Extra Blessings Topics

Don't let your worries get the best of you; remember, Moses started out as a basket case.
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Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.
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It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.
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When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.
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People are funny; they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.
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Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

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Happiness is Something
You Decide on Ahead of Time
Submitted by Carousel Pat

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed  each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved  even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
 
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
 
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
 
"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
 
"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have  anything to do with it," he replied.
 
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my  room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged. It's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
 
"I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
 
"Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.
 
"Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
 
"So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

"Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
 
  1. Free your heart from hatred.
  2. Free your mind from worries.
  3. Live simply.
  4. Give more.
  5. Expect less.


Sisters
Submitted by Kat Hollingsworth

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,  drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As  they talked about life, about marriage, about the  responsibilities of life and the obligations of  adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her  glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance  upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.

"Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too.

"You'll need other women. Women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.

A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you.

Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in -law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Mothers-in-law, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.

Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still.


Why?
Submitted by Ruth Parkinson - Author Unknown


"Simply Put"

Cindy Sheehan asked President Bush,
"Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

Another mother asked President Kennedy,
"Why did my son have to die in Vietnam?"

Another mother asked President Truman,
"Why did my son have to die in Korea?"

Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt,
"Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima?"

Another mother asked President W. Wilson,
"Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln,
"Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?"

And yet another mother asked President G. Washington,
"Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked, "Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem?"

The answers to all these are similar-- That others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom.


The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

 Noah was a drunk

 Abraham was too old

 Isaac was a daydreamer

 Jacob was a liar

 Leah was ugly

 Joseph was abused

 Moses had a stuttering problem

 Gideon was afraid

 Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

 Rahab was a prostitute

 Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

 David had an affair and was a murderer

 Elijah was suicidal

 Isaiah preached naked

 Jonah ran from God

 Naomi was a widow

 Job went bankrupt

 Peter denied Christ

 The Disciples fell asleep while praying

 Martha worried about everything

 The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

 Zaccheus was too small

 Paul was too religious

 Timothy had an ulcer.. AND

 Lazarus was dead!

 Now! No more excuses!
 God can use you to your full potential.

 Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger.

 And one more thing...Share this with a friend or two...

 In the Circle of God's love, God's waiting to use your full potential.


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