Dusting

Remember... a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.

"A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture"

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect - "in case someone came over". Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out living life and having fun! NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the "condition" of my home.

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must... but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?!

Dust if you must, but there's not much time... with beer to drink, rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around, again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind...
And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!

Share this with all the wonderful friends in your life. I JUST DID.
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

What Happens in Heaven?

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the
Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are Received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting
out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the
world. Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the
graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.'

I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that
station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the Door of a very small station To my great surprise, only one angel was Seated there, idly doing
nothing. 'This is the Aknowledgment Section,' My angel friend quietly admitted
to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How Is it that there is no work going on here?' I
asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a
place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.'
'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.'
'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.'
'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world.'
'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.'
'If your parents are still alive and still married... you are very rare.'
'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.'

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

***

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.:

'Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so
many wonderful people to share it with.'

Why God Allows Pain...

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS !

That Little Penny In The Parking Lot

The first time I heard this story, many years ago, I coudn't help to cry... It wasn't long after my father's passing. I was in the parking lot, leaving work at the same time as my boss. I had seen the penny next to his car and pointed out to him. He picked it up, put it in my hand and told me the story. I've never looked at a found penny the same way since. - Stinkypaw

I found a penny today
laying on the ground.

But it's not just a penny,
this little coin I've found.

Found pennies come from heaven,
that's what my Grandpa told me.

He said Angels toss them down.
Oh, how I loved that story.

He said when an Angel misses you,
they toss a penny down;

Sometimes just to cheer you up,
to make a smile out of your frown.

So, don't pass by that penny
when you're feeling blue.

It may be a penny from heaven
that an Angel's tossed to you.