Reflections

A woman was explaining her theory of putting her children to bed: "I never tell bedtime stories that begin with 'Once upon a time,'" she said. "If I really want to put them to sleep, I start off with, 'Now, when I was your age...'" It's nice to understand people so well that we know just what to say! Here is a mother who could speak her children's language. The story is told of the most famous elephant in the world -- a huge, beautiful and gentle beast named Bozo. Children extended open palms filled with peanuts for the Indian elephant, who gently plucked them from little hands and seemed to smile as he ate his treats. But one day, for some inexplicable reason, Bozo changed. He almost stampeded the man who cleaned his cage. He charged children at the circus and became incorrigible. His owner knew he would have to destroy the once-gentle giant. In order to raise money for a new elephant, the circus owner held a cruel exhibition. He s...

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same. Some people come into our lives and quickly go... Some stay for awhile and embrace our silent dreams. They help us become aware of the delicate winds of hope...and we discover within every human spirit there are wings yearning to fly. They help our hearts to see that the only stairway to the stars is woven with dreams... and we find ourselves unafraid to reach high. They celebrate the true essence of who we are...and have faith in all that we may become. Some people awaken us to new and deeper realizations... for we gain insight from the passing whisper of their wisdom. Throughout our lives we are sent precious souls...meant to share our journey however brief or lasting their stay they remind us why we are here. To learn... to teach... to nurture... to love. Some people come into our lives to cast a steady light upon our path and guide our every step their shining belief in us help...

A real friend never gets in your way - unless you happen to be on the way down.- Dr. Wayne Dyer

At first it sounded like a Thanksgiving story, but the more I reflected on it, the more appropriate it seemed for any time of the year. The way I heard it, the story went like this: Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment -- to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful. Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student's art. And they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes. Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was th...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. 1. When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toe nails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca - age 8 2. When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths.Billy - age 4 3. Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving Cologne and they go out and smell each other. Kari - age 5 4. Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy - age 6 5. Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri - age 4 6. Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to mak...

Jesus: Fulfiller Of The Law During Old Testament times, many Jews perceived the Law as a means of gaining salvation. Although a large number of Jews admired Jesus' wisdom, and were in awe of the miracles he accomplished, Christ's admittance of his divinity, as well as what some people perceived was his desire to do away with the Old Testament Law caused much stirring, especially amongst temple heads. ("Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." -John 12:37 (Also see John 10:25-26, John 10:37-38, John 8:42-43) At one point, Jesus was accused of being inspired by Satan, but, does Satan preach of love, heal the sick, make the blind to see, and raise the dead to life? Surely not as the adversary's purpose is to not do God's will, but to fight against it. In the Bible, the Old Testament Law is referred to as our "schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:23-25), to teach earliest mankind, and to ...