A Gift From Jesus–Merry Christmas!

Happypizza: Here is a beautiful message someone received from the Lord while in prayer. I hope it warms your heart and fills you with Jesus’ wonderful gift of love and peace. Please don’t hesitate to pray the prayer at the end may it change your life just as it did mine. God bless and a Merry Christmas to you all!

Your Free Gift from Jesus

My love is always there for you any place, any time, day or night. My love will descend to any depth to save, go any length to rescue. It knows no stopping place; it knows no limit in giving. I give you My love, infinite and true.

My love is My Christmas gift for you. It’s always been there for you. Will you take it now? I can’t promise you will never have heartaches, disappointments or worries as you walk down the road of life. But I can promise that I’ll give you encouragement, instruction, guidance, wisdom, and the strength you need to come through. I promise to never leave your side. Together we’ll survive any difficulty, overcome any weakness, hurdle any obstacle. My love is power–power to do and power to be.

I know, I love, and I care for you, as if you were the only one in the world. That’s the reason I came to earth on Christmas day–to give My great love to you. I want you to have abundant love in your life. I want you to be free from sorrow. You may ask, “In these modern times so grim and bleak, who could possibly care so much for me? In these days when so many people’s love has grown cold, who can I really trust? Where do I look? Who do I believe? This sounds so good, but is it a sham? How could anyone have so great a love, and gifts, no less, and all for free?” Well, all I ask is that you give Me a chance. Try Me and see. Just hold out your hand, and let Me place My gifts of love there. Don’t worry, simply receive, and in the end, you will see just how happy you’ll be.

Come talk to Me, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, any way you prefer. Talk to Me out loud, or whisper softly if you like. Speak to Me in words, or just send Me your thoughts, signaling Me from your heart in the rush of the day or the stillness of the night. Any way you feel comfortable is fine with Me. You can tell Me anything you want, and I will understand. I’m here for you, with a listening ear, sympathy and understanding.

All you have to do is say yes. Just open your heart, reach out and receive. Call on Me and I’ll come to your aid with My free gifts, My Christmas gifts for you. Just say,

“I take You, Jesus. I want all Your gifts, and a life that is full and free. Give me Your gifts of love, joy and peace. Show me the way. Show me how to live, and how to act along my way. I want your true gift of love–love to relieve my own inner longings, and love to brighten the lives of others and help them find true happiness. Please forgive me for my sins, Jesus, and come into my heart. “

It’s just that simple. I’ll do the rest.

Please don’t forget. Don’t wait too long. I have wonderful things in store for you, if you’ll give Me a chance. And when your life on earth is done, I’ll bring you home with Me–home to My country, Heaven, where there is no pain, no sorrow, confusion or war. Here there is no fear, no hatred, no greed or strife, only My free, abundant gifts of love, and much, much more. All you have to do is say yes and accept them. I’ll be waiting.

Love,

Jesus

“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?

The Guru said, Success = SPLAT ++

Here are excerpts of an encouraging article. It’s a short capsule of the very incredible story of Jean-Dominique Bauby. Also read the last anecdote about the guru and the traveler. Simple yet very meaningful.

–Happypizza

NEVER GIVE UP

French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a massive stroke in December 1995. Twenty days later, the 43-year-old father of two awoke from a coma to discover the only muscles in his body unaffected by the stroke were those of his left eye. By blinking, he was able to make clear that although his flesh was unresponsive, his mind was unimpaired.
Through an amazing process, Bauby was soon able to communicate. A special chart was devised that listed the letters of the alphabet based on frequency of usage. As letters were pointed to, Bauby would blink to indicate his selection and thus spell out his communication.

Undaunted by his debilitating setback, Bauby continued to write.He worked daily in three-hour shifts, blinking his thoughts one letter at a time as a secretary pointed to the chart. Though the process was painfully slow, by the end of the summer of 1996, Bauby had “dictated” the text of a 137-page book. Titled “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Bauby’s book was published in 1997. In it, he shares the experience of possessing a healthy mind that is trapped in a paralyzed body. He compares his own body to a diving bell – a mere container, providing only life support – in which his soul exists like a caged butterfly. I find Bauby’s determination to embrace life in spite of his tragic circumstance inspiring.

Winston Churchill is another leader worthy of admiration. The indomitable statesman stirred the hearts of the British during the dark days of World War II. It was Churchill’s “Never, never, never, never give up” attitude that enabled him to see beyond bombed – out buildings and smoldering rubble and envision a victorious England
Nelson Mandela possessed a determined “never give up” attitude toward life. He rose to become the leader of his nation after spending nearly half his life incarcerated. Unjust prison chains did not discourage him, nor did the stark reality of a date with death daunt him. He faced every obstacle with his goal clearly fixed in his mind, and his captors could not take from him the one thing they most sought – his freedom of thought and personal choice.The aforementioned men have one thing in common. They refused to give up on perusing a goal in spite of the fact that each encountered overwhelming and discouraging difficulties in life.

 

Which Way is Success?

Award winning cartoonist, Jules Feiffer, once presented a sketch that captures well the spirit of these men. The cartoon begins with a man encountering a guru sitting at a fork in the road:“Which way is success?” the man asks. The stoic sage points down the path to his left. The man, thrilled at the prospect of easy success, rushes off in the appropriate direction. From the distance comes a loud SPLAT! The man reappears. He is bruised and tattered. Again he asks the guru, “Which way is success?” Once again the wise man says nothing. He simply points down the path to his left. The man quickly races down the path a second time. From the distance comes a much louder SPLAT! The man returns crawling on his hands and knees. He is bloody and beaten. He yells at the guru, “Twice I have asked you about the path to success. Both times I followed your directions and both times all I have gotten is splatted!” He screams at the top of his lungs, “No more pointing, talk to me!” The wise man calmly replies, “Success is that way. It is just a little past SPLAT.”

 

Jean-Dominique Bauby was debilitated by a stroke. SPLAT!

Winston Churchill faced the ruthless Nazi war machine.SPLAT!

Nelson Mandela was beaten, imprisoned, and faced a death sentence. SPLAT!

Though each man encountered severe setbacks, they did not quit. Although they were knocked down, they refused to stay down. Although the faced tremendous odds, they rose above and overcame. They kept going, kept fighting, refused to give up, and persevered past the splats in their lives.

Faith and persistence in the face of adversity is the key to success. It doesn’t matter what obstacle you face, what disease or disability you confront, what setback you encounter. No matter how you’ve failed, or think you’ve failed, success is there for you if you’ll hang on, keep going, and continue to fight – just past what may look like failure to you.
Splat happens. Whatever shape, form or fashion it takes in your life, don’t quit.

Remember, success is just a little past splat!

Have You Hit Rock Bottom?

The mistake:

There was a beautiful phrase running through my head yesterday, amidst the blackened spot of some major failure on my part at work.

To backtrack, I did something that was a seemingly harmless risk, that ended up being, well…..really stupid and having a terrible outcome and resulting consequences. Now I have to face the music and accept responsibility for my mistake.

I won’t get into details, but at the time of the mistake, I just couldn’t believe what I’d done and just so wish I could go back in time and do it all over again, do the right thing. It also seemed to have happened at just the wrong time in my life (as I was also already facing some very intense personal difficulty) and I didn’t feel any good reason for this situation and everything else I was facing to happen all at once, it felt like an emotional “perfect storm”. Even though it was something I did, it just felt it all was so unfair that things had to turn out the way they did since a lot of it was beyond my control–I honestly felt like I completely hit rock bottom.

After this experience I came to the realization that: