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Celtic Radio Community > Kirk and Chapel > Misc Ramblings From Maceoghainn


Posted by: MacEoghainn 25-May-2004, 04:46 PM
From time to time I find things I'd like to share but they don't always fit the topics we are currently discussing. So as long as no one tells me to stop I'll put them here.

Here's one now:

A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

"It is not for a sign we are watching
For wonders above and below,
The pouring of vials of judgment,
The sounding of trumpets of woe;
It is not for a Day we are looking,
Not even the time yet to be
When the earth shall be filled with God's glory
As the waters cover the sea;
It is not for a King we are longing
To make the world-kingdoms His own;
It is not for a Judge who shall summon
The nations of earth to His throne.

Not for these, though we know they are coming;
For they are but adjuncts of Him,
Before whom all glory is clouded,
Besides whom all splendor grows dim.
We wait for the Lord, our Beloved,
Our Comforter, Master and Friend,
The substance of all that we hope for,
Beginning of faith, and its end;
We watch for our Savior and Bridegroom,
Who loved us and made us His own;
For Him we are looking and longing:
For Jesus, and Jesus alone."*


Revelation 22
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

smile.gif


If I did this right there should be a file that will put a smile on everyones face. If you don't already have something to view powerpoint presentations here's the URL for Microsoft's free viewer: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=428D5727-43AB-4F24-90B7-A94784AF71A4&displaylang=en

Posted by: wizardofowls 25-May-2004, 05:50 PM
AMEN! Praise the Lord of Hosts!

Hello MacE!

In case I didn't make myself clear, I LOVED this! Thank you for sharing it!

I didn't get to see the second file, though. I downloaded the pps viewer. When I tried to open the pps file I got a message that said "Cannot open file. This viewer is only supported on systems using Windows 98 (and several other Windows Editions.)" The funny thing is, though, I use Windows 98! Oh well, I did really love the poem you posted! Thanks again!

Posted by: maggiemahone1 25-May-2004, 06:50 PM
Thanks for posting such a beautiful poem. If you ramble like this, ramble on! biggrin.gif

maggiemahone1

Posted by: stevenpd 25-May-2004, 08:16 PM
The Power Point presentation put a smile on my face. I agree with Maggiemahone1 ramble on!

Posted by: urian 25-May-2004, 08:44 PM
Thanks, mace. I needed that. Both of them. thumbs_up.gif beer_mug.gif

Posted by: tsargent62 26-May-2004, 06:52 AM
Thanks, MacE. I really enjoyed the poem and the PowerPoint pres. Post as much of this stuff as you want! smile.gif

Posted by: Elspeth 26-May-2004, 07:14 AM
MacE, That was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif

I loved it! How can I send it to my friends?

Posted by: gtrplr 26-May-2004, 08:10 AM
QUOTE
MacE, That was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved it! How can I send it to my friends?


MacE, I hate to sound like everybody else, but:

[B]I loved it! AWESOME, BABY![B] (As that sports announcer whose name I can't recall might say.)

Elspeth, right click on the link as save it to your hard drive. Then just email it to your friends.

Posted by: Elspeth 26-May-2004, 10:05 AM
QUOTE (gtrplr @ May 26 2004, 09:10 AM)


Elspeth, right click on the link as save it to your hard drive. Then just email it to your friends.

Duh!

How could I have forgotten right click, my best computer friend in the whole wide world.

BTWgtrplr, your avatar cracks me up, the statue of the orgional grumpy old man. biggrin.gif

Posted by: gtrplr 26-May-2004, 10:53 AM
QUOTE
BTWgtrplr, your avatar cracks me up, the statue of the orgional grumpy old man.


Grumpy!? Who, me? Bah, humbug. wink.gif

Posted by: Aragorn 26-May-2004, 10:56 AM
I really enjoyed watching that!!! way cool. Keep posting these!!! laugh.gif

Posted by: MacEoghainn 26-May-2004, 03:08 PM
1) Thanks for all the positive response to my first post notworthy.gif , but now I'm worried about how I can ever come close to something as good as the poem by Annie Johnson Flint. unsure.gif I found it by accident looking for something else on the web.

2) Well here I go anyway:

Making Pancakes

Six -year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents
pancakes He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter,
opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on
the floor.

He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of
a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor
which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be
something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on
the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked!. Suddenly he saw his
kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking
the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this
monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and
sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up
in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a
terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But
his father just watched him.

Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and
loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process! That's
how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns
into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't
stand our job, or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in
tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks
us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all
over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make
pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and
then they'll be glad we tried... Please pass some of this love on to
others....suppose one morning you were called to God; do all your friends
know you love them? I was thinking. .. and I wondered if I had any wounds
needing to be healed, friendships that need rekindling or three words
needing to be said, sometimes, "I love you" can heal & bless! Remind every
one of your friends that you love them. Even if you think they don't love
back, you would be amazed at what those three little words, a smile, and a
reminder like this can do.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 27-May-2004, 05:14 PM
A joke from: A Joke a Day Ministries ( http://www.the-word.net/~ajokeaday7 )

Atheist Theology

On the Upper West Side lived a man who was a very militant atheist
but he sent his son to Trinity School because, despite its Christian
roots, it was a great school. After a month, the boy comes home and
says casually, "By the way Dad, do you know what Trinity means? It
means the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

The father can barely control his rage. He seizes his son by the
shoulders and declares, "Danny, I'm going to tell you something now
and I want you never to forget it. There is only one God and we
don't believe in Him!"



.....and on a more serious note: Also from A Joke a Day Ministries

Chaplain's service in Iraq abounds with faith, miracles

By Kelli Cottrell BP News
CHRISTIAN EXAMINER

NORFOLK, VA. Sitting on the ramp of a military vehicle on the lawn
of Saddam Hussein's presidential palace, Lance Cpl. Jeff Guthrie's
eyes welled with tears that streamed down his muddy face.

He had just stormed the gates of the palace in a gruesome fight with
his fellow Marines and claimed victory.

Lt. Carey Cash, a chaplain with his battalion, saw Guthrie's
distraught face and walked up to him.

Cash, in a new book, "A Table in the Presence" released April 7,
takes his readers onto the hot, dusty, Iraq battlefield to learn how
God worked miracles and answered prayers in individual lives of
Marines like Guthrie.

Sitting down on the grass in front of him, I asked what was wrong,
Cash writes in the book, recalling a few life-changing moments spent
with Guthrie.

Sir ... I'm, I'm just so sorry, he said, tears welling up in his tired eyes.

Sorry for what, Guthrie? I had no idea what he was talking about.

It's just what I've done in my life. All I can think about is that
I've just been through the worst experience of my life, and yet, God
protected me through it all. But why did He do it? How could He do it
after all the things, the bad things, I've done? I don't know what else
to say, what else to feel. I'm just so sorry.

Surrounded by 20 Marines, Cash, 33, led the young soldier to Christ.

The next day, April 13, 2003, Cash baptized Guthrie in the palace.

Cash wrote, "... I baptized Jeff Guthrie, a new creation, in the name
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As the waters of baptism
poured over his head and onto the marble floors of the palace, the
symbolism wasn't lost on anyone. Here we were in the inner chamber of
a place known for oppression and tyranny, vice and unspeakable
cruelty. Yet that Sacrament proclaimed to us all the greatest freedom
and victory that a man can experience. There before our eyes, the
courts of evil had become nothing less than the courts of the Lord. A
place that had been known for the presence of darkness and treachery
had become a place of the presence of God, a table in the presence."


Pursuing the presence

Before his tour was over, Cash had the privilege of baptizing 59 men
in his battalion.

"I watched God use that environment to behold His Son," Cash told
Baptist Press. "It was awesome."

Cash's book is named "A Table in the Presence" after the fifth verse
of the 23rd Psalm, written by King David, a warrior himself in the
Old Testament. It was that Psalm that came to Cash's mind as his unit
prepared to deploy into Iraq from Kuwait in March 2003.

"The table that David spoke about, the table that David longed
for in the presence of his enemies, was the table of God's presence,"
Cash wrote in the book. "It amounted to a feast of spiritual strength
and friendship that no degree of danger and no amount of evil could
infringe upon.

Cash said he feels he was called by God to sit at this table. He was
the older of two children who grew up as "Navy brats." His father was
a career Navy pilot who served in several wars and his father-in-law,
an ordained Baptist minister and Navy chaplain, helped mold him into
who he is today.

"I feel like trials in my life that strengthened my faith a few years
prior to my entering the military really prepared me to be a
chaplain," Cash said in a telephone interview from Norfolk, Va.,
where he moved in April to serve as chaplain on the USS San Jacinto.

After graduating from Citadel College in South Carolina on a football
scholarship, Cash was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He encountered
God face to face during that time seeking to know Him better when he
felt called to ministry. He entered seminary, served as pastor of a
small church for two years and then with the help of a medical
release from one of his doctors was accepted as a chaplain with the
Navy. While serving at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Calif., Cash was
called to overseas duty with the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Regiment.

When his battalion returned in June 2003 to Camp Pendleton, several
trusted friends suggested that he write a book recounting the
miracles he had witnessed in Iraq.

"I started thinking about what happened and it was like a fire in my
bones," Cash, who admits the writing was therapy for him, told
Baptist Press. "It became an issue of stewardship and obedience to
write this."

In the 230-page book, Cash details miracle after miracle experienced
through the first days of fighting in Iraq. The first printing of
28,000 books sold out in the first two weeks.


Spontaneous worship
Cash said that he learned that God does not need a sanctuary of
religious "things" for worship.

With a portable pulpit containing a cross, a goblet and communion
bread, he moved from Humvee to AAV using a tailgate, an ammunition
box or meal ration box as platforms for worship services.

One worship service Cash will never forget was with a young soldier
who said he hadn't been to church in a while.

"I'm from a Christian tradition that worships on Saturdays rather
than Sundays, the soldier explained. "Since it's Saturday night, I
was wondering if you and me, just the two of us, could do church
together?"

Cash's heart melted.

"I quickly grabbed my Bible, pocket devotional, and red-lens
flashlight, and the two of us, huddling together in the back of Dr.
Trivedi's combat ambulance, worshiped God," Cash wrote. "As we bowed
in prayer in that darkened and cramped compartment, my soul was
flooded with the awareness that we might as well have been in the
world's most beautiful cathedral. It didn't matter. There we were,
only two of us, filthy; neither of us had taken a shower in at least
two weeks. We were turning the torn pages of a mud-stained Bible. The
only light we had to guide our reading was the dim red glow of a
flashlight the size of a pen. But for us that ambulance was holy
ground because we were in the presence of God.

"I worshiped with filthy, bloody, scared soldiers who sang Amazing
Grace and Lord, I Lift Your Name on High a cappella. Danger magnifies
the presence of God. God seemed to be using the very chaos of war to
provide stark contrast with the peace and assurance that He brings
through His Son Jesus."

Our God is truly an "Awesome God". He is always there for us no matter what the circumstance.
MacE smile.gif



Posted by: tsargent62 27-May-2004, 08:06 PM
Thank you so much for posting that story. I admit it made me a bit misty. Truely an inspirational story. I think I'll try to find this book.

Todd

Posted by: MacEoghainn 28-May-2004, 02:21 PM
QUOTE (tsargent62 @ 27-May-2004, 10:06 PM)
I admit it made me a bit misty.

Gee Todd, didn't anybody ever tell you "guys don't cry" biggrin.gif ( I got "misty" too when I read it)? Now those Marines are our brothers twice over, "Brothers in Arms" and "Brothers in Christ"!! smile.gif

Steve

Posted by: gtrplr 28-May-2004, 02:49 PM
QUOTE
Gee Todd, didn't anybody ever tell you "guys don't cry"


Sez who? (Keep 'em comin' MacE, and thanks for this one.)

Posted by: MacEoghainn 28-May-2004, 05:20 PM
I was listening to an old Amy Grant song, El-Shaddai, and I decided to find out the meaning of the words in the title: I found this information on the website: http://www.gospeltrail.com/Study/God/elshaddai.htm

El-Shaddai
(God Almighty)

This name is first used in connection with Abram.

Gen 17:1-2 (KJV)

1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El-Shaddai); walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

El-Shaddai is translated "God (El) Almighty (Shaddai)". The name Elohim is also translated into "God Almighty". How then do these two names differ? Elohim (meaning "All Powerful One") is evident throughout the story of creation. It is derived from the root "El" which means "Power, Might, Exceeding Greatness" and is translated into Almighty God as well many times in the Bible. Many scholars believe the difference lies in the fact that in God?s dealings with Abram, special circumstances (the age of Abram and the deadness of Sarai?s womb) required special powers to bring about the fulfillment of His promise. Powers which cause nature to perform contrary to natural law. Scripture certainly seems to support this theory in the account of God?s dealings with Abram and Sarai. We know from God?s Word that, in spite of natural law, Sarai (Sarah) bore Isaac. However, many believe that the meaning of Shaddai is much deeper than this.


