A Very Important Lesson

Got this interesting story from my email..just want to share it with you peeps...
here it goes..

Three years ago, I adopted a purebred Sheltie from a rescue
shelter. His name was Buster. He had bad teeth and his fur
stuck out no matter what. I didn't care. He was my dog. He had
a few owners in his life, and I promised him that I would
never give him up, no matter what. Earlier this year, we found
out Buster had an enlarged heart. The vet gave him six to
eighteen months.

Buster was having seizures that were probably causing brain
damage. Last Friday night, he had a seizure and cracked his
head against the sofa. He couldn't walk after that. He kept
bumping into walls and experienced constant bowel movements and
vomiting. My dog was gone. Buster was no longer there. His body
was walking around, but that was all. I decided he needed to be
put to sleep.

He went to sleep on December 21, 2007, less than a month
before his ninth birthday. I feel his absence keenly. I
sincerely hope and pray dogs do get into heaven. After all,
D-O-G is G-O-D spelled backward.

Buster had no worries at all. He knew that I would feed him
and water him in a timely manner and that I would take care
of him no matter what. In return, he gave me his loyalty and
undying love.

He taught me a very important lesson:

This is what God wants from us.

I feel awed that such a simple creature could teach so
valuable a lesson with deeds and not words. I already loved
God with all my heart, without reservation, and followed him.
And now, I love God even more than I thought possible.

~A MountainWings Original by Michael Dowds, Peyton, Colorado~

Why Teenagers, Like, Like 'Like'

"So we were all, like, hanging out. And then this guy comes over and starts, like, hassling us. Then he's all like, 'Get outta here!' And we were all, like, 'This is public property.'"

People write me all the time to complain about teenagers' talking like this. "Why does every other word have to be 'like'?" they ask. "It's a filler," they write, "a verbal tic like 'um' and 'you know.' It's monotonous and mindless."

Monotonous it may be, but it's hardly mindless. In fact, teenagers use "like" to impart subtle nuances and convey the emotional essence of events.

As linguist Geoffrey Nunberg points out in his fascinating book "Going Nucular" (PublicAffairs, $18.95), peppering sentences with "like" emerged in the slang of jazz musicians and beatniks during the 1950s. The word "like," he writes, "didn't actually mean anything so much as it evoked, the way a jazz riff does."

Because "like" implies comparison, it distances speakers from their words, reflecting casualness and even a mistrust of words' ability to fully convey an event or idea. Phrases such as "we were all, like, hanging out" and "starts, like, hassling us" suggest that "hanging out" and "hassling us" don't fully capture the events described, but provide the general idea.

Similarly, Nunberg observes, "like" can be used to finesse a request ("Could I, like, stay at your place?"); express disbelief ("So you're, like, firing me?"); and soft-pedal a suggestion ("We should consider, like, moving.")

----

During the 1980s, teenagers started using "like" in a new way: to introduce quotations, as an apparent synonym for "said," as in, "We were all, like, 'This is public property.''

But here's the catch: "Like" doesn't really mean "said."

For when teenagers say, "He was all, like, 'Get outta' here!'" they don't necessarily mean those were the speaker's exact words. They mean that what follows is an approximation of the tone of what he said. In fact, he may not have said anything but simply grunted and chased them away.

In this context, "like" is being used to introduce a brief imitation of the person's behavior. That's why the words following "like" are often accompanied by a physical gesture such as waving arms or a clenched fist.

But will all these fancy explanations stop adults from waving their arms and clenching their fists when they hear teenagers sprinkle their sentences with "like"?

I wouldn't, like, count on it.

========

this words are from Rob Kyff....

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's... A Plane

Heard on a pre-flight announcement from an American Airlines
pilot:

On our flight today, we will be flying at 34,000 feet.
To give you an idea of how high that is, we would be able to fly
over 50 Empire State buildings stacked one on top the other.

Our speed will be about 500 miles per hour. That is just over
the muzzle velocity of the standard military .45 pistol.

We will be pushed along by two Pratt and Whitney JT-8D-200
turbofan engines. While thrust to horsepower varies with
altitude, the total 40,000 pounds of thrust is greater than the
combined power of 10 D-9 diesel locomotives.

