There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily – gradually dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, ‘You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.
When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. This father knows best – use discipline now – when learning how to control your temper.
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, “God! How could you do this to me?”
Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
The Moral of the Story – It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God. Offer a prayer of thanks.
“Life never was intended to be easy. Rather, it is a period of proving and growth. It is interwoven with difficulties, challenges, and burdens…Yet these very forces, if squarely faced, provide opportunity for tremendous personal growth and development. The conquering of adversity produces strength of character, forges self-confidence, engenders self-respect, and assures success in righteous endeavor” Richard G. Scott
What I Want In A Man! (Original List)
1. Handsome
2. Charming
3. Financially successful
4. A caring listener
5. Witty
6. In good shape
7. Dresses with style
8. Appreciates finer things
9. Full of thoughtful surprises
What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 32)
1. Nice looking
2. Opens car doors, holds chairs
3. Has enough money for a nice dinner
4. Listens more than talks
5. Laughs at my jokes
6. Carries bags of groceries with ease
7. Owns at least one tie
8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal
9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries
What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 42)
1. Not too ugly
2. Doesn’t drive off until I’m in the car
3. Works steady – splurges on dinner out occasionally
4. Nods head when I’m talking
5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes
6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture
7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach
8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids
9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down
10. Shaves most weekends
What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 52)
1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed
2. Doesn’t belch or scratch in public
3. Doesn’t borrow money too often
4. Doesn’t nod off to sleep when I’m venting
5. Doesn’t re-tell the same joke too many times
6. Is in good enough shape to get off the couch on weekends
7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear
8. Appreciates a good TV dinner
9. Remembers your name on occasion
10. Shaves some weekends
What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 62)
1. Doesn’t scare small children
2. Remembers where bathroom is
3. Doesn’t require much money for upkeep
4. Only snores lightly when asleep
5. Remembers why he’s laughing
6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself
7. Usually wears some clothes
8. Likes soft foods
9. Remembers where he left his teeth
10. Remembers that it’s the weekend
What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 72)
1. Breathing
2. Doesn’t miss the toilet
Men – After being married for 44 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, “Darling, 44 years ago we had a cheap apartment, a cheap car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white tv, but I got to sleep every night with a hot 25-year old girl.
Now I have a $500,000.00 home, a $45,000.00 car, nice big bed, a plasma screen tv, but I’m sleeping with a 65-year old woman. It seems to me that you’re not holding up your side of things.”
My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 25-year old gal, and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap apartment, driving a cheap car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white tv.
Aren’t older women great? They really know how to solve your mid-life crisis! I Love my wife!
This blog post is about my second round on the HCG Diet Plan – the first time I dropped 20 lbs. in 28 days – I dropped one whole pant size and felt wonderful. No DIET is easy but to lose weight quick – that much in one month – I was absolutely thrilled. It is a very strict plan but worth it, I figure I can do anything for one month. I plan to drop another 20 in the next 28 days.
As I researched the HCG Plan I found different places offering the drops – with huge price differences – for the same thing. I turned to a naturpath that I knew and trusted. His HCG Diet website is very affordable and simple. Please put my name as your referral Melanie Hanni. If you would like to read more about the HCG plan email me at info@doggonedebt.com – HCG Plan in the Subject box – I will email you the free HCG e-book.
When I first looked into this plan, I was very skeptical, and thought I was looking at a fad diet, my naturpath assured me that he had fully researched it and found it to be safe and effective. He keeps his costs down to truly help people needing to lose weight. The best part was that the drops were just as effective as the Diet HCG Injections – shots didn’t interest me in the least. Bottom line if your New Years Resolution or goal is to become a healthy weight the HCG plan just might be right for you and give you the quick start your looking for.
The name Hanni is Swiss and originates from Switzerland. Very fitting for me as two of my favorite foods are Swiss cheese and Swiss Chocolate. Melanie means dark beauty, I was named after Melony in Gone With The Wind. I am my husbands dark haired beauty.
I am a wife, mother of 4, and grandmother of 6. I love my family, they are the world to me. I have a great husband who has supported me and our family for 30 plus years of marriage. My grandkids call me gramie Hanni. I am famous for Gramies Candies – I am told over and over I make the best toffee they have ever tasted. Everyone including my kids are saying I should go into business, if anyone would like to try it contact me for pricing.
