Motivational Stories

Flying A Kite

2009-11-03T10:04:00.004+08:00

Mark and Anthony and their class from school are all in a state of great excitement today. They are laughing and chattering and calling out to each other in a much more noisy way than usual. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that this particular Algebra help lesson or Math word problems is not taking place in school, but out in the open air, in a big field -- no walls around them today!

This morning the children have all been taken out of the city by the young teacher, Philip. He is a kite enthusiast and is going to show them how to fly a kite. They are all out on a hill which is clear of trees, and has no electricity lines on it, nor houses, nor other buildings. A stiff breeze is blowing. It is a perfect day for kite-flying! They do not want to think about any Math problems but they just want to have some fun outdoors.

'Watch, children,' shouts Philip. "Pay attention, as soon as your kite takes off, let out the cord, but do it slowly."

Almost everyone likes to watch kites being flown and it is a hobby which absorbs children and adults alike. People have been stretching paper or cloth over wooden frames for over 4000 years. Kites were first flown in China, then it spread all over the Pacific. They were first brought to Europe in the 15th Century by English, Dutch and Portugese merchants returning from the East.

'Kites have not always been just lovely playthings,'' explains Philip. "They have also had a scientific use. For instance, in 1752, the American statesman, writer and scientist, Benjamin Franklin, used a kite fitted with metal pegs and cables in experiments to develop a lightning conductor. Then in 1901, the Italian scientist, Marconi, used a kite to raise a radio aerial into the sky so that he could send the first long-wave radio signal across the Atlantic, between Cornwall, in England, and Newfoundland, in Canada, 3400 km away.

Animals Rally

2008-09-13T16:44:00.000+08:00

The Beach Boys - Kokomo (Soundtrack Cocktail)

Rejoice, Rejoice that Christ IS ALIVE!!!

Photograph Taken on 7th September 2008 at Admiralty Road West, Woodlands, Singapore.

Come and Catch me if you can! I am 'weird'. SHE said I am weird. What is weird, what is unique, what is special, what is DIFFERENT? Tell me, are you an animal or do you belong to the animal?

Photograph Taken on 7th September 2008 at Admiralty Road West, Woodlands, Singapore.

Photograph Taken on 7th September 2008 at Admiralty Road West, Woodlands, Singapore.

This is called, LET THE DOGS COME.

And this is called ONLY PICTURES Can TELL a thousand words, and this is called ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER than WORDS...

Photograph taken on 6th September 2008.

The Cat will rest.

Let the Dogs BARK.

And this is what WORLD CLASS EDUCATION IS ABOUT. The creation of a UNIQUE BEING....and this is ONE AND ONLY ONE in SINGAPORE, JUST SINGAPORE! Come visit me!

Some Reference For Head and Tail

Women’s Business
Facial Company Sue Customer

…Not DEAD yet… don’t know when is the last day yet:
BioFocus International Experience
Modern Cosmetology
BioFocus International
Pay To Suffer

Facial Company Sue Customer Matter:

Singapore I: The Divine Revelation; Moulding Our Nation
NUS REPUTATION:Singapore II: Answer Will Soon Be Out
Developing Courage
Do You Want To Save Your Mother
Unity Is Strength

MONEY OR LIFE

Happiness Through Christ

2008-09-01T13:42:00.000+08:00

Blk 336 Woodlands, The place where I saw the cats...

Read the Sign
It was a trump card(王牌) I got, a Joker I 'received'. Joker can be anything. Joker calls the shots. I conquered, I won the victory. I cleared one major obstacles in my life, my success. This is not the end of road yet...

The brown cat holding on to a book.

'Life Jacket Theory'
My success is to know God, to pass the 'test' of God and to follow Jesus. My mission has just began. By saving myself, then I can save other people. Knowledge is power. I had more to learn. I am a little lion king now, learning from my master, the big lion.

Ba-Gua

'Greenish-black' spider spinning web (Eight trigrams) among the plants....

Reparation
At the traffic light junction, this time, I saw this spider web myself. This spider web is not as established as the one we saw on 25th August 2008. The spider is different also. This one is almost the same size as the other one, but is more green, and there was no 'food' on the web. At the beginning when I saw it, its web was not so much. But after catechism, the octagon shaped spider web was seen clearly now.

Satan
After catechism, we walked back home. On the way, Richard saw Puma.... nobody saw him except himself alone, and it was Richard who told me about Puma... I spent some time there, stroking him. His fur was so soft and he is such a beautiful cat...

The crow crowing on the Rain Tree opposite Esso Petrol kiosk

Feng Shui: Prosperity, Luck; 發財, 避邪
At the place opposite Esso, the normal place I saw the white cranes, that is called the 'State Land', again I saw many cranes. Some flying at the moment I caught sight of them. I counted, it was eight at first. The cranes flew away, leaving seven....

A Hard Nut To Crack
Then I heard the crows, I looked up and saw the crow above the rain tree as shown in this picture above... It was telling me something....

Repentence
Only have fear for the Lord. Who are human beings to judge? This is me standing at the window of my house, looking out. It was purplish sky...

Purple sky: Repent and Be Saved

Give The Lord Your Heart

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

2008-08-04T18:44:00.000+08:00

"Thus the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish.

They that were foolish took their lamps but took no oil with them. The wise ones took oil in vessels with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was late, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight the cry went up,"Behold, the bridegroom comes. Go out to meet him."

Then all the bridesmaids rose up and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise,"Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out."

But the wise answered, saying,"We cannot, lest there should not be enough both for us and for you. Go instead to them that sell, and buy for yourselves."

While they went to buy, the bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterwards the other bridesmaids came, saying,"Lord, Lord, open the door to us."

But he answered and said,"Truly, I do not know you."

"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man comes."

End of The Time
The Unemployed Workers

The Unprofitable Servant

2008-08-03T19:01:00.000+08:00

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man setting off for a distant country who called together his servants and delivered to them his goods. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one -- to each according to his special abilities. Then he set off on his journey.

He who received the five talents went and traded with them and made five more. And likewise he who received two gained two more. But he who received one went and dug in the earth and hid his lord's money.

After a long time, the lord of those servants came home and reckoned with them. He who had received five talents came and brought five more, saying,"Lord, you gave me five talents. Behold, I have earned five more beside them."

His lord said to him,"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Come share with your lord in his good fortune."

Then he who had received two talents came and said,"Lord, you gave me two talents. Behold, I have earned two more beside them."

His lord said to him,"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Come, share with your lord his joy."

Then he who had received the one talent came and said,"Lord, I knew that you are a hard man harvesting where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not threshed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your money in the earth. Lo, here you have what is yours."

His lord answered and said to him,"You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gahter where I have not threshed. Therefore you should have loaned out my money and then at my returning I should have had my money back with interest.

Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall have plenty. But from him who has not, shall be taken away even that which he has. Now cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

End of The Time
The Unemployed Workers
The Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids

The Tower of Babel

2008-07-23T13:02:00.000+08:00

Lust for power: It is pride which scatters people -- their illusion that they can reach the skies, the very dwelling place of God. It is the same old temptation,"You will be like God." In the race for power, it is hard to stay together -- someone always wants to rise higher and be mightier than the others -- and the bonds of understanding dissolve. Jesus, Son of the All-Powerful, ended the race for power by 'descending from Heaven' to become the servant of mankind. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit showed men that they could rise above Babel and understand one another once more...

After God made the covenant with Noah, Noah's descendants increased greatly and one generation succeeded another.

People at this time the earth over were of one language and one speech. And as men journeyed eastwards, they entered a plain in the land of Shinar, where they settled. They said to one another,"Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used bricks for stone and they had slime for mortar."

And they said,"Let us build a city, and a tower whose top may reach up to heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

God came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men were building, and said,"The people of the earth are one people and have only one language. If they begin to do this, nothing will restrain them from doing whatever they conceive. Let us go down, therefore, and confuse their language so that they may not understand one another's speech."

So God scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth, and they left off building the city. And the name of the place is Babel, for there it was that the Lord made a confusion of the language of the earth, and it was in this manner that the Lord scattered the people over the face of the earth.

My Dream
Noah and the Ark
Noah and the Great Flood
Noah Ark on Mount Ararat

The Law of Love

2008-07-16T15:09:00.000+08:00

The disciples had listened to what Jesus had to tell the Pharisees about keeping all the rules.

"Are you saying that we need not keep Moses' law any longer?" they asked him. "Certainly not!" Jesus answered. "I have not come to do away with God's laws but to show how they are really meant to be kept."

As they talked, he led them to the top of a grassy hill, where they could sit down and listen while he explained things to them.

The Law of Love
"The laws God gave through Moses will never be out of date," Jesus said. "They will last as long as life goes on. But the endless rules and regulations that the Pharisees and law teachers have added do not help you to obey them.

Listen! The law says that if you kill someone, you must be punished. But murder begins in the heart -- when you are angry or jealous, or hate someone. If you are really going to keep God's law, you must deal with the bad feelings inside you, not just with the crime of murder. God's laws teach us to love him and to love one another, not simply to keep a set of rules. We must obey God from the heart.

The rules say that you must not be unfaithful to your marriage partner and if you want a divorce you must sign the right papers. But God made marriage to last a lifetime. He wants couples to be loving and faithful to each other, without even looking longingly at someone else's partner.

You have been told that as long as you love your friends, it's all right to hate your enemies. But the law of love says, "Be kind to your enemies too". You see, if you are going to take after your Father in heaven, you must behave in the same way that he does. God sends sun and rain for everyone -- good and bad alike! He gives his good gifts to those who don't deserve them, as well as those who do. You should be like God -- loving and giving. It's the generous, open-handed people who will themselves receive happiness and love.

"Don't criticize others. Imagine someone with a big plank of wood stuck in his eye offering to remove a tiny speck from someone else. No one is so free of faults that he can see straight enough to put others right.

Kingdom of God

2008-07-15T16:31:00.001+08:00

February 2008, this four o'clock plant suddenly appeared in my favourite pot.

To live in the Kingdom of God is to live fully with God. The Kingdom of God cannot be earned by valiant or sacrificial acts. It is to be received as a gift of God. The Kingdom is opened immediately to the person who accepts God's forgiveness through Christ; once inside, living in the Kingdom means putting the Word of God into practice, respecting others, sharing with them, forgiving them as he has been forgiven. The person who receives the Kingdom today will enter it in its fullness after his passage from death to eternal life.

March 2008, this four o'clock flower plant growing well, with the leaves bright and shiny... today the four o'clock flower plant has flourished. I had repotted it, and with the help of Richard, we had placed them in three pots....

Stories About Kingdom of God

1. The Story of The Mustard Seed
God's kingdom is like a mustard seed, tiny as it lies in the palm of your hand. But plant it in the ground and it grows so large that the birds can perch on its branches and rest in its shade.

2. The Story of The Yeast
When a mother bakes bread, she mixes a tiny amount of yeast with a large quantity of flour. But it's powerful enough to make the whole batch of dough rise. That's like the kingdom of God!

3. The Story of The Seed Growing Secretly
The kingdom of God is like a farmer who has sown his seed. He carries on as usual, sleeping at night and working by day. All the while the seed is mysteriously growing. The farmer does not know how it happens. It has nothing to do with his efforts. He is just glad when harvest comes and he can reap his gain.

4. The Story of The Weeds
One day a farmer sowed his field with good seed. But at night, when everyone was sound asleep, an enemy came secretly and sowed weeds among the grain. No one knew what had happened until the two kinds of plant sprouted.

"An enemy has played a trick on me," he told them.

"Shall we pull up the weeds, then?" they asked. But the farmer shook his head.

"You might pull up good grain, too, by mistake," he warned. "Let the two crops grow together until harvest comes. Then we'll sort out the good from the bad!"

"What does that story mean?" the disciples asked Jesus.

"The field is the whole world," Jesus explained, "and the good seed is God's word -- the message I have come to bring. But the Evil One has been busy sowing weeds. For the present, my true followers, and those who only pretend to be mine, live alongside one another in my kingdom. But Harvest Day is coming. Then my angels will separate the true people from those who are false. The wrongdoers will be thrown out. But my people will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom!"

5. The Story of The Dragnet
The kingdom of God is like a fisherman's net. All kinds of fish swim into it. When the net is full, the fishermen bring it on shore, and sort out the fish. The good fish are put in the bucket and kept but the worthless ones are thrown out. At the end of the age, my angels will sort out the good from the bad in my kingdom.

6. The Story of The Hidden Treasure
There was once a man who, quite by accident, found a treasure hoard, buried in a field. He covered it over quickly and went off, bursting with excitement. He determined to buy that field, whatever it cost: then the treasure would be his by right.

He had to sell everything he owned to buy it, but he did not mind. He had found something worth more than everything else he possessed. That's like the person who discovers God's Kingdom.

7. The Story of The Costly Pearl
There was once a merchant who found a rare and beautiful pearl for sale. He set his heart on owning it. It cost so much that he had to sell everything else he owned in order to buy it. But he willingly did so, just to own that one, perfect pearl of great value. That's like the kingdom of God.

This is Ixora plant, and this is the first time I see the fruit of an Ixora plant. This is a photograph of Ixora taken outside Woodlands Regional Library at Woodlands Civic Centre... All the plants (my childhood plants - eg. Ixora, Flaming Dragon, yellow flame, etc) flourished and blossomed....this is the harvest time......

Our Lady of Lourdes

2008-07-07T16:56:00.000+08:00

I cannot remember when I dreamed of Our Lady, I saw her in the cave. I entered the cave, and saw this statue there.

Bernadette Soubirous was born on 7 January 1844, near Lourdes in France. She was a poor and very sickly fourteen-year-old girl who lived in the Pyrenees at a time of great turmoil in France. One day she went, with her sister Marie and another friend to a nearby river to gather firewood. Marie and her friend crossed the river to search the other side while Bernadette stayed on dry land. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise that seemed to come from a nearby grotto known as Massabielle. At the mouth of the grotto a rosebush appeared. Then, from deep inside the grotto she saw a golden-coloured cloud appear. Soon afterward, a beautiful lady came to the entrance of the opening just above the rosebush. The Lady smiled at Bernadette and motioned for her to come close. Bernadette lost all fear and fell to her knees in prayer. A little while later, the Lady slowly withdrew to the interior of the grotto and disappeared.

