Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy
family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the
mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the
cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw
a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the
older angel replied,

Things aren't always what they seem.

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very
hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the
couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good
night's rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his
wife in tears.

Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the
field. The younger angel
was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen

The first man had everything, yet you helped him. she accused. The second
family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow
die.

Things aren't always what they seem, the older angel replied.

When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold
stored in that hole in the wall

Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good
fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. He continued, Then last
night as we slept in the farmers bed, the
angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't
always what they seem.

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way
they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is
always to your advantage.

You might not know it until some time later...

A Focus for Life

Whatever you dwell upon in your mind, you give power to. So of course it
makes sense to focus on what you want rather than what you don't want. Yet
there are many ways in which the things you don't want can sneak into your
thinking.

Worry and doubt focus your thinking on what you don't want. Rather than
worrying about the bad things that might happen, direct your actions
toward making positive things happen.

Complaining can also get your mind sidetracked into thinking about what
you don't want. What do you complain about The things you don't like.
Rather than complaining, take action. Action moves you toward what you
do want.

Anger is one more way to get your thinking negatively directed. Rather
than getting angry about what you don't like, use that energy to give
you determination for what you want to achieve.

Keep your mind positively focused on the good things that life can
offer. Those things will grow stronger and more abundant in your world.

A Real Freind's Test

REAL FRIEND TEST !

This is GOOD..I expect it back too!

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens
your refrigerator and helps himself (and doesn't feel even the least
bit weird shutting your 'beer/Pepsi drawer' with her foot!)

A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders
soggy from your tears..

A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names. A real friend
has their phone numbers in his address book.

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend
comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed. A real
friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real
friend seeks to help you with your problems.

A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could
blackmail you with it.

A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.

A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend
expects to always be there for you!

A simple friend reads this e-mail and deletes it. A real friend passes
it on and sends it back to you!

The Power of Holding Hands

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy
and a girl, playing in the sand.

They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water's
edge with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when
they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and
knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.

I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had
happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they
ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and
sat down to build another castle.

I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things
in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and
energy creating, are built on sand.

Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave
will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up.
When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will
be able to laugh.

24 Interludes of Life

1. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth even that
fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile.

2. There are moments in life when you really miss someone that you want
to pick them up from your dreams and hug them. Hope you dream of that
someone.

3. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you
want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the
things you want in life.

4. May you have...Enough happiness to make you sweet Enough trials to
make you strong Enough sorrow to keep you human Enough hope to make you
happy And enough money to keep you comfortable.

5. When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But we often took
so long at the closed door, that we don't see the one which has been
opened for us.

6. The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch, swing
with, never saying a word and then walk away feeling like that was the
best conversation you've had.

7. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but
it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

8. Always put yourself in other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you,
it probably does hurt the person too.

9. A careless word may kindle a strife; A cruel word may wreck a life A
timely word may level stress A lovely word may heal and bless.

10. The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly
themselves and not to twist them with our own image, otherwise we love
only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.

11. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything,
they just make the most of everything that comes along the way.

12. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the
right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we should know
how to be grateful for that gift.

13. It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like
someone and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget
someone.

14. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have
searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the
importance of people who have touched their lives.

15. Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, the romance and
find out you still care for that person.

16. A sad thing about life is that when you meet someone who means a lot
to you only to find out in the end that it was never bound to be and
you just have to let go.

17. Love starts with a smile, develops with a kiss and ends with a tear.

18. Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been
disappointed, to those who still believe even though they've been
betrayed, need to love those who still love, even though they've been
hurt before.

19. It hurts to love someone, and not to be loved in return but what is
most painful is to love someone and never finds the courage to let the
person know how you feel.

20. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You
can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and
heartaches.

21. Never say goodbye when you still want to try; Never give up when you
still feel you can take it; Never say you don't love that person anymore
when you can't let go.

22. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love
you back. Don't expect love in return, just wait for it to grow in
their hearts but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

23. There are things you love to hear but you would never hear it from
the person whom you would like to hear it from, but don't be deaf to
hear it from the person who says it with his heart.

24. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was
smiling. Live your life to the fullest so that when you die, you're
smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Nourishing Love

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were
sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand
with a little water and held it before me, and said this

You see this water carefully contained on my hand It symbolizes Love.

