by Inspiration | Apr 27, 2023 | Archives, Featured, Inspiration
If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be… If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as it is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out
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by Inspiration | Apr 26, 2023 | Archives, Featured, Inspiration
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up…. A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still, the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Still, the hands went into the air. “My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what
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by Inspiration | Apr 25, 2023 | Archives, Attitude, Featured
It was a cold winter’s day that Sunday. The parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car fellow church members… It was a cold winter’s day that Sunday. The parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car fellow church members were whispering among themselves as they walked in the church. As I got closer I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside the church. He was almost laying down as if he was asleep. He had on a long trench coat that was almost in shreds and a hat topped his head, pulled down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet, with holes all over them, his toes stuck out. I assumed this man was homeless and asleep, so I walked on by through the doors of the church. We all fellowshipped for a few minutes, and someone brought up the man laying outside. People snickered and gossiped but no one bothered to ask him to come in, including me. A few moments later church began. We all waited for the Preacher to take his place and to give us the Word, when the doors
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by Inspiration | Apr 24, 2023 | Archives, Featured, Relationship
Don’t be fooled by the face I wear, for I wear a thousand masks, And none of them are me. Don’t be fooled, for goodness sake, don’t be fooled. I… Don’t be fooled by the face I wear, for I wear a thousand masks, And none of them are me. Don’t be fooled, for goodness sake, don’t be fooled. I give you the impression that I’m secure, that confidence is my name and coolness is my game, And that I need no one. But don’t believe me. Beneath dwells the real me in confusion, in aloneness, in fear. That’s why I create a mask to hide behind, to shield me from the glance that knows, but such a glance is precisely my salvation. That is, if it’s followed by acceptance, if it’s followed by love. It’s the only thing that can liberate me from my own self-built prison walls. I’m afraid that deep down I’m nothing and that I’m just no good, And that you will reject me. And so begins the parade of masks. I idly chatter to you. I tell you everything that’s really nothing and Nothing of what’s everything, of what’s crying within me. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I’m not saying. I’d really like to be genuine and spontaneous, and me. But you’ve
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by Inspiration | Apr 23, 2023 | Archives, Featured, Inspiration
“Have you ever found a treasure?” I once asked my father. He smiled a big smile and told me this story. That was many years ago and I have never… “Have you ever found a treasure?” I once asked my father. He smiled a big smile and told me this story. That was many years ago and I have never forgotten it. “Once when I was about ten years old,” my father told me, “I went treasure hunting with my older sister. She had heard some people talking about a treasure chest that was supposed to be hidden in a hillside cave, way at the back of an empty lot about a mile from where we lived. One day during our summer vacation we went there and spent two or three hours looking for the entrance to the cave. Then, as I was trying to squeeze between two big boulders, I suddenly fell into a hole. It was the mouth of a tunnel that led to the cave. My sister and I crawled through the tunnel into the cave. It was very dark but we had brought a flashlight and as we shined it around we were shocked to see that there was a large wooden chest about ten feet ahead of us. Neither of us had thought we would
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by Inspiration | Apr 21, 2023 | Archives, Featured, Inspiration
How To Stay Young And Happy Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them. Keep only… How To Stay Young And Happy Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!) Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s! Enjoy the simple things. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him or her! The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is our self. LIVE while you are alive. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip
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