The Black Book

One day, a young guy was walking on a dark street.  Suddenly, out of an Acacia tree, an old man wrapped in a black robe appeared. 
His eyes were fierce, his face pale, his beard unkempt.  He pushed a black book towards the young man and ordered, “You need to read this book!  Buy it for P700.”

       The young man was shocked and mumbled, “I don’t have P700…”

       But the elderly man spoke with a louder voice, “You need to read this book!  
Give me P700.”  So with shaking hands, the lad fumbled with his wallet and handed P700 to him.  

The mysterious man placed the black book in the chap’s hand and said, “Whatever you do, never look at the last page.  Or you will regret it.”  He then walked towards the field behind them and suddenly disappeared!

       The young man went home, shaken to the core.  In the evening, he started reading the book.  It was all about ghosts and werewolves and vampires!  After awhile, he grew tired, closed the book and went to bed. 

But he couldn’t sleep.  Tossing and turning, the young man could only think of one thing: What was on the last page of the book?  What will I regret seeing there?

Finally, he couldn’t take the suspense any longer.  With every ounce of courage he could muster, he grabbed the black book.  With trembling fingers, he opened it to the last page…

And when he saw it, at once, waves of regret filled him!
The last page was empty.

Except for a small note that said, “P49.50, National Bookstore.”

The Smart Hunter

Once upon a time, there were two hunters who went for a 
safari trip in South Africa. 

As they were resting under a banyan tree after a long hunting day, 
they saw a lion approaching them with its wild roar. 

One of the 
hunters started putting on his running shoes. 

“Hey, you cannot outrun the lion, said the other hunter. 

“I’m not trying to outrun the lion,” the first hunter replied. 

“All I need to do is outrun you!”

Hypocrites

One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000
member congregation was
surprised
to see two men enter, both covered from
head
to toe in black and carrying
submachine guns. 

One of the men proclaimed,

"Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ
remain
where you are."


Immediately, the choir fled...  

the deacons fled...

and most of the congregation fled.... 


Out of the 2,000 there only

remained around 20.


The man who had spoken took off his hood... 

He then looked at the preacher and
said "Okay
Pastor, I got rid of all the 

hypocrites...  Now you may begin your service. 
Have a nice
day!"

And the two men turned and walked out.

The Fairy

 "For being such an exemplary married couple and for being faithful to each
 other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish."

 "Ooh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband" said the
 wife.

 The fairy moved her magic stick and - abracadabra -- two tickets for a new
 luxury liner appeared in her hands.

 Now it was the husband's turn.

 He thought for a moment and said: "Well this is all very romantic, but an
 opportunity like this only occurs once in a lifetime, so, I'm sorry my
 love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than I".

 Well the wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a
 wish...

 So the fairy made a circle with her magic stick and -abracadabra, the
 husband became 92 years old.


 The moral of this story.....

 Men might be ungrateful idiots... But fairies are females.

John 3:16

A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner,
the people were in and out of the cold.
The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell
many papers.  
He walked up to a policeman and said,
"Mister,
you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could
find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?
You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and
down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight.
Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay." 



 The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say
John 3:16, and they will let you in." 
 So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the
door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said,
"John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son."
She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom
rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went
off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself:
John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes
a cold boy warm.  


 Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of
days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food,"
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table
full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat
any more. Then he thought to himself:
John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure
makes a hungry boy full.  


 She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub
filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a
while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16...
I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy
clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my
whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in
front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room,
tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers
up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out
the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the
window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it but
it sure makes a tired boy rested.  


 The next morning the lady came back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food. After he
ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom
rocker in front of the fireplace and
picked up a big old Bible.
She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.   "Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He
replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it
was last night when the policeman told me to use it,"
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain
to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus.   He sat there
and thought: John 3:16 -- don't understand it, but it sure
makes a lost boy feel safe.  



You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how
Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand
the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense
love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.
I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.  
John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Salamat Po

Isang bagong-saltang kaluluwa ang umakyat sa langit ang ngayon ay nakaharap kay San Pedro. Namasyal silang dalawa sa langit. Magkahawak-kamay silang naglakad-lakad sa isang malaking silid doon na puno ng mga anghel.
Huminto si San Pedro sa harap ng isang lupon ng mga anghel at nagsalita, "Ito ang silid-tanggapan. Sa silid na ito, tinatanggap lahat ng mga kahilingan sa panalangin."

Pinagmasdan ito ng kaluluwa, at nakita nitong abala ang lahat sa pag-uugnay-ugnay ng mga kahilingan na nakasulat sa bunton ng mga papel na galing sa buong mundo.

