Circulated Stories

A True Test of Leadership

2011-12-07T22:32:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the sign of a true leader is the ability to let others lead.
One snowy winter day I decided it would be fun to take our two daughters cross-country skiing. It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine and the glisten of white snowflakes that beckoned us to get out of the house and enjoy the day. We piled in the car with our gear and headed to a wonderful winter playground complete with snow tubing, downhill skiing and cross-country skiing.

The cross-country ski trails had been groomed to make the experience more enjoyable for the novice skier. I was relieved since my girls were new to cross-country skiing and a bit sceptical of how plodding along on two skinny skis could possibly be fun when they were watching the other kids race down the slippery hills seated on a snow tube. I insisted that once they got the knack of cross-country skiing, they would enjoy gliding through the woods looking for critters and listening for their calls. They were sceptical but agreed to the challenge.

With a map in hand, skinny skis on our feet and poles on our wrists we set our skis on the narrow path and headed out on a trail, one skier behind the other. The girls caught on quickly and we were gliding along when we came to a fork in the path. Should we take the well-travelled, popular trail or the path less travelled? Of course, the children picked the path less travelled and we headed toward adventure.

Soon enough we came to another fork in the road that wasn't indicated on our map. Which way to go? We veered to the left which took us around a large frozen lake. The girls were getting tired. I was getting nervous. The map was no longer of use.

As cold seeped into our bones, worry crept into our hearts. We were lost and the sun was setting. Where was the path that led us back to the warm, cozy lodge? I watched as the girls grew despondent and lingered back on the trail. Words of encouragement fell on cold, deaf ears.
Another fork in the road, which way to go?

My youngest daughter wanted a chance to lead. She had been trailing behind in the third position and was tired of it. I acquiesced.

Within seconds of taking the number one position on the path, I saw her head rise, her shoulders broaden and her gait liven. She was leading us now and she literally and figuratively rose to the challenge, soon she was motivating us with her energy and determination to set this right. When we came to yet another fork in the path, my oldest wanted to lead the pack. Again, I acquiesced and witnessed the same determination appear in body and spirit when she was the leader. Suddenly, she was using all of her senses to look for clues to find the lodge and determined to get us back as quickly as possible. The transformation in spirit was palpable.

Sure enough, we heard a car in the distance and followed the sound to find a curvy road. We soon unbuckled our skis, hoisted them on our shoulders and began to sing Girl Scout songs to lift our spirits. Within 10 minutes of hiking we saw the lodge before us and let out a whelp of excitement. We had done it. We had found the lodge before frost-bite and darkness set in.

As parents we like to think that we have all of the answers. It's our job to lead, to guide, to encourage. On this day, I learned that allowing others to lead is the only true path to leadership. When placed in a leadership role, others will rise to the challenge when given the chance to do so. We only need to get out of the way.

Toni Schutta

Toni Schutta is a Parent Coach and Licensed Psychologist with 17 years experience helping parents find solutions that work. Her most recent project includes a series of audios that solve the top 10 parenting challenges. Click here now to take a look at this great program.

Love Story

2011-11-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

Remember the Love

These last few days have been for me, a dark night of the soul. Every belief I held, every truth I thought I knew and every answer I had, have all been shattered.

And even though I was surrounded by people, I felt alone, abandoned and afraid.

And yet, through all of it, I also felt higher, as though someone or something were carrying me, lifting me, loving me.

And so this time instead of running from the pain, despair and confusion, I embraced it and what happened surprised me. The pain, despair and confusion became my doorway to freedom. All sorts of insights and inspirations flooded into my consciousness. It was as though I had access to a different time and place and was able to see with new eyes.

I have been searching for the truth all of my life in so many places. I thought there was only one truth and that I came here to find that truth and that if I went to enough seminars and took enough courses and read enough books and did enough affirmations that somehow I would find it.

Enough, enough, enough already! It was never enough. I was never enough. And now I have found myself in this place and I realized that...

No one can tell you what your truth is or how to get there. They can only soften the path a little. But if you are awake and alive, there will come a time when you will have to examine your own heart.

During this time, I thought often of Mother Teresa and what a powerful woman she was, yet without the arrogance that one often finds in powerful people. She was able to command large amounts of money from everywhere and yet she was so humble. She didn't need to be the best at anything, she just needed to BE. Simple and profound. She touched countless lives and changed the world one person at a time.

I have an act of kindness section on one of my websites and for the last 7 years have been putting acts of kindness suggestions on one of my daily pages. This morning as I was thinking of Mother Teresa again, I sat down to my computer and these words flowed from my fingertips and onto the screen.

Whatever you do today, remember ONE thing.

That in the end, all that really matters is the Love!

Did you seek it?

Did you find it?

But most importantly - DID YOU GIVE IT?

Remember the LOVE!

And then I knew that was the truth I was looking for. Remember the LOVE. Often in our quest for bigger and better things, we forget why we came here in the first place. When my father died and I was sitting on his doorstep outside waiting for the limo to arrive to take me to his funeral, this was never more apparent. There stood his beautiful house and car in silence. He would never walk up those stairs and open that door again or sit behind that wheel. But I could feel his presence. He was much bigger than all of those things. His love was there forever. It didn't die with him. The only thing we take with us when we leave this place is the love and it doesn't matter if we die with a slim body and a fat bank account. All that matters is the love.

In remembering this, I came to know my truth. Perhaps we don't come here to learn, perhaps we come here to teach. And the secret to success is in the love. Then I recalled a story I heard about a woman who hated her job and was living a joyless life of struggle.

Her heart was closed in pain, anger and resentment. She was working as a cleaning lady. One day the old woman she worked for put on some music on the stereo. It was music that she and her late husband used to dance to. She was missing her mate terribly and longing for the gentle touch of another soul. The old woman asked the cleaning lady if she would dance with her. The cleaning lady was a bit taken aback at first but agreed to do so. And then something miraculous happened.

In opening her arms to the old woman, she also opened her heart and the tears and the love began to flow. She let the love in and in that precious moment that love lifted her spirit and transformed her life. Right after this incident the cleaning lady's business started to take off, she got so many calls she had to hire a huge staff to accommodate everyone and her company grew by leaps and bounds.The struggle disappeared and everything that she had been trying to make happen came to her effortlessly, once her heart had been opened.

In remembering this story, I knew that I had found my truth. The secret to success and the secret to life is in the love. Once I knew that, I knew everything.

Veronica Hay

Veronica Hay is an inspirational writer. She provides inspirational support and resources to help you live a richer life. Visit her website at:http://www.insightsandinspirations.com

But What Happens When We Die?

2011-10-23T22:33:00.001-07:00

The Kingdoms of Heaven & Hell, and the Return of CHRIST by Angelica Zambrano

Maxima (the Mother): From video Interview, originally in Spanish, minimally abridged, Location: El Empalme, Ecuador.

My name is Maxima Zambrano Mora and we attend the "Casa de Oracion" Church in El Empalme. We were fasting for 15 days, and crying out to God. My daughter Angelica also joined us. During those fifteen days of fasting, I was able to see beyond the natural, which I've never done before. We were praying and fasting at the retreat, and even continued praying and crying out at home, waiting for God to speak to us.

The Lord gave us much encouragement. Because of our trials, we were often ready to give up, but the Lord was there to help us. He gave us Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not." My daughter had been emphatically requesting that from Lord, though I didn't know it at the time.

Angelica (The daughter): My name is Angelica Elizabeth Zambrano Mora. I am 18, and study at the "Colegio José María Velazco Ibarra", here at El Cantón, El Empalme, Ecuador. I first accepted Christ when I was 12, but I told myself, "None of my friends were evangelicals and I felt strange amongst them", so I walked away from God, and lived a bad, terrible life. But God pulled me out of there. On, my 15th Birthday, I was reconciled to the Lord, but I was still double-minded. The Bible says, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8) and I was one of those persons. My dad would say, "You don't have to be like that, it looks awful, it's wrong," but I would reply, "This is the way I am, and how I want to be, nobody has to tell me how I should be, nor what I should do, nor how I should dress, or behave." He would respond, "God is going to deal with you. He is going to change you."

During my 17 birthday, I came closer to the Lord. On April 28th I came to Him and said, "Lord, I feel so bad, I know that I'm a sinner," and I told Him how I felt. "Lord, forgive me. I want You to write my name in the Book of Life and to accept me as Your child." I repented and gave back my life to the Lord. I said, "Lord, I want You to change me, to make a difference in me." I cried with all my heart, asking the Lord to change me. But, as time passed by I felt no change. The only difference was that I began to attend church, to read the Bible and to pray. That was the only change in my life.

Then, in August, I was invited to fast for 15 days. I decided to join, but before entering I said, "Lord, I want you to deal with me here." During the fast, the Lord was speaking to almost everybody, except me! It was as if the Lord had not seen me, and that hurt. I would pray, "Lord, aren't You going to deal with me?" I would cry alone and continue, "Lord, do You love me? Are You here? Are You with me? Why don't You speak to me like You do to everyone else. You speak so many things to other people, even words of prophecy, but not me." I asked for a sign that He was with me, and the Lord gave me Jeremiah 33:3, "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." I said, "Lord, did You just talk to me?” Because I heard His audible voice and had a vision of the words written in Jeremiah 33:3.

I said, "Lord, is that for me?" I kept it to myself, while everyone else was testifying what the Lord had given them and what they had seen. But I kept it secret and would only meditate on the words: "Call unto Me" means to pray, but what did "great and mighty things" mean? I thought, "This can only mean heaven and hell." So I said, "Lord, I only want You to show me heaven, but not hell, because I've heard that it is a horrible place." But I then prayed with all my heart, "Lord if it is Your will to show me what You must, then do so, but change me first. I want You to make a difference in me; I want to be different.”

When we finished fasting, there were trials and difficulties and sometimes I felt faint, unable to continue walking with the Lord. But He gave me strength. I started to hear His voice and know Him better. We became good friends. The Lord is our best friend, the Holy Spirit. I told Him, "Lord, You are my best friend. I want to know You better," and shared all my thoughts with Him.

I prayed during all of August and then in November, a servant of the Lord came to our house and said, "May the Lord bless you." I replied, "Amen." He then said, "I am here to bring you a message from God...you must prepare yourself, because the Lord will show you great and mighty things which you do not know. He is going to show you Heaven and Hell because you have been asking, from Jeremiah 33:3." I asked, "Yes, how did you know? I haven't told that to anyone." He responded, "The same God that you serve and praise, that very same God I also praise told me everything."

Soon we began to pray. Some sisters from our church, and others from my family were there with us praying. But as soon as we started praying, I began to see the Heavens opened. So I said, "I see the Heavens are opening, and 2 angels are coming down!" The man said, "Ask them why they are here."

They were tall and beautiful; with beautiful wings. They were large and shining, and seemed transparent, brilliant as gold. They wore crystal sandals and had on holy garments. "Why are you here?" They smiled and said, "We are here because we have a task to carry out...We are here because you must visit Heaven and Hell and we will not leave until all of this comes to pass." I responded, "very well, but I only want to visit heaven, not hell." They smiled, and stayed there, but did not say anything more. After we finished prayer, I could still see them there.

I also started to see the Holy Spirit; He is my best friend; He is Holy, He is omniscient; He is omnipresent! I could see Him, transparent and brilliant at the same time; with a brilliant countenance, I could see His smile and His loving gaze! I can hardly describe Him, because He is more beautiful than angels. The angels have their own beauty, but the Holy Spirit is far more beautiful than they are! I could hear His audible voice, a voice full of love, a passionate voice. I just can't explain His voice; a voice like lightening, yet at the same time He would say, "I am with you." so I would strive to continue walking with God, even as trials surrounded us. We were going through very difficult moments, but victorious ones at the same time. I said, "Lord, let Your will be done." I continued to notice the angels even at school, and in my classes. I was so happy, so full of joy because I could actually see them!

The servant of the Lord, who visited my house, told me to prepare myself, because I was going to see Heaven and Hell. But he also told me something difficult. He said, "You are going to die." It wasn't easy when I heard this.

"How am I going to die? I'm so young", I asked. He replied, "Don't worry about anything, everything God does is perfect, and He will bring you back to life, so you can testify about Heaven and Hell, which is what the Lord wants all of us to know about." I said, "Amen, but will I be run over by a car, how will I die?" Ideas came rushing into my mind, but the Lord told me not to worry, everything was under control. I said, "Thank you, Lord!"

On November 6th, after I returned home from school, the Angels were still with me, even while praising the Lord. They would not speak to me; all they would say was, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Hallelujah," giving glory, honor and praise to our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit was there along with the angels and I would rejoice. Many people say that the gospel is boring, but that is a big lie from the devil to keep people from searching for God's presence. I also used to believe this, but after I met the Lord and the Holy Spirit, I know the gospel is not boring, it is the most beautiful experience you can have on Earth!

I could see; play with, and even talk to the Holy Spirit. But the angels would not talk to me, but they would praise the Lord. I would say, "Holy Spirit come along with me to do this or that" and He would be there. I could feel and see Him.

I saw Him when He would rise to His feet, and would even prepare a seat for Him. Although many can't see Him, He is here! That relationship has continued, there's no reason to stop it, once you've experienced it…there's no way that I would withdraw. When I consider where He pulled me out from, what I was before, I am so thankful for His mercy, for all His love toward humanity and toward me!

On November 7th, when I was returning home, I heard a voice that said, "Be prepared, for you will die today," I knew it was the Holy Spirit because I could see Him. I ignored His voice and said, "Lord, I don't want to die today!" But He repeated, "Be prepared, for you will die today!" This time He said it louder and with greater force. I replied, "Lord, I know it's You talking to me; I only ask for a confirmation and after that, do with me as You will. I'll do whatever You ask, I'll surrender, even if I'm afraid, because I know You are with me and You are real."

I prayed, "Let that person you used before, bring me the message. Let him be at my home this instant, before I arrive, and let him tell me that today I will die." Now, somehow the Lord knows our past, present and future. He knew what I would request of Him. So when I arrived home, the servant of the Lord was already there.

Maxima: When my daughter got home, we were in the kitchen. When Angelica saw the servant of the Lord, she said, "May the Lord bless you." The man of God responded, "God bless you. Are you ready? For today is the day that the Lord will take you, at 4 PM." She just stood there, astonished that the Lord had granted her request.

Angelica: Praying When I heard this I said, "Amen...but I don't want to die, I can't die! No, Lord, I'm afraid, very much afraid, terrified!" The servant of the Lord said, “Let's pray that your fear will leave now in the name of our Lord." I said, "Amen" and we prayed. Soon I felt all fear leave me, and an indescribable joy came, thinking that death was the best thing that could happen to me! I started to smile and laugh while everyone was looking at me. They could all see that I went from being dismal to joyful. I was smiling, jumping and singing.

Maxima: My daughter instantly felt joy in her heart and started eating. She had a little bit of everything, saying, "If I don't return, well I've eaten and I'm full."

Angelica: Everyone started laughing and asked, "Why are you behaving like this instead of being sad, you're happy, you're joyful?" I told them, "Of course: I'm going to see the Lord, I'm going to be with Him, but I don't know if I'll be coming back so I want to give away all my things." They all stared at me and asked, "You're going to give away all your belongings?" My Mom's eyes were wide open in surprise!

Maxima: My daughter started giving her things away. She gave everything away, everything! Our church sisters were with us, as usual, and she gave something to every one of them. When I questioned her intentions, she said, "If I return, they can give everything back to me, but if I don't come back, then they can keep everything."

Angelica: I can imagine how sad my Mom must have felt when I said that. But I felt so happy, that I started giving everything away: my clothes, my bed, my cell phone, everything, with one condition: If I come back, everything must be returned to me. They all started laughing.

Maxima: She was very determined, but as a mother I felt so much sorrow. It wasn't easy. I wondered, "Lord when the moment comes, how will it be?" I couldn't understand. As they started praying, I was arranging thing in the house. They said, "sister, come let's pray." But I replied, "You go on, I will join you shortly. Just let me finish this task."

Angelica: They were all observing me as we prayed. I prayed, "Lord, I want to do Your will. You're not a man that You would lie or repent, I know You are real. If I am going to fail You, then it's best if You just take me with You; but If I am going to do Your will, then bring me back, but help me say the truth, prepare me, help me to preach and to tell people to repent." That was my shortest prayer. I told this to the servant of the Lord and said, "Don't tell my Mom what I said to the Lord." He replied, "I won't tell her now, but once the Lord has taken you, I'll tell her." We continued praying and came together in a prayer circle.

Maxima: At 3:30 PM, the Lord told His servant to anoint my daughter. So some of us went into the room and anointed her. He gave us two minutes to anoint her all over, from her hair down, everything, all her body. She was fully anointed.

Death
Angelica: My Mom and another church sister, Fátima Navarrete, anointed me with oil. But as they were anointing me, I felt something covering me, like a glass that was surrounding me. It's hard to explain, I felt covered with something like armor, and I couldn't explain how I was covered. After that, when they tried to touch me, they no longer could.
Maxima: As we were praying over Angelica, I was trying to lay my hands on her, but I couldn't touch her! She had some type of covering around her. It was strange, nobody could touch her! This covering started at the top of her head to her feet, about 30cm (12 inches). That was what shocked me the most. I've lay my hands on people before, in service to the Lord, but something like this had never happened before! I said, "Oh, something must be happening," and I started to pray and to give thanks to the Lord. Suddenly, I felt great joy. The sorrow in my heart was gone, the pain was gone, and I now felt joyful and happy! We continued praying and about at 4:00 PM, my daughter fell to the floor.

Angelica: During prayer, I felt shortness of breath; I couldn't breathe. I felt a pain in my abdomen and in my heart. I felt my blood going dormant, and tremendous pain all over my body. All I could say was, "Lord, give me strength, give me strength!" because I felt I couldn't go on. I had no strength, it was leaving me! When I looked up to heaven, in the spiritual realm, not with my physical eyes, I saw heaven opening up. I saw angels, not two nor ten, but millions of them gathering together. In the midst of the millions of angels, I saw a Light, 10,000 times brighter than the sun. And I said, "Lord that is You who is coming!"

Maxima: When she fell down, we tried to stand her up, but she was unable to stand on her own. At this time, we were able to touch her. She was saying, "Pray. I don't have strength, Mommy, I don't have strength and I feel pain." First, she felt pain in her heart, and then it went down near her abdomen. We kept on praying and pleading with the Lord. The Lord took her life!

Never before in my life had I seen anybody die. I had to see my daughter, as she was agonizing! It was not easy at all! I couldn't understand her last few words, and at the end she stopped. I placed my hand on her face, and a mirror to her mouth, to see if she was breathing. She had no breath, she just stood still. I held her, she was still warm, as normal. I took a sheet and covered her up, and in a short while she started to get cold, very cold. Her hair was set back, like the hair of a dead person, and she turned icy cold.

Angelica: Jesus was coming down, and I felt my body dying. As Jesus and the Angels got closer, I felt I was leaving, that I was no longer me. I was no longer alive, I was dying, and it was agonizing! When my body fell to the floor, they were already here. My house was full of angels, and in the midst of the angels I saw a Light, stronger than the sun! It was very difficult; I felt tremendous pain, as my soul and spirit were being torn away.

I was crying and screaming, as I saw my body on the floor. I asked, "Lord, what is happening? What is happening?" I wanted to touch my body and get inside it again, but when I tried, it was like to grabbing air: I couldn't touch it. My hand went straight through it. None of those who were praying there could hear me! And I shouted, "Lord, help me!"

Maxima: My husband arrived while we were praying, and he saw her there. The Lord gave me strength at that moment because I didn't know what to do. It was like she was in a coma, but I knew she was OK, because it was the Lord's work. So I said "Lord, let Your will be done."

The Lord Jesus Christ
Angelica: At that moment I hear the Lord's voice, a beautiful voice with thunder and love, "Fear not, Daughter, for I am Jehovah, Your God, and I have come here to show you what I have promised you. Arise, for I am Jehovah, who holds you by your right hand and tells you, Fear not, I will help you." Suddenly, I arose. I had been kneeling down, looking at my body, wanting to get back in but not being able to. When I heard His voice, fear had left me, and I was no longer scared.

As I started walking, the angels began to open a path. There was a strong light shining, and as I gazed at it, I felt peace. As I looked, I saw a beautiful, tall, elegant, muscular man. Light was projecting from Him. There was too much light for me to see His face! But I could see His beautiful hair of brilliant gold and a white garment with a wide golden girdle that crossed His chest. It read, "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

I looked at His feet, He was wearing shiny golden sandals, of brilliant gold. He was so beautiful! He extended His hand to me. When I took His hand, it wasn't like when I touched my body, my hand did not go through it. I asked, "What is happening?" And He said, "I am going to show you hell, so that you return and tell humanity that hell is real; that hell exists. And also, My glory will I show you, for you to tell My people to be prepared, for My glory is real and I am real." He said, "Daughter, do not fear"- He said it again and I said, "Lord, it's just that I want to go to heaven, but not hell, because I've heard that it's horrible!" He said, "Daughter, I will be with you. I will not leave you in that place and I am going to show you that place because there are many who know that hell exists, but they have no fear. They believe it's a game, that hell is a joke, and many don't know about it. That is why I am going to show you that place, because there are more that perish than those that are entering My glory." When He said that, I could see tears streaming down to His garments. I asked Him, "Lord, why are you crying?" He replied, "Daughter, because there are more that perish, and I will show you this, so that you will go and tell the truth and so that you will not return to that place."

Hell Pit
Suddenly, as He was speaking, everything started to move. The Earth shook and split open, and I saw a very dark hole below.

We were standing on a sort of rock with angels surrounding us. I said, "Lord, I don't want to go to that place!" He said, "Daughter, do not fear for I am with you." In a split second we descended into the dark hole. I tried to see but there was a terrible darkness. I did see a huge circle, and hear millions of voices.

