Risking

Consider this...

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile spring soil.

“The first seed said, “I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth’s crust above me…I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring…I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!”

And so she grew.

"The second seed said, “I am afraid. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don’t know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts…What if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe.”

And so she waited.

A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

MORAL OF THE STORY

"Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed up by life.''

Story by Patty Hansen from Chicken Soup of the Soul

A simple but meaningful message

A wise man once sat in the audience & cracked a joke.


All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time.


He cracked the same joke again & again, when there was no laughter in the crowd, he smiled and said,

“When u can't laugh on the same joke again & again, then normally why do u keep crying over the same subject / thing over and over again” ?????

An Application Letter From God

To Whom It May Concern:

I heard you were considering a new manager in your life. I would like to apply for the job. I believe I am the most qualified candidate. I am the only one that has ever done this job successfully. I was the first manager of human beings. In fact, I made them, so naturally I know how humanity works, and what is best to get people back into proper working condition. It will be like having the manufacturer as your
personal mechanic. If this is your first time considering me, I would just like to point out that my salary has already been paid by the blood of my son, Jesus, on the cross of Calvary.

What I need from you is the acknowledgment that the price is sufficient to pay for all your sin and to depend on me. I need you to believe this in your heart and to tell somebody else about your decision with your mouth.

I will make some major changes and revisions, and they are not for you to worry about! I need your permission though to execute these changes. It will be my way, and in my time. I will change your desires and give you the strength to make the changes.

Please keep your hands out of my way! Don't try to help me and don't resist me. I really do need your full commitment and cooperation. If you give me this, then the process can go smoothly, and without delays.

Yours Sincerely,

GOD

P.S. I created the heavens and the earth. I AM.


TO GOD BE THE GLORY(",)

Be Satisfied With Me

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone
To have a deep soul relationship with another
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively

But, God, to a Christian says: No, not until you are satisfied, filled and content with being loved by Me alone with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me alone discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.

You will never be united with one another until you are united with Me. Exclusively for anyone or anything else Exclusively for any other desires or longings I want you to stop wishing and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing

One that you cannot imagine I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you.
You must keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am, keep learning the things that I want to tell you. You just wait, wait. That’s all.

Don’t be anxious.
Don’t worry
Don’t look around at the things that others have gotten or that I have given them
Don’t look at the things you think you want

You just keep looking off and away to Me, or you’ll miss what I want to show you , and when you are ready I will surprise you with a love more beautiful than you could dream of. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, You will never be able to experience the great love that is waiting for you (I am working even at this very moment to have both of you ready at the same time)

Until you are both satisfied with Me and the life I’ve prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is the perfect love.
And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me and enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.

Know that I love you utterly
I am God ………
Believe it and be satisfied.

just when you thought miracles do not happen now

The multiplier effect of faith

It was January 1986. The winter had been brutal already and it was just getting started. We had no money at all. My husband Bill had lost his job earlier the year before. He'd exhausted all of his unemployment benefits. He couldn't find steady work anywhere.

Things were looking pretty bad for us. We'd checked the furniture for change and found none. We did not have one cent to our name. God had always taken good care of us. We were depending on Him to come through now.

All his life Bill had been an avid hunter. Often had it not been for him hunting and selling the fur from hunting, we'd gone without. Bill only had one piece of fur left in the freezer to sell.

Bill took it from the freezer, let it dry out, and brushed it. We needed to get as much money as possible from it. My brother was coming the next day to take me to the doctor. Since we passed the fur buyer on our way, Bill knew Mark would take the fur and sell it for us.

I could see disappointment in his face as Mark handed me the check. He was so disappointed because the fur only brought us five dollars. I said to him, "It's more than what we had."

When I got home, God and I had a talk about that five-dollar check. I asked God, "What on earth am I supposed to do with five dollars? We need food, the rent needs to be paid and the utilities aren't paid, either. What on earth is five dollars going to take care of? What am I supposed to do with it?"

God said, "Give it to Me."