Over a six-month period Bernadette experienced eighteen vistations from Mary. She had no idea who the Lady was until the last apparition. During one apparition Mary instructed Bernadette to dig a hole in the ground and to drink and bathe in it. The hole later turned into a spring of water, which Mary promised would heal all who came to its water. Mary asked Bernadette to tell the local pastor, Cure Peyramale, to have a chapel built in honour of her appearances there. The Cure accused Bernadette of lying about the apparitions and told her to find out from the Lady just who she was and to demand that she perform a miracle by making the rosebush in the grotto bloom.

On March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation, Mary answered the Cure's request. She told Bernadette, who she was,"Que soy era Immaculado Conception" (I am the Immaculate Conception). With these words, she confirmed a recent declaration from the pope concerning the Immaculate Conception. It was highly unlikely that this could have been known by Bernadette, an uneducated fourteen-year-old in rural France who had received only the most rudimentary religious education.

The apparitions at Lourdes were declared authetic in 1862, and the spot rapidly became one of the world's major pilgrimage sites. Thousands have been cured from a variety of illnesses, both physical and spiritual, and a clinic to support the millions of pilgrims who come to Lourdes operates to this day. Bernadette returned to a life of obscurity. She was declared a saint in 1933 because of her dedication to a life of simplicity and service.

Who Is My Mother?

2008-07-06T17:22:00.000+08:00

Mother of God

Jesus began to move from place to place, speaking to people wherever they gathered. One day, his mother approached him along with some other members of his family. They wanted to speak with Jesus. A man in the crowd motioned toward them and said to Jesus,"Look, your mother and your family have come. They have something to say."

"Who is my mother? And who my family?" Holding his hand out towards his disciples, Jesus then said,"Look! Here is my mother and my family! All those who come close to me are my family."

Another time, when he was speaking to a crowd, Mary and others in the family again came close. They were standing at the doorway to the room in which he stood and someone came up to Jesus and told him.

"My mother and my brothers and sisters are these who hear the word of God and are moved by it." With these words, Jesus made it very clear that he was the Son of God. He indicated by this that all ties to the past must be severed and having dedicated himself to those who openly received his teaching, he spoke with the authority of a man who was redesigning old ways of thinking so that God could be seen in a new light.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been called "blessed" by God. The great transformation that happened to her when Gabriel announced the conception of a child in her womb is unknown to us. In some sense she can be likened to an empty vessel who received the word of God with humility and graciousness. She allowed the Spirit of God to move through her and was a witness to the miracle of Christ that was created in her womb.

While she does not appear at all in the stories of Jesus' short ministry in Galilee until his death in Jerusalem, we might suppose that Mary became a disciple or that she followed him wherever she could. If she was not actually present, then she certainly kept herself informed of everything that happened to him.

Jesus was as dear to Mary as any son is to his mother, but he was also a great teacher and his words probably held a profound meaning for her, for Mary's heart had opened to Jesus as the Saviour long before he began to teach. Her humility and her deep love for God would have served her well in the difficult role she played and as she witnessed the events of his life.

Noah Ark Comes To Rest

2008-06-19T22:54:00.000+08:00

God had promised Noah that he and his family would be saved, and Noah knew that God could be trusted. The water was now deep enough for the ark to float, and as it became even deeper, the ark began to drift about on the surface. Noah could not tell where they were, for the flood had risen so high that they had covered every part of the land. They went on rising so much that soon they were seven and a half yards above the tops of the highest mountains. There was nothing to be seen in any direction except water.

And they stayed like that for 150 days and nights. It must have seemed a very long time. Then a great wind began to blow, and at last the water started to go down. The rain stopped and gradually, for another 150 days, the water began to go lower and lower. The ark stopped rocking to and fro, and at last it came to rest on a mountain called Ararat. The water continued to go down and one day, when Noah looked out, he found that he could see the tops of other mountains.

Noah waited for another forty days. Then he opened a window in the ark and let a raven fly out. It flew around for a while and then flew away and did not come back. Next Noah sent out a dove to see if the flood water had gone down, but the dove could not find anywhere to land and, after a while, it flew back to the ark. Noah reached out his hand and lifted it in through the window.

He waited for another week, then he sent the dove out again. On the evening of that day, it came back and in its beak, it held a fresh olive leaf. Now Noah knew that somewhere the water had gone down far enough for the trees to be appearing again. He waited for one more week before he sent out the dove again. Out it flew, round and round, and out of sight. This time, it did not return, and Noah knew that it must have found somewhere to settle among the trees.

A little time later, Noah was able to look out of the ark and to see that the ground was becoming drier. In time, it became completely dry and the water disappeared. Then God said to Noah,"You may now leave the boat. Take your wife with you, and your sons and their wives, and all the birds and animals, so that they can settle on the earth and start having families again to replace all those that were drowned in the great flood."

So out came Noah and his family and all living creatures whom God had preserved during the great flood. The first thing Noah did was to take some stones and build an altar to God, to offer a sacrifice upon it and thank Him for keeping them safe. God was pleased and said,"Never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done this time. As long as there is a world, there will always be seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, and they shall not cease, " and as He promised, all these things have gone on ever since.

As a sign of His promise to Noah, God said,"I shall put a rainbow in the cloud. Whenever the sky is cloudy and a rainbow appears, I will remember my promise to you and to all living creatures, that a flood will never again destroy all that live on the earth."

The Great Flood

2008-06-18T22:52:00.000+08:00

Noah had lived to a very great age when the flood of water came upon the earth. And God said to Noah,"Come into the ark, you and all who are with you. Seven days from now, I will cause it to rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. And every living things I have made, I will destroy from the face of the earth." And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

He entered the ark with Shem, Ham and Japheth, his sons, his wife and the wives of his sons. Birds and beasts and creeping things of every kind came to Noah and went into the ark, two by two, the male and the female, as God had commanded.

Then the Lord shut Noah in the ark, and the water of the flood were upon the earth. All the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven opened. The rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. The water swelled and lifted the ark above the earth.

The flood spread and the water continued to rise upon the earth. And the ark floated upon the face of the water. The water rose higher and higher upon the earth until all the high mountains under heaven were covered. Forty-five feet more did the water rise above the high mountains and they were indeed covered.

Every living thing that moved upon the earth died -- birds, cattle, beasts, every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, every man and every living thing which was upon the face of the ground were destroyed. Only Noah and those who were with him remained alive.

God remembered Noah and every living creature with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth and to quiet the water.

Noah Ark

2008-06-17T22:36:00.000+08:00

The Lord saw that men had become very wicked and that in their minds and their hearts there was only evil. He regretted that he had made man on earth and in his heart he grieved very deeply. And God said to Noah,"The end of all flesh is before me. I will destroy all living things on earth for because of them the earth is filled with evil and violence. Make an ark of cypress wood," commanded the Lord.

"Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. Make it in this fashion: the length of the ark shall be four hundred and fifty feet, the breadth of it seventy-five feet, and the height forty-five feet. You shall put a window in it and in its side you shall put a door. The ark shall have three decks: a lower, a second and a third. You shall do this because I shall bring upon the earth a great flood which shall destroy every living thing. But with you I will make a promise and the promise shall be called a covenant. You shall enter the ark with your sons, and your wife, and your son's wives with you.

Of every living creature upon the earth you shall bring into the ark two of each sort to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Birds of all kinds, cattle and every creeping thing, two of every animal in creation shall come to you for you to keep them alive. And take with you some of every kind of food that is eaten. Gather it up, and it shall be food for you and the creatures that are with you."

The Enchanted Tembusu Tree

2008-04-24T09:49:00.000+08:00

In my neighbourhood, there is only One Tembusu Tree, I always wonder why they plant only ONE, such a beautiful plant with beautiful fragrance, why only one?

It is better to have one than nothing afterall, that is what I thought. Always hoping, always longing for the beautiful fragrance to come again, to see the blossoms. It comes, It shows and It is more than just a Tembusu Tree, it is an ENCHANTED TEMBUSU TREE, Fagraea fragrans

You don't have to have a lot. You don't have to have plenty. You just need ONE, one single Tembusu Tree, to add fragrance to the air. You only need ONE GOOD Tembusu Tree, a GOOD Tembusu Tree can add so much more to your life, so much nice smell, so much touch of love and surprises that EVEN YOU HAVE MONEY, you also cannot buy. It is one single Tembusu Tree down my house, that filled me with so much awe, surprises and inspiration. So much joy and so much of 'WOW, WOW, WOW' if only I can have more cap lock, exponential cap lock, WOW WOW WOW infinity......

Overnight, OVERNIGHT, The WHOLE Tembusu Tree is FILLED with Flowers, Tembusu Flowers!!!!! Last night I went downstairs to bring Ricsson back from Star Programme. As I walked out of the lift, I began to smell it, the fragrance of Tembusu Tree!!! I was so happy. Never did I know that the whole tree was full of blossoms.

It was only after bringing Ricsson back and then the whole family going downstairs for dinner, then I saw the Tembusu tree. At home, back in my room, I could even smell the fragrance, Beautiful Fragrance of the Tembusu Tree. I was so happy. I did not know it was full blosom still. (I tell you, God is so amazing. I even smell of Cebest, one day, one night to be exact, prior to me going to bathe. It was Cebest's some urine smell I smelt, from outside the window, just like last night, the smell come from outside the window. Then when I bathe that night, I smelled of bleach, can you believe it??? It is amazing, how God can make healing and God can make miracle like that, in the air, you cannot see it. Not all people have such sensitive nose to smell it either.)

Even in the night, the flowers were so prominent. The whole tree was filled with yellow flowers, I could not help but exclaimed with 'WOW, WOW, WOW', it's so INCREDIBLE, VERY INCREDIBLE!

Just last week, I looked at the Tembusu Tree, there was no flowers, no smell from it. The last week, it was 17th April 2008 to be exact, I went jogging with Richard and Clara. It was that day, I also took the most beautiful cat on the tree, but I have no time to put it up yet. It was that day, I met my 'favourite cat' too. It was a day of 'Victoria Alleluia" Inspiration, instinctively these words appeared in my brain, my mind.

That same day, I began to notice the yellow flame at the sit-up station began to grow new leaves. Last night, I saw the tree grown with new leaves, more green leaves, normal Yellow Flame again.

This morning, I went downstairs to take photographs of it. Looking at the bark of the tree, I was filled with inspiration, it is indeed An ENCHANTED Tembusu Tree, full of mysteries, creation of God.

It only takes a spark to get the fire going.

And soon all those around, can warm up in glowing.

That’s how it is with God’s love,

Once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone;

You want to pass it on. Yes, I experienced, I want to pass it on, It is beautiful.

What a wondrous time is spring, when all the trees are budding;
The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming.
That’s how it is with God’s love;
Once you’ve experienced it, you want to sing (Yes, It is singing inspiration comes naturally, you sing like crazy, it's madness, it's miracle in the air, beauty everywhere)
“It’s fresh like spring”; you want to pass it on.

I wish for you my friend, this happiness that I’ve found.
You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound.
I’ll shout it from the mountain top - PRAISE GOD (God Is POWER, God IS GREAT, I LOVE GOD, THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING I HAVE, JUSTICE FOR EVERYONE, LIVE AND DEAD!)
I want the world to know; the Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on.

I’ll shout it from the mountain top - PRAISE GOD
I want the world to know; the Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on.

Pass IT ON, SPREAD THE WORD OF GOD

The POWER OF ONE and Only Want God...

It was a scary 'Ghost' Story 'behind' it, I have no time to write yet, scary, 'haunting' indeed, I have so much things to do, so much things to write, Believe me, just wait for more Good News from me.

Story of The Butterfly Lovers

2008-04-18T01:00:00.000+08:00

梁山伯與祝英台 (電視劇主題曲) 羅文關菊英 Butterfly Lovers 1977 年 06

《梁山伯祝英台》片頭

關菊英 - 樓台會

The Butterfly Lovers (梁山伯與祝英台, pinyin: Liáng Shānbó yǔ Zhù Yīngtái, often abbreviated as "梁祝", Liáng-Zhù) or Liang Zhu is a 17th Century Chinese legend about a couple and their forbidden love -- the tragic romance between two lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The legend is sometimes regarded as the Chinese equivalent to Romeo and Juliet.

梁山伯與祝英台, The Butterfly Lovers
In Feudal China, when women were confined to their homes and love by choice results in condemnation, there was a girl by the name of Zhu Yin Tai, who come from a wealthy family who seek to defy the norms of society. Zhu Yin Tai desired to be educated. So she took on a male identity and set off for Hang Zhou. Here, Zhu Yin Tai met Liang Shan Bo, a fellow schoolmate. They soon became close friends and were enjoying each other's company. Liang Shan Bo was oblivious to Zhu Yin Tai's true gender all this time.

Time passed and upon completion of their studies, it was time for the two of time to depart. Zhu Yin Tai, hiding her love for Liang Shan Bo all the while, thought of a plan so that she can see him again. She offered 'his' sister's hand for marriage, and urged Liang Shan Bo to visit 'his' parents soon to raise the marriage issue. Liang Shan Bo promptly agreed. Soon a year passed and Liang Shan Bo finally arrived at Zhu Yin Tai's residence. Liang was overwhelmed with joy as he realized Zhu's real identity, and also that Zhu was deeply in love with him.

