When life deals the lemons

What do you do when you expect to be dealt oranges and you get lemons instead?

Brood?

Loose interest?

Cry?

Get into a foul mood?

Try to rally sympathy?

Drink yourself to stupor?

Eat impulsively?

Get addicted to stuff?

Get hung on drugs?

These and many more are options people take when they don't get what they expect from others, friends, life itself, family or someone they have looked up to for something. But I like to tell you that these options are the 'wrongest' (permit that grammatical use) options. When you get struck down, you shouldn't be downcast. The general thing we're told is 'Take the lemon life has thrown at you and make lemonade', that's very true.

When you get downcast, it becomes difficult for you to get up and rethink and get yourself together and back on your feet. Your vision gets blurred and bleary. Your passion is watered down and you could just move from worse to worst. Now, this isn't just theory, I'm adding something new to this page. Real life experiences. I'll share my experiences with you, starting from the next post. Who knows, could just meet your present need.

Friends are Friends

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

I came across this chorus from the song by Micheal W. Smith. Its' title is actually 'Friends are Friends' and then I got thinking. Who really is a friend? Yeah, friends should really be forever! But before they are forever, what constitutes their friendship?

Is friendship about convenience?
Is it about nice fronts?
Is it about faking realities?
Is it about not just wanting to appear heartless to the other?

Or,

Is it about being ourselves?
Is it about understanding our silences and noises?
Is it about speaking the truth in love?
Is it about . . .

What exactly is friendship about?
Do you choose your friends or are they stuck down your throat? Do you have to continue to stick a person you just aren't connecting with anymore?

I would love responses.

Whispers

Sad, I lost the grphics in this but the message's still clear. Think on this.


A man whispered, "God, speak to me" and a meadowlark sang.

But, the man did not hear.


So the man yelled, "God, speak to me" and the thunder rolled across the sky.

But, the man did not listen.


The man looked around and said, "God let me see you." And a star shined brightly.

But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle." And, a life was born.

But, the man did not notice.
So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me God, and let me know you are here." Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed the butterfly away .

and walked on.
I found this to be a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we take for granted ... even in our electronic age.



So I would like to add one more:

The man cried, "God, I need your help!" And an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement.

But, the man deleted it and continued crying
Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way that you expect.

My instructions were to send this to people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Won't you please pass this to people you want to be blessed.

Have A Happy Day!

"SMSes" and Truths

I have a habit of keeping sms that really touch me and I was recently going through some of them again. What struck me as I read those sms again was how true could they be? Some of them came from people I'm not so close to or who I just met once. Let me share some of them with you so you get a picture of what exactly I'm talking about.

Space seems like an empty word, but it's full of Special People Around Caring Endlessly. Thank you for being part of my space.

I do not think much, I do not think often but when I think, I think of you. I don't think anything to think about than you!

Some pictures are kept in the album, others in the haert. Those in the album are thought of when seen, those in the heart will never be forgotten. As long as my heart beats, you're in it.

In my life, I learnt how to love, to smile, to be happy, to be strong, to be faithful, to work hard and to be honest but I can't learn how to stop missing you.

Silence heals, secrets destroy but confessions heal heartache...my greatest confession to you is that... you are a wonderful friend I don't want to lose.

Okay, so I'll stop there. Those are five of my most treasured sms I posted for the world to see! However, as much as I may not wan tto doubt the heart behind them, I still find myself wondering, how much of the truth we tell ourselves in sms. Do you say something electronically and actually mean something less? As much as I'm for brightening up others' days, I'm also for sincerity. How much it'll hurt me to discover that these messages were just picked up from the net or elsewhere and just sent to momentarily make me feel good.

A word: Before you send that sms, check and be sure you're not giving someone false hopes.

A shoulder to lean on

How many times do we suffer in silence and really wished there was someone around the corner who could just offer their shoulders for us to cry into or lean on? Are shoulders that scarce? Is it that difficult to get a willing shoulder?

Ever thought of being a shoulder, ready for someone to use? A willing support to someone in their trying times?

Short post but I was just thinking. I recently had a very willing and I dare say strong shoulder to lean on and was it great help? This is actually a dedication to a great friend. Do you have experiences to share of being a shoulder or gaining a shoulder? WHy don't you share so we can all learn from you. Waiting for you.

St. Valentine

This is really late. It should have been posted on Wednesday but it's okay sha. I want to share this story with you. Ii is St. Valentine's own story as told by him. Enjoy it.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!