Overlooking the Obvious may Result in Losing Valuable that are "Right Under Our Noses".

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev used to tell of a time when there was a wave of petty theft in the Soviet Union . To curtail this problem, the authorities posted guards around the factories. At one timber works in Leningrad , the guard knew the workers in the factory very well. The first evening, out came Pyotr Petrovich pushing a wheelbarrow and, on the wheelbarrow, a great bulky sack with a suspicious-looking object inside.

“All right, Petrovich,” said the guard, “what have you got there?” “Oh, just sawdust and shavings,” Petrovich replied.

“Come on,” the guard said, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out.” And out came nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home. When the same thing happened every night of the week the guard became frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration.

“Petrovich,” he said, “I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go.” “Wheelbarrows, my friend,” said Petrovich, “wheelbarrows.”

This story reminds me of how easily YOU and I can become distracted by things that are insignificant and miss out on what is truly valuable and important. Satan uses this powerful weapon to manipulate us. We're tempted to zero in on the temporary things that appeal to us. In so doing eternal blessings from God are overlooked.

While distracted by usless chips of wood and wood shavings Satan is busy "smuggling wheelbarrows" right under our noses! His ultimate goal is to steal from us a personal relationship with God.

Think about it!

Mike

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Children's Bible in a Nutshell
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one,' but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars. Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birth mark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti then He gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them. After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.') During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyway's, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution. unknown

Now, try being Happy believers all year long!
Best wishes to you all for a glorious New Year. Thank you so much for checking these posts from time to time in 2007 and for the very kind comments.

Debbie and I wish you happiness and God's love.

Mike
P.S. Some good advice from Francis of Assisi: "Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

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Hello friends. I trust your year is off to a great start.
I just had to share this beautiful story shared by a colleague,
Alan Smith, author of Thought for the Day.

TELL ME WHOM YOU LOVE

The following story is one of my favorites. It comes from
Max Lucado's book, "And The Angels Were Silent." I have shared
it before but want to share it again.

"John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his
Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way
through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart
he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His
interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida
library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued,
not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in
the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and
insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the
previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort
he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote
her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.


"The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World
War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know
each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on
a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a
photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared,
it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

"When the day finally came for him to return from Europe,
they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central
Station in New York. 'You'll recognize me,' she wrote, 'by the
red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel.' So at 7:00 he was in the
station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face
he'd never seen.

"I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young
woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde
hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were
blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in
her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I
started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not
wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her
lips. 'Going my way, sailor?' she murmured.

"Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and
then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly
behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked
under a worn hat.. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled
feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.

"The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I
felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow
her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit
had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood.
Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes
had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers
gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to
identify me to her.

"This would not be love, but it would be something
precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for
which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders
and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though
while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.
'I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell.
I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?'

"The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. 'I
don't know what this is about, son,' she answered, 'but the young
lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear
this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to
dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the big
restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of
test!'

"It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's
wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to
the unattractive. 'Tell me whom you love,' Houssaye wrote, 'And
I will tell you who you are.'"

The story carries its own application, so I will add no
thought of my own. Simply this scripture:

"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of
the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Matthew
25:40)

Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you whom you are.

Have a great day!

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Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouths of babes. What does Love mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:


"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image) Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- 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 what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Show love to all that you possibly can, not just "Your Valentine".
Mike

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The 7 "Super Foods" of the Bible www.beliefnet.com

Trying to eat healthy? Start by opening your Bible to Deuteronomy 8:8,
where the Israelites are promised "a good land…, a land of wheat and
barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey."
The ancients might not have known the word "antioxidant," but they were
onto something with this list of biblical "super-foods."

Super Food #1: Wheat

This grain, which is found in everything from bread to pasta to cakes,
is healthier when it is refined as little as possible.
Whole-wheat products (those that are certified 100% whole wheat) contain 30
percent of your recommended daily fiber intake, as well as high levels
of manganese and magnesium. A diet rich in whole grains is also thought to
increase your energy level and lower your risk of type-2
diabetes, gallstones, and other health issues.

Super Food #2: Barley

Another whole grain, barley can be found in breads and cereals, as
well as in hearty winter soups. High in fiber, barley is good for
intestinal health and can lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of
colon cancer and type-2 diabetes if eaten regularly. Barley also
contains trace amounts of copper, which have been shown to help
reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

Super Food #3: Grapes

Everyone knows that grape juice is tasty—but healthy? Grapes
contain nutritional compounds called flavonoids, which are believed to
reduce your risk of blood clots and protect your body from damage by
the "free radicals" found in LDL, or "bad," cholesterol. Rich in
antioxidants, grapes may provide protection against cardiovascular
disease, particularly in women.

Super Food #4: Figs

These sweet fruits, eaten either dried or fresh, are high in potassium,
a mineral that helps control blood pressure. They are also
high in dietary fiber, which may help you lose weight, and they are a
fruit source of calcium, which can help preserve bone density.
Fig leaves, which are not typically eaten but can be made into an
extract, are thought to help lower insulin levels in diabetics.

Super Food #5: Pomegranate

These strange-looking seed fruits are back in vogue as health-giving
super-foods, particularly in juice form. The fruits are rich in
antioxidants, which prevent LDL cholesterol from doing its damage, and
it helps prevent blood clots by keeping blood platelets from clumping
together. Pomegranates may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer
and lessen the symptoms of arthritis.

Super Food #6: Olive Oil

Olives, and the extra-virgin oil that is made from a single pressing
of the fruit, contain many of the antioxidants that are thought to
protect against the oxidation of LDL cholesterol compounds. They
also are high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which are called "the
healing fats" because they lower the effects of "bad" cholesterol while
raising "good" cholesterol levels. High in vitamin E, olive oil also
is thought to protect against colon cancer, and it is helpful in
fighting gastritis and other stomach ailments.

Super Food #7: Honey

Raw honey, in addition to being a natural sweetener, is replete with
antioxidants and is considered to be an anti-viral, anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal substance. It is thought to have tumor-fighting
properties, and may help prevent colon cancer. The daily
consumption of a spoonful of honey is said to increase antioxidant
levels in the blood, and is the healthiest sweetener for type-2 diabetics.
Honey also may have wound-healing and muscle-regenerating properties.

Be well and have a glorious day!
Mike

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