Hallelujah- Lindsey Stirling- #aSaviorIsBorn

Have a wonderful festive season.

Listen and Silent

Mother cat with kittens came to old friend / Кошка привела котят к своем...

Toys For Tots: Guard Duty

Amazing Transformation of a Shelter Pet - The Story of Jimmy. Adopt Res...

On Site with Lueb Popoff

Man Is Horrified When She Sits Beside Him On The Plane. 2 Hours Later, His Mind Is Blown

                                                        

e've been hearing this forever: "it's what's inside that counts." It can be so difficult to see beyond the exterior that the statement sounds blatantly untrue. A person's physical appearance does arouse primal responses (i.e. a low waist-to-hip ratio in women represents fertility, which makes this a desirable feature, etc.) but we are more than animals reacting to biological triggers. People who can think and feel are able to look past these distractions and, sometimes, get a glimmer of true beauty. Some women just don't need anything else; some women are so spectacular, they're mythical.

“Hi! How are you?”

The woman smiled as she took the seat beside me. She had to lower herself slowly, squeezing her ample bottom into the seat, filling all available space.

Positioning herself comfortably, she plopped her enormous arm on our common armrest. Her immensity saturated the space around us, shrinking me and my seat into insignificance.

I cringed and reclined towards the window.

She leaned towards me...

 ...and repeated her greeting in an upbeat, friendly voice. Her face towered above my head, forcing me to turn to look at her. “Hi,” I replied with obvious loathing.

I turned away to stare out the cabin window, sulking silently about the long hours of discomfort I was going to experience with this monster beside me.

She nudged me with her meaty arm. “My name is Laura. I’m from Britain. How about you? Japan?”

“Malaysia,” I barked.

“I’m so sorry! Will you accept my heartfelt apology? Come, shake my hand. If we’re going to spend six hours side-by-side on this flight, we’d better be friends, don’t you think?” A palm waved in front of my face. I shook the hand reluctantly, still silent.

Laura started a conversation with me, taking no notice of my unfriendly reactions.

She talked excitedly about herself and her trip to Hong Kong to see her friends. She rattled off a list of things she was going to buy for her students in the boarding school where she was teaching.

I gave her one-word answers to her questions about me. Unperturbed by my coldness, she nodded as she made appreciative comments to my answers. Her voice was warm and caring. She was considerate and obliging when we were served drinks and meals, making sure that I had room to maneuver in my seat. “I don’t want to clobber you with my elephant size!” she said with utmost sincerity.

To my surprise, her face which repulsed me hours before...

...now opened into extraordinary smiles, lively and calm at the same time. I couldn’t help but let down my guard slowly.

Laura was an interesting conversationalist. She was well read in many subjects from philosophy to science. She turned a seemingly unimportant subject into something to explore and understand. Her comments were humorous and inspirational. When our topic turned to cultures, I was pleasantly surprised by her intelligent comments and well-thought-out analysis.

During our conversation, Laura managed to make every cabin crew who served us walk away laughing at her jokes.

When a flight attendant was clearing our plates, Laura cracked several jokes about her size. The flight attendant roared with laughter as she grabbed Laura’s hand, “You really make my day!”

For the next few minutes, Laura listened attentively and gave pointers to the flight attendant’s weight problem. The grateful attendant said before she rushed off, “I’ve got to work. I’ll come back later and talk to you about it.”

I asked Laura, “‘Have you ever thought about losing some weight?”

“No. I’ve worked hard to get this way. Why would I want to give it up?”

“You aren’t worried about cardiovascular diseases that come with being overweight?”

“Not at all. You only get the diseases if you’re worried about your weight all the time. You see advertisements from slimming centres that say, `Liberate yourself from your extra baggage so that you are free to be yourself.’ It’s rubbish! You’re liberated only if you’re comfortable about who you are, and what you look like any time of the day and anytime of the year! Why would I want to waste my time on slimming regimes when I have so many other important things to do and so many people to be friends with? I eat healthily and walk regularly; I’m this size because I am born to be big! There is more to life than worrying about weight all day long.”

