Dwelling In The Past & More ... :) Shangy! >-->From Our Friend Steve - Good Advice... "A certain situation is over, then let it be over. Stop hitting replay in your memory. It's time to eject that disk and move on." Easy for them to say !!! But needs to happen !!! --- ...So right you are Steve! This is so important for us to do that today I wanted to share a teaching to show all of the group what God thinks about each one of our past deeds... >DWELLING ON THE PAST _______ / /_ / -/- / / / / / / /_______/ / jgs ((______| / `"""""""` If you think about it, one of the most detrimental things that we do to harm our spiritual relationship and walk with God is to dwell on the past. We think about what happened an hour ago, a day ago, one month ago, or even years that have already passed. It's ok to have pleasant memories, but when we worry about what is already passed, we get out of fellowship with God. Before going any farther, let's go to God's Word and see what he has to say about this subject. We will be focusing on mainly one Scripture throughout this teaching -- it is that important TO MASTER. Philippians 3: 13 -- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Many times, our secret sins that we did it in the past come back into our mind to haunt us and to torment us. I can assure you that the true God would never bring such thoughts to your mind and heart. Remember that it is the god of this world whose ministry is to steal, kill, and destroy. It is him that makes every effort he can to ruin your day by bringing up thoughts to your mind that are negative. In the Word of God, I am going to show you that when God forgives, He forgets. Let's now turn to that scripture. I John 1: 8 -- If we confess our sins [after we are saved], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now why in the world would God be so kind to forgive us of all of our sins and then later on, remind us of them!? It makes no sense, does it? So now you finally know that it is your personal adversary who is bringing these harmful thoughts to your mind. Remember, the secret to the enemy's success is the secrecy of his moves. Now, we have exposed just another one of his many devices. When you dwell on the past, your thoughts flow at cross-purposes with the Word of God. In more simpler terms, you sin, which means you have broken fellowship with God by not just allowing these thoughts to enter into your mind, but to harbor them and to consider them. Always remember that you may not be able to stop these thoughts from coming to your mind, but you can, by your own free will, stop thinking about them. How do we do this? First of all, it has been my experience for about 27 years that scripture retemory /memorization is one of the ways that defeats and crushes your personal adversary. For some reason, and if you think about it and get honest with yourself, you will spend hour after endless hour studying information and materials or textbooks and struggling to keep this information in memory. But when it comes to doing this with God's Word . . . . . . . "NOT ME OH LORD!!" Think about it and get honest with yourself. How many Scriptures do you know by heart? So, one of the first things that you need to do to defeat your personal adversary pertaining to this subject of dwelling on the past is to learn by heart Philippians 3: 13 above. When harmful thoughts of the past enter into your mind, you can repeat this scripture and THINK about what God is saying and you can overcome this negative thought that is making its best attempt to dwell in your mind. And take a little tip from someone who has learned at least 100 Scriptures by heart, don't just memorize the scripture for the sake of memorizing. THINK about what you are thinking about. It's God's Word. I have always found that in my experience of renewing my mind that there is another way to overcome negative thinking. So I am going to present to you a second alternative and it is a quite refreshing and easy way to overcome negativism. Let us understand and review once again that dwelling on a negative past is destructive and self-defeating. And sometimes you can dwell on positive thoughts and pleasant memories to an extreme where it also becomes a distraction. We will present an example of this also. But first let's remember that the subject we are learning deals with sin -- broken fellowship. Dwelling on a negative past or even a positive one (to an extreme) is sin. Focusing now of our second alternative, we are first going to go to God's Word and study a very clear but extremely powerful principle that we can apply to overcome ANY negative thought. II Timothy 1: 7 -- For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. With this great scripture, there is a mighty principal that will help you overcome any negative thought IF YOU APPLY the principle. That's a big if. Now take a look at the scripture and read it again. If you look closely at what God is doing, you will see it that He is overcoming one negative [fear] WITH THREE (3) POSITIVES [power, love, and a sound mind]. Do you see that? It's quite simple. The Word of God works and it never fails. I challenge you to take every negative thought that enters into your mind and replace that negative thought with three (3) POSITIVE THOUGHTS. Example: You are going about your