Nagpatuloy silang maglakad hanggang madaanan nila ang pangalawang lupon ng mga anghel. Ang wika ni San Pedro sa kaluluwa, "Ito naman ang 'Packaging at Delivery Section'. Dito, ang biyaya at mga pagpapala na hiniling ng mga tao ay binabalot at dini-deliver sa mga tao na humingi noon ."
Nakitang muli ng kaluluwa kung gaano ito kaabala. Maraming anghel doon ang talagang subsob sa trabaho sa dami ng mga pagpapalang hiniling at dini-deliver araw-araw sa lupa.

Hanggang sa dumako sila sa huling lupon, sa pinakamalayong lupon.  Huminto ang anghel doon sa isang maliit na lupon. Sa kanyang pagkamangha, iisang anghel lamang ang nakaupo doon, walang ginagawa.
"Ito ang 'Acknowledgement Section," sabi ni San Pedro.

"Bakit tahimik?  Wala ba silang ginagawa rito?"

"Nakakalungkot," sagot ni San Pedro,"pagkatapos makatanggap ng sagot sa kanilang mga panalangin ang mga tao, kakaunti ang nagbibigay ng pasasalamat."

"Papaano ba magbibigay ng 'acknowledgement' ang mga tao sa Diyos?"
"Simple lang.  Sabihin mo lang na "Salamat po Panginoon."

"Ano bang pagpapala ang dapat nilang ipagpasalamat?"

"Kung may pagkain ka sa iyong hapag-kainan, damit na sinusuot, may bahay na tinutuluyan at kamang tutulugan, ikaw ay mas mayaman sa 75% sa mundong
ito.

"Kung may salapi kang naiipon sa iyong pitaka at may natitira pang pambili ng pagkain, ikaw ay isa sa 8% na may mga kabuhayan sa mundo.

"Kapag nakuha mo ang mensaheng ito sa iyong computer, bahagi ka ng 1% sa mundong ito na may ganyang oportunidad.

"Kapag gumising ka sa umagang ito na walang sakit, mas pinagpala ka sa milyong tao sa mundong ito na hindi na makagising dahil sa hirap ng buhay.
"Kung di mo nararanasan ang takot sa gitna ng giyera, ang kalungkutan sa loob ng piitan, ang pasakit ng mga pagsubok, at ang pangil ng pagkagutom, mas malayo ka nang milya-milya sa 700 milyong tao na nabubuhay sa mundo.

"Kung buhay pa ang iyong mga magulang at nananatiling magkasama sa bisa ng kasal, kakaunti lang kayo.

"Kung naititingala mo pa ang iyong ulo nang may ngiti sa iyong mga labi, hindi ka kasama sa karamihan.  Naiiba ka kaysa sa kanila na puno ng kapighatian at mga kagulumihanan."

Tanong ng kaluluwa, "Kung gano'n, papaano ako magsisimulang magpasalamat?"

"Pagpalain ang araw mo, bilangin mo ang iyong mga pagpapala, at kung ibig mo, pagpalain mo rin ang mga tao sa iyong paligid upang malaman din nila kung gaano sila pinagpala ng Panginoon.

Mary Had A Little Lamb

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Life Lessons:

Put God at the center of everything. Let God's word spread in school so students can learn His wisdom. 

Two Friends

A story tells that two friends were walking 
through the desert. During some
point of the journey they had an argument, and
one friend slapped the other one in the face. 

The one who got slapped was hurt, 
but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: 

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND 
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE. 

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, 
where they decided to take a bath. The one who 
had been slapped got stuck in the mire and 
started drowning, but the friend saved him. 
After he recovered from the near
drowning, he wrote on a stone:  

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE. 
  
The friend who had slapped and 
saved his best friend asked him, 
"After I hurt you, you wrote in the 
sand and now, you write on a stone,
why?" The other friend replied "When someone 
hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds 
of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone
does something good for us, we must engrave
it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

=======================================
Life Lessons:

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND 
AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.  

Do not value the THINGS you have in your life.. 
But value WHO you have in your life! 

Wrapping

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat Disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible? And stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

 

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.  He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.  With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father carefully underlined a verse:

 

Matt 7:11, "And if ye, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask HIM?"  As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired.  On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words.... PAID IN FULL.

 

========================================================================

Life Lessons: 

How many times do we miss GOD's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?  Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you have now was once among those things you only hope for...

 

"IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE... IT IS BETTER PACKED! THAT WAY, ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO ATTACHMENTS!"

$50

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $50.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $50 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $50 to one of you but first, let me do
this. He proceeded to crumple the $50 dollar bill up. 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 $50.

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, <
priceless to those who DO LOVE you.

=======================================================================
Life Lessons:


The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO 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.

A McDonald's Love Story...

A little old couple walked slowly into a McDonald's one cold winter evening.