She sipped at her wine. “Besides,...

...God gives me so much happiness that I need a bigger body to hold all of it! Why would I lose weight to lose my happiness?” Taken aback by her reasoning, I chuckled.

Laura continued. “Folks often see me as a fat lady with big bosoms, big thighs and a big bottom that no man would even bother to cast a glance at. They see me as a slob. They think I’m lazy and have no willpower. They’re wrong.” She held up her glass to a passing flight attendant. “More of this magnificent wine, please.” She smiled sweetly at the attendant. “Great service from your crew. May God bless all of you.”

She turned to me, “I’m actually a slim person inside. I’m so full of energy that people won’t be able to keep up with me. This extra flesh is here to slow me down, otherwise I’ll be running everywhere chasing after men!”

Laura paused before she said thoughtfully, 

“You know, the relationship between men and women is so complicated. Women worship men and call them, `Honey’ until they find out they have been lied to, and then they turn into bitter gourds! Men love women so much that they see them as their soul mates until they look at their credit card bills, and then women become devils with tridents!”

Laura’s enthralling conversation had turned the flight into something thoroughly enjoyable.

I was also fascinated by the way people were drawn to her. By the end of the flight, almost half the cabin crew was standing near the aisle by us, laughing and joking with Laura. The passengers around us joined in the merry-making too. Laura was the center of attention, filling the cabin with delightful warmth.

When we waved goodbye to each other at the arrival lounge at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport,

I watched her walking towards a big group of adoring adults and kids. Cheers sounded as the group hugged and kissed Laura. She turned around and winked at me.

I was stunned, as the realization set in:

Laura was the most beautiful woman I had ever met in my life.

http://diply.com/

Crispy Potato Roast

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10 - 12 russet potatoes, peeled
Kosher salt
1 small onion or 4 shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 - 6 fresh thyme sprigs
About 3 ounces pancetta, cubed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the oil and melted butter in a small dish. Set aside.

Brush a round baking dish (around 9 - 10 inches) with a little of the butter and oil mixture.

Slice the potatoes as thin as possible crosswise.  Arrange potatoes vertically in the baking dish.  Wedge onion or shallot slices throughout potato slices - in about 3 or 4 sections of each potato.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper flakes (use some black pepper if not using red pepper flakes).  Brush with the remaining butter and oil mixture.
http://www.joyouslydomestic.com/

Through the Eyes of a Rapist

                                                      

Recently, rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim.  Here are some important revelations: 1)  The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They also likely to go after a woman with long hair.  Women with short hair are not common targets. 2)  The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women whose clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing. 3)  They look for a woman on her cell phone, searching through her purse or doing other activities while walking because she is off-guard and can be easily overpowered. 4)  Men are most likely to attack and rape in the early morning between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. 5)  The Number One place women are abducted from or attacked is grocery store parking lots. Number Two: office parking lots/garages. Number Three: public restrooms. 6)  These men are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught. 7)  Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 years sentence but rape using a weapon is 15-20 years. 8)  If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming and, also, increases their likelihood of being caught. 9)  These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas or other similar objects that can be used from a distance in their hands. Keys are NOT a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon.  The idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it. 10)  Several defense mechanisms mentioned are these:  If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question or make small talk.  “What time is it?” or “I can’t believe it’s so cold” or “Think we’re in for a bad winter?”  Now, that you’ve seen their face and heard their voice and are more likely able to identify them in a line-up and could more certainly identify them, you lose your appeal as a target. 11)  If someone is coming toward you, hold your hands in front of you and yell “STOP!” or “STAY BACK!”  Most rapists interviewed said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed she would fight back.  Again, they are looking for an EASY target! 12)  If you carry pepper spray, yelling “I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY” and holding it out will be a deterrent. 13)  If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can outsmart them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY, VERY HARD. (One woman in a self-defense class said she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands.  The guy needed stitches.)  Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it.  It hurts! 14)  After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN.  It’s extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but these rapists said what they want is a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. So, start causing trouble! 15)  When a guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible.  It’s very painful! 16)  Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings.  Take someone with you, if you can.  And if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it.  Go with your instincts!!!  You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble. OTHER TIPS:The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough, use it! If a robber asks for your wallet or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.  He’s more interested in your wallet or purse than you.  Chances are that he will go to retrieve it.  THEN RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back taillights and stick your arm out the hole and wave like crazy.   The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will.  This trick has saved lives.  Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook or making a list, etc.)  DON’T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you.  This is his perfect opportunity to get in on the passenger’s side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head, DO NOT DRIVE OFF!  Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car.  Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat, they will get the worst of it.  As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run.  It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. TIPS ABOUT GETTING INTO YOUR CAR IN A PARKING LOT OR PARKING GARAGE: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger’s side floor, and in the back seat. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger’s door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle and the passenger’s side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall or work and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. MORE SAFETY TIPS: ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern! As women, you tend to always be sympathetic.  It may get you raped or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane or a limp and often asked for help getting into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. KNOW THIS SAFETY POINT:  A crying baby on your porch? Call the police! The police will tell you ”Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” Serial killers have been known to use a recorded baby’s cry to coax a woman out of her home when she thinks someone dropped off a baby.   DO NOT open the door for a crying baby.  The “Crying Baby” hoax was mentioned on the TV show America's Most Wanted when they profiled a serial killer in Louisiana. http://www.authorsden.com/

