Happy Blessed Mother's Day Weekend! ... :) Shangy! >Here are the details on our Yahoo ShangyFunList: To Subscribe send a blank email to ShangyFunList-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To UnSubscribe send a blank email to ShangyFunList-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ShangyFunList or Web Site: http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/ShangyFunList.html Group email address: ShangyFunList@yahoogroups.com or email me here: 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 MOST ABUNDANTLY FOR YOUR GIFT! ================ >-->HOT Off The 'Shangy' Press This too hot to handle new page is from our friends Linda, LouiseAu and Geniann. It is amazing how easily animals seem to adapt and are perfectly comfortable enjoying the most hilarious of places and positions. Check this one out and the video here for a some smiles and chuckles: , ,-. _,---._ __ / \ / ) .-' `./ / \ ( ( ,' `/ /| \ `-" \'\ / | `. , \ \ / | /`. ,'-`----Y | ( ; | ' | ,-. ,-' | / | | ( | hjw | / ) | \ `.___________|/ `--' `--' Hey, If It Fits... http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/fits.html --- ...LOL! Too cute! Thanks My Friends! =========================================================== >-->From Heartwarmers: _..._ .~ `~. / } \ _.'`~~/ {_,} -( ,'-,___.' .-. / |_ /| __| |__ / ` |_/ [__ __] / \ / | | / '--;_ | | _\ `\ | | / |`-.___. / | | ^^^jgs^^^`--`------'`--`^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >ALWAYS BY MY SIDE by James Colasanti Jr. "Hey Mom, I'm on my way." The florist had your Mother's Day bouquet of white roses ready for me -- bundled in bright blue tissue paper. I will put them in water immediately when I arrive. I know they are your favorite and these are especially grand. I picked them out myself. And you know, there's nothing quite like the sweet scent of rose petals perfuming the car as I drive. I can remember our house at 15 South Chase Street being the showplace of our neighborhood. The tall three-story house with gray asphalt shingles and white painted trim was kept immaculate by you and Dad. Tulips of various colors bloomed early every spring -- tall gladioluses were in blossom during the summer, and patches of big brightly-colored orange pumpkins filled the side yard in the fall. People would slow down to a crawl in their cars and sometimes stop just to get an eyefull of the splendor. And they would always see you out there with your scissors, cutting a fresh bouquet for the house. Every Sunday afternoon I would sit with you and Aunt Tina in the kitchen eating lemons -- still one of my favorite fruits. It was always a calming and reflective time when we would talk about the problems in the world and we would then devise a plan to solve them. Often a simple solution would be found for what we thought was an insurmountable problem. And you would often tell me, "There is not a problem that doesn't have a solution." Do you remember the Dracula cape you made for me for Halloween when I was 12? Your best friend, Minnie, helped you cut it out, fit it, and sew it up for me in our dining room/sewing room two weeks before the day I was to wear it to school. The black satin lining on that cape looked especially scary during trick or treat. I can still wear it but the collar is too small for my neck without an extender. And then there was the time I was the mummy in third grade and my bandages unravelled long before the school day had finished. That ancient Singer sewing machine cranked out a slew of costumes for me, dresses for you, and shirts, coats, and even a tie or two for Dad. Halloween was always one of my favorite holiday occasions with Christmas being the first. And you always did your best to make them special for us. And who could forget the Halloween night that Karl and I spent sleeping in the Johnstown Cemetery with my first dog, Butchy. I don't think two guys and a dog have ever been more scared. But most of all, Mom, I remember the food. The great Sicilian country-style meatballs with the cheese centers that oozed in your mouth when you bit into them. The many, many layers of lasagna stuffed with different meats and cheeses and smothered with homemade tomato sauce. I miss the pickled pepper salad, also homemade, with hot peppers, cauliflowers, carrots, broccoli, and celery stalks -- all freshly picked for our backyard garden. It was the fitting appetizer to any meal you served. I miss the melt-in-your-mouth breaded veal cutlets as well as your hazelnut canoli-cream cake. My mouth is beginning to water just thinking about them. But most of all, I miss the "culinary smells." I miss the pungent aroma of garlic wafting under my bedroom door early on Sunday mornings; the tangy steam of freshly-made tomato sauce bubbling on the stove; and the