If Only Life Could Be Like a Computer

-If you messed up your life, you could press "Alt, Ctrl, Delete" and start all over!

-To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!

-If you needed a break from life, click on "suspend".

-Hit "any key" to continue life when ready.

-To get even with the neighbors, turn up the sound blaster.

-To "add/remove" someone in your life, click settings and control panel.

-To improve your appearance, just adjust the display settings.

-If life gets too noisy, turn off the speakers.

-When you lose your car keys, click on "find".

-"Help" with the chores is just a click away.

-You wouldn't need auto insurance. You'd use your bootable CD to recover from a crash.

-We could click on "send" and the kids would go to bed immediately.

-To feel like a new person, click on "refresh".

-Click on "close" to shut up the kids and spouse.

-To undo a mistake, click on "back".

-Is your wardrobe getting old? Click "update".

-If you don't like cleaning the litter box, click on "delete".

Mothers of the Famous

Columbus' Mother: "I don't care what you've discovered, Chris. You still could have written."


Michelangelo's Mother: "Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"


Mary's Mother: "I'm not upset that your lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you."


Batman's Mother: "It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance is going to be?"


Goldilocks Mother: "I've got a bill here for a broken chair from the Bear family. Do you know anything about this, Goldie?"


Albert Einstein's Mother: "But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?"


George Washington's Mother: "The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"


Superman's Mother: "Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths?"


Thomas Edison's Mother: "Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light blub, Thomas. Now turn off that light and get to bed."

Love and What is Not

Are your palms sweaty, is your heart racing

And is your voice caught within your chest?

It isn't love, it's like.


You can't keep your eyes or hands off of them,

am I right?

It isn't love, it's lust.


Are you proud, and eager to show them off?

It isn't love, it's luck.


Do you want them because you know they're there?

It isn't love, it's loneliness.


Are you there because it's what everyone wants?

It isn't love, it's loyalty.


Does your heart ache and break when they're sad?

Then it's love.


Do you cry for their pain,

even when they're strong?

Then it's love.


Do their eyes see your true heart,

and touch your soul so deeply it hurts?

Then it's love.


Do you stay for their confessions of love,

because you don't want to hurt them?

It isn't love, it's pity.


Are you there because they kissed you,

or held your hand?

It isn't love, it's low confidence.


Do you belong to them

because their sight makes your heart skip a beat?

It isn't love, it's infatuation.


Do you stay because a blinding,

incomprehensible mix of pain and

elation pulls you close and holds you?

Then it's love.


Do you pardon their faults

because you care about them?

It isn't love, it's friendship


Do you accept their faults

because they're a part of who they are?

Then it's love.


Do you tell them every day

they are the only one you think of?

It isn't love, it's a lie.


Are you attracted to others,

but stay with them faithfully without regret?

Then it's love.


Are you willing to give

all of your favorite things for their sake?

It isn't love, it's charity.


Would you give them your heart, your life, your death?

Then it's love.

Woman of Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ...

but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...


A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ...

but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...


A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ...

but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...


A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...


a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and

capitalizes on them...


A strong woman walks sure footedly ...

but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls...


A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face ...

but a woman of strength wears grace...

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey ...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

Have you been to the bank?

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with 86,400.

It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you.

Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back.

There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".

You must live in the present on today's deposits.

Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running.

Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a pre-mature baby.

To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.

To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.

And remember that time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history

Tomorrow is mystery

Today is a gift

That's why it's called the present!!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.

They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.

They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Show your friends how much you care.....

What God Won't Ask

God won’t ask what kind of car you drove.

He will ask how many people you took to church who didn’t have a car.



God won’t ask the square footage of your home.

He will ask how many people you helped who didn’t have a home.



God won’t ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet.

He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to Salvation Army.



God won’t ask what social class you were in.

He will ask what kind of "class" you displayed.



God won’t ask how many material possessions you had.

He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.



God won’t ask what your highest salary was.

He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.



God won’t ask how much overtime you worked.

He will ask did you work overtime for your family.



God won’t ask how many promotions you received.

He will ask what you did to promote others.



God won’t ask what your job title was.

He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.



God won’t ask how many promotions you took to chase the dollar bill.

He will ask how many promotions you refused to advance your family’s quality of life.



God won’t ask how many times you didn’t run around around on your spouse.

