INSPIRATIONAL STORY (TheTrouble Tree)

The Trouble Tree

     Many years ago, a single woman hired a carpenter to help her restore an old farmhouse. His first day did not go very well at all. A flat tire made him late, so he lost an hour pay, his electric saw quit and now that his work for the day was done, and he was ready to go home, his old pickup truck would not start.

     The woman felt bad for him so she offered to drive him home. It was a long trip and all the way he sat in stoney silence. When they arrived, he invited her in to meet his family. As they walked toward the front door, the man paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both his hands.

     When he opened the door, he had an amazing transformation. His tanned face was full of smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

     After he introduced the woman to the family and he explained to everyone why she brought him home, it was time for her to leave. As he walked her to the car, when they passed the tree, the woman became curious and asked, "Why did you stop and touch the tips of the tree when we were walking up to the front door?"

     "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he answered. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job but one thing's for sure... troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

      Then he glanced at the tree, smiled and said, "Funny thing is, when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

SEASON OF LENT (21st Day)

21st Day of Lent

Friday, March 16, 2012

I love myself just as I am,

     Our capacity to love is directly dependent upon our ability to love ourselves with a mature self-love. Love is not something to get from people or even from God. For we have already been created in and out of love. Nor is it something we can ever lack. "I have loved you with an everlasting love." (Jer. 31:3)

     Love is the reality of our total self which we can frustrate or express. Unless we realize this truth, we may go on indulging in the romantic myth that "someday love will happen to me."  Love has never "just happened" to anyone. People spend years of their lives trying to "find" love. But love is not to be found. It consists not in finding the right person, but in becoming the right person.

John 17:26   I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I live in them.

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

SOMETHING TO PONDER (Boy Asks the Meaning of Life)

Boy Asks the Meaning of Life

     An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes and asked, "I understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the meaning of life."

     The old man looked down at the youngster and replied, "I've thought a lot in my lifetime and the meaning can be summoned up in four words.

     The first is THINK! Think about the values you want to live your life by.

     The second is BELIEVE! Believe in yourself based on the thinking you've done about the values you're going to live your life by.

     The third is DREAM! Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you're going to live your life by.

     The last is DARE! Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and the values you're going to live your life by.

     And with that... Walter E. Disney said to the little boy, "Think, Believe, Dream and Dare!"

MORAL STORY (The Mouse Trap)

The Mouse Trap

     A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "Mmmm, I wonder what kind of food they are bringing out." the mouse thought to himself. Suddenly, he became devastated to see they had bought a mousetrap.

     Scurring to the barn, the mouse shouted the warning to the other animals, "THERE IS A MOUSETRAP IN THE HOUSE! THERE IS A MOUSETRAP IN THE HOUSE!"

     The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a serious matter to you but it has nothing to do with me. It does not concern me and I cannot be bothered with it."

     The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

     The pig sympathized with the mouse but said, "I'm so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Just know that you are in my prayers."

     The mouse went to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

     The cow told the mouse, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I feel sorry for you but it's no skin off my back. There's nothing I can do about it. You're on your own on this one.

     So the mouse, head down and feeling dejected, went back to the house to deal with the farmers mousetrap alone.

     That very night a sound was heard throughout the house --- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she didn't see it was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife. 

     The farmer heard his wife's screams and when he rushed to her side she told him she had been bitten. He rushed her to the hospital for treatment and later returned home but she had a fever.

     Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer got his hatchet, went to the barn and grabbed the chicken so he could make soup.

     But his wife's sickness continued. So friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock so that the farmer could tend to work and chores. To show his appreciation, he wanted to be hospitable towards them and decided to feed them. So he went to the barn to get the pig to butcher it.

     The farmer's wife never got well and she passed away. Many people came for her funeral  so the farmer went to the barn and had the cow slaughtered to provide enough food for all of them.

     The mouse watched, from a crack in the wall, all the events that took place and felt a great sadness.

MORAL: The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember this ... when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We must keep an eye out for one another. 