In other words, we're faster than a speeding bullet, more
powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a
single bound, and as always, your Dallas based crew stands for
truth, justice, and the AMERICAN way!

~from avweb.com~


from The Mountain:
A .45 bullet moves considerably faster than a jet, 34,000 feet
is the height of only half as many Empire State buildings and a
D-9 diesel produces 4,000 horsepower. Read the link below if you
want to check the truth of the 10 locomotive engines.

Remember, this is flight crew helping to make a potentially
boring flight better. Often, the spirit is more important that
the details.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/propulsion/q0195.shtml


from Mountain Wings Issue

All of Us Are in Debt

I want to thank all the emails I received everyday especially those that are very informative and useful in my daily living. Below is one example of it. Hope you guys will also get a lesson from it. Enjoy reading to this beautiful essay.

All of Us Are in Debt

Albert Einstein said, "A hundred times every day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received." As you think about what Einstein said, you will come to realize the completely unselfish wisdom of those words. First, we're indebted to our parents because they were responsible for bringing us into the world. Next, we are indebted to the doctors, nurses, aides, orderlies and other hospital personnel for the part they played in making our arrivals safe and healthy ones.

We're indebted to the educational structure where we learned reading, writing and arithmetic, which are critical to our lives. It's sobering to realize that yes, somebody did have to teach Albert Einstein that two plus two equals four.

We are in debt to all the pastors, priests and rabbis who taught us the essence of life by instructing us in those character qualities that are important to us, regardless of our chosen fields of endeavor -- athletics, medicine, education, business or government.

We certainly owe a debt to those people whose messages have been encouraging and positive, as well as informative and instructional. We are deeply in debt to those public servants who committed their lives to service through appointed or elected offices in this great land of ours. That includes the postal worker who brings the mail, the pressmen and reporters who are responsible for putting these words in print and the workers who build the highways upon which we move from one location to another.

The list is endless -- which brings us back to Einstein and his quote. We do have a heavy debt, and one way to repay that debt is to regularly express thanks and gratitude to the men and women who make our lives worth living. Think about it. Thank a lot of people.

Discipline to Children Starts at Home

Good Morning Everyone!!! I just read this in my email from Mountain Wings. I wanted to share it with you. Perhaps you can help by praying especially to those children who are really stubborn and mind you at the very early stage of life, at the age of three. Sounds really not good.

Children's discipline always starts at home. Parents always have the responsibility to discipline their children. In my own opinion, I believed that children must be discipline at the early stage of life specifically when they start talking. Whether the parents are professional or not, I believed that proper manners, values and discipline must be thought to them.

I am still not a Mother and if ever it is God's will for me to have children I will try my best to give them proper discipline. I know it is not easy to discipline children. I came from a very big family of twelve siblings. I am just very thankful that even my parents don't have time to each one of us, we are still given some discipline which until now is being inculcated in our lives.

I am very thankful to my parents for everything they had thought me before. The values and the teachings that they inculcated in my life are very great treasures which I will carry with me till the end of my time and will be passed on to my future children.

To those parents who have children like this, I am praying for you. I believed it is still not to late to give them proper manners and values at the very early age. Don't wait to give them discipline later. It might be too late.

Remember you can form a branch in a tree while it is still young but when it is old, it is already very difficult to form it the way you wanted it. Parents also have to remember that you are the children's first teachers at home. Whatever examples and actions you show to your children will reflect on you.

Here is the story and the prayer request!! Please help by praying!!! Wish everyone a very Wonderful day!!! Got to go now to run some important errands...


Stubborn
=========

He is stubborn.

He uses abusive words in both private times and in public.
Please pray for him to become a good and kind human being.
Plus, he is a fussy eater.

The above is an excerpt from a prayer request.
The characteristics described are not unusual for a prayer
request. What was unusual was the age of the male who was the
subject of the prayer request.

He was three.

We can relate to the mother from the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates)

We have a son who is two and a half and when George doesn't get
his way, he sounds just like her son.

Pray for us and anyone else who has a child with the same
characteristics.

