One night at 11:30, an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her—generally unheard of in the deep South during those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and rode away.
Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant combination console color TV and stereo record player were delivered to his home. A special note was attached. The note read:
Dear Mr. James:
Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.
NEVER QUIT
QUITTING IS A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO A TEMPORARY PROBLEM
It is more blessed to give....
Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.
Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish ..." He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew that the boy was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" The boy said, "Oh yes, I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it ... then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said: "It is more blessed to give..."
Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish ..." He hesitated.
Of course Paul knew that the boy was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" The boy said, "Oh yes, I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna give you one just like it ... then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said: "It is more blessed to give..."
What goes around, comes around!
Many years ago two boys were working their way through Stanford University. Their funds got desperately low, and the idea came to them to engage Ignacy Paderewski for a piano recital. They would use the funds to help pay their board and tuition. The great pianist's manager asked for a guarantee of $2,000.
The guarantee was a lot of money in those days, but the boys agreed and proceeded to promote the concert. They worked hard, only to find that they had grossed only $1,600. After the concert the two boys told the great artist the bad news. They gave him the entire $1,600, along with a promissory note for $400, explaining that they would earn the amount at the earliest possible moment and send the money to him. It looked like the end of their college careers.
"No, boys," replied Paderewski, "that won't do." Then, tearing the note in two, he returned the money to them as well. "Now," he told them, "take out of this $1,600 all of your expenses and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance for your work. Let me have the rest."
The years rolled by. World War I came and went. Paderewski, now premier of Poland, was striving to feed thousands of starving people in his native land. The only person in the world who could help him was Herbert Hoover, who was in charge of the US Food and Relief Bureau. Hoover responded and soon thousands of tons of food were sent to Poland.
After the starving people were fed, Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank Hoover for the relief sent him. "That's all right, Mr. Paderewski ," was Hoover's reply. "Besides, you don't remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college, and I was in trouble."
No wonder Ralph Waldo Emerson once remarked, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
The guarantee was a lot of money in those days, but the boys agreed and proceeded to promote the concert. They worked hard, only to find that they had grossed only $1,600. After the concert the two boys told the great artist the bad news. They gave him the entire $1,600, along with a promissory note for $400, explaining that they would earn the amount at the earliest possible moment and send the money to him. It looked like the end of their college careers.
"No, boys," replied Paderewski, "that won't do." Then, tearing the note in two, he returned the money to them as well. "Now," he told them, "take out of this $1,600 all of your expenses and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance for your work. Let me have the rest."
The years rolled by. World War I came and went. Paderewski, now premier of Poland, was striving to feed thousands of starving people in his native land. The only person in the world who could help him was Herbert Hoover, who was in charge of the US Food and Relief Bureau. Hoover responded and soon thousands of tons of food were sent to Poland.
After the starving people were fed, Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank Hoover for the relief sent him. "That's all right, Mr. Paderewski ," was Hoover's reply. "Besides, you don't remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college, and I was in trouble."
No wonder Ralph Waldo Emerson once remarked, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
What makes a kite fly?
A boy was flying a kite with his father and asked him what kept the kite up. Dad replied, "The string." The boy said, "Dad, it is the string that is holding the kite down." The father asked his son to watch as he broke the string. It came down.
Its same in our lives as well. Sometimes the very things that we think are holding us down are the things that are helping us fly. That is what discipline is all about.
Its same in our lives as well. Sometimes the very things that we think are holding us down are the things that are helping us fly. That is what discipline is all about.
WIN or PERISH
A general was about to lead his troops against an enemy that outnumbered his army 50-to-1. He and his soldiers landed on the shores of the enemy's country, unloded their equipment and ordered that the ships be burnt.
Once the ships were burnt, he said, "You see the boats going up in smoke? That means we cannot leave the shores unless we win. Our choices are WIN or PERISH." They won.
Are U willing to burn your ships and narrow your choices to WIN or PERISH in the pursuit of your DREAMS and GOALS????
Once the ships were burnt, he said, "You see the boats going up in smoke? That means we cannot leave the shores unless we win. Our choices are WIN or PERISH." They won.
Are U willing to burn your ships and narrow your choices to WIN or PERISH in the pursuit of your DREAMS and GOALS????
The real wonders of the world.....
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present “Seven Wonders of the World.” Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:
1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter’s Basilica
7. China’s Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many.”
The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.
The girl's list read:
1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch
4. To Taste
5. To Feel
6. To Laugh
7. And to Love
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous!
Remember the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.
1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter’s Basilica
7. China’s Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many.”
The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.
The girl's list read:
1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch
4. To Taste
5. To Feel
6. To Laugh
7. And to Love
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous!
Remember the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.
My favourite HERO...
This girl was born into a poor home in Tennessee. At age four, she had double pneumonia with scarlet fever, a deadly combination which left her paralyzed with polio. She had to wear a brace and the doctor said she would never put her foot on the earth. But her mother encouraged her by telling that with God-given ability, persistence and faith she could do anything she wanted. The girl said, "I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth." At the age of nine, against the advice of the doctors, she removed the brace and took the first step the doctors had said she never would. At the age of 13, she entered her first race and came way, way last. And then she entered her second, and third and fourth and came way, way last until a day came when she came in first.
At the age of 15 she went to Tennessee State University where she told her coach, "I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth." He said, "With your spirit nobody can stop you and besides, I will help you."
The day came when she was at the Olympics and at the Olympics you are matched with the best of the best. She was matched against a woman named Jutta Heine who had never been beaten. The first event was the 100-meter race. She beat Jutta Heine and won her first gold medal. The second event was the 200-meter race and she beat Jutta a second time and won her second gold medal. The third event was the 400-meter relay and she was racing against Jutta one more time. In the relay, the fastest person always runs the last lap and they both anchored their teams. The first three people ran and changed the baton easily. When her turn came, she dropped the baton. But she saw Jutta shoot up at the other end; she picked the baton, ran like a machine, beat Jutta a third time and won her third gold medal.
Thus, Wilma Rudolph created history: That a paralytic woman became the fastest woman on this earth at the 1960 Olympics.
At the age of 15 she went to Tennessee State University where she told her coach, "I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth." He said, "With your spirit nobody can stop you and besides, I will help you."
The day came when she was at the Olympics and at the Olympics you are matched with the best of the best. She was matched against a woman named Jutta Heine who had never been beaten. The first event was the 100-meter race. She beat Jutta Heine and won her first gold medal. The second event was the 200-meter race and she beat Jutta a second time and won her second gold medal. The third event was the 400-meter relay and she was racing against Jutta one more time. In the relay, the fastest person always runs the last lap and they both anchored their teams. The first three people ran and changed the baton easily. When her turn came, she dropped the baton. But she saw Jutta shoot up at the other end; she picked the baton, ran like a machine, beat Jutta a third time and won her third gold medal.
Thus, Wilma Rudolph created history: That a paralytic woman became the fastest woman on this earth at the 1960 Olympics.
Who's the fastest?
Two crows were flying home after a long day when suddenly a rocket whizzed past them. One crow asked, "What kind of a bird was that? It is able to fly at such pace in spite of flying throughout out the day." The second crow replied, "I don't care what bird it is but I would fly at the same speed too if I had my tail on FIRE."
Similarly, many of us wonder how some people are able to succeed in spite of all their difficulties. Well! They have FIRE within them.
Similarly, many of us wonder how some people are able to succeed in spite of all their difficulties. Well! They have FIRE within them.