JoAnna Lynn Oblander's Blog, page 41

Faith Lays the Foundation

I have found that Faith in my life is the mortar that forms the foundation of a truly meaningful life. It supports and sustains me most successfully when personal ego and desires are restrained and ultimate control is handed over to the Lord.

My faith is ever evolving and never static. It grows as it is exercised and flounders when abandoned. I believe faith is the greatest gift that the Lord gives to us. With faith, I am able to use the power of the atonement and manifest the unique life mission that the Lord has given me to fulfill. My faith is the vehicle that transports me from where I am to where I need to be!

I hope that you are finding faith a constant gift in your life! I hope you enjoy today’s story!:

Tell Them

-(Author Unknown)

Some 14 years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our opening session in the theology of faith.

That was the day I first saw Tommy. He was combing his hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders. My quick judgment wrote him off as strange – very strange.

Tommy turned out to be my biggest challenge. He constantly objected to or smirked at the possibility of an unconditionally loving God. When he turned in his final exam at the end of the course, he asked in a slightly cynical tone, “Do you think I’ll ever find God?” “No,” I said emphatically. “Oh,” he responded. “I thought that was the product you were pushing.”

I let him get five steps from the door and then called out. “I don’t think you’ll ever find Him, but I am certain He will find you.” Tommy shrugged and left. I felt slightly disappointed that he had missed my clever line.

Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was grateful for that. Then came a sad report: Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to me. When he walked into my office, his body was badly wasted, and his long hair had fallen out because of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice, for the first time, was firm.

“Tommy! I’ve thought about you so often. I heard you were very sick,” I blurted out.

“Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer. It’s a matter of weeks.”

“Can you talk about it?”

“Sure. What would you like to know?”

“What’s it like to be only 24 and know that you’re dying?”

“It could be worse,” he told me, “like being 50 and thinking that drinking booze, seducing women and making money are the real ‘biggies’ in life.”

Then he told me why he had come.

“It was something you said to me on the last day of class. I asked if you thought I would ever find God, and you said no, which surprised me. Then you said, ‘But He will find you.’ I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time. But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging against the bronze doors of heaven. But nothing happened. Well, one day I woke up, and instead of my desperate attempts to get some kind of message, I just quit. I decided I didn’t really care about God, an afterlife, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more important. I thought about you and something else you had said: ‘The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you loved them.’ So I began with the hardest one: my dad.”

Tommy’s father had been reading the newspaper when his son approached him.

“Dad, I would like to talk with you.”

“Well, talk.”

“I mean, it’s really important.”

The newspaper came down three slow inches.

“What is it?”

“Dad, I love you. I just wanted you to know that.”

Tommy smiled at me as he recounted the moment. “The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I couldn’t remember him doing before. He cried and he hugged me. And we talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning.

“It was easier with my mother and little brother,” Tommy continued. “They cried with me, and we hugged one another, and shared the things we had been keeping secret for so long. Here I was, in the shadow of death, and I was just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.

“Then one day I turned around and God was there. He didn’t come to me when I pleaded with Him. Apparently He does things in His own way and at His own hour. The important thing is that you were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him.”

“Tommy,” I added, “could I ask you a favor? Would you come to my theology-of-faith course and tell my students what you told me?”

Though we scheduled a date, he never made it. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision. He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of humanity has ever seen or the mind ever imagined.

Before he died, we talked one last time. “I’m not going to make it to your class,” he said. “I know, Tommy.”

“Will you tell them for me? Will you . . . tell the whole world for me?”

“I will, Tommy. I’ll tell them.”

Story shared from the following website: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/1760/tell-them/#ixzz4Y7nOULC8

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Forgiveness…Allows Us Freedom to Live and Love

I have been reading a wonderful book by Greg Anderson called The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness. From my work with those who have lost their health, I can do nothing but applaud Greg Anderson’s work! I see almost every day the connection between harboring bitterness and grudges and the deterioration of health.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer and then deciding that he was going to find out what survivors had done to cure themselves of cancer, Greg Anderson found an overwhelming number of survivors who had made the deliberate choice to forgive. Greg then chose to analyze his life and begin the process of forgiving those who he felt had wronged him.  He believes that his survival is a result of that choice.

