Wet Pants

Sent to me by a dear friend!!!

Come with me to a third grade classroom.... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and his pants are wet in front. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water.

Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now, all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. 'You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good....

Remember.... Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless us in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

The Prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask You to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

Thorns

A bit long, but a good one....it's been around before, but now is a good time to read it again.

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a 'minor' automobile accident stole her joy.

This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss. Troubles had multiplied. Her husband's company 'threatened' to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra's friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.

'She has no idea what I'm feeling,' thought Sandra with a shudder. 'Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?' she wondered. 'For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but took her child's?'

'Good afternoon, can I help you?' Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. 'I . . . I need an arrangement,' stammered Sandra. 'For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories,' the clerk continued. 'Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?' 'Not exactly!' Sandra blurted out. 'In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.' Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, 'I have the perfect arrangement for you.'

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, 'Hi, Barbara, let me get your order.' She excused herself and walked back to a s mall workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers. 'Do you want these in a box?' asked the clerk.

Sandra watched - was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. 'Yes, please,' Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. 'You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,' she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, 'Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . . she left with no flowers!' 'That's right,' said the clerk. 'I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today,' explained the clerk. 'She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband,' continued the clerk. 'For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel.' 'So what did you do?' asked Sandra. 'I learned to be thankful for thorns,' answered the clerk quietly. 'I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, 'Why? Why me?!' It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our fai th! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort!

You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.' Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. 'I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God.' Just then someone else walked in the shop. 'Hey, Phil!' the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man. 'My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!' laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

'Those are for your wife?' asked Sandra incredulously. 'Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?' 'Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced,' Phil replied. 'After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from 'thorny' times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific 'problem' and give thanks for what that problem taught us.'

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, 'I highly recommend the Special!' 'I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life' Sandra said to the clerk. It's all too . . fresh.' 'Well,' the clerk replied carefully, 'my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious.

We treasure God's providential care more during trouble th an at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns.' Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. 'I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,' she managed to choke out. 'I hoped you would,' said the clerk gently. 'I'll have them ready in a minute.' 'Thank you. What do I owe you?' 'Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me.'

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. 'I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first. It read: 'My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.' Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns.

God Bless all of you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you. 'Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.' We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and duct tape. God did it with nails. I'm the world's worst at not thanking God for my thorns, only for the roses. My prayer today is to start being thankful for the thorns. I know they will help me grow. I pray this for you also.

Don't Forget to Say, "I Love You!"

We were diligent about was telling our sons, "I love you." Often, out of the blue, I'd ask, "You know what?" and they'd respond, "Yes, mom, we know you love us ... We know you love us 'this much' " (and they would extend their hands/arms as far out as they could.)

Every once in a while, I'd ask them, "Do you know that you know that you know that I love you?" Without exception, they answered with a rapid-fire affirmative, "Of course, we know!!!" "How do you know?" I asked. "We know by the way you talk to us; the way you treat us; they way you encourage us; and you tell us you love us all the time. Mom, we know you love us!!!!"

Everyday our heavenly Father tells us He loves us. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins was God's way of saying, "I love you thiiiisssss much!" Jesus gave up His live so that we could live. We don't deserve this free gift of life. We can't earn it. We can't lose it. We don't get "more" when we are good nor do we lose any when we sin. Once we have God's spirit indwelling us, we have all that we can have; we have it in perfect measure. God's love is a done deal.

I hope you will grow to believe Him when He expresses His love for you. Sometimes this is difficult for some of us; but He is always truthful. I also hope you will become really good at telling the people closest to you that you love them. They need to hear it; they long to hear it.

By the way, before I forget, I just wanted to tell you, "I love you!"
Murphy

God's Promise

Subject: The heavy cross...."Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.'"
-- Unknown

Awesome!! We complain about the cross we bear but don't realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we can't.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain....

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall;
But God's always ready, to answer your call....

He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from His lips, can calm every fear...

Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, dawn's early light...

The Savior is waiting, somewhere above,
to give you His grace, and send you His love...

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

(Taken from an email from Graham Cooke)

Many people have touched my life and I want to share this with you.

In case you are not aware, Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of the Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in life well and with great love. She is represented by roses.

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. Read the prayer below.

Saint Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Love to you all,
murphy