day and everything seems to be going fine. Then all of a sudden, and it seems to be for no reason at all, that you begin to think about a decision you made an hour ago and even though you know in your heart that it was the right decision, you begin to worry about it. Now why in the world would you make a decision that you know is correct and then later on, begin to worry about it! You may begin to question it even though it makes no sense at all to do so. What a Christian must realize is that we are in a spiritual battle or contest and you must understand that thoughts such as the one in this example come straight from hell -- they are from your personal adversary and everyone has one. He wants to ruin your day and he can do a good job of it. A person who never studies the Word of God has absolutely no defense to thoughts such as these. We, as Christians, who are supposed to be studying God's Word can fight back and defeat the adversary on every hand. When you think a negative thought such as the one in the example above, simply counter that thought with 3 POSITIVE THOUGHTS. It's really that simple, but let's take our example and work through it in detail. This is a good example because it also deals with the subject of dwelling on the past, doesn't it? [We are talking about a decision that took place an hour ago.] In the above situation, you may have had three things that you can be thankful for and look forward to that during that same day. THINK ABOUT THOSE THREE THINGS ONE AT A TIME and do it immediately after the negative thought has attacked your mind. And remember to keep it simple. Let's just say that you had a very good night's sleep the night before and you are thankful for that. That's one!! Lets say that you plan to have a very good and tasty dinner that evening and you think about it and it blesses you. That's two!! Let's just say that you realize that you do have eternal life and the thought of the return of Jesus Christ makes you feel even better and gives you hope. That's three!! It's really that simple and God will guarantee that you have blown the adversary’s negative thought to smithereens. It will just no longer exist in your mind and you will be blessed and you will be more than a conqueror just like the Word of God promises. That's what the Word of God says and that's what the Word of God means. The Word of God works with a mathematical exactness and scientific precision every single time. I shared this principle with a cashier at a food market who was having serious problems in her life. Upon leaving, she looked at me and I can tell she thanked me from her heart for helping her. I didn't want any glory and I still don't -- give the glory to God. He is the one who did everything for us. Now before turning to some of my research materials to get into this subject in even greater detail, I promised you previously that we would talk a little bit about dwelling on pleasant things a bit too much. The enemy is extremely tricky and as I taught it before and will probably teach it again, "If you think you can't be tricked, you already have been." Let's say that at some point and time in your life you have had a very pleasant experience with a member of the opposite sex. You know what I mean. You were very romantically involved with someone that made you extremely happy and you think about it quite a bit. In fact, you think about it every day and you also think about it every time you feel down or something is bothering you. You see, this can be taking a pleasant memory to an extreme and extremes are not from the true God, but emanate from the god of this world. So just remember to be spiritually sharp and don't take pleasant memories to an extreme. This can be a very subtle way that your personal adversary can get you to dwell on the past. Once again: Philippians 3: 13 -- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. When you look at the context of the chapter, you will be able to understand that Paul is saying that he is forgetting about his ancestry: Hebrew of the Hebrews, his education at the feet of Gamaliel, and other reasons for his earthly acclaim. Paul was human just like we are and he wanted to enjoy his life and see some profit in it. He knew that this could be accomplished if only he could forget the past -- and what a past he had! I also had a terrible past and many times I wish I could completely forget about it. Now let's take a look at verse 14 which tells us what we should pursue after once we have forgotten the past: Philippians 3: 14 -- I press [to pursue after or follow earnestly] toward the mark [finish line] for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. _ _( } -= _ << \ `.