The articles are mostly from the internet and the authors are not known, unless otherwise indicated.

Traveller

A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveller left, rejoicing gin his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a life time. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman: “I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even  more precious:

Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.

Basket and Water

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.

His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?”

The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could go back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said:” You will have to move a little faster next time.” and sent him back to the river with the basket to! Try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was “impossible to carry water in a basket” and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said: “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. you are just not trying hard enough.” And he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said:”See Papa, it’s useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket!” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realised that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. “Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.” That is the work of God in our lives. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son. Take time to read a portion of God’s word each day, and remind a friend by sharing this story.

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly leave the rest to God.”

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”

Do Not Judge Too Hard

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps
Or stumbles alone the road;
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view,
Or the  burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Don’t sneer at the man who is down today,
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall , or felt the same
That only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, if dealt to you
In the self same way at the self same time
Might cause you to stagger tool.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins,
Or pelt him with words or stones,
Unless you are sure, yes double sure
That you have not sins of your own.
For you know, perhaps if the tempter’s voice
Should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
‘Twould cause you to falter too.

Our Little Brandon

My husband and I have a foster child. He is a joy to have in our family and is a delightful little boy.

Well, this child attracts people's attention, I really don't know why other than he has a big beautiful smile and is friendly. But, people usually notice him before he notices them.

Before he turned two, he went with me to take my Mom to the eye doctor. Brandon and I were waiting in the little waiting room. This elderly couple came in, the poor lady was really distressed. She whined and complained for a good 30 to 40 minutes. She was loosing her vision, had these big white spots in her vision. Her doctor had ran cat scans that morning, ran some other tests then had sent her to the eye doctor for some kind of test that she said was very uncomfortable. The entire time, she ignored Brandon and I, and I tried very hard not to say anything to her. She was just so miserable, her poor husband tried to comfort her and she would snap at him and complain some more.

Brandon was quietly playing. All of a sudden, the lady turned to Brandon and asked him his name. He didn't reply, so I quietly told her that his name was Brandon. Then she asked Brandon, "sweetheart, would you please come give this poor old lady a hug? I really need one this morning". My precious foster child, under two years old, ran without hesitation to this complete stranger. When she bent down to scoop him near for a hug, he not only hugged her, but planted a huge kiss on her check.

She visibly changed as she held him near. He stayed with her a few minutes, she softly talked to him. The rest of the time in the waiting room was spent with this poor lady talking to Brandon and I. She never complained again while we were there. Her face was happier and she was okay. (So was her poor husband) I firmly believe that God planted Brandon there that morning just for that lady.

No matter how small we are God has a purpose for us. If he can use a small, not yet two-year-old, look at how he can use us all. We thank our Savior each day that Brandon has been placed in our care.

给土干拜晚年！！！

是不是拜的越晚越“认真”啊？

Yes, the later the better. Thank you, Weili

Faithful one

Faithful one, so unchanging
Ageless one, You're my rock of peace
Lord of all, I depend on You
I call out to You, again and again
I call out to You, again and again
You are my rock in times of trouble
You lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is the anchor
My hope is in You alone

Two Horses

Kevin

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. The owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.

If nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her halter is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her. As you stand and watch these two friends, you’ll see how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she will not lead him astray. When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her friend isn’t too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two houses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need. Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see.

Good friends are like this …… You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there. Please listen for my bell and I’ll listen for yours.

“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

May God grant you always…
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
And a sheltering angel so
nothing can harm you.

Amazing grace

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

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Words: John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­i­ver, 1779). Ex­cept­ion: the last stan­za is by an un­known au­thor; it ap­peared as ear­ly as 1829 in the Bap­tist Song­ster, by R. Win­chell (We­thers­field, Con­nec­ti­cut), as the last stan­za of the song “Je­ru­sa­lem My Hap­py Home.”

Music: New Bri­tain, in Vir­gin­ia Har­mo­ny, by James P. Car­rell and Da­vid S. Clay­ton (Win­ches­ter, Vir­gin­ia: 1831) (MI­DI, score).

This is prob­ab­ly the most pop­u­lar hymn in the Eng­lish lan­guage—a tel­e­vi­sion doc­u­ment­ary was ev­en made about it. Per­haps it is be­cause its words so well de­scribe the au­thor: John New­ton was a slave trad­er be­fore com­ing to Christ. It was sung at the fun­er­al of Amer­i­can pre­si­dent Ron­ald Rea­gan.

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John Newton

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