He will ask how many times you did.



God won’t ask how many degrees you have.

He will ask how many people you thanked for getting those degrees.



God won’t ask what your parents did to help you.

He will ask what you did to help your parents.



God won’t ask what you did to help yourself.

He will ask what you did to help others.



God won’t ask how many friends you had.

He will ask how many people you were a friend to.



God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights.

He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.



God won’t ask what neighborhood you lived in.

He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited.



God won’t ask how many times you told the truth.

He will ask how many times you told a lie.



God won’t ask about the color of your skin.

He will ask about the color of your heart.



God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words.

He will ask how many times they didn’t.

10 Causes and Cures of Unhappiness

One of the quickest ways to spread the sunny rays of happiness over your life is to directly confront the negative attitudes darkening your doorstep.

While neither universal nor all-encompassing, the joy-stealing attitudes and corresponding cures listed below are common enough to warrant a thumbtack on the wall of many lives, including my own.

1. Jealousy: Destroy the green monster by celebrating the successes of others. If your friend succeeds, celebrate his victory as your own; if your enemy succeeds, remind yourself that jealousy is self-defeating, pointless, and merely extends an enemy’s power over you.

2. Persecution Complex: Recognize that persecution is irrelevant, since you (and only you) control the outcome of your life. Every person has a stack of obstacles placed before him; success hinges upon your ability to overcome the obstacles in your path, persecution or no.

3. Lack of Accountability: We may not control every bad thing that happens to us, but we do control how we react to those bad things. Instead of passing the buck, take responsibility for every failure so you can learn and grow.

4. Perfectionism: Stop nit picking. Perfection is rarely attainable and seldom necessary. You’re a person, not a robot. Use the 80/20 Rule whenever appropriate.

5. Excessive Reasoning: Man is blessed with a marvelous and astounding ability to reason. At its best, this ability facilitates accomplishment; at its worst, it causes spirals of perfectionism, over-thinking, and paralysis by analysis. If it’s clear you’re in a situation that cannot be improved through logic and reason, learn to let go.

6. Negativism: Remind yourself that there are just as many positive forces in the world as negative ones; your fixation on the negative is a matter of perspective and choice.

7. Assuming the Worst of Others: There is a fine line between guarding against a realistic threat and being needlessly defensive. Make sure you haven’t crossed that line. Whenever possible, give people the benefit of the doubt.

8. Low Self-Esteem: Raise your self-esteem by recognizing your accomplishments and positive qualities; further boost it by correcting the problem areas that drag you down.

9. Low Self-Efficacy: Self-efficacy is defined as faith in your ability to achieve a desired outcome. To overcome low self-efficacy, master the skills required to reach your objective. Practice, practice, practice.

10. Feelings of Meaninglessness: Inject meaning into your life by learning to follow your passion: that internal compass, guiding you toward fulfillment. Read my synergy series of articles for more information; if you disagree with my approach for discovering purpose, pioneer your own.

Unhappiness is both self-defined and self-imposed (meaning a person who believes himself happy is), so if you’re capable of controlling your mental state without examining its constituent elements, I stand in awe of your mental abilities and politely leave you to your devices.

On the other hand, if you’re like most people I’ve known (myself included) and occasionally feel unhappy for reasons that cannot be swept under the rug, review this list of 10 self-destructive attitudes and corresponding cures.

By understanding the source of your unhappiness, you can take the steps required to climb out of the hole of despair and into the sunlight of happiness.

A Couple Heartbreak

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.

The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.

When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words.

What do you think were the four words?

The husband just said "I Love You Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No
point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don't multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding on to forgiveness.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world.

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

20 Thoughts to the Wise

01. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

02. Dear God: I have a problem. Sometimes, it's me.

03. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

04. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

05. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

06. Do the math. Count your blessings.

07. Faith is the ability to not panic.

08. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

09. If we worry, we probably didn't pray. If we pray, we probably don't worry.

10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.

11. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

12. The most important things in our homes are the people.

13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knots for us.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead. And who knows where he has gone?

16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life moves too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until we experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.

18. It's all right to sit on our pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living our life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams we seek require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle -- it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Steps to Happiness

Everybody Knows,

You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.


So,

You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others, because no one else is in the contest of "being you".


Then,

You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.
And you'll be a most vital mortal.


Believe,

That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in all history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you'll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down.

Why Women Cry

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

" All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said: " When I made the woman she had to be special. I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort. I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children. I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining. I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart. I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly. And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

Twelve Good Thoughts

1. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

2. Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, and the romance in a relationship and find out that you still care for that person.

3. When the door of happiness closes, another opens but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

4. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

5. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

6. There are things you'd love to hear that you would never hear from the person who you would like to hear from, but don't be so deaf as not to hear it from the one who says it from their heart.

7. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth, in the end it fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

8. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

9. A careless word may kindle strife, a cruel word may wreck a life, a timely word may level stress, a loving word may heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

11. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

12. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches..

The First Time I Loved Forever

somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond any experience your eyes have their silence in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near


The first time I loved forever
Was when you whispered my name
And I knew at once you loved me
For the me of who I am

The first time I loved forever
I cast all else aside
And I bid my heart to follow
Be there no more need to hide

And if wishes and dreams are merely for
children
And if love's a tale for fools
I'll live the dream with you

or if your wish be to close me, I and my life wil shut very beautifully,
suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending


For all my life and forever
There's a truth I will always know
When my world divides and shatters
Your love is where I'll go

i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper that all roses nobody, not ever the rain, has such small hands

The Parable of True Love

The old woman sat on the antique rattan rocking chair. Her eyeglasses were perched precariously on her nose as she concentrated on her sewing chores. A gentle breeze swept the wisp of whitish hair on her temples.

Beside her sat her teen-age granddaughter. She was like a fresh flower recently bloomed. Without warning she suddenly blurted out, "Grandma, why is true love so difficult to find?"

The old woman with a kindly face stopped sewing and touched her granddaughter's head affectionately. After a moment, the young girl cuddled closer, resting her head on the old woman's lap.

"Listen and I will tell you why," began the grandmother.

"Many centuries ago, when the world was young, true love existed everywhere. It was available for the asking. Because of this, men and women took true love for granted, so God decided to keep true love." She stopped and smiled as she gently stroked the young girl's soft tresses. "God asked a pair of angels to keep true love."

"First, they buried true love in the ground. But man and woman easily dug it out. Next, the angels took true love to the highest mountain. But again, man and woman easily climbed to the top. Then the angels submerged true love in the deepest sea. Man and woman swam to the bottom of the body of water and with ease retrieved true love."

"So true love is easy to find," commented the young girl. "For man and woman will dig, climb and swim."

"Yes ... but finally the angels kept true love in the hearts of man and woman. Since then, people have had difficulty searching for true love. For they look everywhere except in the one place that they should keep it."

The Risk of Love

There is a risk involved in everything
Every time you share a smile
Every time you shed a tear
You are opening yourself up to hurt.

Some people tread slowly through life,
Avoiding the closeness risk brings,
Sidestepping the things they can not understand
Turning away from those who care too much-
Those who care stay too long,
Those who hold too tightly.

There is never an easy way to love
You cannot approach it cautiously
It will not wait for you to arm yourself.

It does not care if you turn away
It is everywhere, it is everything.
Love is the greatest of all risks.

It is not reliable, it is not cautious,
It is not sympathetic
It is unprejudiced and unmerciful.
It strikes the strongest of mind,
And brings them to their knees in one blow.

Even in the best of times, love hurts.
It hurts to need, it hurts to belong,
It hurts to be the other part of someone else,
Without either of your consent.

But, from the moment it overtakes you,
It hurts worse to be all alone.
The risk of love never depletes;
It grows stronger and more dangerous with time.
But, it is in the total surrender of all defense,
That we, no matter weak or strong,
No matter willing or captive,
No matter what, we truly experience love.

Despite the many things love is not,
Outweighing it all are the things that love is.
Love is surrender without a loss.
It is a gift without the cost.
It consumes your every thought and desire,
Every breath you take.
It is the fire that fuels you
To do more than pass through life;
It urges you, instead, to live.

No matter the outcome, having felt love,
You will never be the same.
It may scar your heart and soul
And leave you only memories of forever.
Or, it may cause every day of your life
To feel like there is no need for tomorrow.
But, love is worth it. It is worth the risk...

For in all of life,
Love is truly the only risk worth taking.