A Blessing In Disguise

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly to be rescured, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

Then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrives home only to find his little hut in flames, with the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stung with grief and anger.

"God, how could You do this to me!" he cried and complained.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship's horn that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

God's blessings often come in disguises. They may show up as uncomfortable or dangerous and painful situations. Only later, sometimes decades later, is the true purpose of a situation revealed. Son keep trusting God even when you may not understand His purposes.

My Comfort Zone

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail
The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail.
I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.
I said I didn't care for things like commission checks and such.
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn't let me life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin,
I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.

If you are in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise and encouragement can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!

Our comfort zones can be our greatest enemy to our potential.
– David Cottrell

GIVE OR TRADE ??

Most people have a hard time giving because they have misunderstood the results of previous attempts. They remember being disappointed and victimized . They don't trust giving because they think they have given before and have been burned. But they have not.

What they have called giving was actually a form of trading. Trading is not giving. Trading is an act that focuses on what the return will be. True giving does not focus on the return. It focuses on the giving. The giver gives without conditions, and then moves mental energy to the next person to give to, and never looks back.

Accomplished givers become filled with self-respect. Often they are formerly takers who have reinvented themselves. They are not giving in order to get happiness in return. The happiness is already there. It lives inside the act of giving.

-STEVE CHANDLER.

Be

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley - but be.
The best little scrub by the side of the hill;
Be a brush, if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a brush, be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a mistake, then just be a bass -
But be the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here.
There's big work to do and there's lesser to do,
And the task we must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun, be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail -
Be the best of whatever you are!

-DOUGLAS MALLOCH.

The House of 1000 Mirrors....

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

-Japanese Folktale.

Success: A new Perspective.

Success is defined in different ways. Some see it in money, power, fame.
But it's also the concept of "reaching down", of being able to help your fellowman. Material things you can buy and sell, but things like hope and courage and faith and knowledge are gifts you give your fellowman to pull him up. Whatever you give out to others will come back. It may take a while, but it will come back.

-Richard Chavez.

Ownership

To own something means to declare that it belongs to you. To claim it. To make it a part of what you value and will defend. It can be a marriage, a friendship, a skill, a venture, a success, a mistake. We can own our values by declaring them. We can own our lives instead of pretending they belong to fate.

-FRED KNIPE

Prayer for the New Month

Dear God:

Thou All-Provider, Thou Who art my Inexhaustible Supply, my Sufficiency in all things:

I hereby covenant with Thee to devote my life and everything Thou givest me in Thy Service; to work henceforth only for Thee, letting Thee guide and direct me in all things.

In return I ask only for Wisdom and Understanding that I may know Thy Will and Thy Meaning when Thou speakest, and for Strength never to doubt Thy unfailing Supply and Support.

HAPPY NEW MONTH