By The Grace Of God And More... :) Shangy! >Here are the details on our ShangyFunList: Group Web Site: http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/ShangyFunList.html Group email address: bcrsystems@earthlink.net ================ *~* Please Consider Giving To ShangralaFamilyFun.com :) The cost of the website has gone up dramatically due to the ever increasingly wonderful pages and photos being added each week to entertain you and our fellow Christian families. If every one would chip in $25 or more, we'd be good for the whole year! So Please - I need your help today! "We are each of us angels with but one wing, and can only fly by embracing each other" -Luciano Decrescenzo ~ CALLING ALL CARING ANGELS ~ *~* WE NEED CARING And SHARING Angels *~* >Do You Want To Be A Shangrala Angel? If you'd like to help and be counted as a Shangrala Angel, the easiest way to do that is through online giving. It is easy to use, and most of all, it is secure. Please visit the site, scroll down and click on the donate button. A Secure PAYPAL form page comes up. NOTE: Paypal will generate a 'Quantity 1' and 'Price per item' form. Just ignore the price per item and put whatever it is you desire to give in there. With Paypal, you will have your normal receipt for your 'payment' donation in USD (United States Dollars). You can put a memo in there if you'd like. Any amount is greatly appreciated and needed! PLEASE Visit Shangrala to Help: http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/index.html OR If you'd rather send us a donation, Please MAIL it here: Elrhea Bigham 502 S. Harrison Van Wert, OH 45891 *~* THANK YOU! MAY GOD BLESS YOU ABUNDANTLY FOR YOUR GIFT! ================ *~* A REMINDER: PLEASE Send me sweet, interesting, funny, inspiring, family type forwards ANY TIME here... bcrsystems@earthlink.net I Need them, Love them, Use them, and Share them! THANK YOU!! AND For Facebook Users: Please Like Me here... http://tinyurl.com/cma6all AND Please Share This email with All Your Friends And Family! ^~^ May God SUPER BLESS You As You Do! THANK YOU! ================ >-->3 HOT Off The 'Shangy' Press :) Our first too hot to handle new page is from my daughter Tammy. It features the world's smallest bird! So small it weighs less than a dime! Leave it to God to make it not only tiny but very cute and adorable. Be sure to check it and it's videos out here... ,_ :`. .--._ `.`-. / ',-""""' `. ``~-._.'_."/ `~-._ .` `~; ;. / / / jgs ,_.-';_,.'` `"-;`/ ,'` Bee Hummingbirds! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/beehummingbird.html --- ...I loved this. So sweet! Thanks Tammy! This sizzling hot new page is from our friends LouiseAu and Fran. It is full of things that will make you say, 'Wow! I didn't know that!' Be sure to give it, along with the video here, a few moments and see how many you never knew before! ,,,,,, /e ''( (_ ` \ ___> \ / ,_\-.___ \_ / _)/ / \ | \ / ` _ | __\____/ / ' | / _ /______/ / _/ \,_____/o ( \__)/` \ / \__________/_/_ _/ \ \ )/ \ / / | /\ ( \_____/ ___/ \ \ _/ \ ______/_/___|_| ) \ / / o\ o\ / / /\ b'ger,,,'-----^--',,,,,,',,|_,,\_ ,,\/,, Little Known Things! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/littleknown.html --- ...Pretty interesting! Thanks Ladies! Our next too hot to handle new page is from our friends Linda and CarolC. These out of the box entrepreneurs' have some new product ideas to make our lives more easy, fun and interesting. Be sure to check them out here... . | , \ _---_ / -_ .' `. _- __ : .---. : __ : \ / : -" `. | | .' "- / |`-'| \ ' ]"-_[ ` ]"-_[ Ojo 98 "*" Thoughts Into Action 13! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/action13.html --- ...Teehee! Some very good ones here! Thanks Ladies! =========================================================== >-->From HeartLight: __ .-'||'-. .' || '. / __||__ \ | /`- -`\ | | | 6 6 | | \/\____7___/\/ .--------:\:I:II:I:/;--------. / \`:I::I:`/ \ | `------' | | \____/ | | , __ _____ , | |======| / / / _ \ |======| |======| / /__ \ <_> / |======| |~~~~~| | <_> \/ <_> \ |~~~~~| | |\ \____/\_____/ /| | \ \| |/ / `\ \ _ _.-=""=-._ _ / /' `\ '`_)\\-++++-//(_`' /' jgs ; (__|| ||__) ; ; ___\ /___ ; '. ---/-=..=-\--- .' `""` `""` >By the Grace of God by Phillip Morrison (10/03/2013) | Timely Truths The guy was BIG. I mean pro football, defensive tackle big... and he was black... and he was a preacher... and he was my partner as we worked on a Habitat for Humanity house that hot Saturday in August. I don't know why we were paired together — perhaps because nobody else wanted to work with a preacher — or maybe because I had worked on Habitat houses before. We were about as different as two men could be. If we had been singing, I would have been the high tenor while he sang bass an octave low. His voice was so deep it rumbled like a semi using a jake brake on a downgrade. We worked well together, getting a lot done that morning. We were tentative with one another, feeling each other out, searching for a comfort level. All that changed when we took our lunch break. After going through the line and filling our plates with barbeque and beans, we made ourselves as comfortable as we could while sitting on piles of building materials. Just when I got my mouth full of barbeque, my new friend suddenly grew talkative. Putting on his best imitation cotton-field voice, he