hearty smokiness of meats and bacon roasting in the oven. Over the years, all of these have made an indelible impression on my mealtime memories. I can remember the day I left for Syracuse University. I was the only one in our family to ever attend college. You took me aside and whispered in my ear, "Everything you do is a self-portrait of the person doing it. Make it a picture you'll want to hang in your gallery forever." Thank you for sharing that, and I want you to know that I have always tried to live up to your expectations. And Mom, I know I have told you this many times before, "Thank you for getting me Butchy." She was the best dog a fella could ever have. She was my big sister, my best friend, and a companion like no other. I always cherished the moments growing up with her. She was always by my side -- my guardian and my shadow. I waved to Mr. Parker as I pulled into the drive. It's good to see he is still here taking care of the place for you. He does a wonderful job keeping the grounds manicured neatly with everything in its place. I am always impressed every time I come here. He has left some water in your vase so I can quickly unbundle your roses and freshen them up. I know they will shimmer and sparkle against the cool gray granite headstone. It has been so many years since I last saw you but every time I'm here I get that uplifting feeling of joy as though I had just been talking with you and solving any problems that I might have had when I arrived. And Mom, I'm sure you really do know what I mean when I say, "I miss you and your love will be in my heart forever. Thanks, Mom, thanks." -- James Colasanti Jr. __________________________________________________ James is the recipient of the Maxwell Medallion given by the Dog Writers Association of America for the Best Essay for 2010. A past president of the Animal Rescue & Foster Program of Greensboro, NC., James shares his home with a housemate and 9 dogs. He is a lead clerk with Barnes & Noble Booksellers. His stories have appeared in Cesar's Way Magazine and many others including the archives of Petwarmer and Heartwarmers. =========================================================== >-->From Our Friend Geniann :) ,,, _,_ _@_ _(_ >*< _/. .\_ _/- -\_ _/, ,\_ _/' '\_ _/. .\_ (.\_o_/.) (.\_-_/.) (,\_e_/') (.\_^_/.) (.\_c_/.) (.`,.`'.') (.`,.'.'.) (.`'.,'.') ('.,'.`'.) (.,'.,'',) ('.`,'`,) ('.`,'',) ('.','.`) ('.,'.',) ('.,'.`.) ('.`,'`) ('.','`) (.'.,'.) ('.`.,') ('.','') jgs `--'"` `--'"` `--'"` `--'"' `--'"' >Motherhood... My husband and I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide. God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, He blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter. My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella.." I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint Him. I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks. I tried to be understanding... when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs. When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children. While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close.... I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too. Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife." My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine. My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes." A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur." The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur." "My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin. --- ...TeeHee! Thanks Geniann! One thing I learned quite quickly with children, when you plan something to amaze and delight them that you especially loved as a kid and are excited to share it with them, they won't be so amazed and delighted - rather, they will instead disappoint you. I remember their first drive-in movie. Argh! Also, if you have a treasure, don't let a child play with it unless you no longer care about it. They will destroy whatever it is that you've had since childhood. It's not their fault - it is just their nature. LOL! =========================================================== >-->From Archives InspiredBuffalo: | . | "-._ || : '. `~~`~88`~~^`~~`~^88~^`~~`~~`~^~`. `> ' . 88' ". _ '-"88` . ` ' . | .' ,'~^~8^~^`^~~^`^~8`~~~^~~~^~`; ' .-' 8 8 \ ` : ` 8 8 | : | 8 8 || ' 8 8 | | : 8 8 `| . ' 8 8 | .' | 8 \ 8 | . \ 8 8 || : 8\, ___ ,/8 | \ 8 \\//"\\// 8 `| | .' 8 \('_')/ 8 | .' (8'---`-'---'8) | | ' " 8`"-. .-"`8 | : | 8###|===\###8 | .' jgs #####\ \ \### | \ \ \ | | : ' \()() | | . | ' " -'-"_'"-'_"'-_'"-_''_"-"-_"-\ \/' ' "-_ --"-"_'"-_""-_'"--"'_-"-'\\/.