Be Grateful

Be grateful for…

Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;

Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,

For round about you there are less fortunate than you.

Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom,

The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom;

Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet,

The soft caresses of your babes & all their laughter sweet.

Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blessed you are,

How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar!

And what if rain shall fall today & you with grief are sad;

Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.

–Edgar Guest

A Legend of Gratitude

There is a legend about two angels who were sent to earth to gather up the prayers of mankind.

One was to fill his basket with their petitions and the other was to gather their expressions of thankfulness. Some time later they both went back to the heavens.

One had a basket heaped high and running over with the innumerable petitions of men. The other returned with a sad and heavy heart, for his basket was almost empty.

The thanks of men were heard rarely on earth, even though the angel had searched diligently.

Let us not forget to express our thankuflness in our prayers.

That’s Bad, That’s good

…One day a man bought a stallion, and all of his friends said, “That’s good.” The next day the stallion ran away, and all of his friends said, “That’s bad.” Two weeks later the stallion returned with a herd of mares. His friends said, “That’s good.” The next day his son broke his shoulder when the stallion threw him off. The friends said, “That’s bad.” The next month war broke out. Because the boy was injured, he could not go to war. The friends said, “That’s good.”
-Dan Millman

̒̒̒̒ ̒ all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ̓̓ ̓̓

Romans 8:28(NKJV)

Email From God

God's Email

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
RE: LIFE

Dearest One,

Hi there! This is God. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day.

I love you.

God

P.S. And, remember…

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the “SFGTD” (Something For God To Do) folder. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not necessarily yours.

Once the matter is placed in the folder, do not worry about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life right now.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don’t despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it’s like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the man or woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed their children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes they had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking “what is my purpose?” Be thankful. There are those who didn’t live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people’s bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse–you could be one of them!

Now, you go ahead and have a nice day.

–Author Unknown

God loves you!

Two Paths

Happypizza: This article was written by a good friend of mine and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes when making a post, I try to find a picture or design something that goes along with the theme of the post. It’s a pretty time consuming process for me, especially when I get into working with photoshop. I started the pic below a few weeks ago but got kinda stuck with some “photoshop block”. So I left off for sometime hoping I would get a good concept or idea later.

Today for some reason I was feeling extra creative so I decided to give it another shot and I ended up putting together the picture below in a relatively short amount of time. I know my graphic work is not on a professional level…but I was quite happy with the final picture. I give God the credit for giving me that extra boost of creativity that helped me finish it!

Two Paths

Two Paths

I went to see a friend the other day. I passed through two sets of polished doors and ascended the building in a gleaming elevator to get to his office. A receptionist offered me a cup of gourmet coffee before ushering me into a spacious conference room, where personal mementos, souvenirs from world travels, and numerous awards competed for space on teak shelves.

My friend arrived a minute later and greeted me warmly with a winning smile, his tailored suit slightly rumpled from a long day in the office. He sighed as he sat down across from me, and his smile dropped momentarily, revealing a tired and careworn face.

“Long day?” I inquired. He nodded. It had been a long day. It seemed like every day was a long day, even weekends, especially now with the burgeoning economy and the flood of new projects coming the company’s way. Business was good and he was happy, he said, but I knew him well enough to not completely believe him.

Had I already heard that he was buying a second house? His wife was visiting friends in Rome and had been gone for over a month now, his children were studying abroad, and he had just returned from Madrid. A third car was arriving from the BMW showroom next week. An extra car would make things easier for him and his family. One less thing to argue about. There had been a lot of changes recently—a new office in a better location, a more efficient staff, a better PR manager—and there were more changes coming in his company’s management, image, and products. It takes a lot to succeed in the fast-paced world of today.

Sometimes the best things in life are the things that money can’t buy

We chatted about my recent volunteer work, a trip to a flooded province. He glanced through the pictures I showed him and commented on the beauty and simplicity of rural life.

His phone rang and…

We thank thee…..

