HIT ON THIS LINK FOR SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD MOVIE SENT BY DEBBIE MESARCHICK

http://www.SevenWondersOfYourWorldMovie.com

For God so loVed the world,
      That He gAve
            his onLy
           BegottEn

              SoN
                 That whosoever
        BelievethIn Him
           ShouldNotperish,
      But have"Everlasting life."

                   John 3:16

 

WHAT IS A FRIEND? 

  Your Heart is your Love,
Your love is your  Family  ,
Your  family is your Future , 
 Your future is your Destiny ,
Your destiny is your Ambition,
Your ambition is your Aspiration ,
Your aspiration is your Motivation ,
Your motivation is your Belief ,
Your belief is your Peace , 
 Your peace is your Target ,
Your target is Heaven,
Heaven is no fun without FRIENDS

**************************************

"Footsteps To Live By"

There are those times that come along,
When things just don't go right,
When fairness seems to slip away,
And wrong things fill our sight.
Sometimes it's hard for us to see,
Beyond the hurt we feel.
It's hard to see the blessings too,
And know that they are real.
Because the heavy loads you have
Weigh more at times like these,
I ask if I may carry too,
And offer with a "Please"
I want to make a difference though,
To bring a smile this day,
And maybe if by writing this,
A smile will come your way.
So hold your chin up strong and proud,
Cause it's the thing to do,
And know that I'll be standing near,
Because! Poet unknown.

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who calledhis wife to say ‘Good-Bye.’ I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, ‘Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go.’

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn’t coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. ‘I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!’ I said. ‘Of course I will show you the way home - only Believe in Me now.’

I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, Afghanistan.

I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew

every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn’t hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; ‘Come to Me... this way... take my hand.’

Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are ‘ready to go.’ I will be in the stairwell of your final moments

signed,  God

.

Author Unknown. Sent by Mary Jean Hoover.

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter.
She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but
 then she looked at the envelope again.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and
 address.  She read the letter:
Dear Ruth:
 I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday
 afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
 Love Always, Jesus
 Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on
the table. 'Why would the Lord want to visit me?
I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer.'

 With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty
kitchen cabinets.> 'Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.'  She reached for her purse and counted out its > contents. Five dollars and forty cents.
 Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.'
 She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.
 A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday.
Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her
meager offerings tucked under her arm.
 'Hey lady, can you help us,lady?'
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she
 hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the
alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.
 'Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife
and I have been living out here on the street, and,
well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda
 hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd
really appreciate it.'
 Ruth looked at them both.
 They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she
 was certain that they could get some kind of work if
they really wanted to.
 'Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman
myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.'
 'Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand.. Thanks anyway.'
 The man put his arm around the woman's
shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.
 As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar
 twinge in her heart. 'Sir, wait!' The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
 'Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest.'
She handed the man her grocery bag.
 'Thank you lady. Thank you very much!'
 'Yes, thank you!' It was the man's wife, and Ruth
could see now that she was shivering
 'You know, I've got another coat at home.
 Here, why don't you take this one.'
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the
woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street...without her coat and with nothing to serve
her guest. 
'Thank you lady!
 Thank you very much!'
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front
 door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But
 as she did, she noticed another envelope in her
mailbox. 'That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice
in one day.' 

   She opened the letter and it said.
"Dear Ruth:  It was so good to see you again. Love, Jesus." 

 ***********************************************

"The light of God surrounds us.  
The love of God enfolds us.
The power of God protects us.  
The presence of God watches over us.  
Wherever we are God is and all is well."  

Author Unknown. Sent by Sherry Elek-Logue

******************************************

God never made a fish with fins until He made an ocean for it to swim in. God never made a bird until He made a sky for it to fly in. And God never put the longings of immortality in a soul until He made a Heaven to satisfy these longings.

 

Science vs. God

 

'Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

 'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?''Yes sir,' the student says. 

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.' 

'Is God good?' 

'Sure! God's good.' 

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?' 

'Yes.' 

'Are you good or evil?' 

'The Bible says I'm evil.' 

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a moment.

 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

 'So you're good...!' 

    'I wouldn't say that.'    
    'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'
   
    The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He
doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?'
   
