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The man  slowly looked up. 
This was a  woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. 
Her coat was  new.  She looked  like that she had never missed a meal in
her life. 
His first  thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so
many others had done before.

"Leave  me alone," he growled.

To  his amazement, the woman continued standing. 
She was  smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling  rows.
"Are  you hungry?" she asked.

"No,"  he answered sarcastically.
"I've  just come from dining with the president. 
Now go away."  The woman's smile became even broader.
Suddenly the  man felt a gentle hand under his arm. 
"What are you  doing, lady?"the man asked angrily. 
"I said to  leave me alone."

Just  then a policeman came up.
"Is  there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No  problem here, officer," the woman answered. 
"I'm just  trying to get this man to his feet. 
Will you help  me?"

The  officer scratched his head.  "That's old Jack.
He's been a  fixture around here for a couple of years. 
What do you  want with him?"

"See  that cafeteria over there?" she asked. 
"I'm going to  get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for
awhile."

"Are  you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. 
"I don't want  to go in there!"
Then  he  felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up.

"Let  me go, officer.  I didn't do anything."
"This is a  good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered.
" Don  't blow it."

Finally,  and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got
Jack into the  cafeteria
And sat him  at a table in a remote corner.
It was the  middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had
already left and the  lunch bunch had not yet arrived. 
The manager  strode across the cafeteria and stood by the table.

"What's  going on here, officer?" he asked. 
"What is all  this. 
Is this man  in trouble?"
"This lady  brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman  answered.
"Not in  here!" the manager replied angrily. 
"Having a  person like that here is bad for business."

Old  Jack smiled a toothless grin. 
"See,  lady.  I told you so. 
Now if you'll  let me go. 
I didn't want  to come here in the first place."

The  woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. 
"Sir, are you  familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down
the  street?"

"Of  course I am," the manager answered impatiently.
"They hold  their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."
"And do you  make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly
meetings?"
"What  business is that of yours?"

"I,  sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the  company."
"Oh."

The  woman smiled again  "I thought that might make a difference."
She glanced  at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. 
"Would you  like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal,  officer?"
"No thanks,  ma'am," the officer replied.  "I'm on duty."
"Then,  perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"
"Yes,  ma'am.  That would be very nice."

The  cafeteria manager turned on his heel. 
"I'll get  your coffee for you right away, officer."

The  officer watched him walk away. 
"You  certainly put him in his place," he said.
"That was not  my intent. 
Believe it or  not, I have a reason for all this."

She  sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. 
She stared at  him intently.  "Jack, do you remember me?"
Old Jack  searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes "I think so -- I
mean you do look  familiar."

"I'm  a little older perhaps," she said.
"Maybe  I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked
here,
and I came  through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?"  the officer said questioningly. 
He couldn't  believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever
have been  hungry.

"I  was just out of college," the woman began. 
"I had come  to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. 

Finally I was  down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my
apartment. 
I walked the  streets for days. 
It was  February and I was cold and nearly starving. 
I saw this  place and walked in on the off chance that I could get
something to  eat."

Jack  lit up with a smile.  "Now I remember," he said.
"I was behind  the serving counter. 
You came up  and asked me if you could work for something to eat. 
I said that  it was against company policy."

"I  know," the woman continued. 
"Then you  made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen,
gave me a cup of  coffee,
and  told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. 
I was afraid  that you would get into trouble. 
Then, when I  looked over, I saw you put the price of my food in the cash
register. 
I knew then  that everything would be all right."

"So  you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I  got a job that very afternoon. 
I worked my  way up. 
Eventually I  started my own business, that, with the help of God,
prospered."
She opened  her purse and pulled out a business card. 
"When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr.   Lyons. 
He's the  personnel director of my company. 
I'll go talk  to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to
do around the  office."
She  smiled.  "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little
advance
so that you  can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on
your feet. 
If you ever  need anything, my door is always opened to you."

There  were tears in the old man's eyes.  "How can I ever thank you?  he
said."
" Don 't  thank me," the woman answered. 
"To God goes  the glory. 
Thank  Jesus. 
He led me to  you."

Outside  the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance
before going  their separate ways.
"Thank  you for all your help, officer," she said.

   "On the contrary, Ms.  Eddy," he answered.  "Thank you. 
I saw a  miracle today, something that I will never forget. 
And...And  thank you for the coffee."

If you have missed knowing me,  you have missed nothing.
If you have  missed some of my emails, you have missed a laugh.
But, if you  have missed knowing my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, you
have missed everything  in the world.

 
Have a  Wonderful Day And May God Bless You

            &nb  sp; The Three Trees


  Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their
hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure
chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be
decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

The second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and
queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will
feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

The third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in
the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to

my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am
reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always
remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of
woodsmen came upon the trees.

When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think
I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down.
The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a
treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should
be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew
he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he
knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.

One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, so I'll
take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was made into a feed box for
animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all
what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being
a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man
and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay
in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could
have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. 

The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the
greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree.
One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a
great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men
safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said "Peace" and the storm
stopped.

At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat. 

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets
as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the
man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill.

When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at
the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had
been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things do not seem to be going your way,
always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will
give you great gifts. 

Each of the trees got what they wanted, but not in the way they had imagined. 