\__/`/\\ -= '--'\\ ` -= // jgs \) In many ways, we are very much in a spiritual competition, sort of like a race or a track meet and the finish line determines the winner. Paul wants to, and we should want to, press toward the finish line which culminates in the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Here is another positive thought you can sometimes think of. Remember, Jesus Christ is coming back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They aren't going to nail him to a cross this time -- they are going to run with NO PLACE to hide. Jesus Christ is going to 'clean house' of the devil, the devil's pawns, [his people] and ALL of the devil's devil spirits. This final destruction will end with the permanent demise of Satan and all his devil spirits as they burn in the lake of brimstone and fire mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Tell me that's not a pleasant thought. I have said it before that it takes courage and just plain old guts to stand for the true God in the midst of Satan's world. Most people are moral cowards and will only 'go with the flow' and shake in their boots when it comes to a genuine stand for God and His rightly divided Word. They just go along with whatever their church teaches them and hardly ever pick up the Bible, let alone STUDY it. I used to be like that at first in some ways. I would walk down the street going to a fellowship 27 or 28 years ago and I would sort of 'hide' my Bible under arm like an idiot full of all kinds of fear. But the power of the Holy Spirit within me over time TOOK THE FEAR RIGHT OUT OF ME. It's just gone. God is with us always and the devil and his cohorts better GET OUT OF THE WAY -- HERE COMES A SON OF GOD WITH POWER!!! You will never defeat your personal adversary unless you CONFRONT HIM. And you better know God’s Word when you do. So press for the finish line with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and never forget that God even has rewards waiting for us when we get to heaven after Jesus Christ returns. Were you aware of that? Now heading towards our conclusion, we are going to take a look at a most beautiful and inspiring Orientalism, with such magnificence that only God could have had it recorded. Remember our subject matter -- we are dealing with ‘forgetting the past’. The reason that God does not want us to talk about or think about negatives such as fears, anxieties and frustrations is because we have been redeemed from this life of destruction. The Word of God says He crowns us with lovingkindness, tender mercies, and satisfies our mouths with good things. There is a tremendous difference here from what you hear coming out of some people's mouths. Think about some of the people you know. Some almost always talk about positive things while the others talk all negatives. When you meet the second type and they shake your hand or open their mouth, they make you feel negative also because it really is contagious. You want to get away from that person who is always complaining, condemning and criticizing, don't you? And you make sure you AVOID them the next time you see them. Now think about the positive person. You feel good when you shake their hand and you sense their goodness and soundness. That negative person needs to hear the Word of God to be able to escape the satanic trap that he or she has fallen into, and that's exactly what it is. If you learn not to dwell on the past, that is one less trap door that is shut to your personal adversary. That is one less way that you will sin and live a miserable life. You will absolutely become more positive in your attitude and it will show in your overall countenance. With all that God has given us, we have no reason not to be one of the most positive, peaceful people in the world. Your life becomes a great witness in itself. PEOPLE WILL READ YOU BEFORE THEY READ THE BOOK. Try not to ever forget that. Now we are going to study one (1) verse in a most amazing Psalm 103. You should read the whole Psalm before we begin. If you can renew and discipline your mind to forget the past, you can achieve something described in this verse in Psalms. Psalm 103: 5 -- Who satisifeth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. When I first learned the clear meaning of especially the second part of this verse, it really thrilled my soul and it still does. It my prayer for you in the name of Jesus Christ that it does the same for you. God is not talking about a 'fountain of youth' that supposedly exists in the state of Florida in America. God set up the law of time in the physical sense and that is a natural law. But He also set up a spiritual law [which always supercedes natural laws] in the context of this tremendous Psalm which contains a fascinating spiritual truth. We are going to focus on the second part of this verse: . , '. '. \ \ ._ '-.'. `\ \ '-._; .'; `-.'. `~-.; '. '. '--,` '. -='. ; .--=~~=-, -.; ; .-=`; `~,_.; / ` ,-`' .-; | .-~`. .; ; .;.- .-; ,\ `.' ,=; .-' `~.-._ .'; .'; .' .' '-. .\ ; ; ,.' _ a', .'~";-` ; ;"~` `'-=.) .' .' . _; ;', ; '-.._`~`.' \ ; ; : `~' _'\\_ \\_ /=`^^=`""/`)-. jgs \ = _ = =\ `""` `~-. = ; Psalm 103: 5b -- . . . . . . . so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. What this expression means is that no matter how old you are, you can still maintain youthful vigor and mental aliveness and alertness if you do not burden yourself down with the negatives of this world -- DWELING ON THE PAST being one of them. Youth is a state of the mind and young people are vivacious and feel as though they can conquer the world and defeat any problem that comes along. To be able to truly understand this verse, you need to know more about eastern culture and the figure of speech used here. This is a most beautiful illustration that only the true God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, could orchestrate. As I was taught, I am going to teach you the greatness of this