Can't go Home

#1 · February 17, 2003, 1:43 am

Quote from Forum Archives on February 17, 2003, 1:43 am
Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

They say you "Can't Go Home". But I thought I'd try it anyway. I
went back to Seattle to visit my Stepfather for a couple of weeks, after
having been away for over twenty years. We really did have a good visit and
enjoyed one another's company immensely.One day I decided to take the bus
downtown, by myself, just to wander
around and re-live the "good old days". What a shock! I was amazed (and
appalled) at how things had changed . . . in fact, virtually all of my
perceptions were so negative that I ended up in a really foul mood. I then
decided that the only way to work all of the negative "vibes" out of my
system would be to walk back to my Stepdad's place even though it was over
ten miles. [This was a natural decision for me - I was "into" walking for
my health at the time.] As I walked, I carried on a running conversation
with the Lord: "Lord God, I don?t know what it's going to take to cheer me
up! I?m in a really foul mood, Lord! About the only thing I can think of,
that might cheer me up, Lord, would be to find ahundred-dollar bill!"That
thought stuck in my mind and I kept it up . . . "Lord, if I could find a
hundred-dollar bill, that would be about the only thing I can think of that
would cheer me up!" rumble grumble After a while, I was alongside a
chain-link fence enclosed Industrial Park bordering a four-lane arterial.
No residences; no side streets; no cross streets; no chance of anybody ever
finding anything along this stretch. And I found a hundred-dollar bill!!!
In Monopoly money!!! I laughed right out loud and said, "Lord, You really
knew what it would take to cheer me up!" I sang praises to my God all the
rest of the way home. I knew it had to be the Lord's doing because I have
never before nor since found any denomination of monopoly money!
I learned several valuable lessons from this:
1) God hears me.
2) God knows me better than I know myself.
3) God answers me.
4) God wants me to be specific when I pray (I had not specified a
hundred-dollar
bill in legal U.S. tender).
And, best of all,
5) God has a terrific sense of humor!

< + < + < + < + < + < + < + < +< + < + <

After living a "decent" life, my time on earth came
to an 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
lawyer, a kind and gentle looking man whose
appearance seemed familiar to me.

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 man 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 and down in my seat
I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look
at anyone, even my own lawyer, 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
representative 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've done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs
in Hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and
there is not a person who can prove otherwise.
When it was his turn, my lawyer 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 man had sinned,
I won't deny any of these allegations. And yes the
wage of sin is death, and this man 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 he has accepted me as his
Savior, so he is mine."

My Lord continued with, "His name is written in the
book of life and no one can snatch him from me. Satan
still does not understand yet. This man is not to be
given justice, but rather mercy."

As Jesus sat down, he quietly paused, looked at his
Father and replied, "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 man is free. The penalty for him 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'll 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."

< + < + < + < + < + < + < + < +< + <

Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow

Yesterday I met a stranger...
Today this stranger is my friend.
Had I not taken the time to say hello,
or return a smile,
or shake a hand,
or listen,
I would not have known this person.
Yesterday would have turned into today
and our chance meeting would be gone.

Yesterday I hugged someone very dear to me.
Today they are gone...
and tomorrow will not bring them back.
Wouldn't it be nice if we all knew tomorrow
would be here?
But this is not to be,
so take the time TODAY
to give a hug,
a smile,
an "I love you."

Have a Blessed day
Dave and Barbara
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Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

They say you "Can't Go Home". But I thought I'd try it anyway. I
went back to Seattle to visit my Stepfather for a couple of weeks, after
having been away for over twenty years. We really did have a good visit and
enjoyed one another's company immensely.One day I decided to take the bus
downtown, by myself, just to wander
around and re-live the "good old days". What a shock! I was amazed (and
appalled) at how things had changed . . . in fact, virtually all of my
perceptions were so negative that I ended up in a really foul mood. I then
decided that the only way to work all of the negative "vibes" out of my
system would be to walk back to my Stepdad's place even though it was over
ten miles. [This was a natural decision for me - I was "into" walking for
my health at the time.] As I walked, I carried on a running conversation
with the Lord: "Lord God, I don?t know what it's going to take to cheer me
up! I?m in a really foul mood, Lord! About the only thing I can think of,
that might cheer me up, Lord, would be to find ahundred-dollar bill!"That
thought stuck in my mind and I kept it up . . . "Lord, if I could find a
hundred-dollar bill, that would be about the only thing I can think of that
would cheer me up!" rumble grumble After a while, I was alongside a
chain-link fence enclosed Industrial Park bordering a four-lane arterial.
No residences; no side streets; no cross streets; no chance of anybody ever
finding anything along this stretch. And I found a hundred-dollar bill!!!
In Monopoly money!!! I laughed right out loud and said, "Lord, You really
knew what it would take to cheer me up!" I sang praises to my God all the
rest of the way home. I knew it had to be the Lord's doing because I have
never before nor since found any denomination of monopoly money!
I learned several valuable lessons from this:
1) God hears me.
2) God knows me better than I know myself.
3) God answers me.
4) God wants me to be specific when I pray (I had not specified a
hundred-dollar
bill in legal U.S. tender).
And, best of all,
5) God has a terrific sense of humor!

< + < + < + < + < + < + < + < +< + < + <

After living a "decent" life, my time on earth came
to an 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
lawyer, a kind and gentle looking man whose
appearance seemed familiar to me.

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 man 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 and down in my seat
I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look
at anyone, even my own lawyer, 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
representative 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've done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, "This man belongs
in Hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and
there is not a person who can prove otherwise.
When it was his turn, my lawyer 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 man had sinned,
I won't deny any of these allegations. And yes the
wage of sin is death, and this man 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 he has accepted me as his
Savior, so he is mine."

My Lord continued with, "His name is written in the
book of life and no one can snatch him from me. Satan
still does not understand yet. This man is not to be
given justice, but rather mercy."

As Jesus sat down, he quietly paused, looked at his
Father and replied, "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 man is free. The penalty for him 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'll 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."

< + < + < + < + < + < + < + < +< + <

Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow

Yesterday I met a stranger...
Today this stranger is my friend.
Had I not taken the time to say hello,
or return a smile,
or shake a hand,
or listen,
I would not have known this person.
Yesterday would have turned into today
and our chance meeting would be gone.

Yesterday I hugged someone very dear to me.
Today they are gone...
and tomorrow will not bring them back.
Wouldn't it be nice if we all knew tomorrow
would be here?
But this is not to be,
so take the time TODAY
to give a hug,
a smile,
an "I love you."

Have a Blessed day
Dave and Barbara
Necessary Legal Information

I do not mail idea-central unsolicited. If you are receiving this
newsletter from me it's because you have subscribed to this mailing list. If
you receive this newsletter and are not a subscriber then someone, other
than me, has forwarded it to you.

Normal Subscribe: idea-central-subscribe@welovegod.org
Normal Unsubscribe: idea-central-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

Web Subscribe: idea-central-allow-subscribe@welovegod.org
Web Unsubscribe: idea-central-allow-unsubscribe@welovegod.org

Email Group Owner: idea-central-owner@welovegod.org