This was how I saw it As long as you keep your hand caringly open and
allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you
attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will
spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they
try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water
spilling out of your hand, Love will retrieve from you.

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are
people you love, allow them to be free beings. Give and don't expect.
Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand. It might sound simple,
but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the
secret to true love.

To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those
who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

The Man Who Didn't Like The Sun

The man hated the bright burning thing in the sky. It hovered over him all day long, no matter where he went. He hated the Sun's harsh light, the heat it created and the shadows it cast on the earth around him.He felt like the sun was stealing something from him, separating him from things when what he craved was unity.

At least at night everything looks the same, he thought. hat's why he liked the darkness. The Sun had become his enemy.

One day, unable to stand it any longer, he decided to dig a hole to protect himself from the intolerable rays of sunlight. His skin, which had been burned a deep brown, began to turn white again, and the shadows of day ceased to annoy him. But then, sitting in his hole, he realized that the sun continued to flood his hiding place with light from above, and that his shelter was even brighter than the land outside.

He went back to work and had soon dug himself a tunnel and a cave. And there he finally found protection from the Sun. He spent years in his hole, meditating in solitude, in the coolness of the dark where the Sun never penetrated. Up on the surface other men grew food and warmed themselves in the heat of the all-giving star. They saw the Sun as a good and protecting God. The Sun was their ally as they learned to tame its extremes. They lived through the seasons, one after the other.

All were thankful for the Sun's presence, all except for the man who wanted to avoid the light and the contrasts it created. In the end the poor hermit perished in his cave, in darkness, in the calmness and unity of the shadows, but desperate and alone.

And after he died the people didn't even have to dig a grave for him.

It was already there...

Moral of the Story

Accepting people's differences, living with others and their strange habits and sometimes incomprehensible behaviour, can be difficult. We are often tempted to retreat like a hermit into the calmness of home, into the shadows. But life is composed of diversity, of exchange and of change. When you cut yourself off from your friends, your neighbours and your community, you also lose a part of yourself.

Don't Ever Be Late

A parish priest was being honored at a dinner on the twenty-fifth
anniversary of his arrival in that parish.

A leading local politician, who was a member of the congregation, was chosen
to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner, but he was
delayed in traffic, so the priest decided to say his own few words while
they waited.

You will understand, he said, the seal of the confessional, can never be
broken. However, I got my first impressions of the parish from the first
confession I heard here. I can only hint vaguely about this, but when I came
here twenty-five years ago I thought I had been assigned to a terrible
place.

The very first chap who entered my confessional told me how he had stolen a
television set, and when stopped by the police, had almost murdered the
officer. Further, he told me he had embezzled money from his place of
business and had an affair with his boss's wife. I was appalled.

But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that, and I
had, indeed come to,
a fine parish full of understanding and loving people. Just as the priest
finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late.

He immediately began to make the presentation and give his talk. "I'll never
forget the first day our parish priest arrived in this parish, said the
politician. In fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in
confession."

Moral: DON'T EVER BE LATE

KEEP IN MIND......

Once upon a time ...

There was a rich King who had 4 wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!"

His heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me.  When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up and there was his first wife.

She was so skinny, she suffered from malnutrition.

Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In Truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives ...

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

AND

And our 1st wife is our Parents, often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego. However, our Parents are the only thing that will follow us and guide wherever we go.

So Love them at ur best ..... They need and Love you most !!! You are their greatest gift

Let them Smile and Cherish..

Scars of Love

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother, in the house, was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs; and then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too.

No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming  hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-o-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not - and will not - let you go.

Making a Difference

A man was walking down the beach at sunset. As, he walked along, he saw another man in the distance. He noticed this man kept leaning down, picking up something and throwing it out into the water, again and again. As, he approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach. He was throwing them back into the water, one by one.

Puzzled, he approached the man and said,

"Good Evening. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If, I don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen."

"But, there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possible get to all of them. And, don't you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?"

The man bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and threw it back into the ocean. With a smile he replied, "Made a difference to that one !!!"

Just remember, no matter how small the deed it really does makes a difference.Make a difference today.