The Cross Room

The young man was at the end of his rope.

Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said.

"I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied,

"My son, if you can't bear it's weight,

just place your cross inside this room.

Then open another door and pick any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief.

"Thank you, Lord,"

he sighed, and did as he was told.

As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses;

some so large the tops were not visible.

Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord,"

he whispered. And the Lord replied,

"My son, that's the cross you brought in."

-Unknown

The Empty Chair

A man's daughter had asked the parish priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

"I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?" said the father.

The priest told him his name and then remarked, "I see the empty chair; I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the priest shut the door.

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "  But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.

I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, `Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest.' Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised; `I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

So I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.

The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead.  But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head in the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

The priest wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

God And The Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

"Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget what God can work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. And remember with God, a mere spider's web becomes a brick wall of protection.

5 Sponges

There are 5 sponges lying on your kitchen counter top. Each member your of your family has been cleaning up different areas of your home, but the sponges all look the same. You are curious as to what

You squeeze each sponge to see what comes out. As you squeeze the first sponge, you see that cola comes out, and so you decide that someone cleaned the kitchen with that one.

Upon squeezing the second sponge, you find tub and tile cleaner, that one was used to clean the bathroom.

Next, in the third sponge, you find motor oil — hubby was cleaning the garage!

In the fourth sponge, baby powder puffs out when it is squeezed —yep, the baby's nursery was done with that one!

And finally, in the last one, is floor wax — that was the one you used on the hall floor!

As you lay the last one down, you look again at their similarity -and they all look the same until they're squeezed. Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out — anger from one, a need for revenge from another, tears from one, remorse from yet another — also greed, untruth, lust — and finally, from one saint, pours forth the love of Christ.

Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in — stay in the Word daily, and be in  continuous prayer, so that when life puts the squeeze on you (and it WILL), Jesus, and Jesus ALONE will shine forth from you!

Have a blessed, squeaky clean day!

Grandma's Apron

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath.  Because she  only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along  with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the  oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot woodstove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.  After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to eat.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:  Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the windowsill to cool.  Her granddaughters set theirs on the windowsill to thaw.  They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.  I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

Prints Of Elbows On My Bed

I was but a youth and thoughtless...

As all youths are apt to be;
Though I had a Christian mother...
Who had taught me carefully.

There came a time when pleasure...
Of the world came to allure,
And I no more sought the guidance...
Of her love so good and pure.

Her tender admonitions fell...
But lightly on my ear,
And for the gentle warnings...
I felt an inward sneer.

But Mother would not yield her boy...
To Satan's sinful sway,
And though I spurned her counsel...
She knew a better way.

She made my room an altar...
A place of secret prayer,
And there she took her burden...
And left it in His care.

And morning, noon and evening...
By that humble bedside low,
She sought the aid of Him who...
Understands a mother's woe.

And I went my way unheeding...
Careless of the life I led,
Until one day I noticed...
Prints of elbows on my bed.

Then I saw that she had been there...
Praying for her wayward boy,
Who for love of worldly pleasure...
Would her peace of mind destroy.

Long the conflict raged within me...
Sin against my Mother's prayers,
Sin must yield - for Mother never...
While she daily met Him there.

And her constant love and patience...
Were like coals upon my head,
Together with the imprints...
Of her elbows on my bed.

And so at last the fight was won...
And I to Christ was led,
And Mother's prayers were answered...
By her elbows on my bed.
© Original Author

Just Float

It is spring in South Africa and I was working in my garden.

I noticed that a little dove had fallen from its nest and into

our swimming pool.  The bird was still alive, but only just.

It had been in the pool a long time.  Its feet were stiff from

the cold and its little neck just hung limp.  I took it out of

the pool not really knowing what to do.

Instinct jumped in.  I wrapped the bird in a towel and blew

softly into the towel to warm it up.  A couple of hours later,

the little bird made a full recovery.

As I was sitting and looking at this bird, I realized that when

I found it in the pool, it was just floating.  Had the little

bird spluttered and flapped, it would have tired itself out.

Its feathers would have become completely water-logged and it

would have drowned.  Instead, it just floated.

The lesson I learned is this:

When I am in a situation, I too should "float" instead of

flapping and splashing around.  I should "float" in the arms of

the Everlasting Father who always will carry me and rescue me.

~A MountainWings Original by Sandy Lange, South Africa~

God Has Kept Me Here For A Reason

Repeat after me: God has kept me here for a reason. I survived because He has a plan for me. All my bad relationships, the addictions, the consequences, the bad credit, the repossessions, the death of my

loved ones, the back stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, or the lack of support; I made it because I am blessed!

I release and let go of all past hurts, misunderstandings and grudges because I am abundantly blessed! I recognize them as the illusions

they are, and sent from the enemy to kill my spirit, steal my joy, and destroy my faith;

For God is all there is. All else is a lie! Now give

yourself a hug, wipe your tears away and walk in victory!!!!!!!! I love

you, but more appropriately God loves you BEST! Be blessed and know that you are at one with THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD! And may the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. Genesis 31:49. Amen!

Now since you are a true child of God, you know that with every

blessing, a blessing is required! So be a blessing to another, by passing this on.

Be Blessed "The Will of GOD will never take you where the GRACE of GOD will not protect you."

"Friends warm you with their presence, trust you with their secrets, and remember you in their prayers"

 

That's Dying

By: Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone"

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"

And that is dying...

Death comes in its own time, in its own way.
Death is as unique as the individual experiencing it.

Anonymous