Listen Louder

A man realized he needed to purchase a hearing aid, but he felt unwilling to spend much money. "How much do they run?" he asked the clerk."That depends," said the salesman. "They run from $2.00 to $2,000.""Let's see the $2.00 model," he said.The clerk put the device around the man's neck. "You just stick this button in your ear and run this little string down to your pocket," he in­structed.How does it work?" the customer asked."For $2.00 - it doesn't work," the sales­man replied. "But when people see it on you, they'll talk louder!"As you know, most communication problems are not due to people talking too softly. Unfortunately, we are not always good listeners. Do you know that people will pay hun­dreds of dollars an hour for no other reason than to have someone listen to them?Psychologist Carl Rogers said, "A person's real need, a most terrible need, is for someone to listen... not as a 'patient' but as a human soul." To listen well is to respond to a great human yearning.

Little Candle

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had no idea why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and insignificant.When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a large man walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the man was going to set her on fire. "No, no!!" she cried, "Aaaaagghhh! Don't burn me, please!" But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow.To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the man had extinguished his fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light came from herself.Then the man struck another fire stick and, one by one, lit the other candles in the room. Each one gave out the same light that she did.During the next few hours, she noticed that, slowly, her wax began to flow. She became aware that she would soon die. With this realization came a sense of why she had been created. "Perhaps my purpose on earth is to give out light until I die," she mused. And that's exactly what she did. God created you and I to produce light in a dark world.Like that little candle, we all can produce the same amount of light, no matter how small we are or what color we might be. But we can't produce light until we receive it from an outside source. That source is God, the light of the world.

Always Remember To Serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him."How much is an ice cream sundae?""Fifty cents," replied the waitress.The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the number of coins in it."How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient."Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.The little boy again counted the coins."I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip

Lost In The Desert

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks.One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep.The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health.Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town.On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse. He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"The missionary says, "Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop."Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, ok."So, he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God" and the horse starts walking. Then he says, "Thank God, Thank God, " and the horse starts trotting.Feeling really brave, the man say, "Thank God, Thank God, Thank God, Thank God, Thank God" and the horse just literally takes off.Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop. "Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!"Finally he remembers, "AMEN!!"The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff.The man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God".

A Matter Of Character

In his autobiography Days of Grace (Random House Audio, 1993), tennis great Arthur Ashe relates a defining incident that occurred when he was 17 years old. He was playing in a tournament in West Virginia. As was often the case, he was the only contestant of color in the tournament.One night, some of the kids trashed a cabin. They absolutely destroyed it and then decided to say that Arthur was responsible. The incident was reported in the newspapers; Arthur denied his involvement, but the boys would not change their story. The worst part for Arthur was worrying about what his father would say and do. He eventually made the dreaded phone call.As he surmised, his father had already learned of the vandalism. His father's tone was grim. He asked Arthur only one question. "Arthur Junior," he asked, "all I want to know is...were you mixed up in that mess?"Arthur answered, "No, Daddy, I wasn't." His father never asked about it again. Arthur learned that day why he had always been encouraged to tell the truth. There would come a time when he must be believed, and this was such a time. Because he had already earned his trust and respect, he knew his father believed him. From that day on he was determined, above all else, to live a life of integrityUnfortunately, we find notable examples of modern leaders in every field who give low priority to personal integrity. But we do not need saints - we need people like you. People who will be known for their integrity. People who will determine to be their best selves. People who daily earn the trust and respect of others, regardless of their age or station in life. People who insist on the importance of character.Our world does not need another saint. But it needs you.

Meaning

Standing for what you believe in, Regardless of the odds against you, and the pressure that tears at your resistance, ... means courage.Keeping a smile on your face, When inside you feel like dying, For the sake of supporting others, ... means strength.Stopping at nothing, And doing what's in your heart, You know is right, ... means determination.Doing more than is expected, To make another's life a little more bearable, Without uttering a single complaint, ... means compassion.Helping a friend in need, No matter the time or effort, To the best of your ability, ... means loyalty.Giving more than you have, And expecting nothing, But nothing in return, ... means selflessness.Holding your head high, And being the best you know you can be, When life seems to fall apart at your feet, Facing each difficulty with the confidence, That time will bring you better tomorrows, And never giving up, ... means confidence.

Missed Opportunities

The story is told of a young man who wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked him over and responded, "Son, go stand out in that field and I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter."The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood - pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber - as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate.The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed... but the bull had no tail!Life is full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult. But once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better), those opportunities may never again be available.The same thing is also true of opportunities to serve Christ. God often opens doors -- opportunities to speak up for Him, opportunities to minister to someone who is hurting or in need, opportunities to make an influence on the world around us. If we allow them to pass by (perhaps because we are waiting for something easier to come along), we may miss out on them altogether.