    The student remains silent.
   
    'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of
water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.
   
    'Let's start again, young fella Is God good?'
   
    'Er.yes,' the student says.
   
    'Is Satan good?'
   
    The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
   
    'Then where does Satan come from?'
   
    The student : 'From...God...'
   
    'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'
   
    'Yes, sir.'    
    'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything,
correct?'    
    'Yes.'
   
    'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
   
    Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues: 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
   
    The student: 'Yes.'     
    'So who created them?'    
    The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.
   
    'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'     
    The student's voice is confident: 'Yes, professor, I do.'    
    The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'
   
    'No sir. I've never seen Him'    
    'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'    
    'No, sir, I have not.'
   
    'Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or
smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
   
    'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
   
    'Yet you still believe in him?'
   
    'Yes.'
   
    'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable
protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'
   
    'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
   
    'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem
science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
   
    The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a
question of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'
   
    'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.'    
    'And is there such a thing as cold?'
   
    'Yes, son, there's cold too.'    
    'No sir, there isn't.'
   
    The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.
The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.    'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat,mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the
lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.
You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'
   
    Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.    
    'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as
darkness?'    
    'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night
if it isn't darkness?'
   
    'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
   
    The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him.
This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
   
    'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is
flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'
   
    The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time.
'Flawed? Can you explain how?'
   
    'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student
explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life
is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.'
   
    'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'
   
    'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do'
   
    'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
   
    The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he
realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.    
    'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'
   
    The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the
commotion has subsided.
   
    'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other
student, let me give you an example of what I mean.'    
    The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter.
   
    'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain,felt the professor's brain, touched or smelled the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no
brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'
   
    Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the
student, his face unreadable.
   
    Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I
guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
   
    'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists
with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?'
   
    Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.  These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
   
    To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at
least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.  It is just Like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.
   
    God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'
   
    The professor sat down.
    Author unknown.  Sent by Sherry Elek-Logue

 author unknown.  Sent by Alene Bednar

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two that he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The second picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged
and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in
which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled
a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny
bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird
had built her nest.... a perfect picture of peace.

Which of the pictures won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a
place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." That is the REAL meaning of peace. ~Author Unknown~ Sent by Etta Katocs of Fall City, Washington.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason.. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.  If it changes your life, let it.  Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.  Author Unknown.  Sent by Bob Tatrn   **********************************************************

Watch the faces of the judges as this guy walks out on the stage. You can almost see what they're thinking as they pre-judge him based on his looks and the fact that he's a cell phone salesman. Pay attention to the audience as well.

Maybe this guy stopped believing in what people told him for so many years and ultimately started listening to his passion. If one takes but one thing away from his appearance, it should be to never judge a book by its cover. Absolutely fantastic ................Click here: Phon e Salesman Amazes Crowd - Paul Potts - Video

********************************

Only A Man . . .

At first glance she looked like any other old woman. Plodding along in the snow, alone, neglected, head bowed. People passing on the busy city sidewalk
averted their eyes, lest she remind them that pain and suffering did not stop to celebrate Christmas.

A young couple, smiling, talking, laughing, arms loaded with Christmas presents, took no notice of the old woman.

A mother with two small children hurried by, on their way to grandmother's house. They took no notice.

A minister walked by proudly carrying his Bible in his right hand, like a well armed Christian soldier. But his mind was stayed on heavenly things, and he took no notice.

If these people had noticed, they would have seen that the old woman wore no shoes. She walked barefoot in the ice and snow.

With both hands the old woman gathered her worn button-less overcoat at the collar to keep out the wind. She stopped and stood bent and bowed at the bus
stop. A red and blue scarf covering her head, she waited for the downtown bus.

A gentleman carrying an important looking briefcase waited near her, not too closely. After all, she could have something contagious.

A teen-age girl also waited for the bus. She glanced repeatedly at the old woman's feet, but said nothing.

The bus arrived and the old woman slowly, painfully boarded. She sat on the side-ways seat just behind the driver. The gentleman and the teen-age girl hurried to the rear. The man sharing the seat with the old woman shuffled
uneasily and twirled his thumbs. "Senile," he thought.

