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Inspirational Stories
Two Traveling Angels
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night
in the home of a wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the angels
stay in the mansions guest room.
Instead the angels were given a small space in
the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the
older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.
When the younger angel asked why, the older angel
replied,
"Things are not always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest at the house
of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his
wife.
After sharing what little food they had the couple
let the angels sleep in their bed where they could
have a good nights rest.
When the sun came up the next morning the angels
found the farmer and his wife in tears.
Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole
income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the
older angel how could you have let this happen?
The first man had everything, yet you helped him,
she accused.
The second family had little but was willing to
share everything, and you let the cow die.
"Things are not always what they seem," the older
angel replied.
"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I
noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the
wall.
Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and
unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the
wall so he would not find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed,
the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him
the cow instead.
Things are not always what they seem."
Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things
don't turn out the way they should. If you have
faith, you just need to trust that every out come
is always to your advantage. You just might not
know it until some time later...
A Prayer
Please take a moment to relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God, to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer. Friends that pray together, stay together.
Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.
And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those that don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.
I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.
This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.
When Tomorrow Starts Without Me
When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.
I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.
But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for,
So much yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.
I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
And all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.
But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne,
He said "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today for life on earth is past,
But here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day's the same way
There's no longing for the past.
But you have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Thought there were times you did some things,
You knew you shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven
And now at last you're free.
So won't you take my hand
And share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart.
When you think life is hard
When you think life is hard for you. Just read this even though it is
long!!
I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute
Christmas
gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in
there forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to
become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through
Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the
toy department.Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all
these
toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.
I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a
little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held
her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at
the little boy and wondered who the doll was for - I watched him turn to a
woman and he called his aunt by name and said, "Are you sure I don't have
enough
money?". She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have
enough money for it."The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that she
had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then
she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit, I asked
the boy who the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted so
badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it". I told him that
maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said,"No, Santa can't go where my
sister is... I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her". I
asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and
said, "She has gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Mamma is going to
have to go be with her." My heart nearly stopped beating.
Then the boy looked at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell Mamma
not
to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the
store."
Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love
to. He pulled out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store. He
said, "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she won't ever forget me.
I love my Mamma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But
Daddy says she will need to be with my sister."I saw that the little boy
had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I
reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the
little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?". He grew excited and
said, "Yes, I just know it has to be enough." So I slipped my money in with
his and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He
softly said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money." Then the boy said,
"I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Mamma can
take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to
ask him for enough to buy my Mamma a white rose, but I didn't ask him, but
he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mamma. She loves white roses so very, very much.
In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could
not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a
totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering
a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver
hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious
condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life
support.
Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story. Two days later I
read in the paper that the family had disconnected the life support and the
young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept
wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not
help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to
the funeral home where the young mother was. And there she was holding a
lovely white rose, the beautiful doll,and the picture of the little boy in the
store. I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that
little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a
split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to
pieces.
Special Delivery
Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon
come out of the operating room. She asked, "How is my little boy? Is he
going to be OK? When can I see him?" The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all
we could."
Grief stricken, Sally asked, "Why do little
children get cancer?
Doesn't God care any more? God, where were you
when my son needed you?"
The Surgeon said, "One of the nurses will be out
in a few minutes to let you spend time with your son's remains before it
is transported to the University."
Sally asked that the nurse stay with her while
she said goodbye to her son.
She ran her fingers through the thick, red, curly
hair. The nurse asked, "Would you like to keep a lock of his hair," to
which Sally replied, "Yes please." The nurse gently cut the lock of
hair,placed it in a plastic bag, and handed it to Sally.
Sally said, "It was Jimmy's idea to give his body
to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else and
that is what he wanted. I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be
using it after I die.
Maybe it will help some other little boy spend
one more day with his mother.' My Jimmy had a heart of gold, always
thinking about someone else and wanting to help others if he could."
Sally walked out of the Children's Hospital for
the last time, after spending most of the last 6 months there. She set
the bag with Jimmy's things on the seat beside her in the
car. The drive home was hard and it was even harder to go into an empty
house. She took the bag to Jimmy's room and started placing his model cars
and things back where he always kept them when he wasn't playing with them.
She laid down across his bed and cried herself to sleep holding his
pillow.
Sally woke up about midnight and laying beside of
her on the bed was a letter, folded neatly, She opened it and read:
"Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me, but don't think that I will ever
forget you or stop loving you just because I'm not around to say 'I
Love You'. I'll think of you every day, mom, and I'll loveyou even more
each day. Some day we will see each other again. If you want to adopt a little
boy so you won't be so lonely, he can have my room and my stuff to play
with. If you decide to get a girl instead, she probably won't like the
same things as boys do, so you will have to buy her dolls and stuff girls
like.
Don't be sad when you think about me. This is
really a great place.
Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as soon as I
got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see
everything here. The angels are so friendly. I love to watch them fly.