I was so hot, I felt my skin burning. I asked, "Lord, what is this? I don't want to go to this place!" The Lord said that this was just the tunnel to hell. There was a horrible, repulsive and nauseating smell, and I begged Jesus not to take me. He responded, "Daughter, it is necessary for you to come and know this place." I cried, "But why, Lord, why?" And He said, 'so that you can tell the truth to humanity; humanity perishes, it's lost and few are entering My Kingdom." In saying this, He would weep. His words strengthened and encouraged me, so I continued walking.

We arrived at the end of a tunnel, when I looked down I saw an abyss covered in flames. The Lord said "Daughter, I give this to you." It was a large binder with blank sheets of paper. "Daughter, take this pencil so that you can write all that I will show you, what you will see and hear. You will write everything as you are observing it, as you will live it." I said, "Lord, I will do it, but I am already seeing so much, Lord. I am seeing souls being tormented, and immense flames."

Maxima: Abyss of Fire Time was going by, and my daughter was still lying there. "Lord, what is happening?" Tears were coming out of her eyes, but when I wiped them away, they would just come again. I placed a mirror to her mouth to see if she was breathing, there was nothing. We checked her pulse, nothing. We placed a hand on her stomach, nothing. The servant of the Lord said, "The place where she is, is not a place of smiles but a place of torment."

Angelica: I told Jesus, "I will testify that hell is real, that hell exists, but take me out of here now!" And He replied, "Daughter, we haven't even entered that place, and I have shown you nothing yet, and already you want Me to take you out of this place?" "Lord, please take me out of here," I said. Then we started to descend into the abyss! I started to cry and scream, "Lord, no, no, no, no- I don't want to go!" and He would reply, "You need to see this."

I saw horrible demons, of all types, both large and small. They were running so fast, and carrying something in their hands. "Lord, why are they running like that and what are they carrying?" He answered, “Daughter, they run that way because they know their time is running out, because time is so short to destroy humanity and especially My people. That which they carry in their hands are darts to destroy humanity, because each demon is given a name and according to the name that is given to them, they have a dart to destroy that person and bring them to this place; their goal is to destroy that person and bring them to hell." And I would see the demons running and exiting toward Earth and He told me. "They are going to Earth to bring and throw humanity into this place." As He said this He would weep, He would weep so very much. He was weeping all the time and I would cry too.

Maxima: My Daughter was dead for 23 hours, but I did not notify the authorities. I prayed, "Lord, I will wait for 24 hours. If my daughter is not back in 24 hours, I will call a doctor." But, the Lord brought her back before 24 hours were up.
Angelica: The Lord said to me, "Are you ready to see what I am going to show you?" "Yes, Lord," I said. He took me to a cell where I could see a young man being tormented among the flames. I noticed that the cell was enumerated, though I couldn't understand the numbers, they seemed to be backward. There was a huge plaque in that cell, and the young man had the number "666" on his forehead. He also had a big metallic plate that was encrusted into his skin. The worms that were eating him, were unable to damage that plate; neither did the flames burn it. He screamed, "Lord, have mercy on me. Take me out of this place. Forgive me, Lord!" But Jesus would respond, "It's late, too late: I gave you opportunities and you would not repent."

I asked Jesus, "Lord, why is he here?" Then I recognized him. On Earth, this young man knew the Word of God, but abruptly he walked away from the Lord, preferring alcohol, drugs and walking on the wrong path. He did not want to follow the way of the Lord. Jesus warned him many times on what could happen to him. Jesus said, "Daughter, he is in this place because anyone who rejects My word already has a judge: The Word that I have spoken will judge him in that last day," (John 12:48) and then Jesus wept.

When the Lord weeps, it's different than we do. He would weep with this pain in His heart and He would sob profoundly. "I did not create hell for humanity," Jesus said. So I asked Him, "Then why is humanity here, Lord?" He answered, "Daughter, I created hell for satan and his angels, who are the demons; (Matt. 25:41) but, because of sin and the lack of repentance, humanity ends here, and there are more that perish than those who reach My glory!" (Matt 7:14) He continued weeping and it would hurt me so much to see how He cried. "Daughter, I gave My life for humanity, so that it would not perish, so that it would not end up in this place. I gave My life out of love and mercy, so that humanity would proceed to repentance and could enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus would moan as someone who could no longer withstand the pain, that's how much pain He felt watching the people here.

Being with Jesus, made me feel safe. I thought, "If I let go of the Lord, I'll be stuck here!" I asked, "Jesus, do I have relatives in this place." He looked at me as I was crying and He said, "Daughter, I am with you," because I was so scared. He took me to another cell. I never could have imagined seeing a relative of mine in that cell. I saw this woman being tormented, she had worms that would eat her face off, and demons would plunge a type of spear into her body. She would scream, "No, Lord, have mercy on me, forgive me, please, take me out of this place for one minute!" (Luke 16:24)

In Hell, people are tormented with the memories of what they did on Earth. Demons would mock people and tell them, "Worship and praise because this is your kingdom!" and the people would scream remembering that they knew God, because they knew the Word. Those who had known the Lord were tormented twofold.

The Lord said, "There is no other opportunity [for those here]; there is still opportunity for those who are alive." I asked Him, "Lord, why is my great-grandmother here? I don't know if she ever knew you. Why is she here in hell, Lord?" He replied, "Daughter, she is here because she failed to forgive...Daughter, he who does not forgive, neither will I forgive him."

I asked, "Lord, but You do forgive, and You are merciful." And He answered, "Yes, Daughter, but it is necessary to forgive, because they have not forgiven many people, and that is why many people are in this place, because they failed to forgive...Go and tell humanity that it is time to forgive, and especially My people, for many of My people have not forgiven. Tell them to rid themselves of grudges, of resentment, of that hatred in their hearts, for it is time to forgive! If death were to surprise that person who has failed to forgive, that person may go to hell, for no one can purchase life." When we left that place, my great grandmother was engulfed in fire and she screamed, "Aaaah," and began to blaspheme the name of God, she would curse Him; every person in hell blasphemes against God.

As we left that area, I could see that hell was full of tormented souls. Many people would extend their hands out, begging Jesus to help them and take them out of there. But the Lord could not do anything for them and they would start blaspheming God. Then Jesus would weep and say, "It hurts Me to hear them, it hurts Me to see what they do, because I can no longer do anything for them. What I will tell you is that I still have opportunity for he who is still on Earth, who has not yet died, who is still alive; he still has time to repent!"
The Lord told me there were many famous people in Hell, and also many people who had known about the Lord. He said, “I am going to show you another part of the furnace." We came to a place where a woman was surrounded by flames. She was in great torment and would scream, begging the Lord for mercy. Jesus pointed to her with his hand and told me, "Daughter, that woman that you see over there, surrounded by flames, is Selena." As we started getting closer, she screamed, "Lord, have mercy on me, forgive me Lord, take me out of this place!" But the Lord looked at her and said, "It's late, it's too late. You cannot repent now."

She saw me and said, "Please, I beg you, go tell people about this, please speak out and do not be silent; go and tell them not to come to this place; go and tell them not to listen to my songs, nor sing my songs." (1 John 2:15) So I asked her, "Why do you want me to go and say that?" And she answered, "Because every time people sing and listen to my songs, I am tormented even more, the person who does this, who sings and listens to my songs, is walking to this place. Please, go tell them not to come here; go tell them that hell is real!" She would scream and demons would hurl spears from afar into her body and she would cry, "Help me, Lord, have mercy on me, Lord!" But sadly, the Lord told her, "It is too late."

I looked all over that area, it was full of singers and artists who have died. All they did was sing and sing, they wouldn't stop singing. The Lord explained, "Daughter, the person who is here, must continue doing here, whatever they did on Earth, if they had not repented."

As I was observing the area, I noticed a lot of demons that were spilling down some type of rain. I actually thought it was raining. But I noticed the people in flames running away from the rain and shouting, "No, help me, Lord!...No, this can't be," and the demons would laugh and tell the people, "Praise and worship because this is your kingdom forever and ever!" I saw the flames increase and people's worms would multiply! There was no water there, it was brimstone that would multiply the flames and increase each person's anguish. I asked Jesus, "What's happening?...Lord, what is this?" The Lord replied, "This is the wages of anyone who has not repented." (Psalms 11:6)

Then the Lord took me to place where there was a very well-known man. Before now, I used to live as a double minded young Christian girl. I used to think that any person that died would go to Heaven; that those who celebrated mass, would also go to heaven, but I was wrong. When Pope John Paul II died, my friends and relatives would tell me that he had gone to heaven. All the news on TV, on Extra and many other places would say, "Pope John Paul II has died, may he rest in peace. He is now rejoicing with the Lord and his angels in heaven" and I believed all of it. But I was only fooling myself, because I saw him in Hell, being tormented by flames. I looked at his face, it was John Paul II! The Lord said to me, "Look, Daughter, that man that you see there, is Pope John Paul II. He is here in this place; he is being tormented because he did not repent."

But I asked, "Lord, why is he here? He used to preach at church." Jesus replied, "Daughter, no fornicator, no idolater, no one who is greedy and no liar will inherit My Kingdom."(Eph. 5:5) I replied, "Yes, I know that is true, but I want to know why he is here, because he used to preach to multitudes of people!" And Jesus responded, "Yes, Daughter, he may have said many things, but he would never speak the truth as it is. He never said the truth and they know the truth and although he knew the truth, he preferred money over preaching about salvation. He would not offer reality; would not say that hell is real and that heaven also exists; Daughter, now he is here in this place."

When I looked at this man, he had a large serpent with needles, wrapped around his throat, and he would try to take it off. I pleaded with Jesus, "Lord, help him!" The man would scream, "Help me, Lord; have mercy on me; take me out of this place; forgive me! I repent, Lord; I want to return to Earth, I want to go back to Earth to repent." The Lord observed him and said to him, "You very well knew. You knew very well that this place was real...It's too late; there is no other opportunity for you."

The Lord said, "Look, Daughter, I am going to show you the life of this man." Jesus showed me a huge screen on which I could observe how this man offered mass many times to the multitudes. And how the people who were there were so idolatrous. Jesus said, "Look, Daughter, there are many idolaters in this place. Idolatry will not save, Daughter. I am the only One who saves, and outside of Me, no one saves. I love the sinner, but I hate sin, Daughter. Go and tell humanity that I love them and that they need to come to Me."

As the Lord was speaking, I began to see how this man received multitudes of coins and bills; money, all of which he would keep. He had so much money. I saw images of this man seated on a throne, but I was also able to see beyond that. While it's true that these people do not get married, I can assure you, I'm not making this up, the Lord showed it to me, those people do sleep with nuns; with many women there!

The Lord showed me these people living in fornication, and the Word says that no fornicator will inherit His Kingdom. As I was watching all of this, the Lord told me, "Look Daughter, all of this which I am showing you is what goes on, what he lived and what keeps on happening among many people, among many priests and popes existing." Then he told me, "Daughter, go and tell humanity that it's time to turn to Me."

The Lord showed me a place where many people were walking to hell. I asked Him, "Lord, how is it that they walk to this place?" He replied, "I will show you." He showed me a tunnel with many people walking through it. These people were chained from hand to foot. They were dressed in black and carrying a load on their back. Jesus said, "Look Daughter, those people that you see there, those people don't know Me yet. That which they carry on their backs is sin, but go and tell them to turn their burden over to Me, and I will give them rest; that I am He who forgives all their sins...Daughter, go and tell those people to come to Me, for I await them with open arms, and go tell them that they are walking to this place."

As I was watching the people walking, I said, "Lord, that person over there is my cousin; that young man is my cousin, Lord, and that young girl coming down is also my cousin; my family is coming to this place!" He replied, "Daughter, they are walking to this place, but go and tell them where they are walking, go and tell them they are walking to hell. Go and tell them that I have chosen you as my watchman...I have chosen you as my watchman, for it means that you are to tell the truth. You must go and tell all that I have shown you. If you do not speak out and something happens to that person, his blood will be poured over you, but if you go and do as I have told you, then that person has an account with me. If the person does not repent, then the responsibility resting upon you will be lifted, for the account will rest upon that person and his blood will not be poured over you. (Ezekiel 3:18)"

Jesus told me that many famous people were walking to that place, famous and important people. Take for example, Michael Jackson. This man was famous all over the world but he was a satanist. Although many people may not see it that way, but it is the truth. This man had satanic covenants: He came to agreement with the devil in order to achieve fame and attract many fans.

Those steps that he performed, that's the way I saw demons walk while tormenting people in hell. They would slide backward and not move forward, while they shout; enjoying the anguish they impose upon the people. Let me tell you that Michael Jackson is in hell. The Lord showed him to me after Michael died. He let me see Michael Jackson tormented in flames. I cried to Jesus, "Why?" It wasn't easy to see how this man was being tormented and how he would scream. Anyone who listens to Michael Jackson's songs or sings them or who is a fan of Michael Jackson, I warn you that satan is trapping you in his web so that you will end up in hell. Right now, renounce it in the name of Jesus! Jesus wants to set you free, so that you will not be lost.

The Lord said, "Daughter, there are also people who know Me, that are walking to this place." I asked, "Lord, how can people who know You also come here?" He replied, "That person who has left My ways and that person who is living a double life." He started showing me people who were walking to Hell. They were tied from their hands to their feet.

They each wore a white garment, but it was torn, stained and wrinkled. Jesus said, "Daughter, see how My people have walked away from Me. Daughter, I want to tell you that I am not coming for these people. I am coming for a holy people, ready, without blemish, without wrinkle and without defilement...Go and tell them to return to the old paths." (Eph. 5:26-27) I started to see many of my uncles and many other people who had walked away from the Lord's ways. "Go and tell them that I am waiting for them, to surrender their loads to Me, and I will give them rest." Jesus was weeping, "Daughter, they are coming this way. Go and tell your uncles; go and tell your relatives that they are coming this way! Daughter, many will not believe you, but I am your faithful witness, I am your faithful witness. I will never leave you. Even if they do not believe you, Daughter, go and tell them the truth, for I am with you. I will also show you, Daughter, how people arrive at this place."

We went to a tunnel where there were a multitude of people falling into the abyss. Not 1 thousand, not 2 thousand, but as many as the sand of the sea, countless. They were falling by the second, like handfuls of sand being thrown down. The souls were falling rapidly. Jesus was weeping, He said, "Daughter, this is how humanity perishes; this is how it is lost!...Daughter, it hurts Me to see how humanity perishes."

Jesus said, "Demons also hold meetings in this place." And I said, "Demons hold meetings?" Jesus said, "Yes, Daughter, they meet to plan, to plan what they will do to humanity. They hold daily secret meetings." And with that, Jesus took me to a cell, where I saw a wooden table with chairs around it. And there were demons – all types of demons. Jesus explained, "Daughter, they are now planning to go and destroy the pastors' families, the missionaries, the evangelists and all of those who know me. Daughter, they want to destroy them; they have many darts."

The demons would laugh and mock and say, "Let's destroy humanity and bring it to this place." Jesus said, "Go and tell them that I am with them. Tell them to not leave open doors, to leave no place to satan, for satan walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.(1st Peter 5:8)" But the Word says, "he walks as", because the only real Lion, is the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Revelations 5:5)! Jesus said, "Daughter, they especially want to destroy the pastors; family." I asked, "Why do they want to destroy the pastors' family?" And Jesus responded, "Because they are in charge of thousands of people that are the sheep of the fold; the sheep of the fold that the Lord has given them. They want these people to return to the world again; to look back and end up in hell...Go and tell the pastors to speak the truth. Go and tell them to preach the truth and to speak everything that I tell them and to never keep to themselves what I tell them!"

As we left that place and He told me, "I want to show you something else...There are also children in this place." And I replied, “Children in this place, Lord? Why are there children here? Your Word says, 'let the children to come unto Me, and do not stop them: for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14) Jesus replied, "Daughter, it's true, of such is the kingdom of Heaven, but that child must come to Me, for he who comes to Me I will not throw out."(John 6:37) Instantly, the Lord showed me an eight year old boy being tormented in fire. The boy cried, "Lord have mercy of me, take me out of this place, I don't want to be here!" He kept crying and screaming. I saw demons around this boy, that resembled cartoon figures. There was Dragon, BoyZ, Ben 10, Pokémon, Doral, etc. "Lord, why is this boy here?" Jesus showed me a large screen of this boy's life. I saw how he would spend all of his time in front of the TV, watching these cartoons.

Jesus said, "Daughter, these animated cartoons, those movies, those soap operas that are seen daily on TV are satan's instruments to destroy humanity...Look, Daughter how this came to be." I saw how the boy was rebellious and disobedient toward his parents. When his parents talked to him, he would run away, throwing things and disobeying them. After this happened, a car ran over him and ended his life. Jesus told me, "Ever since then, he has been in this place."

I looked at the boy as he was being tormented. Jesus said, "Daughter, go and tell parents to instruct their child as is written in My Word. (Proverbs 22:6)" The Word of God is real, it tells us to correct a child with the rod, but not every moment, only when the child has been disobedient to his parents. (Proverbs 22:15)

The Lord told me something that is very sad and very painful. He said, "Daughter, there are many children in this place because of animated cartoons, because of rebellion." I asked Him, "Lord, why are animated cartoons to blame for this?" And He explained, "Because they are demons that carry rebellion, disobedience, bitterness and hatred to children; and other demons enter these children, so that they do not do good things, but do that which is bad: whatever children see on TV, they want to do in reality." Hell exists, hell is real, and even children must decide with whom they will go. I said, “Lord, tell me, why are there children in this place?" And Jesus answered, "Once children have knowledge that there is a heaven and a hell, then they have a place to choose."

The Kingdom of Heaven

There's much more to be said about hell, but now I'll share what I saw in Heaven. Jesus said, "Daughter, now I am going to show you what I have prepared for My Holy people." We left that place, going out through a tunnel. While traveling through this tunnel, we suddenly came out to where there was light. I saw no more darkness, torment or flames. He said, "Daughter, I am going to show you My glory,” and we started ascending to the Kingdom of Heaven! Soon we arrived at a door with giant letters written in gold, it said: "Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus said, "Daughter, go in, for I am the Door and he who enters through Me, will enter, will go and will find pastures."(John 10:9)

Gates of Heaven Heaven's Banquet Table After the Lord said these words, the door opened and we entered. I saw angels giving glory, honor and praise to our Heavenly Father! (Revelations 7:11-12) As we continued walking, we approached a table of which I could see the beginning, but not the end. (Revelations 19:9) I observed a large throne, and a smaller throne surrounded by thousands of chairs. Between the chairs were garments along with crowns. The Lord told me, "Daughter, the crown that you see there is the crown of life."(Revelations 2:10)

Jesus said, "Look, Daughter, this is what I have prepared for My people." I saw that the table was covered with a white tablecloth with gold edging. There were plates, gold goblets, fruit; everything was served. It was so beautiful. There was a very large vessel in the middle of the table, which contained the wine for the dinner. And Jesus said, "Daughter, everything is ready for the arrival of My church."

We went to another place, where I saw many people in a garden. There were well known people from the Bible, but they were not aged, but young. There was this young man with a large kerchief in his hand who danced and whirled around and praised the Lord. Jesus said, "

Daughter that young man that you see there is My servant, David." He was giving glory to our Father. Suddenly, another young man passes by and Jesus told me, "Daughter, he is Joshua; he is Moses; this other young man is Abraham." Jesus would call them out by their names. They all had the same countenance! Jesus said, "Daughter, that woman that you see there is My servant, Mary Magdalene; My servant, Sara."

But then He told me, "Daughter, she is Mary. Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ, Who I am. Daughter, I want to tell you that she has no knowledge of the things happening on Earth. I want to tell you that you must go and tell humanity, tell idol worshippers that hell is real, and that idolaters will not inherit My kingdom, but go and tell them that if they repent, they can enter My heavenly dwelling place. Go tell them that I love them and tell them that Mary has no knowledge of anything [happening on Earth] and the only One that they must exalt is Me, because neither Mary, nor St. Gregory nor any other saint can offer salvation. I am the only One who saves and outside of Me – nobody, nobody, nobody- saves!" He repeated it three times - that nobody could save; only He saves.

Worship of Mary Humanity has been deceived believing in an assumed saint, which is not, but is a demon, working through an idol made by the hand of man. But, let me tell you that the Lord wants to give you the best. He wants you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; to repent and to leave idolatry. Because idolatry will not save you. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the one that saves, who gave His life for you, for me and for all humanity. The Lord has a great message for humanity. As He wept, He told me, "Please, Daughter, do not be silent; go and tell the truth, go and tell what I have shown you."

I saw how Mary worshipped the Lord, and I saw women with very beautiful long hair. I said, "Lord, how pretty the way they wear their hair." He told me, "Daughter, that which you see is the veil that I have given to a woman." He added, "Daughter, go and tell women to take care of the veil that I have given them."

Then He told me, "I have something to show you that is very important." I looked far away and saw a shining city, a city of gold! I said, "Lord, what is that? I want to go over there." He answered, “Daughter, I will show you what is over there. What you are seeing is the heavenly dwelling, the heavenly mansions which are ready for My people."

We started walking, until we reached a golden bridge. As we walked over it, we came upon streets that were made of pure gold! (Revelations 21:21)

Everything was so beautiful, so brilliant, like shining glass, it was absolutely supernatural, inexplicable! We saw heavenly mansions, and watched thousands of angels constructing them. Some of the angels constructed very rapidly, others constructed slowly and others were not constructing at all. I asked the Lord, "Why are some angels constructing rapidly, while others are slower, and some have those stopped constructing?" The Lord explained, "Daughter, that is how My people work on Earth, and the angels work as My children work on Earth....Daughter, My people no longer spread the gospel. My people no longer fast. My people no longer go to the streets to distribute tracts telling the truth. My people are now ashamed. Go and tell My people to return to the old paths. Those angels that you saw that were doing nothing belong to those people that have walked away from My paths...Daughter, go and tell My people to return to the old paths," (Jeremiah 6:16) and in saying this He started to weep.

I heard other people singing, so I asked Him, "Lord, I want You to take me over there, where those people are singing." Jesus was observing me, I could tell how He was observing me, but I couldn't see His face, only the movements of His face. While His tears were pouring over His garment, I asked Him why He was weeping. But He would not explain it to me.

