Mouse Trap Story

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain? The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning : There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me." "I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said, I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. "Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

REMEMBER ---- EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON

Taken from "Mouse Trap Story" by Adil

Twenty Dollars

Sometimes we just need to be reminded!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill.
In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.
He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.
"Now, who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.
Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.

You are special - Don't EVER forget it."

Count your blessings, not your problems. "And remember: amateurs built the ark ..professionals built the Titanic.

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

For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer, expect setbacks, but refuse retreat." R. Eastman
"Salvation: Nothing to earn much to Learn." Adrian Rogers
Do your best, bring out the best in others,
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
Tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Taken from "Twenty Dollars" by Keith Overturf

Who’s Smarter

A woman and a man are involved in a car accident; it’s a bad one. Both of their cars are totally demolished but amazingly neither of them are hurt.

After they crawl out of their cars, the woman says, “Wow, just look at our cars! There’s nothing left, but fortunately we are unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days.”

The man replied, “I agree with you completely. This must be a sign from God!”

The woman continued, “And look at this, here’s another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of wine didn’t break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune.”

Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, drinks half the bottle, and extends it back to the woman.

Politely, the woman refuses to accept the bottle.

The man asks, “Aren’t you having any?”

The woman replies, “No. I think I’ll just wait for the police…”

Taken from "Who’s Smarter"

Who Was First?

One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve called out to God…”Lord, I have a problem!”

“What’s the problem, Eve?”

“Lord, I know you’ve created me and have provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, and that hilarious comedic snake, but I’m just not happy.”

“Why is that, Eve?” came the reply from above.

“Lord, I am lonely. And I’m sick to death of apples.”

“Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you.”

“What’s a ‘man’, Lord?”

“This man will be a flawed creature, with aggressive tendencies, an enormous ego and an inability to empathize or listen to you properly. All in all, he’ll give you a hard time. But, he’ll be bigger, faster and more muscular than you. He’ll also need your advice to think properly. He’ll be really good at fighting and kicking a ball about, hunting fleet-footed ruminants, and not altogether bad in the sack.”

“Sounds great,” says Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow. “What’s the catch, Lord?”

“Yeah, well…. you can have him on one condition.”

“What’s that, Lord?”

“You’ll have to let him believe that I made him first.”

Taken from "Who Was First?"

Proof Girls Are Evil

Some really smart mathematician dedicated his life to writing this equation. Finally proof that girls are, in fact, evil.

Taken from "Proof Girls Are Evil"

Three Men And A River

Three men were hiking through a forest when they came upon a large raging, violent river.

Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed: “God, please give me the strength to cross the river” Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was able to swim across in about 2 hours, having almost drowned twice.

After witnessing that, the second man prayed: “God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river” Poof! God gave him a rowboat and strong arms and strong legs and he was able to row across in about an hour after almost capsizing once.

Seeing what happened to the first two men, the third man prayed: “God, please give me the strength, the tools and the intelligence to cross the river” Poof! He was turned into a woman. She checked the map, hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across the bridge.

Taken from "Three Men And A River"

Pleasing A Women

A new, special kind of store just opened up in a Manhatten shopping center. This store sells husbands, yes that’s right – women can browse men from floors of choices.

Actually, there are 6 floors of men, and with an increase in the floor level bringing an positive attributes… a nifty setup – with a catch. As you open the door to any floor, you may choose a man from that floor but if you go up, you cannot go back down except to exit the building. Interesting, right?

So a young woman goes to the shopping center to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 – These men have jobs. The woman reads the sign and says to herself, “Well, that’s better than my last boyfriend, but I wonder what’s further up?” So up she goes.

The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 – These men have jobs and love kids. The woman remarks to herself, “That’s great, but I wonder what’s further up?” And up she goes again.

The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 – These men have jobs, love kids and are extremely good looking. “Hmmm, better” she says. “But I wonder what’s upstairs?”

The fourth floor sign reads: Floor 4 – These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking and help with the housework. “Wow!” exclaims the woman, “very tempting. BUT, there must be more further up!” And again she heads up another flight.

The fifth floor sign reads: Floor 5 – These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak. “Oh, mercy me! But just think… what must be awaiting me further on?” So up to the sixth floor she goes.

The sixth floor sign reads: Floor 6 – You are visitor 7,548,652 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor only exists as proof that women are impossible to please.

Taken from "Pleasing A Women"

And God Said “Let There Be Bridge”

A biker was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, “Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.” The biker pulled over and said, “Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want.”

The Lord said, “Your request is materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for Me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind.”

The biker thought about it for a long time Finally he said, “Lord, I wish that I and all men could understand our wives. I want to know how she feels inside, what she’s thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing’s wrong, and how I can make a woman truly happy.”

The Lord replied, “You want two lanes or four on that bridge?.”

Taken from 'And God Said “Let There Be Bridge”'

A Cuckoo Of A Night Out

The other night I was invited out for a night with the ‘girls.’ I told my husband that I would be home by midnight, ‘I promise!’

Well, the hours passed and the margaritas went down way too easily. Around 3 a.m., a bit loaded, I headed for home. Just as I got in the door, the cuckoo clock in the hallway started up and cuckooed 3 times. Quickly, realizing my husband would probably wake up, I cuckooed another 9 times.