rumbled, "Has you ever noticed how white folks and black folks smell pretty much the same once we gits all hot and stinky?" I finally managed to quit coughing and sputtering, and got my food going the right direction when he hit me again. "And has you noticed," he said, "that Methodist preachers and Church of Christ preachers say pretty much the same thing when we hits our thumbs with a hammer?" Not quite so unprepared this time, I said, "I didn't realize you heard me say Dagnabit." His deep belly laugh made my teeth vibrate, and he said, "Well, if that's your story, you better stick to it, but that ain't what I thought I heard." He had one more zinger for me: "I bet it would really make your day if you could get this old boy straightened out on baptism and music." "Listen," I said, trying to get back in the game, "if you are ready to be baptized, you need to find somebody else to help you, because right now, I'd hold you under so long the only music you'd hear would be harps and trumpets!" The ground shook again as he laughed like Fat Albert and said, "You know somethin'? You all right... unless you hits your thumb again!" Right after lunch my new friend disappeared. I found him on his hands and knees, writing scripture verses and short prayers with a magic marker. Someone had obviously told him church volunteers often wrote like that on parts of the house that would be covered with finish materials. He had selected the sub-floor as his place to write. At first I thought he was so big he was having trouble getting up. Then I realized he was not only writing the prayers, he was praying the prayers. I introduced him to the woman whose family would live in that home. She was fulfilling the "sweat equity" required of all Habitat homeowners, who continue to do volunteer work after their own home is completed. When she asked why we were volunteering on such a hot day, we just said, "Because Jesus would." At the end of the long, hot day, when my ten-pound tool belt felt like fifty, I trudged almost half a mile to where my truck was parked. Easing my aching muscles into the driver's seat, I realized I had seen and lived the gospel that day, and I hadn't even been to church. Church may be where the gospel is preached, but the world is where it is lived. Church has been my life, but I'm not sure Jesus likes that. He didn't spend much time in the pulpit, but he did his preaching from a boat, on a mountain side, in a living room in Bethany, by a well in Samaria. If he were alive today, is it possible he would choose an unfinished Habitat house for his pulpit? My new friend suddenly had a soft voice that didn't rumble. "You're all right," he said. As I began to protest, he added, "by the grace of God, you're all right." I could accept that, gratefully realizing that no other power in the world could make me all right. By the grace of God! About the Author These Encouraging Words from Phillip Morrison are drawn from more than 60 years of ministry and life as a husband, father, grandfather, editor, and writer. A devoted follower of Jesus, Phillip has tried to bring encouragement throughout his life and ministry. He was the founding managing editor of both UpReach and Wineskins magazines. He and Mary Margaret have been married over 50 years moved to Lakeway, Texas to be near their children and grandchildren. -<>- \||/ ,--. | o|o //OO\\ | _| ||c || |(_ | /| `--' `--' azc >"Can't Keep Your Mouth Shut?" by Alan Smith (01/31/2009) | Timely Truths The Arizona Republic" reported this story (so I'm assuming this story really is true!): As Terry Mikel was speeding toward Tucson, he passed a car, an unmarked Arizona Highway Patrol car. The officer pulled Terry over. When Terry explained that he was late for a class he was teaching at the University of Arizona, the officer took pity on him and let him off with a warning. Before he went back to his car he said, "Slow down and drive safe." Terry felt obligated to correct him. "Excuse me, Sir, but it should be 'Slow down and drive safely.' You said, 'Drive safe.'" The officer walked back to his car and wrote him a $72 speeding ticket. We can't do it, can we? We just can't seem to keep our mouths shut! Looking back, we know we shouldn't have said a word, but at the time we felt so compelled to speak. Maybe you didn't get a ticket as a result, but you've done something just as foolish, haven't you? Maybe even this morning, before reading this message. Maybe even before leaving your house! James was so right when he wrote: If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body ... For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue (James 3:2-8 NKJV). That's not an excuse, incidentally, to let our tongues run wild. Rather, it's a challenge. As hard as it may be to control our tongues, it is essential that we as Christians strive to do just that. We stand to lose more than $72 if we fail to do so. As Solomon said: That's not an excuse! He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction (Proverbs 13:3). Lord, we truly want to use our tongues to Your glory this day. As difficult as it may be, help us to guard our mouths as we resist the temptation to speak at those times when we ought to keep quiet. In Jesus Christ's name, amen. About The Author Alan Smith ministers with the Church of Christ in White House, Tennessee and publishes the