renewing of youth like the eagle's. The type of eagle referred to here is found in the Orient and it does a most unusual thing to renew it's strength! It periodically soars to tremendous heights and then suddenly, it will fold its wings under, head straight down, and bomb into the sea with as much speed as it can generate. When the eagle surfaces from the water, IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY FEATHERS LEFT ON ITS BACK, so it must float back to shore and crawl in the bushes until ALL NEW FEATHERS have grown out. Now the eagle has all new feathers and has renewed its youth. Isn't that just tremendous? Now how does this relate to us? When we GET RID OF all those negative thoughts OF OUR PAST -- all those fears, worries, and anxieties, that constantly burden us down, then . . . thy [our] youth is renewed like the eagle’s. This renewal of our youth like an eagle's is a benefit that we should never forget. By renewing our mind to God's Word, it allows us to drop off all those things that disturbed us at one time, and in many cases, overcame us. Giving ALL the glory to God, I am around a half century, but yet in my mind, I feel like a teenager. I feel like I can conquer the world as I continue to make my best effort to keep God first. And I must mention that God's Word also makes you appear quite healthy in your physical appearance with the glory of the Lord radiating in your face and being noticeable in your physical overall countenance. The magnificence of all of these benefits is just too much for words. I can only give God the glory and the thanks from my heart with these concluding statements 'one more time'. Philippians 3: 13 -- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. __..-' _.--'' _...__..-' .' .' .' .' .------._ ; .-"""`-.<') `-._ .' (.--. _ `._ `'---.__.-' ` `;'-.-' '- ._ .--'`` '._ - ' . `""'-. `---' , ''--..__ `\ ``''---'`\ .' jgs `'. ' `'. SO THAT THY YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLE’S. If only people knew what they were missing. Learn and apply the Word of God in your life by practicing at least this one very important principle and God guarantees you will more fully manifest the more than abundant life. Believe it, the world has nothing to offer you but false promises and a type of functional insanity where you really do not have free will -- while God's Word will teach you HOW to live life to its fullest in every possible area of your life. http://www1.itech.net/~ydl/DWELLING_ON_THE_PAST.htm ======================================================================== >-->From InspiredBuffalo: The Hummingbird ___ _______.' '. _, `"""""""-.=o=- \ /` ; \ \ / ; \_.="`:.;` _;...----...__ | '::;``.-` .-' ; '::;` .-' \ .::\-.....-'` '. .::| `-. ::/\ |\ /;`\ |;`; ;'\ jgs \_;-`'-` Today I saw a hummingbird And how it blessed my life. For one brief shining moment I forgot my stress and strife. It paused among the hollyhocks 'Til its wings began to hum And then it flew beyond the trees Of Cherry, Peach and Plum. I thought how delicate this bird How fragile too is life Which comes and goes so quickly We're caught up in this strife Take time to smell the flowers friend Enjoy each newborn day For life lingers like the hummingbird Then flies silently away . --by Clay Harrison --- Hummingbird http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/humming.html -<>- >ARE YOU READY TO BE SURPRISED? _ _ ((\o/)) .-----//^\\-----. | /`| |`\ | | | | | | | | | | | | | '------===------' Are you ready to be surprised? Life is full of surprises - to those who are aware. History records amazing coincidences in the lives of two of America's founders - Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. You are aware that Jefferson labored for two weeks writing the Declaration of Independence. He showed his drafts to Adams and Benjamin Franklin, who edited it, honed Jefferson's ideas and refined the document. When it was finally finished, he brought it before the Continental Congress for approval. And America remembers her birth date, of course, as July 4, 1776. Jefferson and Adams spent the next 50 years debating ideas about how this new nation should govern itself and what it should eventually become. Their administrations argued philosophies and legislation. Sometimes the two men were contentious, but later in life they seemed to develop more of an appreciation for each other. Though they lived far apart, they faithfully corresponded. Surprisingly (and coincidentally), they both died the same day! Adams is said to have uttered, just before he died, "Thomas Jefferson survives." He couldn't have known that Jefferson himself died only a few hours earlier. Do you know what that day was? July 4 - Independence Day. Do you know what year? It was 1826, exactly 50 years from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And the coincidences don't end there. Couriers were dispatched with the news of the great men's deaths. From Braintree, Massachusetts the messenger with news about Adams traveled south. Jefferson's messenger came north from Monticello, Virginia. Do you know where they met? In Philadelphia ... under the shadow of the great hall where both men's lives were so dramatically shaped, and where they labored to give birth to a nation. Coincidence? Perhaps. But historians of the day often attributed these coincidences to providence - as a good omen for a new nation. ,o%%%%%%o, o%%%%%%%%%%%%o %%%%` - - `%%%% ,888, ,888, %%%" e e "%%% ,88' `88, ,88' '88,__ (( ._. (__) ._. )) __,88' `88 ,88' .8(_ \_____\_ , , _/_____/ _)8. 