InSpiRatiOns StOriEs...

[melody]

Irish Luck

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'

'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.

'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.

'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

saved his life this time? Penicillin..

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

Sing like nobody's listening.

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Send this to all of your friends.

 

[melody]

When opportunity knocks

A young man wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. He went to the
farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked at him and said, "Son, go
stand out in that field. I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If
you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my
daughter."

The young man stood in the field awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened
and out came the biggest, meanest looking bull he had ever seen.. He decided
that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran
over to the side and let the bull pass through.

The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big
and fierce in his life. It stood pawing the ground, it eyed him. Whatever the
next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one he thought. He
ran to the fence and let the bull pass through.

The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the
weakest bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull, he said to himself. As
the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just
the exact moment. He threw his hands to grab..... But alas..... The bull had no
tail.


Moral: Life is full of opportunities. Always grab the first one.

 

[melody]

The Package

A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.

As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring.Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his study room. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely,leather- bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. & Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible? and stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.

Many years passed and the married lady was very successful in business.!She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him.She had not seen him for many years.

But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of things.

When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years ago With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.

Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matthew 7:11, "And if you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him? As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible.

It had a diamond ring with her name engraved on it, the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words...'LUV U ALWAYS'... How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you do not have not; but remember that what you now have, was once among the things you only hoped for.


IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKAGED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKAGED THE WAY IT IS!

ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO BIGGER THINGS

 

[melody]

Want More Miracles? Be Generous!

This happened some twenty years ago.

One day, I discovered I only had P9,000 left in my savings, tucked safely in my desk drawer.
Aside from that, I had P700 in my wallet. That was it. My entire net worth.
The total sum of my wealth! I was the poorest "Chairman of the Board" this universe has ever known. (I was Chairman of two ministry organizations. )

At about nine that morning, a friend called up and told me that her daughter was in the hospital, and that she needed P9,000, pronto!

I wanted to ask her, "Are you sure it's not P9,700?"

I closed my eyes and asked God what to do.
And as clear as daylight, I felt He told me in my heart, "Give it to her."

So I told my friend as cheerfully as I could, "Pick up your money here," hiding my anxiety.
At the back of my mind, I was already imagining the morbid consequences of my decision.
Living with only P700 in my wallet meant not eating my favorite pizza.

A few minutes later, another friend barged through our front door, weeping, and told me about her family problems.
It ended with her very nervous plea, "Bo, can you give me P500?"

I started laughing. "Not P700?"

She shook her head, baffled at my question. I pulled out my wallet and gave her P500. (When you have a very thin wallet, that simple act was very difficult to do!)
But as I did that, a small crumpled, folded-up paper popped out of my wallet.
I picked it up and couldn't believe my eyes: It was another P500!

Where in the world did that come from?
Suddenly, I felt God was telling me it was "miracle" time.

In my excitement, I wanted to get my P9000 ready to be given away. (Who knows what will pop out as I did that?)

I went to my room and grabbed the wad of paper bills from my drawer—and shoved it into an envelope.
But before sealing it, I thought of recounting the cash.

I counted, "One thousand…two thousand…three thousand… four thousand…"
I began to cry when I counted, "ten thousand… eleven thousand… twelve thousand… thirteen thousand… fourteen thousand… fifteen thousand!"

To this day, I don't know where that extra money came from.
Perhaps I counted it wrong the first time.
But whatever reason, it really doesn't matter.
What I knew was God was telling me a very simple message, a message that I still bring in my heart to this day—"When I give, God will take care of me."

I knelt down and said, Thank you Lord. You still want me to eat pizza."

The Universe Is A Giant Mirror

I've never forgotten that lesson in my life.

Life is a mirror.
If I smile at the mirror, the mirror will smile back at me.
If I frown, the mirror will frown back.
I don't know about you, but I'll be very worried if I smile at the mirror and the mirror frowns back.

The universe operates like a giant mirror.
What I give, I receive.
Most of what happens to me is simply a reflection of what I've been giving to the universe.

People ask me why my life is so profoundly blessed.
One reason is because I've been giving.

I remember one old story I'd like to share with you.

Trip To Jerusalem

When I was 16 years old, I won a trip to Jerusalem from a Bible Quiz on national TV.
Not the "Trip to Jerusalem" where kids circle around chairs.
I really won a trip to Israel.

It was the first time I was going to travel, and I was going to travel all by myself for 41 days, visiting 20 cities all over Europe.

Obviously, as a 16 years old backpacker, I was scared and excited at the same time.
My mother sewed a hidden pouch on my socks and inserted my dollars there. Because they were very few.
Her instructions to me, "Don't stay in hotels, stay in convents. Don't eat in restaurants, buy your food and eat on park benches."

