Many think of religion in general and Christianity in particular as a sour and depressing attempt to suppress human desire and deprive us of the delights of life. Nothing could be further from the truth! Christianity forbids us no pleasures, save those that lead to temporal misery and eternal woe. God has forbidden you nothing that is conducive to your ultimate satisfaction and delight. Nothing!
Sam Storms

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Thank You's

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#1 · February 27, 2003, 12:13 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

<>< Thank You's ><>
 
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.
 
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm
rings, I give thanks that I can hear. There are many who
are deaf.
 
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light
as long as possible, I give thanks that I can see.
Many are blind.
 
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, I give
thanks that I have the strength to rise. There are many
who are bedridden.
 
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks
are lost, toast is burned and tempers are short, my children
are so loud, I give thanks for my family. There are many who
are lonely.
 
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures
in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, I give
thanks for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
 
Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous, I give
thanks for the opportunity to work. There are many who have
no job.
 
Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day
and wish my circumstances were not so modest, I give thanks
for life.
 
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<>< Daily Survival Kit ><>
 
1) TOOTHPICK - to remind you to pick out the
   good qualities in others. -Matt. 7:1
 
2) RUBBER BAND - to remind you to be flexible,
    things might not always go the way you want,
    but it will work out. - Romans 8:28
 
3) BAND AID - to remind you to heal hurt
   feelings, yours or someone else's.  -Col. 3:12-14
 
4) PENCIL - to remind you to list your blessings
    everyday. -Eph.1:3
 
5) ERASER - To remind you that everyone makes
    mistakes, and it's OK. - Gen.50:15-21
 
6) CHEWING GUM - to remind you to stick with it,
    and you can accomplish anything.-Phil 4:13
 
7) MINT - to remind you that you are worth a mint.
     - John 3:16-17
 
8) CANDY KISS - to remind you that everyone needs
     a kiss or a hug everyday.  - 1 John 4:7
 
9) TEA BAG - to remind you to relax daily and go
     over that list of blessings.--1 Thess. 5:18
 
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<>< Scrap Heap ><>
 
Though living a more Godly life, still he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that from the time of his conversion more trouble, affliction and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed to be going wrong.
 
One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped by to talk to him awhile. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials, the friend said
 
"It seems strange to me that so much affliction should pass over you just at the time when you have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here you are, with God's help and guidance, and yet things seem to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why that is."
 
The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he said,
 
"You see here the raw iron which I have to make into horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more. And this I do until it is finished."
 
"But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe."
 
He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of his shop.
 
"When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be good for anything."
 
He went on,
"I know that God has been holding me in the fires of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so, in all these hard things my prayer is simply this:
Try me in any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap."
 
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<>< Shape Up  ><>

During the Great Depression, there was a man who lost his job, his wife, his home and his fortune. He hung on tightly to the one thing he still had left . . . his faith in God.
 
One day, he stopped to watch some men doing stonework on a church. One of the workers was chiseling a triangular piece of stone. He asked the worker, "What are you going to do with that?"
 
"See that little opening way up there near the spire?" the worker asked. "Well, I'm shaping this piece of stone down here . . . so it will fit up in there."
 
As he walked away, tears filled his eyes, for it seemed God had spoken through that worker to explain the ordeal he currently was experiencing: "I'm shaping you down here, so you will fit in up here."
 
Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara
 
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