8' 88 (___)\ \ '-.__`""`__.-' / /(___) 88 (___)88 | '--' | 88(___) 8' (__)88,___/ \___,88(__) __`88,_/__________________\_,88`__ / `88, |88| ,88' \ / `88, |88| ,88' \ /____________`88,_\88/_,88`____________\ /88888888888888888;8888;88888888888888888\ /^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^`/88\\^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\ jgs / |88| \============, \ /_ __ __ __ _ __ |88|_|^ FOR | _ ___\ |;:. |88| | YOU! | | |;;:. |88| '============' | |;;:. |88| | |::. |88| | |;;:' |88| | |:;, |88| | '---------------------""""---------------------' Our lives are full of surprises and amazing coincidences, though we may not always take notice. Whether or not we see the hand of providence in coincidence, life teems with the remarkable. Learn to notice what others do not see, and you can expect to be surprised. Learn to notice what others do not see, and what you see will amaze. -- By Steve Goodier Subscribe send a blank email to: the-inspired-buffalo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ================================================================ >-->SWEET MEMORIES OF THE BICENTENNIAL by Michael Segal , , , , , # # # # # _#_#_#_#_#_ {_` ` ` ` `_} _{_._._._._._}_ {_ H A P P Y _} _{_._._._._._._._}_ {_ B I R T H D A Y _} .---{_._._._._._._._._._}---. ( `"""""""""""""""""""""` ) jgs \ A M E R I C A / `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Excitement was in the air. The year was 1976 and our country was celebrating its Bicentennial -- our nation was 200 years old. There was so much enthusiasm everywhere. Almost every day there was a parade and the skies were always lit up at night with fireworks. The country was so proud -- proud to be Americans. However, I was not thinking about the Star Spangled Banner that year. I was turning 15 years old in April, and that meant only one thing to me -- I COULD DRIVE A CAR! I would be eligible for a restricted Driver's License. This meant that as long as there was a parent with me in the front seat, I would be permitted to drive. True, having a parent would "cramp my style," but I could not ignore the fact that I was permitted to sit behind the wheel of the car and drive. This meant INDEPENDENCE! Yes, I could envision it already --my car and me, how wonderful that would be! I was very nervous going to the Department of Public Safety on my birthday. It was such a long line. I could feel my heart racing as I inched my way up the long line. Finally, it was my turn. A sergeant on the other side of the counter grabbed my paperwork in a hurry, then said, "Turn to your side" as he took my picture. I stood there anticipating something, anything, but the sergeant merely shouted, "Next!" As I walked away, I heard the woman at the next counter state, "This is your temporary restricted license. You may expect your permanent license in five to six weeks." That was it! I had my license. As I was dreaming of all the things that I could now do, I was awakened from my trance by my mother's voice, "Congratulations, I am so proud of you, but remember, always drive safely. Never forget that." Yes, having my mother with me at my side would definitely be a minor drag, but still, I COULD DRIVE! One day, while behind the wheel of my mother's blue Olds Station Wagon, with my mother at my side in the passenger seat, she kept repeating to me, "Whatever you do, don't pass a policeman!" She repeated that phrase so many times. Days later, I noticed a police car turn onto the street that I was driving, approximately 10 yards in front of my car. My mother shouted loudly, "Mike, slow down. Don't pass that police car!" So, I slowed down from 35 to 30 mph. The police car, surprisingly, slowed down to 28, and my mother again repeated her admonition. Therefore, I slowed down to 26 mph. The police car slowed to 25, and I again heard my mother cry out, "Whatever you do, don't pass the police car." I could picture the next day's copy of the local newspaper with the headline reading, "Segal Is Beat Out In Race By Police Car And A Turtle." So, I hit the gas all the way up to 35, passing the police car. My mother cried out in desperation, "Why did you do that? I told you never to pass a police car!" Just then the lights from the cruiser began to flash and the siren began to wail. I could see his lights in my rearview mirror and there was no mistaking that the sound came from his car. I pulled the Oldsmobile over to the side of the road where the police car followed me. As the policeman was approaching the us I could hear my mother nag, "I told you so many times, never pass a police car. Now you've done it." The policeman approached my window and said, "Sir, may I see your license?" I gave the policeman my temporary license and he studied it for what seemed forever. My mother tried to explain to the officer... however, before she could complete her first sentence of the excuse, the policeman cut my mother off short and asked me, "Why were you driving so slowly?" I did not say a word. I just pointed my left index finger in the direction of my mother. The officer quickly