A very very Good Story!!!

Great Story

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the

Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and

hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and

his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside,

as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and

driest clothes and said; "OK dad, I'm ready." His Pastor dad asked,

"Ready for what?" "Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and

go out." Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring

down rain." The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking "But Dad,

aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?" Dad

answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather." Despondently, the

boy ask, "Dad, can I go? Please?" His father hesitated for a moment

then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son." "Thanks Dad!"

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old

boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing

everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract. After two hours of

walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his

VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand

a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward

the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and

rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.

He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but

still no answer. Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave,

but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell

and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding

him there on the front porch. He rang again and this time the door slowly

opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady.

She softly asked "What can I do for you son?" With radiant eyes and a

smile that lit up her world, this little boy said: "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I

disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE

YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell

you all about JESUS and His great LOVE." With that, he handed her his last

tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. "Thank

you, son! And God Bless You!" Well, the following Sunday morning in

church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked,

"Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?" Slowly, in the

back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began

to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, "No one in

this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last

Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago,

leaving me totally alone in this world.

Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even

more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer

had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended

the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a

rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other

end of the rope around my neck.. Standing on that chair, so lonely and

brokenhearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing

of my doorbell downstairs startled me.

I thought, "I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away." I

waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and

more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking

loudly. I thought to myself again, "Who on earth could this be? Nobody

ever rings my bell or comes to see me." I loosened the rope from my neck

and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for

there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I

had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to

you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long

been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice,

"Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU."

Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand. As the

little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my

door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract.

Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be

needing them any more. You see- "I am now a Happy Child of the KING.

Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract; I

have come here to personally say THANK YOU TO God's little angel who

came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from eternity in hell."

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor

to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building. Pastor Dad

Descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was

seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this

universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor

for his son... Except for One.

This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world.

He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven

Shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on

a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is

named. Blessed are your eyes for reading this message. Don't let this

message die, read it again and pass it to others.

We will meet in heaven!

God's cat

The Pastor's Cat

by Dwight Nelson

This story is guaranteed to leave a bright spot in your day.
Whoever said the Creator doesn't have a sense of humor?
Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his
church.

He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then
was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk,
etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy
enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to
his car and drove away so that the tree
bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. He did! All
the while, checking his progress in the car frequently, then
figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be
bent sufficiently for him
to reach the kitten.

But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree
went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air-out
of sight

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood
asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen
a stray kitten. So he
prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and
went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his
church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was
amazed to see cat food. Now this woman was a cat hater and
everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food
when you hate cats so much?"

She replied, "You won't believe this," and told him how her little
girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a
few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally
told her little girl, "Well if God gives you a cat, I'll let you
keep it." (Can you see where this is heading?)

She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get
on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't
believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly
came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and
landed right in front of her"

Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of
humor!

like ants!!

Brenda was a young woman that wanted to learn to go rock
climbing. Although she was scared to death she went with a group and they
faced this tremendous cliff of rock. Practically perpendicular. In
spite of
her fear, she put on the gear and she took a hold of the rope and she
started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could
take a breather. As she was hanging on there, whoever was holding the rope
up at the top of the cliff made a mistake and snapped the rope against
Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens. You know how tiny contact
lenses are and how almost impossible to find. Well, here she is on a rock
ledge, with who knows how many hundreds of feet
behind and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and
looked and looked, hoping that she would be able to find that contact
lens.
Here she was, very far from home. Her sight was now blurry. She
was very upset by the fact that she wouldn't be anywhere near a place
where she could get a new contact lens. And she prayed that the Lord
would help her to find it. Well, her last hope was that perhaps when she
got to the top of the cliff, one of the girls that was up there on the top
might be able to find her contact lens in the corner of her eye. When she
got to the top, a friend examined her eye. There was no contact lens to be
found.
She sat down with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to
come up the face of the cliff.
She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of
that Bible verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and from
throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these
mountains. You know every single stone and leaf that's on those mountains
and You know exactly where my contact lens is."

Finally, the time came when it was time to go down. They walked
down the trail to the bottom. Just as they got there, there was a new
party of rock climbers coming along. As one of them started up the face of
the cliff, she shouted out, "Hey, you guys! anybody lose a contact lens?"
Well, that would be startling enough, wouldn't it? She had found the
contact lens! But you know why she saw it? An ant was carrying that
contact lens so that it was moving slowly across the face of the rock.
What does that tell you about the God of the universe? Is He in
charge of the tiniest things? Do ants matter to Him? Of course they do.
He made them. He designed them.

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him
this incredible story, he drew a picture of that ant lugging that
contact lens with the words "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry
this thing. I can't eat it and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what
You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

If God is in charge of the ants, don't you think He cares about
you and me?

I guess Solomon was right. One could learn a valuable lesson from
that ant TRUST IN GOD!

We could probably all say a little more often, "God, I don't know
why you want me to carry this load. I see no good in it and it's awfully

heavy. Still, if you want me to, I'll carry it for You."

cute baby!!

We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in
a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking.
Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." He pounded
his fat baby hands on the high-chair tray. His eyes were wide with
excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wriggled and
giggled with merriment.

I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man with
a tattered rag of a coat: dirty, greasy and worn. His pants were baggy
with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes.
His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His
whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so
varicosed it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to
smell, but I was sure he smelled.

His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there, baby; hi
there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik. My husband
and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?"
Erik continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there."

Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the
man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby.

Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, "Do ya
know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows
peek-a-boo."

Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My
husband and I were embarassed. We ate in silence; all except for
Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row
bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.

We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband
went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The
old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of
here before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed.

As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step him
and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my
arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's pick-me-up position. Before
I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the
man's. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby
consummated their love relationship. Erik, in an act of total trust,
love and submission, laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged
shoulder. The man's eyes closed and I saw tears hover beneath his
lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain and hard labor, gently, so
gently, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back.

No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood
awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms for a
moment and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a
firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby."

Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone. He
pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in
pain. I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am,
you've given me my Christmas gift."

I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I
ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding
Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my God, forgive me."

I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a
tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a
soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who
was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking,
"Are you willing to share your son for a moment?" when He shared His
for all eternity.

The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, "To enter the kingdom
of God, we must become as little children."

brothers!

Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell
into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming
side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as
needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small
misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally
it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of
silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find
a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work"
he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there.
Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look
across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my
younger brother. "Last week there was a meadow between us and he
took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek
between us.

Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one
better. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to
build me a fence -- an 8-foot fence -- so I won't need to see his
place anymore. Cool him down, anyhow."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me
the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that
pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the
carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.

The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just
finished his job.

The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped.

There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge -- a bridge
stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of
work, handrails and all -- and the neighbor, his younger brother,
was coming across, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said
and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met
in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the
carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few
days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have many more
bridges to build.

full..

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of
business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration
those
students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of
high-powered overachiever s he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he
pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the
table in
front of him.

He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully
placed
them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the
top
and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes." The time management expert
replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a
bucket
of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing
pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big
rocks.
He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them
answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and
brought
out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and
it
went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.
Once
more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he
grabbed a
pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled
to the
brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of
this
illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter
how
full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit
some
more things in it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the
point.

The truth this illustration teaches us is:

If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in
at
all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life, time with your loved ones,
your
faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or
mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or
you'll
never get them in at all.

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this
short
story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my
life?

Then, put those in your jar first.