email devotional "Thought for the Day." =========================================================== >-->From Daily Encounter: , , /////| ///// | ///// | |~~~| | | |===| |/| | B |/| | | I | | | | B | | | | L | / | E | / |===|/ jgs '---' >God's Discipline "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."1 Billy Graham commented how, "When a ship's carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel, he did not cut it in the valley, but up on the mountainside where the trees have been buffeted by the winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice; but if we face it bravely, it can toughen the fiber of our souls." And that's exactly why God disciplines us and allows us to go through trials. They are designed to strengthen us and help us to grow healthy and strong. And while "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful," what we always need to remember is that "the Lord disciplines those he loves."2 Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you love me as I am, but love me too much to leave me as I am. Thank you, too, that you allow trials to come into my life to help me grow, mature and become strong. Help me to accept your discipline and use it to fulfill your purpose for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus Christ's name. Amen." 1. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV). 2. Hebrews 12:11,6 (NIV). <:))))>< , , /////| ///// | ///// | |~~~| | | |===| |/| | B |/| | | I | | | | B | | | | L | / | E | / |===|/ jgs '---' >I Just Want You to Be Happy “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!" At some point in our lives, we may have heard or even said these words, “I just want you to be happy". It may have been to (or from) a boyfriend or girlfriend during a break-up, or from parent to child when contemplating the future. We desire happiness for those we love, but what does it mean to be happy? The dictionary defines happiness as “a state of well-being and contentment; a pleasurable or satisfying experience". Happiness is an external feeling based on other people, things, places, or events. God desires for His children to be happy because He is the true source of happiness. However, even as followers of Christ, we do not always pursue that happiness. All of God’s commands are meant to provide happiness, but many times we choose not to turn to His Word because we area fraid of feeling chastised or convicted. We often view the Bible as a Rule Book and so we find it easier to look for happiness in others and the things that others might provide us. But those very rules are what God promises will bring us happiness when we “bind them on our fingers and write them on the tablet of our heart. (Proverbs 7:3) God’s Word teaches us that if we keep our eyes on the Lord, then, our hearts will be glad. (Ps.16:8-9) Happiness brings peace, and when we have peace then we find that we can rest. We rest secure knowing that God is always present. It is God’s will that we, His children, find our happiness in HIM. The laws of the Lord are right, and those who obey them are happy. (Ps. 19:8; GNT) Suggested Prayer: Dear God, it’s so easy to seek happiness in earthly things, things I can see. Please help me to remember that true happiness is found in You and that Your desire is for me to be happy in You. Give me the desire to seek you above all things and to obey your commands. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen. 1. Psalm 144: 15b When copying or forwarding include the following: "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016 ACTS International. --- _ , L\ \/OO\ |/ \ /_\ ` _\ |_ Arjen Pilon ...This reminds me of an insane thing my son's ex once said, 'God wants me to be happy! If I am happy, my kids will be happy.' However, not working on your marriage, abandoning your kids and shacking up with another man is not God's idea of what is best for you or your children. , , /////| ///// | ///// | |~~~| | | |===| |/| | B |/| | | I | | | | B | | | | L | / | E | / |===|/ jgs '---' When the bible teaches us: “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!" It is because God loves us and as our creator knows what is best for us - always. He knows and directs us to wholesome living because without doing His will, we fall into the lair of the Devil. The devil clouds our minds and hearts with what he wants for us - which is always against God. He knows if he can get you to do something God doesn't want you to do that by your actions, you are choosing him over God - which means he can play havoc with your life and make it as miserable as he wants to. You kicked God out, so in walks the devil. That is why the bible teaches us - “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!" You make God your Lord and you are not going against Him. You are in line with the one who Loves you so very much He gave his only-begotten son Jesus Christ for you to keep you out of the grips of the devil! But God won't make you do anything. He lets you choose Him over the devil. And when you do, Happy are you! Only then can you be truly happy! Why? Because the devil hates people and he especially hates those with God in Christ in them - Christians. He considers you the enemy and will do whatever it takes to get at you and overtake you - making you less of a threat to him and the evil he inspires to do around the world to all people. He knows he is the loser in the end. Not only that, but He is perhaps the worst of all sore losers. All he can take down with him is how he wants to play the game. It makes him happy to spread pain and sorrow. See this teaching... , , /////| ///// | ///// | |~~~| | | |===| |/| | B |/| | | I | | | | B | | | | L | / | E | / |===|/ jgs '---' Joy Is An INSIDE Job http://www.absolutebiblestudy.com/Basics/Joy_Is_An_INSIDE_Job.htm =========================================================== >-->From Archives InspiredBuffalo: ___ {-) |\ [m,].