Life.....

LIFE....
LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is.
Psalm 39:4 , NLT

Life is short no matter how long we live. If there is something important we want to do, we must not put it off for a better day.

Ask yourself, “If I had only six months to live, what would I do?” Tell someone that you love him or her? Deal with an undisciplined area in your life? Tell someone about Jesus? Because life is short, don’t neglect what is truly important.

Joan Jett live concert Green Bay Wi. 9-13-2014 Burkels one block over -...

Joan Jett Live at the Oregon State Fair August 30, 2014

Joan Jett And The Blackhearts ~ Behind The Music 2014 [WS] ....So, can w...

Glen Campbell Farewell

time management

TIME MANAGEMENT

 

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.  As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachiever s he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him.

 

He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more  rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

 

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."  The time management expert replied, "Really?"  He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.  He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

 

By this time the class was on to him.  "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied.  He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand.  He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.  Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

 

"No!" the class shouted.  Once again he said, "Good."  Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

 

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"  "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point.

 

The truth this illustration teaches us is:

 

If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

 

What are the 'big rocks' in your life, time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others?  Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.

 

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life?

 

Then, put those in your jar first.

 

-- Author Unknown

The Phone Call: #InWithTheNew RadioShack Commercial (official version)

resolutions and prayer for 2014

MY 10 RESOLUTIONS FOR 2014

This coming year, I have decided that with God's help, I shall:-

Give up complaining . . . focus on gratitude.

Give up harsh judgments . . . think kind thoughts.

Give up worry . . . trust divine providence.

Give up discouragement . . . be full of hope.

Give up bitterness . . . turn to forgiveness.

Give up hatred . . . return good for evil.

Give up anger . . . practice patience.

Give up pettiness . . . put on maturity.

Give up gloom. . . enjoy the beauty that is around me.

Give up gossiping . . . control my tongue.

-- Author Unknown

My prayer for you in 2014 is that you will:

* Accept the shortcomings in others and realize it is not your responsibility to correct them, it is God’s to perfect them

* Understand your own shortcomings and allow God to perfect them, in His own time

* Reach out to help those whom you can help

* Accept help from those who wish to help you

* Understand that God loves you

* Understand that God wants you to love others

May you have bountiful blessings in 2014

Carlene Carter - Troublesome Waters (Live at Farm Aid 2013)

questions for the new year...

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.
The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.
1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?
 
In addition to these 10 questions, here are 21 more to help you "Consider your ways." Think on the entire list at one sitting, or answer one question each day for a month.
11. What's the most important decision you need to make this year?

12. What area of your life most needs simplifying, and what's one way you could simplify in that area?

13. What's the most important need you feel burdened to meet this year?

14. What habit would you most like to establish this year?

15. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

16. What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it?

17. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your work life this year?

18. What's one new way you could be a blessing to your pastor (or to another who ministers to you) this year?

19. What's one thing you could do this year to enrich the spiritual legacy you will leave to your children and grandchildren?

20. What book, in addition to the Bible, do you most want to read this year?

21. What one thing do you most regret about last year, and what will you do about it this year?

22. What single blessing from God do you want to seek most earnestly this year?

23. In what area of your life do you most need growth, and what will you do about it this year?

24. What's the most important trip you want to take this year?

25. What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year?

26. To what need or ministry will you try to give an unprecedented amount this year?

27. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your commute this year?

28. What one biblical doctrine do you most want to understand better this year, and what will you do about it?

29. If those who know you best gave you one piece of advice, what would they say? Would they be right? What will you do about it?

30. What's the most important new item you want to buy this year?

31. In what area of your life do you most need change, and what will you do about it this year?
 
The value of many of these questions is not in their profundity, but in the simple fact that they bring an issue or commitment into focus. For example, just by articulating which person you most want to encourage this year is more likely to help you remember to encourage that person than if you hadn't considered the question.

the difference between strength and courage...

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRENGTH AND COURAGE

 

It takes strength to be firm.

It takes courage to be gentle.

 

It takes strength to stand guard.

It takes courage to let down your guard.

 

It takes strength to conquer

It takes courage to surrender.

 

It takes strength to be certain.

It takes courage to have doubt.

 

It takes strength to fit in.

It takes courage to stand out.

 

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain.

It takes courage to feel your own pain.

 

It takes strength to hide feelings.

It takes courage to show them.

 

It takes strength to endure abuse.

It takes courage to stop it.

 

It takes strength to stand alone.

It takes courage to lean on another.

 

It takes strength to love.

It takes courage to be loved.