However, the couple's happiness was shortlived. Zhu's father had already betrothed her to a rich man. Liang Shan Bo was devastated. He grieved upon his misfortune and died on his way back home. Zhu Yin Tai learned about his death. She made up her mind that since she was not fated to be united with Liang Shan Bo in the mortal world, she would do so in the nether world. So she pretended to agree to the pre-arranged marriage, on the condition that the marriage procession must pass by Liang Shan Bo's grave. Her request was granted. Zhu Yin Tai weeped grieviously in front of Liang Shan Bo's grave. Dark clouds gathered and a strong wind began to blow. And as if heaven was abiding by Zhu's wish, a stroke of lightning flashed across the sky and the grave cracked opened. Zhu jumped into the opened grave. The skies cleared and the gust of wind ceased. Emerged from the grave were two beautiful butterflies, dancing freely and happily side by side. Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Yin Tai were reunited and never be separated again.

Transformation Into Butterflies
This was one of the earliest show which I knew when I was in Primary School. I was in the morning session. As I had to wake up early, I had to sleep early. However, this show was in the night, quite late at night. Most of the night, I was disturbed by the loud volume of the TV. Sometimes when I woke up to go toilet, I could watch some scene, but I did not know the real story at all. However, I saw the last scene, the transformation into butterflies and that was all I know for this show.

God Of Love

2008-04-12T15:48:00.000+08:00

Picture taken at Garden of Unity, Fu Shan Garden, Woodlands: Yesterday, managed to take a photograph of this butterfly, brown this time, the black one, I will need another time to tell you the story...

What a coincidence or was it destiny?

Butterfly Stories
Clara came home, telling me,"Got a yellow butterfly chase after me, then I also step on three mangoes..." I never bother much about this. However, in the evening, it was during the time where we went jogging at Fu Shan Garden, I had the most wonderful day.

The heart that conquers
As usual, running, my legs were itchy, but yesterday was rather 'special'. I was rather 'peaceful', having lots of thoughts in my mind as I was jogging. Running at a comfortable pace like that, I was able to jog 8 rounds, and still able to jog some more after that. But I stopped because Richard stopped and we went to Garden of Unity.

Colours That Brightens Up My Life
I love to go there because that is the place where all the beautiful flowers are. At Christmas gathering last year, my sister said,"forever taking photographs of flowers :)"

Yesterday, I saw 'Cebest' -- that is the old man's dogs, not really Cebest, but looked very similar (one of them). They made my day. The dogs were so obedient to the owner, just like Cebest. They loved to be given treats and they loved to eat. The old man was so cute. He fed the dogs with potatoes biscuits, telling his friends that the biscuits can be eaten by dogs or human -- nothing funny, but they sound so cute.

Plants I encountered at different stages of my life
I was so touched to see all the flowers blooming radiantly -- the sunflowers, rose, Clitoria ternatea, and other plants like sugarcane, mangoes, Plantago major, Aloe vera, Elephantopus scaber, prunella vulgaris, and many many more. This is so wonderful, so lovely.

Bukit Batok, Singapore: Rose of India on the right hand side of the picture

Close-up view of Rose of India, Lagerstroemia speciosa

Fragrance Not Only At Woodlands
After taking pictures at Garden of Unity, we proceed to the sit-up station where each of us take turns to do sit-ups. I was so happy, so inspired, really inspired by the fact that the durian tree has finally blossomed, and the air was full of its beautiful fragrance. That day when I went to Bukit Batok(9th April 2008), I also smelled nice air at the carpark (despite the rubbish chute or whatever you called it) -- the mango trees with fruits, rain trees with flowers (full of pink flowers) and Rose of India(with flowers too), what beauty it is, beauty everywhere!!!!!

Good Catch and A Good Round Up For The Day
On our way back, we saw birds, special birds sound, flying in pairs and threes. Clara said,"baby owls", but I don't know, because I had never been interested in birds, and never even seen any baby owls or hear their voice before, never interested! It was getting so dark and it was so hard to see, but I followed some of them, and in the end, the camera's flashes helped me to catch hold of this bird, which was 'waiting there for me' -- wait for my story and more pictures about this special bird.

Kindness Pays. Kindness is a language the dumb can speak and the deaf can hear and understand. A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

Miracles of God

2008-04-03T17:25:00.000+08:00

Standing at the window, dawn, daybreak, sunrise is what I had seen for the first time in my life. For the first time, I hear so many birds, see so many birds, hummingbirds, familiar yellowish black ones which I seen during childhood, swift, pigeons, conure and etc... Never had I seen dawn, dawn, my favourite book, by VC Andrew, Secrets of the morning.... real secrets I observed... Beauty in this world.

The sun, the eye of God, the eye I see in the sky. I am touched. Can you see the eye of God? The Sun, the clouds, such is the beauty of God, wonders and mystery everywhere.

Same morning, I saw Moon first, then after sometime (walking here and there, getting ready to go to school), at the bedside, Clara said, "I see the star", I looked out of the window, and I really saw a star! First was the moon, and now really got the star. Both of us could see the star, one star today, this morning!

I woke up the sky was so dark. I cannot believe it. But it is, with the moon so curved, so bright.

Last night, I slept quite early. Strange things happened....

In the morning, after the children went to school, I came back with the 'Sianz'(not motivated) attitude (not really sianz), but rather 'don't know what I should do'. I have so many things to do, so little time... Anyway, we tried. But once we started, we failed. He on his computer, I did the tidying, but soon I was tired, lost, confused and I was motionless. On the couch, I listened to music. My favourite songs Black and White, Save The Best for Last, etc etc,

It is all about making plans and working. I cannot imagine how I can work in this kind of environment, with no planning, but dreams. I am confused, I don't know what are my dreams then.

The children came back from school, and they played their toys. Everyday, thinking about what food to eat, what to cook, where to buy, I am so sick of it. Everybody has different opinions, and I have to listen to the needs of everybody, but no one is willing to compromise or give in. I was being tear apart. Last night was the worst.

Ricsson came back from star programme. He wanted to buy a bag. His bag, which was just bought a month or so ago, was spoilt. He wanted to buy another bag for star programme. The children wanted to eat at Causeway Point, Richard wanted me to cook porridge. The children don't like to eat porridge (only Clara likes to eat Porridge). I had already planned not to cook porridge at night for dinner. And now he is asking me to cook porridge for dinner.

The children were unhappy. He wanted to save money, he wanted to eat cheap food..... Ricsson said,"don't eat lar, save money." Clara and I kept quiet. I was totally drained. I did not know if I had done the right thing...

He always said,"don't need to ask the children." He always asked me, but when I said, he disagreed, yet he still asked me. I am so confused.

Children are people. Children need to be treated well. I am not happy with a restaurant and a shop at Causeway Point which does not treat CHILDREN as people, just like him. I am not pampering my kids, but respecting them. I can cook for them if I am in my right state. But I am incapable of cooking now, and even the good food, I have no appetite to eat.

Anyway, we decided to follow him then. We left the home at about 830pm. That is very late already, to go Woodlands North Plaza to eat Chicken Rice or Duck Rice. But that was their decision...

He was very furious. Left the home, walked in front of us, wearing black shirt. I walking in between the children, holding their hands. They are my support. I saw a woman in white walking past me as I approach Mercu there. No matter which path we took, the woman in white still come to 'meet' with me at Blk 818. At another block, I saw 'funny' sight. TWO CATS!!!! One beige plus brown one (the one I saw at Fushan garden, trapped in Red-lip palm tree, the day I was walking round Fushan Garden, like this picture below:

Planning For Christmas

2007-12-25T16:11:00.000+08:00

Little Women Plan Christmas

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

"It's so dreadful to be poor," sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

"We've got Father and Mother and each other," said Beth contentedly, from her corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly,"We have not got Father, and shall not have for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone,"You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering so in the army. We cannot do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am afraid I don't." And Meg shook her head, as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.

"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I've wanted it so long," said Jo, who was a bookworm.

"I planned to spend mine on new music," said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle holder.

"I shall get a nice box of drawing pencils; I really need them," said Amy decidedly.

"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.

The clock struck six, and having swept up the hearth, Beth put a pair of slippers down to warm. Somehow the sight of the old shoes had a good effect upon the girls, for Mother was coming, and everyone brightened to welcome her. Meg stopped lecturing, and lighted the lamp, Amy got out of the easy chair without being asked, and Jo forgot how tired she was as she sat up to hold the slippers nearer to the blaze.

"They are quite worn out; Marmee must have a new pair."

"I thought I'd get her some with my dollar," said Beth.

"No, I shall!" cried Amy.

"I'm the oldest," began Meg.

But Jo cut in with a decided,"I'm the man in the family now that Papa is away, and I shall provide the slippers, for he told me to take special care of Mother while he was gone."

"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Beth. "Let's each get her something for Christmas, and not get anything for ourselves."

"That's like you, dear! What will we get?" exclaimed Jo.

Everyone thought soberly for a minute. Then Meg announced, as if the idea was suggested by the sight of her own pretty hands, "I shall give her a nice pair of gloves."

"Army shoes, best to be had," cried Jo.

"Some handkerchiefs, all hemmed," said Beth.

"I'll get a bottle of cologne," said Amy.

"How will we give the things?" asked Meg.

"Put them on the table and bring her in and see her open the bundles," answered Jo. "Don't you remember how we used to do it on our birthdays?"

By Louisa May Alcott

The Good Samaritan

2007-09-15T20:11:00.000+08:00

Nothing makes one feel so strong as a call for help. When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching.

One semester, a college professor set up his preaching class in an unusual way. He scheduled his students to preach on the Parable of the Good Samaritan and on the day of the class, he choreographed his experiment so that each student would go, one at a time, from one classroom to another where he or she would preach a sermon. The professor gave some students ten minutes to go from one room to the other; to others he allowed less time, forcing them to rush in order to meet the schedule. Each student, one at a time, had to walk down a certain corridor and pass by a bum, who was deliberately planted there, obviously in need of some sort of aid.

The results were surprising, and offered a powerful lesson to them. The percentage of those good men and women who stopped to help was extremely low, especially for those who were under the pressure of a shorter time period. The tighter the schedule, the fewer were those who stopped to help the indigent man. When the professor revealed his experiment, you can imagine the impact on that class of future spiritual leaders. Rushing to preach a sermon on the Good Samaritan they had walked past the beggar at the heart of the parable. We must have eyes to see as well as hands to help, or we may never help at all. Anyone who need a helping hands can visit trios Corporation at trios.com. Trios provide various support as well as career opportunities. Visit Trios to find out more!

God helps them that help themselves. Every great man is always being helped by everybody; for his gift is to get good out of all things and all persons.

The Sunset

2007-08-03T13:35:00.000+08:00

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. ~ Mother Teresa

"Come with Me, Aunty! I'm bringing you to somewhere special," a shrill childish voice said as the blind girl, Diane felt a small hand tugging hers.

Tracy was Diane's niece. She was a twelve years old precocious little child, always inquisitive and full of exuberant energy. As a baby, she had wailed and screamed, determined to be taken out from the confines of her cot. Diane knew that she would grow up to be a bright child. Indeed she was. Her academic results was good. Her grades was always among the top in class. She likes Reading Comprehension and her Geometry was the best in class. Diane wished she could see Tracy's face but it was impossible. She was blind.

"Where are you taking me? Are you sure your mother would approve of this?" Diane asked Tracy as they stumbled over some soft ground. Tracy's mother was a teacher. She would always provide helpwork help to Tracy whenever she was free. As Tracy was holding on to Diane's hand, she could feel them moving up a slope. Much as she had worried for her safety, she was also intrigued. She was wondering what was so special about the place they were heading to.

"Don't worry, Aunty. I'm bringing you to the most beautiful place on earth. It is really magical," Tracy panted as she scampered upwards. Somehow, Tracy did not ever seem to mind that Diane was blind. She would always describe to her all the strange adventures she had while out in the woods. Sometimes, she would take Diane with her on one of her rambles. It felt as though she were living her life when she told Diane these stories.

"Here we are, Aunty! Can't you smell the sea in front of you? It is the most beautiful and darkest blue ever in this world. Picture it: it is calm and tranquil now, but you know it can rage ever so violently during a storm." Diane's mind sought to conjure the image that Tracy had just described so vividly.

"The sun is almost setting and its rays are glinting off the water like many sparkling diamonds. Over there in the horizon is a little boat with a cute little sail... I don't believe it! The folks are waving at us! Let's wave back, Aunty, or else they'll think we're unfriendly people!"

Even though Diane had never seen the sea or the sun before, she could feel the salty tang of the sea breeze assailing her nostrils and she could bask in warmth of the setting sun on her uplifted face. Grasping Tracy's hand, she asked,"Tell me more about what you see, Tracy. Is the view really as splendid as I think it is?"

"Oh Aunty! The sky is filled with so many colours which are constantly changing. There is a streak of purple at the fringe of the sun. The sun itself is turning into a dark crimson red as half its body sinks into the sea. Some of the stars are out, twinkling merrily like little Christmas lights in the sky. I think the seagulls are rushing home because they seem to diving around madly. It is as if they are doing one last dance before the sun goes down."

Diane did not know what the colour purple was. It did not matter to her. Neither did she know what a seagull looked like. She could feel Tracy's youthful exuberance translating the images into her mind which had always been shrouded in darkness. Diane could feel the air around her dancing to the song of nature, a harmonious display of nature's splendour. Diane's heart was deeply touched. For the first time, she had known what beauty was.

"Aunty, did I say something wrong? Why are you crying?" Tracy's voice sounded worried.

"No, Tracy. You've done nothing wrong. It is truly a beautiful place that you have brought me to."

Kindness is a language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.

Do Not Give Up

2007-05-25T18:23:00.000+08:00

One day John decided to quit... quit his job, his relationship, his spirituality...

John wanted to quit his life. He went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", John said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised John.

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", John replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said.

"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant... But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He said to me.

"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."

"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high."

"How high should I rise?" John asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" John questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

John left the forest and bring back this story. John hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you.

Never regret a day in your life.

Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.

