True friends!

I used to think that I had to be friends with everyone! I worried if someone didn't like me and would spend alot of time and effort, trying to make them like me and become my friends. Thank goodness for age, years, time,mistakes or whatever you want to call it... that brings wisdom. I now understand that I don't need to apologize over and over again for something that I really didn't even do. My job... is to be friends with those who build me up, believe in me and who treat me with love and respect.  ( What a concept ! )
So I loved this photo and quote, it really is important to turn around and see all the people who are always there for us,  and always behind you... no matter what you do or choose in life! Those are your true friends, they don't take advantage of you, that don't belittle little you ( joking or not ), and they don't judge you.

I have to admit, it is nice to be with your true friends! They make life better and in every way...and that is a much nicer way to live! Speaking of friends...good night dear friends!

   " A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”

      “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

Acts of service can have far-reaching effects!

I had read this story years ago, and it always has touched me. Maybe because I was a Mother myself many times in situations where I wish I could have explained my actions. Yet, I too have fallen guilty of judging too quickly…well knowing that we don’t know the whole picture. Making a quick judgment is so easy, but like this story…things may not always be what they seem.

I hope you enjoy it.
Good night dear friends!

Serving Others

Stranded in an airport because of bad weather, a young mother and her two-year-old daughter had been waiting in long lines for hours trying to get a flight home. The child was tired and fussy, but the mother, who was pregnant and at risk of miscarriage, did not pick her up. A doctor had advised the mother to avoid lifting the two-year-old unless absolutely necessary. The woman overheard disapproving comments from people around her as she used her foot to slide her crying daughter along in the line. Nobody offered to help. But then, the woman later recalled, “someone came towards us and with a kindly smile said, ‘Is there something I could do to help you?’ With a grateful sigh I accepted his offer. He lifted my sobbing little daughter from the cold floor and lovingly held her to him while he patted her gently on the back. He asked if she could chew a piece of gum. When she was settled down, he carried her with him and said something kindly to the others in the line ahead of me, about how I needed their help. They seemed to agree and then he went up to the ticket counter [at the front of the line] and made arrangements with the clerk for me to be put on a flight leaving shortly. He walked with us to a bench, where we chatted a moment, until he was assured that I would be fine. He went on his way. About a week later I saw a picture of Apostle Spencer W. Kimball and recognized him as the stranger in the airport.”

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/01/spencer-w-kimball-man-of-action?lang=eng

Later at the end of the story Spencer W. Kimball got a letter from a young man. Here is just a part of his letter to him… 

… a story was told of a loving service which you performed some 21 years ago in the Chicago airport. The story told of how you met a young pregnant mother with a young screaming child in … a [condition of] distress waiting in a long line for her tickets. She was threatening miscarriage and therefore couldn’t lift her child to comfort her. She had experienced four previous miscarriages which gave added reason for the doctor’s orders not to bend or lift.
“… You comforted the crying child, and explained the dilemma to the other passengers in line. This act of love took the strain and tension off of my mother. I was born a few months later in Flint, Michigan.
“I just want to thank you for your love. Thank you for your example!”

 

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”  ~Anne Frank

“It is not so much what we know that is important, as what we do and what we are.” ~ Spencer W. Kimball

Things aren't always as they appear!

When Jeff and I were dating, this very same thing happened to us...

HOW TO STOP CHURCH GOSSIP

Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business.  Several members did not approve of her extracurricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused Frank, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon..

She emphatically told Frank (and several others) that every one seeing it there WOULD KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING !

Frank, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away.  He didn't explain, defend, or deny.  He said nothing....

Later that evening, Frank quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house ... walked home ...and left it there all night.

(You gotta love Frank!)

Jeff came over one evening and we went out on a date.  When we got back to the apartment with all my roommates, Jeff said he was feeling sick, a boy was he ever. The short version of the story is ...that Jeff's Mom had to come pick him up and leave his truck in front of our apartment till he got better ( in a day or so ). Some one accused me of letting Jeff stay the night, I was upset because I had been judged wrongly. Now...it is just something we laugh about. And it is a good reminder for us not to be so judgmental and realize things aren't always as they appear! So this story reminded me of that situation we were in over 32 years ago!!!! ( and no, I don't hold grudges !)