In the year 250 B.C., a group of Jewish scholars translated the Scriptures into Greek. This version of the Bible is called the Septaugint. These scholars translated the Hebrew Shaddai into the Greek word ikanos which means "all-sufficient". The word Shaddai occurs some 48 times in the Old Testament and is always translated "almighty" in the King James Version. Now consider that fact that the Hebrew word shad is used 24 times and is always translated as "breast". In the same way that a mother?s breast is "all-sufficient" for her newborn?s nourishment, God is "all-sufficient" for His people. Hence, when we combine El (Almighty God) with Shaddai (All-sufficiency) we have " The Almighty God who pours out sustenance and blessing". Now the remaining question is "Does God?s Word support this theory?" Let?s look at Genesis Chapter 49. In this chapter, we see Jacob giving last words to his sons. Let?s begin reading at verse 24.

Gen 49:24-25

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God (El) of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God (El) of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty (Shaddai), who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

The usage of the names here is obvious. It is God as El (Omnipotent, Almighty, All-Powerful) who helps in time of need, but God as Shaddai (All-Sufficient) who satisfies with abundant blessings "of the breasts and of the womb". This clearly indicates that the righteous and loving God Jehovah cares for us as a mother cares for a newborn child. Everything we could possibly need, exactly when we need it, God IS!

(For other references to this same usage, see Isaiah 60:15-16 and Isaiah 66:10-13.)


Posted by: MacEoghainn 30-May-2004, 09:59 PM
From: A Joke a day Ministries

Memorial Day Special

"Kingdom Business" 5/28/04
CyberDailyDevotion by Pastor Bill


Scripture: Mark 3:2
Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven
is near NLT

World War II saw the use of German submarines throughout the Atlantic
to stop the transport of men and material from America to England.
The waters from America passing near Greenland and on to England soon
earned the nickname Torpedo Alley.

February 1943 was an icy cold time in Torpedo Alley and the waters
were just above freezing. On the early morning of February 3 the USS
Dorchester a converted luxury coastal liner into a troop carrier was
150 miles from Greenland with 900 sailors, soldiers and civilian
workers.

Silently the Dorchester and five other ships were making their way to
Greenland. At 1:00 AM the German submarine U-223 fired three
torpedoes. One torpedo hitting the Dorchester a mid-ship below the
water line causing a tremendous explosion, fire and death. In less
than 30 minutes the ship settled to the bottom of the Atlantic. 230
survivors were picked up by two escort ships making this the third
largest loss of life in American Naval warfare during WWII.

There were four Chaplains on the Dorchester that morning. All four
Chaplains distinguished themselves as they stepped forward with the
ship ablaze and the abandon ship horn sounding --- they stood their
ground and began praying for the men --- THIS WAS KINGDOM BUSINESS
--- many of those they were praying for would not make it.

One witness, Private William B. Bednar, found himself floating in
oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. "I could hear
men crying, pleading, praying," Bednar recalls. "I could also hear
the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing
that kept me going."

The four chaplains were:
Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist
Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish
Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed
Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic

"Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer
prayers for the dying and encouragement for those who would live,"
says Wyatt R. Fox, son of Reverend Fox.

Another sailor, Petty Officer John J. Mahoney, tried to re-enter his
cabin but was stopped by Rabbi Goode. Mahoney, concerned about the
cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves. "Never mind,"
Goode responded. "I have two pairs." The Rabbi then gave the petty
officer his own gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi
Goode was not conveniently carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the
rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester.

By this time, most of the men were topside, and the chaplains opened
a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then
that Engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there
were no more lifejackets in the storage room, the chaplains removed
theirs and gave them to four frightened young men.

"It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of
heaven," said John Ladd, another survivor

When last seen all four Chaplains were arm in arm as the ship sank
and the sea rolled over them.

The four Chaplains on the Dorchester --- their story --- their
bravery and love for their fellowmen has survived in stain glass
windows at the West Point Chapel, in the Pentagon and the Chapel at
Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

A posthumous Special Medal for Heroism, never before given and never
to be given again, was authorized by Congress and awarded by the
President Eisenhower in 1961.

Prayer: Father, thank you for Memorial Day each year where we can
show our appreciation for all those who gave their lives so freedom
rings. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

Posted by: aklassie 01-Jun-2004, 05:16 AM
I'd like to add a story here about somethings that happened while my husband was in Desert Storm.

First, when they were deploying to go over all the men and women were told they couldn't take anything that pertained to Chirstianty. What doest my husband take, the small bible I gave him when he had finished basic training. It's small enough to fit in his pocket so he would alway have the word of God with him. Then he packs a book called The Seventy Weeks of Danial, which has a huge Star of David on the cover. I was so proud of him for standing up to what he believed.

Second, Back here in the states I had everyone I knew praying for him while he was over there.
When he came home he was telling me about this little puppy that he and the boys that where with him on his track had adopted. Then he told me this. One day they had stoped for some reason and had let the dog out to run around. The dog stepped on a land mined and was killed. He showed me a picture of where it had happened. Where the pup had died you could see foot prints and tire tracks all around the spot. I praised God for sending them that dog. It saved their lives.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 06-Jun-2004, 02:35 PM
The First One You Must Bring

Many years ago I used to lead a thing at St. Peter's called The Children's Church. There was a little girl who was a member many years ago. Jillie was 10 at the time. We'd been studying Matthew's gospel, and in those days at the end of the year we set these poor kids an examination--a written examination. Having asked them 30-odd academic questions, I permitted myself a final personal one. This is what I said, because we'd been studying the Gospel of John, chapter 1: "Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Philip brought Nathaniel to Jesus. Whom have you brought to Jesus?"

Do you know what Jillie answered? "I have brought myself to Jesus." She was quite right. Have you? You can't bring anybody else till you've brought yourself.

-- John R. W. Stott, "Keeping the Right Company," Preaching Today, Tape No. 46.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 08-Jun-2004, 06:28 PM
Malicious Wish

Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other's business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival.

One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?"

The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"

One sign of jealousy is when it's easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice."

-- Thomas Lindberg, Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 4.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 11-Jun-2004, 06:36 PM
From Joke a Day Ministries

Apples

by David Langerfeld


A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales
convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would
be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
In their rush, with tickets and brief-cases, one of these salesmen
inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of
apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back,
they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed
boarding.

All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his
feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose
apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of
them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and
explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal
where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears
running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time
helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about
her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put
them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he
did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and
bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl,
"Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?"

She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't
spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl
called out to him, "Mister..." He paused and turned to look back into
those blind eyes.
She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his
way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing
about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus?

That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people
cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that
is blind to His love, life and grace.

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.
Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to
church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You
are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a
fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill
called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Let us live like we are worth the price He paid.

From The Daily Encourager
To Subscribe: [email protected]

Posted by: MacEoghainn 15-Jun-2004, 05:10 PM
A thought for Father's Day from A Joke a Day Ministries:

When God Created Fathers

When the good Lord was creating Fathers...He started with a tall frame.

An angel nearby said, "What kind of Father is that? If you're going to
make children so close to the ground, why have you put the Fathers up so
high? He won't be able to shoot a marble without kneeling, play pretend
drinking tea, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child
without a lot of stooping."

God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child-size, who would
children have to look up to?"

And when God made a Father's hands, they were large.

The angel shook her head sadly and said, "Do you know what you are
doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can't manage diaper pins, small
buttons, rubber bands on pony tails, or even remove splinters caused by
baseball bats."

Again God smiled and said, "I know, but they're large enough to hold
everything a small boy empties from his pockets, all his daughter's
paper dolls, jump rope, yet small enough to cup a child's face in his
hands."

Then God molded long slim legs and broad shoulders.

The angel nearly had a heart attack. "Do you realize you just made a
Father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him
without the kid falling between his legs?"

God smiled and said, "A Mother needs a lap. A Father needs strong
shoulders to pull a wagon, to balance a child on a bicycle, or to hold a
sleepy head on the way home from the circus."

When God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone
had ever seen, the angel giggled and could not contain herself any
longer. "That's not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are
going to get out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or
walk through a birthday party without crushing one or two of the
guests?"

Again God smiled and said, "It will work, you'll see. It will support a
small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross, or scare mice
away from a summer cabin, or walk in shoes that will be a challenge to
fill."

God worked throughout the night, giving the Father few words, but a firm
authoritative voice; eyes that could see everything, yet remain calm and
tolerant.

Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then he turned to
the angel and said, "Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a
Mother can?"

The angel said nothing more.

~ Erma Bombeck ~

Posted by: MacEoghainn 21-Jun-2004, 04:57 PM
I'm not sure if any of these posts are doing anything for my CelticRadio Brethren since I haven't had any feedback, positive or negative, in awhile. I'll keep on posting them anyway until somebody tells me to stop.

MacE smile.gif


I know the scripture mentioned at the end of this has been mentioned before, but I thought this presented a slightly different look at it's meaning.


From Joke a Day Ministries

Facing Adversity Over and Over

Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put his boots on? He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn't want to go on. When the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet." She looked and, sure enough, they were.

It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on this time on the right feet. He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear them."

She didn't know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, "Now, where are your mittens?" He said, "I stuffed them in the toes of my boots..."

As I read that, I thought about how many of our frustrations come about as the result of having to do something over and over. Let me give you an example. A number of years ago, I was having some back trouble and the doctor told me I needed surgery. I counted down the days until I could find some relief. The surgery went well (in fact, I went home less than 12 hours after surgery), but the recuperation didn't go as planned. Instead of getting relief, I found myself back under the doctor's knife six weeks later.

I remember that the greatest source of frustration wasn't the surgery itself. It was the fact that I thought I was getting better, but I had to start all over again. Just when I thought I was making progress, I encountered a setback. I was able to easily muster the emotional strength to face the first surgery, but it was much tougher the second time.

I've seen the same thing happen in a number of different areas. I suspect you have, too. Maybe you were hoping to get bills cleared up only to be hit with an unexpected dentist bill or car repair. Maybe it's harsh criticism you're dealing with, a situation at work that's making it difficult to maintain your Christian standards, or perhaps the struggles of dealing with a rebellious child. You think, "I can handle the difficulty I'm going through as long as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel". Only just when you're about at the end of the tunnel and you taken about all you can take, you realize that there's more adversity ahead and the light is barely visible. I understand; I've been there.

The Christian life is long and sometimes difficult. There are times we feel we just can't take it anymore and we want to give up, especially when we've had to face the same adversity over and over and over again. May this passage serve as a source of comfort and strength to you:

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isa. 40:29-31).

I pray that your strength will be renewed this day as you wait upon the Lord.
Hang in there!

Have a great day!
Alan Smith
www.TFTD-online.com
http://www.injesus.com/Groups/ViewMessage.cfm?

Posted by: stevenpd 21-Jun-2004, 05:16 PM
QUOTE (MacEoghainn @ 21-Jun-2004, 03:57 PM)
I'm not sure if any of these posts are doing anything for my CelticRadio Brethren since I haven't had any feedback, positive or negative, in awhile. I'll keep on posting them anyway until somebody tells me to stop.

Keep 'em coming! I for one am enjoying them!

Posted by: maggiemahone1 21-Jun-2004, 05:25 PM
NO, NO! Don't stop, I enjoy reading them very much!

maggiemahone1

Posted by: WizardofOwls 21-Jun-2004, 06:43 PM
Hey Mac!

Thanks for sharing these! I don't always respond to every one of them, but I still enjoy them!

Here's a little something for your collection. Don't know if you've read it or not but I hope you like it!

Why Go To Church?

A church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

I liked that one! Hope you do too!

Posted by: MacEoghainn 28-Jun-2004, 04:37 PM
From Joke a Day Ministries

Be Somebody

It is of interest that the name given to graduation ceremonies is "commencement". This word signifies not an ending, but the act of beginning. It refers to the beginning of the next phase of life for which the educational process has prepared us. That new phase may be a full time job, marriage, additional education or some combination of these, but whatever the next phase is, there is a real sense in which the end is also the beginning.

My own commencement after finishing Eastland High School in 1955, has not been forgotten. Neither has this story and the three main points spoken at our 1955 commencement service. At our commencement service, the speaker shared with us a story and the three main points which follow:

This story is taken from Acts 9:36-42. "In the city of Joppa there was named Dorcas, a believer who was always doing kind things for others, especially for the
poor. About this time she became ill and died. Her friends prepared her for burial and laid her in an upper room. But when they learned that Peter was nearby at Lydda, they sent two men to beg him to return with them to Joppa. This he did.
As soon as he arrived, they took him upstairs where Dorcas lay. The room was filled with weeping widows who were showing one another the coats and other garments Dorcas had made for them.

