I think this is Advanced Fee Fraud aka 419.

Dearest In The Lord,

Greeting in the name of our lord Jesus Christ, i am Mrs. Mabel David from Kuwait. I am married to Mr. Jacob David who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died in the year 2004.We were married for eleven years without a child.
He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. Before his death we were both born again Christian.
Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home, which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of US$2.5 million dollars in a bank here in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire. Presently, this money is still in bank.
Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the period of nine months due to cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a charity organization that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein.

I want an organization that will use this fund for orphanages, school and church, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavor that the house of God is maintained.
The Bible made us to understand that "Blessed is the hand that giveth".I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don't want my husband's efforts to be used by unbelievers.

I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that "the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace".

I don't need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband's relatives around me always. I don't want them to know about this development. With God all things are possible.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the bank in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire. I will also issue you an authority letter that will prove you the present beneficiary of this fund. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shepherd.

My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth.Please always be prayerful all through your life.Contact me on this e-mail mabel002dj@yahoo.com.mx

Any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another church for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein.

Hoping to receive your reply.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Yours in Christ Sis.Mabel David.

Friends, if you received this kind of message, please don't believe it just delete from your mail. Such message is from the advanced fee fraud aka 419, who want to dispossessed you of your hard earn money.
Let me correct something she recorded against the bible (highlighted above), it is not against the bible to re-marry when your spouse died 1 Cor. 7:39-40-The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. But she is happier if she so abides, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
Whether you re-marry or abide is your own decision if the partner dies.

Lets watchout,

They are everywhere this days.

Just Schmoozing

I was overwhelmed with joy when I opened my mailbox this morning to the realisation that I have an award waiting for me at The Painted Veil. This is quite an honour I must tell you, a surprise, I think it’s a great way to spur deserving bloggers on. Thanks Shinade for this award, you’re indeed a gem.

Now my own 5
I have to do the rounds of blogs to do this and I must confess that there are a lot of good writers out there, believe me you will be confuse trying to pick out your five if you were in my position.

My first hit is Davidbdale of Very Short Novels; he is an innovative writer who has an intriguing way of portraying his characters, I love his concept of 299 words, it keeps you at it knowing you will soon get to know the end of the story. Get to know him and you will see his great schmoozer

But I have another hit here, do I need to give an inside scoop on her for those non-gardeners…….. Nope you can get to know her through this award. She is Philomena Ojikutu of the Telenovela Love Garden,the eloquence with which she summarizes and reviews telenovela make her a great schmoozer.

Oh RefinedOne, what do I say about you, I think I will use tags for you, you know they tell more of you than any other description I could use, and I really want people to know why you deserve this award, here is:

Link-a-child

Orphaned children
Hope in crisis
Purpose
Kindness
Encouragement
Need I go on?

And now it’s your turn Trina Roach of Creating Tomorrow ….I guess you’re as surprise as I was. Trina is a leadership consultant and a coaching expert, for those wondering what that means, just go get a glimpse of creating tomorrow and you’ll see.

Here I draw the curtain with Yolanda of Ebonymom.com she is a loving mom blogging about her Efamily.She is one of my prize schmoozer.

Do I hear drums……..
Yes, I think so
Congratulations bloggers
And
Don’t forget to “PASS IT ON”

Dealing with problems.

A hiker went walking through the forest one bright sunny day, sighted a drowning man floundering in the river. He was momentarily stunned and was at first undecided what to do. He later jumped in the river when he saw the man disappearing below the waters. He threw off all his heavy clothing and dove into the river, swimming like a madman toward the spot where he last saw the man. Reaching the spot, he plunged below the surface and frantically hauled up the helpless man. He then towed him to the shore. Heaving the lifeless body up on the bank, the hiker attempted to revive the man, who eventually spit up water and began to breathe. Relieved, the hiker paused to catch his breath. But no sooner had he done so than he heard another voice out on the water.
Another drowning person! And another and another ……………. until finally exhausted and about ready to collapse, he saw another man walking briskly towards the upper part of the river, he could not help calling out to the man for assistance. But all his effort yielded no results as the man continued walking as if he had not heard him. Surprised, the hiker ran up to him blocked his part and the following conversation ensued;

Hiker: "Hey! How can you possibly walk past all these drowning people?
Have you no conscience? Must I force you to help me save these people?"

Stranger: “Please get out of my way because I am headed upstream to stop the man who is pushing all these people in."

