Snoopy and Woodstock Having A Good Time! :)

I ♥ Snoopy! :)

Here's one for the road. Snoopy and Woodstock having a good time making music together, dancing and laughing. I hope you are having a great day doing the same. Try to take a break from this world's nonsense. It's good for your health. Believe me, all of the world's nonsense will continue to go on with and without your attention. So with that said, don't lose any sleep over it. Have a little fun doing whatever it is that puts a great big smile on your face and song in your heart. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant. You may feel that reading a book is fun or listening to your favorite music or watching your favorite movie, tv show, sports game or playing video games or you may enjoy gardening, even cleaning your house helps too. Once you have become relaxed, centered and have all of your batteries recharged, then you can catch up with this world's nonsense. I'm sending you lot's of love and I'm giving you a great BIG HUG! :) ♥

"To succeed in life, you need three things:

a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone."

~ by Reba McEntire

More Zen Humor To Help Lighten The Mood! ;)

God's Favorite Sound Is LAUGHTER!

Q: What do you call a schizophrenic Buddhist?

A: Someone who is at two with the universe.

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

A Buddhist nun, an atheist and a Catholic Priest are on the Titanic when the ship hits an iceberg. So they all run out on deck to get into a lifeboat.

"Women and children first!" yells the Buddhist.

"Screw the women and children!" yells the atheist.

The Catholic Priest yells,"Do you think we really have that much time?".

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

So the Zen master steps up to the hot dog cart and says: "Make me one with everything."

The hot dog vendor fixes a hot dog and hands it to the Zen master, who pays with a $20 bill.

The hot dog vendor puts the bill in the cash drawer and closes the drawer.

"Where's my change?" asks the Zen master.

The hot dog vendor responds: "Change must come from within."

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

Q: What is the name of the best Zen teacher?

A: M.T. Ness

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

Disciple: Oh wise and all knowing one, show me the place of perfect peace.
Master: If I show it to you it will no longer be peaceful.

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

Q. Have you heard of the cow who attained liberation?

A. It was dyslexic and kept on repeating OOOOMMM !

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

A new monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to help the other monks in copying the old texts by hand. He notices, however, that they are copying copies, not the original books. So, the new monk goes to the head monk to ask him about this. He points out that if there were an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all of the other copies.

The head monk says "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son." So, he goes down into the cellar with one of the copies to check it against the original.

Hours later, nobody has seen him. So, one of the monks goes downstairs to look for him. He hears a sobbing coming from the back of the cellar, and finds the old monk leaning over one of the original books and crying. He asks what's wrong. "The word is 'celebrate'," says the old monk.

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

Q. What happens when a Buddhist becomes totally absorbed with the computer he is working with?
A. He enters Nerdvana.

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

Three monks decided to practise meditation together. they sat by the side of a lake and closed their eyes in concentration. Then suddenly, the first one stood up and said, "I forgot my mat." He steeped miraculously onto the water in front of him and walked across the lake to their hut on the other side.

When he returned, the second monk stood up and said, "I forgot to put my other underwear to dry." He too walked calmly across the water and returned the same way. The third monk watched the first two carefully in what he decided must be the test of his own abilities. "Is your learning so superior to mine? I too can match any feat you two can perform," he declared loudly and rushed to the water's edge to walk across it. He promptly fell into the deep water.

Undeterred, the wet monk climbed out of the water and tried again, only to sink into the water. Yet again he climbed out and yet again he tried, each time sinking into the water. This went on for some time as the other two monks watched.

After a while, the second monk turned to the first and said, "Do you think we should tell him where the stones are?"

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

Four monks were meditating in a monastery. All of a sudden the prayer flag on the roof started flapping.

The younger monk came out of his meditation and said: "Flag is flapping"

A more experienced monk said: "Wind is flapping"

A third monk who had been there for more than 20 years said: "Mind is flapping."

The fourth monk who was the eldest said: "Mouths are flapping!"

HUMOR: Zen Words of Wisdom... ;)

Zen Words of Wisdom...

Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?

Drink tea and nourish life. With the first sip... joy. With the second... satisfaction. With the third... peace. With the fourth... a danish.

Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

***********************************
A student goes to the Zen Master:
"Master, what happens when you die?"
Master: "I do not know."
Student: "But you are a Zen Master!"
Master "Yes, but I am not a dead Zen Master."

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

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."

30 Decent Ways to Say Someone Is Stupid

30 Decent Ways to Say Someone Is Stupid

1. A few clowns short of a circus
2. A few fries short of a Happy Meal
3. An experiment in Artificial Stupidity
4. A few beers short of six-pack
5. A few peas short of a casserole
6. Doesn't have all his cornflakes in one box
7. The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead
8. One Fruit Loop shy of full bowl
9. One taco short of a combination plate
10. A few feathers short of a whole duck
11. All foam, no beer
12. Body by Fisher, brains by Mattel
13. Has an I.Q. of 2, but it takes 3 to grunt
14. Warning: Objects in mirror are dumber than they appear
15. Couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel
16. Too much yardage between the goalposts
17. An intellect rivalled only by garden tools
18. As smart as bait
19. Doesn't have all his dogs on one leash
20. Doesn't know much, but leads the league in nostril hair
21. Elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor
22. Forgot to pay his brain bill
23. Her antenna doesn't pick up all the channels
24. His belt doesn't go through all the loops
25. If he had another brain, it would be lonely
26. No grain in the silo
27. Proof that evolution can go in reverse
28. Receiver is off the hook
29. Several nuts short of a full pouch
30. He fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down

HUMOR: Religious Perspectives On Why Shit Happens! LMAO! ;)

Religious Perspectives On Why Shit Happens

 

Taoism: Shit happens.