-"-. / [][__][__] \(/\__/\)/ [__][__][__][__]~~~~ | | [][__][__][__][__][] / | [__][__][__][__][__]| /| | [][__][__][__][__][]| || | ~~~~ ejm [__][__][__][__][__]__,__, \__/ >Whadda’ Ya’ Think? Rev. Chris Callahan Contributing Writer Centuries ago an Englishman was walking the streets of London, when he happened upon three workers laying stone. Curious about what they were building, he approached the first worker and asked, "What are you doing here?" This first fellow slapped more mortar down, saying, "You must be blind if you can't see I'm laying stone." Undeterred, the gentleman approached the second worker, and asked the same. He said, "Can't you see that I'm building a wall?" In his desire to find out what they were building, the gentleman approached the third worker and asked him what he was building. This mason turned, stepped away from the wall, wiped off his hands, and said exuberantly, "Why, I'm on the team that's building a cathedral!" Which of these three workers will work the hardest? Which one will lay the best stonework? Which one will be least likely to become discouraged? Which one will continue to lay stone over the many years this cathedral is being built? Of course, we know the answer: the laborer that has the best vision of what he is building. Not the laborer who only saw himself laying the stone at hand, nor the laborer who only thought he was building a wall, but the one who saw the vision of the completed future cathedral, glorifying the Lord. God has much to say about His people's vision: from Solomon's proclamation, "Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18), to Moses' '"Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open.”(Num 24:4). Furthermore, the vision must be from the Lord: "They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD."(Jeremiah 23:16) What do you see happening in your church? Is it a nice local church in which to attend on Sunday (the first mason's vision)? Or perhaps a true move of God in your town (the second mason)? Or do you have the vision that your church is called by God as necessary and vital for the mission of the whole church? 'Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” (Habbakuk 2:2) Sola Fide, Chris Callahan God Bless You Narrow Way Newsletter Ministry -<>- _______________ /\______________/`-. <()>_____________< ## \/______________\,-' unknown >POWER OF A TRASHED PENCIL She was a janitor at a school in India. Her husband died soon after her marriage, she didn't have any family in the area. She struggled with the responsibility of raising her kids. For the last twenty years, she's continued to sweep classrooms at local schools. One day, though, she had a radical idea: I want to give. It was followed-up by a reasonable yet confusing thought: But what can I possibly give? When she narrated her desire to a friend, he told her a story. "Gandhi used to write many letters. One day, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, a famous Indian author, saw him writing with a tiny pencil and immediately offered Gandhi a bigger pencil from his pocket. Gandhi politely said that he didn't need it. The next day, he saw Gandhi scrambling to find his pencil and Kakasaheb again offered him a pencil saying, 'Your pencil was so small anyway.' Gandhi gently replied, 'But a child had given me that pencil.' And he carried on the search for that small pencil. Sharing this story, he tells this sweeper woman: "You sweep schools everyday. And so, you must see all kinds of small pencils that kids throw away. Why don't you collect those and I'll give them to little kids who can't afford pencils and teach them how to write and draw." She liked that idea. In addition to pencils, she even collected erasers, sharpeners, and a few miscellaneous oddities. And every so often, when her bag gets full, she hands it off to her friend to give away to the needy. That was her ritual. When she found out that I was in town (I'm good friends with her kids), she insisted that I come over for a meal. Due to my hectic set of commitments, I wasn't able to go over for a meal but told her that I'd definitely join her for some snacks. So I went for breakfast one day, with my friend who originally shared Gandhi's story with her. She had cooked up a simple feast of love, which we thoroughly enjoyed! We gave her a shawl, explaining that someone had gifted it to us the night before and we couldn't really use it. And as we were leaving, she handed us a pink, almost ripped, and heavy plastic bag. Confused, I opened up that plastic bag, and saw those small pencils, erasers and sharpeners. Wow. It's hard to stay balanced, in the presence of something so valuable. In the next hour, I had to address a couple hundred people, and shared the story of a sweeper woman. As I opened up that pink plastic bag and held a fistful of these small pencils and erasers, it was hard for even the emcee to hold back the tears! I left the bag out for people to keep a material token of this sweeper woman's lesson -- it matters not what you give, but the amount of love you put into that giving. Everything, including the ripped plastic bag, was gone before I could take a second look. The humble offering had a certain power that simply can't be bought. I felt it, everyone felt it. -<>- ___________ /.