treasure it more because you
shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your
time. And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday, is history.
Tomorrow, is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That is why it is called THE PRESENT!
Top
"Making It Harder than It is!" By Pastor Jim
Courtesy of Great Day News at Net 153. Visit them for inspiration and ministry.
Earlier this summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert, an
hour east of Bakersfield, a fellow new to boating was having a problem. No
matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get his brand new 22-ft Bayliner
to perform. It wouldn't get on a plane at all, and was very sluggish in
almost every maneuver, no matter how much power he supplied. After about an
hour of trying to make it go, he putted over to a nearby marina. Maybe they
could tell him what was wrong. A thorough topside
check revealed everything was in perfect working order. The engine ran
fine, the outdrive went up and down, the prop was the correct size and
pitch.
So, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath.
He came up choking on water, he was laughing so hard. Under the boat, still
strapped securely in place, was the trailer.
Many believers go through life just like the boat above. Although saved by
grace from sin, we still have the guilt strapped to us. Part of the joy of
the Christian life is realizing that we have been totally forgiven and are
made guiltless before a Holy God.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. Romans 8:1-2
Top
| 