The bus driver saw her bare feet and thought; "This neighborhood is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty, I hate to see it, I'll be glad when they put
me on the College Park route."

A little boy pointed at the old woman.

"Look, Mother, that old lady is barefoot."

The embarrassed mother slapped his hand down. "Don't point at people, Andrew. It's not polite to point." She looked out the window.

"She must have grown children," a lady in a fur coat suggested. "Her children should be ashamed of themselves." She felt morally superior, because she took good care of her mother.

A teacher seated near the middle of the bus steadied the bag of gifts on her lap. "Don't we pay enough taxes to handle situations like this?" she said to
a friend seated beside her. "It's this tax-cut crazy Republican
administration, her friend replied. "They rob the poor and give to the rich." "No, its the Democrats," a gray- haired man behind them interjected. "These Democrat welfare programs just make people lazy and keep them in
poverty."

"People have to learn to save their money," a well-dressed young college man added. "If that old woman had saved when she was young, she wouldn't be suffering now. It's her own fault."

And all these people beamed with satisfaction that their acumen had delivered such trenchant analysis.

But, a kind businessman felt offended by this murmuring detachment of his fellow citizens. He reached into his wallet and took out a crisp twenty-dollar bill. He strode proudly down the isle and pressed the bill into the old woman's unsteady, wrinkled hand. "Here, Madam, get yourself
some shoes."

The old woman nodded her head in thanks. The businessman strode back to his seat, feeling pleased with himself, that he was a man of action.

A well-dressed Christian lady had noticed all of this. She began to pray silently. "Lord, I don't have money. There is no way I can help. But Lord, I can turn to you in every need. Lord, I know that you are a loving God. You
make a way out of no way. Now Lord, let your blessing shine on this old woman. Let shoes fall like manna from heaven, so that this old woman can have shoes for Christmas." And the Christian lady felt supremely spiritual.

At the next stop, a young man boarded the bus. He wore a heavy blue jacket, a maroon scarf around his neck, and a gray woolen cap pulled down over is ears. A wire running under the cap and into his ear was connected to a
Walkman. The young man jiggled his body in time to music only he heard. He paid his fare and plopped down on the sideways seat directly across from the
old woman.

As the young man's glance caught the old woman's bare feet, His jiggling stopped. He froze. His eyes went from her feet to his. He wore his expensive, new, brand name sneakers. For months he had saved from his minimum wage pay to buy these sneakers. Everybody in the gang would think he
was "so cool."

The young man bent down and began to untie his sneakers. He removed his impressive new sneakers. He removed his socks. He knelt down before the old woman.

"Mother," he said, "I see you have no shoes. Well, I have shoes."

Carefully, gently, he lifted the old woman's crusty feet in his hands. He placed his socks and his fine sneakers on the old woman's feet. The old woman nodded in thanks.

Just then the bus arrived at the nest stop. The young man left the bus and walked away, barefoot in the snow.

The passengers crowded at the windows to watch him as he plodded barefoot through the snow.

"Who is he?" one asked.
"He must be a prophet," said another.
"He must be a saint," someone suggested.
"He must be an angel," said yet another.
"Look! There's a halo around his head," somebody shouted.
"He must be the Son of God," said the Christian lady.

But the little boy who had pointed, said, "No Mother, I saw him clearly, He was only a man."

****************************************************

 

21 Keys to a Happy Life

Source Unknown

1. Compliment three people everyday.

2. Watch a sunrise.

3. Be the first to say "Hello."

4. Live beneath your means.

5. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.

6. Never give up on anybody; miracles happen.

7. Forget the Jones’s.

8. Remember someone’s name.

9. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.

10. Be tough-minded, but tender hearted.

11. Be kinder than you have to be.

12. Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

13. Keep your promises.

14. Learn to show cheerfulness even when you don’t feel it.

15. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.

16. Leave everything better than you found it.

17. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to do.

18. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone’s day.

19. Don’t rain on other people’s parades.

20. Don’t waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

21. Keep some things to yourself and don’t promote havoc by backstabbing people you love.

Sent by Joe & Sis