They looked out of place amid the young families and young couples eating there that night.


Some of the customers looked admiringly at them. You could tell what the admirers were thinking:



"Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!"


The little old man walked up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal.


The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off of the tray.



There was one hamburger, one order of  french fries and one drink.


The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half.



He placed one half in front of his wife.


Then he carefully counted out the french fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife.

He took a sip of the drink, and then his wife took a sip as the man began to eat his few bites.


Again, you could tell what people around the old couple were saying. - "They were used to sharing everything."



Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady still hadn't eaten a thing.


She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally sipped some of the drink.


A young man came over and begged them to let him buy them another meal.



The lady explained that no, they were used to sharing.



As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin, the young man could stand it no longer and asked again.


After being politely refused again, he finally asked the little old lady, "Ma'am, why aren't you eating. You said that you share everything.



What is it that you are waiting for?"



She answered,


"THE TEETH"

Gallon of Milk

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study.


The Pastor had shared about listening to God and
obeying the Lord's voice.

The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God
still speak to people?"

After service he went out with some friends for
coffee and pie and they
discussed the message.

Several different ones talked about how God had led
them in different ways.

It was about ten o'clock when the young man started
driving home. Sitting in
his car, he just began to pray, "God...If you still
speak to
people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best
to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had
the strangest thought
to stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that
you?" He didn't get a
reply and started on toward home.
But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't
recognize the voice of
God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.
"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the
milk." It didn't seem like
too hard a test of obedience. He could always use
the milk. He stopped and
purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward
home.
As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge,
"Turn Down that
street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on past the
intersection.
Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh
Street.
At the next intersection, he turned back and headed
down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I
will".
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like
he should stop. He
pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in
semi commercial area of
town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of
neighborhoods either.
The businesses were closed and most of the houses
looked dark like the
people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to
the people in the house
across the street." The young man looked at the
house. It was dark and it
looked like the people were either gone or they were
already asleep. He
started to open the door and then sat back in the
car seat.
"Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and
if I wake them up, they
are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again,
he felt like he should
go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is
you, I will go to the
door and I will give them the milk. If you want me
to look like a crazy
person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that
will count for something
but if they don't answer right away, I am out of
here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He
could hear some noise
inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What
do you want?" Then the
door opened before the young man could get away.
The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt.
He looked like he
just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his
face and he didn't seem
too happy to have some stranger standing on his
doorstep. "What is it?"
The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here,
I brought this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway.
Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the
milk toward the kitchen.
The man was following her holding a baby. The baby
was crying. The man had
tears streaming down his face.
The man began speaking and half crying, "We were
just praying. We had some
big bills this month and we ran out of money. We
didn't have any milk for
our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show
me how to get some
milk."
His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to
send an Angel with some.
Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out
all the money he had on
him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked
back toward his car and
the tears were streaming down his face.

He knew that God still answers prayers.

Window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. 

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. 

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. 

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. 

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. 

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. 

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. 

Days and weeks passed. 

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. 

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. 

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. 

It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. 

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. 

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you." 


==================================================================
Life Lessons: 


There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. 

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. 

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy. 

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present." 

The Barber

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair and his beard cut  as 
always. 

He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended 
him.

They talked about so many things and various subjects. Suddenly, 
they touched the subject of God.


The barber said : "Look man, I don't believe that God exists as you 
say so." 

"Why do you say that?" Asked the client.

"Well, it's so easy, you just have to go out in the street to 
realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would 
there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If 
God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can't think of 
a God who permits all of these things."

The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn't want to 
respond so as to prevent an argument.

The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. 
Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with a 
long hair and beard (it seems that it had been a long time since he 
had his cut and he looked so untidy).

Then the client again entered the barber shop and he said to the 
barber: "Know what? Barbers do not exist." "How come they don't 
exist?" asked the barber. 

"Well I am here and I am a barber." 

"No!" the client exclaimed. 

"They don't exist because if they did there would be no people with 
long hair and beard like that man who walks in the street."

"Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to 
me." 

"Exactly!" affirmed the client. "That's the point. God does exist, 
what happens is people don't go to Him and do not look for Him 
that's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world." 

Three Trees

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. 

They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the
first tree said, "Someday, I hope to be a treasure
chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and
precious gems and be decorated with intricate
carvings. Everyone would see my beauty." 

The second tree said, "Someday, I will be a mighty
ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters
and sail to the corners of other world. 

Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength
of my hull." 

Finally, the third tree said, "I want to grow to be
the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People
will see me on top of the hill and look up to my
branches, and think of the heavens and God and how
close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest
tree of all time, and people will always remember me."


After a few years of praying that their dreams would
come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. 
One came to the first tree and said, "This looks like
a strong tree, I think  I should be able to sell the
wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it  down.
The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter
would  make him into a treasure chest. 

