Thursday, April 30, 2009
The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."
"My young friend," answered the professor, "we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how the discovery affects him."
The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom the timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing.
The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"
The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of those words, which I never understood before: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
As he grew nearer he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up, and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.
As our friend approached even closer he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach, and one at a time, he was throwing them back into the ocean.
The first man was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good Evening Friend, I was wondering what are you doing?" And he replied, "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they will die from the lack of oxygen."
"I understand," my friend replied "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you couldn't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many and don't you realize that this is happening on hundreds of beaches up and down this coast ... can't you see that that you can't possibly make a difference?
The local native smiled, bent down, picked up yet another starfish ... and as he threw it back out into the sea, he replied, "It made a difference to that one!"
You may feel like you cannot make a difference in the world today, but you CAN make a difference in one life at a time.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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!
| By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"
And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart; and have six pairs of hands." |
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The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No way!" said the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"
"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.
The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Lord "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."
"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."
"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.
The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate."
The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like You have a leak with this model. I told You that You were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything for this one. You even created the tear!"
The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are wrong again. I created the MOTHER, but she created the tear by taking pain of her kids on her!"
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Once upon atime . . . there lived a woman who had no children. She dreamed of having a little girl, but time went by, and her dream never came true.
She then went to visit a witch, who gave her a magic grain of barley. She planted it in a flower pot. And the very next day, the grain had turned into a lovely flower, rather like a tulip. The woman softly kissed its half-shut petals. And as though by magic, the flower opened in full blossom. Inside sat a tiny girl, no bigger than a thumb. The woman called her Thumbelina. For a bed she had a walnut shell, violet petals for her mattress and a rose petal blanket. In the daytime, she played in a tulip petal boat, floating on a plate of water. Using two horse hairs as oars, Thumbelina sailed around her little lake, singing and singing in a gentle sweet voice.
Then one night, as she lay fast asleep in her walnut shell, a large frog hopped through a hole in the window pane. As she gazed down at Thumbelina, she said to herself: "How pretty she is! She'd make the perfect bride for my own dear son!"
She picked up Thumbelina, walnut shell and all, and hopped into the garden. Nobody saw her go.Back at the pond, her fat ugly son, who always did as mother told him, was pleased with her choice. But mother frog was afraid that her pretty prisoner might run away. So she carried Thumbellna out to a water lily leaf ln the middle of the pond.
"She can never escape us now," said the frog to her son.
"And we have plenty of time to prepare a new home for you and your bride." Thumbelina was left all alone. She felt so desperate. She knew she would never be able to escape the fate that awaited her with the two horrid fat frogs. All she could do was cry her eyes out. However, one or two minnows who had been enjoying the shade below the water lily leaf, had overheard the two frogs talking, and the little girl's bitter sobs. They decided to do something about it. So they nibbled away at the lily stem till it broke and drifted away in the weak current. A dancing butterfly had an idea: "Throw me the end of your belt! I'll help you to move a little faster!" Thumbelina gratefully did so, and the leaf soon floated away from the frog pond.
But other dangers lay ahead. A large beetle snatched Thumbelina with his strong feet and took her away to his home at the top of a leafy tree.
"Isn't she pretty?" he said to his friends. But they pointed out that she was far too different. So the beetle took her down the tree and set her free.
It was summertime, and Thumbelina wandered all by herself amongst the flowers and through the long grass. She had pollen for her meals and drank the dew. Then the rainy season came, bringing nastyweather. The poor child found it hard to find food and shelter. When winter set in, she suffered from the cold and felt terrible pangs of hunger.
One day, as Thumbelina roamed helplessly over the bare meadows, she met a large spider who promised to help her. He took her to a hollow tree and guarded the door with a stout web. Then he brought her some dried chestnuts and called his friends to come and admire her beauty. But just like the beetles, all the other spiders persuaded Thumbelina's rescuer to let her go. Crying her heart out, and quite certain that nobody wanted her because she was ugly, Thumbelina left the spider's house.
As she wandered, shivering with the cold, suddenly she came across a solid little cottage, made of twigs and dead leaves. Hopefully, she knocked on the door. It was opened by a field mouse.
"What are you doing outside in this weather?" he asked. "Come in and warm yourself." Comfortable and cozy, the field mouse's home was stocked with food. For her keep, Thumbelina did the housework and told the mouse stories. One day, the field mouse said a friend was coming to visit them.