I knew it would take the greatness of God to supply our need. I knew I had to take the step of faith needed and trust God with it. I began to get excited! I wanted to phone our pastor and ask him to start a church service right then. I wanted to get our five dollars in the offering plate as soon as possible.

Sunday morning finally came. I couldn't get dressed for church fast enough, I was so excited about putting our money in the offering plate. I was so anxious to see what God was going to do with it.

Before I even got into the building God began His work. One of the men of the church came to me near the front door and asked if we could use some dog food for our dogs. His dog had run away and had been gone over a week. He was sure the dog wasn't coming back and he said we could have the dog food if we needed it. I gave him a hug and thanked him. Into the church I went, determined to get a seat before services could start.

Finally the offering was taken. I remember sitting there praying, "Father, magnify Yourself. Take this little bit and magnify Yourself and not just to me and my family, but to many, many others. This is all we have and I'm trusting You with it."

After services were over, a dear sister in Christ hugged me and stuck something in my pocket. She said she thought maybe we could use it. I thanked her and hugged her tight even though I didn't know what she'd given me.

When I got to the car and checked my pocket, there was twenty dollars. God had multiplied my five dollars four times already!

The very same afternoon, my folks came to visit. I had never let Dad or Mom know how much of a struggle we had. I didn't want to worry them. They didn't know we had no money and little food. No doubt in my mind God sent them, because when the weather is bad, my folks don't go anywhere.

But here they were with bags of food. God sent us more food than we'd seen in a long time. God gave us Miracle Whip, three loaves of Wonder Bread. There was Eckrich bologna.

I share those three specific things because I want you to see that when God supplies, He gives you quality. It wasn't generic mayo, bologna, or bread. God sent us name brands! With words like "miracle" and "wonder"!

A few days later the bank statement came in the mail. I'd made a fifteen-dollar mistake in our favor. That was a miracle! Usually if a mistake was made, it wasn't in our favor. We had fifteen dollars we didn't know we had, but God knew.

Things began to get better for us. As each day passed God supplied and took care of us from His resources. I'd trusted Him with our last five dollars. From that small step of faith, God continued to give.

Some time later, Bill and I were sitting in church and a brother in Christ walked up to me and stuck a piece of paper in my hand. He said, "I want you to take care of this for me." I said, "Okay," and he just walked away. The piece of paper was a check for five hundred dollars. My mind immediately went back to the five dollars I'd trusted to God. We serve an awesome God!

At first it was dog food, twenty dollars, groceries, and extra money in our checking account. Then came fifty from a complete stranger, then five hundred, then four hundred, and on and on.

Just four years ago in 2001 -- fifteen years later -- God sent us through the mail the $6,000 we needed to purchase the house we now live in. Previously, I had asked one other person I trusted to pray with me about the money we needed for this house. No one else knew of our prayer.

The money did not come from her, but from another sister who was dying from cancer. In the note she wrote, "God told me you needed help buying your house. I want you to take this and use it. After all, it's all His anyway!"

I trusted Him with our last five dollars. And He continues to give!

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury. And many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, "Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." -Mark 12:41-44 (KJV)

Worth of Sacrifice

this video has really touched my heart and im sure it will touch yours also..

Five Great Lessons

1 - Most Important Lesson

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop

quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the

questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the

woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman

several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would

I know

her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would

count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your

careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve

your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."

"I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was

Dorothy.

2 - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on

the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm.

Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet,

she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to

help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man

took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi

cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and

thanked him.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise,

a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was

attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway

the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my

spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to

my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you

for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy

entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass

of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins

in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By

now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing

impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied."

The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice

cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on

the table and walked away.

The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the

waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five

pennies

-

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough

left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid

himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some

of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply

walked

around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads

clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a

peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the

boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone

to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally

succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he

noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse

contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the

gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The

peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle

presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to

know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious

disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion

from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same

disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the

little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I

saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and

saying,

"Yes, I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed,

he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the

color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile

faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,

"Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had

misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his

sister all of his blood in order to save her. You see, after all,

understanding and attitude, are everything.