The Cowboy Boots

Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this one!)

Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots?
He asked for help and she could see why..
Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.
She almost cried when the little boy said, 'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet.' She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet..
He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'
She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, 'Why didn't you say so?' like she wanted to. Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, 'They're my brother's boots. M y mom made me wear 'em.' Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, 'Now, where are your mittens?' He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'
She will be eligible for parole in three years!

Author unknown, but sent by way of my cousin Shirley Wade.

Didn't You Get This Memo?

Didn’t you get the memo?

To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE

This is God. Today I will be handling All of your problems for you. I do Not need your help. So, have a nice day.
I love you.

P.S. And, remember...
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do Not attempt to resolve it yourself! Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. I will get to it in MY TIME. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

If you find yourself stuck in traffic, don't despair. There are people in this world for
whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it’s like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!

Author unsure...

Satan's Meeting

> Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
>
> In his opening address he said,
>
> "We can't keep 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 relationship with
> Their SAVIOR."
>
> "Once they gain that connection with JESUS, our power over them is
> Broken."
>
> "So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish
> dinners,
> BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship
> With JESUS CHRIST.."
>
> "This is what I want you to do," said the devil:
>
> "Distract them from gaining hold of their SAVIOR and maintaining that
> Vital connection throughout their day!"
>
> "How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.
>
> "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 their empty
> Lifestyles."
>
> "Keep them from spending time with their children."
>
> "As their families fragment, soon, their homes 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 I-Pod whenever they drive." To
> Keep the TV, DVDs, 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 catalogs,
> sweepstakes, and
> Every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products,
> services
> And false hopes."
>
> "Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their
> husbands
> Will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll
> Become dissatisfied with their wives. "
>
> "Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."
>
> "Give them headaches too! "
>
> "If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin
> to
> Look elsewhere."
>
> "That will fragment their families quickly!"
>
> "Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children
> the
> Real meaning of Christmas."
>
> "Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about HIS resurrection
> And power over sin and death.."
>
> "Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."
>
> "Have them return from their recreation exhausted."
>
> "Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on GOD'S creation.
> Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, 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."
>
> "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 plan!
>
> The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians
> everywhere
> To get busier & more rushed, going here & there.
>
> Having little time for their GOD or their families.
>
> Having no time to tell others about the power of JESUS to change lives.
>
> I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?
>
> You be the judge!!!!!
>
> Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?
>
> Please pass this on, if you aren't too BUSY

ALTHOUGH THE AUTHOR IS UNKNOWN, WE KNOW THE MEMO DIDN'T COME FROM SATAN
Pat Simmons

A Folded Napkin

A Truckers Story

If this doesn't light your fire ... Your wood is wet!


I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy.

But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie.

He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome. I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade.

The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded 'truck stop germ' the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.

I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot.

After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old kid in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto his cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met.

Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a Widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work.

He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.

A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine.

Frannie, the head waitress, let out a war hoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news.

Marvin Ringers, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table

Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Marvin a withering look.

He grinned. 'OK, Frannie, what was that all about?' he asked.

'We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay.'

'I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?'

Frannie quickly told Marvin and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: ' Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK,' she said. 'But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is.' Marvin nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do.

After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face.

'What's up?' I asked.

'I didn't get that table where Marvin and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pete and Tony were sitting there when I got back to clean it off,' she said. 'This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup'

She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed 'Something For Stevie.'

'Pete asked me what that was all about,' she said, 'so I told him about Stevie and his Mom and everything , and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this.' She handed me another paper napkin that had 'Something For Stevie' scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: 'truckers.'

That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work.

His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. I then met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.

Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting.

'Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast,' I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. 'Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate your coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!' I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room.

I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. 'First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess,' I said. I tried to sound stern.

Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had 'Something for Stevie' printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table.

Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother. 'There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. 'Happy Thanksgiving.'

Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well.

But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table.

Best worker I ever hired.

Plant a seed and watch it grow.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Count Your Blessings

Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean; Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth; Count on God instead of yourself.

--Author Unknown--
AMEN

Your day in court

After living what I felt was a 'decent' life, my time on earth came to the end.

The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a court house.

The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.

As I looked around I saw the 'prosecutor.'

He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney, kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing robes.

He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I couldn't take my eyes off of Him.

As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, 'Let us begin.'

The prosecutor rose and said,

'My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this woman belongs in hell.'

He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and In the past when I cheated others Satan told of other horrible Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not Offering any form of defense at all.

I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, 'This woman belongs in hell, she is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.'

When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward.

As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendor and majesty.

I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus
representing me, my Lord and my Savior.
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, 'Hi, Dad,' and then He turned to address the court.

'Satan was correct in saying that this woman had sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this woman deserves to be punished.'

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, 'However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and she has accepted Me as her
Savior, so she is Mine.'

My Lord continued with, 'Her name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch her from Me.

Satan still does not understand yet. This woman is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.'

As Jesus sat down,

He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said,
'There is nothing else that needs to be done.'

'I've done it all.'

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips..

'This woman is free.'

The penalty for her has already been paid in full.

'Case dismissed.'

As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, 'I won't give up, I will win the next one.' I asked Jesus as He gave me my instructions where to go next, 'Have you ever lost a case?'

Christ lovingly smiled and said,

'Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you,

~Paid In Full~

'Stop telling God how big your storm is.
Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!'

author unknown

A STRONG CHRISTIAN

What makes me weak? MY FEARS.
What makes me whole? MY GOD.
What keeps me standing? MY FAITH.
What makes me compassionate? MY selflessness.
What makes me honest? MY INTEGRITY.
What sustains my mind? MY QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE.
What teaches me all lessons? MY MISTAKES.
What lifts my head high? MY PRIDE, NOT ARROGANCE.
What if I can't go on? NOT AN OPTION.
What makes me victorious? MY COURAGE TO CLIMB AND FAITH IN GOD.
What makes me competent? MY CONFIDENCE.
What makes me beautiful? MY EVERYTHING.
What makes me a man/woman? MY HEART.
Who says I need love? I DO.
What empowers me? MY GOD.
Who am I? I AM A STRONG CHRISTIAN.
...author unknown, taken from "The Flame" bulletin at my church, Bethesda Temple.