My family tells me I am an excellent cook and I love to share my recipes, they love coming for holidays and other meals. One son came home and said no one cooks like you mom, I told him I’ve had a lot of years to practice and his sweet wife will improve.
Health is so important to me, we take it for granted, then when something happens and we no longer enjoy it, it becomes everything to us. I am a Natures Sunshine Independent consultant for that reason. Natures Sunshine products have changed my health and families for the better. I chose them not only because of quality but affordability, if you can’t afford to buy nutrition for the whole family it doesn’t do you much good. I know this is what families are looking for so I share these products with others, I have found it to be the BEST work at home business ever.
As I looked at family, friends and neighbors, I saw a problem most of us were facing – debt is huge in many lives, everyone just trying to make ends meet, I found United First Financial and the Money Merge Account - this zero debt calculator offers a FREE Personal analysis to determine if you quality for the program – Basically it is a Debt – Mortgage dashboard – or instrument panel helping you eliminate debt in record time.
Last but not leasttoxic free skin care is a must for any woman who loves beautiful skin and looking her best without the chemicals. We have beautiful cosmetics and offer a signature color print analysis – helping you find the most beautiful colors for your complexion and hair.
I look forward to serving you – if any of these things interest you – please contact me for more information info@doggonedebt. com 208-684-3065
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, as he was carrying me to safety 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 a package. “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would want 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 the 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 somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?” Another voice angrily. “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, 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 longtime 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.” “$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 everything!”
God gave His son over 2,000 years ago to die on the 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.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Christmas in Heaven
I see the countless Christmas trees,
Around the world below,
With tiny lights like heavens stars,
Reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular,
Please wipe away your tears,
For I am spending Christmas with
With Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs,
That people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can’t compare,
With the Christmas choir here.
I have not words to tell you,
The joy their voices bring,
It’s far beyond description,
To hear the angels sing.
I know how you miss me,
I see the pain within your heart,
But I am not so far away.
We really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me loved ones.
You know I hold you dear,
And be glad for I am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.
I send you each a memory,
Of my un-denying love.
After all, “Love” is the gift
More precious than pure gold.
It was always most important
In the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other,
Like my Father said to do.
For I can’t count the blessings
Or the love He has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas
And wipe away your tears.
For I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – A Story of Thanksgiving – Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a “minor” automobile accident stole her joy . This was Thanksgiving week the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss.
Troubles had multiplied. Her husband’s company “threatened” to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What’s worse, Sandra ’s friend suggested that Sandra ’s grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.
“She has no idea what I’m feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder “Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered… “For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended me? For an airbag that saved my life, but took my child’s?”
“Good afternoon, can I help you?” Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. “I, I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra. “For Thanksgiving? I’m convinced that flowers tell stories, ” she continued… “Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this Thanksgiving?” “Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.” Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”
Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer….”Hi, Barbara, let me get your order.” She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers. “Do you want these in a box?” asked the clerk.
Sandra watched – was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.. “Yes, please,” Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said, as she gently tapped her chest.
Sandra stammered, “Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . . she left with no flowers!” “That’s right,” said the clerk. “I cut off the flowers. That’s the ‘Special’ …I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today,” explained the clerk. “She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk. “For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel.”
“So what did you do?” asked Sandra. “I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly. “I’ve always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, ‘Why? Why me?!’ It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always en joyed the ‘flowers’ of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort!
You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.” Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort. I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”
Just then someone else walked in the shop. “Hey, Phil!” the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man. “My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator. “Those are for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously. “Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?” “Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced,” Phil replied. “ After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from “thorny” times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific “problem” and give thanks for what that problem taught us.”
As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra , “I highly recommend the Special!” “I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life” Sandra said to the clerk. “It’s all too… fresh.” “Well,” the clerk replied carefully, “my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God’s providential care more during trouble than at any other time.
Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love….Don’t resent the thorns.” Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. “I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out. “I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.” “Thank you. What do I owe you?” “Nothing…Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart…The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra.
“I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.” It read: “Dear God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”
Remember – Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns. With an attitude of gratitude may the Lord bless you this Thanksgiving Season.
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
Hi there my name is Melanie Hanni,
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.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Christmas in Heaven
He’s the Saviour of the World
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – A Story of Thanksgiving – Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a “minor” automobile accident stole her joy . This was Thanksgiving week the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss.