Inspirational Stories #10

Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.

She read, munched cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy "cookie thief" diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking," If I wasn't so nice, I'd blacken his eye!"

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he'd do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought," Oh brother."
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude,
Why, he didn't even show any gratitude!"

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the "thieving ingrate."

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!

"If mine are here," she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his and he tried to share!"
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Makes A Difference

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permisson to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says "Who I Am Makes A Difference" on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!" The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."

Won't YOU give SOMEONE a blue ribbon today?

- Helice Bridges

Fishers Of Men

"Back when I was pastoring a church in Portland,Oregon, I received a call early one morning from the local hospital. A patient who was dying had asked for a minister of my denomination. Could I come to the hospital as soon as possible? Half an hour later, I was standing at the bedside of Felix Richy as the nurse drew the curtain around us. "Pastor," Mr.Richy said, "my uncle was a preacher and he used to talk to me about the Lord, but I wouldn't listen. My wife always tried to get me to go to church, but I wouldn't go. Now, I am going to meet my Maker and my life is filled with sin."

"Mr.Richy," I began, "the fact that you admit you've sinned and are willing to confess it, is half the battle." We talked. I quoted some Scripture about God's forgiveness, and then we prayed together as he turned his life over to the Lord.

The next day, I returned, and the next, and the next, and to the amazement of the hospital staff, Felix kept improving! In a matter of weeks he was sent home, and on the next Sunday, he appeared in my church. For eight years he sat in the same pew each Sunday with hardly a miss. In the end, he died suddenly of a heart attack. I officiated at the funeral, and after the burial, an elderly man approached me.

"Pastor Hooker," he said, "you don't know me, but I was in the bed next to Felix Richy when you came to the hospital that morning. I wrote down those Scriptures you quoted and gave my heart to Jesus too. That morning, you didn't catch just one fish, you caught two. I jumped into the net while you were pulling it in."

-by Pastor Samuel Hooker

Thanks For Today

I do not wish for tomorrow,
For it could bring grief or sorrow,
These few hours that I borrow,
Help me livejust for today.

Grant me strength when days are dreary,
Hold my hand when I am weary,
Help me make some life more cheery,
As I walk the Master's way.

And if I should trip and tumble,
Pick me up if I should stumble,
Keep me mindful to be humble,
As I journey on my way.

When my day, at last is ending,
And my steps are homeward wending,
With a faith in God unending,
Thank you Jesus for today.

By Bill Carr

Guardian Angels

When Angels sense you need them,
And Angels always do.
They come, unseen, from everywhere,
To help and comfort you.

They hover close beside you,
Till all your cares are gone.
Till they can see you're ready,
Once again to carry on.

Then some of them may fly away,
And take their gentle touch.
To other hearts that need,
The love of Angels very much.

But one, at least, stays with you,
As your constant friend and guide.
For GUARDIAN ANGELS never leave,
They're always at your side.

© 1997 mcpumpkin@geocities.com

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