This is something that I feel every one should read. It is sure something that you will not get on the 6 o’clock news on in a newspaper. But it does speak to what it takes to be a true leader, and How to walk the walk.
Hi ya’ll!
A friend of mine passed this story onto me today, and I thought it was well worth passing on to you guys! What a beautiful demonstration of what it means to be a servant to one another the way God calls us to be. 
Love & God bless,
What Kind Of Man Would Do Such A Thing?
At Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC recently, the Sergeant Major of the Army, Jack Tilley, was with a group of people visiting the wounded soldiers.
He saw a Special Forces soldier who had lost his right hand and suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body.
The Sergeant Major of the Army wanted to honor him and show him respect without offending, but what can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage and uplift? How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who has none?
There was another man in that group of visitors who had his wife with him to visit the wounded. He seemed to knew exactly what to do. This man reverently took the soldiers stump of a hand in both of his hands, knelt at the bedside and prayed for him. When he finished the prayer, he stood up, bent over the soldier and kissed him on the head and told him that he loved him.
A powerful expression of love and Christ like example, for one of our wounded heroes.
What kind of a man would do such a thing?
The wounded man’s Commander-in-Chief, George W. E. Bush; President of the USA
This story was told by the Sergeant Major of the Army, at a Soldiers’
Breakfast held at Redstone Arsenal, AL, and recorded by Chaplain James Henderson, stationed there.
Pass it on…the press won’t.
If this doesn’t make you laugh just go ahead and close your casket!!!
A pastor concluded that his church was getting into very serious financial troubles. While checking the church storeroom, he discovered several cartons of new Bibles that had never been opened and distributed. So at his Sunday sermon, he asked for three volunteers from the congregation who would be willing to sell the Bibles door-to-door for $10 each to raise the desperately needed money for the church. Jack, Paul and Louie all raised their hands to volunteer for the task.
The minister knew that Jack and Paul earned their living as salesmen and were likely capable of selling some Bibles. But he had serious doubts about Louie who was a local farmer, who had always kept to himself because he was embarrassed by his speech impediment. Poor Louis stuttered badly. But, NOT WANTING TO discourage Louis, the minister decided to let him try anyway.
He sent the three of them away with the back seat of their cars stacked with Bibles. He asked them to meet with him and report the results of their door-to-door selling efforts the following Sunday. Anxious to find out how successful they were, the minister immediately asked Jack, “Well, Jack, how did you make out selling our Bibles last week?” Proudly handing the reverend an envelope, Jack replied, “Using my sales prowess, I was able to sell 20 Bibles, and here’s the $200 I collected on behalf of the church.” “Fine job, Jack!” The minister said, vigorously shaking his hand. “You are indeed a fine salesman and the Church is indebted to you.”
Turning to Paul, “And Paul, how many Bibles did you sell for the Church last week?” Paul, smiling and sticking out his chest, confidently replied, “I am a professional salesman. I sold 28 Bibles on behalf of the church, and here’s $280 I coll ected.” The minister responded, “That’s absolutely splendid, Paul. You are truly a professional salesman and the church is indebted to you.”
Apprehensively, the minister turned to Louie and said, “And Louie, did you manage to sell any Bibles last week?” Louie silently offered the minister a large envelope. The minister opened it and counted the contents. “What is this?” the minister exclaimed. “Louie, there’s $3200 in here! Are you suggesting that you sold 320 Bibles for the church, door to door, in just one week?” Louie just nodded. That’s impossible!” both Jack and Paul said in unison. “We are professional salesmen, yet you claim to have sold 10 times as many Bibles as we could.” “Yes, this does seem unlikely,” said the minister who didn’t want to appear to be a greed. “I think you’d better explain how you managed to accomplish this, Louie.” Louie sh rugged. “I-I-I re-re-really do-do-don’t kn-kn-know f-f-f -for sh-sh-sh-sure,” he stammered. Impatiently, Peter interrupted. “For crying out loud, Louie, just tell us what you said to them when they answered the door!” “A-a-a-all I-I-I s-s-said wa-wa-was,” Louis replied, “W-w-w-w-would y-y-y-you l-l-l-l-l-like t-t-to b-b-b-buy th-th-th-this B-B-B-B-Bible F-f-for t-t-ten b-b-b-bucks —o-o-o-or— wo-wo-would yo-you j-j-j-just l-like m-m-me t-t-to st-st-stand h-h-here and r-r-r-r-r-read it t-to y-y-you??”
Remember when the funniest jokes were the clean ones?
posted by Ralph Miller
Now here’s a good way to deal with those telemarketers…
Have a great weekend, see you next week!
Ralph
This one is worth reading! Ralph
Grandma’s Hands
Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn’t move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.
When I sat down beside her she didn’t acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking,’ she said in a clear voice strong.
‘I didn’t mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,’ I explained to her.
‘Have you ever looked at your hands,’ she asked. ‘I mean really -looked at your hands?’
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.
Grandma smiled and related this story:
‘Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.
‘They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.
‘They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.
They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.
‘They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors and shook in fists of anger when I didn’t understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down and again continue to fold in prayer.
‘These hands are the mark of where I’ve been and the ruggedness of life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ.’
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma’s hands and led her home.
When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.
Author Unknown
Words of Wisdom from Bill Gates posted by Ralph Miller
A Friend sent this to me, I thought you might enjoy it. See you tomorrow!
Ralph
BILL GATES’ SPEECH TO MT. WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL Visalia, California. Love him or hate him, he hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here’s some advice. Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept sets them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1:
Life is not fair - - get used to it!
Rule 2:
The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3:
You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4:
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5:
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping — they called it opportunity.
Rule 6:
If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7:
Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you think you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8:
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9:
Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10:
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11:
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one!