Later we arrived at this beautiful garden. There, among the heavenly mansions, I saw flowers that were swaying. That must have been the singing I heard. The Lord pointed with His finger and said, "Daughter, look, they praise Me; they worship Me! My people no longer do as they did before. My people no longer praise, no longer worship Me; no longer seek Me as before. That is why I told you, Daughter, to go and tell My people to seek Me, for I will go, I will go, I will go - for a people that seeks Me in spirit and in truth, for a people that are ready, for a holy people!" And weeping He said, “I am coming, I am coming!" Then I understand why He was weeping, because He is coming, but not for those that are half-hearted. He will return only for a people that is seeking Him in spirit and in truth.

Jesus Hand Then the Lord told me that I had to return to Earth. I said, "Lord, I don't want to go back to Earth! What do you mean – Earth? I want to stay with You. You brought me here and I'm not going anywhere because I am with You!" Jesus said, "Daughter, it is necessary that you return to Earth to go and testify that My glory is real, that what I am going to show you is real; that what you have seen is real – so that humanity will come to Me, repent and not perish." Weeping, I fell to His feet; there I saw wounds on His feet. I asked, "Lord, what are these wounds here?" He answered, "
Daughter, it's the scar from that yester day, when I gave My life for humanity."

He also showed me the scars in his hands, I asked, "Lord, why do you still have that?" He told me, "Daughter, it is the scar that has remained." So I asked, "Will this go away?" He replied, "Daughter, this will go away when all the saints are reunited here...Daughter, I must take you to Earth: Your family and the nations are waiting for you."

I tried to refuse but He pointed down to Earth with His finger and said, "Look, those people that you see down there are your relatives; that body that you see there, is where you have to return...It is time to leave this place." Then He took me along a beautiful crystal clear river and said "Daughter, enter the river and submerge yourself." Before I entered that crystalline river of living water, I was experiencing indescribable joy, but after I submerged myself and came out, I was elated. I thought I would not have to return home, but the Lord told me, "Daughter, you have to return to Earth...Daughter, I am going to show you something: How I am coming to Earth for a holy people. I am going to show you how the day of the Rapture will be."

The Rapture and Tribulation
We walked to a place with a giant screen, and I saw people in it. I could observe the whole world. Then suddenly I saw thousands of people disappearing. Pregnant women had their pregnancy disappear, and they looked like they had gone crazy screaming.

Children had disappeared from all over. Many people were running from here to there, screaming, "This can't be, this can't be! What's happening?"

I saw those who had known the Lord, but were left behind. (Matt 24:40-41) They were saying that Christ had come, the Rapture happened. They screamed and wanted to kill themselves, but they couldn't. The Lord told me, "Daughter, in those days, death will flee; Daughter, in those days the Holy Spirit will no longer be on Earth." (Revelations 9:6) There were accidents but I didn't see a single dead person: all of them were alive, although injured.

After the Rapture I observed enormous traffic with thousands of people. He told me, "Daughter, look, this is how everything will happen." I then saw people running from one place to another, shouting, "Christ came, Christ came!" They would plead, "Lord, forgive me, forgive me, take me with You!"

But sadly the Lord said, "It will be too late. The time to repent is now...Daughter, go tell humanity to seek Me, for during that time there will no longer be opportunity. (Isaiah 55:6) Daughter, it will be too late for all those that stay behind." When Jesus observed how people were left behind, He began to weep and said, "Daughter, I will go to Earth as it says in 1 Thes. 4: 16-17 : “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Rapture But not everyone will go with the Lord, only those who are doing His will (Matthew 7:21) and living a holy life. For the Lord told me, "Only those that are holy will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, (Hebrews 12:14), No one knows, neither the day nor the hour in which I will go for My holy people, not even the angels know it." (Matthew 24:36)
On the screen I saw people running around. Magazines and TV news said that “CHRIST HAD COME.” The screen closed, and Jesus finished by saying, "I will go for a holy people." This was all He showed me. After that, He brought me back here to Earth.

With angels gathered round, we began to descend these beautiful stairs; white steps with flowers surrounding them. I was crying all the way down, pleading with Jesus, "Lord, please, don't leave me here. Take me with You!" He responded, "Daughter, the nations, your family are waiting for you...Daughter, you must enter that body. You must receive life, Daughter, so you can go and testify what you have seen. Many will not believe you; many will believe you, but I am your faithful witness. I am with you. I will never leave you."

Return to Earth
Maxima: When my daughter came back, we were waiting there, and she was stretched out on the floor. She went, "uuhmm," nothing else. I said, "Thank You, Lord, because my daughter is back!"

We all gave thanks to the Lord. Soon she started breathing slowly, little by little. After about five hours, she was able to open her eyes and talk. At first we could hardly understand what she was saying; it just wasn't clear. She had no strength. We needed to keep the windows covered, because her eyes couldn't handle the light.

Being curious, we all wanted her to tell us what she saw. But because she was so weak, she could only tell us a little. It was 2 weeks until she was able to share her full testimony.

Demons came to torment her after all this. She could see them clearly, they would try to hide themselves in the shadows. They were here within three days of her return, before she could really talk. She asked them what they wanted and they replied, "We have come to make a pact with you...You must shut up. You must not say anything of what you saw down there, because if you speak, we will kill you."

She described the demons as ugly, large and fat, ugly. She said there were no words to describe how horrible they looked. She would rebuke them, but they would not leave. When they came they would jump on her and try to choke her. She would fight back rebuking them, but she had no strength. One time when she rebuked them, a tremendous light appeared and then they fled! It was the Lord.

What my daughter went through was not easy. She was given a profound message to all humanity, to seek God. But humanity thinks that what it is doing is alright. Youth that are into drugs and alcohol, they think that's OK, but it's not. One of the greatest experiences that my daughter had was when she saw many entertainers in hell, including dancers, and also Pope John Paul II. It's time to seek the Lord, to repent and to humble oneself before Him. The Word of God is true when it says, "Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away."(Mark 13:31) The Word of the Lord will be fulfilled in its due time.

The Lord also showed her a tunnel, where people were walking to hell. Many people are already in hell. It's real! But even the Lord's people don't believe this, many just don't believe.

The main message was that we should seek the Lord, not just from our lips, but from the deepest part of our heart, for the Lord's coming is at hand. Jesus said, "I am no longer at the door; I am beyond the door. I will come soon; My coming is near. My people have left Me and gone back to worldly things...Tell My people to return to the old paths." The church today must go back to the old paths, that it is where we are in the fire, seeking the Lord. When the trumpet sounds we must be ready to meet the Lord, and it will be wonderful!

The Lord's Urgent Message
Angelica, speaking before an audience: Angelica The Lord told me, "Daughter, in those days the Holy Spirit will no longer be on Earth. In those days, He will no longer be on Earth."(2 Thes. 2:7) And I saw enormous traffic, with accidents. Many people wanted to kill themselves, but Jesus said, "They shall seek death, but death shall flee from humanity. Death will no longer be during that time."(Revelations 9:6) I saw people watching TV and magazines that read, "Thousands and Thousands have Disappeared." Many already knew that Christ had come for His holy people. Those who knew the Lord, but were left behind, went crying through the streets, wanting to kill themselves, but they could not do anything.

While in Heaven, Jesus said, "I will come for a holy people and I will come soon for My church." But two weeks ago the Lord told me, "Daughter, I take pleasure in what you are doing, that you are fulfilling what I have given you, but do not tell My people that I am coming soon. Tell My people that I am coming right away." Again the Lord said, "Tell My people that I am coming right away and that I am coming for a holy people. Tell My people that only the holy ones, only the holy ones will see Me!...And do not be silent: Keep on declaring what I have told you."

Angelica Praying with the audience: Everybody, close your eyes, and place your right hand over your heart. Raise your left hand and if you feel like crying, then cry. Now tell the Lord what you feel in your heart. For those who want to accept the Lord, repeat after me.
Lord, I thank You for Your love and Your mercy, thank You, Lord, for the word that has reached my heart today. Father, I ask for Your forgiveness. Forgive me. Wash me with Your precious blood. Write my name in the Book of Life. Accept me as Your child, Lord. Right now, I forgive anyone that I had not been able to forgive. I renounce to my lack of forgiveness. I renounce all things that have hindered Your flow, and I ask You to transform me and to fill me with Your presence every day. Thank You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Angelica Testimony Angelica: “This testimony is not a lie; it's not a joke; it is not a story; it is not a dream, hell is real! Hell exists! To anyone that does not believe, I want to tell you that hell is real, very real. I cannot find words to tell you how real it is. I wish that you could experience it yourself.”

Angelica, speaking with Narrator: The time is soon, God allows signs to reveal to humanity what is about to happen. Do not remain condemned; that's what the devil wants. Ask yourself if you are already walking through hell's tunnel? Today is the day of salvation, today is the day to invite Jesus, your Savior into your life. These are simple and yet great words to say: "I accept You, Jesus as my Lord and my only Savior. I give You my life and soul with all my heart. I want to be with You for eternity.”

Choose your final destiny: Life or death, heaven or hell, Jesus or the devil. It's clear, either you belong to Jesus or to the devil. Either you do what is right or you do what is wrong. You choose your destiny: eternal life or the lake of fire. Think about it. Decide now. Jesus Christ died on the cross for each one of us, for our sins, and He gave us the opportunity of salvation by His mercy. Accept Christ as your only Savior!

Now that you've heard this testimony, don't let this moment be the one you regret forever in hell.”

Reference, Notes & Video
Rev. 19:9 "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!...These are the true words of God."
Rev. 20:15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev. 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
“No idolaters” will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ex. 20:3-6 You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...
Rev. 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Rev. 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev. 22:7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.
Rev. 22:11 Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.
Rev. 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Rev. 22:13-15 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Love and Loss

2011-10-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs gave this as his second story of his Commencement Address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.

Love and Loss

I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?

Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT.

I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple.It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Steve Jobs
1955-2011

Something of Value

2011-10-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from presenting a workshop in Cincinnati, and when I pulled up to the parking attendant's booth at the airport, I handed him my ticket and he flashed me a huge grin and said, "Hello! That'll be $30.50."

"$30.50?" I echoed, incredulous. "I was only here for 24 hours. I just want to pay for parking-I don't want to buy the place!"

He laughed and said, "Yep, it's $30.50 for 24 hours' parking. So how was your trip? Did you have a good time?"

I was still in a bit of shock at the price, but he was being so friendly that any temptation I had to become frustrated started to fade away. I chatted with him a little about my trip, asked him about his day, and paid my bill, feeling a lot better than I probably would have if he hadn't been so nice.

Now, some people might say that this gentleman had a right to be unhappy and cranky, after all, his job probably isn't always very pleasant. He has to deal with grouchy people who resent paying $30.50 for 24 hours' parking, he has to work in a closed space without much opportunity to move around or get visual stimulation, and he probably doesn't make all that much money. Yet this fellow was giving value unconditionally, without an obvious or immediate payback for doing so.

What he understood, which I try to help others understand, is that the more value you offer unconditionally, the more abundance you'll enjoy. Giving with strings attached creates feelings of fear (What if I don't get a return on what I give?) and lack (I don't have enough to justify giving to others without a clear benefit to me). Giving unconditionally creates feelings of abundance.

People who feel wealthy and blessed and who bring value to their jobs regardless of their pay let the Universe know that they're ready to receive even more wealth. They may get a raise or an unexpected windfall, or they could attract the attention of someone who wants to hire them for a better job. As I drove away from that parking garage, I thought about how much value and enthusiasm that gentleman brings to his work if he is able to deal with grumpy customers all day long and by early evening still have joy to share with others. I thought, I would like to hire that fellow! I wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets a promotion, a raise, or a more lucrative position somewhere, and I imagine that he leads a rich and abundant life outside of his job.

When you give value unconditionally, you'll receive it in return-and the more you give, the more value and abundance you'll receive. People, who offer the minimal amount at their job, always rushing out the door at exactly 5 p.m. and never showing any initiative, are missing the opportunity to create abundance or value and reap the benefits.

There are many ways to offer value. My husband, son, and I live next to a golf course. At the end of the week, Michel will gather up all of the balls in our yard, put them in egg cartons, and sell them to golfers at a fraction of the cost of new ones. When he approaches a potential customer, he'll give them a free ball. Whether or not they decide to buy a dozen from him, this ball is theirs to keep. The golfers feel positive about him and are more inspired to buy a box from him, if not today, then sometime in the future.

You can offer value through creative ideas, suggestions for how to make your company work more efficiently, enthusiasm that inspires others, hard work, diligence and attention to detail, and going the extra mile in a crisis.

If you're thinking of finding different work, or you've been considering making a change for a long time but feel paralyzed and unsure of what to do next, start by creating positive feelings so that you can access your passion and creativity. You'll get clarity about what you want to do next and avoid making the kind of mistakes we commit when we operate from negative feelings such as fear and lack.

You won't jump from one unrewarding job to the next; instead, you'll find new, better opportunities opening up for you in response to the feelings of abundance, enthusiasm, and worthiness you've created. You'll recognize your beneficial purpose, value it, and attract more resources and wealth by giving unconditionally, letting your abundance flow into the Universe, and opening yourself to receive.

Peggy McColl

Peggy McColl is a New York Times Best Selling Author and an internationally recognized expert in the area of goal achievement. She is the author of five books, translated in many languages and sold all over the world.

Pay It Forward

2011-06-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

This story is true and it happened to me..

One day after work, I asked my husband to pull into a local store so I could buy some cards and some gifts for our nieces.I got into line to check out behind a man dressed in a suit. I didn't pay much attention but then the woman in front of him started asking directions and he politely gave her all the directions. What caught my attention is that twice he said either God bless you or you have a blessed day.As a Christian, I thought - how refreshing to hear. It was now his turn to check out and he just had a gift bag and a card and tissue and some other small things, buying to wrap someone a gift.But, it seemed he didn't have much cash on him. So he told the cashier to check him out and he'd pay cash for part and part on a credit card. When she checked him out he was a little less than a dollar short and started to scan his credit card. "Stop" I said, "Don't scan your credit card for that dollar" and so I handed the cashier a dollar. He looked over at me and I said "no, it's nothing - I'm just trying to get out of debt and I hate to see anyone using a card for anything." He thanked me and "blessed" me too.

The cashier was surprised. I'm not sure if she was surprised because I did that or because she didn't expect me to help him or if it was because he was in a very nice suit and I was there in jeans and a t-shirt - I'm not sure, but when she gave the little change back from my dollar, she held my hand and told me that that was so unexpected of me and told me that I would be truly blessed for the act I just did. I just smiled and said "well I hope so -I could use some blessings!" So just then she told me my total which was around $6.00. As I reached in my wallet to pay her, a young man behind me said - "Wait! How much was her total?" The cashier told him and he reached in his wallet to pay for mine! I said, "No, you don't need to do that - - mine is much more than what I just dished out to help him." He said no he wanted to pay for mine for what he had just witnessed.

And here all along, I was feeling good by helping someone, but then when he did that, well; it was so unexpected and took me so by surprise. With tears in my eyes, I gave him a hug.I always try to do little things that I can, but have never had anyone do anything like that for me.I was speechless.As I walked to my car just amazed at God's love that had just been shown, I wondered what the cashier must be thinking of what she just witnessed in front of her.I cried when I told my husband because I just felt right there, right then, in a world where there is so much going bad, I witnessed God's love.

I went home that night and blogged about it and challenged anyone reading it to do the same.To do something small for someone else and see the difference it makes in your life as well as theirs.Of course my blog only has a couple of followers, but I had to get this story out! That young gentleman does not know how much he touched my heart by following my example. I'll never forget it.So, why not do something? Pay a toll for the car behind you, offer to pay for someone's item they are checking out, hand a water to someone working on the road, pay for someone's lunch - - it doesn't take much to show the love of God.

Lorraine Niemeyer

Lorraine lives in a little town in Texas with her husband of 16 years. If you would like to view her blog go to: http://www.inspirationawaitsyou.blogspot.com/

The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

2011-05-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. One time I arrived in the middle of the night for a pick up at a building that was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

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

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice.

I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

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

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

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

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

I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening.

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

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

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

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

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

"Nothing," I said.

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

"There are other passengers."

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

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

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

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Kent Nerburn

The author has confirmed that this story is true. For more inspiring writing by Kent Nerburn go to his website: http://kentnerburn.com. The above story is taken from his book Make Me an Instrument of your Peace,

The Man With The One Track Mind

2011-05-12T04:16:00.000-07:00

Eddie Arcaro dreamed of becoming the world's greatest jockey but after watching him ride a horse for five minutes, reality reflected a harsh contradiction. He was awkward and clumsy, and in his early years in the saddle he couldn't do one thing right. He was left behind at the post, he got trapped in traffic jams, he got bumped and boxed in. In his first 100 races he never even came close to winning. Still, he got right back on and tried again.

Even as a schoolboy, Arcaro had set his own track in life. Because he was only a little over five feet tall and weighed barely 80 pounds, the other students shunned him. So he played hooky instead, hanging out at the local race track where a trainer let him gallop the horses. His father reluctantly agreed to let him pursue a career as a jockey, even though he knew it was a long shot. The trainer had told him so. "Send him back to school," he said. "He'll never be a rider."

No one was betting on little Eddie Arcaro, no one that is except Arcaro. He was determined not just to ride, but to become the world's greatest jockey. But first someone would have to give him a chance. He pleaded and persisted until he finally got to ride in a real race. Before it was over, he'd lost his whip and his cap and had almost fallen off the saddle. By the time he finished the race, the other horses were on their way back to the stables. He'd come in dead last.

After that, Arcaro went from track to track, looking for any opportunity to ride. Finally, an owner who felt pity took him in and gave him his next chance. One hundred trophy-less races later, he was still giving him a chance. The trainers saw something in this unlucky jockey, something they couldn't define. Perhaps it was potential, perhaps it was resilience, perhaps it was sheer obstinacy, but no one was willing to send him home. And Arcaro was certainly not going to quit.

There were long years when he was broke, homesick, and almost without friends. There were also many brushes with death and several broken bones. Every time his delicate 63 inch body was trammeled by hoofs he would get patched up and return to the saddle.

Then it happened. Arcaro began to win...and win...and win...Now, instead of leaving a path of destruction, he was leaving a path of devastated opponents. In thirty years of riding, he won 4,779 races, becoming the only jockey in history to win the Kentucky Derby five times. By the time he retired in 1962 he was a millionaire and a legend in his own lifetime.

From the moment he walked out of school and onto a track, Eddie Arcaro had his mind on a finish line. And although the race took thirty years, he never quit until that line was crossed.

Cynthia Kersey

Cynthia Kersey is the author of Unstoppable and Unstoppable Women
Copyright 1998 by Cynthia Kersey
Visit Cynthia's web site at: www.unstoppable.net

A Lesson Learnt From My Six Year Old

2011-05-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday mornings, my family and I stay in bed just a little bit longer. My two boys crawl into bed with my husband and I and we usually watch music videos all together cuddled up in bed.

A song came on called "If this was your last day" which I found intriguing and thought it posed an interesting question too, so I turned to my husband and asked him what he would do if it was his last day.

He thought for a while and then said that he would probably lie in bed all day just as we were doing right now, surrounded by all his favorite people, just savoring the time together.

I turned to my eight year old and asked him what he would do and he said that he would go to Canada's Wonderland and go on all the rides.
I then focused my attention on my six year old and posed the same question. He looked at me intently and asked "Is this my last day to live?", I said "yup".

He then answered the question quite matter of factly and said "I would go to the hospital".

Of course my husband and I thought his answer was genuinely funny, smart and pure (we are biased of course). However, I have been thinking about it for a few days now and I realize that my six year old has it all figured out.

He naturally thinks outside of the box, he does not accept a situation and assume a scenario just because it is posed to him.

In his mind, there was no reason why it should be his last day and he was going to find a way to ensure that it was not.

In a flash of a second, he realized that he has the capacity to ensure that it wouldn't be his last day and not only that, but he was going to take the requisite responsibility and the necessary action to ensure that it wasn't.

My son taught me that if you want to live then find a way to do it, don't give up, don't settle and don't just accept things for what they seem to be.

Don't assume and accept a situation just because it is presented to you as such. Rather make that situation your own, take responsibility for it and then decide to change it, my six year old did.

Now I know that I am his mother, but is this not the smartest six year old kid in the entire world?

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars is a collaborative lawyer dedicated to using inspiration and motivation while guiding families through difficult transitions. You can view her website at: www.nkplaw.ca

Scared to try

2011-05-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

Many years ago a young lady who was attending a seminar shared an interesting story with Bob Proctor. Apparently she and two or three of her girlfriends went and tried out for a place in a stage play. She got the starring role while her girlfriends were not even picked for the supporting cast. Opening night she said she was really excited but afterwards became very disappointed when her girlfriends never came out and supported her. She was explaining the situation to an elderly friend of her fathers named Hap. He wrote her a letter and she gave me a copy with her permission to share it with others. Read it carefully and think.

Dear Ann,

Once upon a time there was a fellow by the name of Al Capp who wrote a comic strip called "L'll Abner." Many years ago he had some characters in his strip who lived in a town near Dogpatch. They were the town bums, the n'er do wells, the failures whose whole aim in life was to pass judgement on others. Their criticism and ridicule became so vehement that in time the rest of the people in the town became acutely conscious of it. "The boys down at the stable," as they were called because that's where they spent most of their time, soon set the social standards of the town. Nobody could do anything without their sanction.

Because they lived within the structure of their crummy little world, they would laugh and point their fingers at anyone and everyone who tried to be better than they were. As a result the people feared the ridicule of the boys down at the stable so much that they stopped trying. Soon everybody became bums and the town died.

In every social structure, Ann, whether it be family, town, county or state, there are "The boys down at the stable." They are the jealous ones. They are too scared to try something different. They show their ignorance by laughing at those who do. Learn to recognize them Ann, for what they are. Don't let them hurt you. It takes a certain amount of toughness to succeed. One has to rise above those who would tear you down so that they can laugh and say, "I told you so!"