At the second tree, one of the other woodsman said,
"This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to
sell it to the shipyard." Then a second tree was
happy, because he knew he was on his way to becoming
mighty ship. 

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree
was frightened, because it knew that, if it was cut
down, its dreams would not come true. One of the
woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my
tree, so I'll take this one," and he cut it down. 

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was
made into a feed box for animals, placed in a barn and
filled with hay. This was not at all what he had
prayed for. 

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing 
boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying
kings had come to an end. 

The third tree was cut into large pieces and left
alone in the dark. 

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their
dreams. Then one day,  a man and woman came to the
barn. She gave birth, and they placed the baby in the
hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree.
The man wished that he could have made a crib for the
baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could
feel the importance of this event and knew that it
hadheld the greatest treasure of all time. 

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat
made from the second tree. One of them was tired and
went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a
great storm arose, and the tree didn't think it was
strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the
sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace," and the
storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had
carried the King of Kings in its boat. 

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was
carried through the streets, and the crowd mocked the
man who was carrying it. Finally, the man was nailed
to the tree and raised in the air to die at the  top
of a hill. 

When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was
strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be
as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had
been crucified on it. 

========================================
Life Lessons:

When things don't
seem to be going your way, always know that God has a
plan for you. If you place your trust in 

Him, He will give you great gifts.  Each of the trees
got what they 
wanted, 

just not in the way they had  imagined. We don't
always know what God's plans are for us. We just know
that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are
always best.

Ruth

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one   letter.

She picked it up

and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at

the envelope again.


There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and

address. She read the  letter:


       Dear Ruth:


       I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon

       and I'd like to stop  by for a visit.

       Love Always, 
       Jesus


Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the

table. "Why would the

Lord want to visit me?


I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."


With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen

cabinets. "Oh my

goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll

have to run down to  the store and buy something for dinner." She reached  for

her purse and  counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.

"Well, I can get  some bread and cold cuts, at least."

She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey,

and a carton of milk..leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last

her until Monday.


Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her

meager offerings tucked

under her arm.


"Hey lady, can you help us, lady?"

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she

hadn't even noticed two

figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman,both

of them dressed in

little more than rags

"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and

I have been living

out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting  cold

and we're getting

kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady,we'd

really appreciate  it."

Ruth looked at them both.

They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was

certain that they

could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.


"Sir, I'd like to help you, b ut I'm a poor woman

myself. All I have is a few

cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important

guest for dinner

tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."


"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."

The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders,

turned and headed back

into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge

in her heart.


"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran

down the alley after

them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure

out something else to

serve my guest."

She handed the man her grocery bag.

"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"


"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could

see now that she was

shivering. "You know, I've got another coat at home.

Here, why don't you

take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped

it over the woman's

shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to

the street...without

her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

"Thank you lady!

Thank you very much!"


Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front  door,

and worried too.

The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have

anything to offer Him.


She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as
she did, she noticed
another envelope in her mailbox.


"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in

one day." She took

the envelope out of the box and opened it.


     Dear Ruth:


     It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the

     lovely meal. And thank

     you, too, for the beautiful coat.


     Love Always Jesus


The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth

no longer noticed.

Shipwreck

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at  sea and only two of the
men on it were able to swim to a small, deserted island.  The two
survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other
recourse but to pray to God.

 However, to find out whose prayer  was more powerful, they agreed to
divide the territory between them and stay on  opposite sides of the
island.

 The first thing they prayed for  was food.

 The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing  tree on his side 
of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's  parcel of
land remained barren so he went hungry.

 After a week,  the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a
wife.

 The  next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a
woman who swam  to his side of the land. On the other side of the
island, there was  nothing.

 Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, and  more food. The next
day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However,  the second
man still had nothing.

 Finally, the first man prayed  for a ship, so that he and his wife could
leave the island. In the morning, he  found a ship docked at his side of
the island.

 The first man  boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the
second man on the  island. He considered the other man unworthy to
receive God's blessings, since  none of his prayers had been answered.

 As the ship was about to  leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven
booming, "Why are you leaving  your companion on the island?"

 "My blessings are mine alone,  since I was the one who prayed for them,"
the first man answered. "His prayers  were all unanswered and so he does
not deserve anything."

 "You  are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer,
which I answered.  If not for that, you would not have received any of
my blessings."

 "Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did  he pray for that I
should owe him anything?" The voice answer! ed, "He prayed  that all
your prayers be answered."

=========================================================
Life Lessons:

 For all we know, our  blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone,
but those of another praying  for us.

  With obedience come  blessings. My prayer
for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be  blessed. "What
you do for others is more important than what you do for  yourself"