Learning point: It is better to address problems at source rather than allow it degenerate into something that may be difficult to resolve. We need to learn to deal with problems at source.Some if not all of us allow our problems to swamped us,we need to weigh the problems, look at how best to approach it,and apply creative thinking to solve it.It is not all problems that require money to solve,simple solutions at our fingertips could go a long way in making life better.

Remember,apply creative thinking.

Difficult to believe.

It is sometimes difficult to understand what motivate people to do dastardly acts. I was reading the account of a man who allegedly killed his lover over a certain some of money early this year. The man was said to have lent the money to his lover, who later went back to demand for another sum with a pledge that she will make love with the suspect. When she failed to keep her promise, the suspect lured her to a deserted farmland, butchered her to death and hurriedly wrapped the body with her clothes and buried her remains in a shallow grave few metres from the scene of the crime. Unknown to him, a farmer in the adjoining farmland witnessed the whole show; he raised alarm and the villagers gathered round the man to prevent him from escape and later called in the police. Upon questioning, he claimed that he had spent so much money on the victim during their courtship, alleging that she had always denied him sex. He alleged that the victim borrowed from him and always refused to pay back only to request for more money but still refusing to have sex with him as agreed. He alleged that the victim was always coming to him with one lie or another, with a view to extorting money from him and that was just the only reason he decided to hack her to death.

What a story! What a man!

But is this right? How much money could have been involved?

Ladies, lets watch out, no amount of money is what the loss of a human life.

Herbal remedy –How safe (Part 2)

Often times when I come across herbs, the first thought that usually flashed through my mind is that they should not be taken lightly because they can have powerful effect on one’s system either good or bad.
Herbs are good, and irrespective of the mode of presentation they are also medicine. A lot of care should be exercised in it’s administration because when taken wrongly, some are known to cause kidney and liver failure and sometimes death.
Local herbal preparations, by people who did not undergo proper training can be immensely harmful. Some of the possible lapses that can be found with herbal preparations are:

• Mis-identification of certain plants used for the preparation because, it is possible that some plants may look alike but are not even related, such can easily be mistaken or misidentified at the time of the user’s purchase or when the plants were picked from their source.
• Contamination with pesticide residues, lead, microorganisms, insecticides etc. is possible because these preparations are not under the scrutiny or controls that conventional drugs must endure by the laws of most countries where these herbs were produced.
• Lack of standardization is another major lapse we should take note of, because components of plants vary in quantity and quality depending on the part of the plant used, stage of ripeness weather and season when the plant is grown, harvested and stored. For maximum potency, it is important that particular herbs be harvested at the optimum moment. Therefore, batch-to-batch reproducibility of plant material in marketed products is difficult to achieve or assess in practice. Product variation in herbal medicines is large and significant. Such variations in medication have disturbing clinical implications.
• Most accompanying instructions and method of preparation are inadequate and sometimes wrong and the user often misappropriates the ones that come with the right instructions and methods of preparations.

To this end I will say that we should all watch closely, observation coupled with good judgment is necessary in life.

Introducing Oluwayinka.

I can't express my surprise at coming across Oluwayinka,a consultant Human Resources development Trainer, Brand and Public Relations expert as well as a public speaker.He authors a blog that is full of inspirational messages and divine influence,which is a must read for everyone.I was particularly touched by one of his posts titled "Accepting the gift of you" and a lot of others too numerous to mention.Please take time out to visit Oluwayinka a daily inspiring nudgets that keep individuals going.

Humility.

Recalling the account of Luke 18:10-14,where two men went up into the temple to pray, one a holy man and the other a tax collector. Remember that the holy man stood and prayed thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this lousy tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.'

But the tax collector, standing far away, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'

And Jesus explained: 'I tell you, this tax collector went home forgiven, rather than the holy man; for every one who praises himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be praised.'

From this, it is easy to deduce that Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor. The tax collector see himself as not just any sinner but the worst of all sinners, it is no wonder that he went down to his house justified. That humble tax collector had it right. He was doing the only thing you and I can do to be accepted by God. He just asked – with humility.
Beware of the proud holy man who hangs a bunch of rules around your neck.

Be humble so that you will not stumble.

Behold, I am coming soon.

This is just to spice up your day,enjoy it.