Confucianism: Confucius say, "Shit happens."

Buddhism: If shit happens, it isn't really shit.

Zen Buddhism: Shit is, and is not.

Zen Buddhism #2: What is the sound of shit happening?

Hinduism: This shit has happened before.

Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah.

Catholicism: If shit happens, you deserve it.

Protestantism: Let shit happen to someone else.

Presbyterian: This shit was bound to happen.

Episcopalian: It's not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve the right wine with it.

Methodist: It's not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve grape juice with it.

Unitarian: Shit that happens to one person is just as bad as shit that happens to another.

Lutheran: If shit happens, don't talk about it.

Fundamentalism: If shit happens, you will go to hell, unless you are born again. (Amen!)

Fundamentalism #2: If shit happens to a televangelist, it's okay.

Judaism: Why does this shit always happen to us?

Calvinism: Shit happens because you don't work.

Seventh Day Adventism: No shit shall happen on Saturday.

Creationism: God made all shit.

Secular Humanism: Shit evolves.

Christian Science: When shit happens, don't call a doctor - pray!

Christian Science #2: Shit happening is all in your mind.

Unitarianism: Come let us reason together about this shit.

Quakers: Let us not fight over this shit.

Utopianism: This shit does not stink.

Darwinism: This shit was once food.

Capitalism: That's MY shit.

Communism: It's everybody's shit.

Feminism: Men are shit.

Chauvinism: We may be shit, but you can't live without us...

Commercialism: Let's package this shit.

Impressionism: From a distance, shit looks like a garden.

Idolism: Let's bronze this shit.

Existentialism: Shit doesn't happen; shit IS.

Existentialism #2: What is shit, anyway?

Stoicism: This shit is good for me.

Hedonism: There is nothing like a good shit happening!

Mormonism: God sent us this shit.

Mormonism #2: This shit is going to happen again.

Wiccan: An it harm none, let shit happen.

Jehovah's Witnesses: >Knock< >Knock< Shit happens.

Jehovah's Witnesses #2: May we have a moment of your time to show you some of our shit?

Jehovah's Witnesses #3: Shit has been prophesied and is imminent; only the righteous shall survive its happening.

Moonies: Only really happy shit happens.

Hare Krishna: Shit happens, rama rama.

Rastafarianism: Let's smoke this shit!

Zoroastrianism: Shit happens half of the time.

Church of SubGenius: BoB shits.

Practical: Deal with shit one day at a time.

Agnostic: Shit might have happened; then again, maybe not.

Agnostic #2: Did someone shit?

Agnostic #3: What is this shit?

Satanism: SNEPPAH TIHS.

Atheism: What shit?

Atheism #2: I can't believe this shit!

Nihilism: No shit.

Narcisism: I am the shit

Philosophical HUMOR: Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road? LOL! :)

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

[source: Space and Motion]

Plato: For the greater good.

Machiavelli: So that its subjects will view it with admiration, as a chicken which has the daring and courage to boldly cross the road, but also with fear, for whom among them has the strength to contend with such a paragon of avian virtue? In such a manner is the princely chicken's dominion maintained.

Jacques Derrida: Any number of contending discourses may be discovered within the act of the chicken crossing the road, and each interpretation is equally valid as the authorial intent can never be discerned, because structuralism is DEAD, DAMMIT, DEAD!

Timothy Leary: Because that's the only kind of trip the Establishment would let it take.

Douglas Adams: Forty-two.

Nietzsche: Because if you gaze too long across the Road, the Road gazes also across you.

Oliver North: National Security was at stake.

B.F. Skinner: Because the external influences which had pervaded its sensorium from birth had caused it to develop in such a fashion that it would tend to cross roads, even while believing these actions to be of its own free will.

Carl Jung: The confluence of events in the cultural gestalt necessitated that individual chickens cross roads at this historical juncture, and therefore synchronicitously brought such occurrences into being.

Jean-Paul Sartre: In order to act in good faith and be true to itself, the chicken found it necessary to cross the road.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The possibility of "crossing" was encoded into the objects "chicken" and "road", and circumstances came into being which caused the actualization of this potential occurrence.

Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.

Aristotle: To actualize its potential.

Buddha: If you ask this question, you deny your own chicken- nature.

Salvador Dali: The Fish.

Darwin: It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees.

Emily Dickinson: Because it could not stop for death.

Epicurus: For fun.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.

Johann von Goethe: The eternal hen-principle made it do it.

Ernest Hemingway: To die. In the rain.

Werner Heisenberg: We are not sure which side of the road the chicken was on, but it was moving very fast.

David Hume: Out of custom and habit.

Jack Nicholson: 'Cause it (censored) wanted to. That's the (censored) reason.

Pyrrho the Skeptic: What road?

Henry David Thoreau: To live deliberately ... and suck all the marrow out of life.

Mark Twain: The news of its crossing has been greatly exaggerated.

Zeno of Elea: To prove it could never reach the other side.

Wordsworth: To wander lonely as a cloud.

Blake: To see heaven in a wild fowl.

Dr Johnson: Sir, had you known the Chicken for as long as I have, you would not so readily enquire, but feel rather the Need to resist such a public Display of your own lamentable and incorrigible Ignorance.