Forgiveness is not about the forgiving the sin or the trespass, it is about the freeing our soul of the bitterness and cankers that come from carrying the resentment.

I hope if you are carrying those heavy burdens of resentment that you will consider unloading them! I hope you enjoy today’s story!:

Leave Your Hurts in the Sand

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

Do not value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life!

Author Unknown

Story shared from the following website: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/1...

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Friendship…The World Needs More Love One Another

I don’t understand bias based on color of skin or religion. I have been a victim of prejudice many times and every time, it has seemed silly to me. When my spirit left my body – I noticed no color. I’m pretty sure that Good and Bad – Selfless and Selfish can be found in every race and every religion. Friendship is a gift that is best received when given.

I think a better way to judge people is by their ability to love. We are all connected more than most can even imagine. When we love each other, we improves our own lives and we improve the lives of those we share this world with.

I love today’s story! It embraces the true meaning of friendship! I hope you enjoy!:

Friends in Heaven

— Author unknown

An old cowboy was riding his trusty horse followed by his faithful dog along an unfamiliar road. The man was enjoying the new scenery, when he suddenly remembered dying, and realized that the dog beside him had been dead for years, as had his horse.

Confused, he wondered what was happening, and where the trail was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall that looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch topped by a golden letter “H” that glowed in the sunlight. Standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like gold.

He rode toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. Parched and tired out by his journey, he called out, ‘Excuse me, where are we?’

‘This is ranch, Heaven, sir,’ the man answered.

‘Wow! Would you happen to have some water?’ the man asked.

 ‘Of course, sir. Come right in, and I’ll have some ice water brought right up.’

As the gate began to open, the cowboy asked, ‘Can I bring my partners, too?’

‘I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t accept pets.’

The cowboy thought for a moment, then turned back to the road and continued riding, his dog trotting by his side.

After another long ride, at the top of another hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a ranch gate that looked as if it had never been closed. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. ‘Excuse me,’ he called to the man. ‘Do you have any water?’

‘Sure, there’s a pump right over there. Help yourself.’

‘How about my friends here?’ the traveler gestured to the dog and his horse.

‘Of course! They look thirsty, too,’ said the man.

The trio went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with buckets beside it. The traveler filled a cup and the buckets with wonderfully cool water and took a long drink, as did his horse and dog. When they were full, he walked back to the man who was still standing by the tree. ‘What do you call this place?’ the traveler asked.

‘This is Heaven,’ he answered.

‘That’s confusing,’ the traveler said. ‘The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.’

‘Oh, you mean the place with the glitzy, gold street and fake pearly gates? That’s hell.’

‘Doesn’t it make you angry when they use your name like that?’

‘Not at all. Actually, we’re happy they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.’

Story is shared from the following website: http://www.inspire21.com/stories/frie...

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Gaining Spiritual Strength

 

I love the quote:”We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin! It is so very true and I have witnessed it! Yet, far too many of us neglect and/or ignore our spiritual health. We all need spiritual strength regardless of the religion we practice.

Spiritual strength must be worked for just like physical strength. Just because we are God’s creations does not mean that we are born with an inexhaustible supply of spiritual strength. Just like our bodies needs consistent nourishment from food and water – our spirits needs frequent nourishment from the kinds of things that bring us spiritual strength.

I have found that things like prayer, scripture reading, meditation, giving service, spending time with nature and listening to inspirational music are some of the most effective forms of spiritual “exercise”. Those things that cause us to come closer to God build our spiritual strength and those things which ostracize us from God deplete our spiritual reserves.

No one would try to run a marathon without first completing exhaustive training. Life, without fail, brings difficulties and trials. When we are spiritually strong, that strength along with God’s assistance will carry us through every time!