 

It takes strength to survive.

It takes courage to live.

 

"....as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.  Be strong and of good courage...." (Joshua 1:5b-6a)

 

-- Author Unknown

parable of the pencil....

PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you might make or grow through them.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to serve God in everything.

By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth having a meaningful purpose in our heart and a relationship with God daily.

-- Author Unknown

Be Thankful....

BE THANKFUL...

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
  If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,
  for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
  During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
  because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
  because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
  They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
  because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

this old tent

When I looked upon the days gone past,
I’d thought this tent was built to last.
For I’d stood it on some rocky ground
Where stormy winds couldn’t beat it down.

And with my pride and my own hand,
I put my tent on shifting sand
Where pegs pulled loose and my tent did shake,
But I was young and I could take
The unstable world that I was in
I’d just up and move again.

So for many years I went this route,
Shifting this old tent about.
Till one cold day when my mind grew clear,
This tent had an end and it might draw near.

So with much fear (such a heavy load)
I looked for the One who had made this abode.
Yes, the Tentmaker, He’d surely know
Where one such rotting tent should go
To have this canvas revitalized,
To have these poles and pegs re‐sized.

I went to Him on bended knees
Begging Him, “Oh tentmaker please!
Restore this tent I thought would last,
This canvas house that went so fast.”

He looked at me through loving eyes
And merely pointed to the skies.
“Please do not grieve over some old tent,
Old canvas walls that have been spent.
For this mansion that’s been built by Me
Will last you for eternity.”

taking time.....

Therefore , why not slow down and practice patience,
as well as, take time to enjoy the simple things in life like just::

TAKING TIME
Take time to think...It is the source of
power.

Take time to play...It is the secret of
perpetual youth.

Take time to read...It is the fountain of
wisdom.

Take time to pray...It is the greatest power
on Earth.

Take time to love and be loved...It is a God-
given privilege.

Take time to be friendly...It is the road to
happiness.

Take time to laugh...It is the music of the
soul.

Take time to give...It is too short a day to be
selfish.

Take time to work...It is the price of
success.

Take time to do charity...It is the key to
Heaven.
Author Unknown

why God gave us friends??

WHY GOD GAVE US FRIENDS

GOD knew that everyone needs

companionship and cheer,

He knew that people need someone

whose thoughts are always near.

He knew they need someone kind

to lend a helping hand.

Someone to gladly take the time

to care and understand.

GOD knew that we all need someone

to share each happy day,

to be a source of courage

when troubles come our way.

Someone to be true to us,

whether near or far apart.

Someone whose love we'll always

hold and treasure in our hearts.

That's Why GOD Gave Us Friends

-- Author Unknown

who stared christmas??

WHO STARTED CHRISTMAS?

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas
shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row
of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her
children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally
made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of
the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming,
taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every
single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on
our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who
sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car.
She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all
the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and
stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung
up and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't
worry we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator
it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas
thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it,
just think of how different this whole world would be.

-- Author Unknown

twenty truths to remember

TWENTY TRUTHS TO REMEMBER

 

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

 

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you pray, don't worry.

 

3. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.

 

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

 

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

 

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

 

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

 

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

 

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

 

10. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

 

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

 

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

 

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

 

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

 

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

 

16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life moves too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.

 

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.

 

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

 

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle -- it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

 

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

 

-- Author Unknown

the blessing of thorns

THE BLESSING OF THORNS

 

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door.

 

Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole that from her.

 

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come for the holiday.

 

Then Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.  She has no idea what I'm feeling, thought Sandra with a shudder.

 

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

 

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

 

"I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

 

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving "Special?" asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this thanksgiving?"

 

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."

 

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

 

Just then the shop door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi, Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

 

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

 

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

 

"Yes, please," Barbara, replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest. And she left with her order.

 

"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh....she just left with no flowers!

 

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

 

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!" exclaimed Sandra.

 

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

 

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

 

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

 

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and never questioned the good things that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask questions! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

 

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

 

Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

 

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special....12 thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

 

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?"

 

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

 

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

 

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said. "It's all too...fresh."

 

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

 

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

 

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

 

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

 

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

 

It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

 

Praise Him for your roses; thank him for your thorns!

 

-- Nancy Leigh DeMoss

the cab ride.............

THE CAB RIDE

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep. But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

I responded to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory in the industrial part of town. When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needed my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knick-knacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice".

I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening.

"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

"What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done very many more important things in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware - beautifully wrapped in what others may consider small ones.

-- Author Unknown