But Peter asked them all to leave the room. Then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, 'Get up Dorcas'. She opened her eyes! He gave her his hand and helped her up and called in the believers and widows, presenting her to them.
The news raced through the town, and many believed in the Lord."

The speaker then pointed out three main points in this story. First, DORCAS WAS SOMEBODY. She was a benevolent, compassionate, devout woman who gave so generously of herself to others that her name today, over 2,000 years later, is synonymous with acts of charity. Out of these works of hers grew the Dorcas Societies, now worldwide.

Second, DORCAS DID SOMETHING. In Acts 9:36 the motivating principle of Dorcas' life is given in six words, "full of good works and alms deeds". Dorcas could have given of her coins only, but she chose to give of herself also.

Third, DORCAS LEFT SOMETHING. The acts of charity she had performed lived on. The friends Dorcas had befriended first grieved for her, and then rejoiced with her.

Just as Dorcas (1) was someone (2) did something and (3) left something, our challenge is to be someone in God's universe. Be a source of inspiration to others. Do something lasting. Be faithful stewards of your money, possessions, time and abilities. What you leave behind can be a legacy to others.

Each of us is made up of two parts. These parts are what we are and what we may become. Regardless of your age or station in life, these divisions remain with you. POTENTIALITIES CAN BECOME ACTUALITIES. The next phase of life offers an opportunity to BE SOMEBODY!

by Hazel Stone

as seen in Inspired Buffalo

From Cup O'Cheer. To SUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE CUP
O'CHEER in the subject line to [email protected]

Posted by: MacEoghainn 10-Jul-2004, 05:15 PM
From A Joke A Day Ministries

Life's fragments

I am reminded of a story that is found in Max Lucado's book: In The
Eye of the Storm. Let me share it with you: Once there was an old man
who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a
beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had
never been seen before.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused.
"This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It is a person. How
could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell
a friend?"

The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.
One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village
came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone
would steal your horse. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect
such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could
have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high.
Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is
not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been
cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"

The people contested, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philos-
ophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse
is gone is a curse."

The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the
horse is gone. The rest I don't know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing,
I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They
had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn't, he would have sold the horse
and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man
still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He
lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was,
indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run
away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild
horses with him.

Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. 'Old
man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a
blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is
back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge.
How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment.
Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one
page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a
phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

'Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All
you have is a fragment! Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I
am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don't."

'Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another. So they said
little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing.
Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work,
the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild
horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both
legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their
judgments.

"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses
were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs,
and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer
than ever."

The old man spoke again. "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go
so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing
or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against
a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to
join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was
injured.

Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming
because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would
return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle.
They would never see their sons again.

"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This
proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but
at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always
draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war,
and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is
wise enough to know. Only God knows."

The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life's mishaps and dis-
appointments are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about
drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life's storms until we
know the whole story.


For the Christian, Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat." Richard Eastman
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Posted by: MacEoghainn 13-Jul-2004, 05:39 PM
A friend sent me this link: http://www.lifetalk.net/2ndcoming/ee.html

Take a look and see what you think.

MacE smile.gif

Posted by: MacEoghainn 22-Jul-2004, 03:27 PM
Got this from a friend and thought I'd pass it along.

MacE smile.gif

Five-Finger Prayer

This is so neat. I had never heard this before. It is beautiful and surely makes the 5 finger prayer a worth while part of our lives.

1. Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, dentists, physicians, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all. Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Pass this on to someone special

Posted by: MacEoghainn 10-Aug-2004, 07:40 PM
From A Joke a Day Ministries

Putting Anger to Rest
Charles Stanley
In Touch Ministries

Have you ever known someone who seemed persistently angry? With their
critical and grumpy attitude, you could always sense them coming from
a mile away. Maybe you are that way yourself.

Angry people are easy to spot. Like an out-of-control tornado, they
seek to destroy everyone and everything in their path. Instead of
identifying the source of their animosity and resolving the true
issue, they usually vent their frustrations on innocent individuals
around them. Hurtful words, hateful tones, and harmful attitudes
follow them like a black cloud. Quite simply, angry people seem to
wallow in bitterness.

Unfortunately, anger permeates our society. In a culture that often
operates under a "what have you done for me lately" mindset, we are
bombarded by the consequences of uncontrolled, selfish anger. School
shootings, road rage, domestic abuse, and terrorism are a few.
Sometimes it's easy to look at these extreme examples and believe
that all forms of anger are sinful; however, that simply is not true.

In Mark 3, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in the synagogue.
After watching Him perform this miracle, the Pharisees and Sadducees
accuse Christ of healing on the Sabbath. Jesus looks at them in
"anger, grieved at their hardness of heart" (verse 5). He could not
believe they were so cold-hearted toward this disabled, disadvantaged
man. So, through the example of Jesus, we can see that all anger is
not sin.

But when does justified anger-or righteous indignation-become selfish
and sinful? Like Christ, a righteously indignant person is solely
concerned with correcting a wrong in someone else's life, not their
own. Justified anger isn't explosive, rage-filled, and selfish. It
isn't an excuse to hate someone but, rather, it is a caring,
unselfish anger entirely focused on improving someone else's
circumstances.

Think of how Christ handled His emotion. Did He explode and attack
the Pharisees and Sadducees? Of course not. Jesus actually "grieved"
over their callousness. He didn't become enraged toward them, but He
sorrowed over their spiritually deprived state. Even though Christ
was frustrated with them, He was also saddened by their hardened
heart.

Unfortunately, though, most of our anger is far from righteous.
Resentment and rage, if unmanaged, can lead to devastating
consequences such as depression, an unforgiving spirit, and a host of
physical ailments.

In Ephesians 4:26-27, Paul tells us to "be angry, and yet do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger," he says, "and do not give
the devil an opportunity." These harmful feelings must be dealt with
swiftly, because if we allow them to sit, seethe, and build up inside
of us, our unforgiving spirit will alienate us from God and we will
become prime targets for Satan.

Unless we turn to God and release our bitter spirit, Satan will begin
manipulating our thoughts and actions. Resentment will turn to rage,
rage may turn to violence, and we will ultimately find ourselves in a
dire predicament-all because we allowed our emotions to control us.

We must make a conscious choice to let go of bitterness. Regardless
of how we have been wronged, we cannot expect to live for Christ
while this debilitating emotion consumes us. Selfish anger builds a
barrier between us and God. With this sin in our life, we are useless
to God, unable to display the forgiving nature of Christ to those who
need His message.

1) Identify sources of anger in your own life. Who and what provokes
you? Is there bitterness you need to let go or people you need to
forgive? Prayerfully hand over your burdens to God.
2) Read the key passages for this month and think back on instances
in your life where you became angered easily. How have these verses
given you insight into what God expects of you when you are dealing
with anger?
3) Do you know people that are being mistreated? Just as Christ
defended the disabled man in the synagogue, how can you come to the
defense of those that may need your help?
4) Commit Ephesians 4:26 to memory and recite it every night before
you go to bed. Make a point to deal with your anger swiftly and never
go to sleep in a foul mood. Instead, release your burdens to God and
enjoy the peaceful rest that comes with a clear conscience.

To delve deeper into this subject and more, visit the In Touch Web
site: www.intouch.org. Also, for a free online discipleship study
from Dr. Charles Stanley, visit www.charlesstanleyinstitute.com. Need
biblical advice for teens? Visit www.teen-connection.info --the
official teen outreach of In Touch Ministries.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 01-Sep-2004, 05:37 PM
Your Recycling Miracle

The first time I ever landed in New York City, it was at LaGuardia
Airport. And as I chatted with the folks who met my plane, they told me
something I wasn't sure I wanted to know. They said, "You know, Ron, your
plane just landed on the garbage of New York City." Excuse me? Well, they
explained to me that LaGuardia Airport is built on landfill that extends
out into Jamaica Bay. Landfill - as in the garbage of New York. Well, so
far none of those runways has sunk into the bay. It's pretty amazing what
engineers can do with our garbage, huh?

Actually, I believe that God invented recycling. See, He has this amazing
ability to recycle the garbage of our lives into something beautiful,
something useful, something that can really make a difference. It happens
through a process that God describes in our word for today from the Word
of God. It's in 2 Corinthians 1, beginning at verse 3.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves have received from God." Now, obviously, you can never
experience God's comfort without some things in your life that are
uncomfortable. And the greater the discomfort, the more His comfort means
to you, maybe the deeper you experience it.

Through the troubles, we learn compassion. Through the trash, we develop
a sensitivity to other wounded people - if we surrender our pain and our
wounds and our memories to the God of all comfort. Now, if we hang onto
our wounds, they will just turn into the rotting stench of bitterness and
anger and negativity. It's either recycled by God or rotting inside you.

Last Sunday, my friend Alan was honored by our church for 45 years of
working with the boys of the church. Can you imagine 45 years? Let's see,
how old was I when he started? Anyway, later his wife told us why he had
dedicated his life to being there for boys. Alan's dad apparently had one
kind of relationship with his sons - work, and that was it! And Alan
carried the hurt of having a Dad who just didn't take time with him. That
hurt could have turned into stinking trash in Alan's heart. But he
brought it to Jesus, and Jesus recycled that wound into something
beautiful - a commitment to be there for his own sons and for other boys
who didn't have the attention of a father.

Now, God's recycling miracle heals a wound from the past by using it to
sensitize you to people with that same kind of wound. By God's grace, you
commit your life to doing for others what wasn't done for you instead of
repeating that mistake and scarring another generation. Because of what
you've been through, you could become a bitter, self-centered, angry
person or you could let Jesus recycle it into compassion. You're uniquely
equipped to help heal people who have the same kind of wound you do. If
you'll let the "Father of compassion, the God of all comfort" have the
pain of your past. I thought it was amazing that human engineers could
make an airport out of garbage. But what's really amazing is what the
Master Engineer can make out of the garbage of our lives - Jesus turns
the bleeding into a blessing, the garbage into gold, and the hurter into
a healer!

==
Today's Daily Wisdom is written by Ron Hutchcraft, based on his popular
radio broadcast, "A Word With You" which can be found at:
http://www.gospelcom.net/rhm/awwy/awwymenu.htm

Posted by: MacEoghainn 08-Sep-2004, 07:02 PM
Impossible Made Possible!


"...What is impossible from a human perspective is possible with
God."
- Luke 18:27

My relationship with my mother has, at times, been a source of confusion
and frustration to me. Perhaps the problem was that we were simply two
very different people. Regardless of the why, based on past experience,
it seemed that this is simply the way things were, and were most likely
going to remain.

However, God had something else in mind. He used another circumstance in
my life to show me a better way to break through the differences and
conflicts, and to find our common bond. Love.

How simple a common denominator this was; right in front of me all along,
and yet, even in its simplicity, I did not see. Setting pride and past
differences aside, I picked up pen to paper and wrote a letter from the
heart, one which my mother was happy to receive. She responded back, and
several more back and forth letters from the heart followed. Then, the
next step; a phone call. It had been years since we spoke, and I was not
sure how either of us was going to react, but I dialed nonetheless.

Mother was clearly overjoyed to hear from me. We had so much to say we
spoke long distance for almost 4 hours! This happened again, and again,
and again. The next step was a simple gesture of thoughtfulness. Knowing
how much I enjoy getting packages in the mail, I decided to send mom a
care package. Along with a box of cake mix for her past birthday I
missed, and a few other odds and ends I thought might make her smile. I
also sent her a beautiful white Bible with gold print on the cover.
Mother loved it and wrote to tell me how much she appreciated me thinking
of her.

During this time, I could sense a subtle difference with each gift of
love. Mom and I didn't need to agree or disagree on everything anymore
because we both seemed to finally understand that love is much bigger
than petty divisions. Our relationship is slowly blossoming, and it is
truly a wonder to see.

A few years ago, if you told me such a thing would occur, I would have
laughed and said, "Impossible!" I should have remembered that nothing is
impossible with God, and since God is Love, likewise, nothing is
impossible with love!

Today, if a situation you are encountering could benefit from the healing
power of God's love, won't you call on Him to assist you?


Contributed by Melanie Schurr ©2004 Melanie Schurr
Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living Ecstatic Loving: How to
have more peace and joy in marriage, and life in general by walking
in harmony with God," and "Son Salutations: A refreshing collection
of modern inspirations for those who seek God each day."
For more information, visit her web page at
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/melschurr

Posted by: MacEoghainn 13-Sep-2004, 05:06 PM
This is a wish and prayer for all my friends here at CR.net

MacE smile.gif

Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions
Author Unknown

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.


When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.


When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.


When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.


When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."


When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children!

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions!!!

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away."