Happypizza: Here are two stories I came across with some good examples of positive and somewhat creative responses in the face of some unpleasant circumstances!

Dr. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh was famous for his pulpit prayers. He always found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy morning a member of his congregation thought to himself, “The preacher will have nothing to thank God on a wretched morning like this.” But Whyte began his prayer, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.”

Matthew Henry, the famous scholar, was once accosted by thieves & robbed of his money wallet. He wrote these words in his diary:

“Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; & fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

A Prayer For Mothers

The other day I was reading a post by another blogger regarding some of the difficulties she was facing. Their little family was going through a crisis time and she was trying to be both an encouragement and support to her husband and keep their outlook in a positive light, without the children really knowing about it or having to carry the burden as well. This mother’s love for her husband and family and the tricky domestic management situation she was cheerfully facing, touched my heart and made me thank God for mothers—mine included—who so faithfully care for their family day after day, year after year, often without much fanfare, special recognition or praise. It reminded me of this little prayer and tribute, written some time ago by one of my friends, in honor of all our mothers. Here it is

A PRAYER FOR MOTHERS:

Dear Jesus, bless the mothers who sat up again last night, soothing their crying, colicky babies.

Bless the mothers who read the same favorite bedtime story night after night, even though they could recite it in their sleep.

Bless the mothers who keep a treasured collection of their children’s artwork, from the first scribble to the latest masterpiece.

Bless the mothers who help support their families even when it means going to work with spit-up on their blouses, diapers in their purses, and teething rings on their key chains.

Bless the mothers who cheer the child who scored the winning goal, and bless the mothers who cheer on the child who has never scored a goal.

Bless the mothers who care for their sick children, treasuring the extra time together rather than begrudging the extra work.

Bless the mothers who daily teach their children the ways of love, peace, forgiveness, tolerance, and humility by their example.

Bless the mothers who teach their children to fold their hands in prayer, even before they can say a word.

Bless the mothers who acknowledge their mistakes and ask You to make up for their lacks.

Bless the mothers who never tire of praying for their children.

Bless the mothers who aren’t a picture of perfection but a personification of love.

Thank You, Lord, for mothers—old pro, rookie, or soon-to-be, single or married, rich or poor, mothers of their own children or mothers to the motherless—because without them we would not know that most beautiful thing, a mother’s love.

–Bonita Hele

“Is it Ugly?????”

Do you dislike your look or something particular about your appearance? Is the mirror your best friend, lover, or enemy? If it’s the latter or something similar to it, read on.
This post was compiled from different sources and is dedicated to one of my blog readers who commented on the “Thank God For My Big Nose” post.
–HappyPizza

Born with facial disfigurement:

The story of one of the great presidents of Harvard College, Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926), is worth recalling. Born with a serious facial disfigurement, he suffered deeply from having a large, liver-colored birthmark across his right cheek. He discovered as a young man that nothing could be done about it, & he must go through life with this mark. It is related that when his mother brought to him that tragic truth, it was indeed “the dark hour of his soul.”

His mother told him, “My son, it is not possible for you to get rid of this handicap. We have consulted the best surgeons, & they say that nothing can be done. But it is possible for you, with God’s help, to grow a mind & soul so big that people will forget to look at your face.”

Eliot went on to be a chemistry professor of such limited talents that when he applied for a vacant chair, the post was given to another man. Crushed, Eliot went to Europe, where he was deeply impressed by the German university system. America, he wrote, must develop “a system of education based chiefly upon the pure and applied sciences, the living European languages, and mathematics. The vulgar argument that the study of the classics is necessary to make a gentleman is beneath contempt.”

