Source Unknown

Expressing Gratitude 

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like
wrapping a present and not giving it."1

"Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden
hair; I envied her--she seemed so happy, and how I
wished I were so fair; When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one foot and
wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile. Oh God,
forgive me when I whine, I have two feet--the world is
mine. 

"And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who
served me had such charm; he seemed to radiate good
cheer. His manner was so kind and warm; I said, 'It's
nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find.' He
turned and said, 'Oh, thank you, sir.' And then I saw
that he was blind. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine; I
have two eyes--the world is mine.

"Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with
eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play; it
seemed he knew not what to do. I stopped a moment, then
I said, 'Why don't you join the others, dear?' He
looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could
not hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine; I have two
ears--the world is mine.

"With feet to take me where I'd go; with eyes to see
the sunsets glow; with ears to hear what I would know;
I am blessed indeed. The world is mine; oh, God,
forgive me when I whine."2

Dear God, Above all else beside please give to me a
thankful heart and may I always have an attitude of
gratitude.

See also, "The Joy of Being Thankful" Click on:
http://www.actsweb.org/articles/article.php?i=207&d=1&c=6&p=1


1. Source Unknown

How Great is our God

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.

For example:
The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days. 
Those of the canary in 14 days. 
Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days. 
The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days.
Those of the mallard in 35 days. 
The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42
days. (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the
number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant: The
four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the
same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God
planned that this animal would have a huge body--too
large to live on two legs. For this reason, He gave it
four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground
easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs
first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind
legs first.

How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!
God's wisdom and perfect order is revealed in His
arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the
number of grains.

Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on 
the rind. 
Each orange has an even number of segments. 
Each ear of corn has an even number of rows. 
Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains. 
Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even
number of bananas, and each row decreases by one,
so that one row has an even number and the next
row an odd number. 
The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the
minute in all kinds of weather. 
All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and
the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a 
hundred fold all even numbers. 
God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain
specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the
great botanist, once said that if he had a 
conservatory containing the right kind of soil,
moisture and temperature, he could tell the time
of day or night by the flowers that were open and
those that were closed!

The life of each one of us may be ordered by the Lord
in a beautiful way for His glory, if we will entrust it
to Him. Only the One Who made the brain and the heart
can successfully guide them to a meaningful end.

  -- Source Unknown

Seven Things God Won't Ask You when You See Him Face to
Face

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask
how many people you drove who didn't have
transportation.

2. God won't ask the square footage of your house,
He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3. God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll
ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

4. God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if
you performed your job to the best of your ability.

5. God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask
how many people to whom you were a friend.

6. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll
ask how you treated your neighbors.

7. God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll
ask about the content of your character.

Source: Unknown

Love in the Home

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything
in its place, but have not love, I am a
housekeeper--not a homemaker. If I have time for
waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but
have not love, my children learn cleanliness--not
godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly
cleaned window.
Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the 
spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials.
Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.
Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, 
runs with the child, then stands aside to let the 
youth walk into adulthood.

Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a
child's heart. Before I became a mother(,) I took glory
in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's
perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I
must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.

  -- Author: Unknown. Cited on Sherry's Inspirational
    list. www.inspirational.injesus.com 


 A Thankful Heart

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the
alarm rings. "Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There
are many who are deaf."

Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning
light as long as possible. "Thank you, Lord, that I can
see. Many are blind." 

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising.
"Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise.
There are many who are bedridden." 

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when
socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and
my children are so loud. "Thank you, Lord, for my
family. There are many who are lonely."

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the
picture in magazines and the menu is at times
unbalanced. "Thank you, Lord, for the food we have.
There are many who are hungry." 

Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous.
"Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There
are many who have no job."

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to
day and wish my circumstances were not so modest.
"Thank you, Lord, for life." 

  -- Author Unknown

Everything I Needed to Know

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark.

ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat! 
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built 
  the Ark. 
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may
  ask you to do something really big. 
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job
  that needs to be done. 
SIX: Build your future on high ground. 
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were
  on board with the cheetahs. 
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile. 
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the
  Titanic by professionals. 
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God,
there's always a rainbow waiting.

The Moral of the Porcupine
Fable of the Porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died
because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to
group together to keep warm. This way they covered and
protected themselves; but the quills of each one
wounded their closest companions.

After a while, they decided to distance themselves one
from the other(,) and they began to die, alone and
frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the
quills of their companions or disappear from the earth.


Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They
learned to live with the little wounds caused by the
close relationship with their companions in order to
receive the heat that came from the others. This way
they were able to survive.

The best relationships are not the ones that bring
together perfect people, but when each individual
learns to live with the imperfections of others, and
can admire the other person's good qualities.

-- Source Unknown