Posted by: MacEoghainn 23-Sep-2004, 05:35 PM
Here is a question for anyone who reads this post: Does the story attached below Illustrate what the author of the 23rd Psalm was talking about?

Psalm 23 (KJV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

MacE smile.gif


"Run in the Rain"

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have
been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of
innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the
top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time
to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just
inside the door of the Wal-Mart.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up
their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the
sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the
world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came
pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were
all caught in "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's
run through the rain,"

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young
girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get
wet?

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer,
you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything
but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some
would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore
what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's
life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom
into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD
let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they
darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their
shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they
were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the
way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they
can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one
can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make
time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything
there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A friend sent this to me to remind me of life. Hope you enjoy it.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

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 Send this to the people you'll never forget and remember to also
send it to the person who sent it to you. It's a short message to let
them know that you'll never forget them.

If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're in a hurry.

Take the time to live!!!

Keep in touch with your friends, you never know when
you'll need each other -- and don't forget to run in the rain!

Posted by: MacEoghainn 18-Oct-2004, 04:29 PM
Halloween is coming. This all appears to have started with our ancestors.
What do you think?

CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON HALLOWEEN from "a joke a day ministries"

HALLOWED OR HARMFUL?

By Pastor Ken Klaus

Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the Celts, inhabitants of
Britain and Ireland, observed a festival on Oct31st. Unlike modern-day
Halloween, theirs was no children's holiday. The Celts and their priests,
the Druids celebrated Samhain, a festival that marked the eve of the Celtic
New Year, which began on Nov 1. The fall harvest was complete and winter
loomed. The Celts believed the power of the sun was fading. For the next
several months, darkness would prevail.

The Celts believed that during Samhain the veil separating the living from
the dead was at its thinnest. They believed that on the evening of October
31, evil spirits and the souls of the dead passed through the barrier and
entered the world of the living. Departed family members would revisit their
earthly homes. The thought was frightening -- and exciting!

The Celts believed these spirits and dead souls could torment the living.
Crops might be destroyed, babies stolen, farm animals killed. But this was
also an opportunity to commune with the spirits -- and divine the future.
The Devil, the lord of darkness, was ordinarily feared, but during Sambain,
his power would be called on to foretell the future.

TRICK OR TREAT

The Druids were charged with appeasing the goblins and preventing harm to
the people. Huge Samhain bonfires were lit to guide the way of the spirits.
Various sacrifices -including human -- were performed to assure a good year.
Ancient authors commented on the gory religious rites of the Druids. It is
believe that, like many pagan cultures around the world, the Celts left out
food for the spirits, hoping that a "treat" would prevent an evil "trick."

Centuries later, descendants of the Celts continued to observe the Samhain
festival by dressing as evil spirits. They roamed from house to house
demanding food in exchange for the "spirits" leaving the home. They carved
demon faces in hollowed-out turnips and put candles inside.

That night they also practiced many customs designed to divine the future.
Young people threw nuts into Samhain fires to see which would crack first --
and tell them who they would marry. The person who retrieved an apple with
his mouth from a tub of water assured himself of a lucky year. Obviously
some of these customs (like "apple-bobbing") have remained with us, strictly
as amusement.



ALL HALLOWS' EVE

When Christianity began to spread through Europe in the third and fourth
centuries, the pagan temples were torn down. But pagan worship never
completely disappeared. The festival of Samhain remained a primary pagan
festival.

Belief in spirits may have waned, but many of the old Samhain traditions
continued to be practiced -- especially by the children. Primarily in
Ireland, children dressed as spirits went from house to house demanding a
treat. If they received none, they performed an unwelcomed trick. They were
play-acting the part of evil spirits that had to be appeased, just as in the
old Samhain festival the people believe they really did have to appease
spirits.

In the 700s the Church decided to combat this festival by replacing it with
a celebration of the Lord of life. Instead of honoring evil spirits and the
souls of the dead, the church chose to recognize the saints -- or hallowed
ones -who had lived godly lives. The Church seemed to be saying, "All right,
if you must have a day to celebrate the dead, then celebrate those who died
and are now with the Lord."

So November 1 came to be called All Saints' Day, also called All Hallows'
Day. The evening before was called All Hallows' Evening. From that we get
the modern name of Halloween. But pagan customs continued. And with the
growth of witchcraft in the Middle Ages, additional symbols became
associated with Halloween -- black cats, witches, bats, and skulls.

HALLOWEEN IN AMERICA

Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s brought to America the Halloween customs
we're familiar with -- costumes, trick-or-treat, carved Jack-o-lanterns,
etc. (The Jack-o-lantern is simply an American version of the hollowed-out
turnip. The pumpkin did not grow in Ireland and Britain.) They also brought
"tricks" with them -- which often involved breaking windows and over-turning
outhouses.

Even though the practice of actually performing a trick if no treat is given
has faded, the custom of children going "trick-or-treating" has become an
established American tradition. Only in recent years have parents hesitated
to send their children into the streets because of the increased danger of
accidents, poisoned food, and menacing strangers.

Nonetheless, despite the dangers associated with trick-or-treating,
Halloween is celebrated more than ever. In fact, the night is the second
most popular party night of the year (after Dec 31) for "baby-boomer"
adults. Many adults look at it as the one night of the year they can dress
up and act foolish.

But while children and adults innocently imitate ancient Celtic customs,
darker practices persist. Witches and Satanists still consider Halloween to
be one of the strongest times during the year to cast a spell. On Halloween
most practitioners participate in a ritual called "drawing down the moon."
In this the chief witch of the coven becomes, they believe, a channel for
the moon goddess. During this ritual the participants are 'sky-clad" -- that
is , naked.

Stonehenge, the mysterious ancient stone formation in England, is often the
site for bizarre gatherings of occultists, some of who believe they are
modern-day Druids. (Many people believe that Stonehenge was a Druid
religious site.) And evidence persists that some Satanist and voodoo groups
offer sacrifices -- usually animals, but, possibly, human babies.

THE BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO HALLOWEEN

Witches and Satanists are, of course, a small minority. Few people who
celebrate Halloween these days ever think about the darkness that underlies
most Halloween practices.

A beaming child dressed in a black pointed hat and matching gown -- with a
wart carefully drawn on her nose and a trick-or-treat bag held tightly in
her hand -- is hardly thinking of death or the spirits of departed
relatives. Nor should she be. She's thinking of candy and fun. She's glowing
because of her delight in her special costume. And she's anticipating the
adventure of her house-to-house pilgrimage. Merchants also look forward to
October 31. The sale of candy, costumes, decorations, and party goods make
Halloween one of the major retail seasons of the year.

Surely, no one can deny children or adults all the Halloween fun simply
because of its unsavory history. Can there really be anything wrong with
this lighthearted revelry?

Does the Bible have anything to say about Halloween?

In Corinth, meat that had been sacrificed to idols was sold in the market.
People who bought it then ate it in honor of that particular pagan god.
Speaking of his freedom to eat food that a pagan had dedicated to an idol,
the apostle Paul said, "Everything is permissible" (I Corinthians 10:23).
After all, he didn't believe the pagan gods really existed.

If we apply Paul's statement to the celebration of Halloween, then one could
argue that Christians are free to dress in ghostly costumes and practice the
traditions that have been passed down from the ancient Celts. After all,
Christians know that the supernatural powers they tried to appease don't
have power over those who belong to Christ.

The Bible says that Jesus destroyed the power of death when He went to the
cross. By Jesus' death and resurrection, anyone who gives his or her life to
Jesus doesn't need to fear evil. But Paul didn't stop with a statement of
his freedom. He said, "'Everything is permissible' -- but not everything is
beneficial." It is in this light that Christians need to examine how to
observe Halloween.

3 REASONS TO EXAMINE HOW YOU CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

1. What may not hurt you may hurt others.

Paul said that it wouldn't harm a Christian to eat meat sacrificed to an
idol. After all, the pagan gods that the meat had been sacrificed to weren't
real gods. In the same light, he probably would say that Christians are not
prohibited from dressing in costumes and going trick-or-treating or
attending Halloween parties. After all, "We know that an idol is nothing at
all in the world and that there is no God but one" (I Corinthians 8:4).

But Paul went on to say that by doing what the believer was free in the Lord
to do, the believer may be distressing another believer who doesn't realize
he has this freedom. "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom
does not become a stumbling block to the weak" (I Corinthians 8:9). The weak
ones would be those who still had problems with the idea of eating the food
sacrificed to idols.

Children in particular are the weak ones. Many children today are exposed to
occult influences. We may be opening our children to these influences if we
approve of these things in Halloween fun. We adults may be aware that we are
spoofing witches, but the young many not be so sure.

If we have given our lives to Jesus Christ, then our eternal destiny is safe
in the hands of Almighty God. But that's not true of most of the people
around us.

There is a valid reason for most people to fear a "lord of death" -- even if
they don't take him seriously on Halloween. We who have found life in Jesus
should be careful that our freedom doesn't keep others from finding that
same eternal life.

2. Some permissible things may hinder your Christian growth.

The Bible encourages us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

This one night of the year, most eyes are not fixed on Jesus but on a darker
image. The Christian's "race of faith" leads him to eternal life, to a joy
that has no shadow. Should we really be focusing on the devil, witches and
other dark beings, even for one night?

3. God says, "Don't imitate evil!"

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to
imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among
you who...practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in
witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium, or spiritist or who
consults the dead? (Deut 18:9-11).

If our children dress as witches and sorcerers, if we hang cardboard ghosts
in our windows, if we entertain with tales of ghouls and haunted houses --
what are we doing but imitating that which is evil? We need to make it clear
as Christians that witches and evil spirits are not funny and not harmless,
even if people are only play-acting.

ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES?

As Christians, we have plenty of reason to celebrate. While the world around
us focuses on activities honoring fear and death, we can celebrate the One
who brings life.

The following ideas might help you celebrate October 31 in a way that's
joyful for you and your family:

1. Celebrate All Saints' Day Protestants shy away from honoring saints.
Their reluctance generally is based on a fear that the honor will cross the
line into worship or prayer to saints. We are to worship and pray to no one
but God.

However, there I good biblical basis for looking to those who have
faithfully followed God in the past: Hebrews 11 has a roll call of believers
who have set examples for us. But in his Letters to the Corinthians, Paul
makes it abundantly clear that he and other saints are only servants -- men
and women like ourselves who are following God. And it is God and God alone
to whom we look in our worship and prayers.

But with nearly 2000 years of church history, we can well remember many
faithful believers whose lives can encourage us in our walk with the Lord.
That can include not only famous figures from the church's history, but also
the saints we have know personally -- people in our own family and our own
church who are now with the lord. While the Celts trembled at the thought of
their departed kin returning on Samhain, we can celebrate Halloween and All
Saints Day by joyfully recalling our own departed saints. (Christians from
many Protestant traditions may want to recall that October 31 is also
Reformation Day, celebrating Martin Luther's beginning the Reformation by
posting his "95 Theses" on the church door.)

2. Have a different kind of party.

You can have a fall harvest party, an All Saint's Day party, or simply a
costume party. Have children (and maybe adults too) dress up as biblical
characters and/or figures from Christian history. Some Christians plan a
"Fools for Christ" party (see I Corinthians 4:10). This involves costumes
and craziness, but none of the traditional symbols of death and witchcraft.
Whatever you choose, avoid the usual Halloween symbols in decorations and
activities. The way to "celebrate the dead" is by honoring God's saints,
already in heaven, part of the body of Christ that the living saints are
also part of.

3. Hold a Bible study on what God says about the occult and witchcraft.

This might be especially good for teenagers, since they are coming into
frequent contact with influences of this type. This may sound farfetched to
you, but in recent years there has been an amazing growth of witchcraft and
Satanism in the U.S. Some New Age cultists are attracted to many aspects of
witchcraft, especially the ideas of tapping the "powers of the universe" and
of controlling our own destinies.

4. Use trick-or-treating as an opportunity to tell about the love of Jesus.

Most Christian bookstores carry small pamphlets about the Lord designed for
children on Halloween. These could be taped to candy and dropped into each
trick-or-treat's bag.

5. Gather for a prayer and praise meeting.

During this night when Satanists and witches covens meet to cast their
spells and perform grotesque rituals, it seems appropriate for believers to
gather to praise the one and only God. Praise God for His victory over
death, Satan, hell and all evil. (Recall Paul's words in Romans 16:20: "The
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.") And pray for all the
people who don't know that Jesus Christ wants to give them peace with God
and eternal life. Pray for all the people who don't know that Jesus Christ
wants to give them peace with God and eternal life. Pray that Jesus will
reveal Himself to their minds and spirits.

Whatever you do on Halloween, use this Biblical guidelines as you make your
plans: "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians
10:31).do we get it?