Jesus doesn't look like any of the pictures I have seen of him down
there..
He took me to see God, and guess what, Mom? I got
to sit on God's knee and talk to Him like I was somebody important. I told
Him that I wanted to write you a letter and tell you good-bye and
everything, but knew that wasn't allowed. God handed me some paper and His
own personal pen to write you this letter with. I think Gabriel is the name
of the angel that is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me
to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked about where was He
when I needed Him. God said- the same place He
was when Jesus was on the cross, which was right there as He always is with
His children.
Oh, by the way, Mom, nobody else can see what is
written on this paper but you. To everyone else it looks like a blank
piece of paper. I have to give God His pen back
now. He has some more names to write in The Book of Life. Tonight I get
to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great.
I almost forgot to let you know that now I don't hurt anymore. The
cancer is gone. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and
God couldn't stand to see me suffer
the pain either, so He sent the Angel of Mercy to
get me. The Angel said I was Special Delivery!
Signed with love from God, Jesus and Me."
Center Of The Bible
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
(Answer - Psalms 117)
What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
(Answer - Psalms 119)
Which chapter is in the center of the Bible
(Answer - Psalms 118)
Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118
Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118
Add these numbers up and you get 1188.
What is the center verse in the Bible?
(Answer Psalms 118:8)
Does this verse say something significant about
God's perfect will for our lives? The next time
someone says they would like to find God's perfect
will for their lives and that they want to be in the center
of His will,just send them to the center of His Word!
Psalms 118: "It is better to trust in the LORD than
to put confidence in man."
Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God
in the center of it)?
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
These numbers are way better than 911...
When in sorrow, call John 14
When men fail you, call Psalm 27
If you want to be fruitful, call John 15
When you have sinned, call Psalm 51
When you worry, call Matthew 6:19-34
When you are in danger, call Psalm 91
When God seems far away, call Psalm 139
When your faith needs stirring, call Hebrew 11
When you are lonely and fearful, call Psalm 23
When you grow bitter and critical, call 1 Cor. 13
For Paul's secret to happiness, call Col. 3:12-17
For idea of Christianity, call 1 Cor. 5:15-19
When you feel down and out, call Romans 8:31-39
When you want peace and rest, call Matthew 11:25-30
When the world seems bigger than God, call Psalm 90
When you want Christian assurance, call Romans 8:1-30
When you leave home for labor or travel, call Psalm 121
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish, call Psalm 67
For great invention/opportunity, call Isaiah 55
When you want courage for a task, call Joshua 1
How to get along with fellowmen, call Romans 12
When you think of investments/returns, call Mark 10
If you are depressed, call Psalm 27
If your pocketbook is empty, call Psalm 37
If your losing confidence in people, call 1Cor. 13
If people seem unkind, call John 15
If discouraged about your work, call Psalm 126
If you find the world growing small, and yourself great, call Psalm
19
Emergency numbers may be dialed direct, no operator assistance is
necessary.
All lines are open to Heaven 24 hours a day! Feed your faith, and
doubt will starve to death!
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in
the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is
my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust"
Psalm 91:1-2
THE DRESS!
"Do you like my dress?" she asked of a passing stranger.
"My mommy made it just for me." She said with a tear in
her eye.
"Well, I think it's very pretty, so tell me little one,
why are you crying?"
With a quiver in her voice the little girl answered.
"After Mommy made me this dress, she had to go away."
"Well, now," said the lady, "with a little girl like you
waiting for her, I'm sure she'll be right back."
"No ma'am, you don't understand," said the child through
her tears,
"my Daddy said that she's up in heaven now with
Grandfather."
Finally the woman realized what the child meant, and why
she was crying. Kneeling down she gently cradled the child in
her arms and together they cried for the mommy that was gone.
Then suddenly the little girl did something that the woman
thought was a bit strange. She stopped crying, stepped
back from the woman and began to sing.
She sang so softly that it was almost a whisper. It was
the sweetest sound the woman had ever heard, almost like the
song of a very small bird. After the child stopped singing
she explained to the lady, "My mommy used to sing that song to
me before she went away, and she made me promise to sing it
whenever I started crying and it would make me stop."
"See," she exclaimed,"it did, and now my eyes are dry!"
As the woman turned to go, the little girl grabbed her
sleeve, "Lady, can you stay just a minute?
I want to show you something."
"Of course," she answered, "what do you want me to see?"
Pointing to a spot on her dress, she said, "Right here is
where my Mommy kissed my dress, and here," pointing to another
spot, "and here is another kiss, and here, and here,"
"Mommy said that she put all those kisses on my dress so that I
would have her kisses for every boo-boo that made me cry."
Then the lady realized that she wasn't just looking at a
dress,no, she was looking at a Mother who knew that she was
going away and would not be there to kiss away the hurts that
she knew her daughter would get. So she took all the love she
had for her beautiful little girl and put them into this
dress, that her child now so proudly wore.