I was really proud of myself for coming up with such a quick-witted solution, in order to escape a possible conflict with him. (Even when totally smashed… 3 cuckoos plus 9 cuckoos totals = 12 cuckoos MIDNIGHT!)

The next morning my husband asked me what time I got in, I told him ‘MIDNIGHT’… he didn’t seem p***d off in the least………. Whew, I got away with that one!

Then he said ‘We need a new cuckoo clock.’ When I asked him why, he said, ‘Well, last night our clock cuckooed three times then said ‘oh sh*t.’ Cuckooed 4 more times, cleared its throat, cuckooed another three times, giggled, cuckooed twice more, and then tripped over the coffee table and farted.

Taken from "A Cuckoo Of A Night Out"

10 Commandments of Marriage

Commandment 1

Marriages are made in heaven. But so are thunder and lightning.


***********


Commandment 2

If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say; talk in your sleep.


***********


Commandment 3

Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!


***********


Commandment 4

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.

In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.

In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen.


***********


Commandment 5

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.


***********


Commandment 6

Marriage is when a man and woman become as one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.


***********


Commandment 7

Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.


***********


Commandment 8

Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook.

But the law allows only one wife.


***********


Commandment 9

Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why wives treat husbands like toxic waste.


***********


Commandment 10

A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.


***********


Bonus Commandment ( Story )

A long married couple came upon a wishing well. The husband leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny.

The wife decided to make a wish too. But she leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned.


The husband was stunned for a moment but then smiled,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

"It really works!"

SMILE, IT'S TAX FREE!

Taken from "10 Commandments of Marriage" by Adil.

Oh, Those Darn Lawyers

Two lawyers, Jon and Amanpreet, head out for their usual 9 holes of golf. Jon offers Amanpreet a $50 bet. Amanpreet agrees and they're off. They shoot a great game. After the 8th hole, Amanpreet is ahead by one stroke, but cuts his ball into the rough on the 9th.

"Help me find my ball. Look over there," he says to Jon. After a few minutes, neither has any luck. Since a lost ball carries a four point penalty, Amanpreet secretly pulls a ball from his pocket and tosses it to the ground. "I've found my ball!" he announces.

"After all of the years we've been partners and playing together," Jon says, "you'd cheat me out of a lousy 50 bucks?"

"What do you mean, cheat? I found my ball sitting right there!"

"And you're a liar, too!" Jon says. "I'll have you know I've been STANDING on your ball for the last five minutes!"

Taken from "Oh, Those Darn Lawyers" by Adil.

Movies and Staying Connected in Marriage, Marriage Message 28

By Cindy and Steve Wright

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" (Philippians 1:19). And that is our hope for you -- that you'll continually explore new ways to increase your love connection with each other in your marriage in "knowledge and depth of insight" otherwise, you're in danger of drifting apart in your relationship.

"It's possible to be married to someone for 35 years and still not know them because you never take the time to explore the deepest recesses of their heart" (Dr David Jeremiah). Being married and living in the same house doesn't equal knowing each other deeply. You'd think it would, but life has a way of shoving us apart unless we make the intentional effort to stay connected.

Before marriage, we spent quality time with our spouse which helped us to fall in love with them in the first place. So why not keep doing what it takes to CONTINUE in your love with each other? If you don't continually do what it takes to connect with each other in meaningful ways, your relationship is in danger of becoming stagnant. And we don't mean just going somewhere together sometimes but never really talking WITH each other. Too often married couples fall into the bad habit of talking AT each other rather than WITH each other. And that's cause for trouble!

Recently, we've given you a variety of suggestions in the Marriage Messages for how to stay connected in marriage. We've given you the top ten reasons for "Dating Your Spouse", the "22 Minute Date Idea", the "10 Second Kiss Idea" (which you can find in Marriage Message #26), "Marriage Maintenance Measures" as well as other ideas. And you can find even more ideas at www.marriagemissions.com in the "Romantic Ideas" section. Plus, we have articles posted on the web site for those of you who are geographically away from your spouse.

But we'd like to give you another idea to help you connect, and that is by watching movies together and discussing different aspects of the movies. Make it a fun and informative time as well -- getting to know more about each other through this avenue of connecting. We've found a number of tools that could help you in this.

Recently, we mentioned that the movie "Fireproof" has a wonderful pro-marriage message. It's now out on DVD. There is also a book that goes along with the movie called "The Love Dare" that we believe can help your marriage. Plus, we have "Fireproof Discussion Pages" posted on our web site to use as a tool to help you connect. Even if you never see the movie (which we hope you can and will), the Discussion Pages has content that could help your marriage.

There is also a "Movie Discussion Guide" (from Smartmarriages.com) for the movie "The Story of Us" starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer. The guide provides excellent discussion questions designed to give couples deeper insights into
their relationship. We must warn you though, that although the movie is very pro-marriage in its content, it has quite a bit of profanity in it. We found it difficult to get past the profanity, but we're glad we did because the message of the movie and the helpfulness of the discussion guide is truly something that could help couples. Again, you will benefit the most if you see the movie, but the Discussion Guide itself makes some great points.

