YOU ARE SPECIAL: DO NOT DIMINISH YOURSELF

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.

In the room of 2,000, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”  Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you – but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the 20 dollar note up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?”
Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20”.
“Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt……….. by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.
“Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you.  The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by… WHO WE ARE.

You are SPECIAL…

D o n ‘t   e v e r  f o r g e t  i  t.

Spend some time re-learning the Alphabet!

Although things are not perfect
Because of trials or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
Move out of “Camp Complaining”
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To “thank” is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We’ll run the race with gratitude
EXalting God most high
Yes, there will be good times & yet some
Zion waits in glory…where no one is ever sad!

Remember,
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance
between your knees and the floor.The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.

I ASKED GOD FOR ALL THINGS

I asked God to take away my habit
God said, No
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole
God said, No.
His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No.
Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is learned

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No.
I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No
Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No
You must grow on your own! ,but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life God said, No.
I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me.
God said…Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.
The choice is mine, but God will give me the necessary wisdom and strength.

PUSH

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day.
For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t moved.” Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.
Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.” So that’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a Matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
“Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing? The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have.
“True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.”

**At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.**

When everything seems to go wrong …. just P.U.S.H.!
When the job gets you down … just P.U.S.H.!
When people don’t react the way you think they should…. just P.U.S.H.
When your money is “gone” and the bills are due…. just P.U.S.H.!
When people just don’t understand you …. just… P.U.S.H.!

P= Pray
U= Until
S= Something
H= Happens

SAND AND STONE

Today, my best friend slapped me

Two friends were walking through the desert.At some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face.
They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life.
The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you write on a stone, why?”
The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good to us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it. Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your blessings in stone.
— Unknown

WHAT’S YOUR RELIGION

Diving off the cliff

A Christian was walking along a cliff one day and saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. He immediately ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”

“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
The Christian said, “Well, there’s so much to live for.”
“Like what?” he asked.

“Well… are you religious or atheist?”
“Religious.”

“Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?”
“Christian.”

“Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
“Protestant.”

“Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
“Baptist.”

“Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”
“Baptist Church of God.”

“Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God.”

“Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?”
“Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915.”

To which the potential rescuer said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him off. To some people, many similarities are outweighed by only one tiny difference.

Let us love our fellow human beings despite our differences.

Don't give in to anger

NAILS IN THE FENCE
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”
“A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.”

GIVING BLOOD

Donating Life

A little girl was ill in hospital with a rare blood disorder and was badly in need of a blood donor but a match could not be found. As a last resort, her six year old brother was checked as a match and much to everyone’s relief, he was.
Both his mother and Doctor sat the little boy down and explained how they would like his blood to help his sister so she would not die.
The little boy waited a few moments then asked if he could think about it.
It wasn’t the reaction the mother or Doctor expected but they agreed……
The following day the little boy sat in front of the Doctor with his mother and said he agreed to give his sister what she needed.
The hospital staff moved quickly for his sister was fading quite fast.
So the little boy could understand what was happening, he was placed in a bed next to his sister and so the transfusion began. Quickly, the color and life began flooding back into the little girl and every one was overjoyed.
The little boy turned to the Doctor and quietly asked, “How long will it be before I die?”

You see, the little boy thought that by giving his blood, he was giving his own life, which is why he took a little time to think about it……….

A parable on the Vital Thread THAT JOINS US

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this contain?’ The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:

There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!’

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, ‘Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.’

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, ‘There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!’ The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.’

The mouse turned to the cow and said ‘There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!’  The cow said, ‘Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.’

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap . . . alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house — like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught.   In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail was caught by the trap. The snake bit the farmer’s wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember —-when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

Remember:
Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry. Our lives are woven together for a reason. One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend!!!