There are too many of us who love you and want you to make it. I could put myself at the top of the list. You aren't going to fall flat on your face as they would have you. You are going to do a superb job. Remember this show is only a small step in the direction of greater things you will do, many of which are beyond your wildest dreams. All you have to do is want to. One of the things I like about you best is that you always give it hell for try.

The show will be a success because of you and others like you who try. There are only winners in the cast. The losers are gathered down at the stable laughing and hoping for your failure. If we could dig down deep inside them, I'm sure we'd find they want to win also, but are too scared to try, and they attempt to cover up their own failures as human beings by laughing at others. In a sense I'm sorry for them. Their guilt must make them very unhappy people.

Much love,

Hap

The Best Dad

2011-05-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

Years ago I heard a story of a dad named Paul who gave his young son a small chalkboard to practice writing on. One evening his son called out from the bedroom, "Dad, how do you spell best?"

Paul answered him. Moments later, the boy hollered, "How do you spell kid?"

Finally he asked, "How do you spell ever?"

When the boy showed him what he'd written on the chalkboard, Paul expected to see "I'm the best kid ever." Instead, the boy beamed as Paul read the message: "You're the best dad a kid can ever have."

Paul recalled that it was one of the best days of his life. In fact, he had to buy his son another chalkboard because he wanted to save this message forever and hang it on his wall. It's still there.

Feeling appreciated is enormously important to adults as well as children. So much so that we often don't think enough about what we'd most like to be appreciated for.
Being appreciated at work is a big deal. Who doesn't want approval and respect from one's boss and coworkers? Beyond the economic value of raises, promotions, and commendations, praise can be gratifying and motivating. That's why good employers look for opportunities to acknowledge and thank employees for their contributions.
Yet as meaningful as work recognition is, if you could choose between winning your child's "Best Mom/Dad A Kid Can Ever Have" award and being named "Best Employee," which would you choose?

The point is not to belittle the pursuit of approval in your business life but to remind you how much more meaningful it is to know you're important to and appreciated by the people who love and need you the most. Your most important job in life is to be worthy of that appreciation.
Being the "best ever" mom or dad, husband or wife, or friend - it doesn't get any better than that.

Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

Entertaining Angels

2011-04-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

It was fifty years ago, on a hot summer day, in the deep south.

We lived on a dirt road, on a sand lot. We were, what was known as "dirt poor."

I had been playing outside all morning in the sand. Suddenly, I heard a sharp clanking sound behind me and looking over my shoulder, my eyes were drawn to a strange sight!

Across the dirt road were two rows of men, dressed in black and white, striped, baggy uniforms. Their faces were covered with dust and sweat. They looked so weary, and they were chained together with huge, black, iron chains. Hanging from the end of each chained row was a big, black, iron ball. They were, as polite people said in those days, a "Chain Gang," guarded by two, heavily armed guards.

I stared at the prisoners as they settled uncomfortably down in the dirt, under the shade of some straggly trees.
One of the guards walked towards me.

Nodding as he passed, he went up to our front door and knocked. My mother appeared at the door, and I heard the guard ask if he could have permission to get water from the pump, in the backyard, so that "his men" could "have a drink." My mother agreed, but I saw a look of concern on her face, as she called me inside.

I stared through the window as each prisoner was unchained from the line, to hobble over to the pump and drink his fill from a small tin cup, while a guard watched vigilantly. It wasn't long before they were all chained back up again, with prisoners and guards retreating into the shade, away from an unrelenting sun.

I heard my mother call me into the kitchen, and I entered, to see her bustling around with tins of tuna fish, mayonnaise, our last loaf of bread, and two, big, pitchers of lemonade. In what seemed "a blink of an eye," she had made a tray of sandwiches using all the tuna we were to have had for that night's supper.

My mother was smiling as she handed me one of the pitchers of lemonade, cautioning me to carry it "carefully" and to "not spill a drop." Then, lifting the tray in one hand and holding a pitcher in her other hand, she marched me to the door, deftly opening it with her foot, and trotted me across the street.

She approached the guards, flashing them with a brilliant smile.

"We had some leftovers from lunch," she said, "and I was wondering if we could share with you and your men." She smiled at each of the men, searching their dark eyes with her own eyes of "robin's egg blue." Everyone started to their feet. "Oh no!" she said. "Stay where you are! I'll just serve you!"

Calling me to her side, she went from guard to guard, then from prisoner to prisoner - filling each tin cup with lemonade, and giving each man a sandwich. It was very quiet, except for a "thank you, ma'am," and the clanking of the chains. Very soon we were at the end of the line, my mother's eyes softly scanning each face.

The last prisoner was a big man, his dark skin pouring with sweat, and streaked with dust. Suddenly, his face broke into a wonderful smile, as he looked up into my mother's eyes, and he said, "Ma'am, I've wondered all my life if I'd ever see an angel, and now I have! Thank you!"

Again, my mother's smile took in the whole group. "You're all welcome!" she said. "God bless you." Then we walked across to the house, with empty tray and pitchers, and back inside. Soon, the men moved on, and I never saw them again.

The only explanation my mother ever gave me, for that strange and wonderful day, was that I "remember, always, to entertain strangers, for by doing so, you may entertain angels, without knowing." Then, with a mysterious smile, she went about the rest of the day.

I don't remember what we ate for supper, that night. I just know it was served by an angel.

Jaye Lewis

Jaye Lewis is an award winning inspirational writer and contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Entertaining Angels appeared in the 2005 edition of Chicken Soup for Every Mom's Soul. It is also the inspiration for Jaye's website: www.entertainingangels.org and the title for the first installment of her e-book which will be available through her website, sometime in late spring or early summer. Jaye lives in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, USA.

Have Faith and Move Forward

2011-04-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

I remember about a year or so ago I decided to reread Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. I was going through a hard time. I had just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and I was very scared!

I didn't really know what stage the cancer was. I was in the middle of having surgery to have the tumor removed and had not yet found out how far the cancer had progressed and if it was in an early "curable stage". The good news is it was, and my treatment was nothing compared with what some woman go through. I was still so scared and the emotional toll it placed on my mind and feelings was probably the hardest thing for me to deal within my life.

Anyway, just before I was diagnosed with cancer, I had decided to expand my business. I own an art gallery in a very wealthy area of California, but found that the downtown area had become less busy in the last few years. I wanted to have a "satellite" store" in another part of town that was heavily populated with shoppers.

I had found the "perfect" spot. It was positioned between two "perfect" stores and was in a small shopping center in town that had just been renovated and was bustling with shoppers! The space had been rented and remodeled, but then the tenants backed out of the lease and it was ready for me to rent it! The rent was inexpensive and it was "MY" spot!

I had made an appointment to meet the landlord and sign the contract the next day....then I received a call from my Doctor saying that I had in fact, had Breast Cancer and we needed to operate as soon as possible. I was not able at that point to sign the contract and had to let my "perfect spot" go. It was rented shortly after that.

Within the last two years every time I had gone by that shopping center I would grunt to myself, "that space should have been mine". "If I hadn't gotten cancer, I would be in that space and all would be well". I started feeling sorry for myself.

That's when I decided to reread The Power of Positive Thinking. I remember reading in the book about a man that had lost his promotion to another man that the company had brought to fill the position. He was so angry and felt that it was so unjust for the company and God to not let him have this promotion. He had worked harder and longer than the other man in the company and felt he was the "perfect" man for the job. He was devastated.

He and his wife struggled to let go of that promotion and focus on moving forward and accept that this was not the time or the job for him at this point in his career.Two years later the President of this company stepped down from his position and this man became the President of that company! What an inspirational story I thought to myself. Yes, they tell me all the time "sometimes when things pass you by it's because there is something better waiting for you in the wings", " You need to have faith and move forward", so that's what I did. I had faith and I moved forward.

It's been a little over two years since my cancer diagnosis and I feel like I'm back to normal again. I have moved forward and a couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, a friend of mine called me to tell me that there was a space opening up beside him in a very good building that has only art galleries in it. It is a building known for having very good high end galleries and collectors from all over the country and the world come to visit this building and the galleries that are in it. Well, I'm sure you know that this was my "Perfect" spot! Yes in deed....I got a bigger space, in a better place, for less money!!!! I can't tell you how the story of the man in the Norman Vincent Peale Book came rushing back to my mind. Yes, it is true! It is! Faith and the ability to let go and move on is what was needed. I did that, I trusted and I gave myself and God time to work things out.

Next month the gallery opens and though it is a small gallery space, it is a "perfect" space, it is the space that was given to me by God.

Karen Imperial

Feel free to email your thoughts to Karen on her story to: ktheimp@gmail.com and take the time to view her gallery website at: www.bryantstreet.com

Riding Out Life's Tsunamis

2011-04-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month now since a powerful magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. The confirmed death toll is over 13,000 and continues to rise. In the midst of all the horror stories are occasional heroic tales of survival and rescue. One of the most fascinating is that of Susumu Sugawara.

The 64-year-old Sugawara is the owner-operator of a small boat named "Sunflower." After the massive earthquake and in view of the tsunami warnings being broadcast, he had to make a quick decision. Should he head for high ground on his island of Oshima? Should he put his boat to sea and try to ride out the fury? His chose to launch his boat and head for deep water offshore.

"I knew if I didn't save my boat," he told a CNN reporter, "my island would be isolated and in trouble." So he ran to his 42-year-old craft that can hold about 20 people at a time and went full-throttle toward the deadly waves that would kill people whose names and faces he knew. Then he saw the wall of water.

Accustomed to waves ten to twelve feet high, this one was fully 50 to 60 feet high. Sugawara knew that he and his boat could easily wind up at the bottom of the sea. He drove straight for it - "climbing the wave like a mountain," as he put it. And the mountain seemed only to grow bigger and bigger. There was a huge crash of water over him. Only then could he see the horizon. He had survived!

Sugawara made his way back to his now-devastated Oshima. For the month since, he has been a lifeline by making hourly trips to the mainland to ferry people and supplies. If people can help pay for gasoline, he accepts money. If they have lost everything and can pay nothing, he still welcomes them aboard.

I'm no sailor or boat captain. I don't know if the Japanese captain made the reasonable and right decision on that fateful day. I can only report and rejoice at the outcome. He lived through the ordeal and is helping others with a sense of sensitivity to their suffering the rest of us can only admire from a distance.

Here is the lesson from this story for me: Against my hesitation and fear, it makes more sense to ride into the teeth of life's challenges than to run away.
There is a cash-flow crisis. There is an unexpected problem with a product. A major supplier has failed, or a major customer has bailed. Some executives kick into denial mode or ball up in a fetal position. Their companies fail. Leaders steer right into the problem and act with integrity to name and face the problem.

Or maybe the problem is far more serious. A spouse says the marriage is over. The police or hospital calls with a parent's worst nightmare about an arrest or accident. Maybe you get a diagnosis that sounds like a death sentence. Do you run and hide? Self-medicate with drugs or alcohol? Or do you steer into the teeth of the storm and pray for courage you have never had to display before?
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face," said Eleanor Roosevelt. "You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next one that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

Rubel Shelly

Rubel Shelly is a Preacher and Professor of Religion and Philosophy located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. In addition to church and academic responsibilities, he has worked actively with such community projects as Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, From Nashville With Love, Metro (Nashville) Public Schools, Faith Family Medical Clinic, and Operation Andrew Ministries. To learn more about Rubel please go to: www.RubelShelly.com

Conquering the Stairs

2011-04-29T04:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever let fear conquer you? Well today, you're going to read about an amazing dog who helped me overcome mine.

Caspian was a new addition to my household. He had shown up in the front yard of my 100 year old Virginia farmhouse one early morning. He was skin and bones, covered with ticks, fleas and sores, and had been shot - his skinny body riddled with buckshot. I took one look at this pathetic animal and told him he was home.

It took weeks of vet treatments, baths and many bowls of food, but he finally began to look like a dog that was going to make it. His bones began to disappear, his coat took on a shine, and he became my constant shadow to show his appreciation for me saving his life. He was always with me - except when I went upstairs to my office.

My home had a wide expanse of wooden stairs that led to the 2^nd floor. Caspian was terrified of them. It didn't matter what I did to build his confidence, or what wonderful tidbit of food I tempted him with, he refused to climb those stairs. He would just cower at the bottom stair and shake all over whenever I got him near them. Yet when I went up to my office, he was overcome with despair at being separated from me and laid at the bottom whimpering and whining.

I had no idea what had created this fear, and I had even less of an idea of how to conquer it. After two weeks of daily attempts, I finally gave up. If he didn't want to climb the stairs - so be it. But my only defense from his pitiful whining was to turn the music up any time I needed to be in my office. When I would leave my office and come downstairs, Caspian would erupt with frantic joy to be reunited once again.

About a month into this pattern, I was awakened one morning by a noise. I lay in bed trying to identify what it was.
Click, click, click. Silence. Click, click, click. Silence.
It kept on for close to fifteen minutes before my curiosity finally overwhelmed my desire to stay under the warm covers. I threw aside my quilt, grabbed a robe and went out to investigate. When I identified the source of the noise, I just stood there with my mouth wide open.
I watched as Caspian carefully climbed the stairs. Click, click, click. He got to the top, turned around, and then started back down. Click, click, click.

When he got to the bottom, he turned and gazed at me as if to say, It's really no big deal. I can do this!

And then he did it again, and again, and again. at least 25 more times - after already having done it for 15 minutes before I finally came to investigate.

I watched his confidence grow with each ascent and descent of the "dreaded stairs." His tongue hung out in joy and at the end his tail was wagging is triumph over his fears. He knew he would never again have to be separated from me because of the stairs.

I already loved him, but that day I gained an incredible respect for his courage and resilience. I was also challenged about what I was willing to do to overcome my fears. Was I willing to stare my fears in the face and then take the steps to overcome that fear? Was I willing to feel the fear, and then do it anyway? Was I willing to attack my fears, for as long as it took to overcome them? I made a lot of decisions that day that have given me a much richer life - and I have Caspian to thank for it!

So now I pose the same questions to you: Are you willing to stare your fears in the face and then take the steps to overcome them? Are you willing to feel the fear, and then do it anyway? Are you willing to attack your fears for as long as it takes to overcome them?
Every time you are faced with a fear, try to remember a courageous dog that was able to conquer his fears with love and determination - and then follow his lead. All of us are afraid of something in our lives. There is no shame in being afraid. The key to victory, however, is to face your fear head on and do whatever it takes to overcome it. You can let your fears stop you from achieving all you want in life, or. you can follow Caspian's lead and conquer the stairs!

Ginny Dye

Ginny Dye is the Founder and CEO of The Ultimate Life Company - created to empower you to live your ultimate life! Learn from your favorite speakers, claim FREE bonuses, GET PAID, and make a difference in the world every day! Click here to learn more and see a personal video from Ginny.

I am just passing through!

2011-03-25T02:20:00.000-07:00

How an elderly woman so casually talked of an important phase of life?

There is a popular story that several years ago a man set out for a country walk. However, he lost his way. Then he found himself on a lonely track where he came upon a cottage. He decided to ask for directions. With quiet courtesy an elderly woman invited him in for a cup of tea and a home-baked food.

He was simply taken aback to see that the lady lived alone with so little things with her just a table, two wooden chair and an old iron bedstead in the corner. The man could not hide his surprise. He said, "You have so little and still you seem to be so content." "Where is all your furniture?" He said. Then the lady said with a smile, "Where is yours?" The traveler echoed in surprise, "Why should I have any furniture here? I am just passing through?"

The Old woman smiled again. She said quietly, "So am I."

Story of the Stonecutter

2011-02-14T04:28:00.000-08:00

There was a stone cutter. One day he found a big stone in a mountain. He wanted to split that Rock. He took his big iron hammer and started to hit it with his might. There was no scratch - not a chip. He pull back his hammer and hit it again and again. There was not a slight crack. He continued his work. Passersby saw his efforts with no result and laughed at him saying what is the use of hitting this boulder. You will not be able to brake this stone. But the stone cutter was serious. A stone cutter is intelligent. He knows that just because he don't see immediate effects from his current actions, it doesn't mean that he is not making any progress. He continued his hitting. But there was no result after hitting 70th hit or 180th hit. But at the 707th hit the rock doesn't just chip, but literally split in half. Was it the one single hit that split the rock? No. Absolutely not. The constant pressure applied to that rock split it finally.

Persistence is the key to success. But also you must know when you should give up. Have you ever heard of Traf-O-Data a company formed by Bill Gates and his associates before Microsoft. But they abandoned that project in a latter date. Theres is no use in follow with a project which is of no use.

I am a user of internet since 2000. During the fist few years I was introduced to make some bucks from reading emails. My personal experience was very bad as I did not receive any payment till now even though I pursued it for few years. Persistence with worthless efforts are a waste of time and energy. But I found writing and publishing articles with Hubpages It is a very good way to earn some bucks. Even though there was no result in the first year, it made some progress in the second year. I don't know what motivates you to write. Whatever it is, do it with your full might, one day you will see the starts.

Be content with what you have

2011-02-10T04:23:00.001-08:00

Jim and Tom were believers of the same church. Jim was a wealthy man. He had many business ventures. He was the back borne of the local church. He were there for donations. He were there in the church committee. He actively participated every church services and activities. Whether it was weekly or Sunday service, he was there. He was there to teach Sunday school students. Donated generously for the church fund.

At the same time Tom was a worker who earned his daily wages by doing odd jobs. He attended Church every Sunday only.

When both of them died one day. Gabriel was advised by the God to take Tom to heaven and Jim to hell. Gabriel was puzzled at the instruction and went to God to clarify the matter.

Gabriel said to God, why have you sent Jim to hell. He was a good Christian. He gave tithe regularly. He attended all the church service. He helped many. He was the corner stone of that small church. There is no point in sending him to hell. On the other hand Tom was attending church once in a week. He was not so active like Jim. Still you send Tom to heaven and Jim to hell. What prompt you to do like this.

Then God replied to Gabriel that Jim was good in all other areas but he lack one important quality. He never satisfied by the things given to him. I gave him good business. I gave him good wife. I gave him good children. I gave him good house. Nice car. Whatever I can, I gave him. But he never satisfied with all that good blessings. Whenever he attended the church he was asking for more blessings. While praying he was complaining about his this business or that business. He was asking for more business. Better Car and Better home etc. He neither satisfied nor give thanks for all the things I have given in his life even though he was having best things in his life. He was greedy and asking for more blessings. Never satisfied. Never content with what was given to him.

On the other hand Tom was always satisfied with the things given to him. Whenever he came to church he worshiped me truly. He gave thanks for all the thing he had. He prayed these words. "thank you Lord for all the blessings and take care of me". He was not greedy and demanding like Jim. He had a good heart even though I refused to bless him with material things he loved me and thanked me for all the blessings.

I don't want someone who is demanding things always in the heaven. The best place for those who are not satisfied by the things they have is Hell.

A Tribute To A Baker

2011-01-03T02:26:00.000-08:00

"HUUP...ONE, HUUP...TWO, HUUP...THREE..."Those melodious orders sounded like the commands of a tough marine drill sergeant. However, in reality the man's name was Tom Williams and he was an executive with the Houston Oilers (of the National Football League) and a world class trainer of famous athletes -- Earl Campbell, Darrell Green, Mike Singletary, Hakeem Olajuwon -- to name but a few.
During the off season he operated a Kolache shop, baking cookies and meat filled delights.

Approximately 200 yards from this Kolache shop was his famous "Hill", a very steep embankment, which led to the bayou. Tom would have his athletes train on that hill, running up and down to build stamina or to help rebuild muscles or ligaments damaged after an injury or surgery.
As for me, I had always wanted to be a pro athlete, but early on I realized that I was not quick enoughnor tall enough to become one, so I focused my dreams on becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon, helping my athletic idols to recover from devastating injuries.

That dream, however, was smashed during my sophomore year in college when I was seriously injured as an innocent victim of a convenience store robbery. I was shot in the back of the head, and very few thought I would even survive. However, many months later, after several surgeries and lengthy hospital rehabilitation programs, I met Tom, the eternal optimist.

The first day my family and I encountered Tom he was barking out orders for his athletes on the "Hill". He told my parents he could definitely help me, but I would have to discipline myself to work four straight hours every single day, including weekends.
At first, my parents would watch Tom work with me in the back of his Kolache shop. Tom would cover the tables he would normally use to knead his dough, and now would "knead" my muscles, massage my limp right arm, and struggle with me as I learned to walk again.

Then, one day, Tom barked, "Mike, let's go to the 'Hill'."
I was scared as I limped toward the bayou, and my parents were equally petrified. The "Hill" was so steep that I thought even a Billy goat would have difficulty trying to climb it.

Initially, Tom ordered two husky athletes to lift me under my arms and "drag" me down the hill. When we got to the bottom, one of the athletes screamed up to Tom, "What do you want us to do now?" Tom calmly replied, "Drag him back up."

At that point, my father, who by profession is a rabbi, told my mother that he thought Tom was going to kill me and they should get me away from him as soon as possible.

My father, wanting to be polite, thanked Tom and stated that we had to go home. But Tom replied, "It's only 2 o'clock, and Mike is to be here until 5, and by the way, bring him a little earlier tomorrow."
Even though my father was adamant about leaving, my mother truly felt that if Tom could help "million dollar athletes" recover, he could surely help her son.

My father went home, never returning to the Kolache store because he told my mother, "Tom is going to kill Mike," and my mother never volunteered any information to my father about my progress with Tom as the days wore on.

One day, a number of weeks later, Tom called my father at home and said, "Father, this is Tom Williams and you need to get here fast!" With that, Tom slammed the phone down.

My father thought I was dead or badly injured, the victim of a severe injury while tumbling down that "Hill." He quickly sped toward Tom's shop, jumped out of his car, and noticed many people huddled near the corner of the "Hill." With great trepidation my father peered over the "Hill" and saw me slowly climbing the "Hill" -- alive. When I reached the top of the "Hill" I quickly turned around as Tom instructed me and went back down to the bottom, to the bayou. Tears welled up in my father's eyes as Tom approached him and said, "Rabbi, you might give great sermons, but you don't practice what you preach. You tell everyone to have faith, but you did not have faith -- faith in me, faith in your son, and faith in God. You simply said, 'I give up,' and you went home."

