I am Third There was a boy who was very popular among others his age. He was an excellent leader in his school groups. One of his friends visited him and saw a homemade plaque in his room with the words "I Am Third" on it. His friend asked him what it meant and he replied, "It is the motto I try to use in my life. It means "God is first, Others are second, and I am Third.'" The driving force in our lives should be trying to please God. Secondly, we should take into consideration the needs and pleasures of others. With our own pleasures subordinated, we will truly be the humble servants of God.

"The hardest arithmetic to master is
that which enables us to count our blessings."
-Eric Hoffer

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of living-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."

Self-motivation without gratitude is impossible. Our energy is "sapped" when our entire focus is on what's wrong instead of what is right with our lives. One of our greatest challenges is to live and love in spite of pain and disappointment...to find gratitude in the midst of it all.

Reflect for a moment on this beautiful quote from Melody Beattie:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

 

 

Some Interesting Thoughts

• I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don’t know what to feed it.
• All I ask is a chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.
• What is a “free” gift? Aren’t all gifts free?
• They told me I was gullible … and I believed them.
• Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he’ll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.
• Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.
• Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.
• What if there were no hypothetical questions?
• One nice thing about egotists: They don’t talk about other people.
• When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail.
• A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
• My weight is perfect for my height — which varies.
• I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.
• The cost of living hasn’t affected its popularity.
• How can there be self-help “groups”?
• Is there another word for synonym?
• The speed of time is one-second per second.
• Is it possible to be totally partial?
• What’s another word for thesaurus?
• If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?
• Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I’ll show you a man who can’t get his pants off.
• It’s not an optical illusion. It's just like one.

 

Dominoes 2008

SEE IF YOU CAN FIND 16 OF THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE IN THE FOLLOWING
ARTICLE.

I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible.  It was a lulu,
kept people looking so hard for the facts and for others it was a revelation.  Some
were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized,
but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers.  To others it was a
real job.  We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you.  Yes there
will be some real easy ones to spot.  Others may require judges to help them.
I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of them, and
there will be loud lamentations when it is found.  A little lady says she
brews a cup of tea, so she can concentrate better.  See how well you can
compete.  Relax now, for there really are sixteen names of books in the Bible
in this story.

 

 

 

Good Morning Everybody!

 

 

It is a beautiful morning God has given us today!

Psalm 118:24

 

 24 This is the day the LORD has made;
       let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Just take a deep slow breath and close your eyes and just feel the warm embrace in the arms of Jesus.  Such a comfort, the love, the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness.  Ah.....just feel it.  Now notify your face and SMILE!

Have a JOYFUL day in the LORD!

Love, Meme

 

 

 

 

 

Creation

When God made the earth and sky,
 the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals,
 the fish, the birds, the bees.
And when at last He'd finished, 
not one was quite the same.
He said I'll walk this world of mine
 and give each one a name.
And so he traveled far and wide
 and everywhere he went,
A little creature followed him 
until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth 
and in the sky and sea,
The little creature said, "Dear Lord,
there's no name left for me!"
Kindly the Father said to him,
 "I've left you to the end,
I've turned my own name back to front 
and called you Dog, my friend."

 

 

Doggie Don't

Don't smell crotches, don't eat plants.
Don't steal food or underpants.
Don't eat my socks, don't grab my hair!
Don't rip the stuffing from the chair.
Don't chew my shoes, what is this mush?
Eat your cookies, drink your drink,
Outta the toilet! Outta the sink!
Away from the litterbox, it's for the cat.|
(And must you kiss me after that!?)
Raising a puppy is not for the lazy,
Those rugrats are funny but also quite crazy.
Don't despair through the toil and the strife,
Cause after three years, you'll get back your life.
So let's go for walkies so you can do your "thing."
And maybe I'll get back my good diamond ring!

 

 

Satan Called a Worldwide Convention.

In his opening address to his evil angels, Satan said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.

So, let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly!

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.

"Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.  I guess the question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge! Does "busy" mean:

 

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

What you need:
1 coffee mug (must be microwave safe)
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
(optional) some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Directions:
Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips, nuts (if using), and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for three (3) minutes on high.
(The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!)
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!