Dear Friend,
God is incredible. You, too, are incredible if you trust God and allow God to use you and bless you. Just today Nellie and I were talking about work experiences for which at times we felt we were not trained and yet God surprised us by the results. It all was summed up to allowing us to be ourselves and letting God shine through. I say this not to brag, but to encourage you to be MORE incredible in how you deal with others, especially the ones for which you think. you are not properly trained to deal with. Be a person of love.
I pray God bless and use you this weekend in ways that renew your joy and your love for Him.
Make time for God this weekend.
And to all the Moms our there, Happy Mother's Day!
I love you and thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
God Knows
Do you believe that God not only loves you, but knows where you are and what you're doing every minute of the day?
I certainly do after an amazing experience I had several years ago. At the time I was driving on 1-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment stop. My wife Barbara and children went into the restaurant. I suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them off ahead saying I'd join them later. I bought a soft drink, and as I walked toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self-pity enshrouded my mind. I loved the Lord, but I felt drained, burdened. My cup was empty.
Suddenly the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station on the corner. Wasn't anyone going to answer the phone?
Noise from the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant ringing.
"Why doesn't somebody answer that phone?" I muttered. I began reasoning. "It may be important. What if it's an emergency?" Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and picked up the phone.
"Hello," I said casually and took a big sip of my drink.
The operator said: "Long distance call for Ken Gaub." My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice.
Swallowing hard, I said, "You're crazy!" Then realizing I shouldn't speak to an operator like that, I added, "This can't be! I was walking down the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing...
"Is Ken Gaub there?" the operator interrupted, "I have a long distance call for him."
It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally replied, "Yes, he is here." Searching for a possible explanation, I wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera! Still shaken, perplexed, I asked, "How in the world did you reach me here? I was walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just answered it on chance. You can't mean me."
"Well," the operator asked, "is Mr. Gaub there or isn't he?"
"Yes, I am Ken Gaub," I said, finally convinced by the tone of her voice that the call was real.
Then I heard another voice say, "Yes, that's him, operator. That's Ken Gaub."
I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. "I'm Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don't know me, Mr. Gaub, but I'm desperate. Please help me."
"What can I do for you?"
She began weeping. Finally she regained control and continued. "I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note, when I began to pray and tell God I really didn't want to do this. Then I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was impossible because I didn't know how to reach you, I didn't know anyone who could help me find you. Then some numbers came to my mind, and I scribbled them down."
At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for wisdom to help her. She continued, "I looked at the numbers and thought, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and He has given me Ken's phone number?' I decided to try calling it. I can't believe I'm talking to you. Are you in your office in California?"
I replied, "Lady, I don't have an office in California. My office is in Yakima, Washington."
A little surprised, she asked, "Oh really, then where are you?"
"Don't you know?" I responded. "You made the call."
She explained, "But I don't even know what area I'm calling. I just dialed the number that I had on this paper."
"Ma'am, you won't believe this, but I'm in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio!"
"Really?" she exclaimed. "Well, what are you doing there?"
I kidded her gently, "Well, I'm answering the phone. It was ringing as I walked by, so I answered it."
Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she prayed the sinner's prayer and met the One who would lead her out of her situation into a new life.
I walked away from that telephone booth with an electrifying sense of our heavenly Father's concern for each of His children. What were the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at that moment in time.
Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. Maybe I better not tell this, I thought, but I couldn't contain it.
"Barb, you won't believe this! God knows where I am!"
~Ken Gaub--Yakima, Washington-
More Precious Than Gold
by Richard Evans
We gather them over our entire lifetime. A very few touch our heart, mind, and soul in such a way we may feel vulnerable. We may even feel a degree of pain. Those we hold tightly to ourselves, trying hard not to share them with others, not speaking of them, trying to hide them even from our own consciousness.
Many others will bring a smile to our face, joy to our heart, and meaning to our lives. Some are created when we meet a new friend. Some happen when someone comes to a birthday party that’s been cancelled but stays anyway. We have a chance to have thousands every day, but only a very few rise to the level where we can recall them years later. Many of them are transient and temporary, fading into obscurity with the passage of just a few calendar pages.
These are our memories. They can be good or bad, special or ordinary. Every so often we remember a special event, a special happening, a special feeling which can change our lives forever. Think about the time you met your best friend, your spouse, your soul-mate. Think about the many joyous times you shared just being close, sharing a few words, sharing your thoughts and your dreams. Think of the precious times that filled every day with an abundant measure of happiness.
You may have memories of baking a cake, playing soccer, fishing, sharing a book or a movie with someone special. The memories may seem so ordinary, so mundane, so simple. They don’t all have to be fabulous victories or great successes. They don’t have to be graduating with some special skills or being recognized with another promotion. You don’t have to receive national recognition as father or mother of the year, but recognition by your own family can be a mountaintop experience.
How do we measure a memory? What makes some last forever and others fade with the rapidity of the setting sun? Why do we place value on some of the most ordinary memories?
Isn’t it the honesty, the simplicity of it all, the love we feel, the value that is shared? A couple holds hands as a simple sign of a deep and abiding love, a commitment to be there for each other, a symbol that no matter what happens they will “hang on” through thick and thin forever. Someone is ready to sacrifice everything to help a friend who has been hurt because the friendship is so precious, so important. The memories may be every bit as poignant when those friends sit around a blazing fire, enjoying the beauty of nature and sharing hopes, plans, and dreams of the future. We may have memories of when we were sick and someone cared enough to minister to our extraordinary needs. It is those memories, those shared events that touch our heart, that bring us joy, and help those memories last a lifetime and beyond.