My father pondered seriously as to what Tom had just said and watched as I slowly reached the edge of the "Hill" on my return trip. At that moment, with tears of great joy, my father and I fell into each other's arms and embraced one another.

That was just one of the many lessons I learned from Tom over the
next few years. Even though I still have many physical disabilities as a result of the gunshot wound, the "Hill" taught me that even the impossible could become the possible.

Everyone in life has his own "Hill" to climb, some small, some large. On that day Tom taught me the most important lesson of my life: "Never give in; never give up."
-----------------------------------------------------
Even though Tom was a world class trainer of athletes, he learned that his true love was helping "ordinary" people, and soon after my success on the "Hill" Tom opened a Rehabilitation Center where he worked with spinal cord and head injured and stroke patients. In the "old days," Tom would use only a simple table in the back of his Kolache shop on which he prepared his pastries to help his clients.

Now, he had a state of the art, modern Rehabilitation Center along with his own man-made "Hill" so Tom could encourage many more to defy the experts.

Tom received referrals from all over the country for he had a special ability to make patients want to excel. His patients improved and his Center was a huge success.

For the next few years I would regularly go to the Center, not only to exercise but more importantly to work out for the "Master," Tom.
I had developed a strong emotional connection with Tom. He had extended to me a lifeline to enjoy life once again which many physicians and therapists stated no longer existed.

However, later Tom became extremely ill with cancer and passed away. The funeral was huge. Many of his athletes were there to say their last "good byes" and "thank yous." I was an honorary pallbearer because his family thought that our relationship was a special and unique one.

After everyone left the cemetery I went up to Tom's grave to utter my final prayer and statement of thankfulness that such a wonderful man had been a part of my life. As I glanced at the inscription on the tombstone I read:

Forever Loved In The Hearts Of Those He Touched
Tom Williams
April 11, 1927 -- June 11, 1995

At that very moment I realized why we were so deeply connected: April 11 is also my birthday!
(c)2001 by Michael Jordan Segal, MSW
Michael Jordan Segal, who defied all odds after being shot in the head, is a husband, father, social worker, freelance author (including a CD/Download of 12 stories, read with light backgroud music, entitled POSSIBLE), and inspirational speaker, sharing his recipe for happiness, recovery and success before conferences and businesses. To contact Mike or to order his CD, please visit www.InspirationByMike.com and please take a moment to check out his youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNeRqpaoNpQ you will be glad you did.

Stanislavsky Lech

2010-12-23T23:40:00.001-08:00

Anthony Robbins tells a story of a Krakow Death Camp escapee. His name was Stanislavsky Lech, and when his home was stormed and the Nazis herded him with his family into Krakow, he watched as they were all murdered. He was put to work. Eventually, he was weak and starving, in addition to his grief, and a thought crossed his mind that he would not survive one more day in Krakow.

He changed his question from "How can there be such a terrible place" to "How can we escape from such a place?" At first the answer was the same, "There is no escape." He kept asking in slightly different ways, "How can I do it?"

Soon, he smelled rotting flesh a few feet from where he was working, and noticed that the bodies of those who had been recently gassed were piled into the back of a truck. Again, he changed the "How can God allow this to happen?" to "How can I use this to help me escape?"
When he returned from work the next evening, the truck was there. He pulled off his clothes when no one was looking and, pretending to be dead, climbed into the pile of dead bodies. He waited while the cold of the corpses pressed against him, and the smell invaded his body. The ride to the open grave wasn't long, and he was dumped along with the others. He waited until it had been quiet for some time before he dared to look around.

They were gone. He got up and ran, naked, 25 miles to freedom that night.

He was able to free himself, in part, because he asked a different question. Our intuition, or higher self, will always answer our questions. Just as it is helpful to know what we really want, it is also helpful to know where we could use some help.

Does God Exist

2010-12-17T00:02:00.001-08:00

Does God Exist?

A man went to do his hair cut. As always, he and the barber chatted about many things. While talking they come to subject of God and the barber said that there is no God. God doesn't exits! If God exists, why there is suffering and crime. If god existed, there wouldn't be much suffering.

The man fell into thought for a while and then said:

You know something? Barbers don’t exist.

Barber: - What do you mean, don’t exist? I’m here, and I’m a barber.

Man: - They don’t exist! – insisted the man. – Because if they did, there wouldn’t be people with such long beards and such tangled hair.

Barber: - I can guarantee that barbers do exist. But these people never come in here.

Man : - Exactly! So, in answer to your question, God exists, too. It just so happens that people don’t go to Him. If they did, there wouldn’t be so much misery in the world and they would be more giving.

Yes! God is there. God exits. But men are not seeking God.

Power of help

2010-12-10T20:39:00.001-08:00

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."
~Maya Angelou

This is a powerful message in our modern society. We seemed to have lost our bearing & our sense of direction.

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, for he made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as a clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.--

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,

Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not be the successful me today.

Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only now I realize how difficult and tough it is to get her work done.

Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wants, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For these kind of people, who may be good academically, they may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel a sense of achievement. They will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

You would have forwarded many mails to many and many of them would have back mailed you too...but try and forward this story to as many as possible...this may change somebody's fate...

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED WHEN YOU ARE GONE ?

2010-11-15T21:33:00.001-08:00

Taken from Nitro Noble's House Journal (Alfred Noble's Company) Sweden May 1977

Are you startled by this question?
Have you ever given this a little thought ?
If you haven't, I would be serious when I suggest that you should give this a hard good look and cast this statement in your mind. "When I am gone I would like people to remember me as….."

About a 100+ years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his dismay and horror, he read his name in the front page …"Dynamite Kind Dies.." This was cast in a square grey tinted box with a thick black line on the borders."

His first response was awesomely shocking. "Am I there or here? When he regained his composure after a while, his next thought was to actually find out what people said of him, what people thought of him

The obituary news read as follows:

"He was the merchant of death. This man was the inventor of the dynamite. One most cruel invention that could kill people while it was being made, and even many more when it was used. A substance of mass killing, and a deadly weapon in the hands of those who wishes to create terror and rule the scene…. The story continued with several curses added to it.

He asked himself, "Is this how people view me?
Is this the way they will think of me?
Is this the way they will remember me?

He decided then and there that he would change the situation made a firm resolve to clear the stigma that was being associated with his name. From that day on he started working towards peace, and sure enough he left an indelible mark on this planet. He is remembered even this day as Alfred Noble. He gave his entire earnings to establish a foundation that would work for peace in the world, and today too it awards prizes for achievers all over the world for their unique contributions to the welfare of mankind. He lives on even today through this mission and the Noble prizes are awarded in his honour.

Just as Alfred Noble redefined his values, I believe all of us should step back and do the same taking a leaf out of this man's true story.
What will be your legacy?
How would you like to be remembered?
Will you be spoken off well?
Will you be remembered with love and respect?
Will you be missed?

Never Give Up

2010-11-15T21:09:00.001-08:00

This story is about a farmer and his mule. The effectiveness of the story lies in the way it focuses upon adversity and how attitude determines the course of seemingly lost cause. There was this farmer in a tiny village.

He owned an old mule that used to carry grains and other farming related stuff for the farmer. During one of those days, the mule fell into a well. The well ran deep and despite trying hard many a times, mule couldn’t get himself out the well. He started to lose hope. His consistent shrieks drew attention of the farmer who came rushing to the well.

Farmer looked around and tried to come up with a rescue plan but eventually, he also lost the hope. He decided that the old mule was not worth the trouble of saving. So, he called his neighbours and asked for their help in hauling dirt to bury the old mule.

The mule got hysterical. Soon enough, the farmer and the neighbours started to shovel and fill well with the dirt. When the first bout of dirt hit mule’s back, suddenly his fast losing spirit came up with an idea. He thought every time a shovel load of dirt will land on his back, he will just shake it off and step up a bit higher. The idea filled him with a new lease of life and hope.

Old mule kept doing the same blow after blow. He would just shake the dirt off and step up a notch higher. He kept reminding himself of possibility of a brand new life. He controlled his nerves and kept stepping up. After some time, the exhausted mule managed to step over the wall of that well. He was completely tired and fatigued yet his spirit triumphed. The dirt that was meant to bury him actually helped him in remaining alive.

The story is a clear example of how our attitude towards seemingly impossible adversities determines the final outcome. Life is like this only. If we respond positively to the stream of problems faced by us and refuse to surrender, we are likely to emerge victorious.

How to deal with unwanted Situations...

2010-11-15T21:03:00.001-08:00

By: Sudha Menon

When I was staying in Calcutta, taking classes on the Isha Vasya Upanishad, a man came to see me.

He said, “I have a problem. I don’t sleep well at night because I live in an area where there are plenty of street dogs. Every night they start barking, and keep barking till sunrise. I am already a very light sleeper, and I simply can’t get any rest because of this noise.”

He was told, “Go home and try this tonight. When you hear the barking, just drop the anger, the negative feelings that rise up in you. Just listen to the barking sound without resisting. Tell yourself that the dogs are barking; that’s all. Don’t allow yourself to react. The problem is not the barking, but your resistance to it.”

The man went back tried what was said. After a few days he came back and reported, “I tried dropping my resistance as you said. Instead of thinking, ‘How dare those stupid dogs spoil my sleep?’ I tried changing my thoughts gradually:
‘The dogs are barking. It is spoiling my sleep.…’
‘The dogs are barking…’
‘Some animals are creating some sounds…’
By the time I came to that sentence, I think I fell asleep. Anyway,
I’ve been having excellent sleep all these days. “

This can happen with you also. Any situation can be dealt with, if you know how to drop your negativity, if you know how to drop your negative reaction to it. This is the key to open the Manipuraka chakra.

But the mind is so eager to harbor, to settle down in familiar patterns of inner chatter. This is the basis of the working of worry. The mind always looks to typecast things. It needs comparison all the time between past, present and future and this comparison, this reference, this judgment, gives birth to worry.

Worries are nothing but familiar dwelling patterns for our mind. These familiar patterns are called engrams in the field of human psychology. Engrams are the engraved memories of the past, which serve as an undesirable resource inside us for all our present and future actions. Because of these stored engrams, we react illogically in the present.

Clean water and calm mind

2010-11-15T20:32:00.000-08:00

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Go and get me some water from that lake there.”

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”

So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,” See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

A Story to Live By

2010-09-17T03:43:00.001-07:00

What Special Someday Are We Saving For?
My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.
"This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie."
He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite: silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.
"Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least eight or nine years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion."
He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment. Then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me.
"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."
I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.
I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.
I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event--such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for a small bag of groceries without wincing.
I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends.
"Someday" and "one of these days" are fighting a losing battle to stay in my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.
I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing--I'll never know.
It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with--someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write--one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.
I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.
And every morning when I open my eyes I tell myself that this is a special occasion.
Ann Wells
Ann Wells penned the column a couple of years after her sister unexpectedly died, and several years before she would lose her husband. Her work somehow made its way to the Internet, where it moves by email and chain letters, compliments of the forward button, and has been renamed "A Story to Live By." Wells, a retired secretary and occasional freelancer, was stunned that the essay, first published in The Los Angeles Times in April 1985, has been zipping through cyberspace. She doesn't even have email. "I'm as surprised as anyone," Wells said.

Triple filter

2010-09-02T02:21:00.000-07:00

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No not really …”

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

This is why Socrates was a great philosopher & held in such high esteem.

The best manager

2010-09-02T02:12:00.001-07:00

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia . Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night.

"Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked.

The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night."

When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. "Don't worry about me, I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them.

So the couple agreed.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States.

Maybe someday I'll build one for you."

The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York , asking the young man to pay them a visit.

The old man met him in New York , and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street . He then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.

"That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage."

"You must be joking," the young man said.

"I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth.

The older man's name was William Waldorf-Aster, and that magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become the manager of one of the world's most glamorous hotel.

End of A Divorce.

2010-08-30T04:14:00.001-07:00

A newly married couple Sam and Windy completed their first year of marriage without any problem. At the beginning of the second year, small fights were started between them. At the end of the second year, it was difficult for the both to live together. They fight each other every day for silly matters. And on a fine day Windy decided to leave his husband and returned to her parents.

Their parents intervened but failed to get them together.

Then they started the court proceedings for the divorce. The court proceedings were going on.

One day the husband got a letter from Windy. Sam opened the letter with much amusement. It read:

Dear Sam,

After my departure, I had thought about our relations. I remember our first few months. It was great. I know how much you loved me. Then I thought about the problems in our marriage. When I deeply thought about the fights, I realized one thing. I was wrong and was creating problems for you. I demanded more time from you. I mad complaints about your income. I was asking more money from you. I was not doing my duty. I spent time watching TV and did not do household work and complained that you are not helping me. I was not obeying you. I did all the mistakes. I am ashamed of it.

Now I know how much I troubled you. I was miserable and a nightmare for you. I am sorry for what I did. I voluntarily begging pardon for the misdeeds. Please forgive me. I know how much you loves me. I don't want to give any more troubles to you. I promise, I would a nice and obedient wife to you through out our life. I request you to come and take me home next Sunday.

However, I don't want to make any more trouble to you. So next Sunday afternoon I'll catch a taxi and will be coming home.

With lots of love

Your wife,

Windy.
PS: Dear Sam, I Congratulate you for winning the lottery for $25 million

Elephant and the beggars

2010-08-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

There was two beggars who sit in front of a famous Church. A pilgrimage site where worshipers comes from different parts of the country. Every day these beggars used to sit in front of the church and beg. People give pennies in anticipation of God's blessing.

One was a blind, and the other was lame. One day there was rain and streets were empty. They didn't get enough for the day. In the evening while they were returning home the lame saw an elephant and its mahout was coming against them. The blind beggar listened the sound of the chain of the elephant and asked his friend whether it's an elephant passing by.

The lame confirmed that it's an elephant. Then the blind beggar asked in a loud voice to the mahout "Hay, Do you want to gift the elephant to us". The mahout went on his way without answering the beggars.

After a while the lame beggar asked the blind. Are you mad? Why have asked for the elephant? Do you think he will give it to us?

To that the blind replied: "We don't know whether the mahout is kind enough to give us the elephant. If he give us the elephant, we wold get a lot of money by selling the elephant. Even if he is not willing to give us the elephant, we have nothing to loose but a world.

Many times our prayers are like this. We don't know whether we would get the things for which we had prayed. We don't know whether we are worthy to receive the thing to which we have prayed. Still we pray. Without faith. Without any assurance.

Sales Hypocracy

2010-08-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

We had an uncle who was very bold and courageous enough to raise his voice even in the middle of the crowd. One day as our local church was celebrating its annual festival, and there comes a medicine seller who was thin and skinny. In the street corner he placed his box. Upon the box he displayed medicine bottles along with two pictures of a guy, before and after using the medicine.

He was calling people and telling them the qualities of the medicine. One picture shows the photo of a man with skinny and thin body taken before using the medicine. Another photo shows the healthy body of the same guy after using the medicine. The medicine seller was calling people and many were gathered around him to listen about the medicine. He was claiming that if you use the medicine for a month or two your body will turn healthy enough to do any hard work just as in the picture.

Our uncle also came there and was listening his claims. After listening him for a few minutes, uncle attracted the attention of the crowed by clapping his hands and told the crowd and the medicine seller that first the medicine seller should use the medicine and prove that the medicine will work in his body then we will buy the medicine. Everyone gathered around agreed the suggestion of the uncle and left immediately. Sadly medicine seller also packed his things and left. I remember the incident very often.

I know president

2010-08-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

There was a group of friends who gather together every evening in the street corner after their day's work. They talk about different issues and problems. Do some gossip. Share their knowledge etc. One evening Mr. Albert told his friends that He knows the President and named some important figures and told that he know them very well.

While returning Mr. Bob thought that "my son has done his graduation and is jobless. My friend Mr. Albert knows the President and many important people in the society. Let me ask Mr. Albert for a favour. If he makes a request to the President, perhaps by the recommendation of President, my son could get a job in a good organization.

The other day Mr. Bob met Mr. Albert and said: "You know President and other important persons in the society very well. So could I ask you to do me a favour. My son did his graduation and jobless. I am sure, if you ask the president, he could arrange a job for my son.

Mr. Albert Replied: "My friend Mr. Bob. I know President and many influential people in the society but the truth is that they don't know me.

There are people around us who boast themselves that they have good connections with those who are in power. When you approach them for a help, they will show their helplessness. They will turn you down.

But there is one who is there to help you, who controls the universe. Who knows everything. He is God. He will not turn you down when you approach Him for a help. He will show you the way. He will guide you, lead you and counsel you.

Let us go to His feet in prayer. The help is sure.

Pandit and the Cat

2010-08-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

There lived a Pandit (or called Poojari which means the person who perform the rituals at the temple) in a small village. One day this Pandit got a cute pet cat. Pandit loved this cute cat and decided to take it to home. This cute cat used to eat with the Pandit and sleep with him. Wherever he goes, the cat follows him. Pandit loved the cat and took care of it.

As part of the worship ritual, this pandit has to offer milk to his God in the temple. As soon as the cat sees the milk, it drank it. It was become a problem for the pandit. This cat doesn't know whether it is offered to God or not. When ever the cat sees the milk it started to lick the milk as usually pandit gave milk to the cat.

But the milk which offered to God is not for the cat. Few times the cat came and drink the milk which has to be offered to the God. To avoid such embarrassing situation Pandit started to tie the cat to a tree before he perform his worship rituals. It was his habit to tie the cat before he perform the pooja (worship). After the worship, he release the cat. Years passed and the the pandit died. His son started to perform the worship rituals. He continued the custom of tie the cat before the worship.

And it become the part of the worship ritual. Years passed and the the cat also died. Now the children of the pandit does not know why they tie the cat before the worship. They thought and felt to complete the ritual, they have to tie a cat. They couldn't find a cat in their village. They felt that their worship is not complete and did not find satisfaction. So they brought a cat from the near by village. After brining the cat, they tied it to a tree and did their worship ritual. Now they are satisfied.

We are like this. Many of us does not know why we are doing certain thing, still we do it as a ritual.

Story of Donkey

2010-08-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

Socrates the ancient Greek Philosopher used to give public discourses about serious subjects like Life and after life while standing on a big stone in the corner of the market. Peoples in the market and the passers by come and listen for a few minutes and leave when they listen his philosophy. They never paid much attention to his philosophy. Socrates, when he found that the people are not giving much attention to his philosophy decided to do something different.

Socrates then announced to the general public that he is going to tell a very interesting story. And started his story. People those who heard his announcement came near very eagerly to listen his story.

He started like this. “There was merchant who has a lot of merchandise to sell decided to go to another city so that he could get some extra profit from the business. He packed his goods and took it on his shoulder and left for another city before the day break. He has to climb a big mountain to reach the another city. There is no other way but to climb the mountain with his merchandise. While he was walking he found another man with a donkey also heading to the same city the merchant was going. They were walking together and talking each other and become friends. Then the merchant asked the other man to rent his donkey to hold his merchandise till they reach the other city. The man agreed for a certain amount of money.”

At this point Socrates found that a large number of audience gathered around him to listen the story and lot of people forget their duty and listening his story. People used to come and listen and leave within a few minutes also forgot their business and stayed back to listen the story. Then he continued his story like this:

“They have to climb a steep mountain to reach their destination. The merchant placed his merchandise upon the donkey and they started out in the morning. It was easy to walk in the morning. As the day progressed, it became very tough for them to climb the mountain. They were sweating and become very tired. But as soon as the sun came on top of their head They decided to take rest.”

Socrates found a large number of people gathered around him and very eagerly listening his story. He continued:

“It was 12 Noon and they were tired. They decided to take a brake. But there was no trees or shade under which they could sit and take rest, there was only the shade of donkey who carrying the merchandise. Under the shade of that donkey there was space for only one man. The owner of the donkey told the other man that the shade of the donkey solely belongs to him as he is the owner of the donkey. But the merchant wants to sit and take rest so he disagree with the argument of the owner of the donkey saying that right now he hired the donkey so the shade of the donkey solely belongs to him only.

Owner of the donkey told that he only let out the donkey, not the shade. But the merchant said that when he hired the donkey, the shade also belongs to him. Both the men fell in to fierce argument for the shade of the donkey. Both argued that it belongs to them legally.”

By this time there was a large amount of people gathered around Socrates. So He climbed down from the stone where he was standing and walked away. People followed him requesting to complete the story. He paid no attention to them and continued his walking. People were following him and requesting him to complete the story all the more. They pressed him hard for the end of the story, so he stopped walking and turned to them and said. “I was talking to you people about great and serious things like life and after life. But you were not paying any attention. But when I started to telling about an imaginative story of a Donkey and it shade you are very eager to listen and want to know the end of the story. You are paying more attention to silly things and ignoring the important things in life. It is better for you to look for important things of life, do not run after silly things like stories. Do some important things every day and pursue it.”

We are also tempt to run after this kind of stories. For our generation also this story is relevant. We are also running after silly things. We must be careful about our time, money and opportunity and try to put every effort to take the best use of it.

Especially Students should make good use of their time and study well. Don't waste their time and opportunity by watching stupid TV serials and doing unworthy things. Let us be conscious about our time, money and opportunity.

Calm Mind

2010-04-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest.

He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?"

The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said:
"I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more".

This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly:
"Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said:
"My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

The disciple's eyes opened wide and a smile rose on his face.
"I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, " The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".

What Will You Be Doing 7 Years From Now?

2010-04-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

I graduated from Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas in May 1972. Not dressed in white (honors), but I graduated.

That summer like the previous summer, I worked as a longshoreman loading corn, flour and corn sacks weighing 50 to 140 lbs. and 900 lbs. caustic soda drums on freight ships bound to other countries at nearby Brazos Harbor and Dow Chemical A2 Dock.

This was one of the better paying jobs in the area. It was grueling, hard, heavy work, but I loved it at the time. My father had been doing this job most of his life since it paid well.