A young seminary student was to preach to a congregation as part of his practical exam.Upon mounting the rostrum he found out that his sermon notes were missing.He only recalled his topic, which says "Behold, I am coming soon". he kept repeating the topic as he searched through his bible for the notes. In a desperate bid, he knocked down the pulpit which then crashed on an old lady seated in the front row. When he apologised to her she said, "It is my fault because you warned me three times that you were coming soon".

Herbal remedies – How safe

Herbal remedies have been with us in various forms for centuries. Unfortunately our forefathers had no written records of the mechanism of action of these drugs, their dosages and preparation but rather cloaked their knowledge and activities heavily in mysticism and magic, handed down orally to a chosen few.
This valuable knowledge is at risk of being permanently lost. Quack herbalist flash adverts that promise concoctions to cure just about everything in one single formula. Modernized, neatly packaged herbal preparations flood our market, consuming a large amount of precious foreign exchange, and claiming to manage everything from menopause, to obesity and AIDS. This issue is to draw our attention to the fact that written records of the mechanism of action of these drugs, their dosages and preparation but rather cloaked their k Herbal remedies have been with us in various forms for centuries. Unfortunately our forefathers had no written records of the mechanism of action of these drugs, their dosages and preparation but rather cloaked their knowledge and activities heavily in mysticism and magic, handed down orally to a chosen few.
This valuable knowledge is at risk of being permanently lost. Quack herbalist flash adverts that promise concoctions to cure just about everything in one single formula. Modernized, neatly packaged herbal preparations flood our market, consuming a large amount of precious foreign exchange, and claiming to manage everything from menopause, to obesity and AIDS. This issue is to draw our attention to the fact that e and activities heavily in mysticism and magic, handed down orally to a chosen few.
This valuable knowledge is at risk of being permanently lost. Quack herbalist flash adverts that promise concoctions to cure just about everything in one single formula. Modernized, neatly packaged herbal preparations flood our market, consuming a large amount of precious foreign exchange, and claiming to manage everything from menopause, to obesity and AIDS.

Strictly speaking, herbal remedies are products of non-woody parts of plants: leaves, flowers, stems, bark and roots, used in the relief and treatment of ailments. In the commonly used sense however, herbal remedies tend to refer to preparations of plant products, minerals, animal parts and sometimes, significant amounts of alcohol.
Herbal medicine has a long respected history cutting across cultures and handed down from generation to generation. Many familiar medications of the twentieth century were developed from ancient treatments of health problems with specific plants. Ancient Mayan women ate certain yam tubers raw every six months to prevent pregnancy. This was a closely guarded secret, kept even from their men. Today a large number of medicines are plant products or derivatives of their active ingredients that have been researched, synthesized and packaged in large pharmaceutical laboratories. In spite of these advances, a huge amount of plants remain unexplored in our threatened forests and beneath our waters. Modern science has only brushed the surface of this magical world.
Common presentations of herbal medicines include pastes, powders, pessaries, suspensions, water and alcohol based solutions commonly called Agbo, and recently neatly packaged tablets, capsules and other forms, sold under various trade names.


To be continued.
">Link

In a prison hospital

">Link


Here's a conversation that took place between a prisoner and a prison doctor.......

Prisoner: Look here, doctor! You've already removed my spleen, tonsils, adenoids, and one of my kidneys. I only came to see if you could get me out of this place!

Doctor: Be patient. I am doing just that…one bit at a time.