Today, I share a wonderful example from the bible of those that were spiritually strong and who received a miracle in their lives because they had prepared themselves spiritually. I hope you enjoy!:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—Daniel 3

King Nebuchadnezzar built an idol to show his own power and strength in the world. He commanded all of the inhabitants of Babylon to bow and worship his creation. There was to be a great ceremony in which the people would worship together. When the ceremony began everyone bowed to the idol except three young Hebrew men—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

The three men had been brought from Israel as slaves, yet through time they were promoted to positions of authority because of their great wisdom. When it was time to worship the image they stood strong because of their belief in the God of Israel.

For not obeying the king’s command, they were sentenced to be burned in a furnace. The king was so angry at their disobedience that he demanded the furnace be heated seven times more than normal for the trio.

The Bible says that the furnace was so hot that the soldiers who threw the three men in were consumed by the fire. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not harmed in any way. The ropes which bound them were burned away, but they walked about freely in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar said that he saw them walking around with a fourth person who he believed was the Son of God.

For their strength and trust in God, the king proclaimed his trust in the God of Israel.

This story shared from the following website: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/5-bible-stories-about-strength/#ixzz4XYNv0xu7

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A Believing Heart…Believing in God

I’m not going to lie. Somehow, I have always known that there is a God and believed in Him and in His ability to help me. I have sensed Him in my heart and I have seen Him all around me: in nature, in loving relationships, in the solutions to life’s problems that seemed to be handed to me. I know that not everyone has that experience.

Though I know that not everyone believes in God or has a believing heart, I also know that virtually everyone born to this world questions at one time or another if there is a God.

I believe that my life is a testimony of his existence. Even if you exclude my near-death experience, there are just too many “directed” events for me to brush a belief in God under the carpet. If I had never had a near-death experience, I have found the “needle in the haystack” far too many times to ever question God’s existence!

In that light, I share today’s story. I love Marilyn’s story. I also love that she trusted her heart and recognized the tangibly intangible moments that she shared with God. I hope you enjoy!:

How an Atheist Found God
A personal account from an atheist who was convinced no god exists, and what facts led to God.

By Marilyn Adamson

Religious people seemed annoyed by my question, “How do you know that God exists?”

Perhaps they wondered about my motives. Or maybe they had no idea how to answer. Most of their responses were, “Well, you just know.”

I wasn’t trying to be difficult. But I certainly did not “just know.” And I was hoping someone did!

After many months of this, I thought, “Here are the people who say they believe in God, but no one knows why!” It was like learning the truth about Santa Claus. It seemed obvious that God was completely fabricated. Maybe some people needed to believe in God but clearly there was no proof. No objective evidence. I came to the most stark conclusion…God did not actually exist.

I held this belief for years, not expecting it to ever change. But then I met someone who caused me to become interested in the possibility of God. She was caring, kind, and very intelligent. It bothered me that someone that intelligent could believe in God.

She talked about God like he was her closest friend. She was convinced he deeply loved her. I knew her life well. Any concern she would take to God, trusting him to work it out or care for her in some way. She would tell me, quite candidly, that she was merely praying that God would act upon her concerns. For over a year, I regularly saw what seemed to be answers to her prayers. I watched her life through a myriad of circumstances, and her faith in God was unwavering.

So, I wanted to believe in God on one hand, because I admired her life and her love for others. But I couldn’t believe in something against my intellect, against my better judgment. God did not exist. A nice idea, but that was all. Wanting something to be true, doesn’t make it true.

During this time I was developing a personally built philosophy.

I tried something that I’m not sure many people do. Every few weeks, I would study a particular philosopher’s take on life …Nietzsche, Hume, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Plato, etc. and then try to apply it to my own life. I was looking for the perfect, workable philosophy for life. I found over and over, that either their philosophies seemed lacking, or were too impractical to implement. But I kept searching.