"He's a very rich mole, and has a lovely house. He wears a splendid black fur coat, but he's dreadfully shortsighted. He needs company and he'd like to marry you!" Thumbelina did not relish the idea. However, when the mole came, she sang sweetly to him and he fell head over heels in love. The mole invited Thumbelina and the field mouse to visit him, but . . . to their surprise and horror, they came upon a swallow in the tunnel. It looked dead. Mole nudged it wi his foot, saying: "That'll teach her! She should have come underground instead of darting about the sky all summer!" Thumbelina was so shocked by such cruel words that later, she crept back unseen to the tunnel.
And every day, the little girl went to nurse the swallow and tenderly give it food.
In the meantime, the swallow told Thumbelina its tale. Jagged by a thorn, it had been unable to follow its companions to a warmer climate.
"It's kind of you to nurse me," it told Thumbelina. But, in spring, the swallow flew away, after offering to take the little girl with it. All summer, Thumbelina did her best to avoid marrying the mole. The little girl thought fearfully of how she'd have to live underground forever. On the eve of her wedding, she asked to spend a day in the open air. As she gently fingered a flower, she heard a familiar song: "Winter's on its way and I'll be off to warmer lands. Come with me!" Thumbelina quickly clung to her swallow friend, and the bird soared into the sky. They flew over plains and hills till they reached a country of flowers. The swallow gently laid Thumbelina in a blossom. There she met a tiny, white-winged fairy: the King of the Flower Fairies. Instantly, he asked her to marry him. Thumbelina eagerly said "yes", and sprouting tiny white wings, she became the Flower Queen!
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One day many years ago the sun and the wind got into a big fight just like how you and your sister get into. Each said that he was stronger than the other. To see who was stronger, the sun and the wind challenged each other to strip the clothes off the first passerby.
Soon there came along a man. The wind puffed with all the air in its lungs; but the more he blew, the more the man drew his clothes tight around him. Feeling a bit cold, he even put on a warm cloak.
Then came the turn of the sun. He didn't do anything so strenuous; all he did was shine. And gradually the man felt hotter and hotter, until he took off all his clothes to go for a swim.
Which just goes to show that gentle persuasion is more effective than violence.
Lord Krishna and Sudama were childhood friends who had been at the Gurukula together. Years passed by and the two friends went their own ways. Fate was not kind to Sudama and he lived in dire poverty. Although he and his wife nearly always starved and did not have decent clothes, Sudama's wife never complained.
One day, his wife asked Sudama, "Why don't you go and meet Krishna, Lord of Dwaraka, and tell him your suffering? If he is your true friend, he will surely help you". Sudama was not keen on asking Krishna for help, but he decided to meet Krishna as he was happy at the prospect of meeting his friend. He wanted to take some gift for Krishna. As there was nothing else in the house, his wife gave him a small bundle of 'Poha' (beaten rice or avil ) and asked him to give it to Krishna. With the small bundle in his hand, Sudama left to see Krishna.
After a long journey Sudama reached Krishna's palace and was hesitating to enter the palace .He was wondering whether Krishna would remember him. Just as he was engaged in thought, Krishna rushed forward and embraced Sudama. He welcomed Sudama and washed his feet with his own hands. Everyone was astonished and wondered at Krishna's hospitality to a person who looked like a beggar.
They happily chatted about their childhood days. Krishna then asked Sudama with a twinkle in his eye, "What present have you brought for me?"Sudama hesitated to give him the bundle of poha. Sensing his hesitation Krishna said, "Even the most expensive gift given to me without true love and devotion means nothing to me when compared to the smallest gift given to me with true love and affection". Thus saying he pulled out the little bundle from Sudama's hands and opened it. "Why? It's poha my favourite food" and started eating it with glee. Sudama's happiness knew no bounds.
Sudama spent the night at the palace and returned home the next morning feeling extremely happy that Krishna had treated him like his brother. Only on his way home did he realise that he did not tell Krishna about his poverty and was wondering what to tell his wife. As he neared his house he was surprised to see that his old hut had transformed into a lovely mansion. His wife came out to welcome him dressed in fine clothes. It was then that Sudama realised that all this wealth and splendour could only be due to the benevolence of Lord Krishna. But even amidst the splendour, Sudama continued his simple life and praised Krishna's glory and greatness.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
One day he went out to work on a big stone. It was very hard to work and the sun was very hot. After spending several hours cutting the stone, he sat down in the shade and soon fell asleep.
