Spiritual Motivation and Insight

[DST897]

If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and it was never intended for your life, then you need to..... LET IT GO!!!

If someone has angered you today..... LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back and see your worth.... LET IT GO!!!

If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction..... LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding onto a job that no longer meets your needs or talents ..... LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding to some thoughts of evil and revenge.... LET IT GO!!!

If you have a bad temper or attitude..... LET IT GO!!!

If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better..... LET IT GO!!!

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains..... LET IT GO!!!

If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him...... LET IT GO!!!

If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.... LET IT GO!!!

If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves..... LET IT GO!!!

If you're feeling depressed and stressed..... LET IT GO!!!

If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying take your hands off of it, then you need to...... LET IT GO!!!

[CrimsonTide4]

Hi GCers,
I love to receive motivational stories, quotes, etc. I also love to pass them on. So what this thread will be is MOTIVATING or INSIGHTFUL or THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM, WOW, or DANG!!

Here is the first one:

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first,the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon,
everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up
over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!


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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

[Inquisitive]

Here's my favorite. I might even add it on as my signature!

"Everything is always ok in the end, If it's not ok then it's not the end"

[Mz. Sports Luva]

Here's one my Pastor says on a weekly basis:

I may have done the things that THEY say I've done, but I am not who THEY say I am.

[naturalbeauty08]

Hi Ladies!
I came across this topic and wanted to add a couple of quotes I made up that help get me through the day...

I will not be validated through the eyes of others. I am validated because what GOD made is good and that is me.

GOD never gives us more than we can handle. For those of us who it seems have much more need to realize how blessed we are. We have been blessed with the ability to be resilient against hard times. To survive them and become much stronger beings.

I cannot and will not please everyone. As a matter of fact in this life I will probably displease more people than please them. My job is to be the best person, lover, friend, co-worker that I can be and disregard silly folk.

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...Taking control of my beauty... loving me for me...

[This message has been edited by naturalbeauty08 (edited May 10, 2001).]

[CrimsonTide4]

FOOTPRINTS...A New Version

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together.For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.
For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You
and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones,you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large
footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints they have become one.
This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You
are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends.

Now you pray:
"Lord, I understand the first scene with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But you walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with you."

"That is correct."

"...And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps; followed you very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

"...When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like you in every way."

"Precisely."

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first."

There is a pause as the Lord answers with a smile in his voice. "You didn't know? That was when we danced."

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.


I ASKED GOD
I asked for a flower, He gave me a garden.
I asked for a tree, He gave me a forest.
I asked for a river, He gave me an ocean.
I asked for a friend, He gave me "YOU."


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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

[CrimsonTide4]

THE BUTTERFLY STRUGGLE

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need
in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength.........And God gave me
Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom.........And God gave me
Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity.........And God gave me brain and brawn to work.

I asked for Courage.........And God gave me
Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.........And God gave me
Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors.........And God gave me
Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted........I
received everything I needed!

May your path be bright and full of light
everywhere you go. And, I pray your feet will never stumble out of God's plan.


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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

[CrimsonTide4]

This should help all of us keep things in the proper perspective when storms are raging on our secular jobs :

The Lord is my boss, and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He reminds me to pray, before I speak in anger.
He restores my sanity.
He guides my decisions that I might honor Him in all that I do. Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mail, system failures, copier jams, backordered supplies, unrealistic deadlines, staff shortages, budget cutbacks, red tape, downsizing, gossiping coworkers, whining customers, I won't give up, for You are with me. Your presence, peace and power, will see me through.

You raise me up, even when the boss fails to promote me. You claim me as your own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

Your loyalty and love are better than a bonus check Your retirement plan beats any 401K, and when it's all said and done, I'll be working for you a whole lot longer! Thanks be to God.



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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

[CrimsonTide4]

I open my heart and mind to be aware…I must believe

that whatever it is, I can handle it.

You have earned the right to be exactly where you are. Whatever, the situation, circumstances, predicament or challenges that face you at this very moment, you have earned the divine right to be where you are. You have earned the right to go through what you are going through based on the way you got through, got over, went around or handled a similar situation. You learned something then that you can surely use now. Think about it! You have already demonstrated your ability to get up. You have clearly exhibited your desire to get over. You have made it perfectly clear that you can handle the rough times and hard stuff as you navigated through the tight places. Now you have the opportunity to demonstrate how your skills have improved.

With all that you have been through, have been challenged by, have confronted and have overcome, you have earned the right to live with this, make it through this, overcome this and benefit from the divine opportunity that now stands before you. Think about it! You have always been there for you. You have demonstrated you have what it takes. You know how to make it through the ups and downs, the in's and out's, the good times and the hard times. You have done it before. You will do it again! Why you? Because you are a good student. Why now? Because you have earned the right to do what it takes. Now get to it.

Until today, you may not have realized just how good you are. Just for today, see everything that lies before you as a divine opportunity to remember.

Today I am devoted to reminding myself of the good

I have done and the goodness that I am!

this is reprinted from Until Today by Iyanla Vanzant. I hoped this blessed you as it blessed me.

[CrimsonTide4]

Scars of Love

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim
in the old swimming hole behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks,
and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle
of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother - in the house was looking out the window - saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could.

Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.
It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched
his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal and, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom
wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.
But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go.