Later on he was chosen president of Harvard over other candidates with considerable conservative opposition; he became Harvard’s president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university that still is today. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university’s history. Eliot made sweeping changes. He abolished virtually all required courses. He canceled the stern Puritan rules of discipline: no more compulsory daily chapel, no more bans on smoking or theater going. He overhauled and greatly improved the medical and law schools, founded the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1872) and the business school (1908). He also presided over the establishment of a college for women, Radcliffe (1894), originally known mainly as “the Annex.” He recruited a brilliant faculty, not only notable lecturers like Ralph Waldo Emerson (on philosophy) and William Dean Howells (Italian literature), but younger teachers like Adams, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William James and George Santayana.
Eliot’s leadership not only made Harvard the pace-setter for other American colleges and universities, but a major figure in the reform of secondary school education. Both the elite boarding schools, most of them founded during his presidency, and the public high schools shaped their curricula to meet Harvard’s demanding standards. Eliot was a key figure in the creation of standardized admissions examinations, as a founding member of the College Entrance Examining Board.

Overall, in his 40-year reign, Eliot raised the university’s endowment from $2 million to $22 million, its faculty from 45 to 194, its student body from 500 to 2,000. As leader of the nation’s wealthiest and best-known university, Eliot was a celebrated figure whose opinions were sought on a wide variety of matters, from tax policy (he offered the first coherent rationale for the charitable tax exemption) to the intellectual welfare of the general public. He not only brought Harvard an incredible quality of leadership but everything he did helped to influenced other colleges around the country. Said the young Walter Lippmann, when the aging president strolled across his yard, he looked “a little bit like God walking around.”

Having a plain or ugly face:

The renowned Quaker scholar Rufus Jones was speaking of the importance of having a radiant countenance. After his address, a woman “with an almost unbelievably plain face” came up and asked him what he would do if he had a face like hers.

He replied, “While I have troubles of my own of that kind, I’ve discovered that if you light it up from within, any old face you have is good enough.”

For further reading on the subject, read these previous post:

THANK GOD FOR MY BIG NOSE

THE MAGIC MASK–A FABLE?

All Occurs For a Reason…….

“All occurs for a reason”, such a beautiful phrase but also seems to be one of the hardest phrase to personally believe or accept when facing difficulty, lost, and disappointment. To be honest I’ve been going through some personal heartbreaks of late, that are too personal to post here, but what I can say is that it’s been a bit like one of your worst fears coming upon you and then not really knowing whether it’s here to stay or it will pass, but all the while waiting in agonizing limbo.

It’s been a real struggling. Sometimes it’s hard—no, almost impossible, to keep on going, taking that next step to make it through the day. I feel at the best of times I’m just running through the motions–a zombie, sorta. Though I’ve heard that “there is always a light at the end of every tunnel” or “the darkest hour is just before dawn” it just doesn’t always look or seem that way in reality.

I think that if it weren’t for the love and mercy of God and His angels of comfort, and the promises in His Word—which gives me the faith and hope to meet these challenges, I’d just be overwhelmed by the weight, the negativity, and despair of it all. Now I don’t want this blog post to spread despair and hopelessness to you. I’m pretty sure that everybody has enough troubles of their own without needing to wade through someone else’s private negativity. So that’s why I wanted to post these beautiful lyrics that really put some interesting perspectives to disappointments and nonsensical occurrences. I mean if you look at troubles in the positive, the way the lyrics below bring out; it certainly takes the edge off the monsters of despair and hopelessness which try to undermine your happiness, faith, and sanity.

If you are going through any personal tragedy in your life right now, I totally feel for you especially after battling myself through some recent long and lonely trials. If sorrow, injury, loneliness, loss, heartbreak, tragedy, death, sickness, confusion, hopelessness, suffering, deprivation, or anyone of the myriad of difficulties of life are crushing down on you and threatening to take everything good away from you—don’t’ give up hope. There is Someone who cares for you and loves you–Jesus, the greatest and most wonderful, loving spirit of light, who loves you more than anyone else in the whole word can and will help you if you need Him. Call out to Him and He will answer you. Trust me He is there in your darkest night. Keep hope alive. Don’t give up the fight. I hope this poem below will encourage you in some special way. You can also listen to a the song at this link:

Rhyme of Life.mp3–Net Radio

Rhyme Of Life Lyrics

If every thought that came to mind came true,
What kind of world would it be?
If every promise sworn by man was kept,
What would divine words mean to me?

