DAYS OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

 

The Juggler

 

He was born in Italy but came to the United States as a young man.

 He studied juggling and became famous throughout the whole world.

 

Finally he decided to retire. He longed to return to his home country and settle down.

 He took all his worldly possessions, booked a passage on a ship to Italy and invested

 all the rest of the money in a single diamond.  He hid the diamond in his stateroom.

 

While aboard ship, he was showing a boy how he could juggle a bunch of apples.

 Soon a crowd had gathered. The pride of the moment went to his head.

 

He ran to his stateroom and got the diamond.

He explained to the crowd that it represented

 his entire life’s savings.

 

He started juggling the diamond.

Soon he was taking more and more chances.

 

At one point he threw the diamond high into the air and the crowd gasped

 Knowing what the diamond meant, they begged him not to do it again.

 Moved by the excitement of the moment, he threw the diamond even higher.

 Again the crowd gasped and then sighed in relief when he caught the diamond.

 

Having total confidence in himself and his ability, the juggler told the crowd

 he would throw it up one more time. This time it would be so high that it

would be out of sight for a moment.

 

Again, they begged him not to do it.

 

But with the confidence of all his years of experience, he threw the diamond

 high into the air.  It actually did disappear for a moment.

 

Then the diamond returned into view sparkling in the sunlight.

 

At that moment, the ship lurched and the diamond dropped into the sea
and  was lost forever.

 

We all feel terrible about the man’s loss of all his worldly possessions.

But God compares our soul as more valuable than the possessions

 of the whole world.

 

Just like the man in the story, some of us are juggling with our souls.

We trust in ourselves and our own ability and the fact that

 we have gotten by before.

 

Oftentimes there are people around us begging us to stop taking the

risk because they recognize the value of our soul.

 

But we continue to juggle one more time…

never knowing when the ship will lurch

and we will have lost our chance forever.

 

(Billy Graham)

 

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found,
call ye upon Him while He is near;

Let the wicked forsake his way
 and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return unto the Lord, an
He will have mercy upon him;

And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
 (Isaiah 55:6-7)

 

 

Daddy's Bible

Daddy has left us, his life's work done.
Only one thing leaving, to me, his son.
 It is his old Bible, all tattered and torn.
 Each page is wrinkled, soiled or worn.

Its condition, atrocious, but not from abuse,
It happened through time, with frequent use.
From cover to cover, each page was read.
You can tell he loved it, by the life he led.

 

Many words are circled, verses underlined.
In the margins, other thoughts you will find.
Much time in reading, and study was spent,
Learning what was written, and just what it meant.

No greater treasure, could I possess,
Than that old Bible. I am so blessed.
Its condition has gone, from bad to worse,
As I've considered each note and underlined verse. 

It now holds a place among precious things,
Not for its beauty, but for the memories it brings.
Every Daddy should follow his example and leave,
A worn out Bible, to which his son can cleave.

No greater blessing, could a man bestow,
Than a knowledge of a Savior, who loves us so.
Now that I know him, and his promises, won.
What more can I say, but, "Thanks Dad"
-With love, Your Son.

Grady L. Duncan

**** 



For All Mothers

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night
with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced
with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,
"It's OK honey, Mommy's here."


Who walk around the house all night with their babies
when they keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with
spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses
and diapers in their purse.


For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and
sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies
they'll never see. And the mothers who took
those babies and gave them homes.


This is for all the mothers who froze their buns
off on metal bleachers at football or soccer games
Friday night instead of watching from cars,
so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?"
they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have
missed it for the world," and meant it.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their
children and explained all about making babies.
And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon"
twice a night for a year.
And then read it again. "Just one more time."


This is for all the mothers who taught their children to
tie their shoelaces before they started school.
And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to
cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically
when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even
though they know their own off spring are at home.


This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school
with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE
once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later
 asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray,
who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they
bleed - when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button
on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son
or daughter disappear down the street, walking to
school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to
crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child
when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

For all the mothers of the victims of all these school
shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who
sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who
just came home from school, safely.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears
on their children's graves.

This is for young mothers stumbling through
diaper changes and sleep deprivation.
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all.
May God bless you!
~ author unknown ~


 

The Mysterious Way

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take:
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His working vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

(~William Cowper~)



God Grant Me The Serenity to Accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to Change the things I can; and
Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace:
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
 not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy
with Him forever in the next.   Amen
(~Reinhold Niebuhr)

"That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children
 in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them,
 as the days of heaven upon the earth."
(Deuteronomy 11:21)