Ice Cream

Ice Cream

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all!
Amen!"
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!" Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it
wrong? Is God mad at me?" As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the
table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.
"Really?" my son asked. "Cross my heart," the man replied. Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), " Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice
cream is good for the soul sometimes."
Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

The End.

I loved this story! Please keep it moving. Sometimes we all need some ice cream. I hope God sends you some Ice Cream today.

The Mayonnaise Jar and Coffee

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND COFFEE   >When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the coffee... > >A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. > >So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the >jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas >between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was >full. They agreed it was > >The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of >course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar >was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." > >The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and >poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space >between the sand. The students laughed. > >"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to >recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the >important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, >and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only >they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other >things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is >everything else-the small stuff. > >"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room >for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all >your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the >things that are important. Pay attention to the things that are >critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get >medical checkups. Take your wife out to dinner. Maybe even play another 18. There's >always time to clean the house and fix the disposal." > >Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your >priorities. The rest is just sand." > >One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee >represented. > >The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no >matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups >of coffee with a friend." > >Please share this with someone you care about.

HOPE

“Without hope men are only half alive. With hope they dream and think and work.” 
Charles Sawyer

“The important thing is not that we can live on hope alone, but that life is not worth living without it.” Harvey Milk

“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” John Lennon

“We should no let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.” John F. Kennedy

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” Dale Carnegie

“To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.” Pearl S. Buck

“If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having.- Henry Miller

 

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.- Indira Gandhi

 

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.- Anonymous

 

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.- Marianne Williamson

 

Peace is not a passive but an active condition.- Mary Roberts Rinehart

 

To love God Truly, one must first love man.- Hassidic saying

 

Let us know peace. For as long as the moon shall rise, For as long as the rivers shall flow, For as long as the sun will shine, For as long as the grass shall grow, Let us know peace.- Traditional Native American Prayer

 

Peace, like charity begins at home.- Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

Better than a thousand hollow words Is one word that brings Peace.- Buddha

 

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Good Emergency Numbers:


When in sorrow, call John 14.

When men fail you, call Psalm 27.

If you want to be fruitful, call John 15.

When you have sinned, call Psalm 51.

When you worry, call Matthew 6:19-34.

When you are in danger, call Psalm 91.

When God seems far away, call Psalm 139.

When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrews 11.

When you are lonely and fearful, call Psalm 23.

When you grow bitter and critical, call 1 Cor. 13.

For Paul's secret to happiness, call Col. 3:12-17.

For idea of Christianity, call 1 Cor. 5:15-19.

When you feel down and out, call Romans 8:31

When you want peace and rest, call Matt. 11:25-30

When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm90.

When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30.

When you leave home for labor or travel, call Psalm 121.

When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm 67.

For a great invention or opportunity, call Isaiah 55.

When you want courage for a task, call Joshua 1.

How to get along with fellow man, call Romans 12.

When you think of investments and returns, call Mark 10.

If you are depressed, call Psalm 27.

If your pocketbook is empty, call Psalm 37.

If you're losing confidence in people, call 1 Cor. 13

If people seem unkind, call John 15.

If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126.

If you find the world growing small and yourself great, call Psalm 19.

Emergency numbers may be dialed direct. No operator assistance is necessary. All lines are open to Heaven 24 hours a day! Feed your Faith, and doubt will starve to death!  

 

 

When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. Anthony Robbins 

 

" Nobody is entirely useless. Even the worst of us can serve as horrible examples." Mark Twain

"The begining of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." George Muller


Speak good words, kind words, words of wisdom, words of encouragement. Like gentle rain upon a dormant field. Eventually, they will coax the seeds beneath the soil to life.
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman 

"It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop."
Confucius  


The one who is truly wise, and who uses the forces and powers with which they are endowed, to them the great universe always opens her treasure house.
Ralph Waldo Trine 

The best way to predict your future, is to create it.
Stephen R. Covey

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything,

but still I can do something;

and because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something I can do."

~ Edward Everett Hale~

(1822-1909-Author, Clergyman, Chaplin of U.S. Senate)

 
  

LUCK

"Combine common sense and the golden rule, and you will have very little bad luck." Anonymous

 

"I don't know anything about luck....Luck to me is something else; hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't." Lucille Ball

 

"I was born lucky, and I have lived lucky. What I had was used. What I still have is being used. Lucky." Katharine Hepburn

 

"People always call it luck when you've acted more sensibly than they have." Anne Tyler

 

"Everything in life is luck." Donald Trump

 

"You don't just luck into things....You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities." Barbara Bush

 

"Get as much experience as you can, so that your're ready when luck works. That's the luck." Henry Fonda

 

"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity." Oprah Winfrey

Nature & Beauty

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."

 Rachel Louise Carson

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

Aristotle

"Nature has been for me...a source of solace, inspiration, adventure and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion."

Lorraine Anderson

"Nothing is more Beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise."

 George Washington Carver

"Thre true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our nuclear arsenals cannot threaten."   Stephen Jay Gould
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside...amidst the simple beauty of nature."                                                                                Anne Frank
"Climb the mlountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you...while cares will drop off like autumn leaves..."                                                                John Muir
"Earth laughs in flowers."                                                                                    Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today Is....

Anonymous Quotes

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Life is about choices. Choose to live each day to its fullest.

Never miss an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Relax, reflect and recharge each day.

Don’t waste today worrying about yesterday.

The best accessory is a smile. Wear one often.

Share your blessings when you’re feeling blessed.

Fill your to-do list with things that make you happy.

Remember that some things are urgent and others are important. Know the difference.

If you want something out of your day, put something into it.

Share your thoughts to uplift, not undermine.

Never let a kind word go unsaid.

Teach what you know. Learn what you don’t.

Love is...

Keep your heart open for as long as you can, as wide as you can for others and especially yourself. Morrie Schwartz

Love lights more fires than hate can extinguish. Ella Wheeler-Wilcox

May the blessed sunshine shine on you and warm your heart till it flows like a great peat fire, so that the stranger may come and warm himself at it and also a friend. Irish Blessing

Kindness in words creates confidence; kindness in thinking creates profoundness; kindness in feeling creates love. Lao Tzu

We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can fly only by embracing each other. Luciano De Crescenzo

In order to love simply, it is necessary to know how to show love. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Love is love’s reward. John Dryden

No, the heart that truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close. Thomas Moore

Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries. Corita Kent

Love is the tact of every good, The only warmth, the only peace. Delmore Schwartz