Look around you at the people who matter. Think about what you’ve shared over the past few weeks. Think about the memories you have and the memories you have shared with them. Have you shared your dreams? Have you shared your heart? Have you shared your soul, your beliefs, your faith with them. Today is a very special day and I can think of no better day to create some precious memories. Too many people think that possessions, money, or gold are so important, so valuable. The truth is a few good memories are much more precious than gold and so much more enjoyable for you to create.
Celebrating Precious Memories,
Jan and Richard Evans
Love
Early in the 20th century, two young medical school graduates and their father started a small sanitarium for mental patients on a farm outside Topeka, Kansas. This was a time with the "rest cure" was in vogue in psychiatry, and patients were sent to impersonal institutions to live out their lives.
This father and his sons had a different idea. They were determined to create a loving, family atmosphere among their patients and staff. The nurses were given special training and were told "Let each person know how much you value them. Shower these people with love."
The doctors were Karl and William Menninger, and the Menninger Clinic, with such "revolutionary" methods, became world famous and has helped countless numbers of people. Karl Menninger said, "Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. This intangible thing love ... enters into every therapeutic relationship. It is an element which finds and heals, which comforts and restores, which works what we have to call for now, miracles."
For A Quarter?
Several years ago a preacher moved to Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, "Oh", forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount?
Anyway the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from God and keep quiet." When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change".
The driver with a smile, replied, "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do, if I gave you too much change."
When my friend stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, and held on, and said, "O God", I almost sold your Son for a quarter".
Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.
Larry J. Crocker
Quiet Time
After I loaded my son, Austin, 2, into the car, I drove home, forgetting I'd left my wallet on top of the car. Miles later I remembered the wallet and pulled over. Of course it wasn't there, and I started crying. Austin, who didn't understand what had happened, exclaimed, "Well, I think it's time one of us had a nap!"
Jerry T., Texas
Somebody's Got Your Back
Author Jack Canfield said, “Human beings are not designed to go through life alone. No one has to bear the burden of tough times all by themselves.”
A television nature program captured an image of this idea well. It was an episode about a baby bear.
The cub was one of two babies born to a mother black bear, but his sibling died in childbirth. Not too long afterward, Mama Bear also died. The little cub was left alone to fend in the world.
But he was fortunate. He soon came across a huge male black bear who took a liking to the little guy. By the end of the day the adoption papers were signed and the little cub had a new friend and father.
Papa Bear showed the cub how to forage for berries. He taught him which plants he could eat and which to leave alone. He showed him how to fish. Papa Bear taught the cub all the things a bear needs to know to get along in the world.
The two were inseparable...until the day they separated. The little cub found himself all alone when a hungry mountain lion crept up. The two locked eyes and terror ran through the bear’s heart. So he did the only he knew to do, the thing Papa Bear had taught...he rose up on his hind legs, showed teeth and claws, looked his enemy right in the eye and roared a fierce roar.. Well, it wasn’t really a roar at all, but a tiny squeak.
The camera panned back to the mountain lion who must have been amused at the little guy, and was surely preparing to enjoy a tasty lunch. The audience expected the lion to pounce any second. But something strange happened. A look of fear crossed the cougar’s face, he slowly backed off a few steps and then turned and bounded away.
The camera panned back to the frightened cub and now the audience could see what the little bear could not. Behind the cub, but not too far back, stood Papa Bear - up on his hind legs, all teeth and claws, with a deadly gleam in his eye. He didn’t growl, but then he didn’t have to. The lion got the message.
I love the image of the powerful black bear, ready to go to battle for a vulnerable cub. And that is an image I always want to keep in mind. No matter how helpless, frightened or vulnerable we feel, there is a strong and mighty force just behind us. That force is made up of people who watch out for us. Family and friends, children and colleagues and even strangers. There are more people behind you and me, ready to step in when needed, than we may ever know..
We don’t have to go through this world all alone. And sometimes we will need extra help. We may need people to pull us through, to watch our backs or just to stand by.
Who’s got your back? Will you let them help?
- by Steve Goodier
The Golden Rule As the Road of Honor
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, Confucius was asked, “Is there one word that may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?”
He answered, “Reciprocity. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” This basic principle, now called the Golden Rule, can be found in every major religion and philosophy.
Although many people evoke one version or another of this rule, it’s often misused. You see, the Golden Rule is not primarily a rule of enlightened self-interest. Sure, people are more likely to be nice to you if you’re nice to them, but the moral center of this principle is lost if you simply view it as a rule of exchange: Do unto others so they will do unto you. Do unto others as they have done unto you. Do unto others before they do unto you.
The core of the Golden Rule is a moral obligation to treat others ethically for their sake, not ours, even if it’s better than the way they treat us. Therefore, we should be honest to liars, fair to the unjust, kind to cruel people.
Why? Certainly not because it’s advantageous, but because it’s right. And because the way we treat others is about who we are, not who they are. It’s like the man who broke off an argument that had descended into name-calling by saying, “Sir, I will treat you as a gentleman – not because you are one, but because I am one.”
- Michael Josephson .
When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.
“Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace, which transcends all understanding. Amen.”
Then send it on to five other people, including the one who sent it to you. Within hours you caused a multitude of people to pray for other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.
P. S. Five is good, but more is better.
THE BUZZARD
If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.
THE BAT
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
THE BUMBLEBEE
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
------------------------ PEOPLE ----------------------
In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem... just look up!
Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up!
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly,
and trust in our Creator, who loves us.