\\' / /". "'"-"-'_-"_-"-_"-"'_'-"-"_``"-`"_`'""-`''""' >My Grown Up Daughter My hands were busy through the day, I didn't have much time to play the little games you asked me to, I didn't have much time for you. I'd wash your clothes, I'd sew & cook, but when you'd bring your picture book and ask me to please share your fun I'd say "a little later, love". I'd tuck you in all safe at night, and hear your prayers, turn out the light, then tiptoe softly to the door, I wish I'd stayed one minute more. Life is short, the years rush past... a little girl grows up so fast, no longer is she at your side, her precious secrets to confide. The picture books are put away, there are no longer games to play, no goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear, that all belongs to yesteryear, my hands once busy, now are still, the days are long and hard to fill. ~ Author Unknown -<>- .::""-, .::""-. /:: \ /:: \ |:: | _..--""""--.._ |:: | '\:.__ / .' '. \:.__ / ||____|.' _..---"````'---. '.||____| ||:. |_.' `'.||:. | ||:.-'` .-----. ';:. | ||/ .' '. \. | || / '-. '. \\ |. | ||:. _| ' \_\_\\/( \ | ||:.\_.-' ) || m `\.--._.-""-; ||:.(_ . '\ __'// m ^_/ / '. _.`. ||:. \__^/` _)```'-...' _ .-'.' '-. ||:..-'__ .' '. . ' '. `'. ||:(_.' .`' _. '`'-. '. . ''-._ ||:. : '. .' '. . ' ' '.` '._ ||:. : '. .' .::""-: .''. ' . . ' ':::""-. ||:. .' ..' . /:: \ '. . '. /:: \ ||:.' '. .' '. |:: | _.:---""---.._' |:: | ||. .: '\:.__ / .' -. .- '. \:.__ / ||: : '. . ||____|_.' .--. .--. '._||____| ||:'.___: '. .' ||:. | ( \/ ) ||:. | ||:___| \ '. : ||:. | '-. .-' ||:. | [[____] '. '.-._||:. | __ '..' __ ||:. | '. : ||:. | (__\ (\/) /__) ||:. | '. : ||:. | ` \/ ` ||:. | '-: ||:. | () ||:. | '._||:. |________________________||:. | jgs ||:___|'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-||:___| [[____] [[____] >In His Mother's Footsteps It was a busy day in our Costa Mesa, California, home. But then, with 6 children and one on the way, every day was a bit hectic. On this particular day, however, I was having trouble doing even routine chores - all because of one little boy. Len, who was three at the time, was on my heels no matter where I went. Whenever I stopped to do something and turned back around, I would trip over him. Several times, I patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied. "Wouldn't you like to play on the swing set?" I asked again. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, "Oh, that's all right Mommy. I'd rather be in here with you." Then he continued to bounce happily along behind me. After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, I began to lose my patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When I asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at me with sweet green eyes and said, "Well, Mommy, in Sunday class my teacher told me to walk in Jesus' footsteps. But I can't see him, so I'm walking in yours." I gathered Len in my arms and held him close. Tears of love and humility spilled over from the prayer that grew in my heart - a prayer of thanks for the simple, yet beautiful perspective of a three-year-old boy. Copyright © Davida Dalton -<>- _____ ."` `". __ / \ __ / & /"""""\ & \ / /\ /` 9 9 `\ /\ \ | | /` ^ `\ | | / / \ '-' / \ \ /.-' `-._____.-` `-.\ _\\ //_ /' `~|\\/|~` `\ / , | \ | , \ / /| \__)/ |\ \ \ `-._ ~Y~__.-' / `-.__/```).-\_.-' / `~~|/`~` \ / -. | \ jgs / \| \ / | \ / . . . . . . . . . \ `"`"`"`"|"|"|"`"`"`"` | | | | | | |~|~| |-|-| /`/`/J `~`~` >Here's To Moms This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football or soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it. This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here." This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children. This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. This is for all the mothers of the victims of school shootings, and the mothers of the murderers. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. This is for all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T. What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying? So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't. This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again. "Just one more time." This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice cream before dinner. This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed - when their 14 year olds dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot. This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own off spring are at home. This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves. This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them. This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there. -<>- .--..-""""-..--. ///`/////////\`\\\ ||/ |///""\\\| \|| ## ( 6. 