My first stopover was Athens, Greece.

I sat in the airport, waiting for my flight to Israel, when a somewhat plumpish woman came walking towards me carrying two huge suitcases.

I ran to help out. I said, "Madame, can I help carry your things?"

She didn't understand a word I said.

I knew a little Spanish, so I asked, "Puedo llevar tus cosas?"

She also didn't understand.

Being charismatic, I was tempted to speak in tongues.
But decided against it.
Instead, I used the universal language.

I held up my hands as though I was carrying two suitcases.

Immediately, she understood.
She handed me her suitcases, thinking perhaps I was a porter.

I then moved my hand like it were a plane, made the "whoooo" sound, and said, "Jerusalem."

Her face lit up.
She did the hand action of a plane, the "whoooo" sound of a plane, and said, "Jerusalem!"
We were going to the same place.

We walked to the airline counter.
I gave my ticket and the kindly gentleman gave me my boarding pass.
I was ready to fly.

It was the woman's turn.
She handed her ticket with a smile.
The man read her ticket, shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry Ma'am, this is an invalid ticket. You can't ride this plane."

"Buy Her A Ticket!"

She couldn't understand him.

They had to get a translator, what language I have no idea, to tell her that she had to buy a new ticket if she wanted to fly.

Tearfully, she told them that she had no money.
And that this was a stop over for her too, so she was stranded.
The man behind the counter raised their hands in surrender, telling her they couldn't do anything about it.

She picked up her suitcases from me.
She walked to a corner of the airport, sat down, and wept loudly.

I watched her from the distance.
How could I leave her like this?
But what could a 16 year old kid do?

So I prayed, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

I learned that was a very dangerous question to ask.
Don't take it flippantly.

Because in my heart, I felt God tell me, "Buy her a ticket."
Didn't He know that my dollars was in my socks?

I walked up to the counter guy and asked, "How much is a ticket to Israel?"
He said, "$256".

Gulp.

But I knew in my heart that I had to do it.

A Miracle Happens

I walked up to the weeping lady.

Through sign language, I told her I was going to buy her a ticket. (I tapped my back pocket and did my plane hand action again.)
She understood me immediately.
She literally jumped for joy and hugged me.
I disappeared in her embrace.

Gently, I brought her down.
I checked for broken bones and found none.
We both walked to the counter.

"Sir," I announced, "I'm buying a plane ticket for this lady."

The man gasped. He asked, "Do you know her?"

"No, I don't. I just met her here."

He shook his head. "Are you rich?"

I smiled. "No. But my Father is rich!"

He didn't want to sell me a ticket.
He called his big boss.
In a few minutes, the man marched in and they both argued our situation.

Finally, when our flight was about to go, I thought I heard the big boss sighed in exasperation and said, "Okay. Let the lady fly. But don't let this stupid guy pay!"

I couldn't believe it.
They were letting her have a free ride.
My dollars remained safely in my socks.

Both of us boarded the plane.
We even sat beside each other and prayed together.

I was sixteen when this happened.

You can imagine the impact this event had in my young life.
I learned that if we give, God will see us through.
I learned that giving will open my life to His miracles.

That is why to this day, giving has become a lifestyle.

 

[melody]

The Wise Songbird

Once upon a time there was a golden songbird that lived in a beautiful garden. It spent all its days singing the loveliest songs to the honour of its maker and the delight of all the people who heard it.

But the keeper of the garden, who was a foolish and greedy man, coveted the little songster, and one day he made a cunning net in which he snared it. The little bird begged the man to release him and promised to tell him three great secrets if only he would let him go. Now the gardener really was a very greedy man and rubbing his hands together, he eagerly released the bird.

Then the songbird told him it's three great secrets:Never believe all that you hear; Never regret what you have never lost, and never throw away that which you have in your keeping.

The gardener was furious when he heard this and said he had known these so-called 'secrets' since he was a little child and shouted that the bird had tricked him. But the songbird quietly replied that if the man had really known these three secrets, or only the last of them, he would never have let him go.

Then the bird added:"I have a most precious jewel weighing over three ounces hidden inside me and whoever possesses that marvellous stone will have every wish granted."

On hearing this, the keeper roared like a lion and cursed himself for setting the songster free. But the little bird only added fuel to his rage by explaining that since he weighed no more than half an ounce at most, as anyone with eyes could plainly see, how was it possible that a gem weighing more than three ounces could be hidden within it's tiny body?

At that the man tore his hair and lunged at the bird in a towering rage, but the little songbird flew to a nearby branch and added sweetly:"Since you never had the jewel in your hands you are already regretting what you never lost, and believing what I told you, you threw it away by setting me free."

