The Little Boat

There was a little boy who lived by the sea and the one thing he loved best was to carve out little boats from the pieces of driftwood that came from that sea. One day he found washed up on the shore a solid block of wood so perfect for sculpting that he told himself, “This is going to be the best boat I’ll make!” and so he proceeded to carve it, making sure that the details were perfect. After sculpting it, he sanded it and painted and lacquered it. He’d then take it wherever he went, always showing it off to his friends.

One day, he waded into the sea, put his little boat on the water, and watched it bob up and down on the water. He was very proud of his boat. But suddenly, a great wave descended on him and the little boat, and the wave engulfed the little boat until it drifted far, far away from the boy and disappeared. The boy ran to his father, crying, and his father tried to comfort him, to no avail.

The days went past, and became weeks, then months, but the boy still missed his little boat. One day, while he was accompanying his father to town, he wandered into a store, and there, among the other souvenirs and merchandise the store was selling, was his little boat! He then approached the owner, and asked him where he got the little boat over there by the shelf.

“Well now,” said the owner, “someone came into the store just last week and sold me that little boat, and since it’s a fine piece of craftmanship, I thought it was a good deal.”

“Sir, you see, I was the one who made that little boat.” the boy said. “I carved it, sanded it, painted and lacquered it. It’s the best little boat I ever made, and it got lost at sea and I’ve searched and searched for it and now I’m so happy to have found it. Can I have it back please?”

The owner looked at the boy, shook his head, and said, “I’m sorry son, but I paid for that little boat, and if you want to get it back, then you’d have to buy it.”

The boy, who didn’t have any money on him at the time, said, “Okay. I’ll be back soon. Just keep it in reserve for me, okay?” Then he took one last look at his little boat, and ran to join his father. As soon as they came home, he went to his room, took his piggy bank, broke it, and counted the money in it.

Alas, he came up short! He sat there, tears rolling down his face, and his father came in the room. “Son, what’s the matter?” his father asked. So the boy told him what happened, and his father said, “Son, why do you love that little boat so much? There are so many pieces of wood that wash up daily from the sea. You could make another little boat, or even more if you wished.”

The boy replied, “Father, I loved that little boat so much. I couldn’t eat nor sleep, wondering what had happened to it all these months. And to have found it after all this time! Father, I don’t care how much it costs, I’m going to work hard so I can save up to buy back my little boat.”

His father lovingly looked at his son’s sad face, and said, “Okay, my son, I understand. Here, I’ll give you the money to buy back your boat,” and handed him the money. The boy hugged his father tightly, whispering, “Thank you, father.” and ran off towards the store, and bought back his little boat. He took it home, cradling it in his arms, and showed it off to his father, his mother, and the rest of his family. From then on, he never let it drift too far at sea, and always kept it at his side.

Jesus is that boy, and you and I are that little boat. He moulded us, polished us, cherished us so much, and when we drifted off where He couldn’t find us or reach us, He became so sad. And, after having found us again, He did not hesitate to pay whatever price in order to redeem us. With Jesus, He paid for us by giving up His life.

When you have someone who loves you that much, and you sometimes feel that nobody in this world really cares whether you come and go, take heart; somebody cares, and will never, ever let you out of His sight ever again.

By Fr. Arlo Yap

Meditation: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. – John 15:13

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Life Offers Stronger Lessons

 

Life offers stronger and more experiential lessons than books can teach. By all means, learn from books and creeds; make reading a daily discipline. But as you leaf through the pages of prints, make sure you also pay attention to the subtle plot and evolving scenes of life – ranging from the noble to the very vagaries of human existence. There is no better source of reformation and refinement than that.

-Babatunde Oladele

The Story of Pearls

Pearls are a product of pain. When a grain of sand pierces the shell of an oyster, all the otherwise dormant resources within the tiny oyster respond to the foreign irritant by caring for that sensitive spot. Over time, the sand particle is covered by healing fluids, and the wound becomes a pearl.

That’s true for you, too. When hardships invade your life, allow God’s Spirit to shape your response. Don’t be bitter. Don’t rush ahead of His plan. Rest in Him. Allow Him time to turn that irritation into an opportunity for your growth – and watch a beautiful pearl emerge from your set of circumstances.

When you flee temptation, be sure you don’t leave a forwarding address.

— Author Unknown

Meditation: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Life We Receive

 

Consciously or unconsciously, the life we are exposed to informs the life we accept or reject, which in turn determines the life we process and then manifests in the life we receive.