We have a link to the discussion guide (that you can download for your use)posted on our web site in this Marriage Message. (If you don't have access to the internet to find and then download the guide, perhaps you can find a friend who can do it for you.)

And for those of you in the U.S. and Canada and other parts of the world that can view American Movies, you could find the following web sites helpful in guiding you so you know more about the contents of the movies you could watch to know if you want to view them on your date nights):

www.pluggedinonline.com -- Their mission as a Focus on the Family publication is to equip adults, parents, youth leaders, and ministers with essential tools that will enable them to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live.

www.christianitytoday.com/movies -- This award-winning website is devoted to film reviews, interviews and commentary, written from a biblical perspective. Their mission is to "inform and equip Christian moviegoers to make discerning choices about films through insightful reviews and interviews, educated opinion,and relevant news -- all from a biblical world-view."

www.movieguide.org -- This is a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles, by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices.

www.crosswalk.com/movies -- while this web site is not primarily dedicated to movie reviews, they are a great resource on many levels (and this part of their web site deals with movies). They are a religious corporation dedicated to bring glory to God by building up the Church.

www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/home.html -- The primary goal of this web site is to provide accurate, biblical answers on a wide variety of questions asked by Christians and non-Christians. This part of their web site deals with movies and DVD's.

http://christianity.about.com/od/christianmovies/Christian_Movies_and_Christian_MovieReviews.htm -- This is a Christian movie resource page with Christian movie reviews, interviews with Christian actors, favorite Christian movies and top Christian movie picks and more.

These web sites can help you be selective in what you view. But always keep in mind what the Bible warns: "I will set before my eyes no vile thing" (Psalm 101:3). 1 Corinthians 6 tells us to "Flee from s-xual immorality." Plus, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustful-ly has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). In other words... stay true to each other and abstain from viewing that which brings another person visually or physically into your relationship. Connect with your spouse and not with anyone else!

We hope you will find this helpful in drawing you closer together as husband and wife.

God Bless!

For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat. R. Eastman
Do your best, bring out the best in others,
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Taken from "Movies and Staying Connected in Marriage, Marriage Message 28"

Doctor's Medical Certificate

I Certified that Mr. /Miss ____________ ____ _ , working in your organization, is suffering from 'time-bound' illness.

Due to this, he/she will NOT be able to work more than 8 hours a day and 5 days a week.

Any attempt to stretch beyond this timing will lead to severe health problems.

The losses to the company due to medical reimbursements will be far more compared to the gains made by stretching beyond 8 hours.

It is also warned to keep my patient away from any kind of shocking news such as " Come over weekend..", " Let's work on holiday..", " Leave cannot be granted. ." etc.

Which can directly lead to heart strokes.

In view of the above, it is strongly recommended to adjust your deadlines in accordance with the convenience of my patient.

Sd/- Dr. Impatient

Taken from "Doctor's Medical Certificate" by Adil

How Guys Select the Girl

How guys select the girl they want to marry?

A man is dating three women and wants to decide which to marry.

He decides to give them a test. He gives each woman a present of $5,000 and watches to see what they do with the money.

The first does a total makeover. She goes to a fancy beauty salon, gets her hair done, purchases new make-up and buys several new outfits, and dresses up very nicely for the man.

She tells him that she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much.

The man is impressed.

The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts.

She gets him a new set of STRONG golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes.As she presents these gifts, she tells him that she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much.

Again, the man is impressed.

The third invests the money in the stock market.

She earns several times the $5,000. She gives him back his $5000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account.

She tells him that she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much.

Obviously, the man was impressed.

The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money.

Guess which lady he chose to marry?

Think like a man . . .

(scroll down for the answer)


*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

He married the most beautiful one!!!!!!


Men are Men.... Obviously!!! :)

Taken from "How Guys Select the Girl" from Adil

Wife from Hell

A police officer pulls over a speeding car. The officer says, I clocked you at 80 miles per hour, sir.”The driver says, “Gee, officer I had it on cruise control at 60, perhaps your radar gun needs calibrating.”

Not looking up from her knitting the wife says: “Now don’t be silly dear, you know that this car doesn’t have cruise control.”As the officer writes out the ticket, the driver looks over at his wife and growls, “Can’t you please keep your mouth shut for once?”

The wife smiles demurely and says, “You should be thankful your radar detector went off when it did.”As the officer makes out the second ticket for the illegal radar detector unit, the man glowers at his wife and says through clenched teeth, “Darn it, woman, can’t you keep your mouth shut?”

The officer frowns and says, “And I notice that you’re not wearing your seat belt, sir. That’s an automatic $75 fine.”The driver says, “Yeah, well, you see officer, I had it on, but took it off when you pulled me over so that I could get my license out of my back pocket.”

The wife says, “Now, dear, you know very well that you didn’t have your seat belt on. You never wear your seat belt when you’re driving.”

And as the police officer is writing out the third ticket the driver turns to his wife and barks, “WHY DON’T YOU PLEASE SHUT UP??”

The officer looks over at the woman and asks, “Does your husband always talk to you this way, Ma’am?”

U'll love this part....

'Only when he's been drinking.'

Taken from "Wife from Hell" by Adil

Trust

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go,
Only 1 of 2 things will happen,
Either he'll catch you when you fall,
Or he'll teach you how to fly!

