cHamz

The Blind

There were once two men,

both seriously ill, in the same small room of a great hospital.

Quite a small room, it had one window looking out on the world.

One of the men, as part of his treatment,

was allowed to sit up in bed for an hour in the afternoon

(something to do with draining the fluid from his lungs).

His bed was next to the window.

But the other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

Every afternoon when the man next to the window was propped up for his hour,

he would pass the time by describing what he could see outside.

The window apparently overlooked a park where there was a lake.

There were ducks and swans in the lake,

and children came to throw them bread and sail model boats.

Young lovers walked hand in hand beneath the trees,

and there were flowers and stretches of grass, games of softball.

And at the back, behind the fringe of trees, was a fine view of the city skyline.

The man on his back would listen to the other man describe all of this,

enjoying every minute. He heard how a child nearly fell into the lake,

and how beautiful the girls were in their summer dresses.

His friend’s descriptions eventually made him feel he could almost see

what was happening outside.

Then one fine afternoon, the thought struck him:

Why should the man next to the window have all the pleasure

of seeing what was going on? Why shouldn’t he get the chance?

He felt ashamed, but the more he tried not to think like that,

the worse he wanted a change. He’d do anything!

One night as he stared at the ceiling, the other man suddenly woke up,

coughing and choking, his hands groping for the button

that would bring the nurse running. But the man watched without moving

- even when the sound of breathing stopped.

In the morning, the nurse found the other man dead,

and quietly took his body away.

As soon as it seemed decent,

the man asked if he could be switched to the bed next to the window.

So they moved him, tucked him in, and made him quite comfortable.

The minute they left, he propped himself up on one elbow,

painfully and laboriously, and looked out the window.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate

who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind

and could not even see the wall.

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

It's All Good

I heard the story told recently about a king in Africa

who had a close friend that he grew up with.

The friend had a habit of looking at every situation

that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition.

The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king.

The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns,

for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.

Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!".

To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear

of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village.

They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

As they came near to set fire to the wood,

they noticed that the king was missing a thumb.

Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole.

So untying the king they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event

that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend.

He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

"You were right" he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off."

And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened.

"And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "this is good!"

"What do you mean, 'this is good'!

How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year."

"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you

and the cannibals surely have eaten me."

WHO'LL TAKE THE SON?

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.

They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to

Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great

works of art.

When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He

was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another

soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only

son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock

at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large

package in his hands.

He said, “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for

whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and

he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the

heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your

love for art.

The young man held out his package. “I know this isn’t much.

I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have

wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son,

painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the

soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting.

The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled

up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay

him for the picture.

“Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a

gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors

came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son

before he showed them any of the other great works he had

collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great

auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered,

excited over seeing the great paintings and having an

opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the

platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his

gavel.

“We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will

bid for this picture?” There was silence. Then a voice in the

back of the room shouted. “We want to see the famous

paintings. Skip this one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will

someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding?

$100, $200?” Another voice shouted angrily. “We didn’t come

to see this painting.. We came to see the Van Goghs, the

Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!” But still the auctioneer

continued. “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was

the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for

the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We

have $10, who will bid $20?” “Give it to him for $10. Let’s see

the masters.” “$10 is the bid, won’t someone bid $20?”

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of

the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their

collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once,

twice, SOLD for $10!” A man sitting on the second row

shouted. “Now let’s get on with the collection!”

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is

over.” “What about the paintings?” “I am sorry. When I was

called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation

in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this

time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned.

Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate,

including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every

thing!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God gave his son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much

like the auctioneer, His message today is, “The son, the son,

who’ll take the son?” Because you see, whoever takes the Son

gets everything.

HEAVEN AND HELL

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell.

The Lord said to the man

"come, I will show you hell".

They entered a room where a group of famished people

sat around a huge pot of cooking stew.

Everyone in the room was starving and desperate.

Each person held a spoon that reached the pot

but each spoon had a handle so much longer

than their own arms that it could not be used

to get the stew into their own mouths.

The suffering was terrible.

"Come now, I will show you heaven"

the Lord said.

They entered another room identical to the first,

the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons.

But here everyone was happy and well nourished.

"I don't understand" said the man.

"Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room? Everything is the same."

"Here," said the Lord

"they have learned to feed each other"

ISLAND OF FEELINGS

Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived; happiness, sadness,

knowledge, and all the others, including love. One day it was announced to all of the

feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings

prepared their boats to leave. Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve

the island paradise until the last possible moment.

When the island was almost totally under, love decided it was time to leave. She began

looking for someone to ask for help. Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat.

Love asked, "Richness, can I come with you on your boat?"

Richness answered, " I'm sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there

would be no room for you anywhere."

Then Love decided to ask Vanity for help who was passing in a beautiful vessel.Love cried

out, "Vanity, help me please." "I can't help you", Vanity said, " You are all wet and will

damage my beautiful boat."

