A Man Was Complaining

Oh Lord, please have mercy on me, I work so hard, mean time my wife stays at home, I would give anything if you would grant me one wish "switch me into my wife" she's got it easy at home I want to teach her a lesson of how tough a man's life is.

As God was listening he felt sorry for this soul and granted his wish. Next morning the "new woman" wakes up at dawn, makes lunch boxes, prepares breakfast, wakes up the kids for school, puts a load of clothes in the washer, takes the meat out of the freezer, drives the kids to school, on his way back stop at the gas station, cashes a heck, pays the electricity and phone bills, picks up some clothes from the cleaners, goes through the carwash, drops the overdue movies off @ blockbuster, and quickly goes to the market.

It was 1: 00 o'clock already, he made the beds, took the clothes out of the washer and put another load in, he vacuumed the house, mopped up the Kool-Aid, cleaned the bathrooms, made the beds, made some rice, and went to pick up the kids from school & had an argument with the kids on the way home.

As soon as he got home he gave the kids a snack, washed the dirty dishes, he folded the clothes he had washed. He helped the kids with their homework, listened to the TV while he ironed some clothes, prepared dinner, washed the dinner dishes, gave the kids a bath, cleaned their rooms, and put them to sleep.

At 9:00 o'clock he was so tired and he went to bed. Of course there was some more duties and somehow he managed to get them done and finally fell asleep.

The next morning he prays to God once again:
Oh Lord, what was I thinking when I asked you to grant my wish, I can't take it anymore. I beg you please switch me back to myself, please oh please.

Then he heard God's voice speaking to him, saying:
Dear son of course I'll switch you back into yourself but there's one minor detail, you will have to wait 9 months because last night you got pregnant.

 

Do You Still Have Hope

If you can look at the sunset and smile,
then you still have hope...

If you can find beauty in the colors of a small flower,
then you still have hope...

If you can find pleasure in the movement of a butterfly,
then you still have hope...

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart,
then you still have hope...

If you can see the good in other people,
then you still have hope...

If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull you to sleep,
then you still have hope...

If the sight of a rainbow still makes you
stop and stare in wonder,
then you still have hope...

If the soft fur of a favored pet still
feels pleasant under your fingertips,
then you still have hope...

If you meet new people with a trace of excitement and optimism,
then you still have hope...

If you give people the benefit of a doubt,
then you still have hope...

If you still offer your hand in friendship to others
that have touched your life, then you still have hope...

If receiving an unexpected card or letter still brings
a pleasant surprise, then you still have hope...

If the suffering of others still fills you with pain and frustration,
then you still have hope...

If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that it must end,
then you still have hope...

If you look forward to a time or place of quiet and reflection,
then you still have hope...

If you still buy the ornaments, put up the Christmas tree
or cook the turkey, then you still have hope...

If you still watch love stories or want the endings to be happy,
then you still have hope...

If you can look to the past and smile,
then you still have hope....

If, when faced with the bad, when told everything is futile, you can still look up and end the conversation with the phrase... yeah....BUT.. Then you still have hope...

Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it twists, it sometimes
hides, but rarely does it break... It sustains us when nothing else can... It gives us reason to continue and courage to move ahead, when we tell ourselves we'd rather give in...

Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot manage... Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot see it... Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused of the direction....

Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished and nurtured, and something that will refresh us in return... And it can be found in each of us, and it can bring light into the darkest of places...
Never lose hope...

Our Expectations

A turtle family went on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outings. Finally the Turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found it. For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.

Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell.

He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left. Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years, Six years... Then in the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "SEE I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."


Lesson Learned:
Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.

The Starfish

An old man was walking along the beach, when he came upon a part of the sand where thousands of starfish had washed ashore. A little further down the beach he saw a young woman, who was picking up the starfish one at a time and tossing them back into the ocean. "Oh you silly girl," he exclaimed. "You can't possibly save all of these starfish. There's too many." The woman smiled and said, "I know. But I can save this one, " and she tossed another into the ocean, "and this one", toss, "and this one..."

Enjoy Where You Are

There is nothing which is intrinsically enjoyable. What one person enjoys, another person will despise. Enjoyment comes from your attitude toward a particular situation, not the situation itself.

Too many people search in vain for enjoyable activities, enjoyable relationships, enjoyable environments, enjoyable entertainment. A much more successful strategy would be to stop searching and start enjoying.

The enjoyment is not in the activity. The enjoyment is in you. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, find a way to enjoy it. Sure, it's great when you aspire to bigger and better things. But don't fool yourself into thinking that they'll come pre-packaged with their own enjoyment. That is up to you.

Perhaps you didn't choose to be where you are, and it's great that you're committed to getting somewhere else. Yet while you're here, accept it and enjoy it. Enjoying where you are right now will take you a long way toward wherever else you wish to go.

21 Rules of Life

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.

2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.

3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

5. Be forgiving of yourself and others.

6. Be generous.

7. Have a grateful heart.

8. Persistence, persistence, persistence.

9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

11. Commit yourself to constant improvement.

12. Commit yourself to quality.

13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationship with people you love and respect.

14. Be loyal.

15. Be honest.

16. Be a self-starter.

17. Be decisive even it it means you'll sometimes be wrong.

18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

20. Take good care of those you love.

21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud.

Don't Be Afraid To Fail

You've failed many times, although you may not remember.
You fell down the first time you tried to walk.
You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you
Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat
Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot.

R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on.
English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.
Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.

Don't worry about failure.
Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.