said, "Ma'am, your son is driving just fine without your help." Over 25 years later, I look back at that incident as being the only time in my life that I was ever pulled over. I have such fond memories of that year. We were celebrating the independence of the United States of America from England. However, I was celebrating my "independence" -- being able to begin driving a car. I, aat that time, wondered which was more important. A few years after my 15th birthday, I matured and realized which one was truly more important. GOD BLESS AMERICA! -- Michael Segal ___________________________________________ Shot in the head during a robbery, Michael Jordan Segal defied all odds by first surviving and then returning to college. He then earned two degrees with honors, married his high school sweetheart, Sharon, and became a father to his daughter Shawn. Mike is a social worker at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston and an author (currently he has two book projects he's working on: an autobiography and an anthology of his short stories). He also is a very popular inspirational speaker sharing his "recipe" for recovery, happiness, and success. You can visit his website here: http://www.inspirationbymike.com ===================================================================== >-->From Our Friend Becky :) _ _ (,\- )_ /` b `-D | ,__/ \,_____,' / \ /_|--|___|\ / \ \ |\_) / _'-' / | / \ / \| |` \__ | /_\ ___) jgs (____) >Natural Highs Please make sure you forward this back to me . . . You'll see why at the end. Think about them one at a time before going on to the next one. It Does Make You Feel Good, especially the thought at the end of #44. 1. Falling in love. 2. Laughing so hard your face hurts. 3. A hot shower. 4. No lines at the supermarket. 5. A special glance. 6. Getting mail. 7. Taking a drive on a pretty road. 8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio. 9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside. 10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer. 11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry ). 12. A bubble bath. 13. Giggling. 14. A good conversation. 15. The beach. 16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter. 17. Laughing at yourself. 18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you 19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours. 20. Running through sprinklers. 21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all. 22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful. 23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS 24. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you. 25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep. 26. Your first kiss (the very first). 27. Making new friends or spending time with old ones. 28. Playing with a new puppy. 29. Having someone play with your hair. 30. Sweet dreams. 31. Hot chocolate. 32. Road trips with friends. 33. Swinging on swings. 34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger. 35. Making chocolate chip cookies. 36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies. 37. Holding hands with someone you care about. 38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change. 39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you. 40. Watching the sunrise. 41. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day. 42. Knowing that somebody misses you. 43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply. 44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think. Pass on These Natural Highs to at Least 7 People in the Next Half Hour and Something Fantastic Will Happen to You in the Next Few Hours. Be sure to send it back to the person who sent it to you! --- ...Thanks Becky! I just had two nice surprises - I found out my Driftwood Horses page here: http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/horses.html has been getting a lot of attention this month - over 8,000 hits AND I just had a kind neighbor bring over an old picture she found that had our hourse in the background of it. Natural Highs indeed! - When people like your work and people are sweet and thoughtful toward you! ==================================================================== >-->PATROL BOYS by Roger Dean Kiser Our lives at the orphanage consisted of the same old routine day, after day after day. Nothing ever changed. The same room, clothes, food, work and if we were lucky, games. Nothing ever changes in an orphanage, nothing. One day, about 10 of us boys banded together and walked over to see Mother Winters, the head matron, about becoming patrol boys at Spring Park Elementary School next door to the orphanage. We were very excited about it and wanted to see if she would allow us to get into the program. .----. _.'__ `. .--(#)(##)---/#\ .' @ /###\ : , ##### `-..__.-' _.-\###/ jgs `;_: `"' .'"""""`. /, JOE ,\ // COOL! \\ `-._______.-' ___`. | .'