Oscar Wilde: Why, indeed? One's social engagements whilst in town ought never expose one to such barbarous inconvenience - although, perhaps, if one must cross a road, one may do far worse than to cross it as the chicken in question.

Kafka: Hardly the most urgent enquiry to make of a low-grade insurance clerk who woke up that morning as a hen.

Swift: It is, of course, inevitable that such a loathsome, filth-ridden and degraded creature as Man should assume to question the actions of one in all respects his superior.

Macbeth: To have turned back were as tedious as to go o'er.

Freud: An die andere Seite zu kommen. (Much laughter)

Hamlet: That is not the question.

Donne: It crosseth for thee.

Laughter Came from Every Brick, A Poem ♥

Laughter Came from Every Brick

from Love Poems from God, by Daniel Ladinsky

Just these two words He spoke

changed my life,

“Enjoy Me.”

What a burden I thought I was to carry -

a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me, “I know a song,

would you like to hear it?”

And laughter came from every brick in the street

and from every pore in the sky.

After a night of prayer,
He changed my life when

He sang,

“Enjoy Me.”

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

Tips to help you put more laughter in your life:

* Figure out what makes you laugh and do it (or read it or watch it) more often.

* Surround yourself with funny people — be with them every chance you get.

* Develop your own sense of humor but never at anyone else’s expense.

Celebrating the Gift of Laughter :)

Celebrating the Gift of Laughter

[source: CBMidwest]

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." [Proverbs 15:13]

Recent research has demonstrated what our grandmothers always knew: LAUGHTER is GOOD MEDICINE. Humor and laughter make a significant contribution to both our physical and mental health. Learning to adopt a lighter attitude and see the funny side of everyday situations gives us the resilience we need to cope on the tough days.

Let us pause and recall that the God of joy and laughter is always abiding with us and filling us with life, with hope, with creativity and with a thirst for union with Him. We are God’s people, alive in the Spirit and called to continually celebrate His presence in our lives. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"There is a season, and a time for every matter under heave, a time to laugh, a time to dance, a time to embrace." [Ecclesiastes 3:1,4,5]

Humor is both God’s gift and a life-saving medicine.

"There’s nothing like a good laugh. It tickles our very souls. Laughter is an activity of the heart. We scrunch our souls with negativity and a lack of enthusiasm, but laughter smoothes them out. Laughter makes a noise so others can hear our feelings.” [Tickle Your Soul, Anne Bryan Smollin]

Reflection

An aspect of a child-like spirit is joyful glee. Jesus invites us to enjoy life, to nurture our sense of humor. Our faith, and especially our prayer life is enriched through this God given gift. One of the reasons I love being around children and teenagers is that they find delight in so much of life. They find delight and wonder in so many things, and notice that which we adults often times either take for granted or simply do not see. Children then usually react without the inhibitions that we adults place upon ourselves. This reaction often takes form in laughter, joyous, bubbly laughter. The humor of life is fresh and easily accessed in the childlike spirit.

Meditation

Laughter cleanses us from discouragement, anger, apathy, and grief, making room for new feelings and thoughts. Laughter frees us from self-consciousness, anxiety, and stress. Laughter helps heal our physical ailments – it massages internal organs and strengthens the life force flowing through us. Laughter teaches us to take our troubles lightly, releasing our spirits from the weight of the world and of ourselves. Laughter unites what has been separate, connecting us to one another and to our true selves. Laughter calls forth our desire to live. Laughter, then, is a source of miracles. Surely, it’s one of the places where we can meet our God. [“Glad Day,” Joan Larkin]

Intercessions

That our hearts may always be filled with joy and thanksgiving, we pray…

For those who see no joy in life, we pray…

For those who are able to lift up our spirits, we pray…

That we realize the importance of taking care of our mental and physical health through the gift of laughter, we pray…

Let us pray:

Loving Father,

Lord of clowns and smiling saints,

we rejoice that You are a God of laughter and tears.

Blessed are You, for You have rooted within us

the gifts of humor, lightheartedness and mirth.

With jokes and comedy, You cause our hearts to sing

as laughter flows out of us.

We are grateful that Your Son, Jesus, the Master,

daily invites us to be Fools for Your sake,

to embrace the madness

of Your prophets, holy people and saints.

We delight in that Holy Madness

which becomes medicine to heal the chaos of the cosmos

since it calls each of us

from the hum-drumness of daily life

into joy, adventure,

and most of all, into FREEDOM.

With circus bands and organ grinders,

with fools, clowns, court jesters and comedians,

with high spirited angels and saints,

we too join in the fun and foolishness of life,

so that Your holy laughter

may ring out to the edges of the universe.

Blessed are You, O Lord, our God,

Who invites us to be filled with holy laughter.
♥ AMEN ♥

10 Wonderfully Inspiring Albert Einstein Quotes

These are such great Albert Einstein quotes! They touch on being true to yourself. Try as they might, don't let anyone define you! It is your personal journey not theirs...

1. Well, I have considered myself to be very fortunate in that I have been able to do mostly only that which my inner self told me to do. I am also aware that I do receive much criticism from the outside world for what I do and some people actually get angry at me. But this does not really touch me because I feel that these people do not live in the same world as do I.
   
   
2. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
   
   
3. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.
   
   
4. The true value of a human being can be found in degrees to which he has attained liberation from the self.
   
   
5. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
   
   
6. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
   
   
7. There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
   
   
8. Only a life lived for others is worth living.
   
   
9. The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
   
   
10. The life of the individual has meaning only insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing more nobler and more beautiful.