After sometime, he heard sound of somebody coming. Walking up he saw a long procession of people. There were many soldiers and attendants and in the middle, in a palanquin, carried by strong people at the king .
How wonderful it must be to be the great king thought the stone cutter . How happy I would be if i were the king instead of a poor stone cutter.
As he said these words, a strange thing happened. The stone cutter found himself dressed in silk clothes and shining jewels. His hands were soft and he was sitting in a comfortable palanquin.
He looked through the curtains and thought, How easy it is to be a king, these people are here to serve me.
The procession moved on and the sun grew hot. The stone cutter ,now the king ,became too warm for comfort. He asked the procession to stop so that he could rest for some time .
At once the chief of the soldiers bent before the king and said Your Majesty, only this morning you swore to have me hanged to death if we did not reach the palace before the sun set.
The stone cutter felt sorry for him and ordered the procession to go on its way again.
As the afternoon wore on, the sun grew hotter, and the king became more and more uncomfortable.
I am powerful, it is true, but how more powerful the sun is, he thought I would rather be the sun than a king .
At once, he became the sun ,shining down on the earth.
His new power was hard to control.
He shone too strongly, he burned up the fields with his rays and turned the ocean into vapour and formed a great cloud which covered the land.
But no matter how hard he shone, he could not see through the clouds.
It is obvious that the clouds are even stronger and more powerful than sun said the stone cutter, now the sun, I would rather be a cloud.
Suddenly he found himself turned into a huge dark cloud.
He started using his new power. He poured rain down on the fields and caused floods. All the trees and houses were swept away but a boulder, which once he had been cutting when he was a stone cutter was unmoved and unchanged.
However much he poured down on the stone it did not move.
Why that rock is more powerful than I am said the stone cutter now a cloud. Only a stone cutter could change the rock by his skill. How I wish I were a stone cutter.
No sooner he said the words that he found himself sitting on a stone with hard and rough hands.
He picked up his tools and set to work on a boulder, happily.
MORAL: We are always more powerful than we think, just realize your inner strength and success will be at your feet.
"Why does he not make a pet of me?" said the donkey.
"It is not fair. I work hard, and the dog only wags its tail, and barks, and jumps on its master's knee. It is not fair."
Then the donkey said to himself, "If I do what the dog does, he may make a pet of me."
So the donkey ran into the room. It brayed as loudly as it could. It wagged its tail so hard that it knocked over a jar on the table . Then it tried to jump on to its master's knee.
A donkey looked in at the window and saw the man and the dog.
"Why does he not make a pet of me?" said the donkey.
"It is not fair. I work hard, and the dog only wags its tail, and barks, and jumps on its master's knee. It is not fair."
Then the donkey said to himself, "If I do what the dog does, he may make a pet of me."
So the donkey ran into the room. It brayed as loudly as it could. It wagged its tail so hard that it knocked over a jar on the table . Then it tried to jump on to its master's knee.
MORAL: God made each one of us different and everyone Loves us the way we are.
Welcome! he said. You can enter Heaven right away, but, because you lived such a good life, you can also go and check out Hell first, if you like.
The man was rather curious and said - well, why not - and he went down all the stairs to reach the door of Hell, which opened before him.
Behind the door, he saw many people sitting around tables with delicious food! But they were all very sad, and suffering, because instead of hands they had long knives and forks as arm extensions and they did not manage to put any of this great food in their mouths.
The man went back up to Heaven and said to Saint Peter: Wow, am I glad that I can go to Heaven. That is really some punishment.
Welcome to Heaven, Saint Peter said, as he let the man in.
What did he see there? He saw many people sitting around tables with delicious food, just like in Hell!
And just like in Hell, they also had these long fork and knive extensions on their arms!
But in Heaven, the people weren't crying or cursing, because they were sticking the food in each other's mouths! "Try this", they laughed. "And this!", and they had lots of fun in the process.
MORAL: Happiness comes from making other people happy. Don't be selfish but care for other people, and you will be taken care of as well.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another
baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her
3-year-old son. Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They
found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day
after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in
Mommy's tummy. He was building a bond of love with his
little sister before he even met her.
The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen. In time, the
labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every
three, every minute. But serious complications arose during
delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor. Would a
C-section be required?
Finally, after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was
born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren
howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to
the neonatal intensive care unit at St.Mary's Hospital,
got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there
is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and
her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot.