___ (______|______) This was a chance for us orphans to do something important. It was a chance to try to do something special for a change. Mrs. Cherry, one of the teachers, thought that we boys should give it our best shot. Of course, we got an absolute "No" from the "old bag," Mother Winters. The words barely came from of our mouths, when she began ranting and raving. She enjoyed telling each of us that we were not smart enough or responsible enough to be patrol boys. When we returned to school the next day, the children had heard that we kids from the orphanage could not become patrol boys. That is when the jokes and teasing became almost unbearable. I mean, they laughed and made fun of us for days. We thought it would never stop. After school let out, the orphans gathered on the school grounds to walk back to the orphanage together. This long line of patrol boys came marching past us heading for their assigned positions. All we heard as they marched past us was how stupid we were and that we were not smart enough to be patrol boys. This really hurt several of the boys and made many of us very mad. As soon as we changed our clothes, a meeting was called to see what could be done about "those stupid patrol boys making fun of us. It was decided that we would all walk to school together the next day. If even one of the patrol boys said a word to any of us about being stupid or living in the orphanage, we would just beat the holy hell out of them. The next morning, we met near the front gate of the orphanage. We ate our brown paper bag lunches, so they would not get in the way or smashed, if a fight broke out. We walked in a group, two-abreast, down the sidewalk toward the school building. Coming toward us were the patrol boys, also in a long line of two. The two groups were marching right toward each another and right in the middle of the sidewalk. It appeared that no one was going to be the first to move out of the way. At the last minute, the patrol boys stepped off the sidewalk onto the grass and kept marching. As they passed without saying a word, we stopped, turned around and looked at them. Rather loudly, one of the boys in our group said, "It should be us helping all the children across the street." We all shook our heads in agreement. Without anyone saying anything else, our entire group started running toward the line of patrol boys. When we caught up with them, we pushed them down and took their flags away. We told them, if they didn t get their little butts back to the school, we would kick their little asses. Every one of them took off running ran back to the school as fast as they could. We took their flags and walked directly to their assigned positions. We stopped traffic and helped all the children cross the street. Later, we banded together and walked single file back to the school, and marched ourselves into Mrs. Dryers' office. All the patrol boys were there. They had been watching us out the office window. Without saying a word, we stacked all the flags neatly against the wall where they belonged. We made it very clear to the patrol that we were not stupid and if they continued making fun of us, we would kick their butt's everyday when they came to perform their duties. Several weeks later, one of them got brave and began mocking us as they walked by our location. As promised, we kicked the pure living hell out of five of them. CLICK to order an autographed copy of"ORPHAN" http://www.geocities.com/trampolineone/survive/srv080.htm CLICK to order "ORPHAN" Online http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580624480/thesadorphan/102-0205647-5135317 ========================================================================= >-->A LITTLE KINDNESS ) \ ) () \ ) () ) \ .-"""-. \ () ____ / __ `\ __ () .'` __'. | o/__\o | / /| / o /__\o;\ \\// /_ // / ._ _| \\// |`-.__.-'|\ `; / / \ .' \-.____.'| || |/ \/ `._ '-/ | || '.___./ . '-.\_.-' __.'-._||_.-' _ / .`""===(||).___.(||)(||)----'(||)===...__ `"jgs"`""=====""""========"""====...__ `""==._ `"=. `"=. `"=. Last month my soon to be 10-year-old daughter decided that instead of having a party this year for her birthday, she would like to spend some time at the beach with a friend. Agreeing that it would be a great idea, I decided to invite my in-laws and my grandmother to spend the weekend with us. I booked two rooms at a hotel leaving a deposit of $180 to secure both rooms. I did that on June 25th. Today, I got a call from my grandmother. She had gone for a stress test and the doctor had noticed some changes in the test in comparison to the test she had done in January. He wanted her to have a cardiac catheterization. She had called to tell me that the procedure was going to be done on Thursday. We were scheduled to leave for the beach Friday morning. I immediately spoke with my husband and my daughter and we all agreed that we should not go away for the weekend but remain close to home. The place where we were going was about three hours away. Thinking I still had time to get my deposit back, I called the hotel and explained to the woman that answered the phone that I had had a medical emergency in the family and would not be able to keep my reservation. I apologized but still asked that my deposit be returned. I was told that I had to give two weeks notice in order to get back my money. When I questioned the woman, she hung the phone up in my ear. I called back and asked for a copy of a contract that she said I signed that stated that. Again, she hung up on me. When I tried to call again, she picked up the phone and immediately hang up. I contacted the Chamber Of Commerce. I was put in touch with the Hotel and Motel Association and told the gentleman my story, practically in tears. I felt helpless. He advised me to write a letter and that I would go before a review board. I thanked him for his kindness. I tried to call the hotel back again to see if indeed my reservation had been canceled and was told to stop calling -- that I was harassing them! When I told my mother-in-law the story later on, she became very upset. She said that when September 11th took place the entire country came together. People were a little nicer, more understanding and united. _.