Then the little songbird told the man to study well these three great secrets and so become as wise as the bird himself!

 

[melody]

Unconditional Love Story.........

Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 4 year old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper.
Money was tight and he became infuriated when the small child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree.
Nevertheless the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said "This is for you Daddy."
He was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction... He opened the box and his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

Then he yelled at her:
DON'T YOU KNOW when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside of it???
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,
Oh Daddy it's not empty, I blew kisses into the box, all for you Daddy.
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her for forgiveness.
My friend told me that he kept that gold box near his bed for years.
Whenever he was discouraged he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses.
There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

 

[melody]

Story of Three Dolls

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused.
"Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.
"This is a gift for a future king," said the man. "If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll."
"So?"
The sage handed him a piece of string.
"Pass it through each doll," he said.
Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear.
It came out from the other ear.
"This is one type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn't retain anything."
The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth.
"This is the second type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."
The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not reappear from anywhere else.
"This is the third type of person," said the man. "Whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."
"What is the best type of person?" asked the prince.
The man handed him a fourth doll, in answer.
When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other ear.
"Do it again," said the sage. The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.
"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out."

 

[melody]

Buddha and the Young Mother

ONE day, as Buddha was sitting under a banyan tree, a young woman went weeping to him with a dead child in her hands. 'Lord,' she said, 'my first-born, my only child, is dead. Take pity on me and bring it back to life.' And she wept as if her heart would break. The Blessed One knew the futility of reasoning with her in her then frame of mind. So he told her, 'Daughter, bring a handful of gingili seeds from a person none of whose relations have died, and I shall bring your child back to life.'

The young mother was overjoyed at this seemingly simple request She put her dead child tenderly on the lap of the world-teacher and went to the adjacent village. Her experience of the world was so little that she did not know the impossible nature of her quest. She went first to a house and knocked at the door. A young woman came.

'Will you please give me a handful of gingili seeds?' asked the young mother.
Most willingly,' said the other and brought a handful of gingili seeds. The young mother took them and, as she was about to go, she said casually, 'I hope none of your relations have ever died.' At that the other burst into a loud moan and said, 'Why do you rake up my unhealed wounds? Don't you know that my only brother died but a month ago and that my father died only a year ago? ' The young mother said, 'I am very sorry for you, but I don't want your gingili seeds.'

She went to another house. She found an elderly woman there and wanted a handful of gingili seeds. The elderly lady brought them. Before receiving them, the young mother said, 'I hope none of your relatives have died' on which the other burst out into loud lamentations saying, 'My son, my only son, the boy whom I tended for twenty long years, he died six months ago. Who are you that remind me of my misery? The young mother said, 'I am very sorry, but I do not want your gingili seeds.'

She went to another house where she found a widow aged about sixty. The young woman said, 'Mother, give me a handful of gingili seeds if none of your relatives have died.' The old widow laughed and said, 'Daughter, I shall give you ten handfuls of gingili seeds if you want, but, of course, several of my relations have died. Why, my dear husband died thirty years ago. I felt it as an inconsolable loss then. But when I come to think of it now I don't feel so sorry. Unless people die, where is the room in this world for the babes who are born every day? The world will become overcrowded like Hell. Where is your father, his father, his father, and so on? Some of these must assuredly have died. Death is the one universal event in the life of every man who is born.'

The young mother felt how impossible her quest was and so returned to Buddha and told him about the fruitlessness of her search. 'Daughter,' said Gautama, 'go, bury your child. This is the way of the world. None can cure death here below.'

 

[melody]

Happy Forever

Once there was a rebel sufi sage. He was known for his love for freedom. He used to go around the country singing songs of rebellion. So the Caliph arrested him and put him in the shackles, from his neck downward, but no one could prevent him from singing songs of freedom. After many days, the Caliph thought of meeting the sage in prison. So he visited him and asked whether he had any trouble.
The sage said, “What troubles? I am utterly happy as I am a royal guest, your guest; how can troubles even touch me? I used to live in a hut but now you have put me in a palace. Thank you!” The Caliph was amazed hearing such words. He said, “Are you joking?” The sage said, “I can say so as I have turned life itself into a joke.” The Caliph asked him a straight question, “Are the chains on your hands and feet heavy and painful?” The Sufi glanced at his chains and said, “These chains are far away from me; there is a greater distance between the chains and me. Don’t be under the illusion that you have imprisoned me, it is my body, which you have imprisoned, not my freedom. You cannot turn freedom into prison, because I know how to turn prison into freedom.”

 

[melody]

Heart Touching Story..

One old man was sitting with his 25 years old son in the train.

Train is about to leave the station.

All passengers are settling down their seat.