The power of one sentence! God is going to shift things around for you today
and let things work in your favor.

God closes doors no man can open &
God opens doors no man can close. . .

Have a blessed day and remember to be a blessing.

Taken from "Trust" by Sandi KML

Black and White

In life, a lesson learned in your past that you will never forget completely.When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson learned that day.

I was convinced that "I" was right and "he" was wrong - and he was just as convinced that "I" was wrong and "he" was right.

The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson learned that day: You must stand in the other person's shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective.

Taken from "Black & White" by Adil.

Generous Lawyer

A local United Way office realized that the organization had never received a donation from the town's most successful lawyer. The person in charge of contributions called him to persuade him to contribute.

"Our research shows that out of a yearly income of at least $500,000, you give not a penny to charity. Wouldn't you like to give back to the community in some way?"

The lawyer mulled this over for a moment and replied, "First, did your research also show that my mother is dying after a long illness, and has medical bills that are several times her annual income?"

Embarrassed, the United Way rep mumbled, "Um ... No."

The lawyer interrupts, "or that my brother, a disabled veteran, is blind and confined to a wheelchair?"

The stricken United Way rep began to stammer out an apology, but was interrupted again.

"Or that my sister's husband died in a traffic accident," the lawyer's voice rising in indignation, "leaving her penniless with three children?!"

The humiliated United Way rep, completely beaten, said simply, "I had no idea..."

On a roll, the lawyer cut him off once again, "So if I don't give any money to them, why should I give any to you?"

Taken from "Generous Lawyer" by Adil.

19 Horses

One rich man owned 19 horses when he died. In his last will and teastament he had written that upon his death, half the horses he owned should go to his only son; one fourth to the village temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.

The village elders could not stop scratching their heads. How can they give half of the 19 horses to the son? You cannot cut up a horse. They puzzled over this dilemma for more than two weeks and then decided to send for a wise man who was living in a neighbouring village.

The wise man came riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of any help to them. The village elders told him about the rich man's last will and testament which stated that half of the (19) horses must be given to his only son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.

The wise man said he will immediately solve their problem without any delay whatsoever. He had the 19 horses placed in a row standing next to one another. Then he added his own horse as the 20 th horse. Now he went about giving half of the 20 horses – that is ten horses to the son. One fourth of 20- that is 5 horses were given to the temple committee. One fifth of twenty- that is 4 horses were given to the faithful servant. Ten plus five plus four made 19 horses. The remaining 20 th horse was his own which he promptly mounted, spoke a few inspiring words, and rode back home.

The villagers were simply dumfounded, full of disbelief and filled with admiration. And the parting words of the wise man were inscribed in their hearts and minds which they greatly cherished and passed on to their succeeding generations till today.

The wise man said: In our daily lives, in our daily affairs, simply add God's name and then go about facing the day's happenings. Ever come across problems in life that are seemingly insurmountable? (Like the villagers, do we feel that such problems cannot be solved?).

The wise man continued: Add the God Principle in our daily lives and the problems will become lighter and eventually will disappear. In the manner of the ice which, with the addition of the heat principle will turn into water, and that will eventually evaporate as steam and disappear. And how do we add God's name in our daily lives? Through prayers, filled with true love and devotion with sincerity of purpose and dedication that only total faith can bring about. Meditation is a powerful means of directing the mind Godward.

But without true love and devotion entering into it, it remains like a boat without water. It is not difficult to push a boat that is floating in water, but extremely hard to drag the same boat on dry land.

In the same way, if our life's boat floats on the waters of true love and devotion, we can sail easily in it. The principle of love of God and devotion with total faith, (like water) makes easy the voyage of our lives. When the mind is pure and the heart full of simplicity and holiness, such a devotee becomes an instrument in the service of the Lord.

Taken from "19 Horses" by Adil.

Two Angels

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.

The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... "Things aren't always what they seem".

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife.

After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.

Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

*********

Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.

Taken from "Two Angels" by Adil

Puisi Poligami

Istriku...
jika engkau bumi, akulah mentari
aku menyinari kamu, kamu mengharapkan aku

Ingatlah bahtera yang kita kayuh...
mentari menyinari bumi, ah silau...

tapi, aku ingat satu hal,
bahwa bukan hanya bumi yang disinari mentari.
jadi relakanlah aku menyinari planet lain
menebar sinarku, menyampaikan faedah adanya aku.
Karena itu sudah kodrati


jawabannya :

Suamiku......
Bila Kau memang mentari
Aku rela kau berikan sinarmu tuk planet lain
Karena mereka juga butuh sinarmu.
Dan aku pun tak kan pernah kekurangan cahayamu

Tapi bila kau hanya sebuah lilin
Janganlah bermimpi menyinari planet lain
Kamar kitapun belum sanggup kau terangi

Berkacalah pada cermin disudut sana
Di tengah remang-remang cahayamu
Lihatlah siapa dirimu, mentari atau lilin ???