Patagonian Penguin Finds Second Home in Brazil

God will carry you.

People who criticize you....

Dog Dance Party

Black Magic Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl.
2. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin).Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
4. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
5. Frost as desired.

Notes:

• To sour milk: Use 1 tablespoon white vinegar plus milk to equal 1 cup.
• http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/

Jessica the Hippo Raised by Human Parents

Baby Kittens All Settled for the Long Awaited Bottles

Patatas Bravas

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lbs) baby potatoes, washed and unpeeled
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Sauce:
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree (not tomato paste!)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
Splash of tabasco sauce (optional)
1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

Method

Preheat oven to 230C (446F). Slice the potatoes thickly, about 1/2 inch. Alternatively, cut them into 1 inch cubes. Arrange on a baking tray in a single layer, and brush some olive oil over them. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in oven for 25 minutes until golden and crisp, then turn the potatoes over and bake for another 15 minutes or until browned and crisp.

In the meantime, heat up 4 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the garlic. Then mix in the tomato puree, vinegar, paprika and cayenne/chilli powder. Add salt, black pepper and tabasco to taste. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Stir in the mayonnaise. Dish out and serve hot.
http://www.tofoodwithlove.com

Rescued Fawn

http://www.dumpaday.com

20 important life lessons from that Dalai Lama:

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
   – Respect for self,
   – Respect for others and
   – Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and
    think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

References: 

The Dalai Lama Center 

Gift From Behind Bars Is Changing Autistic Boy's Life

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Be careful who you make memories with....

Have A wondeful day

10 houseplants that clean indoor air

http://alternative-energy-gardning.blogspot.co.uk/

Imagine......

Oven Baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of medium russet potatoes (approx 3 medium potatoes)
• 1 1/2 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/8 tsp Dried Rosemary
• 1/4 tsp of Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 TBSP of Kraft Parmesan Style Grated Cheese (I used reduced fat)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Wash and cut potatoes into 1/8ths. 
3. Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with foil (I used Reynolds Release foil so that they will not stick, but you could also either use non-stick cooking spray or lightly grease the top of the foil with extra virgin olive oil). 
4. Mix all of the spices and the parmesan cheese in a small bowl. 
5. Place all of the potatoes (remember we are talking about one pound at a time) into a gallon size freezer bag, add olive oil and the parmesan cheese/spice mixture to the bag. 
6. Seal the bag and shake until the potatoes are evenly coated.
7. Once thoroughly coated dump onto the prepared cookie sheet and spread in a single layer. 
8. Bake 30-45 minutes or until tender and lightly golden brown. (Baking times will vary depending on the amount of fries that you make and the size that you cut them). For the ones shown in the picture they were baked at 425 for 45 minutes.                                                                                                            http://www.piarecipes.com

All is well.