As train started young man was filled with lot of joy and curiosity.

He was sitting on the window side.

He went out one hand and feeling the passing air. He shouted, “Papa see all trees are going behind”.

Old man smile and admired son feelings.

Beside the young man one couple was sitting and listing all the conversion between father and son.

They were little awkward with the attitude of 25 years old man behaving like a small child.

Suddenly young man again shouted, “Papa see the pond and animals. Clouds are moving with train”.

Couple was watching the young man in embarrassingly.

Now its start raining and some of water drops touches the young man’s hand.

He filled with joy and he closed the eyes.

He shouted again,” Papa it’s raining, water is touching me, see papa”.

Couple couldn’t help themselves and ask the old man.

“Why don’t you visit the Doctor and get treatment for your son.”

Old man said, “Yes, We are coming from the hospital as Today my son got his eye sight for first time in his life”.

Moral: “Don’t draw conclusions until you know all the facts”.

 

[melody]

Critics

Once upon a time there was a painter who had just completed his course under disciplehood of a great painter. This young artist decided to assess his skills so he decided to give his best strokes on the canvass. He took 3 days and painted beautiful scenery.

Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind and he decided to display it on a busy street-square of his small town. He wanted people’s opinion about his caliber and painting skills..

He put his creation at a busy street-crossing. And just down below a board which read-”Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I’m new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes etc. Please put a cross wherever you see a mistake.”

While he came back in the evening to collect his painting he was completely shattered to see that whole canvass was filled with Xs (crosses) and some people had even written their comments on the painting.

Disheartened and broken completely he ran to his masters place and burst into tears. Sobbing and crying inconsolably he told his master about what happened and showed the pathetic state of his creation which was filled with marks everywhere. Such was the state that colors were not visible, only things one could see were crosses and correction remarks.

This young artist was breathing heavily and master heard him saying “I’m useless and if this is what I have learnt to paint I’m not worth becoming a painter. People have rejected me completely.. I feel like dying”

Master smiled and suggested “My Son, I will prove that you are a great artist and have learnt a flawless painting.”

Young disciple couldn’t believe it and said “I have lost faith in me and I don’t think I am good enough.. don’t give false hopes..”

“Do as I say without questioning it.. It WILL work.” Master interrupted him.

“Just paint exactly similar painting once again for me and give it to me. Will you do that for your master?..” Master instructed.

Young artist reluctantly agreed and two days later early morning he presented a replica of his earlier painting to his master. Master took that gracefully and smiled.

“Come with me.” master said.

They reached the same street-square early morning and displayed the same painting exactly at the same place. Now master took out another board which read -”Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I’m new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes etc. I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. Please do a favor. If you see a mistake, kindly pick up the brush and correct it.”

Master and disciple walked back home.

They both visited the place same evening. Young painter was surprised to see that actually there was not a single correction done so far. But master wasn’t satisfied as yet and he told his disciple “May be one day was too little a time for people to come up with ideas and take out time out of their busy schedules to correct it so let us keep it here for one more day. Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can expect some corrections coming in.”

Next day again they visited and found painting remained untouched..

They say the painting was kept there for a month but no correction came in!

Moral of the Story: It is easier to criticize, but difficult to improve!

 

[melody]

A NIce Lesson...

Once a boy went to a shop with his mother. The shop keeper looked at the small cute child and showed him a bottle with sweets

and said ‘Dear Child..u can take the sweets…

But the child didnt take. The shop keeper was surprised.. such a small child he is and why is he not taking the sweets from the bottle. Again he said take the sweets….

Now the mother also heard that and said.. take the sweets dear.. Yet he didnt take… The shopkeeper seeing the child not taking the sweets… he himself took the sweets and gave to the child. The child was happy to get two hands full of sweets.

While returning home the Mother asked the child… Why didnt you take the sweets, when the shop keeper told you to take?..

Can you guess the response: Child replies… Mom! my hands are very small and if i take the sweets i can only take few.. but now you see when uncle gave with his big hands…. how many more sweets i got!

Moral: When we take we may get little but when God gives… HE gives us more beyond our expectations… more than what we can hold..!!

 

[melody]

A Beautiful Story

A little boy went to a telephone booth which was at the cash counter of a store and dialed a number.
The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:

Boy : "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?
Woman : (at the other end of the phone line) "I already have someone to cut my lawn."
Boy : "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price than the person who cuts your lawn now."
Woman : I'm very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.
Boy : (with more perseverance) "Lady, I'll even sweep the floor and the stairs of your house for free.
Woman : No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner : "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."
Boy : "No thanks,
Store Owner : But you were really pleading for one.
Boy : No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!"


This is called

"Self Appraisal"