Written by Pastor Ken Klaus of
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Dallas, TX. in response to questions
about Halloween.
Special thanks to Andy Brill for sharing it.
7611 Park Ln
Dallas, TX, 75225
214-368-1371 (O)
214-368-1473 FAX
[email protected]

Check out our Website: www.ourredeemer-dallas.org

Posted by: MacEoghainn 06-Dec-2004, 04:49 PM
From A Joke a Day Ministries

Guilty But Free

Romans 3:9-20

A young woman was caught going one hundred miles an hour in a fifty-five-
mile-per-hour zone outside of one of those small towns. The
policeman brought her into court where the judge fined her one
hundred dollars.

"But I don't have one hundred dollars," she wailed.

"I'm sorry, but you will have to spend the weekend in jail," the
judge told her. "You owe the court one hundred dollars. You may not
have the money, but the law is the law."

She began to cry. "Please, your honor, I don't have one hundred
dollars, but I don't want to spend the weekend in jail."

The judge said, "I can't change the law."

But the young woman begged for mercy again -and to the surprise of
the bailiff and the policeman, the judge did something very
interesting. He pushed his chair back from the bench, took off his
robe, walked around to where the woman was standing, pulled out his
wallet, and gave the bailiff a one-hundred-dollar bill, went back to
the bench, put his robe back on, and sat down.

Then the judge picked up his gavel and said, "young lady, I see
someone has paid your fine. Case dissmissed, You are free to go."

That's what God did for you and me. We stood before the bench of His
justice, and He said, "You've been found guilty of sinning against My
holy character. You've either got to pay the price of perfection or
spend eternity in the prison called hell."

But God the Judge also heard us cry out for mercy. He knew we had
nothing to pay our debt with. So in the Person of Jesus Christ He
stepped out of heaven, "zipped down" His deity, put on the robe of
humanity, and paid the price Himself on the cross.

Three days later, He put His robe of deity back on and ascended back
to the bench of heaven.

Now He looks down and says to anyone who comes to Him and begs for
mercy, "I can't change the law, but I can PAY the PRICE!" You will
never have to worry about heaven again if you know Jesus Christ.

Think about it... The judge who pronounced sentence against you also
paid your fine. He'll do it for anyone who comes to Him. Do you
know someone who needs good news like that?

Sent in by A Joke A Day Member: [email protected]

Posted by: MacEoghainn 09-Dec-2004, 05:14 PM
Got this from a friend:

GOD AND THE GEESE



There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't
hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious
holidays. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to
also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy Eve, his wife was taking their children to service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus' birth. She asked him to come, but he refused.

"That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to
come to Earth as a man?

That's ridiculous!"

So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a
blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding
snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he
heard a loud thump.

Something had hit the window. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.

In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A
couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm.

So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them.

The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away.

He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn.

Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would
be warm and safe.

"Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed.

"Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud.

Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese.

He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn -- and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!"

Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing.

God had His Son become like us so he could show us the way and save us.
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come.Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer:"Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

Posted by: MacEoghainn 17-Jan-2005, 06:30 PM
Some Scottish History

THE KILLING TIME

In the latter half of the sixteenth century, during what was known as "the
killing time" in Scotland, John Welsh (or Welsche), a Covenanter preacher and
son-in-law of Scottish reformer John Knox, was pursued mercilessly by those
who wished to take his life. For a long time he managed to elude his
pursuers, but finally there seemed to be no safe place to go. He prayed, and
believed God gave him a plan to outwit his enemies.

That night Welsh knocked at the door of a man who was well known for his
bitter opposition to the so-called field preachers, a man who was seeking to
arrest Welsh but who had never met him. Unrecognized by the householder,
Welsh was received with kindness. During the evening the conversation turned
to the hated Welsh. His host complained bitterly that he had not been able to
apprehend this man whom he considered a rebel and an agent of Satan.

"I have been commissioned," said Welsh, "to apprehend these people. I know
where Welsh is going to preach tomorrow. If you like, I will put him in your
hands."

"Nothing could please me better," said his host.

The next day Welsh and his host walked to the place where the Covenanters had
agreed to meet. Welsh invited his host to sit in the only chair available -
one Welsh had especially provided for him. Then he began to preach about
God's love for sinners. He spoke with such persuasive power and pathos that
his enemy's heart was melted.

At the close of the meeting Welsh said, "Sir, I am Welsh. Take and arrest me,
and do whatever you wish."

His former enemy, now his friend and convert, declined!

By Donald E. Mansell


http://www.injesus.com/Groups/ViewMessage.cfm?

This post is brought your way by Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day
Ministries. To subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop
an email note to [email protected]. Please
leave this attached if you forward this to friends.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 24-Jan-2005, 07:21 PM
A friend sent this to me. (If you'd like a copy of this e-mail with all the graphics PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send it to you, MacE)


A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son."

She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food,"

The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out. The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible.

She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face. "Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it," She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16 -- don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.



If you aren't ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.

Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father." Pass this on only if you mean it.

I do Love God. He is my source of existence. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Phil 4:13 If you love God and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things he has done for you, send this on.

Take 60 seconds & give this a shot! Let's just see if Satan stops this one.

All you do is:

1) Simply say a small prayer for the person who sent you this, "Father, God bless this person in whatever it is that You know he or she may be needing this day!"

2) Then send it on to ten other people. Soon ten people will have prayed for you,
and you will have caused a multitude of people to pray to God for other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life for doing the thing that you know He loves.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 27-Jan-2005, 05:50 PM
From Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe go to
http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop an email note to
[email protected]. Please leave this attached
if you forward this to friends.

The Maestro at His Best

When the famous violinist Paganini played a concert in one of the great
halls of Europe, it was equivalent to the draw of a modern rock concert.
The story is told of one such night in Paris. As Paganini appeared on the
stage, the excited buzz of the audience turned to expectant applause. But
as the maestro began to play, a string broke on his exquisite violin. Any
concern passed quickly as the artist picked up the tune on his remaining
three strings. Unbelievably, another string snapped - followed moments
later by a third string. Now the buzz in the audience was more anxious,
even disgruntled, it wasn't expectant anymore. But the old maestro just
raised his hand, calling for silence. As the audience became quiet again,
he made a simple announcement - "Ladies and gentlemen - Paganini - and
one string." What followed was easily the most amazing musical
performance that crowd had ever seen, or ever would see - as the master
played a rich and flawless melody - on one string.

When did the master most powerfully demonstrate his skill? When he had
the least to work with - one string. When does the Lord Jesus - our
Master - most powerfully demonstrate how much He can do? When He has the
least to work with. When our strings are broken and we have almost
nothing left - that's when He plays His masterpieces.

That's what the great Apostle Paul learned when virtually all the strings
of his life had broken. His testimony is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, our
word for today from the Word of God. Paul had been given some spiritual
revelations that no man had ever experienced before. He says, "To keep me
from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations,
there was given me a thorn in my flesh ... Three times I pleaded with the
Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient
for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'"

Because Paul experiences God's power the most when he has nothing left,
he says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me ... For when I am weak,
then I am strong." Why? Because the less there is of you, the more there
is of God - and the more of His power you experience. Which actually can
make you, much like Paul, really greet your hard times, your hurting
times with a sense of expectancy instead of dread or discouragement. Not
that you like the pain, but you realize what that pain can produce. And
all through it, you have God's unbreakable promise, "My grace is
sufficient for you."

Our weakness means an opportunity for a display of His strength, His
glory ... a chance to experience God's ability to heal, to intervene, to
carry you. Malcolm Muggeridge, the brilliant British journalist who
gloriously came to Christ late in life, put it this way: "Everything I
have learned in my seventy-five years in this world, everything that has
truly enhanced and enlightened my existence, has been through affliction
and not through happiness."

So maybe most of your strings have broken and you're down to one string.
That's the moment when the Maestro is at His very best. He lovingly holds
you in His arms and says, "Almighty God - and one string." He's about to
play something beautiful, something unforgettable, something amazing
through your life.

==
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Posted by: MacEoghainn 05-Feb-2005, 06:08 PM
From Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop an email note to [email protected]. Please leave this attached if you forward this to friends.

Enlightened Self-Interest?


We live in an enlightened age. We think we are enlightened because we have thrown off the old taboos. The old puritanical moral standards which held us in check have been discarded. Now we are free to express ourselves in more creative ways. Society can advance to the utopian ideals of equality and true human dignity.

It all sounds so good. But where is this kind of thinking leading us? The sexual revolution of the sixties brought a flood of illegitimacy. Over twenty-six percent of the births in America now occur outside of marriage. The number of single-parent homes is skyrocketing. Millions of children are brought into the world without the benefit of a loving mother and father living in a committed relationship. Children growing up in single-parent homes are more likely to be 'at risk'.

The fact that this high sounding enlightenment has led to turmoil has biblical precedent. People can have deep spiritual experiences and not be true followers of God. It is possible for individuals to have special gifts and receive light from God regarding the Bible and yet remain unconverted. As in the secular enlightenment just mentioned, religious enlightenment is possible when people are on the road to destruction. It might even be called enlightened self-interest. But that's the problem; without Godly love, "it profits me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3).
(also Mark 8:35-37 MacE smile.gif )

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Posted by: MacEoghainn 16-Feb-2005, 06:55 PM
Ok, this is a test to see if anybody is actually still reading these posts. What do you think about this one? Are we "free" to show our "warts and imperfections" to each other? The world? Tell me what you think and why.

From Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop an email note to [email protected]. Please leave this attached if you forward this to friends.

Free to be honest!


A few Sunday mornings ago, I came out of the early service at my church
to find that my car battery had died. It was cold, stone dead. It didn't
even try to turn over the engine. Just the deafening silence.

You're thinking, "What a great place to have one's car battery go dead."
All those people who will help you and, if you need it, even pray for
you. If something is going to happen like that, best it happen with
Christians around. That's sort of like having a coronary in the lobby of
a hospital.

Are you crazy?

The last place (and you can trust me on this) you want your car battery
to go dead is in the church parking lot. You can't "cuss and spit"
(metaphorically speaking, of course). You can't kick the car. You can't
yell. You simply have to smile, look calm and pretend you're following
the Biblical mandate to "give God thanks for everything" (Ephesians
5:20).

If you had been there, I would have impressed you with my calm, quiet
acceptance of this circumstance as from a sovereign God who is good and
good all the time. Everybody was concerned and I thanked them, and said
I would be fine. I was nice and very "Christian."

But, can we talk? I wasn't fine at all. In fact I was ticked; really,
really ticked.

I was thinking, "I would rather this happen in the parking lot of the
local motorcycle gang." I didn't feel nice, Christian or calm. I wanted
to kick the car, shout at someone (anyone) and spit. I wanted to sue the
guy who sold me the car and the company that made it. I wanted
to.....well, you get the idea.

A couple of church friends tried to help me "jump" the car with the
jumper cables in my trunk. That battery didn't even try. Then, another
friend tried his jumper cables with the same result. I was finally
forced to call AAA and have them send out a tow truck. All this time,
I'm up to my ears with Christians who were kind and nice. I hated it!

But there was hope. The guy who showed up to tow my car looked like a
member of the local rock band; tattoos, long hair, untrimmed beard and
an irritated look on his face. I thought, "And they say there's no God!
Thank you. Lord for sending me someone who will understand my anger and
my frustration, someone before whom I don't have to pretend to be nice."
I could hardly wait to get in the tow truck and "let her rip" with my
true, less-than- Christian sentiments.

"This your car?" the tow truck driver asked.

"Yeah," I said, trying to smile, "It's mine and I'm so glad you're
here."

"Hey, man!" he said with the first smile he had shown, "I know your
voice. You're Steve Brown? Key Life? Right? Man, I listen to you all the
time."

"Lord," I prayed silently (still with a silly grin on my face), "don't
do
this to me. I thought You loved me."

Now, let me move from a small incident to a very big point. I pretended
to be something I wasn't in the very places where I should have been
free to be honest. I put on my "Christian mask" around Christians and
thought that when a pagan showed up I could finally be honest about how
I really felt.

Is that warped or what?

The Apostle Paul would never have been able to play poker. Do you know
why? Because he was what he was and he couldn't hide it. You have to
pretend (i.e. bluff) if you're going to play poker and Paul just
couldn't do that. If he was angry it was quite clear that he was angry.
If he was hurt, he showed it. If he was in a really, really good mood it
showed in everything he wrote. He was honest about his afflictions.

'For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we
experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength
that we despaired of life itself" (2 Corinthians 1:8).

He was honest about his hurt feelings and felt he had to defend himself.
He was quite "in your face" and honest about his feelings of anger.

And, if Paul was in a good mood, he couldn't hide that either.

He wrote to the Philippians who had stood with him, "Therefore, my
brothers, whom I love and long for... Rejoice in the Lord always; again
I will say rejoice" (Philippians 4:1,4).