Also, there are quite a few adults with identical characteristics.
Pray for those who have to deal with them and pray for us for
the times when we are them.

~A MountainWings Original~

Whispering Hope

Good morning guys!! here is a story for you!! advance happy weekend!!

"Thank you." That was the name of the MountainWings I found in
my box.

Let me explain. For four years, my dad and I had gone our
separate ways. Then one night my son called me, and said, "Mom,
sit down. Now this is one time I am going to tell you what to
do, and you're going to listen to me, and do what I say."
(He is 25 so he can get away with that now.)

"Mom, your dad is sick. He has cancer and it does not look
good. It is all through his body, and it's just a matter of
months. I want you to call your Dad, and make amends, and I want
you to do it right now."

I spent 24 hours in prayer, because my Mom is a good example
of "mommy dearest." I wasn't sure I could take her destruction
in my life again. But God showed me I can do all things
through Christ who gives me strength.

I called my father the next evening and I had about a week
with him. Actually, about three days.

One Saturday, my husband and I had stopped by to do something
for my mother and she asked me to play the old pump organ that
I used to play when I was a child. It was my father's mother's.
He used to play it when we were growing up.

I sat there and tried to think of something to play. I pulled
out all the stops, started pumping up the billows with air,
and played the one song he used to play for us when we were
kids, "Whispering Hope."

When I finished, I walked into his bedroom and saw the biggest
smile on his face. He was rocking his head back and forth to
the music, and his face had a smile from ear to ear.

When he realized I was standing beside his bed, I whispered in
his ear, trying not to cry, "See Dad, I remembered. I love you
and thank you." As he looked at me again, not quite sure who I
was, and his smile faded.

He died that night.

And your thank you - it came when I needed it the most for it
was my chance to hear his voice once again, and through all
the tears that were coming from my face, I told him, "Daddy,
you're welcome."

I got to usher my Dad home.

Thank you MountainWings. I have been dealing with many
regrets. And your "Thank You" was my miracle this season.

~A MountainWings Original by Cathy Divine, Pipe Creek, Texas~

Perhaps We Do

I was touched reading this story and I hope for all readers too.I admit I do this sometimes and will try my best to avoid doing it. I hope that this story will be a lesson for all of us, that's why I am also sharing this to all who read this blog. And for Amy who shared this, thank you very much for the reminder. I am very lucky having no handicap and live a normal life. And for sure you too. Here is the story!!

Last year I was in a car accident.It wasn't much but it made me realize that I am more privileged than others. I had to stay in a wheelchair for about three months.

Before then, I looked down and stared at the people in wheelchairs. I was only in a wheelchair for three months and it was the most humiliating time of my life.

People were staring at me in disgust. I would hate to feel how the people who have to stay in wheelchairs their whole life would feel like.

In conclusion, I ask you not to stare down at the people in wheelchairs because I know how humiliating it is for them.

~A MountainWings Original by Amy, Australia~

from The Mountain: I am sure none of us do this consciously but perhaps unconsciously we send signals that we shouldn't. We look away instead of smiling and speaking at the handicapped. Perhaps we sometimes do and we shouldn't.

Dust If You Must

How many countless hours have I spent cleaning? I used to spend at least 8 to 12 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect, "in case someone came over." Then one day I realized that no one came over; they were all out living life, having fun!

Now, when people visit, I find no need 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 enjoying it!

If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice:Life is short - enjoy it while you can!And people don't care if your house is spotless just as long as they're welcome.

Dust if you must but wouldn't it be better,To paint a picture or write a letter,Bake a cake or plant a seed, Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must but there's not much time,With 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.

Remember, a house becomes a home when you can write "I love you"on the furniture!

~Author Unknown~ from Mountain Wings

Unfair

"Life is so unfair!"I hear people making this statement quite often. In justice,misfortune, or good fortune can be perceived as occurring through random chance - some just have it easy and some have it rough.

It can appear to the purely logical mind that there is no rhyme or reason why this is so. The problem with the logical mind is that it is not actually so logical or smart. We still can't create the simplest grasshopper or even a blade of grass.