I was challenging my friend with every question that came to mind about God. I would find myself writing out questions late in the evening. This went on for well over a year. One day she handed me a book1 that briefly answered questions like, is there a God; is Jesus God; what about the Bible. It presented facts. No comments like, “you have to believe.”

I saw some evidence for God that was solidly logical. The parts particularly convincing to me were the chemical properties of water and the earth’s position to the sun. It was all too perfectly designed, too perfectly put together. My faith in “nothing behind it all” seemed weaker than the possibility of God. I had fewer reasons to be certain of nothing, and more reasons to conclude that God might be there.

I then encountered a situation that fully challenged my current philosophy on life. What I had been putting my faith in proved to be completely insufficient. It shocked me to see that I was at a loss for an approach to life that was fully reliable. However, the situation resolved itself and I moved ahead. I have a pretty steady personality. Throughout my life, I never really felt “needy.” No on-going crisis. No big gaps or struggles. And certainly nothing I felt guilty about.

But the concept of God was something I couldn’t get off my mind….was he there? does he exist? maybe there’s a God…..

One night I was talking to my friend again, and she knew I had all the information I needed. She knew that I had run out of questions to ask. Yet I was still trying to debate. In one clear, abrupt moment, my friend turned to me and said, “You know, I can’t make this decision for you, and God’s not going to wait forever.”

And I immediately knew she was right. I was playing around with a very important decision. So I went home and decided that I was going to decide. I was going to either ask God to come into my life, or I was going to end the subject forever and never allow myself to consider the possibility of God again. I was tired of dealing with this decision. I was tired of thinking about it.

So, for the next three or four hours, I reviewed everything I had read and observed. I evaluated it all.

I concluded that the evidence for God was so strong that it made more sense to believe in God than to believe he wasn’t there. Then I had to act on that conclusion.

I knew that just intellectually concluding God existed, was way too light. It would be like deciding…airplanes exist. Faith in an airplane means nothing. However, if you need to get somewhere and an airplane is the way, you have to decide to act and actually get on the plane.

I needed to make the decision to actually talk to God. I needed to ask him to come into my life.

After a few hours of thought I addressed God, “Ok you win. I ask you to come into my life, and you may do with it whatever you’d like.” (It seemed reasonable to me, that since God exists, God had every right to influence and direct my life, if he wanted to.)

I went to bed and the next morning wondered if God was still there. And honestly, I kind of “sensed” that he was. One thing I knew for sure. I immediately had a huge desire to get to know this God whom I now believed in.

I wanted to read the Bible. When I did, it seemed that God was spelling out who he is and how he viewed this relationship with him. It was amazing. What really surprised me is how often he talked about his love. I hadn’t expected that. In my mind, I was simply acknowledging God’s existence. I had no expectations of him, but as I read the Bible, he chose to communicate his love to me. That was a surprise.

Now, my basic, skeptical nature was still there. The first few months or year, I would ask myself, “Am I really believing in God? And, why am I?” And I would methodically review five objective reasons why I believed God existed. So my “faith” in God did not rest on feelings, but on facts, on reasons.

To me, it’s like the foundation of a building. The facts/reasons support my faith. It’s like someone driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. They can feel whatever they’d like about the bridge. But it’s the construction/design/materials of the bridge itself that allows them to safely get from one end to the other. In the same way, the objective reality of God–the logical, historical, scientific reasons to believe in his existence, are important to me. There are people who don’t seem to need that. But I hate being fooled, and I have little regard for wishful thinking. The substantiating reasons for God’s existence mattered to me.

My Experience, Part 2 – Further Evidence of God

Since that time, now that I’ve been a Christian for a number of years—-why do I now believe in God? What reasons do I have for continuing to believe in God?

I’m not sure any of these are going to be believable to you. But I’ll try to put that concern aside and be candid with you. Previously my questions were about God’s existence. After beginning a relationship with God, I saw additional evidence that God is real. Such as…

1. When I have questions, concerns, or would like insight on a matter, God speaks to me through the Bible. What he shows me is always perfectly suited to my question, and a better, more satisfying answer than I expected. Here’s an example.