Two Choices

2007-05-19T22:30:00.000+08:00

The Art of Success . . . Success is ninety-nine percent mental attitude. It calls for love, joy, optimism, confidence, serenity, poise, faith, courage, cheerfulness, imagination, initiative, tolerance, honesty, humility, patience, and enthusiasm. . . . Success is having the courage to meet failure without being defeated. It is refusing to let present loss interfere with your long-range goal. . . . Success is relative and individual and personal. It is your answer to the problem of making your minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years add up to a great life. ~ Wilfred A. Peterson

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

Jerry was a unique restaurant manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Being curious, one day Mike, who was also in the restaurant industry, went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," Mike protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

Mike reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, Mike left the restaurant industry to start his own business. They lost touch, but Mike still often thought about Jerry when he made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, Mike heard that Jerry did something silly -- he left the back door of the restaurant opened one morning. He was held up at gun point by three armed robbers! While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and was quickly sent to the hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

Mike met Jerry about six months after the accident. When Mike asked him how he was, he said, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" Mike declined to see his wounds, but asked him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" Mike asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" Mike asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. We should learn from him that everyday we have the choice to live fully.

Remember this: Each morning when you wake up, you have two choices for the day. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. Each time something bad happens, you can choose to be a victim or you can choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes complaining, you can choose to accept their complaining or you can point out the positive side of life. Life is all about choices. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. It's your choice how you live life.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Attitude is an important part of the foundation upon which we build a productive life. A good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude poor results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude. ~ M. Russell Ballard

The Apple Tree

2007-05-10T00:28:00.000+08:00

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day. He loved the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow...He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by.......

The little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday. One day the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.

"Come play with me," the tree asked the boy.

"I am no longer a kid, I don't ' play around trees anymore." The boy replied, "I want toys. I need money to buy them."

"Sorry, but I don't have money.....but you can pick my apples and sell them. Then you will have money." The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples.

The tree was sad.. One day the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said.

"I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"

"Sorry but I don't have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house." So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then.

The tree was lonely and sad. One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was so delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said. "I am so sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?"

"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy." So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a very long long time.

Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, my boy, but I don't have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you...." the tree said".

"I don't have teeth to bite" the boy replied.

"No more trunk for you to climb on"

"I am too old for that now" the boy said.

"I really can't give you anything.....the only thing left is my dying roots" the tree said with tears.

"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." The boy replied "Good! Old Tree Roots is the best place to lean and rest on. Come, come sit down with me and rest " The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears......

This is a story for everyone. The tree is our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad...When we grew up, we left them...only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they can to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree but that is how all of us are treating our parents.

Love your parents, no matter where they are.

Happy Valentines

2007-04-08T00:25:00.000+08:00

It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow. ~ Robert H. Goddard

Little Chad was a shy, quiet young fella. One day, he came home and told his mother he'd like to make a valentine for everyone in his class. Her heart sank. She thought,"I wish he wouldn't do that!". This was because she had watched the children when they walked home from school. Her Chad was always behind them. They laughed and hung on to each other and talked to each other. But Chad was never included.

Nevertheless, she decided she would go along with her son. So she purchased the paper and glue and crayons. For three whole weeks, night after night, Chad painstakingly made thirty-five valentines.

Valentine's Day dawned, and Chad was beside himself with excitement! He carefully stacked them up, put them in a bag, and bolted out the door. His mom decided to bake him his favourite cookies and serve them up warm and nice with a cool glass of milk when he came home from school. She just knew he would be disappointed... maybe that would ease the pain a little. It hurt her to think that he wouldn't get many valentines -- maybe none at all.

That afternoon, she had the cookies and milk on the table. When she heard the children outside she looked out the window. Sure enough here they came, laughing and having the best time. And, as always, there was Chad in the rear. He walked a little faster than usual. She fully expected him to burst into tears as soon as he got inside. His arms were empty, she noticed, and when the door opened she choked back the tears.

"Mommy has some warm cookies and milk for you."

But he hardly heard her words. He just marched right on by, his face aglow, and all he could say was,"Not a one... not a one."

And then he added,"I didn't forget a one, not a single one!"

Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which, if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante or Shakespeare. ~ H. F. Hedge

If one advances confidently in the directions of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ~ Henry David Thoreau

What's It Like In Your Town

2007-04-07T23:47:00.000+08:00

Your attitude is a little thing, but it makes a big difference. Look backwards with gratitude, upwards with confidence and forwards with hope. Smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone.

What's It Like In Your Town
Once there was an old and very wise man. Every day he would sit outside a gas station in his rocking chair and wait to greet motorists as they passed through his small town. On this day, his granddaughter knelt down at the foot of his chair and slowly passed the time with him.

As they sat and watched the people come and go, a tall man who surely had to be a tourist -- since they knew everyone in the town -- began looking around as if he were checking out the area for a place to live.

The stranger walked up and asked,"So what kind of town is this that we're in?"

The older gentleman slowly turned to the man and replied,"Well, what kind of town are you from?"

The tourist said,"In the town I'm from everyone is very critical of each other. The neighbours all gossip about everyone, and it's a real negative place to live. I'm sure glad to be leaving. It is not a very cheerful place."

The man in the chair looked at the stranger and said,"You know, that's just how this town is."

An hour or so later a family that was also passing through stopped for gas. The car slowly turned in and rolled to a stop in front of where the older gentleman and his granddaughter were sitting. The mother jumped out with two small children and asked where the restrooms were. The man in the chair pointed to a small, bent-up sign that was barely hanging by one nail on the side of the door.

The father stepped out of the car and also asked the man,"Is this town a pretty good place to live?"

The man in the chair replied,"What about the town you are from? How is it?"

The father looked at him and said,"Well, in the town I'm from everyone is very close and always willing to lend their neighbour a helping hand. There's always a hello and thank you everywhere you go. I really hate to leave. I feel almost like we are leaving family."

The older gentlemen turned to the father and gave him a warm smile.

"You know, that's a lot like this small town."

Then the family returned to the car, said their thank yous, waved goodbye and drove away.

After the family was in the distance, the granddaughter looked up at her grandfather and asked,"Grandpa, how come when the first man came into our town you told him it was a terrible place to live and when the family came in to town you told them it was a wonderful place to live?"

The grandfather lovingly looked down at this granddaughter's wondering blue eyes and said,"No matter where you move, you take your own attitude with you and that's what makes it terrible or wonderful."

It's your attitude, not your aptitude that determines your altitude. Happiness is not something you find, it's something you create.

A Helpless Reporter

2007-03-20T12:07:00.000+08:00

Jean is a journalism intern. Jean felt terrible as she walked into the refugee camp. She could never get used to the sight of mass suffering. She saw before her emaciated people who looked limp and listless; like broken puppets dangling from a string. There had been a civil war in the country and these refugees had trekked long distances just to get to the safety of the refugee camp. The desperate situation was worsened by an ongoing famine in the country. Hence, most of the refugees were as thin as skeletons and their eyes had a cold glassy look; numbed by the suffering they had endured.

She knew that as a journalist, she had to maintain a professional detachment from all the suffering and pain before her. The news had to be reported objectively, it was her duty to present the truth to the world; but sometimes the truth could not be conveyed in mere simple words.

As she stood in the middle of all the squalor around her, she felt totally worthless and ineffectual. How could she close an eye to the misery surrounding her? How could she be dispassionate when she was the only healthy looking person amongst the starving refugees? She wanted so much to just reach out and tell the small child, prone and weak on the ground in front of her, that the world is supposed to be full of hope and promise, but would it matter? Would it not be just a feeble attempt to alleviate the conscience that was gnawing inside her instead of offering real concrete help to the child?

Jean could remember the well-known story of the award-winning journalist who committed suicide shortly after photographing a little girl making her way to a refugee camp. Tired and on the brink of death, she was stalked by a vulture. The journalist chased the vulture away and the girl made it to the camp. However, the pain and horror of the scenario festered in his heart and haunted him. The picture won him a journalistic prize, but it also ultimately killed him as he could not handle the torment. He simply could not live with the image of the dying refugee and his won impotence in offering any kind of assistance.

Jean could understand the pain as she stood there in the camp -- the conflict of wanting to help and yet feeling totally powerless to act. The act of helping would merely shelve some of the guilt within herself, but it would make no difference to the general suffering of the refugees -- it would be a totally selfish gesture. In the long run, what little she did mattered not if the government of the devastated nation did not do its part.

The complete sense of helplessness overwhelmed her. She fought back the tears that welled up in her eyes and walked away out of the camp to a waiting jeep. There was nothing she could do except to turn away from the suffering. She hated herself, but was there really any other recourse?

Internships are valuable opportunities to grow as a professional and a person.
An internship is not easy. For instance, it is difficult to get a job in journalism unless you've done an internship. It's full-time journalism work, which means it's demanding work that never runs only from 9 to 5. On the other hand, it's interesting and important work that changes every day, which is more than you can say for many things you might spend your life doing after college. Journalism interns will receive Journalism credits upon completion of their internships. A successful internship and strong recommendation can create a standout among the many job seekers in journalism. Internships abroad - International internships require special information. There are a lot of details to consider when going on an internship in a foreign country. It is possible to find interns all over the world and for companies worldwide to advert their internships.

Most students find the internship the most valuable part of the journalism program. To do an internship, you don't have to take a blood oath to stay in journalism forever. Nobody knows what they want to do with the rest of their lives, so it's unrealistic to think you'll know that as a college student. But if you're not at least seriously considering a career in writing or editing, you may have trouble finding the motivation to do the work an internship requires.

Internships provide valuable opportunities for students to gain experience in a field of study, determine if they really have an interest in a particular career path and, perhaps most importantly, create a network of contacts. In addition, interns often gain college credit.

P.U.S.H

2007-01-15T22:46:00.000+08:00

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind, "you have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved." Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough."

That's what he planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My Servant, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, my servant, will move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H!

When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H!

When people don't react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H!

When your money is "gone" and the bills are due ... just P.U.S.H!

When people just don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H!

P + U + S + H = Pray + Until + Something + Happens

Father's Eyes

2007-01-12T00:09:00.000+08:00

A teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. The father believed in encouragement. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.

This young man was the smallest of the class when he entered high school.

His father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't want to.

But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on".

Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.

His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?"

The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back to the game on Saturday." Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well.

In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.

"Coach, please let me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man.

The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph.

The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His team-mates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard!

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?" He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

A Little Motivation

2006-12-22T18:34:00.000+08:00

A motivational video was played at a seminar. The motivational speaker started off by using his LCD projector to play the show. It was a well-organized seminar, with the projector looking brand new and everything looked nice. It was a comfortable seminar. This was what the story is all about:

It seems a gentleman worked on the 4.00pm to midnight shift, and he always walked home after work. One night, the moon was shining so bright he decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery, which would save him roughly a half-mile walk. There were no incidents involved, so he repeated the process on a regular basis, always following the same path.

One night as he was walking his route through the cemetery, he did not realize that during the day a grave had been dug in the very center of his path. He stepped right into the grave and immediately started desperately trying to get out. His best efforts failed him, and after a few minutes, he decided to relax and wait until morning when someone would help him out.

He sat down in the corner and was half asleep when a drunk stumbled into the grave. His arrival roused the shift worker since the drunk was desperately trying to climb out, clawing frantically at the sides. Our hero reached out his hand, touched the drunk on the leg, and said,"Friend, you cannot get out of here...." -- but he did!

Now that's motivation!

Projectors are useful in seminars, other occasion like wedding ceremonies or even other celebrations, and even a popular home entertainment nowadays. For LCD Projectors and DLP Projectors, visit ProjectorsCenter.com

Don't Quit

2006-12-15T09:23:00.000+08:00

Ignacy Jan Paderewski (November 6, 1860 - June 29, 1941) OBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat and politician, and the third Prime Minister of Poland.

Ignace Jane Paderewski, the famous composer-pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. It was an evening to remember -- black tuxedos and long evening dresses, a high-society extravaganza. Present in the audience that evening was a mother with her fidgety nine-year old son. Weary of waiting, he squirmed constantly in his seat. His mother was in hopes that her son would be encouraged to practice the piano if he could just hear the immortal Paderewski at the keyboard. So, against his wishes, he had come.

As she turned to talk with friends, her son could stay seated no longer. He slipped away from her side, strangely drawn to the ebony concert grand Steinway and its leather tufted stool on the huge stage flooded with blinding lights. Without much notice from the sophisticated audience, the boy sat down at the stool, staring wide-eyed at the black and white keys. He placed his small trembling fingers in the right location and began to play "chopsticks". The roar of the crowd was hushed as hundreds of frowning faces pointed in his direction. Irritated and embarrassed, they began to shout,

"Get that boy away from there!"
"Who'd bring a kid that young in here?"
"Where's his mother?"
"Somebody stop him!"

Backstage, the master overheard the sounds out front and quickly put together in his mind what was happening. Hurriedly, he grabbed his coat and rushed toward the stage. Without one word of announcement he stooped over behind the boy, reached around both sides, and began to improvise a countermelody to harmonize with and enhance "chopsticks". As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy's ear,

"Keep going, don't quit. Keep on playing... don't stop... don't quit."

And so it is with us. We hammer away on our project, which seems about as significant as "chopsticks" in a concert hall. And about the time we are ready to give up, along comes the Master, who leans over and whispers, "Now keep going, don't quit. Keep on... don't stop, don't quit." as He improvises on our behalf, providing just the right touch at just the right moment.

Language is so important. The use of language is important in our daily life and also important for business people. Language helps to connects the minds of people. Language helps people to communicate with each other. Language when use in a positive ways motivates and encourages people. For Business Language Courses visit Language Trainers. Language Trainers specialize in one-to-one and small group language training for business people and busy individuals who need language skills for work, travel and family needs.

Learn From Animals

2006-12-14T22:08:00.000+08:00

A True Story about a Hippo stranded after the Tsunami NAIROBI (AFP) -
A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

"It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.

"After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added.

"The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added.

"The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," she explained.