Fall came around and I had already decided that I did not want to make my living as a longshoreman. Work was inconsistent and when it was there it only went to the ones with the most seniority, unless there was too much. There was very little opportunity for a better job when you got older.

I had always heard that a college education would get you a better job and decided to find out. So I went to nearby Brazosport College and set up an appointment with a counselor.

I got to his office at the appointed time and he asked me what work or profession interested me the most. I had taken Auto Mechanics I & II during my junior and senior years in high school and asked him if Brazosport College had an auto mechanics program.

He said "no." I asked him if they had anything similar to it. He said that the Machine Tools Technology program was very similar and described the program to me.

I was very interested and asked him how long it would take if I went full time. He said "4 years." I said I couldn't go full time since I am working (whenever work was available).

I asked how long would it take if I go part time? He said "7 years." I was shocked. I said, "Man, I'll be old then, I'll be 25 years old. I don't thing so."

He asked me, "what did you say you did for a living right now?"

I told him again that I worked as a longshoreman throwing bags and manhandling drums. Then he bent over his desk and looked me square in the eye and asked me the most significant words I will never forget in my life:

"IF YOU DON'T TAKE ANY CLASSES. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING 7 YEARS FROM NOW?"

These words hit me like a ton of bricks! I sheepishly told him that I would be doing the same thing. I signed up for the classes right then and there.

These prophetic words have inspired many of my relatives and friends. The sun will rise and fall 365 days a year. What you choose to do in between will determine many things in your life.

This story alone has inspired relatives and friends to realize an age-old truth: Time will go on regardless and it waits on nobody.

Years later, I told a co-worker this story. He got inspired enough that he went on and got 3 different degrees in computers in less than 7 years! He said afterwards, "7 years ago I would've been saying to myself, 'If only I had the opportunity.'"

TIME WILL PASS REGARDLESS!

Augie Mendoza

Pounding In and Pulling Out Nails

2010-03-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

Pounding In and Pulling Out Nails

When I confronted my daughter after she hurt another child with a mean comment, she cried and immediately wanted to apologize. That was a good thing, but I wanted her to know an apology can't always make things better.

I told her the parable of Will, a 9-year-old whose father abandoned his mom two years earlier. Will was angry, and he often lashed out at others with hurtful words. He once told his mom, "I see why Dad left you!"

Unable to cope with his cruel outbursts, she sent him to his grandparents for the summer. His grandfather's strategy to help Will learn self-control was to make him go into the garage and pound a two-inch-long nail into a four-by-four board every time he said a mean thing.

For a small boy, this was a major task, and he couldn't return until the nail was all the way in. After about ten trips to the garage, Will began to be more cautious about his words. Eventually, he even apologized for all the bad things he'd said.

That's when his grandmother stepped in. She told him to bring in the board filled with nails and instructed him to pull them all out. This was even harder than pounding them in, but after a huge struggle, he did it.

His grandmother hugged him and said, "I appreciate your apology, and of course I forgive you because I love you, but I want you to know an apology is like pulling out one of these nails. Look at the board. The holes are still there. The board will never be the same. Your dad put a hole in you, Will, but please don't put holes in other people. You're better than that."

Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org

Catching Fish In A Jar

2010-03-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

Catching Fish In A Jar

When I was between eleven and twelve years old I decided one bright sunny day that it would be fun to go fishing. I didn't have any fishing gear and I had never done much fishing other than to play on the stream banks while my father fished. I also didn't want to "hurt" the fish I just wanted to catch them and then let them go.

I looked around the house for what I could use and I found a washed out old mayonnaise jar. You know the old style jars with the big open "mouth". I walked to a nearby pond and put the jar down in the soft dust-like mud of the water's edge with the open "mouth" of the jar facing toward the center. I then stirred the waters a little and made them cloudy so that the fish would have trouble seeing me. Then I waited hovering over the jar. Gradually, cautiously a small fish would swim up to the clear jar to investigate the disturbance and when it swam into the jar I dropped my hand into the water and over the jar mouth. I caught a fish, then another.

I just let them all go and returned my jar to the cupboard. Then I decided to use wire "box trap" to go fishing and rigged a string to the door. This way I could drop the trap in the water and not have to "hover over" it like I did with the jar. I sat very relaxed on the bank of the pond and sure enough I caught a fair sized bluegill. I took it home in a water filled plastic waste basket to show my dad and afterward returned it to the pond.

When I told people about how I had caught the fish they just paused and laughed nervously. You see unlike these people, I didn't know that you couldn't catch fish in a jar. If I would have asked them they would have scoffed and said, "You can't catch fish in a jar or a box trap!" No one in my life had ever dreamed of telling me that so my belief system did not contain these words or the impact that they would have had on my "day of fishing". Only a free minded kid could come up with an idea of using a jar or a box trap to catch fish! No one had told me that this was impossible so I just used what I was familiar with and what I had available and I succeeded.

Maybe today finds you facing a situation that seems impossible. You have a desire but no visible way of bringing it into being. You may need to find that "kid" inside you who thinks "outside the box" and the normal ways of achieving things and let him or her catch that fish in a jar! See your situation from a different angle. Start looking at the resources that you already have and the things that you are already familiar with. A fresh perspective and a childlike sense of wonder may surprise you and there's no telling what you will come up with!

Jami Sell

Catching Fish In A Jar is an excerpt from author Jami Sell's new book Thought And Belief: How To Unlock Your Potential And Fulfill Your Destiny! © 2010 All Rights Reserved. It is available at amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and in fine bookstores everywhere. Click here to: Preview Book!

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzewfwkk/thoughtandbelief/id6.html

External Motivation

2010-02-24T22:34:00.001-08:00

A company wanted to set up a pension plan for its employees. 100% participation of the employees were required to install the plan. The plan was in the best interest of all the employees and made sense to everyone. Except Samuel, everyone signed up. Samuel's supervisor and other co-workers had tried to persuade him without success. Samuel not signing was the only obstacle for the implementation of the plan.

The owner of the company called Samuel in his office and said "Samuel, here is the pen and these are the papers for you to sign to enroll in the pension plan. If you don't enroll, you are fired this minute." Samuel signed the papers right away.

The owner asked Samuel, why he hadn't signed earlier. Samuel replied "No one explained the plan quite clearly as you did."

External motivation comes from outside such as fame, fear, social approval and money. Fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting fired at work are some examples of external motivation.

Don't get caught by the nuts

2010-02-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

Monkey hunters in India use a box tied to the tree or a hole made in the tree to catch monkey. The box/hole would have an opening at the top, big enough for the monkey to slide its hand in it. They keep some nuts inside the box. The monkey slide its hand inside the box and grabs the nuts and now its hand becomes a fist. The monkey tries to get its hand out but the opening is big enough for the hand to slide in, but too small for the fist to come out. Now the monkey has a choice, either to hold on to the nuts and get caught or let go off the nuts and be free for ever. Do you know what it picks every time? You guessed it right! He hangs on the nuts and gets caught.

Many of us are not different from monkeys. We all hang on some nuts which prevent us from going forward in life. You know the nuts, better than anyone else, that prevent you from going forward in life. Identify that nuts and let go off that nuts and be free for ever.

We keep rationalize by saying "I cannot do this because......." Whatever comes after "because" are the nuts that you are hanging on and which holding you back.

Secret to success

2010-02-02T23:05:00.001-08:00

A young man asked Socrates

"What is the secret to success."

Socrates told the young man:

"Meet me near the river tomorrow morning."

They met. Socrates asked the young man:

"Walk with him toward the river."

When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socratespulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked,

'What did you want the most when you werethere?"

The boy replied,

"Air."

Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.

Black Balloon

2009-12-27T20:02:00.001-08:00

I remember the story of the Balloon seller in the beach. When ever there is a slump in the sales the balloon seller would fill one balloon with oxygen and release it. When the balloon goes up to the sky, children who are playing around would see the balloon and the sales would go up. One day as usual, he released a balloon. Seeing that one child come to him and asked this question "If you release a Black balloon, will it go up?" The balloon seller replied to that little boy, "The colour of the balloon doesn't make any difference, what is inside the balloon is the matter and it is taking it up."

What is inside the men are taking them up and make them successful. It doesn't matter in which field they work or what kind of business they do or which place they live. Our attitude must be set right.

Right Attitude

2009-12-27T20:00:00.001-08:00

An old man was walking along the road. While walking he found in the road side few people are working. The workers were trying to make a building. Out of curiosity the Old man asked the first worker to whom he met. "What are you doing?" He replied with a tired face, "What to say, I am making a living". While inspecting their work, the old man came beside another worker. He again put forth the same question to him also "What are you doing?" The worker got little bit irritated and said. "Can't you see what I am doing. I am working with the stones" the Old man went around the upcoming building and met another worker. It seemed that the young guy is happy and doing his work with enthusiasm. The old man placed the same question to this young and enthusiastic guy. "What are you doing?" With a happy and radiant face, he replied. "See we are building a magnificent Church. It will be completed within few months. Then come and visit us. Here you will find a very beautiful Church building. You will find many people here worshiping God. A lot of work is to be done here." The young man invited the old man to visit the place again and worship God with him after few months.

From the above old story, you can see the attitude of different people who are working on the same project. The people who have the right attitude is happy in what they are doing. Those who do not have the right attitude will find it difficult to continue their life. Even though they all are working on the same project, they have different attitude. Some think that they are doing the work for a living, for the food for themselves and for their family. Some focus only on the things they are working. That is why the second guy said that he is working with stones. The third one's focus is on the outcome. "A Magnificent Church". He know what he is doing and what will be the outcome. Sometimes we will find it difficult to go ahead with our life. Feeling tired and fed up with the work we are doing every day.

A Christmas Story-A True Story of a Holiday Miracle

2009-12-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Story -- A True Story of a Holiday
Miracle--

A John Harricharan Adventure. It could be yours, too!

Long, long ago, in a small, tropical village in a
country far, far away, a little boy lived with his
parents in a two room house. He could not have been
more than four or five years old and his entire
experience of life was limited to the fishing and
farming village, his neighbors and friends.

It wasn't that the little boy was unhappy. Given his
situation, he was a rather cheerful, optimistic lad,
but times were hard for his parents. The village was
recovering from the recent floods that had wiped out
his parents livelihood. And the Christmas holidays were
just around the corner.

Now in this little village of long ago, people of
various religions lived and worked together in harmony.
Everyone enjoyed each other's religious holidays and
everyone looked forward to the celebrations where
Christians, Hindus, Muslims and others would gather.
The parents would provide gifts for the children and
little boys and little girls would squeal with delight
as they played with their simple toys.

It wasn't an expensive gift by today's standards, but
in that village of long ago, as Christmas approached,
any gift would be considered expensive. Yes, you and I
would probably smile when we realize that all the
little boy wanted was a balloon -- just a simple little
blue balloon.

You see, the little boy had seen pictures of brightly
colored balloons and had even seen balloons that
belonged to children of more affluent families. But he
had never had his own balloon and so he longed for one.
In the village, balloons were only sold in one shop and
that shop was far from the little boy's home.

And the cost of a balloon? Just one penny! You would
think that a penny was hardly anything, but in those
days, literally every penny had to be used very
carefully. When the little boy's parents had to choose
between food and a balloon, the choice was naturally
food.

The little boy was very sad. For weeks he had been
thinking of the lovely, blue balloon he would get for
Christmas. After another day or so, his mother, like
all good mothers, determined to find her little boy a
penny to get his blue balloon. Again, like most
mothers, she sacrificed her own needs to get her son
his wish.

Imagine how happy the little boy was! Clutching the
penny tightly in his small hand, he set off for the
store. He did not care that he would have to walk for
more than a mile in the blazing hot, tropical sun to get
his balloon. He moved as fast as his little legs would
carry him -- sometimes half-running and then walking
quickly. Now he would have his blue balloon.

But fate played a trick on the little boy. There was no
blue balloon at the store -- only one balloon was left.
And it was a drab green one, a color he didn't really
like. He probably thought that a green balloon was
better than no balloon at all, so he bought and paid
for it. But things were to get much worse very quickly

As he was returning home, he decided to inflate the
balloon by blowing air into it. Suddenly, there was a
loud sound and the balloon burst into pieces. At first,
the boy couldn't believe it. He just stopped and stared
at the rubbery shards in his hand. After all the
trouble to get this one balloon and then, just like in
life, in a split second it was gone.

He continued walking home and although he was a brave
little chap, tears streamed down his cheeks. After all,
he was just four or five years old. His parents would
not be able to spare another penny to buy a replacement
balloon. And even if they were able to, there were no
balloons left in the store. By now, his tiny feet
were tired from all the walking so he sat down on a
little rock at the side of the road.

That's when he saw the stranger. He wasn't quite sure
why he hadn't seen the man sooner. He must have been
too absorbed in his own problems to notice anything.
Rarely were there strangers who came through the
village. The man smiled a kindly smile and inquired of
the little boy why he had tears in his eyes.

The little boy explained his plight. With a knowing
wink, the man reached into a bag he was carrying on his
shoulder and pulled out a small box. "I have a gift for
you," he said as he handed the box to the little boy.

"Go ahead. Open it," he continued. Imagine the surprise
of the little boy as he peered into the box and saw
three, uninflated, beautiful blue balloons, each one
with a picture of a star on it. He turned to say "thank
you" to the stranger, but there was nobody there. The
man was gone.

Perhaps it was an angel, thought the little boy. Or
maybe the stranger just disappeared into thin air. But
that would be magic, reasoned the little fellow. You
see, there is magic in the heart and soul of every
little boy and every little girl on Earth. They know
it, but they forget the magic as they grow older.

Years have come and years have gone, but that was one
of the happiest Christmas I ever spent. Every once in a
while, or perhaps, even more often than once in a
while, if I choose to sit quietly and revisit that
scene of yesteryear, I could still see the kindness in
the stranger's eyes and the beautiful stars on the blue
balloons.

It was a great lesson that I learned that day.
Sometimes when life takes something away from you, it
is only because it wants to bring you something much
better. Life took my little balloon because it wanted
me to have three beautiful, bigger and better balloons.

We may not understand why things happen the way they
do, but this I know: If we trust the process and we
keep on keeping on, the dark valleys of life will
eventually lead into beautiful fields of light and
splendor. You are cared for and protected by a Force
that transcends time and space -- a Force that has
existed forever and that loves you unconditionally.

Last, but not least, I must tell you this before I go!
If you want to help a little boy or a little girl get a
toy this holiday season, I will give you a link where
you can make a contribution to "Toys for Tots". Each
year, my dear friend, Rick Beneteau, runs a campaign to
raise funds to provide some needy children with a few
precious gifts.

Rick has been doing this year after year, and in some
ways, he reminds me of the stranger who walked through
the little village and brought me the three beautiful,
blue balloons. A contribution of any amount would be
welcomed. It could be as small as a dollar or as large
as you want to make it.

And it's easy to contribute through Paypal (I just made
my contribution). No matter how bad things may be with
us, we can always decide to help someone by giving even
a small amount. For it is in giving that we are able to
receive blessings beyond our fondest dreams. Here is
the link for "Toys for Tots":

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=7Fg57&m=1ZI3k6NGSNLhMX&b=ygg4aWcuwywwCmO2inKK5A

(InternetToyDrive.org)

I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. It
doesn't matter which holidays you celebrate or not
celebrate, we are all in one great celebration, the
celebration of life.

May this season and the coming new year be filled with
peace, joy, prosperity and all good things for you.

Always,

John

P.S. Please forward this story to your friends and
relatives and let's light up the world with goodwill.

Seek the giver than the gift

2009-11-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

There was a king. He did many wars and conquered many territories. He had four good ministers, who did all the wars for him. The king pleased with his for ministers. One day the King decided to celebrate his victory. He arranged a grand feast and invited all the noble people for the fest. On the day of feast in front of his gusts, King decided to honour his Ministers. King summoned his for Ministers who did the war for him and told them that "four of you are very instrumental in winning the wars. I would like to grand you your wishes, you can ask your desire of your heart. You can ask any thing. I will give it to you." In front of the gusts King announced. One by one the ministers come forward and expressed their desire of their heart.

The first one told to the King "I am from a poor family, my parents are very poor. In my childhood I slept without having food many nights. I need money. Give me money, a lot of money. Hearing this King ordered his Servant who is in charge of his treasury to give him a lot of money which will make him rich.

The second one told to the King: I do not have a house. I want a big house just like the palace. Hearing this King ordered his servants to Make a palace for him.

The third one said to the King: I have good house, I have money, but I do not have a good road to go to my home. If you are kind enough please build a royal path to my house in the village. King ordered to make a royal path to his Village.

Then the chance came for the forth one. King asked what do you want. He didn't say anything. Tears welled up in his eyes. He began to sobb. Seeing this Kind told him, whatever it is, you can ask. Even if it is half of my kingdom, I will give it to you. When the king insisted, the servant said while crying, "I do not want money, I do not want a big house or a royal path. I just want you, If you are kind enough, please come and stay with me and my family for a few days. King said that it is not a difficult task. I am happy to live with you and your family for a few days.

While making plan to visit the house of his servant, the kind come to know that the servant is a poor man does not have a good house or money. To go to his house is a very difficult task as there was not a good road to his village. King ordered to build a Big house just like palace for King's stay. Also King ordered to send lot of money for his stay. Kings servants made a royal path to his village for King's travel. He got everything his fellow servants got.

Moral of the story is that don't just look for the gift but seek the giver. It is better to seek God than his gifts. When Gog come in your house, everything else will follow automatically.

When you get right, the world will be ok.

2009-11-27T00:06:00.001-08:00

Professor Jack has a three year old son. He is very smart and has many doubts about many things. He used to ask different wired questions. When his mother get tired of answering the questions, she tell him to ask papa. One fine Sunday morning as Professor Jack was preparing the lecture for the coming week, his three year old son came with different questions. To keep him quite, Professor Jack was thinking ways to engage his son, so that he will keep quiet for some time.

While looking for books or magazines, professor jack found an old map of the world. An idea come to his mind. He tore that world map into many pieces. Mix that pieces and given it to his son and asked him to rebuild the world map and return. Professor Jack was sure that his son will not disturb him for a couple of hours and continued his preparation of lecture for the next week.

To Professor's surprise, his son came within 5 minutes and asked him to look at the world map. Believing his son could not set it right, without looking at the world map, professor said "Son, go to your room and fix it correctly and come back, I am not going to help you" But his son insisted that he fix it correctly and show it to him.

Professor Jack looked the map and found it fixed correctly. Professor asked, "who helped you to fix it. I am sure you cannot do that without someone's help.

His son replied " Papa, no one helped me. When I carefully looked at both the sides of paper, I found on one side, body parts of a man. When I fixed the man, the world map got right by itself."

Professor looked at the back side of the map and found there is a picture of a man. When his son fixed the man, the world got corrected automatically.

The moral of the story is, when the man get right, the world will automatically get right. Individuals are responsible for all the troubles in this world.

Story of Old clock and new clock

2009-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

There was a Old Church. It is more than 100 years old. As the old priest is not physically well, the Church committee decided to appoint a new priest. The young priest took charge of the church. While roaming around the Church building, he thought to do some renovation in the church to make it more attractive. With the help of the church committee, they did many things like bought new carpets, painted the walls, put new sealing etc. As part of the renovation, the priest thought to change the old clock which is powered by key and making noise with a brand new electronic clock. But the priest decided to keep the New clock beside the old clock for the time being as many old people are so much attached to the old clock.

The new clock was very happily and smoothly jumping each second with "tick" "tick" "tick" "tick" sound. There was power and enthusiasm in his jumping. At the same time the old clock with very difficulty and with the noise of wheels also tried to move along with the new clock. In the beginning the new clock was very proud and was reluctant to speak to the Old clock. But after some time to burn the boredom, the new clock decided to talk to the old clock. During the conversation, the new clock asked the old clock "How long have you been here?" to that the old clock replied that more than 100 years.

Hearing the answer, the new clock fell into thoughts. It tried to calculate the jumps to make in order to complete the 100 years. For one minute 60 jumps, for one hour 3600 jumps, for one day 86400 jumps, for one month 2592000 jumps, for one year 31536000 jumps, for 100 years 3153600000 jumps. Shortly after the calculation, the new clock stopped jumping the seconds.

The old clock, noticing the silence of the new clock, asked the reason for the silence. To that the new clock replied "I was calculating the jumps you have competed last 100 years. You have dome millions of jumps. I don't think I would be able to complete that much jumps. Thinking about all that jumps, I am stressed and cannot move. I am helpless and cannot jump one second. While thinking about it I had a heart attack."

The old clock knowing the situation, asked one question. "I know your situation, but I would like to ask you one question, Can you jump one second?" To that the new clock replied. "It is very easy, I can easily jump one second. It is very very easy."

The Old clock replied "Do that."

The old clock continued, Just think about one second at a time and jump. Don't think about 100 years, just think about one second.

The new clock happily started to jump one second at a time.

The moral of the story is don't think about all the things to be done in a lifetime. Just think about the next moment. Just think about one day at a time. It will help us to continue our journey. Looking at the thickness of the text book, students may get depressed at the beginning of the school year. Following the advice of the old clock, one sentence at a time can complete the book in a year. Don't get depressed or discouraged. One step at a time will lead you to the destination. Don't give up!!!! Don't be a quitter!!

The wife and the window

2009-09-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

A young couple relocated to a new place due to their transfer. The next morning, while they are enjoying their morning tea, the young woman sees her neighbor hang the wash to dry.

That laundry is not very clean, she said, she doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better washing powder.

Her husband looked on, but he remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, one fine morning while these young couple enjoying their morning tea, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said: "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!"

And so it is with life:

"What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge. "

Taxi - this is worth the read!

2009-09-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said.

'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

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

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

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. 'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said 'You have to make a living,' she answered. 'There are other passengers,' I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.

'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

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

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL. You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people.. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.

Thank you, my friend... Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

The Good Teacher

2009-09-01T02:22:00.000-07:00

The great Zen teacher, Benzei had many pupils in his school. One day, one of the student was caught stealing his fellow-students money and they reported it to Benzei. But Benzei took no action against the thief.

