That put a smile to my face, Linda for its so true and wonderfully told.. Thanks so much for sharing!

Sometimes it just take only 1 minute to think about the health you have is precious and certainly NOT something that you should take for granted! I experienced it the past week with a dear befriended family and the fear they had for 1 member to have a deadly disease.. A lot of people have been praying for this family and thankfully! Absolutely THANKFULLY the diagnose was not life-threatening.. Happiness is all around! And I praise the Lord for taking care of the live in this family!! Thank You Lord! - AMEN

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.
We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.
The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.
"What?" Mom asked.
"Let 's run through the rain!" She repeated.
"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.
This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain,"
"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.
"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.
This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?
"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"
The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.
Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.
"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.
Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.
And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.
Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
A friend sent this to me to remind me of life. Hope you enjoy it.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

My glorious

God is bigger then
the air I breath
this world we'll leave

God will safe the day
and all will say
My glorious

And all you ever do
is change the old for new
people we believe that

God is bigger then
the air I breath
the world we'll leave

God will safe the day
and all will say
My glorious

My glorious
My glorious
My glorious
My glorious

Glory Glory
send your Glory
GLory Glory
send your Glory

God is bigger then
the air I breath
this world we'll leave

God will safe the day
and all will say
My glorious

Author unknown

Anger is a condition in which
the tongue works faster than the mind.
 
You can't change the past,
but you can ruin the present
by worrying over the future.
 
Love...and you shall be loved.
 
God always gives His best to those
who leave the choice with Him.
 
All people smile in the same language.
 
A hug is a great gift... one size fits all.
It can be given for any occasion
and it's easy to exchange.
 
Everyone needs to be loved...
especially when they do not deserve it.
 
The real measure of a man's wealth
is what he has invested in eternity.
 
Laughter is God's sunshine.
 
Everyone has beauty
but not everyone sees it.
 
It's important for parents to live
the same things they teach.
 
Thank God for what you have,
TRUST GOD for what you need.
 
If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday
and the worries of tomorrow,
you have no today to be thankful for.
 
Man looks at outward appearance
but the Lord looks within.
 
The choice you make today
will usually affect tomorrow.
 
Take time to laugh, for it is
the music of the soul.
 
If anyone speaks badly of you,
live so none will believe it.
 
Patience is the ability to idle your motor
when you feel like stripping your gears.
 
Love is strengthened by working
through conflicts together.
  
The best thing parents can do
for their children is to love each other.
 
Harsh words break no bones
but they do break hearts.
 
To get out of a difficulty,
one usually must go through it.
  
We take for granted the things
that we should be giving thanks for.
 
Love is the only thing that can be
divided without being diminished.
 
Happiness is enhanced by others
but does not depend upon others.
 
For every minute you are angry with someone,
you lose 60 seconds of happiness
that you can never get back.
 
Do what you can, for who you can,
with what you have, and where you are.
~Author Unknown~
 
   
   

It's the space shuttles 1st tragic anniversary.
May we never forget their bravery.

Commander Rick Husband,
Pilot William McCool,
Payload Commander Michael Anderson
Kalpana Chawla,
David Brown,
Laurel Clark,
Ilan Ramon
 
May God forever bless & keep them.

That was pretty, Linda J and true.. thanks for sharing :-)

Whatever it held of good or evil is now woven into the inevitable pattern of life. I cannot recall one unkind word, nor retrace one foolish step.
 
 
The tapestry is woven. I might look at the pattern and regret the threads of selfishness, the ravelings of hate, but I cannot remove them,
for they are now a lasting part that
holds together the weavings of today.
 
 
I may search for a thread of human kindness, may look for a touch of love and beauty to give color
to my drab design, but if I did not weave
them in my gleanings of today,
I cannot add them.
 
 
Today has passed.
 
 
But if tomorrow comes,
it will offer me a clean and empty loom,
and fresh strands of hope and faith.
 
 
Perhaps then I can weave a lovelier pattern, with less of the gray of care and the purple of pain,
and more of the gold of truth,
and the blue of trust, and the shimmering
white of faith and purity.
 