If every chance to succeed had gone my way,
What personality would I have today?
If my first romance had granted me life’s every passion,
Would I have ever crossed your way?

Looking through the book of my life,
Turning pages of passing years,
I see a perfect rhyme throughout my life line.
Through the good times I hold dear,
And through my heartaches, through my tears,
My life has moved in time to the Creator of the design.

If every kiss had promised something more,
Would I have ever felt let down?
If my every desire had ended in satisfaction,
Would I still be satisfied now?

If my every dream had become reality,
What would I be dreaming of today?
If every wish I’d wished had come to be,
Would I be happier today?

I take from life all it has to give, given by the One for whom I live.
All occurs for a reason,
And for this reason I live a life that was given to me to give.
Through the good times I hold dear,
And through my heartaches, through my tears,
My life has moved in time to the Creator of the design.
Music & lyrics: Andrew V., Katrina L.

Thank God for my big nose.

Okay, here is some “positive thinking therapy!” I have a big nose….hahahahaha….. Yeah seriously, and when I was younger it really bothered me. I know it sounds stupid but it was a big deal. I mean most things about my physical appearance bothered me and I’d always get on a big bummer when I’d think about it but I won’t get into that right now…heh heh! Lets just focus on one aspect….my big nose. Now for those of you who have an even bigger nose, you might be wondering….”Hey, what the @$#% is his problem?”, “That ain’t a big nose!” If so the answer is: yes and no—depends on who you comparing it with.

For a Caucasian male it’s not that big, maybe slightly bigger than average, but I have a smaller head and narrow face so it ends being a rather prominent feature on my face.

I grew up in Asia–my parents were posted overseas a good majority of my life, and we lived mostly in South East Asia where pretty much everybody has a small or flat nose. My big nose coupled with my blondish hair and white skin was a rare and curious spectacle.

It often happened when I would meet someone for the first time (in S.E.A.) that I would invariably get questions and fascinated inquiries about the size, length and what-have-you about my nose. So I kind of grew too loath my big nose and all the unwanted attention it brought.

Thankfully though I got to the point where I stopped thinking about it and I’ve kinda learned to accept my nose the way God gave it to me. Since I’ve gotten over that hurdle I’ll go a step further and honestly say “Thank God for my big nose”. Phew, what a milestone in my life….heheheh…now let’s get down to the reasons to be thankful for a big nose. Impossible, you might think, but I’m sure I can come up with something.

Here are a few cool things about my large proboscis.

I’m thankful for my big nose because……

• It makes everyone with a small or flat nose envious…hahahaha–cool huh?
• Due to its size it makes for a good stroking location when I’m nervous or in an awkward situation
• It can make one helluva blow, when snorting out impurities, and that always feels good, rather manly I would say
• I can breathe , inhale, and snort in copious amounts of air and that always feels nice…can’t imagine what it would be like to have pinhole nostrils
• Sneezing is awesome with a big nose, when it “blows–it really blows!”
• I know there is no scientific proof but I’m sure a big nose helps me have a better sense of smell, I mean I can sample a lot more air in one go than someone with a small snout
• It’s a great identifier, ie: I’m the tall guy with a big nose, can’t miss me
• My nose can be an instrument of pleasure
• Even though it’s big, thank God it doesn’t block my eyesight
• I can use it for eye exercise, esp. for focusing on near objects
• It’s the first part of me to enter a room
• Shades and glasses sit well on it with no danger of falling off or sliding down
• I think it has real “character”….even though that’s hard to explain–”how?”
• And it’s not as big as some others I’ve seen
• It serves as a warning sensor when my face is getting to close to something
• It has helped me perfect the sidewards French kiss
• It draws static attention to me, which–if handle correctly–can be positive attention
• As long I’m comfortable with it, as I found in S.E.A., it’s a great conversation topic or even a way to break the ice…..ie: “Hahaha, how cute, you think I’m a sacred white elephant”….etc