---------.\`-._ // || `-._ || `-._ || `-._ || `-._ || `-._ || _____ ||`-._ \ _..._ || | __ ! || `-._ | _/ \|| .' |~~|| `-._ | .-`` _.`|| / _|~~|| .----. `-._| | _.` _|| | |23| || / :::: \ \ \ _.--` _.` || | |56| || / ::::: | | | _.-` _.|| | |79| || | _..-' / _\-` _.`O || | |_ || |::| | .` _.`O `._|| \ | || |::| | .-` _.` `._.' || '.__|--|| |::| \ `-._.-` \`-._ || | ": !|| | '-.._ | \ `--._|| |_:"___|| | ::::: | | \ /\ || ":":"|| \ :::: | | \( `-.|| .- || `.___/ / | | || _.- || | | / \\.-________\\____.....-----' \ -. \ | | \ `. \ \ | __________ `. .'\ \| |\ _________ LGB `..' \ | | \ \\ .' | / .`. | \.' | |.' `-._ \ _ . / \_\-._____) \_.-` .`'._____.'`. \_\-| | `._________.' >A Simple Life "As you probably know the Amish believe in living a simple life - no electricity, no telephones, no motorized vehicles. Yet in many of their communities there is a pay phone. When asked about this apparent discrepancy one elder explained, 'If the telephone were in our home it would control us. As long as it is out here we control it.' He went on to say, 'Most people drop everything they are doing the instant the telephone rings and run to answer it. In their lives the telephone takes precedent over everything. (Of course cell phones have only made this addiction far worse.) The pay telephone, on the other hand, is our servant. It is there if we need it but we do not allow it to intrude into our lives.'" - Richard Exley Wizard -<>- ... {@} * {@} {@} * {@} * {@} : * {@} * {@} * .; {@} * {@} * {@} * {@} * ; * ; {@} * ; * : ;\ \ \ \| / / /; \\ \ Y/ / / `_\ |/ _' / \\Y// \ ( ,-}={-, ) \_//((\_/ //))(\ (/ )) (( valkyrie \) >Roses for Mama by: C.W. McCall, Source Unknown A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars." The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother." She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house. -<>- This is an actual letter that someone's brother sent to his mother. She said that it brought her to tears, and someone sent it to me. >Dear Mamma, I had to fix my dinner tonight since Stephanie is still recovering from Pneumonia. I heated up some vegetable soup and was preparing to make some cheese toast with it. It had been a very long time since I had eaten any cheese toast. As I was putting the butter on the bread and applying the cheese, I thought about all of the mornings that you fixed this for us before going to school. I remembered the cheese toast, the oatmeal with raisins, the buttered toast with syrup, the shredded wheat with bananas, and the heated orange juice. It wasn't until I had to go through the trouble of preheating the oven, getting out the bread, butter and cheese, aluminum foil, and fixing everything that I stopped and realized the daily effort you spent fixing our food. I thought back to all of those mornings and the love that went into everything. We ate very simple; but as I thought about all of the cornbread and syrup, beans and rice and stir-fried vegetables, I realized that everything you cooked I thoroughly enjoyed. We still eat a lot of bread now because Mamma, you fixed us all sorts of bread, and we enjoyed it. I remembered eating these items every morning, but I couldn't remember saying “thank you.” Even if it took me 35 years and a sick wife to realize the labor of love that you gave six sons every day, I want to say thank you now. I can never remember a time when I needed to talk and you weren't there. I can't remember needing a mother and you weren't there. I can't remember needing prayer and you weren't there. I can't remember needing a friend and you weren't there. I can't remember needing a supporter and you weren't there. We all get busy with the issues and responsibilities of life, but we should never get too busy to stop, take time out and say thank you. You are and have always been a remarkable mother. Even now just to hear your voice holler in the audience as we speak, I say thank you for your support and encouragement. We are who we are because of whose we are and from whom we came. This includes God, you, and daddy. I will never forget that. Even though this is not Mother's Day, Christmas or your birthday, I wanted to take the time out at midnight before I went to bed to write this because you mean that much to me and, you are somebody special. Out of all of the women I've met in my life, no matter how beautiful or powerful, I've never looked at another and said I wish that was my mother. I have always truly looked at myself as having the best mother in the whole world. I just started writing this really to say thank you for the cheese toast, but the rest just came out as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I love you Mother and think the world of you. I did the best I could to find the closest I could to you for a wife because I saw what the pinnacle of being a mother and wife was. Good night, Love, James March 19th 2009, 12:15AM -<>- >Links for Your Enjoyment :) What I've Learned In Life!