A few days later the same boy was again caught stealing. And again Benzei did nothing. This angered the other students who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief. They threatened to leave the school if the boy was allowed to stay.

The teacher called a meeting of the students. When they had assembled he said to them: “You are good boys who know what is right and what is wrong. If you leave you will have no trouble in joining some other school. But what about your brother who does not even know the difference between right and wrong? Who will teach him if I don’t? No, I cannot ask him to go even if it means losing all of you.”

Tears coursed down the cheeks of the boy who had stolen. He never stole again and in later life became renowned for his integrity.

When your hut is on fire

2009-08-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?' Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man to his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.

The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

The Bull & The Bear

2009-08-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there lived a bear in a cave deep in the woods. Nearby was a meadow in which a farmer kept his cattle -- and one large, ferocious-looking bull. Each day the bear hid at the edge of the woods, watching the bull.

The bear was known as the strongest, most fierce creature for miles around. No other beast in the forest dared to tangle with him. As the bear watched the bull peacefully gazing, he wondered which one of them would win a test of strength. He thought about this for many days. Then one morning he decided to challenge the bull to a fight to the finish.

The bull had just chomped down on a fresh clump of clover when he looked up and saw the bear barreling across the meadow toward him. He stopped chewing. The red flag of danger popped up in his head. The bear skidded to a halt in front of him.

The bull lowered his head menacingly, his sharp horns aimed right for the bear's throat. For long moments they stood in place -- eyeball to eyeball -- neither one of them moving. Finally the bull grew tired of the stare-down and asked, "What do you want, Bear?"

"I want to fight you," growled the bear.

"Why?" asked the bull.

"Because, I want to prove that I am a stronger and better fighter than you are."

The bull laughed. "I thought you really wanted something. You can't possibly win against me. I have sharp horns that can cause terrible injuries."

"And my claws are sharp and quick," the bear shot back. "I have defeated many an enemy -- anyone who would harm my cubs or take away my mate. I am the king of the forest!"

"Then go back to the forest," the bull bluntly advised. "This is the meadow."

The bear blinked in surprise. "I beg your pardon..."

"I mean, what's the point of me fighting with you?" the bull asked. "What would that prove? We are not enemies. I have not harmed your cubs or taken your mate."

"It would prove that I am the strongest."

"Okay," said the bull, smiling. "I'll buy that. You are strongest. Now leave and let me graze in peace."

"Just one cotton-picking' minute. What do you mean by that?" The bear raised a club-like paw. "I will tear you to shreds. Defend yourself."

"What you do is up to you," the bull answered calmly. "But if you do, what will all your friends -- the ones who are watching us right now -- think about you?"

"They will think that I am the strongest," yelled the frustrated bear.

"I don't think so. I do not choose to fight you just because you choose to fight with me. I would only fight to defend one of the cows in my care. If you attack one of them, then I'd be obliged to give you a good lashing."

"I can't attack them," protested the bear. "They can't fight back. There would be no victory to it."

"Exactly," answered the bull. "But what if you did? And what if I should try to defend them? What if something should happen to me? Who would protect them then? You? Would you trust me to protect your cubs if something happened to you? What would happen to your family if you lose the fight?"

"I never thought of that," said the bear.

"Go back into the woods, Bear," said the bull as he turned to walk away. "Live in peace. And I will stay in the meadow and do the same."

The bear turned toward the woods. He had come spoiling for a fight -- to prove which one was the strongest.

But he had learned an important lesson from a very wise bull. In peace, there are no losers.

THE MASTER'S LESSON ON GRATITUDE

2009-08-24T03:46:00.000-07:00

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.

After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container.

The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."!!!

Morel of the Story:

We may understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a crushed paper painting or a clay figure, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart!! Also, when we express our gratitude,we must never forget that the highest of appreciation is not to utter mere words, but to live by them.

The essence of all beautiful art, all great art is gratitude! Gratitude is the sign of noble souls and the memory of it is stored in the heart and not the mind!

The next time you receive any gifts from anyone, no matter however small it may be, remember the love behind and don't judge the gift with its appearance! Have a deep sense of gratitude for whatever you receive in life in whatever form it may be!

Crochet a doll

2009-08-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

A man and a woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife ' s bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

"Honey," he said "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh, that?" she said. "That is the money I made from selling the dolls."

Moral of the story: Do not waste your time by arguing, the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue

A Pillow & A Blanket

2009-08-24T03:14:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, a young, wealthy girl was getting ready for bed. She was saying her prayers when she heard a muffled crying coming through her window. A little frightened, she went over to the window and leaned out. Another girl, who seemed to be about her age and homeless was standing in the alley by the rich girls house. Her heart went out to the homeless girl, for it was the dead of winter, and the girl had no blanket, only old newspapers someone had thrown out.

The rich girl was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea. She called to the other girl and said, "You there, come to my front door, please."

The homeless girl was so startled she could only manage to nod.

As quick as her legs could take her, the young girl ran down the hall to her mothers closet, and picked out an old quilt and a beat up pillow. She had to walk slower down to the front door as to not trip over the quilt which was hanging down, but she made it eventually. Dropping both the articles, she opened the door. Standing there was the homeless girl, looking quite scared. The rich girl smiled warmly and handed both articles to the other girl. Her smile grew wider as she watched the true amazement and happiness alight upon the other girl's face. She went to bed incredibly satisfied.

In mid-morning the next day a knock came to the door. The rich girl flew to the door hoping that it was the other little girl there. She opened the large door and looked outside. It was the other little girl. Her face looked happy, and she smiled. "I suppose you want these back."

The rich little girl opened her mouth to say that she could keep them when another idea popped into her head. "No, I want them back."

The homeless girl's face fell. This was obviously not the answer she had hoped for. She reluctantly laid down the beat up things, and turned to leave when the rich girl yelled, "Wait! Stay right there." She turned in time to see the rich girl running up the stairs and down a long corridor. Deciding whatever the rich little girl was doing wasn't worth waiting for she started to turn around and walk away. As her foot hit the first step, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, turning she saw the rich little girl, thrusting a new blanket and pillow at her. "Have these." she said quietly.

These were her own personal belonging made of silk and down feathers.

As the two grew older they didn't see each other much, but they were never far from each other's minds. One day, the Rich girl, who was now a Rich woman got a telephone call from someone. A lawyer, saying that she was requested to see him. When she arrived at the office, he told her what had happened. Forty years ago, when she was nine years old, she had helped a little girl in need. That grew into a middle-class woman with a husband and two children. She had recently died and left something for her in her will. "Though," the lawyer said, "it's the most peculiar thing. She left you a pillow and a blanket."

Never Judge too quickly

2009-08-24T03:02:00.000-07:00

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer and the fourth son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said, no, that it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them. He said it was ripe and drooping with fruit - full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that comes from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

David and Svea Flood

2009-08-24T02:07:00.000-07:00

Back in 1921, a missionary couple named David and Svea Flood went with their two-year-old son from Sweden to the heart of Africa-to what was then called the Belgian Congo. They met up with another young Scandinavian couple, the Ericksons, and the four of them sought God for direction. In those days of much tenderness and devotion and sacrifice, they felt led of the Lord to set out from the main mission station and take the gospel to a remote area.

This was a huge step of faith. At the village of N'dolera they were rebuffed by the chief, who would not let them enter his town for fear of alienating the local gods. The two couples opted to go half a mile up the slope and build their own mud huts'.

They prayed for a spiritual breakthrough, but there was none. The only contact with the villagers was a young boy, who was allowed to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week. Svea Flood-a tiny woman only four feet, eight inches tall-decided that if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to lead the boy to Jesus. And in fact, she succeeded. But there were no other encouragements. Meanwhile, malaria continued to strike one member of the little band after another. In time the Ericksons decided they had had enough suffering and left to return to the central mission station. David and Svea Flood remained near N'dolera to go on alone. Then, of all things, Svea found herself pregnant in the middle of the primitive wilderness. When the time came for her to give birth, the village chief softened enough to allow a midwife to help her. A little girl was born, whom they named Aina. The delivery, however, was exhausting, and Svea Flood was already weak from bouts of malaria. The birth process was a heavy blow to her stamina. She lasted only another seventeen days. Inside David Flood, something snapped in that moment. He dug a crude grave, buried his twenty-seven-year-old wife, and then took his children back down the mountain to the mission station. Giving his newborn daughter to the Ericksons, he snarled, "I'm going back to Sweden. I've lost my wife, and I obviously can't take care of this baby. God has ruined my life." With that, he headed for the port, rejecting not only his calling, but God himself. Within eight months both the Ericksons were stricken with a mysterious malady and died within days of each other. The baby was then turned over to some American missionaries, who adjusted her Swedish name to "Aggie" and eventually brought her back to the United States at age three.

This family loved the little girl and were afraid that if they tried to return to Africa, some legal obstacle might separate her from them. So they decided to stay in their home country and switch from missionary work to pastoral ministry. And that is how Aggie grew up in South Dakota. As a young woman, she attended North Central Bible College in Minneapolis. There she met and married a young man named Dewey Hurst.

Years passed. The Hursts enjoyed a fruitful Ministry. Aggie gave birth first to a daughter, then a son. In time her husband became president of a Christian college in the Seattle area, and Aggie was intrigued to find so much Scandinavian heritage there. One day a Swedish religious magazine appeared in her mailbox. She had no idea who had sent it, and of course she couldn't read the words. But as she turned the pages, all of a sudden a photo stopped her cold. There in a primitive setting was a grave with a white cross-and on the cross were the words SVEA FLOOD. Aggie jumped in her car and went straight for a college faculty member who, she knew, could translate the article. "What does this say?" she demanded. The instructor summarized the story: It was about missionaries who had come to N'dolera long ago ... the birth of a white baby ... the death of the young mother ... the one little African boy who had been led to Christ ... and how, after the whites had all left, the boy had grown up and finally persuaded the chief to let him build a school in the village. The article said that gradually he won all his students to Christ... the children led their parents to Christ... even the chief had become a Christian. Today there were six hundred Christian believers in that one village.... All because of the sacrifice of David and Svea Flood. For the Hursts' twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, the college presented them with the gift of a vacation to Sweden.

There Aggie sought to find her real father. An old man now, David Flood had remarried, fathered four more children, and generally dissipated his life with alcohol. He had recently suffered a stroke. Still bitter, he had one rule in his family: "Never mention the name of God- because God took everything from me. After an emotional reunion with her half brothers and half sister, Aggie brought up the subject of seeing her father. The others hesitated. "You can talk to him," they replied, "even though he's very ill now. But you need to know that whenever he hears the name of God, he flies into a rage. Aggie was not to be deterred. She walked into the squalid apartment, with liquor bottles everywhere, and approached the seventy-three-year-old man lying in a rumpled bed. "Papa~" she said tentatively. He turned and began to cry. "Aina," he said. "I never meant to give you away." "It's all right, Papa," she replied, taking him gently in her arms. "God took care of me." The man instantly stiffened. The tears stopped. "God forgot all of us. Our lives have been like this because of Him." He turned his face back to the wall. Aggie stroked his face and then continued, undaunted. "Papa, I've got a little story to tell you, and it's a true one. You didn't go to Africa in vain. Mama didn't die in vain. The little boy you won to the Lord grew up to win that whole village to Jesus Christ. The one seed you planted just kept growing and growing. Today there are six hundred African people serving the Lord because you were faithful to the call of God in your life. ... Papa, Jesus loves you. He has never hated you." The old man turned back to look into his daughter's eyes. His body relaxed. He began to talk. And by the end of the afternoon, he had come back to the God he had resented for so many decades. Over the next few days, father and daughter enjoyed warm moments together. Aggie and her husband soon had to return to America-and within a few weeks, David Flood had gone into eternity.

A few years later, the Hursts were attending a high-level evangelism conference in London, England, when a report was given from the nation of Zaire (the former Belgian Congo). The superintendent of the national church, representing some 110,000 baptized believers, spoke eloquently of the gospel's spread in his nation. Aggie could not help going to ask him afterward if he had ever heard of David and Svea Flood. "Yes, madam," the man replied in French, his words then being translated into English. "It was Svea Flood who led me to Jesus Christ. I was the boy who brought food to your parents before you were born. In fact, to this day your mother's grave and her memory are honored by all of us." He embraced her in a long, sobbing hug. Then he continued, "You must come to Africa to see, because your mother is the most famous person in our history." In time that is exactly what Aggie Hurst and her husband did. They were welcomed by cheering throngs of villagers. She even met the man who had been hired by her father many years before to carry her back down the mountain in a hammock-cradle. The most dramatic moment, of course, was when the pastor escorted Aggie to see her mother's white cross for herself. She knelt in the soil to pray and give thanks. Later that day, in the church, the pastor read from John 12:24: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." He then followed with Psalm 126:5: "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy."

© John Mark Ministries. Articles may be reproduced in any medium, without applying for permission
(provided they are unedited, and retain the original author/copyright information - and perhaps a reference to the John Mark Ministries website. :-)!

Dog and the Doctor

2009-08-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

A real story of Japan. A story of one dog and a Doctor.

A doctor one day gave some food to the dog residing nearby and then this become usual. The dog always remain with the doctor whenever it is possible.. Doctor used to go by train everyday for his duty. Dog always accompany him till the Railway Station. And when the doctor come back for his duty, that dog waits for him at the railway station and both come back at home together. This was the usual practice.

Once in an accident doctor died. Dog kept waited for him till long. For two consecutive days it waited for Doctor without having food, water or anything.

Then after that every day the dog visited the platform at the arrival time of that train regularly till the time of its death.

People around that platform started having sympathy towards dog and they started giving it food and started taking care of it. Everyone was impressed by the love between that dog and the Doctor.

Once a person took that dog at home and taking care for it. But dog every day visited that station without missing single day.

Till dog died, it visited that platform and waited for Doctor.

People put the statue of dog at that station for the loving memory of it and Doctor and in that city that dog is recognized as symbol of love.

Moral of the story is that..

If you love someone, then love unconditionally. Accept the positive and negative aspects of your loved one. Take care of the loved one even if it is not with you. Try to be honest and trust 100%. Develop the fear of loss for your love...make your love realize about that fear of loss. Give sweet smile to everyone and love a loved one such a way that it become a history.

Sometime people forgets the value of love even if his or her inside is pure. Because of personal problems, work tension, ego, misunderstandings and many more.... people started thinking wrong ways and loses the faith, then they miss wonderful days of life which they would have enjoyed if their loved ones are nearby. Imagine. Think of that enjoyment.

I don't know why they chooses the path of aloneness rather being in love. Remember days never comes back, time never stops, still if you feel that you are missing someone and due to certain problems you have lost your love, go immediately and catch it and enjoys those days of love which you may never get back. Always follow your heart.

The Master

2009-08-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

When one Guru was dying, one of his deciple asked him "Guruji, who was your master?"He said, "I had thousands of masters. If I just relate their names it will take months, years and it is too late. But three masters I will certainly tell you about.

One was a thief. Once I got lost in the desert, and when I reached a village it was very late, everything was closed. But at last I found one man who was trying to make a hole in t he wall of a house. I asked him where I could stay and he said 'At this time of night it will be difficult, but you can say with me - if you can stay with a thief'.And the man was so beautiful. I stayed for one month! And each night he would say to me, 'Now I am going to my work. You rest, you pray.' When he came back I would ask 'Could you get anything?' He would say, 'Not tonight. But tomorrow I will try again, God willing.' He was never in a state of hopelessness, he was always happy.

When I was meditating and meditating for years on end and nothing was happening, many times the moment came when I was so desperate, so hopeless,that I thought to stop all this nonsense. And suddenly I would remember the thief who would say every night, 'God willing, tomorrow it is going to happen.'

And my second master was a dog. I was going to the river, thirsty and a dog came. He was also thirsty. He looked into the river, he saw another dog there -- his own image -- and became afraid. He would bard and run away, but his thirst was so much that he would come back. Finally, despite his fear, he just jumped into the water, and the image disappeared. And I knew that a message had come to me from God: one has to jump in spite of all fears.

And the third master was a small child. I entered a town and a child was carrying a lit candle. he was going to the mosque to put the candle there.

'Just joking,' I asked the boy, 'Have you lit the candle yourself?' He said,

'Yes sir.' And I asked, 'There was a moment when the candle was unlit, then there was a moment when the candle was lit. Can you show me the source from which the light came?' And the boy laughed, blew out the candle, and said, 'Now you have seen the light going. Where has it gone? You will tell me!'

My ego was shattered, my whole knowledge was shattered. And that moment I felt my own stupidity. Since then I dropped all my knowledgeability.

It is true that I had no master. That does not mean that I was not a disciple

-- I accepted the whole existence as my master. My Disciplehood was a greater involvement than yours is. I trusted the clouds, the trees. I trusted existence as such. I had no master because I had millions of masters I learned from every possible source. To be a disciple is a must on the path. What does it mean to be a disciple? It means to be able to learn. to be available to learn to be vulnerable to existence. With a master you start learning to learn.

The master is a swimming pool where you can learn how to swim. Once you have learned, all the oceans are yours."

Lunch With God

2009-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat

there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied! "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

A Million Frogs

2009-08-17T23:04:00.001-07:00

A Million Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs.The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs--millions of them. They croak all during the night and are about to drive me crazy!"

So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well...where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"

Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also--remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark.

Have you ever lain in your bed at might worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming--like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Confidence

2009-08-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Confidence !

The business executive was deep in debt and couldn't see a way out.

Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said.

After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you."

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time."

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller."

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

The Fern and the Bamboo

2009-08-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

One day I decided to quit.... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality. ...

I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light. I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor.

Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.

But I did not quit on the bamboo".

He said. "In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit.

In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.

I would not quit."

He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.

Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 Feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."

He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I Would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others."

He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the Fern, yet, they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come, "God said to me." You will rise high!"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest and brought back this story.

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you........

The desire

2009-08-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, "What do you want?"The beggar laughed and said, "You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!"

The king was offended. He said, "Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me."

And the beggar said, "Think twice before you promise anything."

The beggar was no ordinary beggar, he was the emperors past life master. He had promised in that life, "I will come and try to wake you in your next life. This life you have missed but I will come again." But the king had forgotten completely -- who remembers past lives? So he insisted, "I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?"

The beggar said, "It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?"

The emperor said, "Of course!" He called one of his viziers and told him, "Fill this mans begging bowl with money." The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the beggging bowl remained always empty.

The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake.

He said to his viziers, "If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar."

Diamonds and pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty.The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it --everything! --immediately disappeared, went out of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. he said, "Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiousity. What is the begging bowl made of?"

The beggar laughed and said, "It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simple made up of human desire."

This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire -- what is the mechanism of it? First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure. you feel a great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the woman, and suddenly all is meaningless again.

What happens? Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the drive, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the drive, the woman in your bed, the money in your bank account - again excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.

That's how one moves from one desire to another desire. That's how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again -- every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire.The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail comes the turning point in your life.The other journey is inwards. move inwards, come back home.

NAIL IN THE FENCE

2009-08-13T03:50:00.000-07:00

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper,

he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger,

the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.

The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole in your heart :)

Proudy Red Rose

2009-08-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, "What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely."

Another tree said, "Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything."

The rose turned its head and remarked, "It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest."

A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, "Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them." The red rose replied, "I see everyone looking at me and admiring me."

Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!" The pine tree said, "Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too."

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, "I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus."

"What a proud flower", thought the trees.

The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like: This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his neighbor."

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, "God did not create any form of life without a purpose."

Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed.

This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. "Does it not hurt when they make holes?" asked the rose.

"Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer," replied the pine.

The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, "The cactus has water?"

"Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help."

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose's roots.

Lesson to learn from the Story :Thus the rose and all of us learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.

To be in the line of fire

2009-08-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

From: Vikram J.Tanna

Subject: [AIMKAlumni] A Real True Story

A real story ...An interesting Conversation between a Solider and a Software Engineer in Shatabdi Train .........An interesting and a must read! Must read !

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized. "

"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and well built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside."

Vivek smiled deprecatingly and replied "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement.

"It is complex, very complex."

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid!," came the reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone.

"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."

He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"

The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things."

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager."

"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now."

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful!

My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday." Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.

"My friend, you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire" Vivek concluded triumphantly.

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. "I know sir,..... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time......

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the Tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."

"You are a...?"

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier.

...On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my Captain Batra Sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. "He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded... ....his own personal safety came last, always and every time. "He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me .

I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire."

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

"It was nice meeting you sir." Vivek fumbled with the handshake.

This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the Tricolour !.

Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.

It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award.

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!!!!

Vikram J.Tanna
Key Account Executive
Emami Ltd (FMCG)

Buffalo & the Horse - a folk tale

2009-08-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time a horse and a buffalo lived in a beautiful meadow up in the mountains.

There was plenty of grass to eat and water to drink, and the two had become good friends. But one year, there was no rain. The meadow stream dried up and the grass turned brown.

Soon the horse and buffalo found themselves fighting over the scarce water and grass. One day, their daily fight became violent. The buffalo jabbed the horse with her sharp horns. The badly injured horse had no option but to flee.

A few days passed and the horse started feeling much better. He still had not forgotten how the buffalo had hurt him, and started planning his revenge. After much thought, he decided to approach a man and ask for his help. On hearing the horse’s tale, the man shrugged and said, "Well, you fought with each other, and you lost. Why should I get into this? Anyway, the buffalo has sharp horns. If she can hurt you, she will definitely kill me." With that the man told the horse to leave him so he could get on with his work.

Once again the horse pleaded with the man. He said, "If you help me, I will help you capture the buffalo. Then you can keep her, and I get to have the meadow all to myself."

The man laughed and said, "What will I do with a captured buffalo; it is of no use to me."

The horse then told the man about the buffalo’s sweet milk. "It not only tastes very good, it is also very healthy. If you were to drink it every day you will become more powerful than all the animals in the jungle." The man seemed impressed and agreed to help the horse. But the buffalo’s horns still worried him.

But the horse had a plan. "What you need," he said, "is a big fat stick. Just climb onto my back and every time I run past the buffalo, you hit her with the stick. She cannot run as fast as me so she will not be able to catch us." The plan sounded good so the man decided to go along with it.