Miracle Tree Of August

I’m not sure what happened, but almost as soon as the ink was dry on our marriage certificate, everything seemed to go wrong for my husband and me as a couple. As nice as most of his family was, there were still a few family members who just enjoyed causing trouble, and if they could put me, or something I did, in a bad light, they did. There were also a few people in my family who didn’t help matters, either. They would pounce on any problem that they thought we might be having, making the problems that all newlywed couples have much worse.
Like many women, I found that my husband wasn’t very good at communicating. Instead of discussing our problems and trying to deal with them, my husband would just clam up or walk away. I tried to get him to understand that if we stood together as one and kept our faith in the Lord as our foundation for a strong marriage, other people would see our united front and not be any real threat to us no matter what they said or did, making our lives a lot more peaceful and happy. But as the months turned into years and my husband didn’t do any of those little things that make a wife feel special and all I got were comments that “life used to be more fun before we got married,” I slowly turned myself off from our marriage.
Oh, I did all the things I thought were right—I made his favorite foods, hemmed his pants, fixed snacks for his friends, and mowed the lawn if he was sick with a cold—but I only did them mechanically, with little or no feeling, as though I were just going through the motions. I often prayed to God, telling Him that He would have to deal with this burden if He wanted this marriage saved because I no longer had the strength to deal with the situation on my own.
One dry, hot August day, though, I stepped outside to find my husband planting a beautiful evergreen tree in the corner of our yard—something I had wanted for a very long time. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. When I met my husband’s eyes, I could see a kindness and quiet joy that I hadn’t seen in him for a long time. In that instant, the considerate things my husband had been doing for me for the past few months suddenly came to mind—things that I’d become too numb to really notice and appreciate: buying me flowers on the way home from work, listening to what I had to say, running some errands for me, and being nice to my friends.
That day, my husband and I talked together like we did before we got married and it was wonderful to share our hearts and our thoughts.
“I know I’ve been an awful fool,” my husband told me, “but it just seemed easier for a while not to deal with our problems and I guess I thought they’d just go away. But I’ll never let anyone or anything ever come between us again.”
When we left the site of our little evergreen tree we walked hand in hand, tears glistening in our eyes. My husband was wrong for getting moody, turning away from me, and not dealing with our problems head on right from the start of our marriage, but I was wrong, too. I was so busy allowing myself to turn cold and unfeeling that I couldn’t even see all of the nice things that my husband had started doing to show his love for me, and the signs of true regret for how he’d acted.
Today, we often look at our lovely evergreen tree that has grown a lot and thrived over the years, despite being planted during the dry, hot days of August. That tree has become a symbol of the united love we now share—a love that thankfully, God would not let us lose. We know that it’s truly our miracle tree of August.

Leave the past where it belongs..............in the past.

The past!everyone has it, either good or bad,but the ability to forget and leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to his good providence and give the present wholly to his love by being faithful to his grace is what make us victorious.

Are you ever disturbed by memories? Wouldn't it be nice to simply click the DELETE KEY and erase the pain while leaving only happy recol­lections?

I like the story of the minister who passed along to a beginning pastor a trick he used when he noticed the congregation nodding off.

"I suddenly say to them, 'Last night I held another man's wife in my arms.' And, when eve­ry­­­one sits up shocked, I continue, 'It was my own dear mother.'"

The young preacher liked it and was ready the following Sunday when most of his congrega­tion was drowsing. He said in a loud voice, "You know, last night I held another man's wife in my arms

Stunned, the congregation sat bolt upright and stared. Unnerved, the young preacher stam mered, "Oh dear -- I've forgotten who she was."

Have you ever wanted to take back an embarrassing moment, a hasty decision, or a word spoken in the heat of anger? The problem is, some things can't be taken back! Some hurts cannot be undone. And unfortunately, no delete key can correct the past so that memories no longer hurt, frighten or humiliate.

The past is what it is ------- past. And that, too, is good to remember. It is past. Over. Finished. There is no taking it back, yet no purpose is served in re-living and rehashing old memories. It is gone. Let it be a teacher. Let us learn from its harsh les­sons as well as its joys.
Then let us leave it where it be­longs -- in the past and move on to the land of new beginnings where all of our past mistakes and heartaches, And all of our poor selfish grief,could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again.

Why don't you ask for the grace to put the past in the past and BEGIN AGAIN.

Thanks for Your Time

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said.
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture.... Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. "The box is gone," he said. "What box?" Mom asked. "There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside. "Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most...was...my time." Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked. "I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!

""Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

The Act of Kindness.

The act of being a good or benevolent person in nature or disposition. It is essential for us as Christians to have sympathetic attitude toward others, and willingness to do good or give pleasure. Kindness makes a person attractive; a person that is not kind is simply cruel. Always be willing to show your love and kindness to everyone even when it is not appreciated or reciprocated, because it is written: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:2).

Sometimes ago I read the story of a man who didn't like the way he was treated by his bank manager simply because he wore construction clothes to the bank to make a withdrawal. He was looked at and treated as if he had crawled out from under a rock.
The problem began when he went to the Bank to cash a $100 check. When he tried to get his parking slip validated to save 60 cents, a receptionist refused, saying he hadn't conducted a transaction. "You have to make a deposit," she told him. When told he was a substantial depositor, she looked at him as if . . . . . . .. So what.
He asked to see the manager, who also refused to stamp the ticket. The man went to the bank headquarters vowing to withdraw his $2 million-plus unless the manager apologized. No one called. So the next day, he withdrew his money. And the bank lost a valuable customer.

