I ASKED GOD TO TAKE AWAY MY PAIN.

I ASKED GOD TO TAKE AWAY MY PAIN.

GOD SAID, NO.
IT IS NOT FOR ME TO TAKE AWAY, BUT FOR YOU TO GIVE IT UP.

I ASKED GOD TO MAKE MY HANDICAPPED CHILD WHOLE.

GOD SAID, NO.
HER SPIRIT WAS WHOLE, HER BODY WAS ONLY TEMPORARY.

I ASKED GOD TO GRANT ME PATIENCE.

GOD SAID, NO.
PATIENCE IS A BY PRODUCT OF TRIBULATIONS; IT ISN'T GRANTED, IT IS LEARNED.

I ASKED GOD TO GIVE ME HAPPINESS.

GOD SAID, NO.
I GIVE YOU BLESSINGS. HAPPINESS IS UP TO YOU.

I ASKED GOD TO SPARE ME PAIN.

GOD SAID, NO.
SUFFERING DRAWS YOU APART FROM WORLDLY CARES AND BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO ME.

I ASKED GOD TO MAKE MY SPIRIT GROW.

GOD SAID, NO.
YOU MUST GROW ON YOUR OWN, BUT I WILL PRUNE YOU TO MAKE YOU FRUITFUL.

I ASKED FOR ALL THINGS THAT I MIGHT ENJOY LIFE.

GOD SAID, NO.
I WILL GIVE YOU LIFE SO THAT YOU MAY ENJOY ALL THINGS.

"TO THE WORLD YOU MIGHT BE ONE PERSON, BUT TO ONE PERSON YOU JUST MIGHT BE THE WORLD"

THE BRICK

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!

He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting,

"What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic.

"Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do,"

He pleaded.

"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

"It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive,

"Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring.

He sends you a sunrise every morning.

Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way

Read this line very slowly and let it sink in...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Contemplate

Contemplate the workings of this world, listen to the words of the wise, and take all that is good as your own. With this as your base, open your own door to truth. Do not overlook the truth that is right before you. Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything - even mountains, rivers, plants and trees - should be your teacher.

Perceptions

What if your limitations were all an illusion? What if you were being held back, not by your circumstances, but by your mind? Though it is easy to recognize the perceptual bias of another, your own perceptions are more difficult to distinguish from reality.

In many ways the world you see is of your own making. Consider what that could mean. The obstacles you perceive may not really be there if you could get your mind beyond them. The limitations against which you struggle could be gone the instant you change your viewpoint.

What may appear to be cold, hard, immutable reality could melt away and be transformed by the power of your own perceptions. Though it is foolish to ignore reality, it is tragic to be frozen by it.

What if you could change the world and didn't know it? What if you suddenly figured it out? Look beyond the obvious. Look beyond your assumptions. Step outside the window of your perceptions and marvel at the vastness of possibility.

-- Ralph Marston

In order to .................................

In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of 

the shore for a very long time.

- Anonymous

Everything that happens in this world

Relax even now

You can relax right now. Relaxation does not have to wait until the weekend or vacation time. For the most part, life is not an emergency, though too many of us live each hour of each day as if it is. Whatever you are doing, whatever deadlines you are working against, relax.

Frenzy and anxiety accomplish nothing other than raising your blood pressure and making you more prone to mistakes. Sure, you have a lot to get done today, and the list continues to grow. So take a deep breath, relax, and get to work at a sure and steady pace.

Relaxation does not require a lack of activity. Just about anything that can be done in a state of anxiety can be done even more effectively in a state of relaxation. Being frantic will not get anything accomplished. Being focused will. Decide to relax and it will happen. Whatever you're doing, relax right now, and find true enjoyment in getting it done.