BONUS

Of all the communities available to us, there is not one I would want to devote myself to except for the society of the TRUE SEEKERS. Which has very few living members at any one time.

BONUS BONUS

Although I am a typical loner in my daily life, my awareness of belonging to the invisible community of those who strive for TRUTH, BEAUTY and JUSTICE has prevented me from feelings of isolation.

Einstein: Words of Divine Wisdom... ♥

Does God Exist? Answered Conclusively By The Genius Otherwise Known As Albert Einstein. ♥ WOW! RE-POST From 12/03/10

“Who is more irrational? A man who believes in a God he doesn’t see,

or a man who’s offended by a God he doesn’t believe in?”

~ by Chad Lincoln

‎"Love has reasons which reason cannot understand."

~ by Blaise Pascal

God is LOVE

I also like to refer to God as the Universe. I've heard most religious pastors and priests disagree with me on this statement. But my rebuttal to them is God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. God is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. How on earth can these religious people teach God's WORD and not acknowledge this to their flock. God is INFINITE and ETERNAL?! Well guess what? So is the UNIVERSE in all of God's manifested glory!

UPDATE 12/05/10 at 6:07pm: I was just prompted in the spirit to elaborate on God is the Universe as if someone was reading this and asking me to explain further. Then the answer came to me. Yes, God created the Universe. But God IS everything He created. When I received this word in the spirit. I said, God is "in" everything He created and I was corrected and the message was repeated, God "IS" everything He created. Like an artist who creates a masterpiece. That masterpiece is an expression of the artist. You cannot separate the masterpiece from the Creator. The masterpiece would not exist without the Creator.

Uni-Verse = One Song

I have typed a transcript of this video for my international readers and those of you here in the states who are not able to view this video:

Professor: I'll prove to you if God exist, then he is evil. Did God create everything that exists? If God created everything, then he created the evil which means that God is evil.

Student: Excuse me, professor. Does cold exist?

Professor: What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?

Student: In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the law of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absense of heat. Professor, does darkness exist?

Professor: Of course it does.

Student: You are wrong sir. Darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absense of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. Evil does not exist. It is just like darkness and cold. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart.

The student who spoke these words was Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Respect Means Everything... ♥

"To love one another is to see beyond what society

or some ugly experience would impose on another

and to see in them God's awesome creation."

~ by Mark Brown ♥

I don't care what part of the world you are in, whether you live in a palace or a hut, what mode of transportation you use, what you earn, what religion or spirituality you practice, what political belief you stand behind, whether you're straight or gay, carnivore, omnivore or vegan, fat or thin, tall or short, beautiful or average, rich or poor, smart or not. If you are my friend and treat me with mutual respect, you are my friend. I accept you for who you are, and that's ALL that matters. Friendship transcends all. ♥ Respect means everything... and I respect your God given right to exist on this planet whether I agree with you, understand you or not. But there is one caveat, DO NO HARM. As long as you are not harming others in any way, I don't care who you are or how you have choosen to live your life.

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter,
and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning
and is refreshed."

~ by Kahlil Gibran ♥

Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand
~ by Diana Ross

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

(Just try)

Take a little time out of your busy day

To give encouragement

To someone who's lost the way

(Just try)

Or would I be talking to a stone

If I asked you

To share a problem that's not your own

We can change things if we start giving

Why don't you

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

(Just try)

If you see an old friend on the street

And he's down

Remember his shoes could fit your feet

(Just try)

Try a little kindness you'll see

It's something that comes very naturally

We can change things if we start giving

Why don't you

Reach out and touch

Why don't you (Why don't you)

Reach out and touch somebody's hand

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

Reach out and touch

Somebody's hand

Make this world a better place

If you can

Start To Believe Again... ♥

Gratitude is a key to Abundance... ♥

 

The Gift of Wisdom! Beautiful Message ♥ Pt 3 of 3

The Gift of Wisdom

[James 3:13-14]

written by Pastor Greg McDonell

You see, my dear friends, Father Charlie gave something to Bob he had never experienced before or heard of before: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. Father Charlie created an environment in which people like Bob could pull themselves up if they chose to do so. Father Charlie would have still loved Bob had Bob returned to drugs. His love was unconditional, no strings attached. He offered Bob a new definition of happiness and said, “If you want it, take it, if you don’t want it…fine.” Bob says that it took him years to understand the power of that kind of love.

Bob’s experience goes beyond those who are victims of the disease of chemical dependency. His experience under scores for all of us THAT WISDOM, like grace is something we receive, something given that is responded to, something to accept and not to waste time trying to achieve it…….God in Christ offers us a better way of life. God GIVES us Christ and invites us to partake. God encourages each of us to receive and respond to such loved offered and given freely…There it is! Take it! It’s your life! Enjoy it!

So who is WISE among US? The wise truly are those who know and live their life believing that God loves them unconditionally. The most basic need of life, unconditional love, is already settled. We are accepted. We do not have to earn it, achieve it, to seek and struggle to gain it. It is a given gift that each of us hold within us.

And yet still, some of us refuse to allow ourselves to be loved unconditionally. We are very uncomfortable with that kind of love. We are trained, geared, reared, and otherwise brainwashed that you don’t get anything for nothing! And so some of us go around driving ourselves and driving ourselves until we just want to quit….and all along there is our Lord standing beside us saying, “Won’t you ever learn, won’t you ever be wise enough to understand the unconditional love I have for you. While you were yet sinners I died for you…no strings attached. But like Bob we want to say, “Hey, wait a minute what’s this guy up to?”