The way and manner a lot of us had treated people in the past has left nothing much to be desired. Some of us treat others as if they were not God’s creation. Even as Christians, in our churches today we have class segregation, the rich to the rich and the poor to the poor. I think it is important for us to know that as far as God almighty is concerned we are one irrespective of our lineage, ethnicity, class, social differences, colour, background and what have you.

Always remember,

2 Cor 8:7 - But as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you make sure that you excel in this act of KINDNESS too.

Gal 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness,

Col 3:12 - Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, KINDNESS, humility, gentleness, and patience,

I think all this should make a difference in someone’s attitude to others.

Be blessed always.

Hut On Fire.

Once upon a time a ship was wrecked and the only survivor of the ship was washed up on a small,uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for GOD to rescue him, and everyday he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store the few possessions he was able to salvage.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief,grief,and anger.

He started blaming God saying "GOD, how could you do this to me?" .
Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked
the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they
replied.

It's always easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because GOD is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember that, the next time your little hut seems to be
burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of GOD.
Always remember, 1 Cor 15:10 - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
Remain blessed always.

LEVITICUS and the promises of God

• Among those who approach God he will show himself holy, and in the sight of all the people God will be honored (10:3).

• I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy” (11:44).

• For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (17:11).

• Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord” (18:5).

• Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them.I am the Lord, who makes you holy” (20:7-8).

• You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to by my own” (20:26).

• I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high” (26:12-13).
  
  

The Red Rose.

He stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. He requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen. Here is his Story:
A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw HER. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!" It's not difficult to understand and admire her wisdom.The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.

The best portion of a good man's life is the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.

---- William Wordsworth (1770-1850) English poet

History

There was once a hat-seller who passed by a forest. The weather was very hot and he decided to take a nap under one of the trees, so he left his whole basket of hats by the side.A few hours later, he woke up and realized that all his hats were gone.Then he heard some monkeys on top of the tree and he looked up. To his surprise, the tree was full of monkeys. They had taken all his hats!The hat-seller sits down and try to think of how he can get the hats down. He started to think and scratched his head. The next moment, he realized that the monkeys were doing the same thing.Next, he took down his own hat and fanned himself. The monkeys did exactly the same! An idea struck him - he took his hat and threw it on the floor. And the monkeys did the same too. Happily, he collected all his hats back.Fifty years later, his grandson also became a hat-seller and also got to hear the monkey story from his grandfather. One day, just like his grandfather, he passed by the same forest. Feeling very hot, he took a nap under the same tree and left the hats on the floor.Again, when he woke up, he realized that all his hats were gone. He looked up and found that the monkeys had taken all his hats. Remembering what his grandfather had told him, he started scratching his head and the monkeys followed.He took down his hat and fanned himself and again the monkeys followed.Now, very convinced of his grandfather's idea, he threw his hat on the floor... but to his surprise, the monkeys still held on to all the hats!Then one bold monkey climbed down the tree, grabbed the hat on the floor, and sneered ... "you think say na only you get grand-papa??"

IS PACKAGING IMPORTANT TO YOU?

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?" He then 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 a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the 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. As he was reading, 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".

How many times do we miss 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 now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Sometimes we don't realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened.

I trust you enjoyed this. Pass it on to others and remain blessed.

Where is GOD?

Two brothers were extremely mischievous and their parents were at their wits' end. So they asked their pastor to talk with the boys.
The pastor sat the younger one down first. He wanted him to think about God, so he started the conversation by asking, "Where is God?" The boy didn't respond, so he repeated the question in a stern tone. Again he gave no answer. Frustrated, the pastor shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted, "Where is God?!"
The boy bolted from the room, ran home, and hid in his closet. His brother followed him and asked, "What happened?"
The younger boy replied, "We're in big trouble now. God is missing, and they think we did it!"
Sounds a bit like Adam and Eve, who were filled with guilt and tried to hide from God (Genesis 3:10). They had known the Lord's close fellowship, but now they were afraid to face Him. God pursued them, though, and asked, "What is this you have done?" Instead of repenting, Adam blamed God and Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent.

How do we respond when we've sinned against God? Do we hide, hoping He won't notice? If we are His, He'll pursue us. The wisest choice is to come out of our hiding place, confess our sin, and have our fellowship restored.

culled from Our Daily bread, Nov. 3rd 2007.