One day, my schedule, deadlines, and obligations were crawling up my neck and tightening their hold. You know that feeling when you’re so overwhelmed, you don’t know what to do first?

So I got out a piece of paper and pen, and asked God: “Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” I was fully prepared for shouldering 100% responsibility, and was basically asking God to just set the priorities, tell me how to approach it all, and I would.

I then opened my Bible and immediately read where Jesus was talking with a man who was blind. Jesus was asking him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

I read it again. Jesus asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” Rather amazed, I picked up my pen and began writing an entirely different list…to God. This, I have found, is characteristic of God. Reminding us that he is there. That he cares, and he’s capable.

I choose that example because it’s brief. But I could cite hundreds of examples where I was asking God a question and he perfectly, thoroughly answered me. It probably is the characteristic of God that I most appreciate and value–that he is willing to answer my questions.

This isn’t something I learned from other Christians. It’s just how my relationship with God operates. I ask a question, with an attitude that I really want to give him freedom to tell me whatever he wants to….to correct my thinking, to point out an area in my life that isn’t right, to show me where I’m not trusting him, whatever. And he always graciously speaks to me.

2. Similarly, when I need direction for a decision, he gives it. I believe that God cares about our decisions. I believe he has a plan for our lives, that he cares about who I marry, what kind of job I have, and some decisions smaller than that. I don’t believe he cares what toothpaste I buy, or lots of mundane decisions. But decisions that will affect my life or what he wants to accomplish through my life…I think he cares.

When has God given me clear direction?

One time I needed to decide about a trip to the Middle East. There was risk involved, and I was willing to go only if God wanted me to go. It was important to me that I knew what he wanted.

Two different times I asked God about a job. Both times his leading on it was so clear, that anyone watching would have concluded the same. Let me try one thin slice of an example.

During my senior year of college, I had decided to take a job with a Christian organization after graduation, that would require a move to California.

It was Christmas break, and I was now visiting my parents. One evening, I was alone and thinking through a long list of friends. I was wondering who I could talk into moving to California with me to be roommates. One person named Christy, came to mind, who had already graduated and settled in a job in Iowa. I thought she’d be the perfect roommate, but I hadn’t talked to her in several months. Just 30 minutes later, at my parents home, Christy calls me on the phone.

Her first sentence was, “I heard you are taking a job with this Christian organization.” I was floored because I had only told one friend, in Ohio.

Her next statement was, “Ok, I’ve got the pots and pans and dishes.” I said, “WHAT?!” She was moving to the same town in California and was calling to see if I would room with her.

Ok, so you see my point.

You might ask, why such a big deal, to even need God’s help in this decision? I knew that my parents would be completely opposed to this job. I thought it might cost me my relationship with my parents forever. So it was not a light decision. I asked God to guide me toward what he wanted. And he did. There were about ten other events related to this job, just as clear.

Other reasons I still believe in God…

3. In terms of explanations about life–why we’re here, what the purpose is, what is important in life, what to value or strive for–God has better answers than anything I’ve ever read anywhere. I have studied multiple philosophies and religions and other life approaches. What I read in the Bible, what I see from God’s perspective, all the pieces of the puzzle fit.

There is still a lot I’ll read in the Bible and close the Bible saying, “I don’t get it.” So I don’t mean to suggest I fully understand everything in the Bible. Instead, I’m saying that life only makes sense from the perspective of what God has revealed. It’s like reading the operating manual to life on earth, only we are not left to merely follow the manual. The inventor is explaining to us how it all works, and then offers to personally guide us through it, on a daily basis.

4. The intimacy with God is deeper than intimacy with any human being. I say that married, with two children, and tons of very close friends. His love is perfect. He’s incredibly gracious. He takes me right where I’m at, and as I said, speaks to me. He intervenes with actions that leave me amazed as the observer. He is not a belief or doctrine. I see him act in my life.