Do you know why Paul could be that vulnerable? God accepted him without
condition and, because of that, he wasn't driven to be something he
wasn't. In other words, God had ripped off Paul's mask and hugged him.
Paul said that he had been "crucified" with Christ and that the life he
now lived he lived "by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

I would like to blame my dishonesty on the folks at church. But, to be
honest, I'm a member of a church where people would have accepted me if
I had acted in a less-than-Christian manner. The church is a very open
and accepting place where grace is taught and lived.

I was protecting myself. What would they think if they saw me
frustrated, angry and kicking a car? After all, I'm a "religious
professional" and we have an image to maintain.

So I faked it.

The worst part is that Jesus told me I had to tell you. Now, I feel
better.

So, the next time my battery goes dead in a church parking lot (or even
the parking lot of a motorcycle gang) you won't have to ask me how I'm
doing. I'll tell you clearly and then, probably, tell you to leave me
alone.

I may "cuss and spit," yell and kick the car in the safe and secure
knowledge that Jesus is fond of me.

You can do that too for the same reason. He told me to remind you.

Today's Daily Wisdom is by Steve Brown. Steve's Bible teaching is heard
on Christian stations nationally via the Key Life Network. For a
station near you go to www.keylife.org
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Posted by: stevenpd 16-Feb-2005, 08:02 PM
Steve,

I, for one, enjoy your posts and actually look forward to them. This thread is flagged so I know when you post here. Some are hilarious and others are so poignant. Please keep posting.

As far as the imperfections, maybe. Appropriateness is sometime hard to gauge. But between family, I don't think it is much of a problem.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 21-Feb-2005, 06:49 PM
QUOTE (stevenpd @ 16-Feb-2005, 09:02 PM)
Steve,

I, for one, enjoy your posts and actually look forward to them.  This thread is flagged so I know when you post here.  Some are hilarious and others are so poignant.  Please keep posting.

Well Steve it looks like it just you and me in this thread. So I thought I'd post something on our common name and our namesake: Saint Stephen.

STEPHEN (Steven, Stefan, Stiobhan (Scot Gaelic), Steafán, Stiofan (Irish Gaelic)...
Gender: Masculine
Usage: English, Biblical
Pronounced: STEEV-en, STEF-en [key]
From the Greek name Stephanos which means "crown". Saint Stephen was an early Christian martyr who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament. Another Saint Stephen is the patron saint of Hungary, the first Christian king of that country (10th century). As well, this was the name of kings of England, Serbia, and Poland and ten popes.

The Story of Saint Stephen (Acts Chapters 6 & 7)

Saint Stephen was unquestionably Jewish, and was most likely a Diaspora jew who spoke Greek. His spoken name was Stephanos, which in Greek means "crown". The circumstances of his conversion aren't known, but he appears in the Acts when amongst the growing numbers of gathered disciples there were murmurs against the treatment of widows who spoke Greek by the Hebrews.

The Apostles gathered the Faithful together and told them they could not dispense with preaching and prayer to 'care for tables', and they would have to choose seven holy men to continue to preach and pray. This was unanimously accepted by the community and Stephen, "full of Faith and the Holy Ghost" along with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas the proselyte of Antioch were chosen. Then the Apostles laid hands on the men in confirmation, and thus the first deacons were ordained.

Stephen spoke with such elegance and wisdom that many converted, and this raised the ire of the elders of the synagogue. They wished to up-end the saint, but were unable to argue him into submission, so they obtained false witnesses to say Stephen had blasphemed Moses and God. Specifically that he had foretold the destruction of the temple, and spoke that the Mosaic traditions were hollow and no longer acceptable to God, since Jesus the Christ had thrown them away.

He was allowed to speak, and what follows in Acts 7:2-53 is an inspired dissertation on the economy of salvation beginning with Abraham and ending with Jesus. His witness ends with a stinging rebuke of the Sanhedrin as "...stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears........who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it."

The jews were enraged and Stephen, full of the Holy Ghost, spoke of a vision of heaven with the Saviour at the right hand of God. The assembly cried out with one voice and resolved to put him to death without delay. They rushed en masse at the saint. They pushed him about town, finally dragging him outside the city and relieving their rage against him by stoning him. Stephen implored the Lord to receive his spirit, and that his killers not be condemned for their act. Thus he went to his reward as the first martyr for Christ.

Acts 7:55-60

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.


I pray that God provides me with 1/100th of the faith of Saint Stephen so I will be better able to defend the faith!







Posted by: stevenpd 22-Feb-2005, 11:07 AM
There must be more than just you and I watching this thread, just by the number of views. The others must be "lurking".

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20

Keep up the good work!

Posted by: Siobhan Blues 01-Mar-2005, 12:41 PM
Ah -ahHEM. May Siobhan sneak a peek here and say something??

cool.gif I just happened upon this thread, and have to chuckle at how appropriate the story about the car battery is to me right now. This part really means something to me:
"You have to pretend (i.e. bluff) if you're going to play poker and Paul just
couldn't do that. If he was angry it was quite clear that he was angry.
If he was hurt, he showed it. If he was in a really, really good mood it
showed in everything he wrote. He was honest about his afflictions...
He was honest about his hurt feelings and felt he had to defend himself.
He was quite "in your face" and honest about his feelings of anger.
And, if Paul was in a good mood, he couldn't hide that either."

See, in the last year I've found myself unable to pretend any more about how I feel... having been a rather quiet, shy 'people-pleaser' all my life, my family is thinking I need a psychiatrist now because I say what I honestly feel! When I'm happy I'm really happy, but nowdays when I'm angry I go combustible on the person right then and there. Its like last summer when my future daughter-in-law
had her feelings hurt repeatedly by a supposedly Christian member of our church; other people saw what happened but told me I needed to be the one to speak up because of who the slight had been committed against plus the Christian woman is someone I was trying to be friends with. I spoke up, the woman was enraged, and it was weeks before she finally agreed that her envy & jealousy had caused her to be nasty to my future d-in-law... but now the air is clear, the d-in-law is coming to our church & recently joined it, the woman is being nice now, and I severed the friendship I was trying to build because people like her always turn on you in the end. Lesson learned there (unfortunately its not the first time I tried to befriend a viper).

Now its over, and the point of contention is water under the bridge because I also find myself unable to hold a grudge now too. Its amazing how much air has been cleared, how much lighter my heart is now that I don't hold in all the hurt feelings.... being open about emotions is definately better than holding it all in. In discussing this with other Christian friends, I've been pleasantly surprised how they all agree its better to speak up when needed, to be honest always.

SB

Posted by: MacEoghainn 01-Mar-2005, 06:17 PM
QUOTE (Siobhan Blues @ 01-Mar-2005, 01:41 PM)
Ah -ahHEM.  May Siobhan sneak a peek here and say something??

SB (as well as everyone else) always feel free to jump in this thread whenever you feel like it. I just put things here that don't seem to fit anywhere else, that hopefully will say something to others in the same way the articles posted here said something to me.

Posted by: WizardofOwls 01-Mar-2005, 06:44 PM
Hi MacE! I have to be honest... I haven't read every post you've made here... But I do check in every so often just to read a little something inspirational. And your latest addition really struck a chord with me...

You see I've been going through a really difficult time in my life lately. Feeling discontent in my work life, my home life, and even in my religious life. I won't go into details about the problems here, but the crux of the matter is that I've been asking myself latley where God is. It seems that I am still praying everyday for help with the same problems that I was praying about over 3 years ago when I first gave my heart to God. And let me tell you, these are not simple little things either. They are things about myself that I hate but simply cannot change without direct intervention from Him. To be honest, I've been finding myself drifting away from Him lately, though steadfastly refusing to completely let go.

The thing about God ripping off the masks and loving us anyway really touched me. Inside, I know that He can see the real feelings I've been having lately, and that He still loves me anyway. But that doesn't take away the guilt I feel for the way I've been feeling about Him. Does any of this make sense? I hope so...

Anyway thanks for the post. It touched me.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 01-Mar-2005, 07:02 PM
QUOTE (WizardofOwls @ 01-Mar-2005, 07:44 PM)
Hi MacE! I have to be honest... I haven't read every post you've made here... But I do check in every so often just to read a little something inspirational. And your latest addition really struck a chord with me...

You see I've been going through a really difficult time in my life lately. Feeling discontent in my work life, my home life, and even in my religious life. I won't go into details about the problems here, but the crux of the matter is that I've been asking myself latley where God is. It seems that I am still praying everyday for help with the same problems that I was praying about over 3 years ago when I first gave my heart to God. And let me tell you, these are not simple little things either. They are things about myself that I hate but simply cannot change without direct intervention from Him. To be honest, I've been finding myself drifting away from Him lately, though steadfastly refusing to completely let go.

The thing about God ripping off the masks and loving us anyway really touched me. Inside, I know that He can see the real feelings I've been having lately, and that He still loves me anyway. But that doesn't take away the guilt I feel for the way I've been feeling about Him. Does any of this make sense? I hope so...

Anyway thanks for the post. It touched me.

Allen,

I'm sure you've heard this a million times but here it goes anyway:

Romans 8:28 (King James Version)

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

And here is a non-scripture way of looking at things: That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger

Keep the Faith!!

MacE


Posted by: stevenpd 01-Mar-2005, 07:24 PM
There's a story that plays every once in a while here on CR.

It's about a man that walks with the Lord through his life and in looking back at the footprints that he left in the sand with the Lord he noticed that whenever he was having a difficult time in life there were only one set of footrpints, not two. He questioned the Lord about this and the Lord replied, "I have never left you. You see, during the times that were difficult for you, I was carrying you on my back."

Peace be with you, Wizard.


Posted by: Siobhan Blues 05-Mar-2005, 10:19 PM
QUOTE (MacEoghainn @ 01-Mar-2005, 08:02 PM)
Romans 8:28 (King James Version)

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

And here is a non-scripture way of looking at things: That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger

unsure.gif

But you know what?? Sometimes I'd give anything for some positive outcomes in the lives of people who have done what they thought God was leading them to do: be it the choice of someone to love, a job, or another major life decision.

I'm not the only Christian who has come to a point in their life where they realize that even tho they believed they were doing what God wanted them to do, things have not ended up like they thought they would... the disappointment is bitter sometimes, and Romans 8:28 is not the scripture that comes to mind. Rather, the one that says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." (If the hour weren't so late I could tell you where it comes from, but I'm drawing a blank...)
My heart is green around the gills right now.

I keep expecting that God is going to reveal some other plan that was unfolding all along, some other good that comes from the choices I've made... right now I feel like God has left me hanging. I keep looking back to see if I made some wrong move, some wrong decision, but it all looked right at the time.

SB

Posted by: MacEoghainn 15-Mar-2005, 05:49 PM
Got this from a Friend.

This was written by a Hospice of Metro Denver physician


The car started to choke . . .

I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends: I was driving home from a meeting this evening about five, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and died. I barely managed to coast, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over.

Before I could make a call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes.

She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel. At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with three kids in the back (one in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95. I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying "I don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car.

She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling walked to the next door McDonald's and bought two big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left two months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about five years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there. I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings . . .

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, especially for the months in 2005, and I picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed. This prayer is powerful and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards, let's continue to pray for one another.


Here is the prayer:

"Father, I ask you to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment.

Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

I know I picked more than four and you can, too. When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you please get that for me?" Being blessed is GOOD . . . being HIGHLY FAVORED is best! Don't settle!

Posted by: MacEoghainn 15-Mar-2005, 06:37 PM
QUOTE (Siobhan Blues @ 05-Mar-2005, 11:19 PM)
But you know what??  Sometimes I'd give anything for some positive outcomes in the lives of people who have done what they thought God was leading them to do: be it the choice of someone to love, a job, or another major life decision.

I'm not the only Christian who has come to a point in their life where they realize that even tho they believed they were doing what God wanted them to do, things have not ended up like they thought they would... the disappointment is bitter sometimes, and Romans 8:28 is not the scripture that comes to mind.  Rather, the one that says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick."  (If the hour weren't so late I could tell you where it comes from, but I'm drawing a blank...)
My heart is green around the gills right now.

I keep expecting that God is going to reveal some other plan that was unfolding all along, some other good that comes from the choices I've made... right now I feel like God has left me hanging.  I keep looking back to see if I made some wrong move, some wrong decision, but it all looked right at the time.

SB[/color][/font]

SB,

Sorry it took so long to respond, had to digest what you said for awhile.

Proverbs 13:12 (New International Version)
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.


Here are some words on hope from some people smarter than I am:

The march of providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope.
Robert Edward Lee (1807-1870)

-Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entries 5942-5944.

The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19th century American poet. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 2.