Maybe I have missed you in today’s sermon but as for me there certainly are times when I reject such love or at least forget about it’s reality in my life. The high level of tension in which we live in this world and perhaps even in your homes where stress and depression runs wild are signs enough that we need to be simply wise enough to let go……let go of our self-defeating drive to be the best, the biggest, and the brightest. Perhaps we need to slow down, relax, enjoy one another, enjoy our life here, and have peace in our hearts. The wise among us are drawing ever closer to the One who loves them unconditionally.

There is much to do in this life of ours. But let us have the wisdom to accept it first, to enjoy it first, to be grateful for it first…to receive God’s unconditional love FIRST and then to live into a life of gentle wisdom.

Friends, God loves YOU unconditionally. Believe it! Accept it!

God bless you this day!

The Gift of Wisdom! Beautiful Message ♥ Pt 2 of 3

The Gift of Wisdom

[James 3:13-14]

written by Pastor Greg McDonell

Bob is an alcoholic, a drug addict, a burglar, a thief, and con man. He is also a father of two children, a happily married man. In his book, Beyond the Yellow Brick Road: Our Children and Drugs, he tells his story of how he came to accept the gift of wisdom……….He says,

“At one point I actually counted the number of times people tried to help me get off drugs…31!!! My parents tried of course and failed. Teachers were equally unsuccessful. A neighbor and friend of the family begged me with tears in his eyes to stop for the sake of my parents; I didn’t. I tried a Christian group that told me to read the bible and everything would be fine. But at that time I was so sick and my eyes were so bad that I couldn’t have read the bible if I had wanted to; which I didn’t. Christian groups failed to help me. I tried methadone. The doctors at John Hopkins thought that getting high on that bitter stuff you wash down with Tang would be better for me than heroin. I always had the impression that doctors prescribed methadone so addicts wouldn’t go out and steal their television sets. A chemical substitute for junk is certainly no solution for the addict. Methadone treatment is a bad joke.

I tried behavior modification, psychoanalysis, chemical therapy, hypnosis, confrontive therapy, and numerous other methods. My experience in rehabilitation ranged from comic to tragic to frustrating to down right bizarre….NONE WORKED. Thirty one attempts to cure me failed…BUT the thirty-second time was a different story….  - Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, p12-13

Bob goes on to tell about that 32nd time. He had begun eating lunch at the Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church across the street from Rice University where he was working on the grounds. And each day at lunch Father Charlie came by and made small talk. Bob writes:

“I had no idea what to think of the man. I wasn’t particularly interested in him, but he seemed to be interested in me. EVERY DAY he would come over to my table and talk with me while I ate. One day I was eating by myself when someone called out, ‘Phone call for Bob’. I figured it was probably a cop, so I pretended I didn’t hear. A fellow worker pointed me out, so I went and took the call. It was Father Charlie.

“I’m sorry I missed our appointment today,” he said. Appointment, I replied? We had never made an appointment. Charlie went on to apologize profusely for having been tied up. I told him that it was OK and that I would see him tomorrow.

And then just before we hung up, he added, I just wanted to say that I love you.

Very strange thing to say, I thought. I hung up the phone and walked to my table thinking, “I know he is not gay; I’ve got no money, so he’s not trying to rip me off; there is nothing a bum like me has to offer him. What does he want? Why does he say he loves me? I couldn’t figure it out. But every day I came back to that cafeteria to see Charlie. And I knew that I was coming for one reason and one reason only….I SO WANTED TO HEAR HIM SAY IT AGAIN!

And so, Bob slowly began to get his life back together again as he received and responded to the gift of acceptance from Father Charlie. His soul was strengthened and his self-esteem began to soar.

The Gift of Wisdom! Beautiful Message ♥ Pt 1 of 3

The Gift of Wisdom

[James 3:13-14]

written by Pastor Greg McDonell

I was inspired to focus on the James passage today because of a comment my granddaughter made during a children’s sermon at her church in Houston. It seems that the pastor had gathered all the children around him and posed to them a question. He said: Does anyone know the difference between a person who is smart and one who is wise? Our Shelby raised her hand and the pastor recognized her, “Yes, Shelby, what is the difference?” She replied: “A smart person is someone who knows a lot of stuff and a wise person is one who makes good decisions.”

A reading from JAMES…………

“You say that I am repeating something I said before. I shall say it again. In order to arrive there,

to arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,

YOU MUST go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

In order to arrive at what you do not know

YOU MUST go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess

YOU MUST go by the way of dispossession.

To arrive at what you are not

YOU MUST go through the way in which you are not.

And what you do not know is the only thing you know.

And what you own is what you do not own.

And where you are is where you are not”

-T.S. Elliot. “East Coker”

If T.S. Elliot and Shelby Kallus are correct, and I sense that they are, WISDOM is a quality we are given and not something we gain. Wisdom is not how much you know, but knowing what is IMPORTANT to know as we read between the lines of our lives.

The author of James asks the question: “Who is wise and understanding among you?” And he goes on to supply his own answer: By ones good life let that person show their works in the gentleness of wisdom.” Wise people live out their gratitude for God’s gift in happiness, gentleness, and serenity. Or as Eliot would suggest: wise people know that what they do not know is worth knowing, where they have not yet been is important to be, and what they do not possess is what is important to possess. Wisdom is something accepted as a gift.