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

Love's Power

2006-12-13T17:44:00.000+08:00

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:13

Victor Frankl, a Viennese Jew, was *interned by the Germans for more than three years. He was moved from one concentration camp to another, even spending several months at Auschwitz. Dr Frankl said that he learned early that one way to survive was to shave every morning, no matter how sick you were, even if you had to use a piece of broken glass as a razor. For every morning, as the prisoners stood for review, the sickly ones who would not be able to work that day were sent to the gas chambers. If you were shaven, and your face looked ruddier for it, your chances of escaping death that day were better.

Their bodies wasted away on the daily fare of 10.5 ounces of bread and 1.75 pints of thin gruel. They slept on bare board tiers seven feet wide, nine men to a tier. The nine men shared two blankets together. Three shrill whistles awoke them for work at 3am.

One morning, as they marched out to lay railroad ties in the frozen ground miles from the camp, the accompanying guards kept shouting and driving them with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with sore feet supported himself on his neighbour's arm. The man next to Frankl, hiding his mouth behind his upturned collar, whispered,"If our wives could see us now! I hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."

Frankl writes,"That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look."

A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth -- that love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: the salvation of man is through love and in love.

Internships Facts
*Meaning of intern:
As a noun it means:
1. A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training.
2. A physician who has recently graduated from medical school and is learning medical practice in a hospital under supervision, prior to beginning a residency program.
As a verb it means:
1. To train or serve as an intern.
2. To confine, especially in wartime.

Internships are educational, employment positions in which students apply the information gained from their classes to real-world work situations. They gain hands-on experience in their career path, assess their interests and abilities, and learn what is required to be successful in their chosen field. Internships also provide opportunities for students to "try out" a field of work and develop professional relationships. Employers use internships to try out potential new employees, to get work projects completed, and to make professional relationships with colleges and universities. Students have found that internships are often the best route to find full-time employment after graduation. Employers rate internship experience as the number one most important criteria in the job candidate selection process. They have found that interns often make the best long-term employees.

There are literally hundreds of opportunities for internships abroad. Intern Town is an UK based website that communicates between companies and interns. The website is fairly new but one can find interns all over the world and for companies worldwide to advert their internships.

Not Alone

2006-12-10T00:24:00.000+08:00

Rudy's Angel
I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 37 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

Rudy often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. Rudy knew I loved yellow roses.

With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since Rudy had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how Rudy had loved his steak. Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blond, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large pack of T-bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know." I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes." My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together."

She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away. I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream section near the front of the store. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.

I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blond hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes.

"These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again.

I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision. I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know?

Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone. "Oh, Rudy, you haven't forgotten me, have you?" I whispered, with tears in my eyes. He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Everyday be thankful for what you have and who you are.

What Am I

2006-12-09T23:54:00.000+08:00

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter
to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its richness and savored its aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became
hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her
daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are
you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with
pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff
spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the
bean, when things are at their worst, you get even better and change the
situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you
elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot,
an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make
you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you
happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE!

Perfect Heart

2006-12-08T00:49:00.000+08:00

One day a young woman was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that she had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired her heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young woman was very proud and boasted more loudly about her beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old woman appeared at the front of the crowd and said: "Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young woman looked at the old woman's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges.

In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared - how can she say her heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young woman looked at the old woman's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," she said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old woman, "Yours is perfect looking but I could never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of their heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young woman stood silently with tears running down hers cheeks. She walked up to the old woman, reached into her perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. She offered it to the old woman with trembling hands. The old woman took her offering, placed it in her heart and then took a piece from her old, scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young woman's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young woman looked at her heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old woman's heart flowed into hers. They embraced and walked away side by side.

Love cannot be wasted. It makes no difference where it is bestowed, it always brings in big returns!

Borrower Or Lender

2006-11-22T18:58:00.000+08:00

Polonius' advice in Hamlet continues " For loan of loseth both itself and friend".

There is no doubt that unpaid debts are not conducive to friendship; neither are the garden tools borrowed and kept for too long, or not returned at all. Shakespeare's advice is that to borrow and lend are dangerous to friendship, and should be avoided. Yet there are times when one needs to borrow some items from a friend, and the transaction cannot be one-sided; the borrower must be known to be prepared to lend.

The modern relevance of the advice is clear, insofar as the private person is concerned. Much modern living is on credit. A young person needs a new motor bike, car or if married, furniture and kitchen equipments for the new home. The couple have no capital, so are virtually forced into hire purchase or the use of credit cards -- since one has to eat, sleep and sit down, and the washing won't wait. They find themselves repaying capital plus a high rate of interest. If borrowing is extended to unnecessary luxuries the couple find themselves in financial trouble. Few people can go through life without borrowing money at some stage, but the golden rule is to borrow if necessary for essentials and pay for luxuries out of money saved. The essential is to plan one's finances. If care is taken there is nothing wrong in a degree of borrowing.

Apart from personal finances, there are occasions when borrowing is inevitable. Students who unable to pay for university fees, are 'forced' to take up student loans. The loans are repayable, a modest or at no rate of interest over the early years of employment.

Wisely, a young couple decide to buy a house or flat. If they also need to take up a mortgage at the bank or housing loan.

Two farmers need, say, an expensive tractor and an expensive threshing machine. Neither can afford to buy both. Both can afford to buy one. So they agree to lend their machines to each other.

The government of an underdeveloped country finds that a certain area is rich in natural resources but has neither the capital nor the expertise to exploit them. Borrowing against the utimate profits is inevitable.

A small group of young people have a good idea for a new business, and they put it to their local bank. The bank carefully vets the idea and may decide to advance the necessary starting capital. Without loans few new buisnesses could begin.

Polonius's advice had its points on the 16th century; there is safety and merit in being as self-sufficient as possible. In the modern world however the creation of new wealth nearly always depends on the initial use of other people's money.

(For international students who do not qualify for federal student aid or qualify for enough, students who need extra money for books, fees, tuition, living, food, housing etc while in college: Seek advantages of private student loans from NextStudent. Unlike federal student loans, the check is sent directly to students, not to the school.)

Polonius is a character from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The character is best known for uttering the immortal words, "To thine own self be true" as well a few other phrases still in use today such as "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" and "brevity is the soul of wit".

Polonius' Famous quotes

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry"

"And this above all: To thine own self be true."

"Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief: your noble son is mad."

"That he is mad, 'tis true: 'tis true 'tis pity; And pity 'tis 'tis true."

"Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, but not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man."

Balance of Life

2006-11-21T11:11:00.000+08:00

Mary and Susan were friends for years. They grew up together and attended the same schools. They were now both in their 40's, and both had great careers. They both had a similar upbringing - same education, same family values, similar support and financial position. But there was one main difference. Mary never seemed to have enough time. She watched her life long friend Susan. She had similar responsibilities and interests. Susan had a career, she had three children, she had her hobbies, one of which included golf. Over lunch, Susan was telling Mary about the golf game that she played last weekend.

"Susan, where do you find the time to play golf?" asked Mary. "I never seem to have the time, now with the children older and doing their own thing I thought I would have time to play golf like we did when we were in college."

Susan looked at Mary and laughed, "Mary, we both have the same hours in a day. You do have the time to play golf!"

With a sigh Mary replied, "That's easy for you to say. I never seem to have time. My work takes so much of my time. I am in the office at 7:30, I leave at 6:30 in the evening. By the time I get home and have dinner, it is 8:00! And, then I usually have a briefcase full of work. The weekends are full of more work. Just to keep up, I have to put in the hours. You know what it is like!"

"Of course, I know what it is like," Mary said. "But what would happen tomorrow if you got sick? Who would do the work?"

"Sick. Who has time to get sick!" exclaimed Mary. "But if I did get sick, someone else would do the work, I suppose."

"You know something, Mary, I used to be like you. I worked night and day and of course on weekends. When I got home I was exhausted but I would push myself and read my children a bedtime story. By the time I went to bed, I would be more than exhausted. The boss I had was very demanding. She was there early in the morning, late at night, and she always worked weekends. I felt I had to do the same - I needed the job to help support my family - just as you did. But then I had a change of bosses. The man I worked for was older and much wiser, I might add! Of course, I continued to work the hours I had been working. One day he came to my desk and passed me a card that had a quote on it which said, 'What I do today is important, because I will never have today again' - then he left."

"I sat there stunned. I suddenly thought of what was important to me. While my work was important, I realized my children were more important. I also realized that time for me was important. It was 4:30, the official closing time of the office. I straightened my desk, felt a twinge of guilt about leaving, but I forced myself to leave. I was home by 5:00. My children and husband were surprised. I had a wonderful evening. It was not a chore to read that bedtime story that evening."

Mary was looking at her friend thoughtfully and then questioned Susan about the work she had left on her desk.

Susan replied, "I never thought this possible, but I actually accomplished more the next day then I had in weeks. As I was leaving the next day I stopped at my new boss's office and thanked him for the quote. He told me a story about advice his dad had given him many years ago when he was working night and day. He referred to it as 'Balance of Life'. His dad told him to keep balance in his work, in his family life and in time for himself. He explained to me, while all aspects of our life are important, without a balance, you become addicted and like all addictions you lose -

- no balance with your family - you lose them

- no balance with your work - you lose your perspective and you actually lose focus on the important aspects of your job.

- no balance with yourself - you forget who you are and when you retire you have nothing! Or worse than that, if you lose your job through a company sale or downsizing you lose your identity.

He went on to tell me that who we are is NOT what we do to make a living. Who we are is a balance of our family, our work, ourselves! It truly was the best advice I ever received."

Mary took a drink of her tea and tearfully looked at her friend, "But I would never get my work done if I left at 4:30!"

Susan looked thoughtfully at her, "When you go to work on Monday, look at what you have on your desk. Make a list of everything you have to get done and beside that list write the impact of not doing it. Then focus only on the top three items that have the most impact. Do that everyday for a week. At first, you will find it difficult to leave. But, after awhile, you will find that you will have more energy, and you will be more focused in your work because you have BALANCE! There are times when we have to lose balance - a special project at work, or a family matter at home - but consciously focusing on balance keeps everything in check."

Mary smiled at her friend, "Thanks for talking with me. We have been friends for so long. Thank heavens I have balance with your friendship! You have convinced me. I will leave the work in my briefcase this weekend. On Monday, I will make the list first thing. Perhaps next weekend, I will have the time to go golfing with you!"

"Balance of Life" - important for us ALL!

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of humankind.

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of people.
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

~ Bertrand Russell

Commitment

2006-11-20T10:46:00.000+08:00

Not all feared the poor and unemployed. There were those who saw beggars and wounded soldiers as subjects for compassion. The Bible, especially in the story of Dives and Lazarus, made it clear that charity for the poor was a basic Christian duty. The parable of the rich man Dives and the poor man Lazarus is found in Luke 16: 19-31. Lazarus, poor and full of sores, was at Dives' gate waiting to be fed from the crumbs from his table. After each died, Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom, while Dives suffered in Hell.

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbors could not stand the smell anymore, so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment.

We should remain true to our course; which may mean committing yourselves to things that people around you would normally disapprove. Let nothing distract us from being happy, let nothing else determine our fate, but ourselves.

What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire.

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. ~ Vince Lombardi

Reading And Refinement

2006-11-19T16:58:00.000+08:00

Ever since members of early civilizations used simple hieroglyphics to communicate their thoughts, hopes and aspirations, there has been a close connection between reading and refinement. For this purpose, the terms 'refinement' must be extended to include far more than 'good manners' -- otherwise, the only reading necessary to produce the 'refined' person would be a book on etiquette! Refinement, however, really implies culture and civilization in the widest sense, a combination of those qualities which differentiate man from the animal world, and it is the bearing of reading on the development of these qualities which we must examine.

A high standard of personal morality and unselfishness is cultured man's first characteristic. This, he largely owes to the books of his religion, whether it be the Christian Bible, the Muslim Koran, the Hindu Upanishads, the Philosophy of Buddha or Confucius. Such books teach him the meaning of family life and virtues of honesty, peaceful living and integrity. But, the best of secular literature helps him to achieve the samle object. The innocence of Ophelia, the nobility of Sydney carton cannot fail to impress and attract the reader.

Greek tragedy was intended to induce in the audience a 'Catharsis', or purging of hte emotions, primarily those of 'pity and terror'. But the general reader finds that all good literature has a salutary effect on the emotional side of his nature. Great emotional pleasure may be derived from a good novel, as we enter fully into the life of the hero or heronine, and the best of writing, whether it takes the form of poetry, drama, or the novel has an undoubtedly maturing effect on our emotional nature.

For most people, however, the 'refined' person is the 'educated' person, the person whose intellect has been developed through reading intelligent books. The clear, logical thinker owes much to his grounding in the school room and even more to the love of reading which this grounding has fostered. Reading becomes a stimulating function of adult life, and ceases to be a child's tool for passing an examination or getting a job.

Cultured living requires that people should be 'well-informed' and wide reading has the added advantage of imparting useful general knowledge. Thus, the well-read man or woman is more fitted to live in the community and travel, profitably, outside it. Such knowledge is obtained from a variety of sources ranging from the newspapers and magazines to the many available volumes of specialized non-fiction books.

An added benefit of good reading is the development of a love of language for its own sake. Style, imagery and figurative language, the 'atmosphere of prose and poetry, its emotional intensity and its intellectual content-all these things inculcate a love of beauty, the mark of a truly civilized person.

No reader of good literature can fail to be influenced by the attitudes to life, to members of the family, to the community and to the nation which it contains. He constantly checks his own philosophy against what he finds, and in analyzing it, refines it. We do not necessarily try to behave like people in books, but at least we can learn from them.

Sometimes, however, we rightly desire to model our lives on those of great men and women, in so far as we can, and in this conneciton, the importance of reading biographies cannot be overestimated. It is a poor scientist who does not emulate the achievements of a Michael-Angelo or an Einstein, it is a poor nurse who does not admire the forcefulness and devotion of Florence Nightingale.

