Yes I know they are long, but you would be surprised how motivational and inspiring these stories are.
Enjoy.
A Dad's Poem
>> Her hair was up in a pony tail,
>> her favorite dress tied with a bow.
>> Today was Daddy's Day at school,
>> and she couldn't wait to go.
>> But her mommy tried to tell her,
>> that she probably should stay home.
>> Why the kids might not understand,
>> if she went to school alone.
>> But she was not afraid;
>> she knew just what to say.
>> What to tell her classmates
>> of why he wasn't there today.
>> But still her mother worried,
>> for her to face this day alone.
>> And that was why once again,
>> she tried to keep her daughter home.
>> But the little girl went to school
>> eager to tell them all.
>> About a dad she never sees
>> a dad who never calls.
>> There were daddies along the wall in back,
>> for everyone to meet.
>> Children squirming impatiently,
>> anxious in their seats
>> One by one the teacher called
>> a student from the class.
>> To introduce their daddy,
>> as seconds slowly passed.
>> At last the teacher called her name,
>> every child turned to stare.
>> Each of them was searching,
>> for a man who wasn't there.
>> "Where's her daddy at?"
>> she heard a boy call out.
>> "She probably doesn't have one,"
>> another student dared to shout.
>> And from somewhere near the back,
>> she heard a daddy say,
>> "Looks like another deadbeat dad,
>> too busy to waste his day."
>> The words did not offend her,
>> as she smiled up at her Mom.
>> And looked back at her teacher,
>> who told her to go on.
>> And with hands behind her back,
>> slowly she began to speak.
>> And out from the mouth of a child,
>> came words incredibly unique.
>> "My Daddy couldn't be here,
>> because he lives so far away.
>> But I know he wishes he could be,
>> since this is such a special day.
>> And though you cannot meet him,
>> I wanted you to know.
>> All about my daddy,
>> and how much he loves me so.
>> "He loved to tell me stories
>> he taught me to ride my bike.
>> He surprised me with pink roses,
>> and taught me to fly a kite.
>> "We used to share fudge sundaes,
>> and ice cream in a cone.
>> And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.
>> "Cause my daddy's always with me,
>> even though we are apart
>> I know because he told me,
>> he'll forever be in my heart"
>> With that, her little hand reached up,
>> and lay across her chest.
>> Feeling her own heartbeat,
>> beneath her favorite dress.
>> And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
>> her mother stood in tears.
>> Proudly watching her daughter,
>> who was wise beyond her years.
>> For she stood up for the love
>> of a man not in her life.
>> Doing what was best for her,
>> doing what was right.
>> And when she dropped her hand back down,
>> staring straight into the crowd.
>> She finished with a voice so soft,
>> but its message clear and loud.
>> "I love my daddy very much,
>> he's my shining star.
>> And if he could, he'd be here,
>> but heaven's just too far
>> You see he was a policeman
>> and died just this past year
>> When airplanes hit the towers
>> and taught Americans to fear.
>> But sometimes when I close my eyes,
>> it's like he never went away."
>> And then she closed her eyes,
>> and saw him there that day.
>> And to her mother's amazement,
>> she witnessed with surprise.
>> A room full of daddies and children,
>> all starting to close their eyes.
>> Who knows what they saw before them,
>> who knows what they felt inside.
>> Perhaps for merely a second,
>> they saw him at her side.
>> "I know you're with me Daddy,"
>> to the silence she called out.
>> And what happened next made believers,
>> of those once filled with doubt.
>> Not one in that room could explain it,
>> for each of their eyes had been closed.
>> But there on the desk beside her,
>> was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
>> And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
>> by the love of her shining star
>> And given the gift of believing,
>> that heaven is never too far.
>> They say it takes a minute to find a special
>> person, an hour to appreciate them,
>> a day to love them, but then an entire
>> life to forget them.
>> Send this to the people you'll never forget and
>> remember to send it also to the person that sent
>> it to you. It's a short message to let them know
>> that you'll never forget them.
>> If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're
>> in a hurry and that you've forgotten your
>> friends.
>> Take the time...to live and love.
>> Until eternity. God bless.
> One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000 member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying submachine guns.
> One of the men proclaimed,
> "Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ remain where you are."
> Immediately, the choir fled...
> the deacons fled...and most of the congregation fled....
> Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.
> The man who had spoken took off his hood...He then looked at the preacher and said "Okay Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites... Now you may begin your service. Have a nice day!"
> And the two men turned and walked out.
> *Funny how simple it is for people to trash God ..
> and then wonder why the world is in the condition it is today....
> *Funny how we believe what the newspapers say...
> but question what the Bible says...
> *Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven...provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.
> or is it scary?
> *Funny how someone can say "I believe in God"...
> but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes"in God).
> *Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire... but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, you think twice about sharing.
> *Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace... but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and work place.
> *Funny, isn't it? Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday... but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.
> Are you laughing?
> *Funny how when you go to forward this message... you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe... or what they will think of you for sending it to them.
> *Funny how I can be more worried about what other
people think of me ... than what God thinks of me.
> Are you thinking?
> Will you share this with people you care about?
> Or not?
> Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is
> always in a good mood and always has something
> positive to say. When someone would ask him how he
> was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I
> would be twins!"
> He was a natural motivator.
> If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was
> there telling the employee how to look on the
> positive side of the situation.
> Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day
> I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it!
> You can't be a positive person all of the time. How
> do you do it?"
> Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to
> myself, you have two choices today. You can choose
> to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in
> a bad mood.
> I choose to be in a good mood.....
> Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be
> a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I
> choose to learn from it.
> Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can
> choose to accept their complaining or... I can point
> out the positive side of life. I choose the positive
> side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I
> protested.
> "Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about
> choices. When you cut away all the junk, every
> situation is a choice. You choose how you react to
> situations. You choose how people affect your mood.
> You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The
> bottom line: It's your choice how you live your
> life." !
> I reflected on what Michael said. Soon hereafter, I
> left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We
> lost touch, but I often thought about him when I
> made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
> Several years later, I heard that Michael was
> involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet
> from a communications tower.
> After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive
> care, Michael was released from the hospital with
> rods placed in his back.
> I saw Michael about six months after the accident.
> When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were
> any better, I'd be twins Wanna see my scars?"
> I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what
> had gone through his mind as the accident took
> place.
> "The first thing that went through my mind was the
> well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," Michael
> replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground! , I
> remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to
> live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."
> "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I
> asked.
> Michael continued, "..the paramedics were great.
> They kept telling me I was going to be fine.But when
> they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the
> expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses,
> I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a
> dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
> "What did you do?" I asked.
> "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting
> questions at me," said Michael. "She asked if I was
> allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors
> and nurses stopped working as they waited for my
> reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."
> Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to
> live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
> Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors,
> but also because of his amazing attitude... I
> learned from him that every day we have the choice
> to live fully.
> Attitude, after all, is everything.
> Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
> will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble
> of its own." Matthew 6:34.
> After all today is the tomorrow you worried about !
> yesterday.
Readings that really make you think.
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