Oct

12

Suffering

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Grief and Sorrow

I got this story of Vernon Howard in an e-mail and thought I better share it …

A king once ruled over a nation of unhappy people. Wanting to help his subjects, the king asked a wise man, “Is there a way to relieve my people of their sorrows?”

“Yes, there is,” replied the wise man. “As you know, just outside of town there is a height known as the Mountain of Truth. Ask everyone to leave their troubles at the base of the mountain. That is all they need do.”

The King issued a joyous proclamation. Everyone was invited to bring his problems to the Mountain of Truth at once. Every kind of difficulty could be left there, including Sorrow, Conflict, Fear, Tension, Worry and Hostility.

At the end of twenty-four hours, the king was stunned. Out of his thousands of subjects, only ten had left their miseries at the mountain.

“This is incredible,” he told the wise man. “I don’t understand. Everyone assured me he wanted to get rid of unhappiness.”

The wise man nodded. “I knew this would happen, but also knew you would never believe me until you saw for yourself. You see, most people secretly love their suffering. Conflict and hostility provide excitement, a false feeling of life. Our first task is to show them the difference between artificial life and true life.”

Aug

1

Whispers

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“The man whispered, ‘God, speak to me’
And a meadow lark sang.
The man did not hear.

So the man yelled, ‘God, speak to me!’
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said,
‘God let me see you’ and a star shone brightly
But the man did not notice.

And the man shouted,
‘God show me a miracle!’
And a life was born but the man did not know.

So the man cried out in despair,
‘Touch me God, and let me know you are here!’
Whereupon God reached down
And touched the man.

But the man brushed the butterfly away
And walked away unknowingly.”

Author Unknown

May

17

Fast School Kids

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School bus animationHere’s a great example showing that school kids can be fast with lots of wits:

Teacher: Why are you late?
Webster: Because of the sign.
Teacher: What sign
Webster: The one that says, “School Ahead, Go Slow.”
- -
Teacher: Cindy, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
Cindy: You told me to do it without using tables!
- -
Teacher: Jo, how do you spell “crocodile?”
John: K-R-O-K-O-D-A-I-L”
Teacher: No, that’s wrong
John: Maybe it’s wrong, but you asked me how I spell it!
- -
Teacher: What is the chemical formula for water?
Sarah: H I J K L M N O!!
Teacher: What are you talking about?
Sarah: Yesterday you said it’s H to O!
- -
Teacher: George, go to the map and find North America.
George: Here it is!
Teacher: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
Class: George!
- -
Teacher: Willie, name one important thing we have today that we didn’t have ten years ago.
Willie: Me!
- -
Teacher: Tommy, why do you always get so dirty?
Tommy: Well, I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are.
- -
Teacher: Ellen, give me a sentence starting with “I.”
Ellen: I is…
Teacher: No, Ellen….. Always say, “I am.”
Ellen: All right… “I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.”
- -
Teacher: “Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?”
Johnny: “Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day, same time.”
- -
Teacher: “George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now do you know why his father didn’t punish him?”
Johnny: “Because George still had the ax in his hand.”
- -
Teacher: Now, ! Sam, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
Sam: No sir, I don’t have to, my Mom is a good cook.
- -
Teacher: Desmond, your composition on “My Dog” is exactly the same as brother’s. Did you copy his?
Desmond: No, teacher, it’s the same dog!
- -
Teacher: What do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
Pupil: A teacher.

Feb

20

Little Girls

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Robert Heinlein had his character Lazarus Long make the following remark:

“What a wonderful world it is that has girls in it! “

This comes to mind when I watch this video.


Video: Amazing girl dancing really well

 

 

Feb

19

A Baby’s Hug

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Here is another piece that I had collected in my ‘nice stuff’-folder, which now has to come out of hiding on my hard drive and out into the blog-sphere:

A Baby’s Hug

kid_1.jpgWe were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat baby Carl in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Carl squealed with glee and said, “Hi”. He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray.

His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of worn out shoes.

His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.

We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled.

His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. “Hi there, baby: Hi there, Big boy. I see ya buster,” the man said to Carl.

My husband and I exchanged looks, “What do we do?” Carl continued to laugh and answer back, “Hi”.

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, “Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo!”

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed.

We ate in silence: all except for Carl, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door.

My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. “Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Carl,” I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing.

As I did, Carl leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby’s “pick me up” position. Before I could stop him, Carl had propelled himself from my arms to the man’s.

Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Carl in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder.

The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back.

No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.

I stood awestruck.

The old man rocked and cradled Carl in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely in mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, “You take care of this baby.” Somehow I managed, “I will,” from a throat that contained a stone.

He pried Carl from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were in pain.

I received my baby, and the man said, “God bless you, ma’am, you’ve given me my Christmas gift.”

“I said nothing more than a muttered, “Thanks.”

With Carl in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Carl so tightly, and why I was saying, “My God, my God, forgive me.”

I had just witnessed Christ’s love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, “Are you willing to share your son for a moment?” when He shared His for all eternity.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, “To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.”

(Author unknown)

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