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/learnedinlife.html Amazing Photos 3!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/amazingphotos3.html Beautiful Rare Flowers!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/rareflowers.html Thoughts Into Action 5!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/action5.html Arrows Across America!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/arrows.html Animal Friends 3!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/animalfriends3.html God's Spring Paintings!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/gspring.html Jesus Clinic!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/clinic.html Cat In A Box!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/catinbox.html Backpack Cat!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/backpack.html Advice For Living!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/advice.html Life Is...Continued!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/lifeis2.html Friends And Health!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/friendhealth.html 90/10 Principles!- http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/giving.html Mom's And Dad's Index! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/momsanddadsindex.html -<>- The Challenge https://www.truthortradition.com/articles/the-challenge What Does it Really Mean to be in the Will of God? https://tinyurl.com/5xf79rk8 Divine Appointment https://tinyurl.com/4ayjauky Our Righteous Guide – Hearing His Voice https://tinyurl.com/z5xw7nvx A True Miracle – More Than 1,000 Lost Souls Get Baptized Into the Kingdom / Remember – Our God Is a God of Second Chances And More... https://www.christianlifedaily.com/ -<>- >In The News: * Correction - “Welcome Packages” for illegals includes VP Harris’s children book - was not reported truthfully. Only one of her books was donated to the illegal kids. VA News: Free Farm Program, Veteran Job Board, Restaurant Revitalization Fund (women and minorities too) https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USVA/bulletins/2d68562 Hannity - 04-27 https://www.bitchute.com/video/ts699xtsJYit/ LA police officer who posted letter to LeBron James reveals why he did it https://tinyurl.com/8r8jhkfs Rep. Elise Stefanik: 100 days of President Biden and America is not back, it is weak https://tinyurl.com/azd35hya 2021-04-28_Paralyzed after 2nd COVID shot https://www.bitchute.com/video/VNOdr2hGA0RX/ 2021-04-25-DISTURBING! Pfizer Vaccine Zoomed w Microscope! Are Living Cells Organisms Mixed In? https://www.bitchute.com/video/mjButEmLBdLX/ 20 Men Arrested On Crimes Against Youth In Virginia Sting / California Inmates Fear For Their Lives After Being Housed With “Transgender” Prisoners / Pro-Abort Kamala Harris Wins Award For Being A “Champion Of Kids” https://mommyunderground.com/ Feds Execute a Search Warrant for Rudy Giuliani’s Apartment / Donald Trump to Resume MAGA rallies in May / Former New York Attorney General has Law License Suspended Over Abuse of Women / Biden Being Slammed by Republican AGs with Border Lawsuits/ Op-Ed by Stacey Abrams was Heavily Edited by USA Today and Used to Defend Her from Critics And More... https://reliablenewsnow.com/ CNN Just Let Slip What The COVID Vaccine Is Really About – And It’s Not Good And More" https://deepstatejournal.com/ Latest From 2020 Conservative: http://2020conservative.com/ Latest From TPN News: https://threepercenternation.com/ Latest From AFA: http://tinyurl.com/j7lakqw Students For Life https://tinyurl.com/yd5nxmu6 Latest From OperationRescue: http://www.operationrescue.org/ Latest Product Alert: Recall Alert: Ice Cream, Hand Sanitizers, Rice Cakes http://www.emergencyemail.org/products/?fmt=text Latest Health Alert: http://www.emergencyemail.org/health/?fmt=text Click to Give Free https://tinyurl.com/y2abb8d2 -<>- >From Our Friend LouiseAu :) Japanese magician Cyril Takayama amazes the audience with his tricks at the French television show 'The Worlds Greatest Cabaret.' https://youtu.be/XjT8_yXYfqQ Shin Lim is a magic wizard with skill and charm and fools Penn and Teller for the 3rd time.. https://youtu.be/LGCDGNw-yMA Dani Lary Magic Translation: "In the town of Agra, capital of the Mughal empire in Northern India, lived in the 17 century a queen, and a very old gardener who took loving care of the fairy tale gardens of the Taj Mahal, a magnificent mausoleum of white marble, whose main entrance was guarded by two immense elephants." https://youtu.be/JBNgQvUVryc --- ...fascinating! Thanks LouiseAu! Laughing Babies Compilation: Take a look at some of the most infectious baby laughs. https://youtu.be/L49VXZwfup8 --- ...So cute! Hard not to join them - So Fun! Thanks LouiseAu! -<>- >From Our Friend Linda :) Somebody did a lot of research. All selections (300) are videos of artists performing. A high school somewhere in DC area put all this together. The juke box is great! Bladensburg High School Class of 1959 Video Jukebox with over 300 selections http://www.1959bhsmustangs.com/VideoJukebox.htm --- ...Memories! Thanks Linda! -<>- >From Our Friend Desi :) Stuart Townend - See What A Morning (Resurrection Hymn) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xM-fpXayUg --- ...Sweet! Thanks Desi! Visit Melissa's Online Store You can get anything you want (except for Melissa ) at the online store http://pdhomes.net/mall/babylissa/mySTORES/ISELL4.html ========================================================== ___ \ \ \__\ ,/ / <\ /> ,/ / \\// ,/ / ._ ( ``-.. ,/ / <\ /> | ```-.. ``-./ < \\// | ``-.. ``-. \ ( ``-:./-. ``-..O \ //-. `-.