In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. If you have Christ in your life, you have become a child of God.
He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.

But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations.
The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-o-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not - and will not - let you go. Be blessed, and pass this onto someone
else.

[CrimsonTide4]

THE WILL OF GOD
The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you.
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your
needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the spirit of God cannot work through
you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your
fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule
for you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for
you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find
you.

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He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

What one hopes for is always better than what one has.

[CrimsonTide4]

The paradox of our time in history is that
we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower
viewpoints; We spend more, but enjoy less of it.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; More conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; More experts, but less solutions; More medicine, but less
wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We have learned to make a living, but not a life. We have added years to life, but not life to years.

We have been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We have conquered outer space, but not inner space. We have cleaned up the air, but polluted the
soul. We have split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals; We have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are times of tall men, and short characters; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are times of
world peace and domestic violence. We have more leisure, but less fun;
More kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; Of fancier houses, but broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; A time when technology can bring this letter to
you; A time when you can send this to your true friends....

[CrimsonTide4]

Carl's Garden

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet
others with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in
our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew
him very well. Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning.
The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a
slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII. Watching him, we worried
that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing
uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and
drug activity.

When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for
caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his
characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up.
He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared
finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang
members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked,
"Would you like a drink from the hose?" The tallest and toughest-looking of the
three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the
hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose
snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants
stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled. Carl tried to get
himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him.

Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he
couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the
minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a hand over his
brow and sighed, shaking his head. "Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up
someday." His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?" I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately", came the calm reply. Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was
unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done. Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.

The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling
when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack. "Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl."What's this?" Carl asked. "It's your stuff," the man explained.
"It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet." "I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?" The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it. But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing
love against our hate." He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back." He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street. Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather. In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church. The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care for Carl's garden." The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door. Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the young man said. The minister recognized him as the same
young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him." The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. In that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautifully as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday." "Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?" "Carl," he replied.

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#4 Spring 1997
Omicron Theta
Wittenberg University////__\\\\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

[This message has been edited by CrimsonTide4 (edited May 25, 2001).]

[99melodies]

I always say: Love is given but trust is earned!

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As always...the inevitable, the divine, the epitome of womanhood!

[CrimsonTide4]

This was posted in our Teacher Union's newsletter today and I found it to be a profound and celebratory statement about TEACHERS

You Want Heroes?

"Where are the heroes of today?" a radio talk show host thundered. He blames society’s shortcomings on public education. Too many people are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Movie stars and rock musicians, athletes and models aren’t heroes, they’re celebrities.

Heroes abound in public schools, a fact that doesn’t make the news. There is no precedent for the level of violence, drugs, broken homes, child abuse and crime in today’s America. Public education didn’t create these problems but deals with them every day.

You want heroes? Consider Dave Sanders, the school teacher shot to death while trying to shield his students from two Neo-Nazi youth on a bombing and shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Sanders gave his life, along with 12 students, but other less heralded heroes survived the Colorado blood bath.

You want heroes? Jane Smith, a Fayetteville, North Carolina, teacher was moved by the plight of one of her students, a boy dying for want of a kidney transplant. So, this pretty white woman told the family of this handsome 14-year-old black student that she would give him one of her kidneys. And she did. When they subsequently appeared together hugging on the Today Show, even tough little Katie Couric was near tears.

You want heroes? Doris Dillon dreamed all her life of being a teacher. She not only made it, she was one of those wondrous teachers who could wring the best out of every single child. One of her fellow teachers in San Jose, California, said, "She could teach a rock to read." Suddenly she was stricken with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which is always fatal, usually within five years. She asked to stay on the job, and did. When her voice was affected, she communicated by computer. Did she go home? No. She is running two elementary school libraries. When the disease was diagnosed, she wrote the staff and all the families that she had one last lesson to teach ... that dying is part of living. Her colleagues named her Teacher of the Year.

You want heroes? Bob House, a teacher in Gay, Georgia, tried out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? After he won the million dollars, a network film crew wanted to follow up to see how it had impacted his life. New cars? Big new house? Instead, they found both Bob House and his wife still teaching. They explained that it was what they had always wanted to do with their lives, and that would not change. The community was both stunned and gratified.

You want heroes? Last year the average public school teacher spent $468 of his or her own money for student necessities ... workbooks, pencils, supplies kids had to have but could not afford. That’s a lot of money from the pockets of the most poorly paid teachers in the industrial world.

Public schools don’t teach values? The critics are dead wrong. Public education provides more Sunday school teachers than any other profession. The average teacher works more hours in nine months than the average 40-hour employee does in a year.

You want heroes? For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history. Many have never been taken to church or synagogue in their lives. A Michigan principal moved me to teach with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk ... one that said, "I love you!" He said he’d never been told that at home. This is a constant in today’s society ... two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes? Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness. There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says, "We have been so anxious to give our children what we didn’t have that we have neglected to give them what we did have." What is it that our kids really need? What do they really want? Math, science, history and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people ... by Frosty Troy.




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#4 Spring 1997
Omicron Theta
Wittenberg University////__\\\\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Words are like eggs: when they are hatched they have wings.

Advise and counsel him; if he does not listen, let adversity teach him.

[This message has been edited by CrimsonTide4 (edited May 29, 2001).]