Buat Yang Lagi Suntuk

Takkan lari Nunung dikejar
'si Nunung diikat di pohon'

Air susu dibalas dengan Air Mail
'tukang susu surat-suratan sama tukang pos'

Sambil menyelam buang air
'penyelam yang jorok'

Ma' lu bertanya, Ma' gue yang jawab
'emak lu dan emak gue main kuis piramida'

Wong ompong nyaring bunyinya
'artis Leila Sari'

Ke bukit sama mendaki, ke lurah bikin KTP
'kantor kelurahannya di atas bukit'

Nasir sudah menjadi tukang bubur
'si Nasir alih profesi, dulunya tukang siomay'

Ada ubi, ada talas, ada pisang rebus...
'tukang bajigur'

Tak ada gading yang tak retak
'Mal Kelapa Gading walaupun bagus, temboknya pasti ada yang retak'

Alon-alon asal kelakson
'naik sepeda mini'

Karena nila setitik rusak susu sebelahnya

Cepat kaki, ringan tangan
'atlet lari maraton'

Tak ada rotan Raam Punjabi
'judul sinetron baru di RCTI'

Maksud hati memeluk Nunung apa daya gaji tak sampai
'si Nunung matre'

We are Men :-)

The room was full of pregnant women and their partners.

The Lamaze class was in full swing.

The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, and informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.

"Ladies, exercise is good for you," announced the teacher. "Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn't hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner!"

The room was very quiet.

Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand. "Yes?" asked the instructor. "Is it all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?"

Taken from "We are Men" by Adil

After 50 Years

An older couple was lying in bed one night. The husband was falling a sleep, but the wife felt romantic and wanted to talk.

She said, "You use to hold my hand when we were courting."

Wearily he reached across, held her hand for a second, and tried to get back to sleep. A few moments later she said, "Then you used to kiss me."

Mildly irritated, he reached across, gave her a peck on the cheek and settled down to sleep.

Thirty seconds later she said. "Then you use to bite my neck.

"Angrily, he threw back the bed clothes and got out of bed.

"Where are you going ?" she asked.

"To get my teeth!"

Taken from "After 50 Years" by Adil

Bad Hearing

A old man told his doctor, "I don't think my wife's hearing is as good as it used to be. What should I do?"

The doctor replied, "Try this test first. When your wife is at the sink doing dishes, stand fifteen feet behind her and ask her a question. If she doesn't respond, keep moving closer, asking the question until she hears you."

He went home and saw his wife preparing dinner. Standing fifteen feet behind her he said, "What's for dinner, honey?" Hearing no reply, he moved up to ten feet behind her and repeated the question. Still no reply, so he moved to five feet. Finally he stood directly behind her and said, "Honey, what's for dinner tonight?"

She turned around and yelled in his face, "For the fourth time, I SAID CHICKEN, you deaf old fart!"

Taken from "Bad Hearing" by Adil

Rick Warren, the Author of Purpose Driven Life

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: "People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years i n eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort."

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in
Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that
it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your
life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into
self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or
notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist
the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I
want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Future Fireman

A guy meets a childhood pal.

"What are you doing for yourself these days?"

"I'm a fireman."

"Oh yeah? My 15-year-old kid wants to be a fireman."

"Well, if you want some good advice, you've got to install in your house a pole that will go to the basement so your kid can practice, 'cause the hardest thing for a fireman is to jump off into space and catch that pole in the middle of the night."

Ten years later, the two guys happen to meet again.

"Well, did your son become a fireman?"

"No, but I have two daughters who are "dancers."

Taken from "Future Fireman" by Adil

Bacaan bagi yang SEDANG MENCARI PASANGAN, TELAH MEMPEROLEH PASANGAN dan TELAH MENIKAH

Alkisah seorang raja yg kaya raya & sangat baik. Ia mempunyai banyak sekali emas & kuningan. Karena terlalu banyak sehingga antara emas & kuningan tercampur menjadi satu.

Suatu hari raja yg baik hati ini memberikan hadiah emas kepada seluruh rakyatnya. Dia membuka gudangnya lalu mempersilahkan rakyatnya mengambil kepingan emas terserah mereka. Karena antara emas & kuningan tercampur menjadi satu sehingga sulit sekali dibedakan mana yg emas & mana yg kuningan, lalu mana yg emasnya 24 karat & mana yg emasnya hanya 1 karat.

Namun karena ada peraturan dari Sang Raja, yaitu bila mereka sudah MEMILIH & MENGAMBIL SATU dari emas itu, mereka tidak boleh mengembalikannya lagi. Tetapi raja menjanjikan bagi mereka yg mendapat emas hanya 1 karat atau mereka yg mendapatkan kuningan, mereka dapat bekerja di kebun raja & merawat pemberian raja itu dengan baik, maka raja AKAN MENAMBAH & MEMBERIKAN KADAR KARAT itu sedikit demi sedikit.

Mendengar itu bersukacitalah rakyatnya, sambil mengelu-elukan rajanya. Mereka datang dari penjuru tempat dan satu persatu dari mereka dengan berhati-hati mengamat-amati benda-benda itu. Waktu yg diberikan kepada mereka semua ialah SATU SETENGAH HARI, dengan perhitungan SETENGAH HARI UTK MEMILIH, SETENGAH HARI UTK MERENUNGKAN & SETENGAH HARI LAGI UTK MEMUTUSKAN.

