Giving Blood

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford 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 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 Liz."

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 boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Hold The Rope

A party of botanists... spent their vacation in the Swiss Alps collecting specimens of rare flowers. They started out one morning from a small village and after a several hours' climb came to a precipice overlooking a green valley dotted with a peculiar flower, which, examined through field glasses proved to be of unusual value. From the cliff on which the party was standing, to the valley was a sheer drop of several hundred feet. To descend would be impossible, and to reach the valley from another approach would mean a waste of several hours. '

During the latter part of their climb a small boy had attached himself to the party and had watched with interest the maneuvers of the botanists. After discussing the situation for several minutes, one of the party turned to the boy and said, "Young fellow, if you will let us tie a rope around your waist and lower you over this cliff so that you can dig up one of those plants for us, and let us pull you back up, without harming the plant, we will give

you five dollars."

The boy looked dazed for an instant, then ran off, apparently frightened at the prospect of being lowered over the cliff by a rope. But within a short time he returned, bringing with him an old man, bent and gray, with hands gnarled and calloused by hard labor. Upon reaching the party of botanists the boy turned to the man who had made the offer and said:

"Sir, this is my dad. I'll go down in the valley if you'll let my dad hold the rope."

The Spoon

A pastor had dinner at the home of a couple in his church.  After he left, the wife said to the husband, “I think he stole our spoon!”  This bothered her for a whole year. 

A year later the couple had the pastor for dinner again.  Unable to resist, the wife asked, “Did you steal our spoon last year?”  The pastor replied, “No, I put it inside your Bible.”

No Do Overs

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Disappointments are like road humps, they slow you down a bit but you enjoy the smooth road afterwards. Don't stay on the humps too long. Move on!

When you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy, because God is thinking of something better to give you.

When something happens to you, good or bad, consider what it means. There's a purpose to life's events, to teach you how to laugh more or not to cry too hard.

You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved, and the rest is up to the person to realize your worth.

The measure of love is when you love without measure. In life there are very rare chances that you'll meet the person you love and loves you in return. So once you have it don't ever let go, the chance might never come your way again.

It's better to lose your pride to the one you love, than to lose the one you love because of pride.

We spend too much time looking for the right person to love or finding fault with those we already love, when instead we should be perfecting the love we give.

When you truly care for someone, you don't look for faults, you don't look for answers, and you don't look for mistakes. Instead, you fight the mistakes, you accept the faults, and you overlook the excuses.

Never abandon an old friend. You will never find one who can take his place. Friendship is like wine, it gets better as it grows older.

Pass it on to your dear friends....

Mind Your Business

A lady went to her Pastor and said “Pastor, I won't be going to your church anymore.” The Pastor responded, “But why?” The lady said “Ah! I saw a woman gossiping about another member; a man that is a hypocrite; the worship team living wrong; people looking at their phone during service; among so many other things wrong in your church.”

The Pastor replied “OK. But before you go, do me a favor: take a full glass of water and walk around the church three times without spilling a drop on the ground.  Afterwards, leave the church if you desire.”  The lady thought: too easy!  She walked three times around the church as the Pastor had asked.  When she finished she told the Pastor she was ready to leave.

The Pastor said, “Before you leave I want to ask you one more question.  When you were walking around the church, did you see anyone gossiping?” The lady replied “No.”  “Did you see any hypocrites?"  The lady said "No."  "Anyone looking at their phone?” “No.”  “You know why?” “No.”

“You were focused on the glass, to make sure you didn't stumble and spill any water.  It's the same with our life.  When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we don't have time to see the mistakes of others.  We will reach out a helping hand to them and concentrate on our own walk with the Lord."

Mustard Seed Faith

One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in the classroom.

The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children.

The teacher asked a little boy:

Teacher: Tommy do you see the tree outside?

Tommy: Yes.

Teacher: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?

Tommy: Yes.

Teacher: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.

Tommy: OK. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.

Teacher: Did you see God?

Tommy: No.

Teacher: That’s my point. We can't see God because he isn’t there, he doesn't exist.

A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions.

Teacher agreed and she asked the boy:

Little Girl: Tommy, do you see the tree outside?

Tommy: Yes.

Little girl: Tommy do you see the grass outside?

Tommy: Yessssss (getting tired of the questions by this time)

Little girl: Did you see the sky?

Tommy: Yessssss

Little Girl: Tommy, do you see the teacher? ,

Tommy: Yes

Little Girl: Do you see her brain?

Tommy: No

Little Girl: Does that mean she doesn’t have one?

FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT II CORINTHIANS 4:7

Pass it on...Peace

Lunch With God

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?

"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen I"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added, ''You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

Embrace all equally!

Before I Go

When my life has reached its very end,

And I take that final breath;

I want to know I've left behind,

Some "good" before my death.

I hope that in my final hour,

In all honesty I can say:

That somewhere in my lifetime,

I have brightened someone's day.

That maybe I have brought a smile

To someone else's face,

And made one moment a little sweeter

While they dwelled here in this place.

Lord, please be my reminder

And whisper softly in my ear ...

To be a "giver," not a "taker,"

In the years I have left here.

Give to me the strength I need,

Open up my mind and my soul

That I might show sincere compassion,

And love to others before I go.

For if not a heart be touched by me,

And not a smile was left behind ...

Then the life that I am blessed with,

Will have been a waste of time.

With all my heart, I truly hope

To leave something here on earth ....

That touched another, made them smile

And gave to my life ... worth.

~ Author Unknown ~