How to Receive Anything

– Author Unknown

There once was a happy monkey wandering the jungle, eating delicious fruit when hungry, and resting when tired. One day he came upon a house, where he saw a bowl of the most beautiful apples. He took one in each hand and ran back into the forest.

He sniffed the apples and smelled nothing. He tried to eat them, but hurt his teeth. They were made of wood, but they were beautiful, and when the other monkeys saw them, he held onto them even tighter.

He admired his new possessions proudly as he wandered the jungle. They glistened red in the sun, and seemed perfect to him. He became so attached to them, that he didn’t even notice his hunger at first.

A fruit tree reminded him, but he felt the apples in his hands. He couldn’t bear to set them down to reach for the fruit. In fact, he couldn’t relax, either, if he was to defend his apples. A proud, but less happy monkey continued to walk along the forest trails.

The apples became heavier, and the poor little monkey thought about leaving them behind. He was tired, hungry, and he couldn’t climb trees or collect fruit with his hands full. What if he just let go?

Letting go of such valuable things seemed crazy, but what else could he do? He was so tired. Seeing the next fruit tree, and smelling it’s fruit was enough. He dropped the wooden apples and reached up for his meal. He was happy again.

Like that little monkey, we sometimes carry things that seem too valuable to let go. A man who carries an image of himself as “productive” carries it like a shiny wooden apple. But in reality, his busyness leaves him tired and hungry for a better life. Still, letting go seems crazy. Even his worries are sacred apples – they prove he’s “doing everything he can.” He holds onto them compulsively.

This is a hard thing to see. We identify so strongly with our things, even feeling pain when our cars are dented. How much will God identify us with our faith and His commandments? Do you obey them? But we have always searched after vain pleasures to make us happy, Yet they don’t always feed our souls, do they? And we become tired of defending them.

How else could the story end?

The monkey might be found dead of hunger, under a beautiful tree, with fruit within reach, but still grasping his wooden apples. I chose to end it with him letting go, because only with open hands can we receive anything. Ask God and He will give you more greater riches.

Meditation: For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. – 1 Timothy 6:7

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

The Daffodil Principle

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. – Ecclesiastes 9:10

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

“I will come next Tuesday,” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.”

“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car.”

“How far will we have to drive?”

“Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used to this.”

After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage!”

“We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.”

“It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden.” We got out of the car and each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn.

“It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it reads. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.” There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.

I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable (indescribable) magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time – often just one baby-step at a time – and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said. It’s so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use today?”

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Is Your Good Idea God’s Idea?

The interesting true-life conversation below between a father and his five-year-old son underscores the importance of running our good idea on the litmus of divine will and agenda. The dialogue was narrated by the father:

Driving down to my office with my five-year-old son, we drove past Domino Pizza/Coldstone Ice cream.

Son: Daddy, I want to check out that Coldstone Ice cream.

Father: Uh, okay. Maybe we will when we’re going home.

About 3 hours later, I actually forgot and took another route on our way home. On sighting Fountain, he realised we did not pass the Coldstone route.

Son: But, daddy, I said I wanted to check out Coldstone Ice cream!

Father: Oops! Sorry, I forgot.

Son: Can’t we go back?

Father: Sorry, son. No chance. Maybe next time we’ll go there.

Son: Ok… [not so happy]

Some minutes later, whilst still thinking about the encounter.

Father: But, son, you said you wanted to “check out” the ice-cream, right?

Son: Yes, dad.

Father: If we had gone there, who would have paid for the ice-cream?

He looked stunned for some seconds.

Son: You, of course!

Father: But it wasn’t my idea that we check out ice-cream. The idea was yours. Why should I be the one to pay?

The natural, logical answer.

Son: Because you’re my daddy.

Father: Yes, I am. But that doesn’t mean that I have to pay for it just because you want it.

Silence….

Lesson: Now, isn’t that the way we get with God? Yes, He is our Father, and a very loving Father at that. But does that mean He is bound to provide resources for all our whimsical ideas, dreams, business, ambitions, projects, desires, etc?

How many times do we get stunned like that little boy when God decided to look the other way rather than cater to our whims, even though we are very excited about them and cannot wait to get cracking with them? Is your good idea God’s idea? Remember, if it’s not His idea, then God is not obligated to power it. If He did not commission it, He may not sponsor it, and if it is not His will, it will not be on His bill. And this has nothing to with whether He loves us or not.

Meditation: Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. – Psalm 32:9

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Connectedness of Life

Author Unknown

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honour and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir” said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.”

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour’s corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well.

The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas, new learning with your family, friends, team members and neighbours.

Meditation: Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. – 1 Peter 2:17

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

How to Dispel Confusion and Receive Inspiration (Part 1)

The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
– Psalm 119:130

Confusion is one of the phenomena we have to grapple with as humans. But its spell doesn’t have to last long, if you know what to do. Oftentimes, we are pressed for answers to various life twists and developments. At times, we can become so overwhelmed with situations that appear larger than life. Confusion can arise from societal, financial, marital, parental, career, business and other concerns; and the longer it stays unresolved, the more it preys on the mind. And once the mind is so belaboured, depression sets in; and as long as depression reigns, body carriage, personal performance and productivity are the first victims of a depressed mind.

Inspiration is the antidote to confusion. Just as light drives away darkness, the illumination of inspiration dispels the cloud of confusion and clears the fog of gloom. Environment is very vital to accessing inspiration. If the environment is not conducive, inspiration may not be so accessible. Environment, in this regard, can be physical or intangible, as in mental or emotional state.

The Bible is one of the most conducive environments for receiving inspiration; and there is no better source of inspiration than God. The passage above says the entrance of God’s word brings light. That means irrespective of the age or size of your darkness or confusion, once the word of God is brought to bear on it, the darkness will flee and the fog of confusion will thaw.

So, if you find yourself at a crossroad or in any kind of rut, let the word of God be your map. God’s word is the GPS that God has graciously provided to help you navigate your way from wherever you are to where you ought to be. Never set out without it, and if you get stuck do not hesitate to consult it.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Side by Side

I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. – Job 23:12

They lie on the table side by side,

The Holy Bible and the TV guide.

One is well worn and cherished with pride,

Not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

As the pages are turned, what shall they see,

Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV.

Then confusion reigns, they can’t all agree,

On what they should watch on the old TV.

So they open the book in which they confide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

The Word of God is seldom read,

Maybe a verse as they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be,

Not from reading the Bible . . . from watching TV.

So then back to the table side by side,

Lie the Holy Bible and the TV guide.

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,

The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.

But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,

Is found in the Bible . . . not on TV.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Good Advice to Live By

If you want your dreams to come true, don’t oversleep.

The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends….B1[be one].

The 10 commandments are not multiple choice.

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

Minds are like parachutes…they function only when open.

Ideas won’t work unless YOU do.

One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time.

One who lacks the courage to start has already finished.

The heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.
Don’t learn safety rules by accident.

We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.

Jumping to conclusions can be bad exercise.

A turtle makes progress when it sticks it’s head out.

One thing you can give and still keep…is your word.

A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.

AND FINALLY…

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!!!

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

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