Today, we live in a cosmopolitan community, which has become sophisticated and matured by the admixture of foreigners with their own languages, ways of life and special gifts. Furthermore, few of us nowadays, spend all our lives in our own small village or town. And so, it becomes increasingly important to know about other countires, other people. To know about other countires, other people, to know sometign about them from books, perhaps to learn their language, at once smoothes the path to friendship and it is a characteristic of a refined person to wish to make friends with other nationals -- not to regard them suspiciously as 'foreign devils'.

The refined person is the mentally disciplined person -- the person who demands a full and intellectually satisfying life.

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Beautiful And Perfect Woman

2006-10-24T23:34:00.000+08:00

The Most Beautiful Woman
There was a man walking on the beach who looked up and saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He was awestruck, captured, stunned by her beauty. He could do nothing but forget everything and follow her. He was so intrigued by her beauty that he followed her for hours on the beach.

For a long time she did not notice him following, but eventually the beautiful woman turned around and asked the man who he was, and why he was following her.

The man explained that he was so captured by her beauty, that he had never seen any woman as beautiful as she was, that he could not help but to follow her, that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and would she be his.

The woman replied, "I am very flattered at such a compliment, but surely this cannot be true, for if you had turned to look behind you, you would have seen my sister who has been following you, and she is ten times more beautiful than me."

The man turned to look, and saw a homely looking girl behind him. He turned to the other woman and said, "I'm confused, your sister is not more beautiful than you. Why would you tell me that ? You lied to me."

The woman looked at him and said, "And you lied also, for you turned your head."

Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time. ~ Albert Camus

The Perfect Girl

A friend asked a gentleman how it is that he never married.

The gentleman replied, "Well, I guess I just never met the right woman ... I guess I've been looking for the perfect girl."

"Oh, come on now," said the friend, "Surely you have met at least one girl that you wanted to marry."

"Yes, there was one girl ... once. I guess she was the one perfect girl ... the only perfect girl I really ever met. She was just the right everything ... I really mean that she was the perfect girl for me."

"Well, why didn't you marry her," asked the friend.

"She was looking for the perfect man," he said

A very beautiful woman hardly ever leaves a clear-cut impression of features and shape in the memory; usually there remains only an aura of living colour. ~ William Bolitho

A Taxi Driver Encounter

2006-10-24T00:01:00.000+08:00

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living.

When I arrived at 2:30 AM, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away.

But, I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice.

I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suit case. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets and there were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated". "Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice. "

I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw that her eyes were glistening ....

"I don't have any family left," she continued.

"The doctor says I don't have very long ..."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse ...

"... Nothing," I said

"... You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light.

Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.

What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware -- wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said; but they will always remember how you made them feel.

An Obedient Boy

2006-10-21T08:24:00.000+08:00

Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

There was once a very active boy who fell and broke his leg. He could run again in the spring, the doctors said, but only if he stayed in bed for an entire month and kept his leg still.

At first the boy fought the rule, but he found that the more he thought about things he couldn't do, the more tired and angry he felt. His parents put in a phone by his bed and friends called every day.

He'd never much liked talking on the phone, but he felt better when they called. He wrote letters and got replies, and was surprised at what fun it was.

Usually, he didn't have time to write letters. He learned to play chess and began to enjoy reading.

His days were slower and quieter than he'd been used to, but he learned a month really isn't a very long time.

When spring came, he was running again, a little more joyfully than before.

When we can learn to accept our troubles, we find, like the boy, that they are just packages in which new growth and discoveries are wrapped.

Troubles, like babies, grow larger by nursing. ~Lady Holland

Legendary Stories of the Chinese Moon Festival

2006-10-01T22:59:00.000+08:00

Hou Yi and Chang-O
Once upon a time there was a famous archer, Hou Yi, who with his arrows was able to slay mankind's worst enemies, ferocious beasts that inhabited the earth. Yi was married to Chang-O, a beautiful but inquisitive woman who had been an attendant of the queen mother of the west before her marriage. Now at this time, there were 10 suns that took turns circling the earth-one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the orbs circled, together, causing the earth's surface to burn and threatening mankind. The wise emperor of China summoned Yi and commanded him to kill but one of the suns. This Yi proceeded to do. Upon the completion of his task, Yi was rewarded with a pill, the elixir of life, and advised: "make no haste to swallow this pill, but first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year." Being a wise man, Yi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter while he began healing his spirit, In the midst of this, Yi was summoned again by the emperor.

While her husband was gone, Chang-O noticed a beam of white light beckoning from the rafter. She followed it and a fragrant perfume, discovered the pill and swallowed it. Immediately, Chang-O found she could fly. Just at that moment her husband returned home, realize what had happened and began to reprimand his wife. Chang-O flew out the window into the sky. Yi sped after her, bow in hand, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Yi had to return to the earth because of the force of the wind.

His wife reached the moon and there, breathless, she coughed and part of the pill fell from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon and Chang-O commanded the animal to take pestle and mortar and pound another pill so that she return to earth and her husband. The hare is still pounding.
As for Yi, he built himself a palace in the sun as Yang (the sun and the male principle), Chang-O as Yin (the moon and the female principle).

Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full and beautiful on that night.

God of Marriage
The Old Man in the Moon or the God of Marriage is Yue-lao, who bears the weighty responsibility of deciding all mortal marriages. That means the marriage of any couple in the world have been prearranged by him. Yue-lao ties the future husband and wife together with an invisible silken cord that never breaks as long as life lasts. At the appropriate time, the cord brings the predestined mates together and they wed! This has been a subject of Chinese poetry and song since the ancient times.

Wu Kang chopping the cassia tree
If one looks carefully at the full moon, it may be able to see the dark shadows of the legendary "Wu Kang chopping the cassia tree". In Chinese mythology, Wu Kang is portrayed as a woodcutter fascinated with the magic of immortality. Angered by his hubris, the Jade Emperor banished Wu Kang to the Moon Palace, telling him that he must cut down a huge cassia tree before he could possess the magic of immortality. Though he chopped day and night, the cassia tree restored itself with each blow, and thus he continues to eternally chop the tree on the barren moon. That is why Wu Kang is still at his task, up on the moon.

The Hare - Jade Rabbit
According to tradition, the Jade Rabbit pounds out medicine for the gods with the lady Chang-O. Others say that the Jade Rabbit is a shape assumed by Chang-O herself.

You may find that the dark areas to the top of the full moon can be construed as the figure of a rabbit. The animal's ears point to the upper right, while at the left are two large circular areas representing its head and body.

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit." Today, eating Moon Cakes is a way of commemorating the Jade Rabbit.

Overthrow of Mongol Rule
Back during the Soong dynasty when the Chinese were oppressed by the Mongols, their rebel leaders sought to overthrow the Mongol overlords. As meetings were banned it was impossible to make plans. Liu Fu Tong of the Anhui Province came up with a plan by requesting permission to distribute cakes to his friends to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. He made thousands of cakes shaped like the moon and stuffed with sweet fillings. Inside each cake however was placed a piece of paper with the message: 'Rise against the Tartars on the 15th day of the 8th Moon'. Reading the message, the people rose against the Mongols on a local scale. This rebellion enabled Chu Hung Wu, another rebel leader to eventually overthrow the Mongols. In 1368, he established the Ming dynasty and ruled under the name of Emperor Tai Tsu. Henceforth, the Mid Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

The Story Of The Geese

2006-09-28T23:33:00.000+08:00

There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation of Christ or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her religious observance of Christmas.

"It's all nonsense - why would God lower himself and become a human like us? It's such a ridiculous story!" he said.

One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see. So he ventured outside to see.

In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but had been caught in the snow storm. The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles.

He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm."

So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety and shelter.

Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them! Then I could save them! They would follow me and I would lead them to safety."

At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them- then I could save them." And then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind, and he fell on his knees in the snow and worshipped Him.

Facts And Lessons To Be Learnt From Geese
1. Did you know that as each goose flaps its wings when it flies, it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone!
Lesson 1: People who share a common direction, purpose and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

2. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson 2: If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give out help to others.

3. When a lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
Lesson 3: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, ideas, talents and resources.

4. The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Lesson 4: We need to make sure our "honking" is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of "honking" we generally seek.

5. When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
Lesson 5: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

An Interview With God

2006-08-18T01:49:00.000+08:00

I had an interview with God:
"Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered:

"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.

That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.

That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present or the future.

That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived."

God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked: "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile:

"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but whom they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis!

To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally different.

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves."

I sat there for awhile enjoying the moment.

I thanked Him for his time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer."

People will forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel.

The Brooklyn Bridge Story

2006-08-15T22:37:00.000+08:00

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

The Wooden Bowl

2006-08-15T00:22:00.000+08:00

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

"We must do something about grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day that building blocks are being laid for the child's future.

Let us all be wise builders and role models. Take care of yourself, ... and those you love, ... today, and everyday!

Love and Time

2006-08-14T01:24:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

The Pencil Story

2006-08-13T01:37:00.000+08:00

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish. Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

The Rose Within

2006-08-03T01:38:00.000+08:00

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

This is one of the characteristic of love... to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life... all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.

Wait For The Brick

2006-08-02T01:01:00.000+08:00

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.

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

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

"It's my brother," he said.

"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

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

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

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

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

It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

Someday

2006-07-28T16:35:00.000+08:00

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
life will be different.
The note on my fridge door will read,"Afternoon at hairdresser", or,
"Browse through art gallery", or "start golf lessons", instead of,
"Paediatrician at 2pm" or "Cub pack meeting".

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
the house will be free of graffiti.
There will be no crayoned smiley faces on the walls,
no names scrawled in furniture dust,
no pictures fingered on steamy windows,
and no initials etched in bars of soap.

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
I'll get through a whole chapter of an engrossing book
without being interrupted to sew a nose on a teddy bear,
stop a toddler from eating the dog food,
or rescue the cat from the toy box.

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
I won't find brown apple cores under the beds,
empty rolls on the toilet paper hanger,
or fuzzy catepillars in denim jeans.
And I will be able to find a pencil in the desk drawer,
a slice of leftover cake in the fridge,
and the comics still in the centre of the newspaper.

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
I'll breeze right past the sweet display in the supermarket
without having to fumble for pennies;
I'll stroll freely down each aisle without fear
of inadvertently passing the music or toy sections;
and I'll choose cereal without considering what noise it makes,
what prize it contains or what colour it comes in.

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
I'll prepare Quiche Lorraine, or Scallops Amandine,
or just plain liver and onions, and no one will say,
"Yuk! I wish we were having hot dogs!" or,
"Jimmy's lucky, his mum lets him eat chocolate bars for dinner".
And we'll eat by candlelight,
with on one trying to roast their peas and carrots over the flame
to "make them taste better", or
arguing about who gets to blow out the candle when we've finished.

Someday, when the kids are grown up,
I'll get ready for my bath without first having to removef scuba-diving action figures,
sharks and plastic mermaids.

I'll luxuriate in hot, steamy water and billows of bubbles
for a whole hour,
and no fists will pound on the door;
no small voices will yell," Hurry up, Mummy! I've got to go!"

Yes, someday, when the kids are grown up, life will be different.
They'll leave our nest, and the house will be
Quiet and calm ...
Empty and lonely...
And I won't like that at all!

And then I'll spend my time, not looking forward to
someday, but looking back at yesterday.

Don't brag about tomorrow, since you don't know what the day will bring. ~ The Bible, Proverbs 27:1

An Oyster Story

2006-07-27T16:09:00.000+08:00

There once was an oyster whose story I'll tell,
Who found a grain of sand had got under her shell;
Just one little grain, but it gave her much pain,
For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.
Now, did she berate the working of Fate
That had led her to such a deplorable state?
No -- as she lay on the shelf, she said to herself,
"If I cannot remove it, I'll try to improve it."

So the years rolled by as the years always do,
And she came to her ultimate destiny -- stew.
And this small grain of sand which had bothered her so,
Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral -- for isn't it grand
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand;
What couldn't we do if we'd only begin
With all of the things that get under our skin

The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances. ~Martha Washington

A Modern Parable About Prayer

2006-07-27T14:42:00.000+08:00

A large ship was wrecked during a storm and only two men survived and swam to a desert island. The two survivors looked around them and realised they had no recourse except to pray to God. 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 island and was able to eat fruit. The other man's piece of land was barren.

After a week the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, a ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman, who swam to his side of the island. 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, by some miracle, all these things were provided for him and the woman. However, the second man received nothing.

Finally the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island and return to civilisation. In the morning, a ship was anchored off his side of the island, and the crew were waving at him.

The first man and his wife boarded the ship and decided to leave the second man on the island. They considered him unworthy to recieve God's blessings because none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship began to leave, a voice boomed from heaven, saying, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"These blessings are mine alone," said the first man, "because I was the one who prayed for them. His prayers were not answered, but mine were, so he doesn't deserve anything."

"You are completely mistaken,"said God. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If it hadn't been for his prayer, you would have received none of the things that you did. He prayed that all your prayers would be answered."

Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself. ~ Mother Teresa

Defined By Your Work

2006-07-26T13:46:00.000+08:00

A man in a hot-air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted,"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You are in a hot-air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north and 59 and 60 degrees west."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," said the woman.

"How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "Everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The woman below responded,"You must be in management."

"I am," said the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people below you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life -- that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy. ~ The Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

The Little Match Girl

2006-07-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

by Hans Christian Anderson

Once upon a time . . . a llttle glrl tried to make a living by selling matches in the street.

It was New Year's Eve and the snowclad streets were deserted. From brightly lit windows came the tinkle of laughter and the sound of singing. People were getting ready to bring in the New Year. But the poor little matchseller sat sadly beside the fountain. Her ragged dress and worn shawl did not keep out the cold and she tried to keep her bare feet from touching the frozen ground. She hadn't sold one box of matches all day and she was frightened to go home, for her father would certainly be angry. It wouldn't be much warmer anyway, in the draughty attic that was her home. The little girl's fingers were stiff with cold. If only she could light a match! But what would her father say at such a waste! Falteringly she took out a match and lit it. What a nice warm flame! The little matchseller cupped her hand over it, and as she did so, she magically saw in its light a big brightly burning stove.