6 ) ## /_\ \ _. / /_\ _`) (`_ /` '--' `\ / _,,_ \ / /` `\ \ /\_/ / 6 6\ \_/\ \ \/\ Y /\/ / \ \/ `'U` \/ / \( \ / )/ |\_/ \_/| / ____ \ \ ( || ) / (__)||(__) | || | |__||__| jgs |==||==| /~`//~`/ / // / `""` `"` >For the Record Less than a year after my wife's funeral I was confronted with the most terrible realities of being a widower with five children. Notes from school. Field-trip permission slips, PTA election ballots, Troll Book order forms, sports sign-ups, medical forms and innumerable academic progress reports -- an onslaught of paperwork courtesy of the educational bureaucracy. This "literature" has to be read and signed, or placed at the bottom of the birdcage. Regardless of its destination it must be dealt with on a daily basis. One day, eight-year-old Rachel was helping me complete five (count 'em, five) emergency treatment forms for school. She would fill in the generic information (name, address, phone number), and I would add the rest (insurance numbers, doctor's name, date, signature). After signing the forms, I checked them for accuracy. It was then that I noticed on each card, in the slot beside Mother's Business Phone, Rachel had written "1-800- HEAVEN." By Rob Loughran from Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul -<>- >Links for Your Enjoyment: Amazing Trivia Facts UK! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/triviafactsuk.html Humor In Religion 4! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/hreligion4.html Humorous Signs 3! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/hsigns3.html God's Advertisements!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/godsads.html Look Who's Talking 9!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/talking9.html Budding Photographers!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/buddingphotographers.html Amazing Trivia Facts!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/triviafacts.html Aww Animals 8!- http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/animals8.html Kincade: Painter Of Light! http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/kinkade.html Walking In Power http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/BibleStudy/walkingpower.html Jesus Clinic http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/clinic.html Chapel Oak http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/oakchapel.html Best Parents http://www.shangralas.com/bestparents.html Tears Of A Woman http://www.shangralas.com/womantears.html Precious Child http://www.shangralas.com/mychild.html Rules For Raising Children http://www.shangralas.com/rulesforchildren.html Moms And Dads INDEX! https://tinyurl.com/y4xyz2w8 -<>- Spiritual Battles: The Struggle Against Strongholds https://tinyurl.com/y6yo4t7a The Full Sower Magazine http://thesowermagazine.com/ Creation Calls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poEsLPsLCHQ God of Wonders - Chris Tomlin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6L0mydGZNo Jesus Painting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M4_IlbaZHA Our God Reigns https://www.ourgodreigns.net/ Maybe... http://www.angelfire.com/la2/omb/maybe.html Times To Remember http://www.angelfire.com/la2/omb/index.html -<>- Hunger Site - Click to Give for Free https://tinyurl.com/y38c65w WhiteHouseNews: First Lady Melania Trump celebrates 1 year of ‘Be Best’ “I am here with one goal, which is to help children reach their full potential so they can grow up happy, healthy and contribute positively to society and the world,” the First Lady said. “If we listen to our kids, whether it’s their fears, interests, ideas, or concerns, we can provide them the support and tools they need to thrive.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600daily/ Latest From USA Wire https://theusawire.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: Chicken, Grain, Generators http://www.emergencyemail.org/products/?fmt=text Latest Health Alert: CDC Warns about Chicken and Food Poisoning http://www.emergencyemail.org/health/?fmt=text -<>- >From Our Friend LouiseAu :) If you ever find yourself in a tough situation surrounded by deadly foes it's always good to be able to call for backup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdFtSNO2bBg --- ...Wow! Gives Goosebumps! Nature can be so harsh! Thanks LouiseAu! 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 ========================================================== _____ ."` `". __ / \ __ / & /"""""\ & \ / /\ /` 9 9 `\ /\ \ | | /` ^ `\ | | jgs / / \ '-' / \ \ /.-' `-._____.-` `-.