Next morning the man climbed onto the horse’s back, holding a big fat stick. When they found the buffalo in the meadow, the horse started to run past the buffalo. The plan was working. After a few hard hits with the stick, the buffalo fell to the ground. The man captured the buffalo and tied her to a tree next to his hut.

The horse was really happy now that he had got rid of the buffalo from the meadow. He thanked the man and was about to leave when he found that he too was tied to the tree. The horse turned to the man and said, "Dear friend, now that our work is over, you can release me. I can enjoy the meadow and you can enjoy the buffalo’s milk.

The man in turn said, "My dear friend, you have been of such help to me. You have not just taught me how to capture a buffalo but also taught me how to ride horses. Now that I know how useful the two of you are, how can I possibly let either of you go? I promise I will take good care of you."

The sad horse felt betrayed. But after thinking for some time he realized that he was suffering because he had been petty and vengeful. By telling the secret of the buffalo’s milk to the man, he had betrayed his friend the buffalo. From that day on, he decided he would never again betray anybody’s trust, not even his captor’s, the man. Perhaps that is why horses (and dogs) are known as man’s trusted friends.

The Barnyard Duck

2009-08-13T02:36:00.000-07:00

A flock of wild ducks were flying in formation, heading south for the winter. They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them from below. One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something on the ground that caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks who lived on the farm.

They were waddling around on the ground, quacking merrily and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally liked what he saw. "It sure would be nice to have some of that corn," he thought to himself. "And all this flying is very tiring. I'd like to just waddle around for a while."

So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks, made a sharp dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey South, but Wally didn't care. "I'll rejoin them when they come back North in a few months, he said to himself.

Several months went by and sure enough, Wally looked up and spotted the flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up there. And Wally was tired of the barnyard. It was muddy and everywhere he waddled, nothing but duck doo. "It's time to leave," said Wally.

So Wally flapped his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had gained some weight from all his corn-eating, and he hadn't exercised his wings much either. He finally got off the ground, but he was flying too low and slammed into the side of the barn.

He fell to the ground with a thud and said to himself, "Oh, well, I'll just wait until they fly south in a few months. Then I'll rejoin them and become a wild duck again."

But when the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift himself out of the barnyard. He simply didn't have the strength. Every winter and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would call out to him.

But his attempts to leave were all in vain. Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard duck.

Look what happened to Wally. He thought he would just "check-it-out" for awhile and then leave when he wanted to. But he couldn't do it. Sin and bad habits are like that. It is a trap, and it has a way of changing us into people we don't even want to become. Eventually we lose touch with who we really are . We become barnyard ducks.

The Silversmith Story

2009-08-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them.

And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

Divorce

2009-08-13T02:13:00.000-07:00

One fine day, an old couple around the age of 70, walks into a lawyer's office.

Apparently, they are there to file a divorce.Lawyer was very puzzled, after having a chat with them, he got their story....

This couple had been quarreling all their 40 over yrs of marriage nothing ever seems to go right.They hang on because of their children, afraid that it might affect their up-bringing. Now, all their children have already grown up, have their own family, there's nothing else the old couple have to worry about, all they wanted is to lead their own life free from all these years of unhappiness from their marriage, so both agree on a divorce....

Lawyer was having a hard time trying to get the papers done, because he felt that after 40 yrs of marriage at the age of 70, he couldnt understand why the old couple would still want a divorce..

While they were signing the papers, the wife told the husband..

"I really love u, but i really cant carry on anymore, I'm sorry.."

"Its o.k, i understand.." said the husband. Lookin at this, the lawyer suggested a dinner together, just 3 of them,wife thought, why not, since they are still gonna be friends..

At the dining table, there was a silence of awkardness.

The first dish was roasted chicken, immediately, the old man took the drumstick for the old lady.."take this, its your favourite.."

Looking at this, the lawyer thought maybe theres still a chance, but the wife was frowning when she answer.."This is always the problem, you always think so highly of yourself, never thought about how I feel, dont you know that i hate drumsticks?"

Little did she know that, over the years, the husband have been trying all ways to please her, little did she know that drumsticks was the husband's favourite. Little did he know that she never thought he understand her at all, little did he know that she hates drummsticks even though all he wants is the best for her.

That night, both of them couldnt sleep, toss and turn, toss and turn...after hours, the old man couldnt take it anymore, he knows that he still loves her, and he cant carry on life without her, he wants her back, he wants to tell her, he is sorry, he wanted to tell her "i love you"...

He picks up the phone, starting dialing her number....ringing never stops..he never stop dialing....On the other side, she was sad, she couldn't understand how come after all these years, he still doesnt understand her at all, she loves him a lot, but she just cant take it anymore....phone's ringing, she refuses to answer knowing that its him..."whats the point of talking now that its over...i have ask for it and now i wanna keep it this way, if not i will lose face.."she thought...still ringing...she have decided to pull out the cord... Little did she remember, he have heart problems...

The next day, she received news that he had passed away...she rushed down to his apartment, saw his body, lying on the couch still holding on to the phone...he had a heart attack when he was still trying to get through her phone line....

As sad as she could be...she will have to clear his belongings...when she was looking thru the drawers, she saw this insurance policy, dated from the day they got married, with the beneficiary being her... And together in those file, there was this note...

"To my dearest wife, by the time you're reading this, I'm sure I'm no longer around, I bought this policy for you, though the amount is only $100k, I hope it will be able to help me continue my promise that i have made when we got married, I might not be around anymore, I want this amount of money to continue taking care of you, just like the way I will if I could have live longer. I want you to know Iwill always be around, by your side... I love you"

Tears flowed like river......

"When you love someone, let them know... You never know what will happen the next minute.... Learn to build a life together.. Learn to love each other.

The Message in a Bottle

2009-08-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

A man was strolling along the beach one day when he spotted a bottle washed up on the shore. He went over and picked it up, and noticed a message in the bottle. He popped the cork out and inside was a weathered treasure map indicating that there was buried treasure to be found in the shallow waters below. But the man thought it was a hoax, so he slipped the map back in and threw the bottle back into the ocean...

A little later, another man was walking along the beach and the bottle had washed upon the shore. He too picked up the bottle, popped out the cork, and found the treasure map.

This man, however, was curious enough to wade into the water and hoped it was buried shallow enough to find. But once the cold ocean waters reached up to his thighs, he decided to quit. "This is not worth it!" he thought to himself. So he scrambled back to shore and chucked the bottle back into the ocean....

A third man was walking by the beach and noticed the bottle washed upon the shore. He went over, opened the bottle and found the map. The map looked authentic enough, and promised great treasure... So he got himself a small raft and set out into the ocean to claim the treasure..he rowed out far enough into the ocean where the "X" on the map was and to his surprise, he saw the glint of something shining in the waters below..he dove into the ocean and swam towards the shining object below..

He could see that there was something that looked like a treasure chest, but he couldn't quite reach it and the deeper he went, the greater the cold and pressure on his body and his mind..," I am about to lose my breath, and the longer i take, my raft might be swept away!", he thought. So the man decided to give up the hunt so he would ensure his own life and safety..when he reached the shore once more, he took the bottle from the raft and tossed it back into the ocean...

Finally, one more man was walking along the beach. He noticed the bottle, went over, popped it open, and was excited to find a map promising great treasure. He noticed someone had left a raft by the water's edge, so he took it and paddled out. He too, got far enough to where the "X" marks the spot, and squinted into the waters and saw the shadow and glint of the treasure below.

He took a deep breath and plunged into the waters. Like the man before him, the cold, darkness and pressure upon his senses increased as he got closer. He also realized that if he kept swimming, that he might lose his breath, the raft, and even his own life! But this treasure could be worth all the risk and he persisted. Just as he was about to give up, he grabbed the long chain that was binding the chest and pulled it up along with himself back to the surface.

He broke the surface of the water gasping and exhausted but with the treasure chest safely in his grasp. He paddled back to the shore, opened up the treasure chest and found what the map had promised--gold, and precious diamonds and jewels that would make him secure for the rest of his life.

A relationship with God is a similar treasure hunt. People hear the same message, but the way they receive it will determine the reward they might find. Eternal life is waiting for all those who are willing to take that risk to follow God all the way of life, where we find love, forgiveness and life everlasting.... for eternity.

Mistakes are opportunities

2009-08-13T01:29:00.000-07:00

This is a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor—a veritable sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?"

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.

His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't work," we usually learn something valuable from it.

The Bagger's Rags

2009-08-13T00:59:00.000-07:00

A beggar lived near the king's palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party.

The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families wore royal robes, he thought. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare?

He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please, sir, I would like to speak to the king."

"Wait here," the guard replied. In a few minutes, he was back. "His majesty will see you," he said, and led the beggar in.

"You wish to see me?" asked the king.

"Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king's face. "You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes."

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had never dared hope for.

"You are now eligible to attend the king's banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever."

The beggar dropped to his knees. "Oh, thank you," he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again. Quickly he gathered them up.

The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.One day as he lay dying, the king visited him.

The beggar saw the sad look on the king's face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed.Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince's words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his folly. And the king wept with him.

When we put our faith in God, we must let go of the sin in our life, and our old ways of living.

I can sleep when the wind blows

2009-08-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.

He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic . They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic , wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received A steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.

To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.

The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he also returned to his bed to sleep while the wind blew.

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

Peace of Mind

2009-08-13T00:30:00.000-07:00

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”

So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,” See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water.

Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having ‘Peace of Mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!

In life everything goes on. Keep Going. Have a peaceful Life!

Bob Dosen't pay

2009-08-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus and drove of along his route. No problems for the first few stops- a few people got on, a few people got off and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a huge bulk of a Bob got on, six feet five built quite like a wrestler. He glared at the conductor and said, " Bob doesn't pay" and sat down at the back.

Conductor did not argue with the Bob, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened. Bob got on the bus and made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated the bus driver who started losing sleep over the manner in which the Bob was taking advantage of the poor conductor.Finally the conductor could not stand the Bob any longer. So! he signed up for a bodybuilding , Karat, Judo and all that good stuff.

By the end of that summer, he has become quite strong What's more, he really fellt good about himself. So!, on the next Monday when the Bob once again got on the bus and said" Bob doesn't pay" the conductor stood up and glared back at the Bob and screamed, " And why not?"

With a surprise look on his face, Bob replied " Bob has a bus pass"

The moral of the story- Be sure there is a genuine issue before trying to work hard to solve it.

Chicken

2009-08-10T05:26:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg.

One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds." The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."

The eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.

The moral of the story: You become what you believe you are; so if you ever dream to become an eagle follow your dreams, not the words of a chicken.

Mental Chain

2009-08-10T05:25:00.000-07:00

Most people are like the circus elephant. Have you ever seen a giant elephant in an indoor arena tied to a little wooden stake. That huge creature can pick up two thousand pounds with its trunk, yet it calmly stays tied. Why?

When that elephant was just a baby, and not very strong, it was tied by a huge chain to an iron stake that could not be moved. Regardless of how hard it tried, it could not break the chain and run free. After it a while it just gave up. Later, when it is strong, it never attempts to break free. The "imprint" is permanent. "I can't! I can't!' it says.

There are millions of people who behave like this creature of the circus. They have been bound, tied and told "You'll never make it," so many times they finally call it quits. The may have dreams, but the "imprinting" keeps pulling them back.

Today, eliminate the source of your limitations. When you mentally break free, the boundaries will be removed from your future.

Echo

2009-08-06T22:07:00.001-07:00

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.

It gives you back everything you say or do.

Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.

If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;

Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

God had given the ducks wings with which to fly

2009-08-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

A parable is told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.

He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said, “With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks can not go!

”There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish!

”With these wings we no longer need walk through life. We can soar high in the sky!”

Shouts of “Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation.

The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, “With our wings we can fly through life! WE CAN FLY!!!!¨

More ducks quacked out loud “AMEN!” in response.

Every duck loved the service.

In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher....and then they left the church and waddled all the way home.

Too often we waddle away from worship the same way we waddled in....unchanged.

LUCK MATTERS

2009-08-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

With a pile of 300 resumes on his desk and a need to pick someone quickly, my boss told me to make calls on the bottom 50 and toss the rest.

"Throw away 250 resumes?" I asked, shocked.

"What if the best candidates are in there?"

"You have a point," he said.

"But then again, I don't need people with bad luck here."

Marvelous Answer

2009-08-06T21:58:00.001-07:00

Real story happened with famous Heart Surgeon Lt. Dr. Nitu Mandke. He had done many heart operations.

A mechanic was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when he spotted the famous heart surgeon in his shop, who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager to come to take a look at his car.

The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hello Doctor! Please come over here for a minute."

The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked argumentatively, "So doctor, look at this. I also open hearts, take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish this will work as a new one. So how come you get the big money, when you and me is doing basically the same work?"

The doctor leaned over and whispered to the mechanic...
.
.
.
.
"TRY TO DO IT WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING".

Story re-written

2009-08-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Story re-written

Once upon a time, there was a software engineer who used to develop programs on his Pentium machine, sitting under a tree on the banks of a river. He used to earn his bread by selling those programs in the Sunday market.

One day, while he was working, his machine tumbled off the table and fell in the river.

Encouraged by the Panchatantra story of his childhood (the woodcutter and the axe), he started praying to the River Goddess.

The River Goddess wanted to test him and so appeared only after one month of rigorous prayers. The engineer told her that he had lost his computer in the river.

As usual, the Goddess wanted to test his honesty.

She showed him a match box and asked, "Is this your computer?" Disappointed by the Goddess' lack of computer awareness, the engineer replied, "No."

She next showed him a pocket-sized calculator and asked if that was his.

Annoyed, the engineer said "No, not at all!!"

Finally, she came up with his own Pentium machine and asked if it was his.

The engineer, left with no option, sighed and said "Yes."

The River Goddess was happy with his honesty.

She was about to give him all three items, but before she could make the offer, the engineer asked her, "Don't you know that you're supposed to show me some better

computers before bringing up my own?"

The River Goddess, angered at this, replied, "I know that, you stupid donkey!

The first two things I showed you were the Trillennium and the Billennium, the latest computers from IBM!".

So saying, she disappeared with the Pentium!!

Moral: If you're not up-to-date with technology trends, it's better keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Lakshmi Mittal - Success Story

2009-08-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lakshmi Mittal - Success Story
Born: June 15, 1950, Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India.

Age: 59

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: London , United Kingdom, Europe & Russia

Religious stance: Hinduism

Occupation: Chairman & CEO of Arcelor Mittal

Net worth: $51.0 billion USD

Fortune: Inherited and growing

Source: Steel

Industry: Manufacturing

Website: mittalsteel.com

Marital Status: Married, 2 children

Education: St Xavier's College Calcutta, Bachelor of Arts / Science.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal (born June 15, 1950) is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur Village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and residing in Kensington, London. He is the fifth richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of US$32.0 billion according to Forbes 500.The Financial Times named Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. In May 2007, he was named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time magazine.

Lakshmi spent his first years in India, living with his extended family on bare floors and rope beds in a house built by his grandfather. His family, from the Marwari Aggarwal castel, was from humble roots; his grandfather worked for the Tarachand Ghanshyamdas Poddar firm, one of the leading Marwari industrial firms of pre-independence India. They eventually moved to Calcutta where his father, Mohan, became a partner in a steel company and made a fortune.

Lakshmi was a keen student and his classmates knew him as a sharp student who was good with numbers. He graduated at the top from St. Xavier's College in Calcutta (Now known as Kolkata) with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business and Accounting in 1969.

Lakshmi Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, Mittal set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1994, due to differences with his father and brothers, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business, which was already owned by the family. The family of Mittal never spoke to the public about the reasons for the split, although, there were rumors it was due to financial instablity between the brothers.

Controversy erupted in 2002 as Plaid MP Adam Price exposed the link between U.K. prime minister Tony Blair and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal in the Mittal Affair, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence. Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the U.K., sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania's state steel industry. The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.

The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."

In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 U.K. General Elections, while as many as six-thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out. Mittal's company, then the fourth largest in the world, was a "major global competitor of Britain's own struggling steel industry, Corus, formerly known as British Steel." Corus and Valkia Limited were two of the primary employers in south Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale, Llanwern, and Port Talbot.

Since 2005, Mittal has been the richest person residing in the United Kingdom. He is the President of the Board of Directors and CEO of Arcelor Mittal; Arcelor Mittal is the world's largest producer of steel, with assets in France, Belgium, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Africa, Poland, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Bulgaria, United States and Brazil. On July 13, 2005 it was announced that he had donated £2 million to the Labour Party, and on January 16, 2007 it was announced that he had donated a further £3 million. Although Mittal has been living abroad for many years, he claims he will remain an Indian.

In March 2007, Mittal was reported to be the 5th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes Magazine (up from 61st richest in 2004). The Mittal family owns 44% of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company. His residence at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens was bought from Formula One car racing boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for £57.1 million ($105.7 million), the world's highest price ever paid for a house. Formerly, this house was the residence of Paul Reuter, the founder of the Reuters news service.

Mittal has two children. His son, Aditya Mittal, is the CFO of Arcelor Mittal. Mittal paid over £30 million to host his daughter Vanisha's wedding celebration in Vaux le Vicomte on 22 June 2004 and an engagement ceremony at the Palace of Versailles on 20 June 2004, the world's most expensive wedding ever. He even hosted a Bollywood night where superstars like Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai performed. Kylie Minogue also sang on stage.

Mittal's house in Kensington, London is decorated with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal. The extravagant show of wealth has been deemed the "Taj Mittal."

Recently, Mittal has emerged as a leading contender to buy Barclays Premiership clubs Wigan and Everton, but has so far refused to comment.

As of 8th October 2007, the 44.79% stake which the Mittal family have in Arcelor-Mittal was worth $47.159 billion dollars, down from $48.4 billion in late September. This makes him the world's 5th wealthiest man after Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Carlos Slim and Ingvar Kamprad. As of 11th October 2007, his stake was worth $50.56 billion dollars, making him the fifth person in the world to have more than $50 b wealth.

After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with U$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential.

For Comic Relief 2007, he matched the money raised (~£1 million) on the celebrity special BBC programme, The Apprentice.

Learning to Dance in the Rain

2009-08-06T21:45:00.001-07:00

An excerpt from

Learning to Dance in the Rain

by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher

The date was July 16, 2008. It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting in my hotel room in Louisville, Kentucky. I was scheduled to speak that evening for the Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA). I was a little "down in the dumps." I hadn't gotten to exercise lately because of my traveling schedule and recently I'd experienced some mild bouts of vertigo (that inner ear condition that can cause the room to start spinning.) You got it...speaking and "spinning" are not good partners!

My keynote presentation was scheduled for 7:00 PM, but I had been invited to show up at 6:00 to see a performance they said I'd enjoy. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.

They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.

He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!

About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story." And the lights went dim.

Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."

Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."

But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."

When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!

My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."

I returned to Chicago and shared Patrick's story with my wife, my friends, and our team at Simple Truths. About two weeks later, I received a letter from a friend. He said, "Mac, I don't know who said it, but I think you'll love this quote."

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"

I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?

It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, thus, your life, forever. Sarah Breathnack said it best...

"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."

Be a Believer to be an Achiever

2009-08-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular biology students, about to pass out the final exam. 'I have been privileged to be your instructor this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or grad school next fall,' he said to them.

'I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs up, and because I know you are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic 'B' to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.'

The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and departed from class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, 'Any other takers? This is your last opportunity.' One more student decided to go.

Seven students remained. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam. There were two sentences typed on the paper:

'Congratulations, you have just received an 'A' in this class. Keep believing in yourself.'

I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading a bunch of exams, but it's a test that any teacher in any discipline could and should give. Students who don't have confidence in what they've learned are 'B' students at best.

The same is true for students of real life. The 'A' students are those who believe in what they're doing because they've learned from both successes and failures. They've absorbed life's lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.

Those are the people who you look for when you're hiring or promoting, and the ones you keep if you're downsizing. Your organisation needs their brand of thinking.

Psychologists say that by the age of two, 50 percent of what we ever believe about ourselves has been formed; by age six, 60 percent, and at eight years, 80 percent. Wouldn't you love to have the energy and optimism of a little kid? There is nothing you couldn't do or learn or be.

But you're a big kid now, and you realise you have some limits. Don't let the biggest limit be yourself. Take your cue from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest: 'It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.'

Believing in yourself comes from knowing what you are really capable of doing. When it's your turn to step up to the plate, realise that you won't hit a homerun every time. Baseball superstar Mickey Mantle struck out more than 1,700 times, but it didn't stop him from excelling at baseball. He believed in himself, and he knew his fans believed in him.

Surround yourself with positive people - they know the importance of confidence and will help you keep focused on what you can do instead of what you can't. Who you surround yourself with is who you become.

Never stop learning! I would work this advice into every column if I could; it's that important. Don't limit yourself only to work-related classes, either. Learn everything about every subject that you can. When you know what you're talking about, it shows.

Be very careful not to confuse confidence with a big ego. If you want people to believe in you, you also have to believe in them. Understand well that those around you also have much to contribute, and they deserve your support. Without faith in yourself and others, success is impossible.

At the end of a particularly frustrating practice one-day, a football coach dismissed his players by yelling, 'Now all you idiots, go take a shower!' All but one player headed toward the locker room. The coach glared at him and asked why he was still there.

'You told all the idiots to go, Sir,' the player replied, 'and there sure seems to be a lot of them. But I am not an idiot.'

Confident? You bet. And smart enough to coach that team some day.

Moral: Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.

Written by Harvey Mackay

Author of the New York Times bestsellers

'Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive' and 'Pushing The Envelope.'

The Perfect Heart

2009-08-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Perfect Heart ....

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it.

Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said,

"Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges.

In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared -- how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me.

These are the empty gouges -- giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out.

He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit,

But not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.

Footprints

2009-08-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of Footprints in the sand: one belonging To him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, He looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very Lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he Questioned the Lord about it:

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow You, you'd walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most Troublesome times in my life, There is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied:

"My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering, When you see only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."