Para prajurit selalu siaga menjaga keamanan pemilihan emas tsb. Karena tidak jarang terjadi perebutan emas yg sama diantara mereka. Selama proses pemilihan berlangsung, seorang prajurit mencoba bertanya kpd salah seorang rakyatnya, 'Apa yg kau amat-amati, sehingga satu setengah hari kau habiskan waktumu di sini?'
Jawab orang itu: 'Tentu saja aku harus berhati-hati, aku harus mendapatkan emas 24 karat itu.'
Lalu tanya prajurit itu lagi: 'Seandainya emas 24 karat itu tidak pernah ada, atau hanya ada satu diantara setumpuk emas ini, apakah engkau masih saja mencarinya? Sedangkan waktumu sangat terbatas?'
Jawab orang itu lagi: 'Tentu saja tidak, aku akan mengambil emas terakhir yg ada ditanganku begitu waktuku habis.'

Lalu prajurit itu berkeliling & ia menjumpai seorang yg tampan, melihat perangainya ia adalah seorang kaya.
Bertanyalah prajurit itu kepadanya, 'Hai orang kaya apa yg kau cari di sini. Bukankah engkau sudah lebih dari cukup?'
Jawab orang kaya itu, 'Bagiku hidup adalah uang, kalau aku bisa mengambil emas ini tentu saja itu berarti menambah keuntunganku.'

Kemudian prajurit itu kembali mengawasi satu persatu dari mereka, maka tampak olehnya seseorang yg sejak satu hari ia selalu menggenggam kepingan emasnya. Lalu dihampirinya orang itu, 'Mengapa engkau diam di sini? Tidakkah engkau memilih emas-emas itu? Atau tekadmu sudah bulat untuk mengambil emas itu?'

Mendengar perkataan prajurit itu, orang ini hanya diam saja. Maka prajurit bertanya lagi,'Atau engkau yakin bahwa itulah emas 24 karat, sehingga engkau tidak lagi berusaha mencari yg lain?'
Orang itu masih terdiam, prajurit itu semakin penasaran. Lalu ia lebih mendekat lagi, 'Tidakkah engkau mendengar pertanyaanku?'

Sambil menatap prajurit, orang itu menjawab: 'Tuan,saya ini orang miskin. Saya tidak pernah tahu mana yg emas & mana yg kuningan. Tetapi HATI SAYA MEMILIH EMAS INI, saya pun tidak tahu berapa kadar emas ini. Atau jika ternyata emas ini hanya kuningan pun saya juga tidak tahu.'

'Lalu mengapa engkau tidak mencoba bertanya kepada mereka atau kepadaku kalau engkau tidak tahu.' Tanya prajurit itu lagi.
'Tuan, emas & kuningan ini milik raja. Jadi menurut saya hanya raja yg tahu mana yg emas & mana yg kuningan, mana yg 1 karat & mana yg 24 karat. Tetapi satu hal yg saya percaya, janji raja untuk mengubah kuningan menjadi emas, itu yg lebih penting.' Jawabnya lugu.

Prajurit ini semakin penasaran, 'Mengapa bisa begitu?'
'Bagi saya berapa pun kadar emas ini cukup buat saya. Karena kalau saya bekerja, saya membutuhkan waktu bertahun-tahun untuk membeli emas Tuan.'
Prajurit tampak tercengang mendengar jawaban dari orang ini, lalu ia melanjutkan perkataannya, 'Lagipula Tuan, peraturannya saya tidak boleh menukar emas yg sudah saya ambil.'

'Tidakkah engkau mengambil emas-emas yg lain & menukarnya sekarang selagi masih ada waktu?' Tanya prajurit lagi.
'Saya SUDAH MENGGUNAKAN WAKTU ITU, kini waktu setengah hari terakhir saya, inilah saatnya saya mengambil keputusan. Jika saya GANTIKAN EMAS INI DENGAN YANG LAIN, BELUM TENTU SAYA MENDAPAT YG LEBIH BAIK DARI PUNYA SAYA INI. Saya memutuskan untuk mengabdi pada raja & merawat milik saya ini, untuk menjadikannya emas yg murni.'

Tak lama lagi lonceng istana berbunyi, tanda berakhir sudah kegiatan mereka. Lalu raja keluar & berdiri ditempat yg tinggi sambil berkata,'Wahai rakyatku yg kukasihi. Semua emas yg kau genggam itu adalah hadiah yg telah kuberikan. Sesuai dengan perjanjian, tidak seorang pun diperbolehkan menukar atau pun menyia-nyiakan hadiah itu. Jika didapati hal di atas maka orang itu akan MENDAPAT HUKUMAN karena ia tidak menghargai raja.'

Kata-kata raja itu disambut hangat oleh rakyatnya.. Lalu sekali lagi di hadapan rakyatnya raja ingin memberitahu tentang satu hal, 'Dan ketahuilah, bahwa sebenarnya tidak ada emas 24 karat itu. Hal ini dimaksudkan bahwa kalian semua harus mengabdi kepada kerajaan.. Dan hanya akulah yg dapat menambah jumlah karat itu, karena akulah yg memilikinya. Selama satu setengah hari, setengah hari yg kedua yaitu saat kuberikan waktu kepada kalian semua untuk merenungkan pilihan, kalian kutunggu untuk datang kepadaku menanyakan perihal emas itu.. Tetapi sayang sekali, hanya 1 orang yg datang kepadaku untuk menanyakannya.'

