HUMOR FOR HAPPINESS (Boy at the Beach)

     A father was at the beach with his children when his four year old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
    "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
     "He died and went to heaven." replied the dad.
     The boy thought a moment then, with a puzzled look on his face, he said, "Did God throw him back down?" 

SOMETHING TO PONDER (Dusting)

Dusting

     A house becomes a home when you can write "I Love You" on the furniture.

    I can't tell you how many countless hours I have spent CLEANING! I used to spend at least eight hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect "in case someone came over." Then I realized one day, that no one came over because they were all out living life and having fun.

   

    Now when people visit, I find no need to explain the condition of my house. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun.

     If you haven't figured this out yet, please hear this advice:

LIFE IS SHORT!!!  ENJOY IT!!!

Dust if you must ... but wouldn't it be better,

    to paint a picture, bake a cake or plant a seed;

Ponder the difference ...

    between what you want and what you need?

Dust if you must ... but there's not much time,

     with rivers to swim and mountains to climb;

Music to hear, books to read,

     friends and family to cherish and a life to lead!

Dust if you must ... but the world's out there

     with the sun in your eyes the wind in your hair;

A flutter of snow or shower of rain,

     this day will not come back again.

Dust if you must ...

     but bear in mind;

Old age will come,

    and it isn't always kind.

And when you go ---

     and go we all must;

You, yourself ...

     will make more dust!

SEASON OF LENT (28th Day)

28th Day of Lent

Saturday, March 24, 2012

We should not hesitate to ask largely. God can give much as easily as He can give little. Your miracle of abundance is ready for you. Awaken from the illusion of lack. Lift up your eyes. There is supply for you, right now, if you can accept it.


(During this journey to release your inner splendor, reflect on how you accept your miracle of abundance.)



 It is possible for people

 to spend an entire lifetime

struggling to bring about something

that only God can do.

The Holy Spirit has

incredible and infinite ways

to strengthen you, enable you, teach you

and open doors for you

that are humanly impossible

Matthew 19:26  Jesus looked at them intently and said,

"Humanly speaking, it is impossible.

But with God everything is possible." 

                                                               NLT

MORAL STORY (Are you a Carrot, an Egg or Coffee Bean?)

 

Are You a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?

     A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She didn't know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was so tired of fighting and struggling, it seemed as if when one problem was solved a new one occurred.

     Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots. In the second pot, she placed eggs and in the last pot, she placed ground coffee beans. Without saying a word, she let them sit and boil.

     About twenty minutes later, she turned off the burners. She spooned the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. Next, she spooned the eggs out and placed them in a separate bowl. Finally, she ladled the coffee out and placed in into another separate bowl. Then she turned to her daughter and asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

     "Carrots, eggs and coffee." the daughter replied.

     She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did and noticed that they were now soft and tender.

     She then asked her to take the egg and break it. The daughter cracked the egg and after taking the shell off, she observed it very closely.

     Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she smelled and tasted it's rich aroma. Then she asked , "Okay, what's your point, mother?"

     The wise mother explained that each of the three objects had faced the same adversity --- boiling water --- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in too strong, hard and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. It's thin outer shell had protected it's liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, it's inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

     "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

INSIGHT: 

Think of this --- Which am I?

      Am I the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

     Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart but changes with the heat? Did I have a liquid spirit but after a death, a financial hardship or some other setback, 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 a 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 the worst, you become better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Like the CARROT, the EGG or the COFFEE BEAN? Which one are you? 

Isaiah 40:30  Even youths grow tired and weary,

                                and young men stumble and fall;

Isaiah 40:31  but those who hope in the LORD

                          will renew their strength.

                      They will soar on wings like eagles;

                          they will run and not grow weary,

                          they will walk and not be faint.                                    -- NIV--

            

SEASON OF LENT (27th Day)

27th Day of Lent

Friday, March 23, 2012

I can do all things through Christ.

     Once we catch the ideal of the ascending urge in us as symbolized through the whole Bible, we see Jesus not as God becoming a person, but as a person becoming God, a person feeling the pull of the Divine within Himself. That Jesus did it is good news, for it means that it is a reachable goal, a repeatable demonstration. Didn't He say, "All that I do you can do too?"

     The central point of "Good News" of the Gospel story is not really Jesus, but the Christ spirit that He expressed and the universal principles He taught and demonstrated.

John 12:32   And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

*** Reprinted from Unity's booklet   Lent 2012   Release Your Inner Splendor

SEASON OF LENT (26th Day)

26th Day of Lent

Thursday, March 22, 2012

I am part of a sacred Universe. My true essence is divine.

     The great message of Jesus was wholeness, oneness. He said, "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30). His real meaning has been obscured because people have thought of Jesus as "very God", His relationship with God being unique.

     Jesus was articulating the principle of "universal unity". He was saying, "You live in the universe, and you are a part within the whole. However, the whole is also within you, and there can never be a separation."

John 17:21   As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

*** Reprinted from Unity's booklet   Lent 2012   Release Your Inner Splendor