Some people always look for negative!!!

1. Robert Fulton invented the steamboat. On the banks of the Hudson River he was

displaying his new invention. The pessimists and the skeptics were gathered around to

observe. They commented that it would never start. Lo and behold, it did. As it made its

way down the river, the pessimists who said it would never go, started shouting that it

would never stop. What an attitude!

2. There was a hunter who bought a bird dog, the only one of its kind in the world. That could walk on water . He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw this miracle. At the same time, he was very pleased that he could show off his new acquisition to his friends. He invited a friend to go duck hunting. After some time, they shot a few ducks and the man ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds. All day-long, the dog ran on water and kept fetching the birds. The owner was expecting a comment or a compliment about his amazing dog, but never got one. As they were returning home, he asked his friend if he Page 14 of 175 had noticed anything unusual about his dog. The friend replied, "Yes, in fact, I did notice something unusual. Your dog can't swim."

Looking for the GOLD!!!!

As a young Scots boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and started doing odd jobs.

He ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers in the United States.

At one time he had 43 millionaires working for him. Several decades ago, a million dollars

used to be a lot of money; even today it is a lot of money. Someone asked Mr. Carnegie

how he dealt with people? Andrew Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is like digging

gold: When you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an

ounce of gold. But when you go digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go looking

for the gold."

Imprisonment

Charles Dickens wrote about a prisoner who stayed for many years in a dungeon. After

serving his sentence, he got his freedom. He was brought out from his cell into the bright

daylight of the open world. This man looked all around and after a few moments was so

uncomfortable with his newly acquired freedom that he asked to be brought back to his

cell into confinement. To him, the dungeon, the chains and the darkness were more

secure and comfortable than accepting the change of freedom and the open world.

David and Goliath

We all know the story of David and Goliath. There was a giant who was bullying and

harassing the children in the village. One day, a 17-year-old shepherd boy came to visit

his brothers and asked, "Why don't you stand up and fight the giant?" The brothers were

terrified and they replied, "Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said, "No, he is

not too big to hit, he is too big to miss." The rest is history. We all know what happened.

David killed the giant with a sling. Same giant, different perception.

Acres Of Daimonds

There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he

was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man came to him

and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The

wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own

city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own

country." And then he went away. That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy

and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent

because he was unhappy.

The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and

went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't find any. He looked all

through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally,

physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the

Barcelona River and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream

that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and

made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He

picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and

saw the stone sparkling. He asked, "Is Hafiz back?" The new owner said, "No, why do

you ask?" The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see

one." The man said, no, that's just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show

you. There are many more." They went and picked some samples and sent them for

analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed

covered with acres and acres of diamonds.*

What is the moral of this story?

There are five morals:

1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of

diamonds.

Page 9 of 175

· Attributed to Dr Russel Conwell .

· Opportunity is always under our feet. We don't have to go anywhere. All we need

to do is recognize it.

2. The grass on the other side always looks greener.

3. While we are dyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are dyeing the

grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us.

4. When people don't know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it

knocks.

5. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it

is never the same one.

Blaise Pascal

Someone once approached Blaise Pascal, the famous French philosopher and said, "If I

had your brains, I would be a better person." Pascal replied, "Be a better person and you

will have my brains."

Page 8 of 175

The Calgary Tower stands at 190.8 meters. The total weight of the tower is 10,884 tons,

of which 6,349 tons is below ground (approximately 60%). This shows that some of the

greatest buildings have the strongest foundations. Just like a great building stands on a

strong foundation, so does success. And the foundation of success is attitude.

Ballon Man

There was a man who made a living selling balloons at a fair. He had all colors of

balloons, including red, yellow, blue, and green. Whenever business was slow, he would

release a helium-filled balloon into the air and when the children saw it go up, they all

wanted to buy one. They would come up to him, buy a balloon, and his sales would go up

again. He continued this process all day. One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket.

He turned around and saw a little boy who asked, "If you release a black balloon, would

that also fly?" Moved by the boy's concern, the man replied with empathy, "Son, it is not

the color of the balloon, it is what is inside that makes it go up."

Quotes for you.

A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.  –  Unknown

The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory.   That’s the essence of it.  

–  Vince Lombardi

“Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth.  Socialism is the equal distribution of poverty.”    

–  Winston Churchill

“Real strength is not just a condition of one’s muscle, but
a tenderness in one’s spirit.”

 — McCallister Dodds

“Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence.A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it’s all over.”

–Octavia Butler

“The earth laughs in flowers.”  

– e.e. cummmings

Physical courage, which despises all danger, will make a
man brave in one way; and moral courage, which despises
all opinion, will make a man brave in another.

-Charles Caleb Colton

When everybody’s coming your way, you’re in the
wrong lane  

–  ANON

To be alive, to be able to see, to walk,…it’s all a miracle.  –  Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)  Polish Pianist

In the final analysis there is no solution to man’s
progress but the day’s honest work, the day’s honest
decisions, the day’s generous utterances and the day’s
good deed.  

–  Clare Booth Luce

May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,

And, above all, may silence make you strong. 

  — Chief Dan George

“It is nice to know that the computer understands the problem. But I would like to understand it too.”  

–  Eugene Wigner (1902-1995) Hungarian-born US physicist

“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of  yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of  tomorrow.”

- Robert H. Goddard

It is quite possible that the Arizona Cardinals will be winning the Super Bowl later today.  That is the Dream of the last few decades (yesterday,) the Hope of Today and the Reality of Tomorrow.

- Bill Austin

“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very
moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”

-Oprah Winfrey

“Physics is becoming so unbelievably complex that it is taking longer and longer to train a physicist. It takes so long to train a physicist to the place where he understands the nature of physical problems that he is already too old to solve them.”

- Eugene Wigner (1902-1995) Hungarian-born US physicist

“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of
themselves.”  

-  Maria Edgeworth

Making the decision to have a child - it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
- Elizabeth Stone

Famous Quotes - The Future

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

Helen Keller (1880-196 
American Writer

Happiness is not a goal, a place or anything to do with money…it is nothing more than a state of mind.

A broken heart is like a broken mirror… its better to leave it as it is… “Or hurt yourself trying to put it back together”

Sir William Gilbert (1836-1911) English Playwright and Poet

“Things are seldom what they seem, / Skim milk masquerades as cream.”

- Sir William Gilbert

“If you wish in this world to advance your merits you’re bound to enhance; you must stir it and stump it, and blow your own trumpet, or, trust me, you haven’t a chance.”

- Sir William Gilbert

“When you’re lying awake with a dismal headache, and repose is tabooed by anxiety, / I conceive you may use any language you choose to indulge in without impropriety.

“

- Sir William Gilbert

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon Will Put Some More

Life, BC and AD

In the following years, I had a front-row seat to changed lives. God re-fashioned my parents' character, their habits, their attitudes.

Their abundant affection and the inner experience I had of God's love under girded me during my awkward school-age years.

Then I became a teenager.

In ninth grade, I decided to change my misfit image for the gloss of popularity, whatever the cost. I'll come back to God later when I'm done doing things my way, I reasoned. I shrugged off any consequences and believed that to have a "good" testimony, like so many of the dramatic ones I had heard, that I had to have a "past."

At 17, I finally woke up. God helped me imagine how my life might turn out if I continued shunning His love and leadership. I thanked God for protecting me in spite of my unwise choices and I realized the incredible privilege of having been spared the pain that my parents had experienced before knowing Christ.