So all that to say, “Thank God for my big nose!” I’d like to add that having a big nose is not always a bad thing for you ladies. There are many ladies I know with big noses that are really hot and those with noses that are slightly more hooked can be pretty hot too! Anyhow that’s just my personal opinion. Lastly, to all those with big noses, both guys and girls I salute you: Hold up that big nose proudly and show the world what you’ve got.

If you have a big nose or you can think of anything else to be thankful for or helpful info in regards to a big nose–feel free to comment! Show the world that you can still have it “big and beautiful”.

And if you have a flat nose–I pity you……hahahahaha

One giant nose--Mr Mehmet Ozyurek

PS: Here is a tip for those awkward times when a kid blurts out and draws attention to something that is different about your body or face. As adults we also notice but usually keep our mouths shut–not wanting to be impolite. Kids generally don’t have that type of social awareness and will, as some have commented below, publicly blurt things out that look funny, strange or different.

A little prepared comeback often works both for the kid and those around who might feel awkward for you. You can say something stupid like, “yeah, I got a big nose because once a monkey gave me a magical banana that would make me taller(smarter), but I got greedy, ate two bananas and it made my nose bigger”. If it’s quick enough, the kid will laugh and/or get confused and the older people will generally continue on, forgetting the awkward situation. You will also be rewarded by getting the focus off your nose or whatever the initial comment was about and on to something else.

OMG, I just crashed my car……

sCREECH, bANG, sMASH, ….cRASH!

That’s when it all started. Only seconds earlier I had been on my way to perform as a clown for a children’s benefit show on the theme of “Road Safety”. Ironic isn’t it, I should have a car crash on that day.

I was driving our NGO’s little utility van, following behind one of our other company vehicles. The car I was driving is a tiny Japanese Suzuki bug of a van called a “Bolan Hi-roof”, hardly fit for a tall Caucasian like me to drive. I was driving a little too close to our other vehicle in front of me and when he slammed on the breaks I pushed what I thought was the brake pedal and somehow or another ended up getting my foot stuck between the brake pedal and the accelerator pushing both at the same time. To add to the problem the brakes where already not working so well and due for repairs.

So instead of instantly stopping, the van and I went sailing into the back of the other van I was following behind. Heh heh. Kinda stupid isn’t it. At first I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I was kicking myself for this terrible piece of bad luck I had just gotten myself into. I started to think of all the terrible consequences of having a fender bender on the road while driving a company vehicle. I was pretty bummed out and negative about it. Usually I am a safe driver and in the last 4 years since I started driving I’ve never had an accident or even a minor one.

Well to make a long story short, I remembered about my goal to stay positive on my blog and I was like “great here is a good first test”. So after thinking about it, mind you wasn’t easy, but eventually I came around and thought of some things I’m can be grateful for inspite of my crash. Here they are:

• -I’m thankful, that I crashed into our company car and not some other private vehicle. We have insurance so it covered. My superiors and colleagues were surprisingly civil about it, which I’m so thankful but I did imagine what it would have been like had it been some else.
• -I didn’t hit anyone, people, animals and every creepy crawly thing crosses the road here in this part of the world, plus being a foreigner in this country (a third world country) would have been pretty bad.
• -Neither my passenger nor I were injured.
• -We recently attached a strong bumper to the front of that old tin can van, and it helped in absorbing the impact and protecting me and my passenger’s feet and legs.
• -The accident has made me less cocky and over-confident in my driving which probably means I’ll drive less aggressively and take fewer chances, thereby driving safer.

That’s a few things that came to mind but I’m sure there’s more if I really think about it.