5. He has done more with my life than I would have done on my own. This is not a statement of inferiority or lack of self confidence. I’m speaking in terms of accomplishments that far exceeded what I ever had in mind. He provides ideas, direction, solutions, wisdom, and better motives than I could aspire to on my own.

Story shared from the following website: http://www.everystudent.com/wires/ath...

 

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Sowing Our Lives…

It’s been over two years now since my father joined the throngs in heaven. I miss him greatly. Often, as I think of him, I think of comments that his friends and my friends made to me and my husband at the funeral and just after his passing. My dad’s life was all about sowing.

My dad was not a sower of dollars, he sowed friends with his ever willing service.

At my dad’s funeral, one of his friends asked me if I knew who they had met each other. He then proceeded to tell me how they met: My dad was interested in leasing some land for his cattle. He went to this man’s home to talk to him about leasing some of his land. When my dad arrived, this man was, as he said, “up to his eyeballs in a mess”. He was in the middle of replacing a toilet. My dad asked him if he knew what he was doing. This man said no and my dad said, “Well let me help you then!”. My dad then proceeded to help him repair his toilet for the next 2 or 3 hours and then they discussed leasing the land.

I could tell by the expression on his face that what my dad had done for him that day still meant the world to him.

It is not usually convenient to give service but it is always worth the effort! What kind of life are you sowing? Will you be missed by a host of friends when you step beyond this life? Will friends who proceeded your departure gather in heaven to welcome you?

I hope that when the day comes that I pass to other side again, that I will be blessed to be surrounded by a host of family and friends who welcome me with smiles, hugs and lots of fond shared memories!

The lives that we sow make a difference in the lives of others that we mingle with! I hope you enjoy today’s story as much as I did!:

I was watching my favorite pastor yesterday and he told the most amazing true story that made me cry. I hope I can retell it properly.

About 26 years ago he was standing in line at a convenience store in New Orleans and noticed the family in front of him did not have enough money to pay for the few items they were buying. The pastor tapped the man on the shoulder and told him to not turn around, but to please take the money he was offering him. The man took the money, and never turned around to look at the kind stranger helping him.

Nine years had passed since that incident in the convenient store, and the pastor was invited as a guest speaker in New Orleans. He spoke, and after the service he was standing by the door greeting people and after most everyone had left, a gentleman walked up to him. He told the pastor an amazing story about how he had come to know the Lord.

Several years ago he, his wife and their child were destitute. They had lost everything, had no jobs, no money and were living in their car. They were not Christians at the time and had decided to make a suicide pact, including the child. They drove to a cliff and quietly discussed their fate. They decided that they should at least give their child some food before they killed themselves and drove away to buy him some milk and food.

They were standing in line at the store, and realized they did not have enough money to pay for the few little items they wanted to give their child for his last meal. Then, he said a man behind him spoke and asked him to please take the money from his hand and to not look at him. The man also told him and his family that “Jesus loves you.”

The man said that they left the store, drove back to the cliff and wept for 4 hours. They knew that they could not go through with what they had planned to do, so they drove away. They drove by a church with a sign that said “Jesus loves you”, and went to the church the next Sunday. The man and woman both got saved that day in Church.

The man then told the Pastor that the minute he stood up in the pulpit and started speaking that he knew immediately that the Pastor was that kind stranger from 9 years ago. He said he would never forget that accent. The Pastor is from South Africa, so he has a very distinct accent. He continued on to tell the Pastor that because of his one random kind act he saved three lives that day, and because he had told them that Jesus loves them, it had drawn them in to a church where they accepted Christ!!!!

Story shared from the following website: http://www.city-data.com/forum/christ...

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Positive Attitudes…Things Turn Out Best

We all know people who have difficulty finding anything positive in their lives. Are you one of them? Who do you love to be with? Those who grumble and complain or those that bring smiles and sunshine into a room?

A positive attitude doesn’t just improve our mental health – it improves our physical and spiritual health as well! It is an attitude worth cultivating and working for!

