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Do good always

A man was walking down the beach at sunset. As he walked along, he saw another man in the distance. He noticed this man kept leaning down, picking up something and throwing it out into the water, again and again. As, he approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach. He was throwing them back into the water, one by one.

Puzzled, he approached the man and said, “Good Evening. I was wondering what you are doing.” “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If, I don’t throw them back into the ocean, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“But, there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possible get to all of them. And, don’t you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The man bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and threw it back into the ocean. With a smile he replied, “Made a difference to that one!!!”

Just remember, no matter how small the deed it really does makes a difference. Make a difference today. Do something nice for someone else, even if it’s just sending this card to a friend and letting them know somebody cares about them.

God’s Will in Your Life

“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed” – Proverbs 29:18.

God wants His people to be the most blessed! He wants His people to constantly increase so they can live as an example of His goodness. But, in order to partake of everything He has in store for us, we have to be open to what He wants to do in our lives. We have to have a vision for increase. If you’re not expecting favor, or if you just get satisfied with where you are, then you will live below your privileges. But if you will get a vision for increase, a vision for who you are as a child of the Most High God and what He wants to do in your life, you’ll see supernatural opportunities, favor, and increase in your life. Notice what the scripture tells us when we look for what God is doing; you won’t just be “average” blessed or “good enough” blessed. No, as a child of the Most High, you are entitled to be the most blessed!

I encourage you, today, to take time to focus your thoughts on God and His promises. Meditate on His Word and ask Him to increase your capacity to receive all the blessings He has in store for you.

The Story of Appreciation

One young, academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, “Did you obtain any scholarships in school?” the youth answered “none”.

The director asked, “Was it your father who paid for your school fees?” The youth answered, “My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, “Where did your mother work?” The youth answered, “My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, “Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?” The youth answered, “Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, “I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother’s hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother’s hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water. This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother’s hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future. After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director’s office. The Director noticed the tears in the youth’s eyes, asked: “Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?” The youth answered,” I cleaned my mother’s hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes’ The Director asked, “please tell me your feelings.”

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, “This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.”

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company’s performance improved tremendously.

A Thousand Marbles

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net.

Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.” I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.

“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.” He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.” “No, stick with me, Tom, I’m getting to the important part.” “It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail”; he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.” “So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in the sack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.” “I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focus more on the really important things in life.” There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”

“Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.” “It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, clear and going, good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.” “What brought this on?” she asked with a smile. “Oh, nothing special, it’s just been a long time since we spent Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles….

– AUTHOR UNKNOWN –

Hold on to your Dreams

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful”- Hebrews 10:23

At some point in life we all face hardships. It may be something physically or emotionally challenging. Or it may be a dream or an opportunity that we missed out on. Whatever your difficulty is, don’t let it discourage you from believing in God’s best. The enemy wants to keep you focused on everything negative that’s happened, but don’t let him steal the dreams God has given you. He knows that if he can deceive you into thinking things won’t get better, you’ll lose hope and give up.

There will always be obstacles trying to keep you from becoming all God’s created you to be, but God has given you a promise for good and not harm. He has plans for better things ahead. It’s important to believe God and keep an attitude of faith despite your circumstances.

Choose today to hold on to God’s promises no matter what your situation looks like. Refuse to give up on the plans He has made for your life. God knows what challenges you’ve faced, and He has a way to turn things around for your good. Start thanking and praising Him for what He’s already done and what He will do.