-Babatunde Oladele

Love Notes

A mother named Antoinette Kuritz shared this idea of hers and we sure can pick this up and apply it to our own kids. Antoinette says:

From the time each of my children started school, I packed their lunches. And in each lunch I packed, I included a note. Often written on a napkin, the note might be a thank you for a special moment, a reminder of something we were happily anticipating, or a bit of encouragement for an upcoming test or sporting event.

In early grade school, they loved their notes. They commented on them after school, and when I went back to teaching, they even put notes in my lunches. But as kids grow older, they become self-conscious, and by the time he reached high school, my older son, Marc, informed me he no longer needed my daily missives. Informing him that they had been written as much for me as for him, and that he no longer needed to read them, but I still needed to write them, I continued the tradition until the day he graduated.

Six years after high school graduation, Marc called and asked if he could move home for a couple of months. He had spent those years well, graduating Phi Beta Kappa magna cum laude from college, completing two congressional internships in Washington, D.C., winning the Jesse Marvin Unruh Fellowship to the California State Legislature, and finally, becoming a legislative assistant in Sacramento. Other than short vacation visits, however, he had lived away from home. With his younger sister leaving for college, I was especially thrilled to have Marc coming home.

A couple of weeks after Marc arrived home to rest, regroup and write for a while, he was back at work. He had been recruited to do campaign work. Since I was still making lunch every day for his younger brother, I packed one for Marc, too. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from my 24-year-old son, complaining about his lunch.

“Did I do something wrong? Aren’t I still your kid? Don’t you love me anymore, Mom?” were just a few of the queries he threw at me as I laughingly asked him what was wrong.

“My note, Mom,” he answered. “Where’s my note?”

This year, my youngest son will be a senior in high school. He, too, has now announced that he is too old for notes. But like his older brother and sister before him, he will receive those notes till the day he graduates, and in whatever lunches I pack for him afterwards.

What a great idea from a great mother who knows how to communicate her love to her children. Wish that all mothers would do the same.

The question I would like to ask you is as a mother, are you positive with your kids?

There is a great need for being creative with the way we treat our kids. And while the whole world wallows in negativity, the best thing we can do for our kids is to offer them an option that the family is a place for peace, joy and security. Your children will grow up with confidence, joy and optimism if you first display that in the way you deal with them.

Love notes? Corny? Some of you are probably thinking but not for kids who are reassured that no matter what happens, their parents will love them unconditionally.

This is why God leaves us with His “Love Notes” through the Holy Scriptures reminding us all the time that even when we have messed up, His love for us will never change.

You might want to pick up on this idea and leave love notes to your kids. But better still, you may want to practice being loving and joyful first. And do you know why? Because the best inheritance you can leave your children is a good example.

By Francis J. Kong

Meditation: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. – 1 John 3:1

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Stop putting off your dreams

 

If you keep putting off your dreams because you are afraid of what people will say and the names they will call you, you will not amount to anything in life. I will rather go ahead and fulfil my dreams, irrespective of what people are saying than do nothing and be spared of their talks.

-Babatunde Oladele

Going to Heaven

 

In one minute, in the privacy of your home, it can be explained how you can know for sure that you will receive the gift of Heaven.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that ye have eternal life” – 1 John 5:13

All you have to know are four things:

1. God says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23

2. God says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” – Romans 5:12

This is the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The price for sin is death.

3. God says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

God loves you very much. He doesn’t want you to go to Hell. In fact, He loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to this earth. This is why Christmas is celebrated. Jesus actually lifted the sins from you and placed them upon Himself. When Jesus was on the cross His blood cleansed your own. He paid the price for your sin, which is death. They buried Jesus and He arose from the dead. He conquered death and He conquered sin. This is why Easter is celebrated.

He offers you life. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

Eternal life is a present. You can’t get baptized into Heaven; be good to get into Heaven, pay money to get into Heaven; in fact, you can’t do anything to get into Heaven, except to accept God’s gift and trust Jesus as your only way into Heaven.

4. God says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” – Romans 10:13

“But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God…” – John 1:12

“… but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

Here is how you call upon the Lord:

Dear Jesus,

Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. I trust you today, Jesus, to lead me through my life. I trust you today, Jesus, to take me to Heaven. Thank you for your sacrifice for me. Amen.

Just as you were physically born to your parents, you are spiritually born into the Kingdom of God when you call on Jesus.

— Author Unknown

You will succeed in Jesus Name!