Even with all of our scientific advances, the divorce rate among the Ph.D. is no lower than that among the illiterate.We know more about a terrorist in a cave than we do our next-door neighbor. Our understanding and our abilities are simply very limited.

Our understanding in the grand scheme of things is like George.No, not that George, my two-year-old son George.When you start counseling, you get to see the inner world and inner reasons. You soon see that whether it is generational,environmental, or the choices we make, things do have a reason.

We may not be able to see the complete picture, but there is a reason for the way things are. The more involved you get, the more of that you see.

Stuff, good or bad, has a reason.

One day I may be able to explain it all to you.

As soon as I can make a blade of grass and a grasshopper.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

(Gal. 6:7 KJV)

~A MountainWings Original~

The Exceptions Can Kill You

Just happened to read this in my email which I also want to share with you. Hope you will get some thoughts/lessons from it.

Question: How many times have you been cornered by an individual who was excited about his new eating and exercise program? Did he go into great detail about how much it had improved his confidence, self-image and energy level and how wonderful he felt? Of course he did, and he probably told you far more about it than you really wanted to know.

Chances are good you didn't see that person for a few months, and when you did, you noticed he had regained the weight and that his enthusiasm had diminished, and his life was not nearly as promising for him as it had been.

Needless to say, you wondered what happened. In most cases, the answer is simple: One day, he made an "exception" to the process of eating sensibly and exercising regularly because "one time wouldn't matter." Then, a week or so later, he made the second exception, and a few days later, he made the third because he "couldn't really tell any difference." Once that old set of destructive habits had been firmly re-entrenched, the newer, better way of living was all over. It started with the first exception.

All of us have heard about people who stopped smoking for 10 years and then, one day, they made the exception with disastrous results. Or the alcoholic who had been sober for years and, one day, decided that a glass of wine or one beer couldn't really be that bad, and besides, he owed it to himself to have a little fun.

The rest of the story becomes history. The message really is very clear: Once you get on the right path, stay there. Watch those exceptions; they can be destroyers.

Think about it, and I'll see you at the top!

----

Success Is a Partnership

There is an old cliche that behind every successful man, there is a surprised mother-in-law. In most, if not all, cases, success is a direct result of the efforts of the individual and the support and encouragement of others.

Like the fellow says, when you see a turtle on a fence post, you can rest assured that he did not get there by himself. When you see an individual climbing the success ladder and reaching the top, you can rest assured he did not get there entirely as a result of his own efforts. In virtually every case, each person had hope and encouragement from others.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a good example. He was discouraged and had a broken heart when he went home to tell his wife that he was a failure because he had been fired from his job in the customs house. Upon hearing the news, she startled him with an exuberant exclamation of joy. "Now," she said triumphantly, "you can write your book!" To that, Hawthorne responded with the question, "What are we going to live on while I am writing this book?" To his surprise and delight, she opened a drawer and drew out a substantial sum of money. "Where did you get that?" he asked. Her response is classic: "I've always known you were a man of genius," she told him, "and I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece, so every week, out of the money you gave me for housekeeping, I saved part of it. Here's enough to last us for a whole year." From wife Sophia's trust, confidence, thrift and careful planning came one of the classics of American literature: "The Scarlet Letter."

This story of success can be repeated a few thousand times -- or make that a few million. It happens all the time.

If this is your story in life, I hope you're careful to give credit to those who assisted you because if you do, I will see you farther up the ladder to the top!

by: Zig Ziglar

The Meaning of Peace

There was once a king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried.The king looked at all the pictures, but there were only two that he really liked, and he had to choose between them.One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.The second picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played.

Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.But when the king looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest.... a perfect picture of peace.Which of the pictures won the prize?The king chose the second picture.Do you know why?"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.

That is the real meaning of peace.

KeYs to YoUr RoOm

Just want to share to all of you guys this story!!!!

Thomas B. Costain's book, The Three Edwards, depicts the life
of Reynald III, a duke in what is now Belgium. Reynald was
commonly called by his nickname, Crassus, which in Latin means
"fat."

He and his brother Edward had a violent disagreement, and as a
result, Edward led a successful revolt against Reynald.