`:-. O ``-.. \ I'll Take Half Story Editor: by Donna Quist Joyce Schowalter Virginia, USA In 1979 I joined the Air Force, following the tradition of my family. I sought a coveted slot in the Air Medical Evacuation Squadron. After two years of hard work, I held orders to report to flight school in 60 days. Seven days later, I was rear-ended at a stoplight by a car going 55 m.p.h. I was shoved through the intersection -- the driver kept going. I was hospitalized for three weeks with severe whiplash and two torn back muscles. I knew the minute the flight surgeon was notified, my dream job disappeared. Friends pressed me to call an attorney. At first I was too depressed, but I became angry, realizing this woman had destroyed my dreams. I would sue. Six weeks later, there was no word rescinding my orders. A few months later, miraculously, I was living my dream job. When my attorney asked about my condition, I told him honestly I was usually in pain. My job required lots of lifting. Nonetheless, I couldn't see the flight surgeon or be grounded. My attorney said, "A guaranteed minimum $500,000 for loss of career." With the idealism (or stupidity) of youth, I didn't want money, I wanted to fly Med Evac. He had to settle the case. Months later, he said he could only get $14,200. It sounded like a fortune, but he explained that after the Air Force claimed for my medical care and his fee, I'd get $3,500. I had my dream job, so told him to settle. When I signed the papers, he handed me a check for $8,200. My eyes bulged, I knew that amount couldn't be right. That was a year's salary for me, tax free! My attorney explained that my injury was honest and probably permanent, yet I would get less than anyone in the settlement. That bothered him. He contacted the Air Force to convince them to lower their claim. They agreed... on one condition. If he'd reduce his fee to me, the Air Force would match it, up to 50 percent. He called their bluff, dropping his fee 50 percent. He said he saw so many people wanting to scam the system. While he understood my position, he believed (accurately) my injuries would catch up with me. He wanted to make sure I had as much compensation as I could under the circumstances. One year later the military forced me into another field. Five years later, I was medically retired due to back problems from that accident. I went home to family in northern Virginia a very scared young woman. At age 30, with no transferable skills, my back injury limited me to a non-physical profession. Cost of living in Virginia was high, but the settlement money had been invested and allowed me to buy a home. With my entry-level wages, I never could have saved enough to purchase a home. I literally owe the roof over my children's heads to the generosity, kindness and integrity of that attorney. =======HeroicStories======= >-->From LaughAndLift: ...one concern of the devil is to keep saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray." - Samuel Chadwick "We have been forgiven by God much more than we have ever been accused by others." - Elmer Lehman ___ / `\ \ // \ \ //\ \__ _/ |\ | \ \__| as >Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (Story adapted by Louis Lapides from Still More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks, Wayne Rice, Zondervan Publishing House. Pg. 79.) A scientific researcher assembled ten unsuspecting volunteers for a psychological study called the Scar Experiment. The participants were separated into ten different cubicles equipped without mirrors. The purpose of the study was to observe how people would respond to a stranger with a marred physical appearance, such as a facial scar. Using Hollywood makeup tricks, the scientist put bloody and gruesome scars on each volunteer's left cheek, and displayed the new "scar" to each participant using a small handheld mirror. After glancing at their marred image, the mirror was taken away. The researcher's final step was to inform each volunteer that some finishing powder needed to be placed on his/her scar to prevent it from smearing. In reality, the researcher used a tissue to wipe off the scar. But the volunteers still believed they had the awful scars on their faces. Each individual was sent out into the waiting rooms of different medical offices with instructions to notice how strangers responded to their appearance. After the appointed time, the ten volunteers returned to the scientific researcher and all shared the same report. In their encounters they noticed that strangers were ruder to them, less kind and stared at their scar. Regardless of the removal of the false scars, their unhealthy perspective on themselves affected how they thought others saw them. In contrast, the scars and pain we carry inside us are hardly ever obvious to everyone on the outside. We make them visible by our actions towards others. If we see ourselves as unlovable, worthless and defective, we will often respond towards