Next, Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, " Sadness, please let me go with you."

Sadness answered, "Love, I'm sorry, but, I just need to be alone now."

Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, " Happiness, please take me with you." But

Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn't hear Love calling to him.

Love began to cry. Then, she heard a voice say, "Come Love, I will take you with me." It

was an elder.

Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name.

When they arrived on land the elder went on his way. Love realized how much she owed

the elder. Love then found Knowledge and asked, "Who was it that helped me?" "It was

Time", Knowledge answered. "But why did Time help me when no one else would?", Love

asked. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity, answered, "Because only

Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

THE CROSS

A young man was at the end of his rope.

Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said,

"I have too heavy of a cross to bear"

The Lord replied,

"My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room.

Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief and said,

"Thank you, Lord," and he did as he was told.

Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses,

some so large the tops were not visible.

Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied,

"My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

THE PRAYER AND THE CHAIR

A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father.

When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed

with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed.

The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

"I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?"

"I'm the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied.

"When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.

"Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.

"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man.

"But all of my life I have never known how to pray.

At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,

but it always went right over my head.."

"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued,

"until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me,

'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.

Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair,

place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair.

It's not spooky because he promised,

'I'll be with you always.'

Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now."

"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day.

I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair,

she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

The pastor was deeply moved by the story

and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey.

Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor

that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock,

he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes,

and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later,

I found him dead. But there was something strange.

In fact, beyond strange--kinda weird.

Apparently, just before Daddy died,

he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."

FAITH

A young man who had been raised as an atheist

was training to be an Olympic diver.

The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend.

The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend's witnessing,

but he heard it often.

One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended.

The lights were all off, but as the pool had big skylights

and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.

The young man climbed up to the highest diving board

and as he turned his back to

the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out,

he saw his shadow on the wall.

The shadow of his body was in the shape of a cross.

Instead of diving, he knelt down

and finally invited Jesus into his heart.

As the young man stood, a maintenance man

walked in and turned the lights on.

His eyes were filled with tears of Joy and Thanksgiving.

The pool had been drained for repairs.

Not only God deliverd him from his spiritual death.

He has saved him from the death he would have faced

if he had not prayed the prayer to salvation.

Things Aren’t Always What they Seem

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a

wealthy family.

The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the

mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a small

space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in

the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older

angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor,

but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food

they had the couple let the angel sleep in their bed where they could

have a good night’s rest.

When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his

wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay

dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older

angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything,

yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was

willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied.

“When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was

gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed

with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall

so he wouldn’t find it.” Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed,

the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things

aren’t always what they seem.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out

the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that

every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until

some time later

TWO CHOICES

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a

good mood and always has something positive to say. When

someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I

were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was havinga bad

day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the

positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to

Michael and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive

person all of the time. How do you do it?”

Michael replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself,

‘Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a

good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to

be in a good mood.

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim

or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

“Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to

accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of

life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it isn’t that easy,” I protested.

“Yes, it is,” Michael said. Life is all about choices. When you

cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose

how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect

your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. “The

bottom line is: It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the tower

industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often

thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of

reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a

serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications

tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care,

Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his

back.

I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked

him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins.

Wanna see my scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone

through his mind as the accident took place. “The first thing that

went through my mind was the well being of my soon-to-be-

born daughter,” Michael

replied. “Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had

two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I

chose to live.”

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

Michael continued, “The paramedics were great.They kept

telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me

into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors

and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘He’s a dead

man.’ I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was a big burly nurse

shouting questions at me,” said Michael. “She asked if I was

allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses

stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep

breath and yelled, ‘Gravity.’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I

am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead’.”

Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because

of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we

have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

God be with You

A group of friends will have a picnic. Before leaving , one of their mom said:

"God be with you."

But her son jokingly answered: "We didn't almost fit on the car.

God has no place already , yet if he still want to come, he can stay at the back seat together

with the trays of eggs!"

and they all laugh..

On their way , they met an accident and all of them died..

What's more surprising is that, of all the eggs at the back seat , NOTHiNG breaks even a

little crack..

THE EMPTY EGG

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in

second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became

exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At

other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness

of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the

Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a

special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning

problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said,

"there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to

take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after

they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her

soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal

illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and

Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste

any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my

problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to

be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises

and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind

him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other

students snickered, and Doris' face burned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice,

Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them

the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave

each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this

home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you

understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically-all except for Jeremy. He listened

intently. His eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he

understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the

assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour

for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a

blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about

phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their

eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math

lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a

flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we

know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss

Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real.

Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly.

Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy

spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be

Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she

had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she

quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller,

aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is

empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb

was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father

raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the schoolyard, Doris cried. The

cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were

surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket....... all of them empty.

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cHamz

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