Pray Daily

Just Bloom for yourself...

If you´re sad....

She Demands A Divorce. He Asks Her How He Can Change Her Mind And Surprises Her With…

                                          

Deciding on a divorce is never easy. Telling someone that you once thought you’d love that you don’t want to be with them anymore can be awfully distressing. Some people grow apart, some people change, but it is also very easy to take a person for granted.

This story is bound to tug at your heart strings, get the tissues ready!

My husband is an engineer,  we have been together 5 years, three years courtship, and two years marriage. I hate to admit it, but I am getting tired of it. I love his steady nature, and the feeling I get when I lay on his chest. But something just isn’t quite right anymore.

I am a very sentimental woman when it comes to relationships and my feelings. I crave romance, but I am the total opposite to my husband. He lacks sensitivity, and his inability to be romantic has disheartened me about love.

One day I finally decided to tell him that I wanted a divorce.

“Why?” he asked shocked. “I am tired it just exhausts me, instead of injecting life in to me.” I answered. He was silent.

He didn’t speak to me the whole night, which only increased my disappointment, that man who apparently loved me can’t even  express his feelings to me. Then he finally asked me, “What can I do to change your mind?”

 I didn’t know what to say to him at first, you can’t change someones personality just because you want them to change. I felt hopeless. Looking deep into his eyes I slowly answered “Here is the question, if you can answer and convince my heart, I will change my mind. Let’s say, I want a flower located on the face of a mountain cliff, and we both are sure that picking the flower will cause your death, will you do it for me?”

He paused for a moment and said “I will give you your answer tomorrow…”

My hopes sank even further listening to his response.

The next morning I woke up and he was gone. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a piece of paper with scruffy handwriting on it, underneath a glass of milk. The first line read: “I would not pick that flower for you, but please allow me to explain the reasons further..”, my heart sunk and I continued reading.

“I need my fingers so that when you mess up on the computer I can restore the programs for you. You have a tendency to leave your keys at home, so I need my legs so I can rush home to open the door for you. You always get lost when we travel to new cities, so I need my eyes to show you the way. You always have cramps when it is the time of the month, so I have to save my palms so that I can calm the cramps in your tummy.

I need my mouth to tell you jokes, and stories to cure your boredom. Your eyes are already bad, so I need to save mine because I’ll hold your hand and walk you down the beach as you enjoy the sunshine on your face and the sand between your toes. Unless there is someone out there who loves you more thanI do, I could not pick that flower yet and die…”

I felt the tears rolling down my cheek, which fell onto the paper and blurred the ink, I continued reading. “Now that you have finished reading, if you are satisfied I’m waiting outside with your favourite bread and fresh milk.”

I ran downstairs and opened the front door where he was stood waiting anxiously, but when he saw me he smiled.

In that moment I knew that no one will love me as much as he does, and I have decided to leave the flower alone…

When you are surrounded by love, the feeling of excitement can fade away, but it doesn’t mean it ceases to exist. We forget the fact that true love lies in between the peace and the dullness.

That’s life, and love. When one is surrounded by love, the feeling of excitement fades away, and one tends to ignore the true love that lies in between the peace and dullness.

Love appears in all forms throughout your day, flowers and romantic moments are only a visual surface appreciation of your relationship. Under all this, the pillar of love stands, and that’s our life…Words don’t win arguments, love does.

http://www.littlechurchmouse.com/

Her Husband Left Her With 6 Kids To Care For, But She Never Thought This Would Happen Next....

This single mother was just recovering from the fact that the father of her children had just left her. She had nothing to her name and six mouths to feed. You’ll never guess how things turned around for her.