Galatians 6:2-3 Carry each others burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.                                                                                                    NIV

SEASON OF LENT (20th Day)

20th Day of Lent

Thursday, March 15, 2012

As I let divine love flow, I create a life of peace.

     Take time to practice the presence of God, the activity of love. Know that you are in love wherever you are, and that love is in you as an attracting, healing, harmonizing and totally fulfilling power. Let your awareness of love begin to transcend the exclusiveness of loving one person and thus, to heal the hurt that may persist over the loss or absence of that one person.

     You can grow from loneliness to oneness but it will take effort. you will need to realize the reality of love that is always present and you will have to practice its presence. You may feel that your loneliness will give way to oneness when your "true love" comes along. Don't delude yourself! It is not in finding the right person, but in being the right person that leads to the fulfillment in love.

Hosea 6:6   For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

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

SOMETHING TO PONDER (God's Cover Letter)

God's Cover Letter

To Whom It May Concern:

 I heard you were considering a new manager in your life. I would like to apply for the position. I believe I am the most qualified candidate. I am The Only One that has even done this job successfully.

I was the first manager of human beings. In fact, I made them, so naturally, I know how humanity works and what is best to get people back into proper working condition. It will be like having the manufacturer as your personal mechanic.

If this is your first time considering me, I would just like to point out that my salary has already been paid by the blood of my son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross of Calvary. What I need from you is the acknowledgement that the price is sufficient to pay for all your sin and your independence from Me. I need you to believe this in your heart and to tell somebody else about your decision with your mouth.

The next thing I ask, is the right to change and fix your life so you can learn how to stay close to Me. I will make some major changes and revisions. They are not for you to worry about. I need your permission to execute these changes My way and in My time. I will change your desires and give you the strength to make the changes.

Please keep your hands out of the way. Don't try to help Me and don't resist Me. I really do need your full commitment and cooperation. If you give Me those, the process can go smoothly and without delays.

Yours Sincerely,

God

BELOW IS MY RESUME:

GOD

Everywhere

All over, Every Place  00000

Phone: (123) 456- PRAY

EXPERIENCE:

From the beginning of time. Before the beginning of time. From everlasting to everlasting. I made time.

ABILITY:

All Powerful

PRIOR EMPLOYMENT:

• Created the universe, put the galaxies in place, formed man
• Established heaven and earth by My spoken Word and am currently holding up the world by My Power.

  EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

• I AM and I have all knowledge

CHARACTER REFERENCES:

• Love, Light, and Life (1 John 4:16, 1 John 1:5, John 14:6

     A representative but by no means conclusive list of other character traits follows:

• Wisdom -- James 1:5
• Comfort -- 2 Corinthians 1:3
• Truth -- John 8:32
• Healer -- 1 Peter 2:24
• Strength -- Philippians 4:13
• Forgiveness -- 1 John 1:9
• Provider -- Philippians 4:19
• Mercy -- Ephesians 2:4-5
• Good -- Matthew 19:17
• Peace -- Romans 14:17

AVAILABILITY

• Willing and ready to take over your life
• Able to put your life together again
• Will bring all of who I AM into your life
• Can start now
• Will transform your life if you let Me

SALARY REQUIREMENT

• Work in your life has already been paid for through the Blood of My Son, Jesus
• Your only responsiblity is to commit initially and on a daily basis
• To trust and obey what Jesus has done and wants to do in you life

      References from Angels, Apostles, Disciples and millions of witnesses available upon request 

SEASON OF LENT (19th Day)

19th Day of Lent

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

I give way to the flow of divine love.

     There is a dynamic activity of harmony and love everywhere, whether or not you are aware of it. This is what the "omnipresence of God" means. It is always present at the inmost center within you as a potential for transcendent power. The need is simply to give way to love's flow.

     Jesus says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." In other words, stop resisting and start loving. You may say, 'I just can't do that. I have really tried to love them, but it is too much for me." But you see, to try to love is not to love. Love is not trying; it is being. It is not condescension or creating a facade of acceptance. it is letting go and giving way to the concentric flow.

1 John 4:7    Beloved, let us love one another.

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