Net Miles Of Smiles

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

‘And what do you want?’ the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,’ he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

‘Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,’ Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. ‘He’s really, really
sick..and I want to buy a miracle.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said the pharmacist.

‘His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?’

‘We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,’ the pharmacist said, softening a little

‘Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.’

The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, ‘What kind of a miracle does your brother need?’

‘ I don’t know,’ Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation.
But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.’

‘How much do you have?’ asked the man from Chicago ‘One dollar and eleven cents,’ Tess answered barely audibly.

‘And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.’

‘Well, what a coincidence,’ smiled the man. ‘A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.’

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said ‘Take me to where you live. I want to see

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Comments (0) Sep 08 2008

When you are sad……I will dry your tears.

When you are scared…..I will comfort your fears.

When you are worried…..I will give you hope.

When you are confused…..I will help you cope.

And when you are lost….And can’t see the light,

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Comments (0) Sep 08 2008

Mary Southerland

When I was a little girl, my mother collected S&H green trading stamps. She collected them while I licked and pasted them in saving books. For months, she would hoard the small, green stamps until she had enough to trade for something she needed. It was always something we needed until that Saturday in December. “Get the green stamp books. We are going to town!” Mama said to me, a strange excitement in her voice. I assumed that we were going to buy a Christmas present for someone in our family since I knew Mama never bought anything for herself at the Green Stamp Redemption Center. To do so would have been a luxury she rarely allowed. Stamps in hand, off we went to find a treasure.

When we reached the redemption center Mama marched straight in, past the appliances, toys, hairdryers and vacuums, heading straight for the linens department. She did not look around or hesitate until she abruptly stopped, a smile spreading across her face. “It’s still here!” she whispered in relief. I remember thinking that whatever she had spotted must be very special to warrant such determination and such joy. When I realized that the blue treasure she clutched in her hands was just a tablecloth I simply did not understand. There were so many other beautiful things in the store and we had been saving those green stamps for months. And she was going to buy a tablecloth? What was so special about an ordinary tablecloth? I was confused — until we got home.

My family was poor — in material things — and we lived in what most people would refer to as a “shack”. My mother was an amazing woman who somehow managed to raise three children who never thought of themselves as deprived. Many happy times and scrumptious meals were enjoyed around our old, scratched, worn and downright ugly dining room table. That dilapidated table made the entire room ugly — until the day Mama bought the blue tablecloth. As she spread her treasure across that shabby table, an amazing thing happened. Not only did the table look beautiful, the whole room looked better!

Love is like that, its mere presence transforms the ugliness of life into a beautiful trophy of grace. Love covers the scars of sin. Love heals wounds and eases the pain of the past. We all need to be loved and we all need to love.

Jesus was and is the living illustration and certain fulfillment of His Father’s love. The love of God is unconditional, unfailing and will stubbornly pursue us no matter where we go, what we do or don’t do. God’s love satisfies the deepest longings of our soul and enables us to love ourselves and others.

Friend, across your defeats spread the hope of a tiny baby lying in a manger! Across your pain, spread the unconditional love poured out on a cruel cross! Across your doubts and fears, spread the promise of an empty tomb! The love of God covers all and changes everything.

Celebrate Him! Celebrate His love!

God, I need Your love. My life is filled with scars and wounds that can be healed by Your love alone. I celebrate the love You so freely offer. I accept the gift of Your love and thank You for its transforming power in my heart. I love You, Father, and celebrate Your presence and power in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What past experiences in your life need the covering of God’s healing love? Right now, make the decision to face and deal with these experiences in God’s timing and God’s way.

Why do we bury hurt and pain?
With what have you tried to “cover” the painful parts of your life?
Did it work? Why? Why not?

What does it really mean to allow God’s love to cover the sin and pain in your life?
What is the first step or action that you need to take in the process of allowing God to heal the broken places?
How do you think this decision will affect your daily life?

Getting past our past is a crucial step toward living a victorious life. God cannot fill hearts and hands that still clutch the pain of the past. Let go! Walk straight ahead in the love and transforming power of God. And when the storms come…He will hold your hand. One of my favorite messages to share is “Strength for the Storm”.

CROSSWALK

<><><><><>

“Life is nothing without the
sweetness of Love!”

Comments (0) Sep 08 2008

But anyone who does not love does not know God–for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4: 8-10

Comments (0) Sep 08 2008

One man who loved the color yellow had yellow carpet, yellow
furniture, yellow drapes, yellow walls and even yellow appliances in
his yellow kitchen. He slept in a yellow bed with yellow covers and
wore yellow pajamas. He got sick. You guessed it … yellow jaundice.

He called a doctor who came to his apartment building. The manager
told him he’d have no trouble finding the right one. “You just go
down the hall and come to a yellow door,” he said. “That’s the one.”

In a few moments the doctor was back. The apartment manager
asked, “Were you able to help him?”

The doctor replied, “Help him! I couldn’t even FIND him!”

I suppose it’s not always a good idea to blend too closely with your
surroundings. And that holds true for the way we think and behave,
too. We may not always want to be like everyone else around us. I
admire those people willing to stand out from the crowd.

People like a Miami mother who came to police and spilled out cash
and coins totaling $19.53. Her young son added another 85 cents to
the little pile. It turns out that, after two days, they were the
only people to return money scooped up from an armored truck that
toppled on an overpass and rained more than half a million dollars
onto the street below. Police said that witnesses reported seeing
rush-hour commuters loading money into their cars and driving off
while the armored truck employees lay bleeding. Police had pleaded
with residents to return the money, but got nothing but laughter
until a mother and a boy came in.

In a world that seemed to think alike, two people had a different
idea. They refused to blend in with those around them. It was as if
they were painted with a different brush. “I have children and I
needed to set a good example,” said the mother of six, who could have
used a little extra cash to supplement her low retail store wage.

Most people talk about values and what they believe to be right and
wrong. But I’ve noticed that our REAL values can be seen by the way
we live. It is the things we do and the choices we make that show
what we truly believe.

An 11-year-old boy who turned in 85 cents because he felt “it was
wrong for me to keep anything” stood out from the crowd. And a mother
who wanted to teach her children to do the right thing set an example
they will never forget. Like Ruth E. Renkel says, “Sometimes the
poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritances.”

When this Miami mother one day passes away, she will leave her
children a rich inheritance. Maybe not a pile of money, but she will
leave them an example of a life of integrity and self respect, an
example of what it is like to be painted with a different brush. She
will leave them something far more important than wealth.

If her children inherit her values, anything else is just money.

Paint them fortunate.

– Steve Goodier
http://www.lifesupportsystem.com

__________

P.S. AIN’T IT SO
Education pays — unless, of course, you are the educator.
– thanks to Mary

Comments (0) Sep 08 2008

The person who says it cannot be
done should not interrupt the person
doing it.
~ Chinese proverb

Comments (0) Sep 08 2008