-~~-. .' '-. /_/ -. `> {__}\ -.~` / || '-. /.-' || ||| `""`""||"`"`|||""`""`""'` || __|||_ _||_ /||\ jgs `""""` Now, we seem to have forgotten and are back to our old ways. Though getting back $180 would be great, that really is not the point of this story. Had the women at the hotel heard me out, faxed the proof I was looking for, and told me to have a nice day, I would have been upset, but not with her. A policy is a policy and if I had signed a contract I would have had to eat the money. But because she didn't take the time to listen and resorted to being nasty, she has caused an already stressful situation to become much worse. I only hope that it doesn't take another tragedy to bring this country back together. We soon forget how important it is to be kind and understanding to everyone. We are all responsible for our own actions. If ever you need a reminder of how terrible September 11th was, look into the eyes of a firefighter, a mother that lost her son, a woman that lost her fiance or a newborn baby that won't know his hero father. We cannot control emergencies, they are part of life. What we can control is how we treat the people going through those trying times. -- Denyel Cusimano ___________________________________________ Do you enjoy Heartwarmers? Think your friends will too? Tell them it's free to sign up. Just have them send an email to: join@heartwarmers.com ======================================================================== __ __ \ `-._......_.-` / `. '. .' .' "A wise owl lived in an oak, // _`\/`_ \\ The more he saw, the less he spoke, || /\O||O/\ || The less he spoke, the more he heard, |\ \_/||\_/ /| Why aren't we like that old bird ?" \ '. \/ .' / / ^ `'~ ~'` \ / _-^_~ -^_ ~- | | / ^_ -^_- ~_^\ | | |~_ ^- _-^_ -| | | \ ^-~_ ~-_^ / | \_/;-.,____,.-;\_/ =jgs======(_(_(==)_)_)========= ====================================================================== >-->From InspiredBuffalo: 1 - The Most Important Lesson During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello.'" I've never forgotten that lesson. I also taught her name was Dorothy. 2 - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others." Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole 3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied." The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. 4 - Fourth Important Lesson - The Obstacle in Our Path In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. 5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. You see, after all, understanding and attitude, are everything. "Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching --- Michael Washington -<>- >America The Beautiful This is a poem written by the Alabama Judge, Roy Moore, who was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. When he refused to have the Ten Commandments removed, he was stripped of his judgeship. America the Beautiful, or so you used to be. Land of the Pilgrims' pride, I'm glad they'll never see. Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand. Oh, sweet land of liberty, your house is on the sand. Our children wander aimlessly poisoned by cocaine. Choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain. From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away From the teachings of God's love and a need to always pray. We've kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown. When earth is but His footstool, and Heaven is His throne. We've voted in a government that's rotten at the core. Appointing Godless Judges who throw reason out the door. Too soft to place a killer in a well deserved tomb. But brave enough to kill a baby before he leaves the womb. You think that God's not angry, that our land's a moral slum? How much longer will He wait before His judgment comes? How are we to face our God, from Whom we cannot hide? What then is left for us to do, but stem this evil tide? If we who are His children, will humbly turn and pray, Seek His holy face and mend our evil way. Then God will hear from Heaven and forgive us of our sins, He'll heal our sickly land and those who live within. But, America the Beautiful, if you don't - then you will see, A sad but Holy God withdraw His hand from thee. >Updated FUN STUFF URLS - Wow Baby :)Shangy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/urls.html FUN URLS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -->Bigham's Computer Rescue - PC Sales & Seervice You can trust us to provide you with quality computer sales and repair. We've been servicing the Van Wert area since 1981 and can help you with all your computer needs. Please phone us at 419-238-5806 ************************************************************************ -->This is for all you who love food and DAARE to make it at home Yep. You guessed it - Recipes. 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