I spent a period of about 15 years of my life suffering from 24/7 migraine headaches. I had to do a lot of analyzing of my life as I sought for and found answers to improve my health. My mental health deteriorated over time due to the extended period of time that I had had to deal with intense physical pain. As I began to find answers and regain my health, I realized that those years of headaches had taken a toll on my mindset. One of the most important things that I was inspired to recognize was that I needed to remember what I had been like when I had been well.

Remembering what I had been like when I was well was a huge turning point for me in my recovery. It taught me to treasure sunshine, a hearty laugh, and simple things like thinking. Spending so many years being light sensitive and having a mind that cringed at having to exert itself had trained me to avoid going outside our interacting with others in a way that required me to be mentally alert. All I can say is Hurray for our ability to heal and to change! Just working at remembering what I had been like when I was well was a huge blessing in my recovery!

Change is an ongoing process for all of us. Treasure the blessings that are yours! It will do you and our world good!

I hope that you enjoy today’s story! It is a great example of the power of a positive attitude!:

This Is Good

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” To which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. “You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!” “What do you mean,’This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?” “If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you.”

– Author Unknown

Story shared from the following website: http://www.motivationalwellbeing.com/motivational-stories-4.html

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Goals Are Like Magnets…

Do you have Goals? Or, do you just let each day happen without much thought about it? We all have the personal power to consistently improve. Goals give us the destination that we are aiming for.

We may not know all the steps that reaching a goal is going to require but when we set the mark (goal) and then plan what it will take to make that goal become a reality, we set in place the momentum that will get us there. Often, it is a good idea to use a mind map to get an idea of the goals we want to reach and then work backwards.

For example, let’s say I want to have a training facility for swimmers but I don’t even know how to swim yet (and I want to be able to swim the swimmers at the training facility). I could guesstimate that it will take me 10 years to create the training facility. At 8 years  I think I will have the funds necessary and will need to start planning the construction. At 6 years I think I will need to start working on investors and getting information on swimming pool construction and the kind of building that will best house a wet, swimming pool environment. At 4 years I plan to join swimming organizations, become familiar with other swim organizations – creating a swimming network, organize a corporation for my venture and start making friends in the swimming world. At 2 years I plan to competing in swim events and further learn about the world of swimming. Then, from now until then, I realize I need to find a line of work that will enable me to have the flexibility I need to accomplish the goals that I will need to accomplish in order to build the swimming facility. I will also need to start taking swim lessons and dedicate time and effort to develop my swimming talents.

I don’t really want to build a training facility, but if I did, I would need to have a map charted with goals and intentions that would enable me to accomplish my goal.

Dreams are never accomplished if we do nothing but dream. Goals give dreams the opportunity to manifest themselves!

I hope you will recognize the Personal Power you have been blessed with, listen to your heart, and create the goals that will allow you to accomplish the dream of your heart!

In that light, I hope you enjoy today’s story!:

One day a son came to his father for an advice:

– Dad, I can’t do this anymore, – he said, – those lessons only exhaust me, and the result doesn’t change. It must be not destined for me to play football and my dream will never come true.

The father looked at his son with loving eyes and said:

– You know son, every person in life has a dream, a goal of his life. They are the ones that make us do what we are doing, because it’s what we should do. We have to fight for what we believe in, what we feel. In other case, you will simply brake. Once – and for all.

The easiest way is to quit everything and not go until the end, because the path is difficult and we are not used to inconveniences. We want everything to be easy and at once. But the wishes are fleeting! This is how our dream dies, and the goal becomes unreachable.

Gradually, life becomes a routine without depth and meaning. Then one day, we try to forget and start everything from the beginning, we wait for a new day to make our life different. But new obstacles come in our way, and we stop again. We become full of despair and anger for our own helplessness.

But you only need to remember one thing: never give up, fight, battle. It doesn’t matter that you have lost one battle and even dozens of battles. Life goes on! Your biggest enemies are hiding in you – laziness, fear, doubt, indecision. Be a warrior of your dream, a knight of your goal and a soldier of your wishes!