God in Christ offers us a life of purpose and meaning. God gives us wisdom that is….insight into GOD’S VISION for humankind. Our receptivity to that, our response to that, is the “GOOD LIFE” we live FOR others.

Your Incomparable Uniqueness... ♥

Your Incomparable Uniqueness

[source: Osho International]

- Osho, Where do Individuality and Ego separate?

- Individuality means your uniqueness -- not compared with anybody else. Your incomparable uniqueness: that is individuality. Individuality is beautiful; that's how God has made you -- as an individual. Ego is comparison. Ego is your invention. God has not given you any ego; he has certainly given you an individuality.

Ego is comparison: you think yourself more intelligent than the other, you think yourself more superior than the other -- or inferior. You think yourself more beautiful than the other. Then you are bringing ego in: the moment you compare yourself with somebody, the conclusion that comes out of the comparison is ego. If you stop comparing then you are there -- tremendously beautiful and unique. All superiority or inferiority, all anxiety of where I am, where I stand, who is above me and who is below me, are ego problems. The superior person suffers, the inferior suffers; both suffer -- because even the superiormost cannot have a state where he can be satisfied.

Abraham Lincoln was not very beautiful, his face was ugly. And that was a torture. In fact, when he stood for the presidentship, he had no beard. In his campaign, a small girl suggested to him, "If you grow a beard, you will look a little better." Hence, he grew the beard. But he remained constantly aware of his ugliness. He became the president... but whenever he would see a beautiful face he would feel hurt.

Napoleon Bonaparte was not very tall, just five-five -- just exactly my size. He remained disturbed for his whole life. Now, nothing is wrong in being five-five. What is wrong in being five-five? -- I have never felt any problem in it! And what is going to happen if you are five-seven or five-eight? Nothing is going to happen, you will be the same -- five-five or five-seven or five-nine makes no difference. But he was tremendously troubled -- he was so conscious of it. One day he was trying to fix a picture on the wall and the picture was a little higher than him, and his bodyguard said, "Sir, I am higher than you, I will do it." He said, "Stop! Never utter such a word. You are taller, not higher."He was very conscious about it -- "Higher? Say you are taller; don't say higher!" Now, if even Napoleon is not happy, who can be?

People who compare can never be happy. These trees are happy -- the smaller tree does not bother about the higher tree. They never bother about each other: the smaller is smaller and the higher is higher. In fact, the higher and the taller and the smaller and the lower are human terms -- they don't exist in the world of trees. A rosebush is as happy as a big oak tree; there is no problem about it. Not even a rosebush, but just a small leaf of grass is as happy as any lotus flower. It makes no difference.

God is showering on everybody -- on the rosebush, on the grassleaf, on the lotus flower... he is showering everywhere. And the whole existence is happy; only man has got into trouble. The ego arises with comparison. Individuality you have, unique individuality you have. With comparison how many problems arise!

Just a few days before, one woman was saying to me that she cannot accept her body. But why? -- because she is a little fatter. Now, why compare? How can you be fatter if you don't compare? Mm? -- you must have some idea of a thinner woman, and you must be comparing. I don't see any problem in the woman directly. I looked at her: she is a beautiful woman, a unique woman, an individual -- but unnecessarily in anxiety, in deep anguish, suffering. She cannot believe that anybody can love her, because she is a little fat.

And who has given the idea? How do you decide what is standard? Nobody has any idea what is standard; all averages are just false. Nobody knows how much fat is needed for a particular body -- only the body itself knows. Listen to your body, love your body, and don't compare. Now this comparison will create such trouble that she may miss her whole life. Because of comparison she cannot love. And she will create such trouble that she will not allow anybody to love her, because she cannot trust anybody who can love her. That man must be perverted: how can you love an ugly woman? -- your idea of beauty must be perverted, or you must be deceiving.

She cannot trust anybody -- if somebody comes and says to her, "I love you," she will distrust them. She cannot love herself -- how can YOU love her? Impossible. You must have some other design, you must have some other idea behind it: you may be interested only in sex, or you may be interested in something else -- in her money, or something else -- but you cannot love her. Because how can you love her? -- she cannot love her own face in the mirror. And even if you persist, she will try in every way to destroy your love, so she can prove that she was right and you were wrong. Now it is very difficult to find a lover who will take that much trouble to convince you. she will remain loveless. And when there will be no love coming, her idea will become more and more fixated: I am ugly. And she is not ugly at all.

In fact, I have never seen an ugly person in my life. How can a person be ugly? Have you ever seen any ugly crow? Impossible! Have you ever seen an ugly cow? Impossible. Have you ever seen an ugly tree? Impossible. All is beautiful as it is... but with human beings you bring comparison, and immediately trouble starts.

Don't compare, there is no need. Comparison is one of the greatest calamities that has fallen on humanity. You are perfect as you are.

Love yourself, respect yourself. If you are not going to respect yourself, who is going to respect you. If you are not going to love yourself, who is going to love you?

People don't respect themselves, and expect everybody else to respect them. They don't love themselves, and want the whole world to fall in love with them. Now you are asking impossibles -- these things cannot happen. Love yourself, respect yourself -- and a person who respects himself never compares. Comparison is a disrespect.

Now, if you summarize all this, it means: to be an egoist is to be very disrespectful towards yourself. To be an individual is perfectly good, but to be egoistic is disrespectful.

