Father and Son

Be more than his dad,
Be a chum to the lad;
Be a part of his life
Every hour of the day;
Find time to talk with him,
Take time to walk with him,
Share in his studies
And share in his play.

Take him to places,
To ball games and races,
Teach him the things
That you want him to know;
Don’t live apart from him,
Don’t keep your heart from him,
Be his best comrade,
He’s needing you so!

Never neglect him,
Though young, still respect him,
Hear his opinions
With patience and pride;
Show him his error,
But be not a terror,
Grim-visaged and fearful,
When he’s at your side.

Know what his thoughts are,
Know what his sports are,
Know all his playmates,
It’s easy to learn to;
Be such a father
That when troubles gather
You’ll be the first one
For counsel, he’ll turn to.

You can inspire him
With courage, and fire him
Hot with ambition
For deeds that are good;
He’ll not betray you
Nor illy repay you
If you have taught him
The things that you should.

Father and son
Must in all things be one –
Partners in trouble
And comrades in joy.

More than a dad
Was the best pal you had;
Be such a chum
As you knew, to your boy.

~Edgar Guest~

Life After Death

We all die, and that is a scary thought for most of us. We don’t want to die, and we don’t want the people we love to die. The thing is, it’s true. We can’t get around it. We can take vitamins, eat right, exercise and even get lifts for different parts of our body to look younger, but.. Someday we will all die.Okay, so we know this. What is the point of reminding you about it. Just this, if you where to die today in…say a car wreck, what would happen to you? Not your body, we already know it’s laying there on the side of the road, dead. I mean the part of you that made that body think, love,  move , eat, breath… live. Your spirit. What happens to it? To people like me, only one thing will happen. The Person that loves me most in this whole world will say, Arise My Love!  And guess what? I will!  I will rise to no more pain, no more sadness or crying, and  I will rise to joy, peace, and a happiness that only He can give. Amazing isn’t it? The thing is, all I did to get in this position was: tell Him I was sorry for all the creepy things I had done before I met Him, and ask Him to come in to my home. (body, heart) Well, He accepted my apology, said “I  love you”, cleaned my home and moved in! So by now you have probably figured out this Person is JESUS, and if you want, He can do for you what He did for me.
It is simple and it goes like this: Jesus, I know you you are the Son of God,you died for my sins, and God raised you from the dead. Jesus, please forgive me of my sins, and come into my heart. Thank you.
Okay, that’s it! Find a church, get baptized and go tell others! If you want to talk, or need a Bible, email me. I will get a Bible out to you that day or the next.  Below is some wonderful scriptures that you can read. They are about all the great things God does for you! Also below is the song that inspired this page. It is about the ultimate Victory! Remember this, you don’t ever have to be afraid of death again. You know why…. because someday, He will say to you: ARISE MY LOVE! God Bless, Becky

45 lessons life taught me

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone…

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you, really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone for everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Might As Well Dance!

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just
because they haven’t thought about it, don’t have it on
their schedule, didn’t know it was coming, or are too rigid to depart
from their routine.

I was thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic
who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort
to cut back. From then on, I’ve tried to be a little more
flexible. How many people will eat at home because
someone didn’t suggest going out to dinner until after something had
been thawed? Does the word “refrigeration” mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence
while you watched television? I cannot count the times I called
my friends and said, “How about going to lunch in a half
hour?” only to hear an excuse like ‘I can’t, I have work to do; I
brought my lunch, I wish I had known yesterday; I had a late
breakfast; It looks like rain.’ Some of them may die tonight,
so you may never have lunch together.

Because we cramso much into our lives, we tend to schedule
our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to
ourselves when all the conditions are perfect! We’ll go back
and visit the grandparents when we get the baby toilet-trained.
We’ll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We’ll
go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get
shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we’ll awaken, and all we have to show for our lives
is a litany of “I’m going to,” “I plan on,” and “Someday, when
things are settled down a bit.”

When anyone calls my ‘seize the moment’ friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new
ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her
for five minutes, and you’re ready to trade your bad feet for a
pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips didn’t touch sausage for years. Being from the Midwest,
I love grilled sausages. It’s just that I might as well apply
it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the
digestive process.
The other day, I picked up a grilled footlong at a restaurant.
If my car had flipped on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now, go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to, not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon
and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call
and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry-go-round or listened
to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly’s
erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you
run through each day on the fly? When you ask “How are you?” did
you listen to their reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, “We’ll do
it tomorrow”? And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?
Let a good friendship die? Just call to say “Hi”?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift.
Thrown away.
Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the quiet voice before the song
is over.

“Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we
might as well dance!”
by David Sieker

Charles Shultz Philosophy

You don’t actually have to take the quiz.
Just read the email straight through, and you’ll get
the point, an awesome one, that it is trying to make.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are
no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the
applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier?

The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the
ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They
are the ones that care.

The Wants of Man

John Quincy Adams

“Man wants but little here below, 
Nor wants that little long.” 
‘Tis not with me exactly so; 
But ’tis so in the song. 
My wants are many and, if told, 
Would muster many a score; 
And were each wish a mint of gold, 
I still should long for more. 

What first I want is daily bread – 
And canvas-backs, — and wine – 
And all the realms of nature spread 
Before me, when I dine. 
Four courses scarcely can provide 
My appetite to quell; 
With four choice cooks from France beside, 
To dress my dinner well.

What next I want, at princely cost, 
Is elegant attire : 
Black sable furs for winter’s frost, 
And silks for summer’s fire, 
And Cashmere shawls, and Brussels lace 
My bosom’s front to deck, – 
And diamond rings my hands to grace, 
And rubies for my neck.

I want (who does not want?) a wife, – 
Affectionate and fair; 
To solace all the woes of life, 
And all its joys to share. 
Of temper sweet, of yielding will, 
Of firm, yet placid mind, – 
With all my faults to love me still 
With sentiment refined.

And as Time’s car incessant runs, 
And Fortune fills my store, 
I want of daughters and of sons 
From eight to half a score. 
I want (alas! can mortal dare 
Such bliss on earth to crave?) 
That all the girls be chaste and fair, – 
The boys all wise and brave.

I want a warm and faithful friend, 
To cheer the adverse hour, 
Who ne’er to flatter will descend, 
Nor bend the knee to power, – 
A friend to chide me when I’m wrong, 
My inmost soul to see; 
And that my friendship prove as strong 
For him as his for me.

I want the seals of power and place, 
The ensigns of command; 
Charged by the People’s unbought grace 
To rule my native land. 
Nor crown nor sceptre would I ask 
But from my country’s will, 
By day, by night, to ply the task 
Her cup of bliss to fill.

I want the voice of honest praise 
To follow me behind, 
And to be thought in future days 
The friend of human-kind, 
That after ages, as they rise, 
Exulting may proclaim 
In choral union to the skies 
Their blessings on my name.

These are the Wants of mortal Man, – 
I cannot want them long, 
For life itself is but a span, 
And earthly bliss — a song. 
My last great Want — absorbing all – 
Is, when beneath the sod, 
And summoned to my final call, 
The Mercy of my God.

The last lecture of Randy Pausch

You can watch this incredible, inspirational and uplifting “speech” at ABC.com.  Or, it’s in several parts on YouTube.  Here is part 1

Read more

The Duck & the Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was
Given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods;
But he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed
Back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Read more

The Seed

A successful Christian business man was growing old and knew it was time to
choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of
his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He
called all the young executives in his company together. Read more

PERSPECTIVE by Andy Rooney

Read more

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