God never promised us "a Rose Garden" (read the book of Job). While at any given moment it may seem that he has forgotten about us, he is always there. I think I may have already mentioned this: That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger

My hope: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

Posted by: stevenpd 16-Mar-2005, 06:00 PM
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

Amen

Posted by: Siobhan Blues 30-Mar-2005, 10:33 AM
artist.gif
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement, Mac. Thank you!

Its so true that "the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope." When we find ourselves caught in a situation we can't find our own way out of, it is discouraging indeed... what had me down has begun to pass now and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The wave has passed over me, and I've come back up for air.

Thinking back on my own history of God's action in my life, I should know better than to get discouraged! God DOES provide, God DOES intervene & teach & guide.
I've listened to Him now and cut loose those things that were binding me emotionally... I feel free because I've stopped trying to make things happen, and instead let Him lead me to the next part of my life. He will put me right where He wants me to be, as always!

A Re-energized Siobhan

Posted by: MacEoghainn 12-May-2005, 05:04 PM
From Sermon Fodder and Joke A Day Ministries. To subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com or drop an email note to [email protected]. Please leave this attached if you forward this to friends.


One Day At A Time. Forever.

by Joe McKeever

The exact words of the orthodontist, preparing me for radiation treatments in the wake of my oral cancer surgery, were: "I want you to repeat this process each night for the rest of your life."

He had just outlined the nightly routine I was to follow: squeeze fluoride from a tube into the soft plastic molds he made of my teeth, place over my lower teeth for 10 minutes, then the upper for 10 minutes, and go 30 minutes without rinsing, eating, or drinking. The steps are not difficult and certainly not stressful. But every day for the rest of my life on planet Earth? What a sobering thought.

At first, it felt as if I had been sentenced to a lifetime in a prison cell. It felt confining, burdensome, depressing. Then I began to put it into perspective.

The fact is I am doing plenty of things I expect to repeat each day for the rest of my life. There are the obvious ones like breathing, eating, sleeping, waking, and talking. But there is a long list of activities I have chosen to do on a daily basis and expect to repeat all the way home. These include brushing my teeth, bathing, reading my Bible, praying, taking my medicine, and getting some form of exercise. I expect to love my wife and family and work at obeying my Lord every day as long as I live. In no way do I find these restrictive or onerous. They are simply on-going payments I make as investments in the quality of life I have chosen.

My brother Ron is five years older than me, which makes him pushing 70, but don't tell him; he thinks he's still a teenager. While in his late twenties, Ron was diagnosed with diabetes. A pastor of Baptist churches in central Alabama for four decades, he has given himself two insulin shots a day ever since. Every day. For the rest of his life.

Milt Gabrielse was a businessman and lay minister of music in Missouri churches, and the father of Dr. Ken Gabrielse, chairman of the church music department of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Milt was one of the happiest, most joyful persons I ever met. Over the last decade of his life, he had serious heart problems which necessitated life-threatening surgeries on several occasions. All the medications he took for his heart finally destroyed his kidneys. During the final year of his life, he lived with a transplanted heart valve and a pacemaker, took lots and lots of medicine, and spent the night--every night--from 9 pm to 6 am hooked up to a dialysis machine. According to his wife Donna, every morning as soon as he was unhooked, Milt swung his legs over the side of the bed and called out, "Isn't God good--another day!"

In order to live for one more day, Milt paid a great price every night. For the rest of his life. He went to Heaven on December 10, 2004. His tombstone reads, "Isn't God good!"

How does that gospel song go? "One day at a time, dear Jesus." That, of course, is how any kind of life is lived, but in particular how the Christian life works. One day at a time, every day, for the rest of your life.

"Give us this day our daily bread," Jesus taught us to pray. I wonder if, up in Heaven, the Lord God ever looks at the six billion earthlings and goes, "Oh no--I have to provide for all of them, every day, for the rest of their lives!" Probably not. His resources are as immeasurable as the universe, and all our needs combined scarcely begin to tap into His reserves.

The dailiness of life is part of our problem, not one of His. Bible students recall how the Lord fed Israel with manna--the original angel food--six days a week for forty years during Israel's wilderness wanderings. God's people received a lasting illustration of the sufficiency of the Lord for every day.

The movie "Dead Poets Society" introduced the Latin expression "carpe diem" to most of us. "Seize the day" became the watchword for everyone committed to making the most of each moment. Once we realize that life is a gift from a good God, and not our right nor an entitlement, we're able to treasure each day and make the most of it.

David said, "This is the day the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

After all, this day is the only one we have. Perhaps if we get it right, a good God will grant us another one.

--Comment on this article and read what others had to say at: http://www.joemckeever.com/mt/archives/000090.html
http://www.bibleteacher.org/wounded/WH_Enc80.htm

Posted by: Siobhan Blues 18-May-2005, 12:09 PM
Thanks for that article!

SB

Posted by: MacEoghainn 08-Jun-2005, 05:34 PM
Here's an e-mail I got from a friend. Copy it and send it to your friends if you agree with the premise.

READ THIS. LET IT REALLY SINK IN. THEN CHOOSE.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the
employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it? He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood.?

"Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.?

?Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. ?

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was
released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins Wanna see my scars?"I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked

He continued, "..the paramedics were great.They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34.(New International Version)

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

You have two choices now:

A. Delete this.

B. Forward it to the people you care about.

You know the choice I made.

God Bless, and smile, it could be contagious

Posted by: Siobhan Blues 09-Jun-2005, 11:28 AM
..."Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

You know, that is something a lot of folks are not willing to accept as truth: we choose how we react. I remember when I realized it, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach because I realized that I could no longer blame circumstances or situations for putting me into a bad mood. It was MY choice how I reacted to the circumstances!

That's quite a burden. But in my (our?) case, we have God to rely on to help us keep an optimistic outlook. What trips me up is, my thoughts seem to turn naturally to negative things: situations I can't change, people who won't do what I think or wish they would... sometimes in cases like that, you just have to look away - MAKE your thoughts turn to more pleasant things or things you can do something constructive about.

I realize now why Christ himself talked so much about not worrying... it can be a terrible trap to get caught in...

SB

Posted by: MacEoghainn 28-Jun-2005, 06:10 PM
Life or Death?

Here's a Rap artist and song with a positive message, "Can I Live?": Video or song on this website: http://www.nickcannonmusic.com/index_main.html

Posted by: Celtic cat 30-Jun-2005, 11:02 AM
Thank you for posting that video, even for someone who isn't that into rap, it was beautiful.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 31-Oct-2005, 06:39 PM
Got this e-mail from a friend and wanted to pass it on. (plus my files needed some help- this statement will make sense after you read the story)

THE ROOM

17-year-old Brian Moore had only a short time to write something for a class. The subject was what Heaven was like. "I wowed 'em," he later told his father, Bruce. "It's a killer. It's the bomb. It's the best thing I ever wrote." It also was the last.

Brian's parents had forgotten about the essay when a cousin found it while cleaning out the teenager's locker at Teary Valley High School. Brian had been dead only hours, but his parents desperately wanted every piece of his life near them-notes from classmates and teachers, his homework.

Only two months before he had handwritten the essay about encountering Jesus in a file room full of cards detailing every moment of the teen's life. But it was only after Brian's death that Beth and Bruce Moore realized that their son had described his view of heaven. "It makes such an impact that people want to share it. You feel like you are there." Mr. Moore said.

Brian Moore died May 27, 1997, the day after Memorial Day. He was driving home from a friend's house when his car went off Bulen-Pierce Road in Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He emerged from the wreck unharmed, but stepped on a downed power line and was electrocuted.

The Moores framed a copy of Brian's essay and hung it among the family portraits in the living room. "I think God used him to make a point. I think we were meant to find it and make something out of it," Mrs. Moore said of the essay. She and her husband want to share their son's vision of life after death. "I'm happy for Brian. I know he's in heaven. I know I'll see him."



Brian's Essay: The Room...

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed."

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.

Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched", I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, I was ashamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content.

I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it. The title bore "Person?s I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.

No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own.

He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.

He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished." I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."-Phil. 4:13

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

If you feel the same way forward it so the love of Jesus will touch their lives also. My "People I shared the gospel with" file just got bigger, how about yours?

IF THERE IS ONE EMAIL THAT I HAVE READ THAT NEEDS TO GO AROUND THE WORLD, IT IS THIS ONE, FOR THE CHRISTIAN OR NOT! MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

You don't have to share this with anybody, no one will know whether you did or not, but you will know and so will He.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 16-Nov-2005, 06:25 PM
Take a look at this: http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

Posted by: MacEoghainn 29-Nov-2005, 08:11 PM
===========
This comes your way from the Sermon Fodder listTo subscribe please send
an e-mail to [email protected]. Please leave this
attached if you forward to friends and relatives.
@1999 Keith Todd & Associates

Fizzit Mama

A friend of mine recently shared a little "parable in real life"
that God sent her several years ago.

When her son was quite small, he had a small stuffed gorilla that
he wagged around with him everywhere -- and I do mean EVERYWHERE -- he
went. She could sometimes sneak it away for a quick laundering during
nap time, but Heaven help her if her son awoke before his friend "Rilla"
was out of the dryer! As such '"loveys" will do, Rilla's seams gradually
began to weaken and his stuffing began to leak.

As she tells it, "Poor old Rilla was in desperate need of some
corrective surgery, not to mention a stuffing transplant. One day, John
waddled up to me and held up his battered, beloved Rilla and said,
'Mommy, Rilla's broked.' I explained that I would be happy to fix Rilla
up -- a little new stuffing, some seam reinforcement, and he would be
'all better' again. John held Rilla out toward me, and said 'Fizzit,
Mommy!' But, when I reached down to take the little gorilla in my hands,
I found that it had a two-year-old firmly attached to it. As all parents
know, a tug-of-war with a two-year-old is frequently a losing
proposition, and is ALWAYS accompanied by loud cries and copious tears.
Finally, in exasperation, I said, 'I can't fix it until you let go of
it!!!' And just at that moment,
the Spirit of God tapped me on the shoulder, as it were -- and I
realized that God was waiting for me to let go of several things, too."

This is one aspect of Christianity that I suspect will always be a
struggle for many of us-- "tis not I, but Christ liveth in me". It's so
hard for us to get out of his way and let him "fizzit" in his own good
time, because we're living in the present moment and He is living in
eternity. Waiting on the Lord, whether it is for healing, for
understanding, or a much needed job, is not an easy task. But, I truly
believe it is essential for all of us to be as patient with Him as He is
with us.

=======================


I need to be reminded of this truth every day!

MacE smile.gif

Posted by: MacEoghainn 06-Dec-2005, 06:08 PM
The Sermon Fodder list shares a regular dose of Christian humor and
modern-day parables. To subscribe send an e-mail to
[email protected]. Please leave this attached if
you forward it to friends.

SEARCH FOR AN HONEST MAN

I love this story which reportedly came from Sports Illustrated (I do
not know which issue):

The game was played in Wellington, Florida. In it, a seven-year-old
first baseman, Tanner Munsey, fielded a ground ball and tried to tag a
runner going from first to second base.

The umpire, Laura Benson, called the runner out, but young Tanner
immediately ran to her side and said, "Ma'am, I didn't tag the
runner." Umpire Benson reversed herself, sent the runner to second
base, and Tanner's coach gave him the game ball for his honesty.

Two weeks later, Laura Benson was again the umpire and Tanner was
playing shortstop when a similar play occurred. This time Benson
ruled that Tanner had missed the tag on a runner going to third base,
and she called the runner safe. Tanner looked at Benson and without
saying a word, tossed the ball to the catcher and returned to his
position.

Benson sensed something was wrong. "Did you tag the runner?" She
asked Tanner.

His reply: "Yes."

Benson then called the runner out. The opposing coaches protested
until she explained what had happened two weeks earlier. "If a kid is
that honest," she said, "I have to give it to him."

It may be that no Christian characteristic has suffered more in our
society than honesty. It's lacking in the workplace, it's lacking in
many of our marriages, it's lacking in our government, and sometimes
it's even lacking in our churches. Like Diogenes of ancient Greece,
we sometimes feel the urge to take our lantern and begin our search
for an honest man.

There is something about Christians that should stand out like a neon
sign on a dark night. Jesus wants his people to be known as a people
of truth. We should establish a reputation, like Tanner, for speaking
the truth even when it would benefit us to do otherwise. Then, and
only then, will those around us trust what we say without hesitation,
without wondering whether we really mean what we say or not.

"Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his
neighbor, for we are members of one another." (Ephesians 4:25).

May God help you to be that person of truth that Diogenes was looking
for (and God still is, too).

Have a great weekend!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, NC
www.TFTD-online.com
--

Posted by: MacEoghainn 16-Jan-2006, 06:32 PM
Here's another online chain letter for everybody.

I'm never sure if these stories are true or just somebody's imagination, I can only hope things like these really happen.

MacE smile.gif
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.