This heartwarming story begins with hardship. A single mom is coping with the fact that the father of her children has abandoned them. She has no resources other than her wits, prayer and the kindness of strangers. Although it’s not known if this is a work of fiction or fact, it’s a wonderful reminder that there are angels among us every day.

In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared.

Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds.

He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.

If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job.

The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town. No luck.

The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince whomever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.

Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel.

An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the
graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night. I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep. This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal.

That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel.

When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money – fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage.

The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home.

One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up
residence in Indiana ? I wondered.

I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.

I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn’t enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids.

I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.

On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. These were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.

A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.

When it was time for me to go home at seven o’clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver’s side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat.

Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries.

There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was hole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.

As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.

Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop….

Read more at http://www.reshareworthy.com/single-mom-big-wheel-story/#XmT8W6pqIeufmLcc.99

Desperate for help, trapped dog freed from gate

Catdance Finalist 2014: Ricky

O Escorpião

Um Mestre do Oriente viu quando um escorpião estava se afogando e decidiu tirá-lo da água, mas quando o fez, o escorpião o picou.
Pela reacção de dor, o Mestre o soltou e o animal caiu de novo na água e
estava se afogando de novo.
O Mestre tentou tirá-lo novamente e novamente o animal o picou. 

Alguém que estava observando se aproximou do Mestre e lhe disse:
— Desculpe-me, mas é teimoso!
Não entende que todas às vezes que tentar tirá-lo da água ele irá picá-lo?
O Mestre respondeu:
— A natureza do escorpião é picar, e isto não vai mudar a minha, que é ajudar.
Então, com a ajuda de uma folha o Mestre tirou o escorpião da água e salvou sua vida.

Não mude sua natureza se alguém lhe faz mal; apenas tome precauções.
Alguns perseguem a Felicidade, outros a criam.

Preocupe-se mais com sua Consciência do que com a sua reputação.
Porque sua Consciência é o que é, e sua reputação é o que os outros pensam de si.
E o que os outros pensam, não é problema nosso...

Selfie

She Tells Her Grandma That She’s Just Been CHEATED On, So Grandma Tells Her To Do THIS.

A lesson we could all learn from.

This woman was just cheated on by her husband of 5 years. She was having a real tough time accepting what was happening so much so, that she just wanted to give up in every aspect of her life. She was tired of fighting and of struggling, she had no motivation to get up out of bed in the morning. Her life was a disaster.

One day she went to visit her grandmother to seek comfort.

Her grandmother was a clever and thoughtful woman. She filled three pots with water and placed each of them on high fire. In no time at all the pots all came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

Without saying a word, she watched them sit and boil.

After around 20 minutes she finally turned off the burners. She fished the carrots and the eggs out of the pan and placed them in a bowl next to the coffee.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her grandmother then asked her to feel the carrots . She did and the young woman noticed that they were soft. The grandmother asked the woman to take the egg and break it. After peeling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally the grandmother told her to take a sip of the coffee. The young woman loved coffee, and she smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

She paused for a moment and then asked ‘What does it mean, grandmother?’

Her grandmother then went on to explain how each of these objects had faced adversity: boiling  water. She then explained how each of the different objects had reacted differently, in their own ways. Before the adversity the carrot was strong, hard, and unrelenting, but was now soft and weak as a result. The egg was once fragile. It’s shell was the only thing that protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiled water, its insides became hardened.

Last but definitely not least, she pointed out how the coffee beans were unique. After being added to the boiling water, they had not only changed themselves, but they had also changed the water they were in.

The grandmother then asked “Which are you?”

“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity you wilt and become soft, loosing your strength.

Are you the egg, with soft gooey insides until it changes under the heat? Are you a fluid spirit that solidify at the first sign of hardship.

Or are you in fact the coffee bean? The bean not only develops in to something else, but it changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, the coffee releases its full fragrance and flavor. When things are at their worst, the coffee gets better, and changes the situation around it.

When things are tough, and I mean really tough, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

We are here to tell you that the happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.

May we all be like the COFFEE.

http://www.littlechurchmouse.com/