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

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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.”