Please visit...

John, my brother-in-law, who I have spoken about previously,

mostly in my other blog (that has been deserted, LOL), has

posted after two years. John is a very special person in my

life. He is my hero. He had two cancers and a bone marrow

transplant. With these came too many complications to share

with you all. He almost lost his life many times. God held his

hand.

He was able to write a short Christmas post and promises to

continue writing in the future if he is able. Please visit him

and encourage him! You will be inspired if you stay and read,

I promise. Thanks!

His Xmas post: Merry Christmas 2010

His blog: too stubborn to die

Memorial Day Quotes...

Quotes for Memorial Day

"The story of America's quest for freedom is inscribed on
her history in the blood of her patriots."
- Randy Vader

"Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak,
and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act?
Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people
with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?"
- Henry Ward Beecher

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill,
that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival
and the success of liberty."
- John F. Kennedy

"The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit
that freedom to their children."
- William Havard

"The cost of liberty is less than the cost of repression."
- Web Dubois

"Future years will never know the seething hell and the
black infernal background, the countless minor scenes and
interiors of the secession war; and it is best they should not.
The real war will never get in the books."
- Walt Whitman

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.
It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,
but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
- Arthur Ashe

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate
our heroes and she-roes!"
- Maya Angelou

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
- Albert Einstein

"The purpose of all war is ultimately peace."
- Saint Augustine

"The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem."
- Aaron Kilbourn

"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free,
and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me and
I'll proudly stand next to him to defend her still today, 'cuz there ain't
no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA."
- Lee Greenwood

First Day Fishing...

I received this from a friend. Again, I can't find the author. I did find out from a search
that it's located in Chicken Soup for the Soul. I hope it blesses you like it did me...

First Day Fishing

All summer, our six-year-old son Chris had been begging his dad to take him on his first fishing
trip. Tomorrow was the big day, but now Ron had to work and the day was ruined. I could
see the disappointment in our son’s eyes. Choking back the tears, he turned to walk away.

“Wait a minute, Chris,” I heard myself say. “Can I take you fishing?”

“Well, uh, okay, Mom,” he answered as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me correctly.

“We’ll get up at five o’clock in the morning. Is that all right?”

“Sure,” he said with a smile quickly replacing his tears.

I should have thought it through more clearly before I had spoken; I hadn’t been fishing
before either.

The alarm buzzed at 5 A.M. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been up that early. After
eating a quick bowl of cereal, we hoisted the ice chest into the car. It was loaded with
sandwiches, lots of drinks and plenty of ice to pack all the fish we were going to catch.
With a list of things we needed, we headed for the nearest bait and tackle shop to buy
a pole, line, hooks and some worms. Then we were off to the lake.

It was a typical August morning with the sun already scorching. We trudged along the rocky
shore carrying our gear and finally settled under a “wannabe” tree. I explained to Chris that
a wannabe tree is a want-to-be tree, because the trees here in Arizona don’t grow very
big due to the extreme heat and lack of rain. He agreed that the small amount of shade
was better than none at all.

I attached the line to the pole and secured the hook with a knot that would have held
Moby Dick.

I was dreading the next step.

“Mom, can you put a worm on my hook for me?”

“Okay, but you’d better learn quick. This is my first and last time.”

All right, I can do this, I thought as I scrunched my eyes shut and quickly grabbed the first
worm that unwittingly wriggled between my thumb and forefinger. The next chore was
putting the worm on the hook. I didn’t know worms came in different sizes; this one was
really skinny. Chris stood back, partly because of the look on my face and partly because
it amazed him that I’d even dare touch a worm. Chris must have been reading my mind as
I wondered how this worm was going to stay on the hook.

“It doesn’t want to stay on the hook,” he murmured as the worm kept falling off.

Suddenly, quite by accident, I stabbed the worm. There it hung mortally wounded and
writhing in pain. “Quick, throw the line into the water!” I screamed. There was no way
that Chris was going to be able to skewer these skinny worms onto a hook without hooking
himself. The realization that I was going to have to put the rest of these wriggling, slimy
little crawlers on the hook for Chris didn’t thrill me, but I soon became quite the expert
at “accidentally” attaching worms to the hook.

Three hours later and with three small bluegill neatly lined up in the corner of our ice chest,
we decided to head for home. The fish had given up trying to make a meal from our “slim”
offerings, and the glaring sun had sent them for deeper, cooler water.

Ron was still at work when we arrived home. I was relieved because I was sweaty, smelled
of fish, and our meager catch didn’t qualify for bragging rights.

