{Straight From the Heart}   *Stop and Smell the Roses*  11/16/99
                                                                                                                        

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Stop and Smell the Roses

   I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband
unexpectedly died suddenly of a heart attack.  About a week after his death,
she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students.  As the late
afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the
class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk
and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, "Before
class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought that is
unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.  Each of us is put
here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves...and
none of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.  It can be taken
away at any moment.  Perhaps this is God's way of telling us that we must
make the most out of every single day."

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all to make
me a promise... from now on, on your way to school, or on your way home,
find something beautiful to notice.  It doesn't have to be something you
see -- it could be a scent -- perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of
someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling
the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn
leaf as it falls gently to the ground.  Please, look for these things, and
cherish them.  For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are
the "stuff" of life.  The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy.
The things we often take for granted.  We must make it important to notice
them, for at any time... it can all be taken away."

The class was completely quiet.  We all picked up our books and filed out of
the room silently.  That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home
from school than I had that whole semester.  Every once in a while, I think
of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I
try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today.  Go
barefoot.  Or walk on the beach at sunset.  Stop off on the way home tonight
to get a double-dip ice cream cone.  For as we get older, it is not the
things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.

(Author Unknown)
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Lost Words...

I lost a word yesterday,
Unguarded, from my tongue;
It slipped into the atmosphere -
Then trouble had begun. 

A dozen others followed it;
They filled the room with grief,
No matter then what word was said,
It could not bring relief. 

If only I had stopped that word
Before it crossed my lips,
My day had been a happy one -
And sweet with fellowships. 

I think I wasted yesterday,
Hurt self as well as friend,
Today I want to watch my words,
And let not one offend.
 
- Gertrude McDaniel -

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Thought For The Day:

"As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say.  I just watch what they do."
(Andrew Caregie)

Verse for the Day:

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
James 2:18


Kid's Thought for the day:

"If splashing in puddles means you have to wear wet shoes the rest of the day, 
sometimes it's worth it."

Parent's Thought For The Day

"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope."
(Bill Cosby)

Coach's Thought For The Day

"I have had players who are good, and know they are good; I have had players who 
are bad and know they are bad; I have had players who are good, but who don't know 
they are good; I have had players who are bad, but who don't know they are bad.  
It is this last group that has won more games for me than the first three groups 
combined."
(Paul "Bear" Bryant)

Deep Thought For The Day:

"It doesn't matter what temperature the room is, it's always room temperature."

  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    THUNDER27@aol.com   http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/  \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \   Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body I live for the Son
   \_\/   of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20