Demikianlah raja yg baik hati & bijaksana itu mengajar rakyatnya. Dan selama bertahun-tahun ia dengan sabar menambah karat satu persatu dari emas rakyatnya.

(Dikutip dari: 'When We Have to Choice' / Kumpulan Sharing & Cerpen)

Berharap melalui alkisah di atas kita dapat merefleksi diri dalam mencari pasangan hidup:

BAGI YANG SEDANG MENCARI PASANGAN (setengah hari untuk memilih)
MEMILIH memang boleh, tapi MANUSIA TIDAK ADA YG SEMPURNA, jangan lupa emas-emas itu milik sang raja jadi hanya dia yang tahu menahu masalah itu. Artinya setiap manusia milik Tuhan, jadi berdoalah untuk berkomunikasi denganNYA tentang pasangan anda.

BAGI YANG TELAH MEMPEROLEH PASANGAN (setengah hari untuk merenungkan)
Mungkin pertama kali Anda mengenal, si dia nampak emas 24 karat. Ternyata setelah bertahun-tahun kenal, si dia hanya berkadar 10 karat. Diluar, memang KITA DIHADAPKAN DENGAN BANYAK PILIHAN, sama dengan rakyat yang memilih emas tadi. Akan tetapi pada saat KITA SUDAH MENDAPATKANNYA BELUM TENTU WAKTU KITA MELEPASKANNYA KITA MENDAPAT YG LEBIH BAIK. Jadi jika dalam tahap ini Anda merasa telah mendapatkan dia, hal yang terbaik dilakukan ialah menilai secara objective siapa dia (karena itu KETERBUKAAN & KOMUNIKASI sangat penting dalam menjalin hubungan) dan MENYELARASKAN HATI anda bersamanya.. Begitu Anda tahu tentang HAL TERJELEK dalam dirinya sebelum Anda menikah itu lebih baik. Dengan demikian Anda tidak merasa shock setelah menikah. Tinggal BAGAIMANA ANDA MENERIMANYA. Anda mampu menerimanya atau tidak, Anda mengusahakan perubahannya atau tidak.. 'CINTA SELALU BERJUANG' Jangan anggap tidak pernah ada masalah dalam jalan cinta Anda. Justru jika dalam tahap ini Anda tidak pernah mengalami masalah dengan pasangan Anda (TIDAK PERNAH BERTENGKAR MUNGKIN) Anda malah harus berhati-hati, karena ini adalah hubungan yg tidak sehat, berarti banyak kepura-puraan yang ditampilkan dalam hubungan Anda. Yg terpenting adalah NIAT BAIK DIANTARA PASANGAN, sehingga dengan KOMITMEN & CINTA, SEGALA SESUATU SELALU ADA JALAN KELUARNYA. Meskipun dalam tahap ini Anda masih punya waktu setengah hari lagi untuk memutuskan, artinya Anda masih dapat berganti pilihan, akan tetapi PERTIMBANGKAN DENGAN BAIK hal ini.

BAGI YANG TELAH MENIKAH (setengah hari untuk memutuskan)
Dalam tahap ini, siapa pun dia berarti Anda telah mengambil keputusan untuk memilihnya. Jangan berpikir untuk mengambil keuntungan dari pasangan Anda. Jika ini terjadi berarti Anda EGOIS, sama halnya dengan orang kaya di atas. Dan dengan demikian Anda TIDAK PERNAH PUAS DENGAN DIRI PASANGAN ANDA, maka tidak heran banyak terjadi perselingkuhan. Anda tidak boleh merasa menyesal dengan pilihan Anda sendiri. Jangan kuatir raja selalu memperhatikan rakyatnya dan menambah kadar karat pada emasnya. Jadi percayalah kalau Tuhan pasti akan memperhatikan Anda dan DIA YANG PALING BERKUASA MENGUBAH SETIAP ORANG. Perceraian bukanlah solusi, sampai kapan kita harus menikah lalu bercerai, menikah lagi & bercerai lagi?? Ingatlah si dia adalah HADIAH, siapa pun dia terimalah dia karena
sekali lagi itulah pilihan Anda. Ingat ini adalah setengah hari terakhir yaitu waktu untuk memutuskan, setelah itu Anda tidak boleh menukar atau menyia-nyiakan emas Anda. Jadi peliharalah pasangan Anda sebagaimana HADIAH TERINDAH YANG TELAH TUHAN BERIKAN. Dan apa pun yang terjadi dengan pasangan Anda komunikasikanlah dengan Tuhan, KARENA DIA YANG MEMILIKI HATI SETIAP MANUSIA....

"Life is a theater. Invite your audience carefully."

I came across this and it really made me think about all the people that I have allowed into my life and what influence they have had in my life, both good and bad. It made me realize that some people just don't need to be in my life if all they're going to have is a negative impact on my life. Life is too precious and short to surround yourself with negative people! Hope it touches you like it did me....

Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in our lives that need to be loved from a distance.

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize, your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships or friendships!

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention. Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don’t really understand, know or appreciate you?