"What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth."  ~Jewish Proverb

"There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly becomes any of us
To talk about the rest of us." ~ Edward Wallis Hoch

Part 2

My last post was about first impressions and how very often we judge one another, and many times unfairly. When I wrote and thank the dear friend (who was the inspiration for my post), this is the poem he sent me. It was one of his favorites on this same subject. It was so good, I felt the need to make a part 2 to my last post. I still think the reason that this is important to me, is because it is something that I need to work on every day.

As Jeff and I talked to the hosts of the B & B yesterday morning before we left, we talked of this very subject. They mentioned how some times when people first come to their B & B, that they are quite and seem sorta distant.  Then usually by the next morning after having a good night sleep and time away from the world, they are different people. I do believe that many of us are over worked, over stressed, under nourished, sleep deprived and on and on. What a great idea it was for Jeff and I to RUN AWAY and get back some time for ourselves ( refill our bucket ),have time for each other and get a much healthier perspective on our life!  So if you ever need a great B & B to run away to, we know the perfect place...

THYME & TIDE in Oceanside,Oregon       www.thyme-and-tide.com

When You Know a Fellow

When you get to know a fellow, know his joys and know his cares, 
When you've come to understand him and the burdens that he bears, 
When you've learned the fight he's making and the troubles in his way, 
Then you find that he is different than you thought him yesterday.

You find his faults are trivial and there's not so much to blame 
In the brother that you jeered at when you only knew his name.

You are quick to see the blemish in the distant neighbor's style, 
You can point to all his errors and may sneer at him the while, 
And your prejudices fatten and your hates more violent grow 
As you talk about the failures of the man you do not know,

But when drawn a little closer, and your hands and shoulders touch, 
You find the traits you hated really don't amount to much.

When you get to know a fellow, know his every mood and whim, 
You begin to find the texture of the splendid side of him; 
You begin to understand him, and you cease to scoff and sneer, 
For with understanding always prejudices disappear. 
You begin to find his virtues and his faults you cease to tell, 
For you seldom hate a fellow when you know him very well.

When next you start in sneering and your phrases turn to blame, 
Know more of him you censure than his business and his name; 
For it's likely that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel 
And you'd really come to like him if you knew him very well.

When you get to know a fellow and you understand his ways, 
Then his faults won't really matter, for you'll find a lot to praise.

"NEVER JUDGE A MAN'S ACTIONS UNTIL YOU KNOW HIS MOTIVES"

"WE JUDGE OURSELVES BY WHAT WE FEEL CAPABLE OF DOING, WHILE OTHERS JUDGE US BY WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY DONE"  ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Live what you believe!

I love this story, see if after reading this it reminds you of someone you know. They are the best living proof of the scriptures that you know! We all need to be more like this and we definitely need more friends like this, if we did then think what a better place this world would be.

Thanks for the examples of kindness you have been to me. Good night dear friends.

"PREACH THE GOSPEL AT ALL TIMES AND WHEN NECESSARY USE WORDS."  ~St. Francis of Assisi

 

The Living Bible

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.

One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget." "Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

 

"SETTING AN EXAMPLE IS NOT THE MAIN MEANS OF INFLUENCING ANOTHER, IT IS THE ONLY MEANS." ~ Albert Einstein

 

 

Friendship...a priceless treasure!

I love this story... because I do believe that our friendships, make our lives richer.

Clay  Balls       
A man was exploring caves by the Seashore.  In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.  It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.   They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.  As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. 

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock .  Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls.  Each contained a similar treasure.  He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.  

Then it struck him.  He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away! 

It's like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel.  It doesn't look like much from the outside.  It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. 

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.  But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. 

There is a treasure in each and every one of us.  If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world, as God sees them.   

"APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE
THING YOU HAVE, ESPECIALLY YOUR FRIENDS!
LIFE IS TOO SHORT AND FRIENDS ARE TOO FEW! "

"Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."
~ Ludwig van Beethoven