She held out her hands to the heat, but just then the match went out and the vision faded. The night seemed blacker than before and it was getting colder. A shiver ran through the little girl's thin body.

After hesitating for a long time, she struck another match on the wall, and this time, the glimmer turned the wall into a great sheet of crystal. Beyond that stood a fine table laden with food and lit by a candlestick. Holding out her arms towards the plates, the little matchseller seemed to pass through the glass, but then the match went out and the magic faded. Poor thing: in just a few seconds she had caught a glimpse of everything that life had denied her: warmth and good things to eat. Her eyes filled with tears and she lifted her gaze to the lit windows, praying that she too might know a little of such happiness.

She lit the third match and an even more wonderful thing happened. There stood a Christmas tree hung with hundreds of candles, glittering with tinsel and coloured balls. "Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed the little matchseller, holding up the match. Then, the match burned her finger and flickered out. The light from the Christmas candles rose higher and higher, then one of the lights fell, leaving a trail behind it. "Someone is dying," murmured the little girl, as she remembered her beloved Granny who used to say: "When a star falls, a heart stops beating!"

Scarcely aware of what she was doing, the little matchseller lit another match. This time, she saw her grandmother.

"Granny, stay with me!" she pleaded, as she lit one match after the other, so that her grandmother could not disappear like all the other visions. However, Granny did not vanish, but gazed smilingly at her. Then she opened her arms and the little girl hugged her crying: "Granny, take me away with you!"

A cold day dawned and a pale sun shone on the fountain and the icy road. Close by lay the lifeless body of a little girl surrounded by spent matches. "Poor little thing!" exclaimed the passersby. "She was trying to keep warm!"

But by that time, the little matchseller was far away where there is neither cold, hunger nor pain.

Monkey And Man

2006-07-13T20:14:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, a man was passing through a jungle. He saw a monkey and was attracted to it.He called the monkey and to his surprise, the monkey came near him.

The man told the monkey that it was his ancestor and so they should cultivate friendship.With different kinds of gestures, he was able to establish friendship with it.

The man was just trying to kill time using the monkey as company while crossing the jungle.
Suddenly unexpectedly, a lion roared fiercely and pounced in front of them. They scarcely had time to escape. The monkey ran and the man followed suit. They found a very huge tree and soon climbed it. Though they were breathless, they did not stop until they climbed to a safe height.

The lion continued to prowl here and there, hoping to catch them when they climbed down. The lion was angry and hungry and awaiting his prey finally sat down under the tree.
The man was clinging to one of the strong branches, while the monkey was sitting on a branch with ease, as if nothing had happened.

After a prolonged wait, the lion lost patience and proposed to let one of them go scot-free if the other was offered to him as 'food'.

The man and the monkey consulted each other. They even offered to sacrifice their lives for each other, but ultimately concluded that they would live and die together.

The lion was disappointed, but not dissuaded. He continued his vigil. Nevertheless, the wait on the tree proved a testing time for both the monkey and the man. They were feeling drowsy. They were both faced with the danger of falling down while dozing on the tree. Ultimately they decided to take turns to sleep.

The monkey would sit wide-awake while the man slept and the man would keep vigil while the monkey had his share of sleep.

As decided, it was the man's turn to sleep first, while the monkey kept guard. The monkey slept in the other half of the night, while the man held fort.

When the monkey was fast asleep, the man started contemplating. He thought that if he pushed away the sleeping monkey, the lion, as promised, would allow him to go scot-free.
Immediately, he translated his thoughts into action. The monkey was in deep slumber. The man pushed him down.

As the monkey was accustomed to such things, he immediately caught hold of the branches halfway and was back to his place in a moment.

Without uttering a single word, he went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. In the morning, the monkey led the man to safety. The lion was still on prowl under the tree.
When they reached at the safer place, the monkey made a special request to the man. "Please do not allege that monkeys are ancestors of mankind."

Man without humanity is inferior to animals.

Wise Fisherman

2006-07-12T17:47:00.000+08:00

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the hope of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working hard to make a living for himself and his family.

"You're not going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman, "You should be working harder rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

"And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

A Little Mouse Story

2006-07-11T18:48:00.000+08:00

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap. Retreating to the farmyard the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, a mouse trap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, 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 mouse trap in the house, a mouse trap in the house!"

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

The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "You say, Mr. Mouse. A mouse trap? Like I am in grave danger....NOT!"

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mouse trap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.In the darkness, she did not see that 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. She returned home with a fever.
Now 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.

His wife's sickness continued so that 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 and a few days later she passed away.
So many people came for her funeral, that the farmer had the cow slaughtered, to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we all may be at risk. We are all one family on this planet Earth!

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. ~ Helen Keller

An Honest Man

2006-07-10T18:47:00.000+08:00

This is a story of a young man named Ping, who lived in a far away country and a King who was getting old and he needed to find a successor.

The King devised a way to find his successor that would have courage and be honest.

The King sent out a tiny seed to all the young men in the country.

Now, this seed was to be planted and nourished to the best of each young man's ability.

Ping really wanted to be the new King. When he received his seed he went out and obtained a very beautiful pot, fertile soil and planted his seed. He watered it and nurtured it and watched it.

BUT, nothing happened.

He moved his plant to another area with more sun, thinking it needed a different light. He watched it and watered it and nourished it and still, nothing happened.

He went to his father and asked him what he could do. His father suggested putting it into another container and continues to nurture it.

Still nothing! He was so disappointed and the times was drawing near, to go before the King and present his plant.

The day finally arrived to present his plant to the King and Ping was so embarrassed, because everyone there had beautiful plants. Some had beautiful flowers, some with beautiful green foliage and they all were so very beautiful. He was so embarrassed and disappointed that he sat in the back with his empty pot so he wouldn't be noticed.

The King started to look over all of the plants and he was not smiling. In fact he was frowning.
He kept looking and all at once he saw Ping's empty pot and he called Ping up to the stand.
And the King announced to all the men that Ping will be the next King.

The King said Ping would be the next best King because of his honesty.

The King also expressed his disappointed and sad that there were so many dishonested men.
The King continued to tell the men that he had boiled all of the seeds before he sent them out, and so none of the seeds would grow.

The King wanted someone with courage and someone who was honest to take over his Kingdom and he found it in Ping.

The Gardener And The Portrait

2006-07-09T18:45:00.000+08:00

A very wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier.

The father was notified and he grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art."

The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man.
He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.
He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.

"Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son, before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings.
Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel.

"We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted.

"Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"

Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son.

"I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel.

"Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"

A Good Doctor

2006-07-08T18:19:00.000+08:00

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.
Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied.

"Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said, "Then I thank you from my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.

Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words:

"PAID IN FULL WITH ONE GLASS OF MILK.... (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly."

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. We will be thankful and grateful. Not even the last thing that is done for us shall be forgotten. ~ Buddha

Story Of A Teacher

2006-07-07T18:09:00.000+08:00

There was a teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row,slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs.Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath, and Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs.Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around.'

His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'

His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.

But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs.Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to,' After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded.

By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her teacher's pets.

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs.Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer -- the letter was signed,Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs.Thompson did.

And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other,and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs.Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference.I didn't really know how to teach until I met you.'

Remember that wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will have the opportunity to touch and/or change a person's outlook. Do thrive to make a positive change in others.

Seven wonders of the World

2006-07-06T18:03:00.000+08:00

A group of students were asked to list names of the "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:

1-The Pyramids, Egypt
2-Taj Mahal , India
3-Machu Picchu, Peru
4-Colossus of Rhodes, Greek
5-Mausoleum, Turkey
6-Angkor watt, Cambodia
7-The Great Wall , China

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list.

The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are: 1-To see 2-To hear 3-To touch 4-To taste 5-To feel 6-To laugh 7-To love."

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wonderful!

A Soldier Story

2006-07-05T17:47:00.000+08:00

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.

'Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me.'

'Sure,' they replied, 'we'd love to meet him.'

'There's something you should know' the son continued, 'he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.'

'I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.'

'No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.'

'Son,' said the father, 'you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own.'

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.
The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

John the Great Eagle

2006-07-05T00:42:00.000+08:00

In the forest were two eaglets whose names were Johnny and Bobby. The eaglets had lived in a tree with their parents for all their lives--about 12 weeks. They watched each other grow and had become not only good brothers but great friends, too.

Finally the day came where mother could leave them alone in the nest for bit while she went off to hunt for meals.

On this day Johnny said, "Hey Bobby, do you want to go for a walk?"

Bobby gleefully said, "Sure, Johnny." Inside Bobby was nervous because they had never left the nest alone but he was ready for an adventure.

So, off the two eaglets went. They clumsily used their talons to climb down the tree and started to take little steps in the woods. With each fall or stumble, the other would help steady his brother eaglet.

Soon walking became easy and they had a great time exploring new things. They discovered the sweet scent of flowers, they tasted the dew on the grass and they rolled in the fallen leaves. These eaglets laughed and played for almost an hour.

Soon Johnny said, "Bobby lets got back to the nest before mom comes home." Bobby agreed and they used their talons to climb back to the nest. When they got back to the nest, the two eaglets immediately fell asleep because they were tired from the play.

When their mother arrived home with a big "whoosh" of her large wings she smiled at her two beautiful children asleep. Inside mother eagle thanked God for these two beautiful children as a tear rolled down her beak.

"What?" The eaglets said as they awoke to the sensation of their mother cleaning them. They did not realize that all the play had caused their new feathers to be messy.

Johnny immediately started to apologize. "Oh, mother, I bet you are angry with us."

Mother eagle just smiled and said, "No, my son, it is part of God's plan for you. In fact, in a few weeks you will fly away on your own."

"What? No!" said the two eaglets at the same time.

Oh yes, said mother eagle. "The time will come when you will become a full eagle and you will leave our nest to begin your life's journey."

Bobby said, "Well Johnny and I will always come home from our adventures to see you mother."

Again, mother eagle just smiled and said, "That is a nice thought Bobby but the way of an eagle is for each to make their own way until they find a spouse to be with for life. More sad news is that it will not be with Johnny either."

The boys giggled and said they would be different.

In a few weeks, Johnny awoke and found the nest was empty. "Oh no, where is Bobby?!" said Johnny.

He spread his wings and started to fly. He flew high and far looking for Bobby. He not only could not find Bobby but was so far from his parent's nest that he knew that he was truly on his own. Johnny the eaglet had become John the Eagle. Great adventures awaited him. Inside he was both scared and excited. However, there are many adventures ahead for John the Eagle and we will explore them in the future.

Sometimes our friends and family leave us and go to different places because of school and new jobs, even to be with God. These are the beginning of new adventures for all. Trusting in our parents and our friends is very important but most of all, we need to trust in God. Trust makes it possible for sad days to become happy days.

The Proud Red Rose

2006-07-04T13:34:00.000+08:00

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, “What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely.” Another tree said, “Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything.”

The rose turned its head and remarked, “It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest.” A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, “Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them.” The red rose replied, “I see everyone looking at me and admiring me.” Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!” The pine tree said, “Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too.“

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, “I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus.“

“What a proud flower“, thought the trees.

The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like,” This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his neighbor.”

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, “God did not create any form of life without a purpose.“

Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. “Does it not hurt when they make holes?” asked the rose.

“Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer,” replied the pine.

The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, “The cactus has water?“

The Cactus Wren, State Bird of Arizona

“Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.“

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose’s roots.

Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.

The Devoted Mother

2006-07-03T13:25:00.000+08:00

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to the lake one day. The ducklings were very happy following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.

All of a sudden the mother duck saw a fox in the distance. She was frightened and shouted, "Children, hurry to the lake. There's a fox!"

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck wondered what to do. She began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.

When the fox saw her he became happy. He said to himself, "It seems that she's hurt and can't fly! I can easily catch and eat her!"

Then he ran towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldn't be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she stopped and took a deep breath.

The fox thought she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.

The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.

Some birds drag one of their wings on the ground when an enemy is going to attack. In this way they fool their enemies into thinking they are hurt. When the enemy follows them this gives their children time to escape.

The Magic Of Marbles

2006-07-02T12:56:00.000+08:00

How Marbles Can Change Your Life
by Jason M. Gracia

There is a secret to happiness. Very few people know of it, and if they do, even less understand its power. I want to share it with you today because I believe it can change your life, and it can happen as soon as you want it to.

A story was passed on to me that literally changed how I looked at my life as soon as I was finished reading it. I was amazed at how simple a story can be and still have a profound impact on others.

In this short story lies the secret to living a life full of joy, happiness and fulfillment. It doesn't matter how many things you own, how much money you make, or how important people think you are. If you don't learn how to enjoy your life, no amount of material wealth will bring you the happiness you are looking for.

Follow the stories example and you'll have the motivation you need to improve your life and the outlook that will bring you meaning and satisfaction.

THE MAGIC OF THE MARBLES
He was fifty-five years old, had a bowl full of marbles, and felt terrific. It was unknown territory for Bill, who for years had been unhappy with his life and didn't see any hope for a brighter future. Today he is a changed man. It doesn't matter what happens to him, Bill responds to it calmly and smiles. Nothing can get to him, and everything makes him feel good about his life and his future.

Back to the marbles...

On average, people live to be seventy-five years old. Some longer, some shorter, but the average person will reach this age. Realizing this, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, Bill did some simple calculations to figure out that the average person has 3,900 Saturdays in his or her lifetime.

Being fifty-five, Bill had 1,000 Saturdays left to live. He went to a small toy store in town, and bought every marble they had, 1,000 in all. Later that night, he placed all of the marbles in a large glass bowl that he placed in the living room.

As each Saturday passed, he would take one marble out of the bowl and throw it away. Bill watched as the bowl's contents shrank, and he realized that he didn't have forever to create a happier life. Each day he felt negatively about his life was one less day he had to be happy.

TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN
One day, his last Saturday will come. Bill never looked at his life this way. He never faced the fact head-on that life was short and there is a limited amount of time to make the most of it.

He looked at his current priorities and did some rearranging. At the top of the list he put spending time with his family and friends, appreciating what he had, and enjoying each moment he was alive.

Without changing his external world, Bill's life was completely different. He didn't earn more money, lose weight, or create new relationships. He simply took what he had and looked at it in a whole new light.

After making the marbles a part of his life, his new attitude enabled him to fix the areas in his life that were lacking. Before he felt powerless to change anything, and only wished for things to improve without doing anything. Now he was taking positive actions to create a life that made him feel good.

We all know that we can't live forever, but thinking of it in these terms can really help to put things in perspective. It makes you realize how valuable each day is, and what a loss it would be to not enjoy each one.

Depending on your age, you have a certain number of marbles left in your jar. If you haven't created the life you have always dreamed of yet, at which point will you decide to make the change? How many marbles have to be thrown out before you enjoy your life?

THE TIME IS NOW
Today is the perfect day for change. Today is your day to take one step towards your goals and dreams. Imagine it, living life on your terms, doing what you want, when you want, and loving every minute of it. It's possible. You can have everything you want in life, but you have to take control of motivation and make it work for you.

Billy and the Fishing Pole

2006-06-22T00:40:00.000+08:00

Once a young man named Tyson lived in a big house near a twisting creek and Tyson loved to fish. Everyone loved Tyson because he was full of energy and joy. Tyson special friend was his Grandpa. He would go fishing with Grandpa every week in the summertime. Sometimes they would catch lots of fish and at other times, none. Tyson never complained because he just loved being with his grandfather and listening to his grandfather's stories.

His grandfather’s stories were always excellent! Some were funny like the time his Uncle Leo fell in the lake and got soaked. Others were scary like walking in the dark woods at night. One thing for sure, Grandpa always had lots of stories. This day Grandpa told him about how his friend Billy stole the fishing pole. Here is how it went:

Billy went into the basement of his father’s house and decided to go fishing with his dad’s favorite fishing pole. Billy wanted the pole because when Dad fished, he would catch lots of fish and Billy wanted to catch lots of fish.

So, Billy pushed the fishing pole out the basement window. Then when no one was close by, he went outside and hid the pole in a tree about 200 yards from the house. Billy thought that he was so clever. He would get the pole when his dad went to work and then return the pole before his dad came home. Billy had a big grin on his face because he felt so clever.

However, Billy did not know that his mother was watching all of this from her bedroom window. She saw Billy push the pole out the basement and she saw Billy sneak outside to get the pole. Finally, she watched intently as Billy ran full speed to the tree where he hid the fishing pole.

Grandpa asked Tyson, “What do you think about this story this, so far?" Tyson said, “Billy did a bad thing. Is he going to get in trouble?” Grandpa chuckled and said, “I am going to tell you about one of the worst days in Billy’s life.” So, they relaxed and Grandpa finished the story.

Now, without Billy knowing it, his Mom marched right down to the tree and recovered the pole. She thought she would teach Billy a little lesson about life. She called Billy and said that she packed him a lunch of peanut butter and jelly; a juicy pear and 2 candy bars. Tyson glowed with joy! He kissed his mom and went off to have the greatest fishing day of his life.

Billy walked proudly out of the door and down to the tree.

“Oh Gosh!” said Billy. The fishing rod was gone. He frantically looked everywhere.

“Oh where could it be?” said Billy. Billy began to really worry. What was he going to tell his mother? He looked all around the tree for about an hour. Nothing could be found.

What should he do? Should he tell his mother? Would she be angry? Should he do nothing and hope that nobody would notice.

Then an idea struck. He decided to go to the stream and see if someone there was using the pole.

When he got to the stream, things were worse. His mother was there with his little brother. They were fishing!

Now he was really in trouble! His mother never fished!

As soon as she saw Billy, she called for him with a huge welcoming smile. Billy dragged his feet and shuffled over to her. He was really disappointed! What would he say?

His mother asked where his fishing pole was. Billy said that he left it home. Then the most unbelievable thing happened. Mom pulled dad’s fishing pole out of her stuff and asked Billy if he wanted to use it. The shock of this ran thought Billy’s body and he just stood there frozen.

His mother smiled and asked if there was something that Billy needed to tell her. So, Billy told mother the entire story and every sentence seemed to start with “I am sorry.” So mother explained to Billy about being honest and gave him a big hug.

Again, Billy said he was sorry and started to cry.

“Well, Tyson what to you think about my old pal Billy” said Grandpa.

Tyson, said, “Billy did a really bad thing but his mother was kind to him in forgiving. Plus, he was really lucky that she found the pole and someone else did not find it.”

“Exactly right,” said Grandpa. “Now, what lesson did you learn?”

Tyson, said, “Grandpa, I learned that I should be honest and never take what is not mine.”

Just at that moment, a fish pulled on Tyson’s line and both he and Grandpa worked hard to reel it on to the shore.

When they were finished Tyson gave Grandpa a tight hug. Grandpa said that he loved Tyson and Tyson just smiled.

You always need to remember how important it is not to take others’ property. Many other bad things could have happened to Billy but on this day, he was very lucky to have a forgiving mother. God forgives even more than Billy’s mother. We need to remember to go to Him with our problems, too.

Sharing Candies

2006-06-21T00:37:00.000+08:00

There once was a boy named Peter who loved chocolate candy. Everyday his mother would give him a small bag of four chocolate pieces for his lunch. His mother loved Peter and knew he would have a big smile when he ate the chocolates. She put four pieces in the lunch bag so that Peter could share candy with friends.

With a big smile on his face, Peter ate the chocolates every day. However, he never shared the chocolates with his classmates. Some classmates looked at his sweets and wished they could taste them. None of the classmates sat with Peter during the lunch meal because he never shared his sweets. He chose the candy over having friends.

One day, his mother did not give Peter any sweets--it was Lent. His family was fasting from extra food for 40 days of Lent. Peter really missed the candy.

Soon, the other children saw Peter eating his lunch without the sweets. They felt sorry for Peter because he was sitting alone. Then a table of five children invited him to join them since they had an extra chair at their table. After a short time, Peter made five new friends. They always had fun. They laughed. They told stories. They even played together after school.

When Lent was over Peter's mother gave him four pieces of candy again. However, Peter asked his mother for two more pieces, so he could have five chocolate pieces to share with his new friends. With a huge smile, his mother gave Peter six pieces everyday. Peter learned that being a friend means sharing more than smiles and fun. It means sharing the sweets in our life, too.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel that we need to treat others the way we want to be treated. If you want others to share their friendship, we need to be a sharing friend.

The Tenth Commandment

2006-06-12T00:25:00.000+08:00

It was a gorgeous sunny day in Smiletown, where Hank and Charlie lived. Hank and Charlie were not only brothers--they were best friends. They did everything together from when they were babies like crawling together as infants, to learning to ride bikes at the same time as toddlers. Now as ten year olds playing sports together and even going to school together—they were like twins, even though Hank was older. They spent most of their time together. In fact they even shared a room and bunk beds.

Hank and Charlie lived across the street from a young boy named Ted. Ted had everything that the two boys ever wished for. Ted was an only child of a parents that had unlimited amounts of money. Ted’s parents loved to give Ted gifts--lots of gifts

Whenever the boys would go to Ted’s house, Hank would just stare at all the cool things Ted owned. Ted had three bicycles—one for racing, another for mountain climbing, and one for riding to school. It was the most amazing thing that they ever saw, since each of the boys only had one bicycle.

Hank wanted to spend lots of time with Ted. However, when Hank was with Ted, his manners started to change. Hank always asked Ted about his belongings. He would ask Ted to show him the stuff. Next, he would ask Ted to let Hank play with the things. Pretty soon Hank wanted to spend all his time with Ted.

Soon, Hank stopped spending time with Charlie. No longer did Hank want to play with Charlie. Hank would say, “I don’t have time for you Charlie, my good friend Ted and I are busy.” Then Hank would run across the street to Ted’s house and leave Charlie alone.

Over time, all that Hank could only think about was Ted’s stuff. Next, Hank became grouchy and wanted nothing to do with his family. One night at dinner, he shouted, “I wish I was not in this family. I wish I was in Ted’s family where they have great things. I don’t even like to have here. If I was Ted’s brother, I would have desert every night.”

Hank’s dad said, “Stop that talk!” and called Hank into the living room and said, "Hank, we need to chat."

His dad said, “Hank you are my son, I give you everything I can including my deep and total love. Still, I need to tell you that your behavior is inappropriate and that you are falling into the trap of coveting. The tenth commandment tells us not to covet our neighbor’s goods.”

He went further to say, “Hank, coveting is when you want something that belongs to someone else so much it changes you and usually leads to others sins.” He explained how his coveting Ted’s good had indeed changed Hank.

He showed Hank how Hank was now grouchy and cranky and how Hank was no longer joyful, like God calls everyone to become. Finally he showed Hank how all he talked about were new Stuff. Hank had stopped talking about the really important things in life like how much he loved his brothers and sister, family and how much he cared for everyone. Most of all, he had stopped talking about God’s love in his life.

Hank stood in shock. Hank could not believe what his parents were saying. His mother put her arm around him and said, “Yes son, everything your father mentioned is true and more. Your marks in school are dropping, too. Be careful! Coveting can lead to other sins.”

Hank began to cry because Hank had realized he had truly forgotten others and all he thought about was Ted’s stuff. Even though Ted was generous, Hank’s problem was that he wanted Ted’s goods more than anything else in life.

The Tenth Commandment : You shall not covet your neighbours' goods. All you have are what God has given you. Although God gives different things to different people, what is important is that we be happy in life and use our gifts wisely to make the world a better place for each other to live and for God to do His work.

The Ninth Commandment

2006-06-11T00:20:00.000+08:00

Robin and Jan were two young children who were lucky to have a grandmother who loved them and always invited them to visit her. For them, it was a great adventure to visit Grandma. She made Robin and Jan the total center of her attention and the kids knew they we completely and unconditionally loved by Grandma. Robin and Jan enjoyed all of her stories and her songs but they especially loved Grandma’s food. From fresh cookies and sweets, to home-made cakes, Grandma’s food put a huge smile on their faces and made their bellies’ feel tighter.

On this particular day, Grandma was working in the kitchen making a wonderful lunch of home-made pizza with fresh cheeses, meats and sauce. Whenever Grandma cooked she would hum and sing. She had so much joy that wherever she went, that joy would gush forth in the form of song. Robin and Jan were always full of joy, too and sometimes Robin and Jan were a bit mischievous. On this day Robin and Jan snuck into the attic and knew they couldn’t get caught, as long as they could hear Grandma singing while she cooked.

Robin and Jan loved Grandma’s attic because it had lots really cool stuff! There were tons of treasures from the past. Grandma made sure everything in the attic was organized and neatly stored in boxes and storage containers. On days she felt lonely, Grandma would go into the attic to remember her past and rekindle the feelings of love from days gone by.

Soon, Robin and Jan explored. They looked into a box full of old style dresses that were all ironed and neatly folded. From box to box, they went exploring, while getting more and more engrossed. Suddenly an old letter fell out of one of the boxes. The two children looked at each other and with a sneaky smile. Jan opened the letter. “Wow!” Said Jan, it is from Grandpa.

Grandpa died 2 years earlier and this was actually a letter that he wrote. They looked closely at the date and it said 1945. It was from Grandpa’s days in the Army during World War II. The paper had yellowed but the words were very clear. The letter said:

My dear and sweetest Ellen,

I miss you greatly and still I continue to love you with all my heart. When the time comes, I will come to you as fast as I can. It I could run on water, I would go at full speed, jumping from white capped wave to white capped wave to get to you as fast as possible. If I could fly, I would soar through the skies to be with you--the one I love.

Please remember as you read this letter that you have my complete and unconditional love. While other men are tempted to be with other women or look at impure books and magazines, I promise that I will never do that. I will never ruin the special love I have for you in my heart. I know that my love for you is strong and that I have God’s support to help me in that love all the days of my life…

There was lots of other mushy stuff that made the kids giggle and they decided to return the letter to the envelope. As they were putting the letter away, they realized that Grandma’s humming had stopped. They looked up and looking down on them was Grandma.

With a very serious look on her face, Grandma said, “Could I please have that letter, it is special to me.” Robin and Jan thought, “Oh gosh, we are in big trouble for reading this letter.”

To their surprise, Grandma sat with them on the attic floor and said, “Kids, you need to know why this letter is so important. It is a lesson about God’s love. For in today’s world, with all the bad things you can see on television, in the movies and in magazines, God’s plan of love for married couples gets hidden.”

Grandma continued, “You need to know that in the Sacrament of Matrimony God gives us the special gift of a spouse to love for our entire life. The gift of marriage is a special bond between a man a woman. God would never want any other man or woman to take this gift away. So, couples are not to be with anyone else and we are not to wish that we had another husband or wife who has more money, better looks or more intelligence”

Grandma further said, “God thought this was so important, that He included it in the tenth commandments and wrote them on the tablets for the entire world to know. We are talking about the ninth Commandment: ‘You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife.’” Grandma insured them the rule also applies to Husbands.

All of a sudden, Grandma let out a loud laugh as she said, “Enough of this get down those stairs and get some pizza while it is still hot.”

In our story, Robin and Jan realized that each of us should only love the one God chooses for us. Only then, can we be happy in life and pass happiness to others like the love Grandpa passed to Grandma. Because she was loved, she could pass that love to them.

The Ninth Commandment : You shall not covet your neighbour's wife. Do not look at the television, movies, music or magazines for your model of love. Look to God to guide you to those who work hard to love their spouses and enjoy the gift of the Sacrament of Matrimony so they don’t look at others’ spouses.