The more you seek the love of God, quality, respect, growth, peace of mind and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

You cannot change the people around you....but you can change the people you are around! It Is Better To Be Alone, Than In The Wrong Company.

Thought of the day........

1 Corinthians 15:33 - Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Tell me who your best friends are, and I will tell you who you are. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. "A mirror reflects a man or woman's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he or she chooses." The simple but true fact of life is that we become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad.

The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this:
* Never receive counsel from unproductive people.
* Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. We are certain to get the worst of the bargain when we exchange ideas with the wrong person.

Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. We must be careful where we stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.

Happy moments? Praise God.

Difficult moments? Seek God.

Quiet moments? Worship God.

Painful moments? Trust God.

Every moment? Thank God.

If you see people without a smile today ... Give them one of yours.

God is STILL on the throne.


Taken from "Life is a theater. Invite your audience carefully." by Sandi KML (Bettie Boop Booper)

Let It Go

There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left.

The Bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19]

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.

Let them go.

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead.

You've got to know when it's dead.

You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay.

Let them go!!

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains . . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad attitude . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!!

Let the past be the past. Forget the former things.

GOD is doing a new thing for 2009!!!

LET IT GO!!!

Get Right or Get Left. Think about it, and then . . . . . . . .

LET IT GO!!! "

The Battle is the Lord's!"


Taken from "Let It Go" by T. D. Jakes Ministries

The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A Mouse who always lived on the land, by an unlucky chance, formed an intimate acquaintance with a Frog, who lived, for the most part, in the water. One day, the Frog was intent on mischief. He tied the foot of the Mouse tightly to his own. Thus joined together, the Frog led his friend the Mouse to the meadow where they usually searched for food.

After this, he gradually led him towards the pond in which he lived, until reaching the banks of the water, he suddenly jumped in, dragging the Mouse with him. The Frog enjoyed the water amazingly, and swam croaking about, as if he had done a good deed.

The unhappy Mouse was soon sputtered and drowned in the water, and his poor dead body floating about on the surface. A Hawk observed the foating Mouse from the sky, dove down and grabbed it with his talons, carrying it back to his nest.

The Frog, being still fastened to the leg of the Mouse, was also carried off a prisoner, and was eaten by the Hawk.

Moral of the story: "Choose your allies carefully."

Taken from "The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk" by Adil

The Monk and The Baby

Once there was a monk who lived in a village. One day a young village girl became pregnant and was unmarried. She did not want to expose her boyfriend. Out of fear when her parents asked her who is responsible, she pointed her finger to that monk.

Her parents were infuriated. The next day, the whole village turned up to blame him. "How could you?" "You dirty old man!" "You are a disgrace!" "Get out of our village, you hypocrite!" Some villagers even threaten his life.

After listening to all the accusations, what he said was "Is that so?" and went back to meditate. Months went by, the young girl gave birth to a baby. The parents of the young girl were forced to find a father for the child.

The parents and the villagers went up to approach him saying "You are responsible for this baby, therefore you should bring up the baby!" Once again, he said "Is that so?" He took the young baby in his arms and went back.

By this time he has lost his reputation but it did not trouble him. He took very good care for this baby and he manages to obtain milk and everything the child needed from his neighbors.

After a year, the young girl felt ashamed and guilty and wanted to see her baby. She finally told the real story to her parents. When all the villagers came to know the truth, they all felt ashamed of having wrong him.

So all of them gathered and went to the monk asking for forgiveness. Once again, after listening to them, he said "Is that so?" He handed the baby back to the young girl.

*******

When you are right, one thousand peoples swearing that you are wrong does not matter. But when you are wrong, ten thousand peoples swearing that you are right will not make any difference.

Taken from "The Monk and The Baby" by Adil

Twenty Great One Liners

1. Regular naps prevent old age... Especially if you take them while driving.

2. Having one child makes you a parent; having two makes you a referee.

3. Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is the husband!

4. They said we should all pay our tax with a smile. I tried- but they wanted cash.

5. A child's greatest period of growth is the month after you've purchased new school uniforms.

6. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent.

7. Don't marry the person you want to live with, marry the one you cannot live without... But whatever you do, you'll regret it later.

8. You can't buy love. . But you pay heavily for it.

9. True friends stab you in the front.

10. Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me.

11. Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

12. Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.

13. My wife and I always compromise. I admit I'm wrong and she agrees with me.

14. Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.

15. Ladies first. Pretty ladies sooner.

16. It doesn't matter how often a married man changes his job, he still ends up with the same boss.

17. They call our language the mother tongue because the father seldom gets to speak.

18. Saving is the best thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you.

19. Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.

20. Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books.

Taken from "Twenty Great One Liners" by Adil

Attitude

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and ask the store owner for a phone call.

The store owner replied, "Sweety this is no a STD, but you can do one call"

The store owner observed and listened to the conversation:

The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?"

The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."

"Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." the boy replied.

The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.

The little boy found more perseverance and offered, "Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North-Palm beach, Florida."

Again the woman answered in negative.

With a smile on his face, the little boy placed the receiver.

The store owner who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy and said," Son... I like your attitude. I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."

The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance with the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady, I was talking to!"

Taken from "Attitude" by Adil