How Has God Made You Unique?

How Has God Made You Unique

written by Rev. Chris Gelini

You don’t have to travel too far around the world to discover very quickly that God loves variety. He’s made all kinds of shapes, sizes, colors, intensities; an incredible variety in our world.

• God has made over 300,000 species of beetles. Would you call that overkill? Don’t you think the world could have gotten along with just 50,000 species of beetles? Why did he create 300,000? He loves variety.

• In one cubit foot of snow there are 18 million snowflakes and not one of them are alike. Nobody else is going to see it but God. He loves variety.

• He likes variety in people too. Have you ever had to wait for an airplane and watch the parade of peculiar people walk by? God loves variety. And He made every single one of those individuals. God made you.

Psalm 139:13 (Good News), “You (God) created every part of me. You put me together in my mother’s womb.”

Vs. 14 (LB), “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous.”

Job 10:8, “Your hands shaped me and made me.” Circle “shaped.”

From these three verses we learn three foundational truths. Three important truths about you:

1. I am unique. You are unique. There is nobody else in the world like you. There never will be. When God made you He broke the mold. You won’t find two people in the whole world who have the same footprint or fingerprint or voiceprint. Why did God make you different from every person who’s ever lived? Because He wants you to know how special you are, how much you matter to God.

2. I am wonderfully complex. How many of you married somebody who is wonderfully complex? The fact is we are so complex that many times we are a mystery to ourselves.

• Have you ever said something and later thought, ‘What was I thinking when I said that?”

• Have you ever felt a certain way and later thought, “Why do I feel this way? What’s happening to me?”

• Have you ever been in a group and everybody reacted one way to a circumstance and you found yourself reacting in the exact opposite way to everyone else in the group? Inside you’re thinking, “What’s wrong with me?" There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just unique.

3. I was shaped for a purpose! God created everything in the world for a purpose, the Bible says, including you.

• You’re not here by accident. You’re not just taking up space. God made you for a reason.

• You were designed by God and it was His idea. It’s not a mistake. You were planned before birth. God did not simply sit down at a computer and randomly access a bunch of components and throw it all together and out came you.

• The Bible clearly says that you were purposefully, personally and orderly planned and designed by God. His loving hand made you exactly the way you are. You are you because God wanted you to be you.

• Your uniqueness is what God wants you to offer to the world.

Look at Jesus’ disciples - (Peter, James & John, Thomas, Matthew, Judas)

How will I know God’s answer to my prayer?

How will I know God’s answer to my prayer?

written by Dr. Charles Stanley

[source: In Touch Ministries]

God often answers prayer in the following ways:

1. “Yes, you may have it.”
2. “No, that is not good for you.”
3. “Wait, I have something better for you.”
4. “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9).

When He answers yes, it’s easy to say, “Praise the Lord!” But when He says otherwise, we have a hard time finding reasons to praise Him.

Sometimes we don’t take “no” for an answer, and we keep praying! Or we look for a reason why He didn’t answer our request. But Scripture never says God will give us exactly what we ask for every time. He is sovereign. He has the right to say “no” according to His infinite wisdom. Oftentimes, it’s for our protection.

Sometimes, God wants to answer our prayer, but the timing isn’t right. As I reflect on my life, I realize that if God had answered certain prayers according to my schedule, I would have missed His best in every single case. He may have been waiting for me to grow spiritually in some area so that I could more fully experience the blessings He had in store (Eph. 1:3). Again, He is sovereign, and His timing is perfect.

God also answers “My grace is sufficient.” We may pray for years, yet our circumstances remain unchanged. God seems unresponsive and heaven is silent. In many cases, the problem isn’t the length, intensity, or nature of our prayers. Oftentimes, God is up to something we don’t know about, something much bigger than we were expecting. Something that may require a different answer than the one we anticipated.

But rest assured that if God isn’t removing your particular “thorn,” His grace is sufficient. By an act of our will, we can decide to trust that God knows what He’s doing, even when there’s no logical or rational explanation for our circumstances. The Father is not offended when we ask, “Why?” But He’s overjoyed when we trust Him, even though He may choose not to explain.

God always answers the prayers of His children. As we learn to pray, we will learn to discern His methods.

Pikachu Power!

Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Sunday Afternoon Classic Cartoon To Put A Smile On Your Face: Hong Kong Phooey :)

Hong Kong Phooey is a Hanna-Barbera animated series that first aired on ABC Saturday morning from September 7, 1974 to December 21, 1974. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is a superhero who uses Chinese martial arts to fight crime. Hong Kong Phooey is the secret alter ego of Penrod "Penry" Pooch, a "mild-mannered" police station janitor. Hong Kong Phooey/Penry Pooch is also an anthropomorphic dog in a world populated mainly by normal humans.

SMILE... :D

I ♥ Monkeys! :)

Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee... ♥

HAPPY SUNDAY everybody!!! :) I hope this beautiful message lifts your spirit today! LOVE YOU! ♥

"We are here to add what we can to life,

not to get what we can from life."

~ by William Osler

I have typed a transcript of this message below for my international readers who need to translate.

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

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, cystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He told his guests to help themselves to the coffee. After everybody had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

If you noticed all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive, and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup. But you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups to see who had the best one. Now consider this... LIFE is the coffee; the jobs, the money, the positions in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain LIFE and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change, the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, NOT the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the BEST of everything.

♥ Live simply ♥ Speak kindly ♥ Care deeply ♥
♥ Love generously ♥

The Meaning Of Success...