He did not kill Reynald; instead, he built a special room at
his castle and imprisoned him but offered him his freedom on
one condition. If he could walk out of the room, he was free.

Edward offered to restore his title, kingdom and property.
That seemed a fairly easy imprisonment sentence but there was
one big problem. None of the doors and windows of the room
were locked. They were near normal size but Reynald was not.
He was too fat to fit through the doors or windows.

Edward knew Reynald well. Each day he sent Reynald a rich
assortment of meats, breads, pies, pastries and other
delicious delicacies. Since Reynald was now confined to a
small room where even walking and thus exercise was limited,
he did not get slimmer but grew fatter making his predicament
even worse.

Accused of cruelty Edward remarked, "My brother is not a
prisoner; he may leave when he so wills."

Reynald was released ten years later when Edward died in
battle. By then his health had so deteriorated that he died
within a year. He was a prisoner of his own appetite and
easily available food.

Within these pages are keys to your room.
You may leave the room whenever you so will.

~The first story in FAT2Fine - The SPIRIT of Weight Loss~

Worth Sharing!!!

Sometimes you read something and it makes you stop and think...and then you want to share it with everyone you care about....

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, "now that you can see the world, will you marry me?". The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend is blind too, and refused to marry him.

Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying, "JUST TAKE CARE OF MY EYES PLEASE".

This is how human change when their status changes. Only few remember what life was before, and who has always been there in the most painful situations.

ReLlY VeRy ToUcHiNg!!

A Full Glass Of Milk

Very nice story to spread to...

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay,
for his hungry stomach, decided he would ask for a meal at the next
house.
On the way through school, he found he had only one thin dime left
and he was very hungry.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the
door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.
The woman thought he looked hungry, so brought him a large glass of
milk.
He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You
don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us, never to
accept pay for a kindness."
He said..."Then I thank you from my heart."
Year's later that young woman became critically ill.
The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big
city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation.
When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light
filled his eyes.
Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her
room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He
recognized her at once.
He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to
save her life, from that day he gave special attention to the case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the
business office to pass the final bill to him
for approval.
He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was
sent to her room.
The woman feared opening it, for she was sure it would take the
rest of her life to pay for it all.
Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side
of the bill. She read these words..."Paid in full with one glass of
milk."
Signed,
Dr.Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: Thank You,
God, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and
hands."

A SIMPLE INSPIRATION.......
To fix a broken life, use the tools of the heart.

A VeRy ToUcHiNg StOrY

EXPENSIVE GOLD WRAPPING PAPER

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said,

"This is for you, Momma." The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner.

"Don' t you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?"

She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or
faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no more

precious possession anyone could hold.

Holy Fence

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. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, THE WOUND IS STILL THERE. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us."


........adapted...author unknown.....

The Cost of a Smile

Let me just share to you this beautiful story from Mountain Wings....

I am a 58-year-old woman who was fortunate enough to have the
world's greatest mom with me until a year and a half ago.  There
are no words to describe how much I miss her.

I know this may seem strange to tell and believe me, I am not
looking for a substitute for my mom, but I have found myself
looking at elderly ladies and thinking how nice it would
be to adopt one.

At the grocery store just last week, I saw a dear person near me;
we were both bagging some produce.  I looked at her and politely
said, "The produce here is always attractive isn't it?"

Why did I engage in a conversation?

Because I just needed a smile or a kind word from this lady.

What I got has had a profound effect on me.  This sweet person
looked at me as if I were an alien, did not speak and did not
smile, but just looked at me dumbfounded.  I moved away crushed
and almost cried.

I NEEDED her to give me just a kind word or a smile, no
more.  I vowed then to always stop what I am doing no matter how
much in a hurry I am or what the other person looks like, and
give that kind word or smile.  Give the kind word or a smile.

It may really be NEEDED.

None of us knows what is going on in the life or thoughts of
another.  As my sister so wisely pointed out as I related this
story to her, we are all God's children and He loves all of us
no matter how we may look to each other.

A kind word or a smile can be just a brief encounter in our life
but can last forever in the heart of another.

~A MountainWings Original respectfully written y Pat Ferguson~