Subject: Do you Smell That?


DO YOU SMELL THAT?
At the end of this story, it gives you two options. I think you will figure out what option I chose.

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the
doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was
still groggy from surgery.

Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the
latest news.

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana,
only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver
couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.


At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they
already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words
dropped like bombs.

"I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he
could.

"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night,
and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could
be a very cruel one."

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described
the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.

She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be
blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions
from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say.

She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of
the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now,
within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.

But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and
Diana. Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially
'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they
couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer
the strength of their love. All they could do, as Dana struggled alone
beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God
would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.

But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here
and an ounce of strength there.

At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to
Hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later,
though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of
surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero,
Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.

Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with
glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no
signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was
everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far
from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in
Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of
a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.

As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several
other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent. Hugging her
arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?"

Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana
replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"

Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get
wet. It smells like rain."

Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin
shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells
like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."


Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with
the other children.

Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and
all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in
their hearts, all along.

During those long days and nights of her first two months of her
life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was
holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers
so well.

You now have 1 of 2 choices. You can either pass this on and let
other people catch the chills like you did or you can delete this and
act like it didn't touch your heart like it did mine.


IT'S YOUR CALL!

"I can do all things in Him who strengthens me."

This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, He saw me, and
He asked: "My child, what is your greatest wish for today?" I responded:


"Lord please, take care of the person who is reading this message,
their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love them
very much" The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginning,
but not its end.

This message works on the day you receive it. Let us see if it is
true.

ANGELS EXIST but some times, since they don't all have wings, we
call them FRIENDS.

Pass this on to your true friends. Something good will happen to
you At 11:00 in the morning; something that you have been waiting to hear.

This is not a joke; someone will call you by phone or will speak to you
about something that you were waiting to hear..

Do not break this prayer; send it to a minimum of 5 people.

Posted by: stevenpd 16-Jan-2006, 07:25 PM
Just thought you'd like to know that this story is true. I found two corroborating souces confirming the story.

Here is the article from http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/smellofrain.htm.

QUOTE
"The Smell of Rain," an Inspirational Story about a Premature Baby-Truth!
 
Summary of eRumor: 

The story of Diana and David Blessing and their daughter, Danae, born when Diana had been pregnant for only 24 weeks.  (Read the entire piece below.)

The Truth:

This is one of the most widely circulated inspirational stories on the Internet and one of the most commonly forwarded to us. 

TruthOrFiction.com has been in contact with the Blessings who confirm that the story is true and that now 9 year-old Danae is doing wonderfully.

Here are excerpts from Diana Blessing's message to us on 8/21/00:

"Yes, the story known as THE SMELL OF RAIN is true.

"The original title is 'Heaven Scent'.  About 5 years ago now, the C.E.O. of Columbia hospitals decided to compile some of the wonderful stories that he had received and put them into a book formatted similar to the 'Chicken Soup' series. This book was titled 'Miracles In Our Midst.'  Danae's story was submitted and picked in rough draft written by my mother. The 'writers' then called and interviewed me, finalizing the story from this interview. When the book was released, he decided to use his, 'favorite story' to promote the book on the internet. It happened to be Danae's story. People then began the long journey that has now revolved over and over all around the globe as they took that little story and forwarded it to their friends and loved ones. The story has been in numerous church newsletters, two magazines and has most recently been published in the latest 'Chicken Soup' book titled 'Chicken Soup For The Christian Family Soul.'

"Danae is now a lively, beautiful, active, free-spirited, blissful, God-loving fourth-grader. She is in the Gifted and Talented program. Still petite, but growing daily. She loves to play 'active' sports.  Soccer, softball, basketball. She had taken gymnastics and loved it. Especially the fact that she shares a birthday with Shannon Miller, but decided to stick with the more aggressive sports. She swims like a little fish. Loves all animals. Has several of her own.

"Danae has a compassion for other people that I have never witnessed with another child and I work with children daily. She is a pure joy to be around and is NEVER at a loss for words. When I first began getting response from the story I was startled. I quickly realized that God was working his magic. I praised him for allowing me to be blessed in such a way that I see his well doings each and every day. My husband and I decided that if sharing Danae's story touched even one person, than that is what was meant to be. I know now that it has touched many, many and continues everyday. I am so grateful to know the Lord and to have him so evident before us. I am also thankful for the widespread response and blessings from so many of the people that have received the story and have been touched by it. Hopefully it will continue to spread the news of God's love.

"I knew when I first saw Danae that she could not and would not be contained. She screamed to be shared. We couldn't walk in the grocery store without someone commenting about her. So, I painfully acknowledged the fact that she would not be mine alone. Danae has a lot to give. This story is only the beginning.

"Thank you for taking the time to verify the truth. I am excited to imagine all the lives that will be touched even now that they know it is true!

Sincerely,

Diana Blessing-Luckiest Mom on Earth!

Posted by: stevenpd 18-Jan-2006, 07:46 PM
I'm not MacE but I thought that this would be the place to share this story. The author did teach at Loyola and there is one source that indicates that he was contacted and confirmed the story. There are other sources to indicate the Father John Powell did write the story. All of the versions of the story matched almost word for word.

Here's the story:

QUOTE
This is kind of long but worth the reading!

    He'll Find You

    Father John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago
    writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:

    Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file
    into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.
    That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both
    blinked.  He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his
    shoulders. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair
    that long.

    I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that
    it  isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that
    day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy
    under "S" for strange...very strange.

    Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of
    Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the
    possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with
    each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was
    for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.

    When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam,
    he asked in a cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
    I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very
    emphatically.

    "Why not," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were
    pushing."  I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called
    out,  "Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely
    certain that He will find you!"

    He shrugged a little and left my class and my life
    I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my
    clever line "He will find you! "
    At least I thought it was clever.

    Later I heard that Tommy had graduated and I was duly grateful.
    Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer.
    Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked
    into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the long hair had all
    fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice
    was firm, for the first time, I believe. "Tommy, I've thought about you so
    often since I heard you were sick," I blurted out.

    "Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of weeks."
    "Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
    "Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
    "What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"
    "Well, it could be worse."
    "Like what?"
    "Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being
    fifty and  thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the
    real biggies' in life."

    I began to look through my mental file cabinet under 'S' where I had
    filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by
    classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)

    "But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something
    you said to me on the last day of class." (He remembered!)

    He continued, "I asked you 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."

    (My clever line. He thought about that a lot!)

    "But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that
    it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God. And
    when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging
    bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not
    come out..  In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time
    with  great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted,
    fed up with trying. And then you quit.

    "Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile
    appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I
    just quit.    I decided that I didn't really care about God, about an afterlife,
    or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing
    something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered
    something else you had said: " The essential sadness is to go
    through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through
    life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had
    loved them.'"

    "So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the
    newspaper when I approached him. "Dad."
    "Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper.
    "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."

    Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he
    felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him.
    "The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things
    I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged
    me.

    We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next
    morning.  It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel
    his hug, to hear him say that he loved me "

    "It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too,
    and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each
    other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many
    years.
    "I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long.
    Here 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. I guess I was like an animal trainer
    holding out a hoop, 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give You three days,
    three weeks.'
    "Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But
    the important thing is that He was there. He found me! You were right.
    He found me even after I stopped looking for Him."

    "Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very
    important and much more universal than you realize. To me, at least, you
    are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private
    possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need,
    but rather by opening to love. You know, the Apostle John said that.

    He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God
    and God is living in him.' Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know,
    when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make
    it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith
    course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same
    thing it wouldn't be half as effective as if you were to tell it."

    "Ooh I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your class."

    "Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."In a few
    days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do
    that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date. However, he never made it.

    He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and 
    my class. 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 man has ever seen or the ear of man
    has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.

    Before he died, we talked one last time.

    "I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
    "I know, Tom."
    "Will you tell them for me? Will you tell the whole world for me?"
    "I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best"

    So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple
    story about God's love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy,
    somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven ---

    I told them, Tommy as best I could.


          With thanks,

          Rev. John Powell, Professor Loyola University in Chicago


Posted by: MacEoghainn 26-Mar-2006, 06:13 PM
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this 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 told 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, but 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 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. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with the farmer 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 it all from his crack in the 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 involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.


SEND THIS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER HELPED YOU OUT AND LET THEM KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE. REMEMBER: EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSONS TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend....

Thanks to all of you for being my friend


Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV)

The Greatest Commandment

34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."


Posted by: Elspeth 30-Mar-2006, 07:55 AM
THAT is good...

Thanks for sharing. smile.gif

Posted by: MacEoghainn 16-Apr-2006, 11:32 AM
This is a great post on this blog site for Easter, or anyother day! http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2006/04/14/he-is-not-here/

Posted by: MacEoghainn 04-May-2006, 05:16 PM
Is time really just God's way of keeping everything from happening at
once?

Posted by: MacEoghainn 09-Jun-2006, 05:02 PM
And the poet said: (excerpt from "Believe" by Ronnie Dunn & Craig Wiseman)

I raise my hands, bow my head
I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there's more to life than just what I can see


I can't quote the book
The chapter or the verse
You can't tell me it all ends
In a slow ride in a hearse
You know I'm more and more convinced
The longer that I live
Yeah, this can't be
No, this can't be
No, this can't be all there is


Lord I raise my hands, bow my head
Oh I'm finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there's more to this than just what I can see
I believe
Oh, I
I believe
I believe
I believe
I believe
I believe
I believe


John 14:5-7 (KJV)
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Posted by: MacEoghainn 23-Jul-2006, 02:27 PM
"Trying to build the brotherhood of man without the Fatherhood of God is like having the spokes of a wheel without the hub." Irene Marie Dunn

Posted by: MacEoghainn 28-Jul-2006, 05:24 PM
I recieved this Resume from a friend. I believe the propestive employee would like a job with you!



The Resume of Jesus Christ

Address: Ephesians 1:20
Phone: Romans 10:13
Website: The Bible. Keywords: Christ, Lord, Savior and Jesus


Hello. My name is Jesus -The Christ. Many call me Lord! I've sent you my resume because I'm seeking the top management position in your heart. Please consider my accomplishments as set forth in my resume.

Qualifications
I founded the earth and established the heavens, (See Proverbs 3:19)
I formed man from the dust of the ground, (See Genesis 2:7)
I breathed into man the breath of life, (See Genesis 2:7)
I redeemed man from the curse of the law, (See Galatians 3:13)
The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant comes upon your life through
me, (See Galatians 3:14)

Occupational Background
I've only had one employer, (See Luke 2:49).
I've never been tardy, absent, disobedient, slothful or disrespectful.
My current employer has nothing but rave reviews for me, (See Matthew
3:15-17)

Skills Work Experiences
Some of my skills and work experiences include: empowering the poor to be
poor no more, healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives free, healing
the sick, restoring sight to the blind and setting at liberty them that are
bruised, (See Luke 4:18). I am a Wonderful Counselor, (See Isaiah 9:6).
People who listen to me shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil, (See
Proverbs 1:33). Most importantly, I have the authority, ability and power to
cleanse you of your sins, (See I John 1:7-9)

Educational Background
I encompass the entire breadth and length of knowledge, wisdom and
understanding, (See Proverbs 2:6).
In me are hid all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (See
Colossians 2:3).
My Word is so powerful; it has been described as being a lamp unto
your feet and a lamp unto your path, (See Psalms 119:105).
I can even tell you all of the secrets of your heart, (See Psalms
44:21).

Major Accomplishments
I was an active participant in the greatest Summit Meeting of all times, (See
Genesis 1:26).
I laid down my life so that you may live, (See II Corinthians 5:15).
I defeated the archenemy of God and mankind and made a show of them
openly, (See Colossians 2:15).
I've miraculously fed the poor, healed the sick and raised the dead!
There are many more major accomplishments, too many to mention here.
You can read them on my website, which is located at: www dot - the BIBLE.
You don't need an Internet connection or computer to access my website.

References
Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine healings, salvation,
deliverance, miracles, restoration and supernatural guidance

In Summation
Now that you've read my resume, I'm confident that I'm the only candidate uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your heart. I will properly direct your paths, (See Proverbs 3:5-6), and lead you into everlasting life, (See John 6:47). When can I start? Immediately, time is of the essence, (See Hebrews 3:15).





Send this resume to everyone you know, you never know who may have an opening! Thanks for your help and may God bless you!

Posted by: MacEoghainn 24-Jul-2010, 02:23 PM
I haven't posted in this thread in a while. Here's something I saw on facebook:

QUOTE
"You don't have a soul, you are a soul, you have a body" - C.S. Lewis

Posted by: Camac 24-Jul-2010, 03:11 PM
Mac;

Believe it or not I agree with that quote. The soul is the essence of what you are formed by a lifetime of experience. The body is merely the container that carried it.

Camac.

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