We do not always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways
are not our ways, but His ways are always best. 

May God bless you, this day... and every day...

"Tomorrow morning,"
the surgeon began,
"I'll open up your heart..."

"You'll find Jesus there,"
the boy interrupted.

The surgeon looked up, annoyed.
"I'll cut your heart open," he continued,
"to see how much damage has been done..."

"But when you open up my heart,
you'll find Jesus in there."
The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. 
"When I see how much damage has been done,
I'll sew your heart and chest back up
and I'll plan what to do next."

"But you'll find Jesus in my heart.
The Bible says He lives there.
The hymns all say He lives there.
You'll find Him in my heart."

The surgeon had had enough.
"I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart.
I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels.
And I'll find out if I can make you well."
"You'll find Jesus there too.  He lives there."
The surgeon left.

The surgeon sat in his office,
recording his notes from the surgery,
"...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein,
widespread muscle degeneration.
 No hope for transplant, no hope for cure.
Therapy: painkillers and bedrest.  Prognosis:,"
here he paused, "death within one year."

He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said.

"Why?" he asked aloud.  "Why did You do this? 
You've put him here; You've put him in this pain;
and You've cursed him to an early death.  Why?"

The Lord answered and said,
"The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long,
for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. 
Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain,
and will be comforted as you cannot imagine.
His parents will one day join him here,
and they will know peace, 
and My flock will continue to grow."

The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter.
"You created that boy, and You created that heart. 
He'll be dead in months.  Why?"

The Lord answered,
"The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock,
for he has done his duty:
I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him,
but to retrieve another lost lamb."

The surgeon wept.

The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed;
the boy's parents sat across from him.

The boy awoke and whispered,
"Did you cut open my heart?"

"Yes," said the surgeon.

 "What did you find?" asked the boy.
 

"I found Jesus there,"
said the surgeon.
 

I was told a story about a lady in the hospital who was near death when an area Chaplain came to visit her. This Chaplain was a very young female with long blond hair. She listened to the lady who was ill and left her a small gift for comfort.. It was a tiny ceramic frog.

The next day one of the people from the lady's church came to visit. The lady told her friend about the beautiful young Chaplain who had come to visit her. The friend was so impressed with the way the lady had improved and felt the need to talk to the young Chaplain. In her search to find the young gal, she was repeatedly reassured that the chaplains are never very young and that there was never a gal that fit the description given.

Upon returning to the lady in the hospital, a visiting nurse entered the room and noticed the ceramic frog. The nurse made the comment "I see you have a guardian angel with you," As she held the little frog. We asked why she made the comment and we were informed that the frog stood for: (F) Fully (R) Rely (O) On (G) God

WET PANTS

 Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old
 kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between
 his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is
 going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has
 happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys
 find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out,
 they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
 The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and
 prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now!
 Five minutes from now I'm dead meat." He looks up from his prayer and
 here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been
 discovered.
 As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is
 carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in
 front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the
 boy's lap.
 The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself,
 "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!" Now all of a sudden, instead of
 being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The
 teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while
 his pants dry out.
 All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around
 his desk.
 The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule
 that should have been his has been transferred to someone else -
 Susie.
 She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough,
 you klutz!"

 Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the
 boy walks over to Susie and whispers,
 "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my
 pants once too."
 May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do
 good.

 Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any
 more than standing in your garage makes you a car.
 Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now,
 but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep
 the faith.

God and the Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and
the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his
direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw
close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

"Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

"Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to
forget what God can work in our lives, sometimes in the most
surprising ways. And remember with God, a mere spider's web becomes a brick wall of protection.

Lord, I thank you for all our
 Military, and their families.
 I Pray for your Brick wall of protection,
to protect them everyday!!!
Amen

We could learn something from these children.  Author and lecturer, Leo Buscaglia, once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was:   A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."
***************************************************
Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family.  One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted.
A little girl said, "I know all about adoption, I was adopted."  "What does it mean to be adopted?", asked another child.
"It means", said the girl, "that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!"
****************************************************
A four-year-old was at the pediatrician's office for a
check up. As the doctor looked in her ears with an otoscope, he asked,
"Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?"
The little girl stayed silent.
Next, the doctor took a tongue dep ressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?"
Again, the little girl was silent.
Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?"
"Oh, no!", the little girl replied, "Jesus is in my heart. Barney's on my underpants."
*************************************************** On my way  home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was.
"We're behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile.
"Really," I said. "I have to say you don't look very discouraged."  "Discouraged?", the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face... "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet."  ************************************************** Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.
Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.
On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.
"Guess what, Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me.....
"I've been chosen to clap and cheer."
**************************************************
An eye witness account from New York City , on a cold day in
December, some years ago:
A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, "My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!"
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel.
He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.
Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, you will be more comfortable now."
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her .
"Are you God's wife?"             

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back -

1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person -

1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose-

1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable -

1. Love
2. Family &Friends
3. Kindness

Three things in life that are valuable, but never certain -

1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

Three things that make a person -

1. Commitment
2. Sincerity
3. Hard work

Three things that are truly constant -

Father - Son - Holy Spirit

I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today; to guide you and protect you, as you go along your way. God's love is always with you, God's promises are true. And when you give God all your cares, you know God will see you through.

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