Many many years ago in my early 20's as I was climbing the corporate ladder I came across this poem at a gift shop. I was experiencing growing pains at the time in every area of my life. I bought it and have had it hanging on my refrigerator ever since.

This poem has served as my guide to always keep me in-line and to not lose sight that "Success is a journey, NOT a destination". I hope this poem inspires you too! :)

Success. . .
written by Larry S. Chengges

Success is doing the best you can,

in as many ways as you can.

It is being just and honest and true-

not in a few things, but in everything you do.

Always look ahead and never look back,

believe you can make all your dreams come true.

Always believe in the best you can be

and have faith in the things that you do.

Forget about mistakes you've made yesterday,

the lessons you learn will prove valuable for today...

Never give up and think that you're through...

for there's always tomorrow and a chance to begin brand new.

It is in dreaming the greatest dreams...

and seeking the highest goals...

that we build the brightest tomorrows.

There is no limit to the goals you can attain,

or the success you can achieve...

your possibilities are as endless as your dreams.

Whatever it is that you seek in life,

whatever your dreams and what you hope to achieve,

whatever you try to reach - whatever you plan...

can ALL be yours - if you only believe YOU CAN!

I Choose! So Beautifully Expressed. ♥

The Courage To Be Myself... ♥

Back in 1994 while I was on a ski trip in Breckenridge, Colorado I ran across this poster in a gift shop. The title of it caught my attention. Curious, I began to read it. The message touched my spirit so profoundly that I had to buy it. The funny thing is that I had to lug that poster with me on the airplane back to Los Angeles, California. I didn't care it was a long poster attached to cardboard backing. I didn't want to bend or roll it up because I wanted to hang it on my wall just as it was. I still have it hanging right next to the door frame of my bedroom. So everytime I exit my bedroom it's right there for me to see. I've had it for so long, I admit that I don't read it everyday. However, on occasion my spirit stops me and I unconsciously begin reading this message. I'm grateful that my spirit knows what it needs and at those times it's nourishment.

I hope this message touches you as it touched me. May it bring you peace, love, understanding and acceptance of who you are. Enjoy!

The Courage To Be Myself

By: Sue Patton Thoele

I have the courage to ...

Embrace my strengths ~ Get excited about life ~

Enjoy giving and receiving love ~

Face and transform my fears ~

Ask for help and support when I need it ~

Spring free of the Superwoman/man trap ~ Trust myself ~

Make my own decisions and choices ~ Befriend myself ~

Complete unfinished business ~

Realize that I have emotional and practical rights ~

Talk as nicely to myself as I do to my plants ~ Honor my own needs ~

Communicate lovingly with understanding as my goal ~

Give myself credit for my accomplishments ~

Love the little girl/boy within me ~

Overcome my addiction to approval ~

Grant myself permission to play ~ Quit being a responsible sponge ~

Feel all of my feelings and act on them appropriately ~

Nurture others because I want to, not because I have to ~

Choose what is right for me ~

Insist on being paid fairly for what I do ~

Set limits and boundaries and stick to them ~

Say "yes" only when I really mean it ~ Have realistic expectations ~

Take risks and accept change ~ Grow through challenges ~

Be totally honest with myself ~

Correct erroneous beliefs and assumptions ~

Respect my vulnerabilities ~ Heal old and current wounds ~

Favor the mystery of spirit ~ Wave good-bye to guilt ~

Plant "flower" NOT "weed" thoughts in my mind ~

Treat myself with respect AND teach others to do the same ~

Fill my own cup first, THEN nourish others from the overflow ~

Own my own excellence ~

Plan for the future, but live in the present ~

Value my intuition and wisdom ~

Know that I am lovable ~

Celebrate the differences between men and women ~

Develop healthy, supportive relationships ~

Make forgiveness a priority ~

Accept myself just as I am NOW!

How Old Would You Be If...

A friend gave me this magnet years ago. She said she thought of me after she read it. Have you ever been asked this question? What is the first thing that comes to mind for you? Take some time to think this through.

For me, I see age as being fluid. I am as old as I feel and my response depends on what the situation and moments in time call for. There are times when I need to be serious and there are times when I can feel free to let my inner child come through. There is a full range of possibilities within. Although, I am keenly aware of the set time I have spent on this earth and I treasure every one of those years.

Since we have no knowledge of when our time will expire, we do need to cherish every moment and make the most of every moment.

CARPE DIEM!

Reaching Your Dream Takes Courage

Reaching Your Dream Takes Courage

written by Caroline Kent

Courage is admitting that you're afraid and facing that fear directly. It's being strong enough to ask for help and humble enough to accept it.

Courage is standing up for what you believe in without worrying about the opinions of others. It's following your own heart, living your own life, and settling for nothing less than the best for yourself.

Courage is daring to take a first step, a big leap, or a different path. It's attempting to do something that no one has done before and all others thought impossible.

Courage is keeping heart in the face of disappointment and looking at defeat not as an end but as a new beginning. It's believing that things will ultimately get better even as they get worse.

Courage is being responsible for your own actions and admitting your own mistakes without placing blame on others. It's relying not on others for your success, but on your own skills and efforts.

Courage is refusing to quit even when you're intimidated by impossibility. It's choosing a goal, sticking with it, and finding solutions to the problems.

Courage is thinking big, aiming high, and shooting far. It's taking a dream and doing anything, risking everything, and stopping at nothing to it make it a reality.