individuals in an unloving, insecure and discouraging manner. Meaningful and trusting relationships become very difficult to form. It is surprising to learn a positive self image does not come from how we look on the outside, but on how we feel on the inside. In order to have a lasting, healthy view of self, we must base our worth upon God's unconditional love and value of us. King David sings, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it!" (Psalm 139:14) (NLT). Through a personal relationship with our Creator, we can find healing of those inner scars and deep wounds that hinder us from enjoying fulfilling relationships. There is no need to worry about what other people think of us when we know God has already placed His highest worth on our lives. -<>- "What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skill of science is not able to make an oyster?" - Jeremy Taylor __ __ ,-' `' \ _---``-- / _ _ ; __ `. / / `' \; /`----- ) / .-/ ,( ), \-. ; | \( \ / )/; | - _5 `7 -; / ( ___-' `-____ | ( ___`-_ \ ____| \ / `,/ \ _(\__ / \ \ ; \ .' /' `i. / | | \ _-'( _\__-/ `- | | ` ,` `_ | BP >Make Room for One More (Author Unknown) Isaiah 58:6-7 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to... share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?" Recruits in the army have been told, "Always dig your foxholes big enough for two." It takes more effort to do this, but it could save one more life. Making room for one more person in your life is a good principle. The Bible states it like this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Isaiah teaches us what this means in practical ways: "Is it not to share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter -- when you see the naked, to clothe him?" (Isaiah 58:7). One plus one: this sets a goal within reach. If you were told to help all mankind, you would say, "How can I? How can I possibly make room in my life for billions of people?" But, to make your proverbial foxhole big enough for two -- big enough for one more -- that you can do. In bearing Christian witness we can "each one, reach one." That is how it worked among the first disciples. Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus, and Philip brought Nathanael. This kind of discipling starts right in our own families or friendship circles. When someone leads a brother or a sister to Christ, salvation comes to that house, to that neighborhood. Save the world? For one person that is mission impossible, but to reach out to one near and dear is mission possible. During their training period the disciples went out two by two. The apostle Paul often made room in his ministry for a traveling companion and fellow missionary -- at times Barnabas, or Silas, or Timothy. Moreover the one-plus-one formula involves more than companionship; it involves the power of prayer. As Jesus said, "If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father" (Matthew 18:19). Jesus always made room in His kingdom for one more: for the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, for Zacchaeus in Jericho, for the penitent thief on the cross, also for you and me -- because He died for us all. PRAYER: Lord Jesus give me an increase of love so that I may care for one more needy person. Amen. SUBSCRIBE INFO Want to receive a Christian inspirational item AND great clean humor in an email to you each day of the week? It's easy and FREE! Read all about Laugh & Lift at http://www.laughandlift.com ========================================================== , (`-.-/( .:::::., `-.__) ``:\:: . /7_.-, '. -. - - `:::' .- ( `_.= \ `--._ / _?'` ___.-' -`"' \ - / )----'''' - .-' `--.. `--' ,' .-' `\ --' )---'' ) ) | _| ( \ L / | \ )__ _ \ \ `---' `--' L \ | \ \ \ L ) L_ ( \ | \ . J a:f | `. \ _.-`--=' \ ) ( _-' `--'\ '"' / ' J (,_./ >-->The Wind's Not Always at our Back (By Clay Harrison) The wind's not always at our back, The sky is not always blue. Sometimes we crave the things we lack, And don't know what to do. Sometimes life's an uphill ride, With mountains we must climb. At times the river's deep and wide, And crossing takes some time. No one said that life is easy, There are no guarantees. So trust the Lord continually, On calm or stormy seas. The challenges we face today, Prepares us for tomorrow. For faith takes our fears away, And peace replaces sorrow. >Updated FUN STUFF URLS - Oh Yeah Shangy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/urls.html FUN URLS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -->ShangyFunList AD RATES: $25 will get your a message (of up to 40 words) out to all web site list readers. Email me to secure dates. Ad Request ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -->FULL LENGTH - FREE On line AUDIO MP3 Christian Foundational Class http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=61 NEW LIFE IN CHRIST! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -->This is for all you who love food and DARE to make it at home Yep. You guessed it - Recipes. These are Tried and True, Yummy to the Tummy, good old fashioned home cooking recipes that are EASY to do Visit Shangy's Easy-Does-It Home Recipes: http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/easy.html Home Recipes >Got A good Recipe? SHARE IT HERE: Share A Recipe **********************************************************************