\ >Mother to Mother Story Editor: by Jenny Koester Joyce Schowalter Florida, USA I live in the tropical environment of Sarasota, Florida, where sudden and often fierce rainstorms can literally come out of nowhere. Unsuspecting souls, especially people who are not from around here, would never know to bring an umbrella with them each and every sunny day. One beautiful afternoon in August, 2002, my mother, Connie, and I were out in her car, traveling from errand to errand. It was 95 degrees out when black clouds appeared overhead, casting a gray coolness over the day. Thunder began to roll. With a blackout rainstorm you never know what will happen, so if possible it's best to get home and out of danger. Thus my mother headed for home through the fierce rain. While stopped at a red light she noticed a figure over to the side of the road -- someone was huddled under a tree by the bus stop bench. Looking closer, she came to see that this was a young woman, crouching low to protect her young daughter as they waited for the bus. Perhaps she had been busy with other concerns than to remember an umbrella that morning, perhaps she simply was new in the area. Whatever the reason, she was now being soaked. As traffic began to move again, my mother felt compassion, but was unable to think of what she could do. At the very next light, she turned to the left then circled back around the block to help these two young women. As they came into view again, the young mother still covering her child with her own body, my mom pulled over and put the car in park. She grabbed her umbrella, and ran over to them. She did not say a word, as there was not much to say -- she simply handed the young mother the umbrella, smiled and ran back to her car. My mother circled the block one more time, worried that the child was now surely freezing. We were just able to catch a glimpse of the two stepping onto the bus. Not only does this young mother know to always take your umbrella in Florida, she has one to remember always. I'm so glad I was able to witness this act of willingness and selflessness on my mother's part. I'm following my mom's example and now keep an extra umbrella in my car for rainy days. The compassion that was shared mother-to-mother that cold day warmed my heart; I look forward to warming someone else in need. =======HeroicStories======= >-->From LaughAndLift: "This hard place in which you perhaps find yourself is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him, to spend time in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meekness -- in short, to learn the depths of the love that Christ Himself has poured out on all of us." - Elisabeth Elliot , , /////| ///// | ///// | |~~~| | | |===| |/| | B |/| | | I | | | | B | | | | L | / | E | / |===|/ jgs '---' >Does God Care? (By Daryl E. Witmer - edited) One Sunday morning during my eight-month hospitalization with Guillain- Barre syndrome in 1984-85 they offered to take me to the hospital chapel service. I was in ICU at the time, extensively paralyzed and unable to even breathe on my own. Somehow they got me into a high-backed wheelchair and disconnected from the mechanical respirator. Nurse Julie accompanied me, periodically pumping air into my lungs from an ambu bag as we slowly proceeded to the little chapel on Second Floor. I don't remember what the sermon was about that morning. I don't recall the name of the chaplain. What I do clearly recollect is the long, loud, rhythmic, exhaling whine of the ambu bag every time that I was given a breath. I also remember feeling uncomfortable, anxious, and an increasing desire to get back to my bed. That's about all that I remember -- until the service reached its closing hymn. Then, suddenly, I recall being totally overwhelmed with emotion as the group began singing, "Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song; As the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long?" As a minister, I had led my congregations in that song for years. But never did the words of Frank Graeff's hymn connect with me as they did that Sunday morning at Eastern Maine Medical Center. Hot tears coursed down my cheeks and onto my hospital johnny as I listened to them sing the refrain: "O yes, He cares -- I know He cares! His heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. He cares." Those simple lyrics responded to the very core of the issue with which I had been struggling for weeks, and the truth they conveyed was far more therapeutic than all the medicine in the place. "But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings." Hebrews 2:9 & 10, NASB "Frequently it is when we are crushed and devastated that the cross speaks most powerfully to us. The wounds of Christ then become Christ's credentials. The world mocks, but we are assured of God's love by Christ's wounds." - D. A. Carson in "How Long, O Lord?" "By itself suffering does no good. But when we see it as the thing between God and us, it has meaning. Wedged in the crux -- the cross -- suffering becomes a transaction. The cross is a place of transaction. It is the place where power happens between God and us." - Quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada in "When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty" "No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world. No one has so continuously grieved over the pain of a race gone bad. No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sin in the crucified body of His own Son. No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and died, showed us how much He loved us. It is this God and Son who, in drawing us to them, asks us to trust them when we are suffering and when our own loved ones cry out in our presence" (I Peter 2:21; 3:18; 4:1). RBC's "Our Daily Bread" "In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after a while I have had to look away. And in imagination I have turned instead to the lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the Lord for me! He laid aside His immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering." John R.W. Stott in "The Cross of Christ" "For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Hebrews 2:18, NASB -<>- ,"=-. / _),`'". ( /a( ), ) ) C = = ?/ ( )) (_ o-< ) ( `-' \; ( \_ ( | \ ) )| \_/} \ \ \(_;/-|_) )/) `._,--/ / / `!__!! ( (_o)) ---`-._, )--- ------( / |---- | ( | :__/|\_; \ |/ )(\_ /_)--` gpyy \_! >Mother: God's Servant (by Charles Stanley) Before a child ever hears about the Lord at church, he or she witnesses a parent's example of faith. For this reason, all children share the common need for a godly mother. Love toward God multiplies and spills out from believers onto others, including sons and daughters. God's care is pure and unselfish - much different than what the world offers. When we experience His concern, provision, and protection, it's easier for our children to grow up loving God. Every child needs a mom who trusts God. A perfect mother is unrealistic. And she wouldn't be good for her kids in the long run. Witnessing Mom's trust during trials and heartbreaks is the way children learn to place their faith in God. Teaching little ones to trust ensures they'll always know the heavenly Father is close, even when parents aren't. Every child also needs a mother who knows how to pray. A wise mom teaches her children how to access almighty God. Dr. Stanley still recalls his mother's voice as she knelt next to his bed each night. Thanks to her, he understood very early that God was always listening and willing to respond to his prayers. A mother serves many people, including her spouse, children, extended family, and friends. But she must serve the Lord first. When she accepts God's love, practices trust, and keeps a daily discipline of prayer and Bible reading, she'll find the strength to fulfill all of His requirements. 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 ========================================================== _ _|_|_ ,|_| |_|_ || | | |_| || | | | | || | | | | _|| | | | | ||)\ ^ ^ ^ | || | | || | | || | | \\ | \\ / ejm )\ ( / \ \ / \ \ \ \ >-->Mother's Day Prayer... Dear God, as we pause today to honor mothers everywhere, let us think of them as we read these words of Emily Sargent: "I think true mothers everywhere Are gently brushed by angel wings And in some stillness hear God speak, 'Your child can do great things!' And so a mother dreams her dreams, And has the love to see In every struggling, stumbling child What God knows he can be! How can I fail to seek His will, And follow in His way -- When I have known my mother's prayers Lifting me up each day?" Oh Lord, bless mothers everywhere as they seek to love and care for their children, and to teach them about You. In Jesus Christ's Name, Amen. -<>- H A P P Y M O T H E R' S D A Y 2 0 1 9 ____ |\ /| .' `". | Y | is for the million things she gave me, / | \ ___ | \__.-, (_, / \ \ /` 9 `\ / \___/ means only that she is growing old, ,_ )| 9 . |` _____ \'. '.\ ,_/ / | _\ \.--.'.___.' `'. | is for the tears she shed to save me, .-' _` a \.--, .' | `""` \ a K ; ,-'\ _.;_ |___| '.__,. (__.'`-._ ) | | is for her heart of purest gold; (_/\ '-. /_ ___ ;-._)-._/ _) |__ / `` \ |___ is for her eyes, with love-light shining, '-._______.-' ___ |_ |_ | |___) | | | | \ means right, and right she'll always be, |__;__/ .-"'-'|--\ Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER", '.___,_|""| A word that means the world to me. jgs \__/ -Howard Johnson >Updated FUN STUFF URLS - Oh Yeah Shangy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.ShangralaFamilyFun.com/urls.html FUN URLS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -->ShangyFunList AD RATES: $20 will get your a message (of up to 40 words) out to all self-subscribed readers and $5 more will give you the same message also put up for all web site readers. Email me to secure dates. 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