LIFE Stories

"For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. For to me, living is for Christ." – Philippians 1:20-21. +++ Once a group of nuns were given a vacation trip through the Rocky Mountains where they had never been before. They were filled with awe as they marveled at the wonder of the many miles of majestic mountains.  However, every time they stopped to enjoy the view, one particular nun would slip away by herself. So, on one occasion the other nuns decided they would follow her to see what she was up to. They watched her as she walked into the gully. She bent down and reached under a sizable rock, and then turned the rock upside down. She brushed her hands and turned around to walk back up the trail. When she looked up, the entire Order of nuns was watching her. "Margaret, what are you doin...

+++ In the early days of rail travel, crossing guards warned travelers of approaching trains. When trains came, they stood in the middle of the road, swinging a lantern to warn coach drivers of the impending danger. One night, there was a terrible accident at a particular crossing. A coach collided with a train, killing a family of six. An inquest by the railroad authorities summons Sean, the guard on duty that night.  "Sean," the chairman of the review board asked, "were you on duty the night of the accident?" "Yes, sir, I was," Sean replied nervously.  "Did you know the train was coming?" "Yes, sir, I did." "Did you take your place in front of the crossing?" "Yes, sir, I did." "Did you have your lantern with you?" "Yes, sir, I did."  Then the chairman thanked Sean and told him to step down. The inquest closed the case without knowing the cause of the accident. Speculation was that the coach driv...

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31. "Namaste" is a polite Indian gesture of greeting or farewell. From Hindi, the word literally means "bowing to you." Namaste has also been used to mean "I honour the sacred that is within you." What a remarkable thing it would be to actually honour the sacred that is within each person we meet! Even strangers. Nobody would go unnoticed and everybody would count. Has this ever happened to you? +++ One day after we had moved to a new town, my wife Judith did grocery shopping. We moved few food items with us so she filled four grocery carts full. She asked if she could pay with an out of state currency. "We just moved here," she explained, "and don't have local currency as yet." They said, "Yes, no problem." But when she began looking for her currencies, she discovered that she had left it at home. All of the groceries had been checked and sacked. "I'm so s...

What we see in the Bible, especially in the book of Psalms, which is a book of gratitude for the created world, is a recognition that all good things on Earth are God's, every good gift is from above. They are good if we recognize where they came from and if we treat them the way the Designer, the Maker of heaven and earth, intended them to be treated. +++ Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life… Never ask for a lighter rain, just pray to God for a better umbrella. - That is the attitude! Life is not about finding the right person but creating the right relationship. It's not how we care in the beginning, but how much we care till the very end. Some people always throw stones in your path. It depends on what you make with them, a Wall or a Bridge? – Remember you are the architect of your life. Search for a good heart, but don't search for a beautiful face, because beautiful things are not always good, but good things are always beautiful. It’s not important to hold all ...

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [or through the darkest valley], I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4. Let this story be a simple reminder that God is always with you regardless of the storms of life, and wants you to know that the sun will rise again upon your life and overshadow every obstacle that you had to go through. +++ "One night while my young son was sleeping, a storm began raging outside. After a massive lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder, I heard him wake up so I headed toward his room to comfort him. He asked me to stay with him until he fell asleep. As I lay there I realized he hadn't asked me to make the storm go away, but to stay with him. +++ How many times, I wondered, have I asked God to take away the storms of life, when instead I need to ask him to stay with me and help me face and withstand with courage them more peacefully? Just as a hymn writer put it so...

We don't always understand why things happen contrary to our expectations. But we need to remember that God is the One who sees the picture and He sometimes accomplishes the goal at hand in different ways than we would expect it. Just because God does it differently in ways that we do not always understand, I want you to be confident and know that God is in control and will always bring good out of the bad that we see. +++ Once there was a man who asked God for a flower and a butterfly. But instead God gave him a cactus and a caterpillar. The man was sad. He didn’t understand why his prayer was not answered. Then the man thought, “Oh well, God has so many people to care for,” and he decided not to question God. After some time, the man went to check up on the cactus and the caterpillar. To his surprise, from the thorny and ugly cactus, a beautiful flower had grown. And the unsightly caterpillar had been transformed into the most beautiful butterfly. +++ God always does things right...

“…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…” – Hosea 4:6. +++ Once a proud young man came to Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to the muscular philosopher and said, "O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge." Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, "What do you want?" "Knowledge, O wise Socrates," said the young man with a smile. Socrates put his strong hands on the man's shoulders and pushed him under. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. "What do you want?" he asked again. "Wisdom," the young man sputtered, "O great and wise Socrates." Socrates crunched him under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. "What do you want, young man?" Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, "Knowledge, O wise and wonderful......