They had fixed up a special room in their house for their
new baby but now they found themselves having to plan for a
funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let
him see his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying.
Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would
come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about
singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in
Intensive Care.
Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not.
If he didn't see his sister right then, he may never see
her alive. She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and
marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry
basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and
bellowed, "Get that kid out of here now. No children are
allowed."
The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually
mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head
nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving
until he sings to his sister" she stated. Then Karen towed
Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazed at the tiny
infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began
to sing.
In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
"You are my sunshine,my only sunshine, you make me happy
when skies are gray."
Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate
began to calm down and become steady. "Keep on singing,
Michael," encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. "You
never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my
sunshine away." As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's
ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten's
purr. "Keep on singing, sweetheart." "The other night,
dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms".
Michael's little sister began to relax as rest, healing
rest to sweep over her. "Keep on singing, Michael." Tears
had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen
glowed. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please
don't take my sunshine away..."
The next, day...the very next day...the little girl was
well enough to go home.
Woman's Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother's
Song. The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen
called it a miracle of God's love.
NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. LOVE IS SO
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A long time ago in ancient India, there lived King Ugrasen. He had two children, prince Kansa and princess Devaki. Prince Kansa was evil by nature. When Kansa grew up, he imprisoned his own father Ugrasen and made himself king.
Soon, his sister Devaki was married to King Vasudev. However, after the wedding, Kansa heard a divine warning from the sky, "O King! Your sister’s eighth son will grow up to kill you." After Kansa heard this, he was afraid. Immediately he imprisoned his own sister Devaki and her husband king Vasudev, and kept them under continuous watch.
Each time Devaki gave birth to a child in the prison, Kansa arrived personally and killed the child. When Devaki became pregnant for the eighth time, King Vasudev’s friend’s (King Nanda’s) wife Yashoda was also pregnant. The eighth child, Lord Krishna, was born to queen Devaki at midnight in the prison. As soon as the child was born, Lord Vishnu appeared in divine form and the prison was filled with a dazzling light. Both Devaki and Vasudev prayed to Lord Vishnu. At the same time as Lord Krishna was born in the prison, the divine energy of Lord Vishnu was born in Gokul, as a baby girl to queen Yashoda.
A divine message came to Vasudev soon after the birth of Lord Krishna, "Take this child across the Yamuna River to Gokul and exchange him with Yashoda’s daughter. You will return to the prison before anyone comes to know about the birth of this child."
Vasudev immediately followed the advice. As he carried the child in his arms, he found that the prison doors opened automatically and the guards were put to sleep by God. Vasudev approached the Yamuna River, which was very turbulent due to fierce winds and rain. However, as soon as Vasudev reached the riverbank, the river parted and made way for Vasudev carrying the divine child. Vasudev reached the opposite bank of the river safely and found all the people of Gokul fast asleep. He entered the palace of king Nanda and queen Yashoda, and put the baby Krishna in the place of Yashoda’s baby girl. Then Vasudev returned to the prison with the baby girl.
As soon as Vasudev laid the baby girl by Devaki’s side, the prison doors shut automatically. The guards were now awake and were startled by the cries of the baby girl. The guards ran to Kansa and announced the birth of the eighth child.
Kansa rushed to execute the child in the prison, remembering the divine warning that the eighth child would kill him. Devaki appealed, "O Kansa, this baby is a girl, and not the boy that the divine warning told you about. How can this child harm you?" However, Kansa ignored her, snatched the child from her lap, and hurled the child against the prison wall.
The child did not fall down; instead, she flew up and appeared in the sky as a Goddess with eight arms, each arm carrying a weapon. She said, "O evil king! You will gain nothing by killing me. The one who will destroy you is elsewhere." Then the Goddess disappeared. Kansa freed Vasudev and Devaki from prison.
Meanwhile, there was great rejoicing in Gokul, hailing the birth of a son in the household of Nanda. Nanda named the child Krishna. Entire Gokul wore a festive appearance. The streets were swept clean and all the houses were decorated with flags and flowers. Cows were smeared with turmeric, and adorned with peacock feathers and garlands. All people of Gokul danced in joy and flocked to Nanda’s house to see baby Krishna and to offer gifts.
Moral: The story of Lord Krishna's birth shows how powerful and loving God is. Whenever evil in the world like Kansa’s wicked rule becomes unbearable, God Himself comes to save us in the form of an Incarnation like Lord Krishna. Against God, not even the mightiest evil can do anything. Hence, daily we should pray to God and remember Him by chanting* (repeating) His Name in everything we do – be it getting ready, eating, walking, playing or going to bed.