Story shared from the following website: http://www.inspirationalstories.eu/st...

 

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Never Give Up!

When Life is Difficult

When life hands you difficult moments and challenges that seem insurmountable, remember that you never lose until you give up! Don’t give up! Don’t give up trying to improve and trying to make the world a better place. Don’t give up on yourself!

Winston S. Churchill

I love Winston S. Churchill! I love his spunk, his love of freedom and I love that he was such an amazing patriot! I suspect that he wasn’t the gentlest person that ever lived, but I am grateful for his tremendous heart and his efforts to keep this world free!

In 1941, World War II was raging. Winston Churchill left family and home just before Christmas to meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He did this at considerable risk to himself. Christmas Eve, he and President Roosevelt spoke to the nation via a radio broadcast. These are the words he shared:

“Here, in the midst of war, raging and roaring over all the land and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and homes, here, amid all the tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and in every generous heart… Here, then, for one night only, each home…should be a brightly lighted island of happiness and peace. (Shared from the book In The Dark Streets Shineth by David McCullough)

I believe that his and other leaders efforts to inspire the people of the free nations to raise their hopes that evil could be overcome and that goodness would prevail helped to grow the faith needed during that dire time in the history of the world.

We Have God to Turn to

We each have a a personal mentor who waits for our request to be blessed with hope, faith, and all of the abilities we might need to triumph over life’s difficulties. He never gives up on us and He will always walk our path with us. He does not do for us what we can do for ourselves, but with His perfect knowledge and His perfect Vision, He will guide us where we need to go and bless us with all that we truly need!

i hope that as you read today’s story, you will commit to Never Give Up!:

Never Give Up

Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through eighth grade because he had trouble learning English. It seems ironic that years later Oxford University asked him to address its commencement exercises.

He arrived with his usual props. A cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With unmatched dignity, he settled the crowd and stood confident before his admirers. Removing the cigar and carefully placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill’s voice as he shouted, “Never give up!”

Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated: “Never give up!” His words thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself with his cane and left the platform. His commencement address was finished.

story shared from the following website: http://www.motivationalwellbeing.com/motivational-stories-3.html

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Adversity…Nothing in the World is Worth Having Unless it Means Effort

Adversity – we all have it and we all deal with it differently. When you look at nature, you can see all kinds of examples of animals and creatures that deal daily with adversity. Yet, the Lord loves and watches over every creation.

During my near death experience, I witnessed many of us being educated about the adversity we would experience in this experience we call life. The Lord went to great effort to teach and train us and to prepare us for the experiences we would have on earth. You may be surprised to learn that earth was never meant to be 100% vacation time!

Have you ever noticed how much you cherish the lessons learned from adversity? There is a reason for that! Our spirits inherently value growth. We all are meant to experience adversity but none of us are meant to handle all that life presents to us alone. I hope you will remember that God is always aware of you and willing to reach out to you as you are willing to reach out to Him.

May you enjoy today’s story of adversity!:

Get Up

Bringing a giraffe into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe falls 10 feet from its mother’s womb and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it rolls over and tucks its legs under its body. From this position it considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last vestiges of the birthing fluid from its eyes and ears. Then the mother giraffe rudely introduces its offspring to the reality of life.

In his book, “A View from the Zoo”, Gary Richmond describes how a newborn giraffe learns its first lesson.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over her calf. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heels.

When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts. Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs.

Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they’d get it too, if the mother didn’t teach her calf to get up quickly and get with it.

The late Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying greatness, writing novelized biographies of such men as Michelangelo, Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.

Stone was once asked if he had found a thread that runs through the lives of all these exceptional people. He said, “I write about people who sometime in their life have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished and they go to work.

“They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified, and for years they get nowhere. But every time they’re knocked down they stand up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they’ve accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do.”

– Craig B. Larson

Shared from the following website: http://www.motivationalwellbeing.com/motivational-stories-2.html

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