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 Vietnam 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 this 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 Gogh’s, 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 long time 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" someone shouted."$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!"



Message:
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.

photo source: photos8.com

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
1 John 5:12

MOUNTAIN STORY!

photo sourse : www.google.com

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"
-- Unknown Author

THE INVINCIBLE LETTER

Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating
room. She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right?
When can I see him?" The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we

could, but your boy didn't make it." Sally said, "Why do little
children get cancer? Doesn't God care anymore? Where were you, God,
when my son needed you?" The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time
alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes,
before he's transported to the university." Sally asked the nurse to
stay with her while she said goodbye to her son.

She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. "Would
you like a lock of his hair?" the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The
nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed
it to Sally. The mother said, "It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body
to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. "I
said no at first, but Jimmy said, "Mom, I won't be using it after I die.
Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his
Mom." She went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of
someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could."

Sally walked out of Children's mercy Hospital for the last time, after
spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with
Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home
was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She
carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his
hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other
personal things, back in his room exactly where he had always kept them.
She laid down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to
sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed
was a folded letter. The letter said:
Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will
ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm
not around to say I LOVE YOU. I will always love you, Mom, even more
with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if
you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay
with me. He can have my room, and old stuff to play with. But, if you
decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things
us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, y'know.

"Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma
and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but
it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I
love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like
any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus
himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's
knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told
Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you goodbye and
everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed.

"Well, y'know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal
pen to write you this letter. I think Gabriel is the name of the angel
who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give
you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him - 'Where was He
when I needed him?' God said He was in the same place with me, as when
His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is
with all His children.

"Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you.
To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool?
I have to give God His pen back now. He needs it to write some more
names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus
for supper. I'm sure the food will be great. Oh, I almost forgot to
tell you. I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone. I'm glad
because I couldn't stand that pain anymore ... and God couldn't stand to
see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to
come get me. The Angel said I was Special Delivery! How about that?

Signed with Love,

God, Jesus & Me

Story and Photo credits to : God's Page facebook.com (SIC)

Live simply. Love generously...and leave the rest to God.

SAND AND STONE

Story and Photo Credits to God's Page facebook.com (SIC)

A story tells that two friends were walking

through the desert. During some point of the journey

they had an argument, and one friend slapped

the other one in the face. The one who got slapped

was hurt, but without saying anything,

wrote in the sand:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis,

where they decided to take a bath.

The one, who had been slapped,

got stuck in the mire and started drowning,

but the friend saved him.

After the friend recovered from the near drowning,

he wrote on a stone:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved

his best friend asked him:

"After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now,

you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied:

"When someone hurts us, we should write it down

in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away.

But, when someone does something good for us,

we must engrave it in stone

where no wind can ever erase it.

Shared with much LOVE....

by: OFW for Christ 

POOR OR RICH???

One day, a rich dad took his son on a trip.
Wanted to show him how poor someone can be. They spent time on the farm of a poor family.

On the way home, dad asked, “Did you see how poor they are?
What did you learn?”.

Son said, “We have one dog, they have four,
we have pool, they have rivers,
we have lanterns at night, they have stars,
we buy foods, they grow theirs,
we have walls to protect us, they have friends,
we have encyclopedias, they have Bible.” Then they headed,
“Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are.”

MORAL LESSON: It’s not about money that make us rich, it’s about simplicity of having God in our lives.

Hands Of Success!!!

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered," I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked,"please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

DATE WITH ANOTHER WOMAN :-)

Photo credits: www.google.com

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked.

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, “she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time.”