After a While

After a while you learn
The subtle difference between
Holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of a woman
Not the grief of a child

And you learn
To build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is
Too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way
Of falling down in mid flight

After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers

And you learn
That you really can endure
That you are really strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With every good bye you learn.

by Veronica A. Shoffstall

Lucky

Makes me miss my doggies. : (

Wrinkles ~ Shadow ~ Bailey

A GREAT DOG STORY

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that is toys stay in the box. It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer.

Something told her she was going to die of this disease.....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom.

Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon over came her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot.

But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

We all need to remember to live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God and never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of ours!Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

I Believe

I Believe - A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; pictures show that we lived!

I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't meanthey don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even overthe longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will giveyou heartache for life.

I believe - That it's taking me a long time to become the person Iwant to be.

I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. You never know when it may be the last time you see them.

I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe - That we are responsible for what we do (no matter how we feel).

I believe - That either you control your attitude, or it controls you.

I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be donewhen it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you whenyou're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe - That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types ofexperiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken, theworld doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing andsee something totally different.

I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours bypeople who don't even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I believe - " The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you"

When Your Hut's on Fire

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 This 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 gr ound. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

One Lord, One Baptism, One Faith, One Prayer

What would happen if believers from all over the globe came together to impact the world like never before? By living beyond ourselves, we can change our communities and our world. It started with a vision, and a blog. By word of mouth, LifeChurch.tv is partnering with over 1200 churches world wide to unite together for a series called 'One Prayer.'

Last weekend Craig did a preview message setting the stage for what is about to happen. You can watch this message at:

http://www.lifechurch.tv/message-archive/one-prayer/1

At LifeChurch, Craig will be doing the first week, follwed by 3 other pastors: Jentezen Franklin-Free Chapel Worship Center, Gainesville GA; Ed Young-Fellowship Church, Ft Worth TX; and Perry Noble-New Spring Church, Anderson SC.

One Prayer serves several purposes. Specifically, we believe it will…

Promote unity in the body of Christ as we stand together like never before.

Remove geographical barriers by allowing individuals to learn from great teachers and ministries around the world.

Refocus our understanding of the Church as a body of believers instead of a physical location.

Raise money to start churches in strategic areas across the globe.

Intensify our spiritual growth as we fast, pray, and seek God in concert with more than 700,000 other believers.

One Prayer is a series that will be launched globally on the weekend of June 7/8. Most churches will participate for four weeks: one week of teaching from your pastor and three weeks of teaching by gifted communicators who will visit your church via video. In each message, the speaker will answer the question, “If God would answer ‘one prayer’ for the church at large, what would you pray?” The messages will be titled, “Make us _________.”

Check out http://www.oneprayer.com/ to see a list of the participating churches, and to get full details of One Prayer.

Check out http://www.lifechurch.tv/ to see locations and times for our experiences.

You can also join us via the internet campus online:

Saturdays @ 6:30pm

Sundays @ 10 & 11:30am

Tuesdays @8pm.

Join us for this innovative series and see what God will do when we all stand together!

You can be a part of this worldwide movement by praying for all the churches preparing to begin the One Prayer series.