She no longer saw a little girl in a simple dress, she saw
a child wrapped in her Mother's love.
I ASKED THE LORD TO BLESS YOU
I asked the Lord to bless you
As I prayed for you today,
To guide you and protect you
As you go along your way...
His love is always with you
His promises are true,
And when we give Him all our cares
You know He will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on
Seems difficult at best...
Just remember I'm here praying
And God will do the rest.
John 3:16
In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a
blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling
newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out
of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he
wasn't trying to sell many papers.
He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you
wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find
a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I
sleep in a box up around the corner there and down
the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight.
Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."
The policeman looked down at the little boy and
said, "You go down the street to that big white house and
you knock on the door. When they come out the door
you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."
So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the
door, and a lady answered.
He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said,
Come on in, Son." She took him in and she sat him
down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great
big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there
for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16....I don't
understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.
Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a
couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little
bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and
sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate
and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought
to himself: John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand
it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.
She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge
bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and
soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself:
John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure
makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a
real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever
had was when I stood in front of that big old fire
hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a
room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the
covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and
turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and
looked out the window at the snow coming down on
that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I
don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy
rested.
The next morning the lady came back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food.
After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split
bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked
up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and
looked into his young face.
Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently.
He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever
heard it was last night when the policeman told me
to use it." She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began
to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front
of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and
life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. ..
I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy
feel safe.
You know, I have to confess I don't understand
it either, how God was willing to send His Son to
die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a
thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and
every Angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and
die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept
Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand
it, but it sure does make life worth living.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
verse 17. For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through Him might
be saved.
verse 18. He that believeth on Him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.
Imagine the following:
It's a Wednesday night and you are at a
church prayer meeting when somebody runs
in from the parking lot and says, "Turn
on a radio, turn on a radio."
And while the church listens to a little
transistor radio with a microphone stuck
up to it, the announcement is made:
Two women are lying in a Long Island
hospital dying from the mystery flu."
Within hours it seems, this thing just
sweeps across the country. People are
working around the clock trying to find
an antidote.
Nothing is working. California, Oregon,
Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts.
It's as though it's just sweeping in
from the borders.
And then, all of a sudden the news comes
out. The code has been broken. A cure can
be found. A vaccine can be made. It's
going to take the blood of somebody who
hasn't been infected, and so, sure enough,
all through the Midwest, through all
those channels of emergency broadcasting,
everyone is asked to do one simple thing:
Go to your downtown hospital and have your
blood type taken. That's all we ask of you.
When you hear the sirens go off in your
neighborhood, please make your way quickly,
quietly, and safely to the hospitals.
Sure enough, when you and your family get
down there late on that Friday night, there
is a long line, and they've got nurses and
doctors coming out and pricking fingers and
taking blood and putting labels on it.
Your wife and your kids are out there, and
they take your blood type and they say, "Wait here
in the parking lot and if we call your name,
you can be dismissed and go home."
around, scared, with your neighbors,
wondering what in the world is going on and
if this is the end of the world.
Suddenly a young man comes running out of
the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name
and waving a clipboard.
What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on
your jacket and says, Daddy, that's me."
Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. Wait
a minute. Hold on!
And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean.
His blood is pure. We want to make sure he
doesn't have the disease. We think he has got
the right type."
Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors
and nurses, crying and hugging one
another-some
are even laughing. It's the first time you
have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old
doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir.
Your son's blood type is perfect. It's clean,
it is pure, and we can make the vaccine."
As the word begins to spread all across that
parking lot full of folks, people are
screaming and praying and laughing and crying.
But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and
you wife aside and says, "May we see you for
moment?
We didn't realize that the donor would be a
minor and we need... we need you to sign a consent
form."
You begin to sign and then you see that the
number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.
H-how many pints?"
And that is when the old doctor's smile fades
and he says, "We had no idea it would be little
child.
We weren't prepared. We need it all!"
But-but...You don't understand." "We are talking
about the world here. Please sign. We-we need
it all!"
But can't you give him a transfusion?"
If we had clean blood we would. Can you sign?
Would you sign?" In numb silence, you do.
Then they say, "Would you like to have a
moment with him before we begin?"
Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that
room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy?
Mommy? What's going on?" Can you take his
hands and Son, your mommy and I love you, and we would
never ever let anything happen to you that
didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?"
And when that old doctor comes back in and
says, I'm sorry, we've-got to get started. People
all over the world are dying.
Can you leave? Can you walk out while he is
saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? "Why, why have you
forsaken me?"
And then next week, when they have the
ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep
through it, and some folks don't even come because
they go to the lake, and some folks come with a
pretentious smile and just pretend to care.
Would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON
DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU CARE?"
Is that what GOD wants to say?
MY SON DIED FOR YOU. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW
MUCH I CARE?"
Father, seeing it from your eyes breaks our
hearts. Maybe now we can begin to comprehend
the great Love you have for us."
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