“Mom, are we gonna cook ‘em?”

“I suppose we could,” I grimaced. The thought hadn’t even entered my mind. The fish were
so puny that we’d be lucky to get more than two small bites out of each one. Nevertheless,
I popped them into the pan, and within minutes they were ready to eat. I put all three fish
on Chris’ plate.

“No, you get one too, Mom,” he insisted.

My plan hadn’t worked; I was going to have to eat one. Chris took the first bite and didn’t
spit it out, so I tried a bite too. It tasted just like the fishy lake water, but I forced it
down. Ron walked in just as I was taking my last bite.

“Well, how was your trip?” he asked.

Chris began talking before I could swallow my last mouthful.

“It was great, Dad! The water was so clear and smooth, and the sky was really blue. There
were no boats when we first got there so it was real quiet. We could hear the birds singing.
Mom and I sat on a rock and watched a duck swim and make a trail in the water. It was
really fun and Mom was the best!” He then told Ron all about wannabe trees. When he had
finished talking, Chris turned and hugged me.

Was the sky that blue? What singing birds? And I hadn’t even seen the duck. I had been too
engrossed putting the worms on the hook to appreciate the beauty, but Chris had taken it
all in.

“Thanks, Mom. Let’s go back to our wannabe spot again real soon,” he said, his eyes
sparkling.

How could I refuse his irresistible offer?

“Yes, we’ll go again soon.”

The New Footprints...

I was really touched by this. I searched for the author and couldn't find it. If anyone knows who
it is please let me know. I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend! Val =)

The New Footprints

Now imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking along the beach together.

For much of the way the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying in
the pace. But your prints are in a disorganized stream of zig zags, starts, stops, turnarounds,
circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way it seems to go like this. But gradually,
your footprints come in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus
are walking as true friends.

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens; your footprints that once etched
the sand next to the Master's are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His large
footprints is the smaller "sandprint," safely enclosed. You and Jesus are becoming one; this
goes on for many miles.

But gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the larger footprints seem to
grow larger. Eventually it disappears altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They
have become one; again this goes on for a long time.

But then something awful happens. The second set of footprints is back. This time it seems
even worse than before. Zig zags all over the place. Stop ... start. Deep gashes in the sand.
A veritable mess of prints. You're amazed and shocked. But this is the end of your dream.

Now you speak: "Lord, I understand the first scene with the zig zags, fits, starts, and so on.
I was a new Christian, just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me
learn to walk with You."

"That is correct," replied the Lord.

"Then, when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in
Your steps. I followed You very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

"Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually filled in with Yours. I suppose that I was
actually growing so much that I was becoming more like You in every way."

"Precisely."

"But this is my question, Lord. Was there a regression of something? The footprints went back
to two, and this time it was worse than the first."

The Lord smiles, then laughs. "You didn't know?" He says, "That was when we danced."

- Author Unknown

Christian The Lion...

Below is a video I first saw a few months back. It is incredible. It's a true
story. Click on the first link. If you are touched by the story, view the
second link as well. I hope everyone is having a blessed weekend... Val =)

Christian The Lion

Christian The Lion 2

Winston Churchill Quotes...

Winston Churchill Quotes

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
~
"For I myself am an optimist - it does not seem to
be much use being anything else."
~
"Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge."
~
"I am easily satisfied with the very best."
~
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down to us.
Pigs treat us as equals."
~
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
~
"All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in
single words - freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
~
"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it."
~
"I'm preparing my impromptu remarks."
~
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
~
"I like a man who grins when he fights."
~
"However beautiful the strategy, you should
occasionally look at the results."
~
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to
another with no loss of enthusiasm."
~
"My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be
able to persuade my wife to marry me."
~
Lady Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill:
"Winston, if you were my husband, I'd poison your tea."
Winston Churchill:
"Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it."

Quotes and a Verse on Life and Living (part 2)

Quotes and a Verse on Life and Living (part 2)

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies;
and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.'"
- John 11:25-26
~
"Everything that a man leans upon but God,
will be a dart that will certainly pierce his heart
through and through. He who leans only upon Christ,
lives the highest, choicest, safest, and sweetest life."
- Thomas Brooks
~
"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to
me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you...
we are in charge of our attitudes."
- Charles R. Swindoll
~
"What is the use of living if not to strive for noble
causes and to make this muddled world a better place
for those who will live in it after we are gone?"
- Winston Churchill
~
"Each of us has a spark of life inside us,
and our highest endeavor ought to be to
set off that spark in one another."
- Kenny Ausubel
~
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes
you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world
needs is people who can come alive."
- Howard Thurman
~
"Don't let other people tell you what you want."
– Pat Riley
~
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
- Joseph Campbell
~
"I didn't want to get to the end of my life and
find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to
have lived the width of it as well."
- Diane Ackerman
~
"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
- Mother Teresa

Quotes on Life and Living...

Quotes on Life and Living (part 1)

"Each day is a 24-hour miracle to be treated with
awe and experienced to its fullest."
- HBS, "Daily Thoughts"
~
"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions.
All life is an experiment."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
~
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something and that
this thing must be attained."
– Marie Curie
~
"Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living,
and your belief will help create the fact."
– William James
~
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."
- James Dean
~
"Not only is your story worth telling,
but it can be told in words so painstakingly
eloquent that it becomes a song."
- Gloria Naylor
~
"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be."
- Grandma Moses
~
"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee,
the small child, and the smiling face. Smell the rain and
feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential
and fight for your dreams."
- Ashley Smith
~
"The most important things in life aren't things."
- Anthony J. D'Angelo
~
"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced...
Live your life so that when you die,
the world cries and you rejoice."
- Cherokee Proverb
~
"It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
~
"That I will never come again is what makes life so sweet."
- Emily Dickinson

Two animal videos...

I have two happy animal videos for you. They are worth watching.
Animals always make me smile and warm my heart. Click on their
links to view. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Kingsford The Pig

Dancing Cockatoo

Easter Quotes...

Easter Quotes

"And he said to them, 'Do not be amazed; you are looking
for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen;
He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him."
- Mark 16:6
~
"The resurrection gives my life meaning
and direction and the opportunity to start
over no matter what my circumstances."
- Robert Flatt
~
"On Easter Day the veil between time and
eternity thins to gossamer."
- Douglas Horton
~
"The stone was rolled away from the door, not to permit
Christ to come out, but to enable the disciples to go in."
- Peter Marshall
~
"If Easter says anything to us today, it says this:
You can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there.
You can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets
and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!"
- Clarence W. Hall
~
"Earth's saddest day and gladdest day
were just three days apart!"
- Susan Coolidge
~
"Easter spells out beauty, the rare
beauty of new life."
- S.D. Gordon
~
"Blue skies with white clouds on summer days.
A myriad of stars on clear moonlit nights. Tulips and
roses and violets and dandelions and daisies. Bluebirds and
laughter and sunshine and Easter. See how He loves us!"
- Alice Chapin
~
"Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing."
- Albert Laighton
~
"'Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees
filled all the air with fragrance and with joy."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
~
"Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah
is our song."
- Pope John Paul II

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful,
to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some
difference that you have lived and lived well.”
~
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what
you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely... ”
~
“Once you make a decision, the universe
conspires to make it happen.”
~
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make
you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
~
“What you are comes to you.”
~
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you
have already mastered, you will never grow.”
~
“To be great is to be misunderstood.”
~
“We must be our own before we can be another's.”
~
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of
the world is also a confession of character.”
~
“We are always getting ready to live, but never living.”
~
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
~
“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God's handwriting.”
~
“If the stars should appear but one night every thousand
years how man would marvel and stare.”
~
“Every wall is a door.”
~
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children... to leave the world a better
place... to know even one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~
"Little minds have little worries, big minds
have no time for worries.”
~
“As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey.”
~
“The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best
tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.”
~
"A friend may well be reckoned the
masterpiece of nature."
~
“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you
can afford to be stupid with them.”
~
“Thou art to me a delicious torment.”
~
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

An Inspirational Story...

I received this in an email from my friend, Sharon. It
was authored by Kelly Adkins. I hope it brings you as
big a smile as it did me. I hope everyone is having
a lovely Sunday!! Val =)


God Lives Under the Bed

My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed. At least that's what
I heard him say one night. He was praying out loud in his dark
bedroom, and I stopped outside his closed door to listen. "Are you
there, God?" he said. "Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed."

I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique
perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night
something else lingered long after the humor. I realized for the first
time the very different world in which Kevin lives. He was born
30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor.
Apart from his size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which he is
an adult. He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a
7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that
God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the
space under our tree every Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in
the sky because angels carry them.

I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever
dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to
work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel,
returning to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and
later to bed. The only variation in the entire scheme are laundry days,
when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother
with her newborn child. He does not seem dissatisfied. He lopes out
to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work. He
wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before
dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry
for his next day's laundry chores.