 
Perchance I can throw open my mental blinds so that there may be reflected upon my loom more of the sunshine of cheer and the hope of optimism.
Perchance I can focus upon the beautiful
instead of the ugly.
 
 
I will not be mortgaged to the past.
Today is no more.
 
 
~by Leola Archer~

Tomorrow is yours 
 

Merry Christmas to all Orthodox Chritians. :-)

Pronto por favore!

Rest in Peace, Bob. ;-)

May the Light of Love shine and restore the world to Peace. May the Love which Christ embodies in perfection be now manifest within the hearts of all humanity. May this Divine manifestation lead us to build a new, Golden Civilization as we spread this Love throughout the world in all of our thoughts and actions, here in the Aquarius Age -- the Age of Synthesis and Brotherhood.

It would be nice to spare a thought for the family of Bob Monkhouse who died last night. He was one of my favourite comedians and a genius. Its a big loss to comedy :o(

this site is lovely.. i only found it while looking for lyrics for a song :)

http://my.homewithgod.com/pkbutterfly/index.html

awwwwwwwwww thats lovely :) brings a tear to the eye :)

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.
That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Danae Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."
Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She would never walk She would never talk She would probably be blind She would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation And on and on.
"No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.
Through the dark hours of morning as Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of drugged sleep, growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live- and live to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to additional dire details of their daughter's chances of ever leaving the hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the inevitable.
"David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral arrangements," Diana remembers "I felt so bad for him because he was doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just wouldn't listen I couldn't listen.
I said, "No, that is not going to happen, no way! I don't care what the doctors say Danae is not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!"
As if willed to live by Diana's determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.
Because Danae's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially "raw," the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort- so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultra-violet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.
There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.
At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later - though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero - Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.
Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life She shows no signs, whatsoever, of any mental or physical impairments.
Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more- but that happy ending is far from the end of her story.
One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.
Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."
Danae closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."
Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children before the rains came her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along.
During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest--and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
 

That was a lovely story Chatty.

God, help the souls who perished in this horrific earthquake..
God, help those who are in the rubble looking for loved ones.
As many as 10,000 souls feared perished.

Heart felt sympathy for you and your family Foxy. It's very difficult to celebrate a day like today when it's also a sad anniversary. May God grant you strength and His peace.

Always Treasure his Memory and aknow he is in a better place and Someday you will see him again in Heaven

merry Christmas

That was a great story chattytea and Merry Christmas to all

Thinking of you today, Foxy Lady.

my thoughts are with you Foxy Lady

of my brother John one year today.

Subject: The Most Wonderful Christmas Story.


The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve.
He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away.
He had no decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his life.
His wife had gone.

He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through. Instead of throwing the man out, George, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warmup.

"Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger.
"I see you're busy. I'll just go"

"Not without something hot in your belly," George turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger.
"It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew. Made it myself.
When you're done there's coffee and it's fresh."

Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell.
"Excuse me, be right back," George said.

There in the driveway was an old 53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked.

"Mister can you help me!" said the driver with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken."

George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold; the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away.

"But mister. Please help...."The door of the office closed behind George as he went in. George went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside.
He walked around the building and opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting.

"Here, you can borrow my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good."

George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked back inside the office.

"Glad I loaned em the truck. Their tires were shot too.
That 'ol truck has brand new tires........" George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty with a used coffee cup beside it.

"Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.
George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start.
It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers.
He discovered the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator.

"Well, I can fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on. "Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln.
They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car.

As he was working he heard a shot being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground.
Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Help me."
George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.

"Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The laundry company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound.

"Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills.

"You hang in there. I'm going to get you an ambulance." George said, but the phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your police car."

He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up.

"Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there.
The guy that shot me is still in the area."

George sat down beside him. "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is.
Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain."

George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?"
he asked.

"None for me," said the officer.

"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city." Then George added: "Too bad I ain't got no donuts."

The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun.

"Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled.
His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.

"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.

"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George. "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."

The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!"
The cop was reaching for his gun.

"Put that thing away," George said to the cop. "We got one too many in here now."

He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pee shooter away."

George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry.

"I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job.
My rent is due. My car got repossessed last week..."

George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can."

He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Being stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out."

The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop.
"Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."

"Shut up and drink your coffee." the cop said.

George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.

"Chuck! You OK?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.

"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"

"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man.

Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran."

George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other.
"That guy works here," the wounded cop continued.

"Yep," George said. "Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."

The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher.
The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?"

Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas, boy. And you too, George, and thanks for everything."

"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems." George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box.

"Here you go. Something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day."

The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man.
"It means something to you."

"And now it means something to you," replied George.
"I got my memories. That's all I need."

George reached into the box again. A toy airplane, a racing car and a little metal truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours."

The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that, too.
Count it as part of your first week's pay." George said.
"Now git home to your family."

The young man turned with tears streaming down his face.
"I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."

"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."

George turned around to find that the stranger had returned.
"Where'd you come from? I thought you left?"

"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger.
"You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"

"Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was getting a little chubby."

The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor.

The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will become a rich man and share his wealth with many people.

That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man."

George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.

"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again." The stranger moved toward the door.

"If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."

George watched as the man's old leather jacket and his torn pants turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.

"You see, George, it's My birthday. Merry Christmas."

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy new year!

May the Lord keep you from harm and bless you abundantly with His love, grace, mercy and peace!

no prob:)

I like the candy cane story better,far less boring.But thanks for the info.

its a nice fiction but that is not how a candy cane came about o why it was shaped in that matter.
check out:
www.snopes2.com/holidays/christmas/xmas.asp

I loved this story and wanted to share it.I'll always think of a candy cane differently from now on...

(Author Unknown)

A candy-maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God.
The candy-maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the " Good Shepherd " with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy-maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time.

But the meaning is still there for those who " have eyes to see and ears to hear " I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness To The Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.

http://www.mamarocks.com/night_jesus_came.htm

http://www.alighthouse.com/tree.htm

http://www.peacefulhush.com/pages/12/122santa.php

Wow! That is so awsome, He is great!

I am glad you enjoyed this as much as I did, chatty and linda :-)

that is fantastic radiant :)

a merry christmas to you too :)

Nice story Radiant

Listen, something really incredible happened today! When I was ready to go to Church this morning, I saw that tt started snowing this morning and still was. I called the same person who picked me up last week and he could get me; although the roads were really really bad!!! Church was great; the kids did a musical and I enjoyed myself while listening, singing and taking pics now and then :-) They were very good. At the end of the service the pastors wife approached me and asked me if I had received her message.. why, no, I didn't - so she asked me to wait, because she wanted to ask me something. I thought she needed me in one of her projects, that would be neat... but it was totally different.. Her was given a coat by her Mom, but the coat was way too big for her and then she'd thought of someone really tall, who would be interested in such a coat.. of course I was VERy surprised, she told that to me... then the clue came: she has been thinking about ME and showed me the coat and she asked me to put it on and it was just perfect!! Im still very surprised about this... then I asked her what about the costs and she said, that it was for free!! And that surprised me even more... "Its the Christmas Season!", she said and I hugged her and thanked her... the coat feels very warm and its fits me fantastic :-))) It is made of dark green wool; but the outside is very soft wool :-) As I said before, this really surprised me, because I actually was looking for another coat or jacket, because of the cold weather; but couldn;t find time to look around and what I saw the other day was so expensive. I don't have money for such things right now. So, I am praising God's Name, because He has made my wishes and needs come true, even before Christmas!! He works in such mysterious and wonderful ways - He truely is the God of Heaven and Earth!! :-)))))

Wishing you all a warm Christmas Season!!!

thats lovely thank you :)

Mary Did You Know?


give it some time to download.. it is really a pretty song.. :)

Happy Holidays Everyone!

check this site :)

http://www.alighthouse.com/cprayernojava.htm