BELOW IS THE VIDEO FOR CHANTING THE NAME OF HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA MADE BY ME. I AM REALLY SORRY I USED KRISHNA PICTURES ONLY AS I AM WRITING A STORY OF KRISHNA.
I came to know someone is sick and reading my stories following video includes my prayers for Her. God Bless Her.
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped
off the train in
President’s outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at
Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in
“We want to see the president,” the man said softly.
“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.
“We’ll wait,” the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged
and go away. They didn’t and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the
president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
“Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she said to him.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time
to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer
office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, “We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was
happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a
memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”
The president wasn’t touched.... He was shocked.
“Madam,” he said, gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and
died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.”
“Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to
give a building to Harvard.”
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then
exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over
seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”
For a moment the lady was silent.
The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it
costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?”
Her husband nodded.
The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr.
and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to
bears their name,
Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how
they treat those who they think can do nothing.
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him
that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to
control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it
was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence....
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the
father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his
temper. The day passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were
gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well,
my son, but look at the holes in the fence.”
The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry,
the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends and loved ones are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they
always want to open their hearts to us. Water your
relationships with kindness… and they will grow. So be
careful little lips what you say…! And you won't chase friendships away.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
showing his son how the poor people live so he could be thankful for his wealth.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So what did you
learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they
have a creek that has no end.” “We have imported lanterns in our
garden and they have the stars at night.” “Our patio reaches to the
front yard and they have the whole horizon.” “We have a small
piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our
sight.” “We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”
“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.” “We have walls around
our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how
poor we are.”
sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was
all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had
purchased the car. On the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study.
His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told
him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped
gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened
the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Holy Qur’an. Angrily, he
raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give
me a Holy book?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.
He never contacted his father again for long long time. Many years
passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a
beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he
should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day.
Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away,
and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care
things. When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began
to search his father’s important papers and saw the still new Holy Qur’an, just as he had left it years
ago. With tears, he opened the Holy Qur’an and began to turn the pages. As he Read those words, a
car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Holy Qur’an. It had a tag with the dealer’s
name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his
graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.
How many times do we miss GOD blessings because
they are not packaged as we expected?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
THE ANGEL
Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day the child asked God, “They tell me
you are going to send me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and
helpless?” God replied, “Among the many angels I have chosen one for you. She will be waiting for
you and will take care of you.”
Said child, “But tell me here in Heaven I don’t do anything else but sing and smile. That’s what I
need to be happy!” God replied, “Your angel will sing for you every day. And you will feel your
angel’s love and be happy.”
And, said the child, “How am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t
know the language that men talk?” “That’s easy”, God said, “Your angel will tell you the most
beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will
teach you how to speak.” The child looked up at God saying, “And what am I going to do when I
want to talk to you?” God smiled at the child saying, “Your angel will teach you how to pray.”
The child said, “I’ve heard on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?” God replied, “Your
angel will defend you, even if it means risking life!” The child looked sad, saying, “But I will always
be sad because I will not see you anymore.” God replied, “Your angel will always talk to you about
me and will teach you the way to come back to
me, even though I will always be next to you.”
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven,
but voices from earth could already be heard.
The child in a hurry, asked softly, “Oh God, if
I am about to leave now please tell me my angel’s
name!” God replied, Your angel’s name is of no
importance… you will simply call her
MOTHER!
One hot day, an ant was searching for some water.
After walking around for some time, she came to a spring.
To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass.
While making her way up, she slipped and fell into the water.
She could have drowned if a dove up a nearby tree had not
seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly
plucked off a leaf and dropped it into the water near the
struggling ant. The ant moved towards the leaf and
climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.
Just at that time, a hunter nearby was throwing out his net
towards the dove, hoping to trap it.
Guessing what he was about to do, the ant quickly bit him on
the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net. The
dove was quick to fly away to safety.
One good turn deserves another.
Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it
became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large
plane tree nearby, they threw themselves on the
ground to rest in its shade.
Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other:
“What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or
nuts that we can eat and we cannot even use its
wood for anything.”
“Don’t be so ungrateful,” rustled the tree in reply.
“I am being extremely useful to you at this very
moment, shielding you from the hot sun.
And you call me a good-for-nothing!”
All of God’s creations have a good purpose.