And Saturdays - oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad
takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land,
and speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside.
"That one's goin' to Chi-car-go!" Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.

I don't think Kevin knows anything exists outside his world of daily
rituals and weekend field trips. He doesn't know what it means to be
discontent. His life is simple. He will never know the entanglements
of wealth or power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he
wears or what kind of food he eats. He recognizes no differences in
people, treating each person as an equal and a friend. His needs have
always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he is working.
When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is
completely in it. He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and
he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are
done, Kevin knows how to relax. He is not obsessed with his work or
the work of others. His heart is pure. He still believes everyone tells
the truth, promises must be kept and when you are wrong, you
apologize instead of argue.

Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not
afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry. He is always
transparent, always sincere. And he trusts God. Not confined by
intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a
child. Kevin seems to know God - to really be friends with Him in a
way that is difficult for an "educated" person to grasp. God seems
like his closest companion. In my moments of doubt and frustrations
with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine
knowledge that rises above my mortal questions. It is then I realize
that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap - I am. My
obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances - they all become
disabilities when I do not submit them to Christ.

Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all,
he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after
dark and soaking up the goodness and love of the Lord. And one
day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all
amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I'll realize that
God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God
lived under his bed. Kevin won't be surprised at all...

- Kelly Adkins -

The Mousetrap...

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! I wanted to thank the
person who nominated me for the BOTDA (Blog of the Day Award)
I received last week. That was very nice! I am very humbled.
If you want to nominate a favorite blog of yours, visit
the site and let them know who you love to read!

Here is a nice, little story. I do not know who the author is.
I hope you enjoy the message as much as I did. Have a
good weekend! Val =)


The Mousetrap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see
the farmer and his wife open a package.

"What food might this package contain?" the mouse wondered.

He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.



Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There
is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said,
"Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is
of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."





The mouse turned to the pig and yelled him, "There is a mousetrap
in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said, "'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse. There is
nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap
in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"



The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but
it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected,
to face the farmer's mousetrap... alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound
of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what
was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake
whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a
fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the
farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.



His wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with
her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well. She died. So many people came
for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide
enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon all of this from the crack in
his wall with great sadness.

So the next time you hear someone is facing a problem
and think it doesn't concern you, remember -

When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for
one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

- Author Unknown -

Helen Keller quotes...

Helen Keller Quotes

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through
experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened,
ambition inspired, and success achieved.”


"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."


"To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more
welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug."


"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty
to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."


"We may have found a cure for most evils; but we have found no
remedy for the worst of them all, the apathy of human beings."


"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose.
All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."


"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it,
we can never do anything wise in this world."


"True happiness... is not attained through self-gratification,
but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."


"All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming."


"Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and
your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties."


"Never bend your head. Always hold it high.
Look the world straight in the eye."


"What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me."


"Walking with a friend in the dark is better
than walking alone in the light."


"One can never consent to creep when
one feels an impulse to soar."

Trucker Duck...

This gave me the biggest smile. Click on the
link below to view a happy story:


Trucker Duck


Have a good day! Val =)

Pain Quotes and Verses...

Pain Quotes and Verses

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
- Romans 8:1
~
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are
suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ,
so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed."
- 1st Peter 4:12-13

<><

"Pain is a part of being alive, and we need to learn that.
Pain does not last forever, nor is it necessarily unbeatable,
and we need to be taught that."
– Harold Kushner
~
"Given the choice between the experience of
pain and nothing, I would choose pain."
- William Faulkner
~
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
- Author Unknown
~
"We cannot learn without pain."
- Aristotle
~
"But pain insists upon being attended to.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in
our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His
megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
- C. S. Lewis
~
"Laughter is the tonic, the relief,
the surcease for pain."
- Charlie Chaplin
~
"The pain of the mind is worse
than the pain of the body."
- Publilius Syrus
~
"My barn having burned to the ground,
I can now see the moon."
- Japanese poet Masahide
~
"Pain is never permanent."
- St. Teresa of Avila

God, Common Sense, and Fur...

This is a sweet, Christmas story sent to me by my
friend Cathy. It is worth the read! Thanks, Cathy!!

Gold, Common Sense and Fur
By Linda C. Stafford

My husband and I had been happily (most of the time) married five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with the Word as my guide. God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son.

The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, he blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter.

My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned not to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had blessed me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint him.

I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks.

I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three.

When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humour rather than the mess.

In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children.

While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close - I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too.

Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us ever-lasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.

My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes."

My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes."

A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived.

My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur."

The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur."