Faith !!!

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to"

George Seaton

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Hudson Taylor was a man of great faith in God as well as a great missionary. When he first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel.

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Very close to the shore of a cannibal island the wind died down, and the ship was slowly drifting towards shore. The inhabitants of the island were eagerly anticipating a big feast. Unable to go about and make the vessel turn around, the captain came to Mr. Taylor and begged him to pray to God for help.

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"I will," said Taylor, "provided you set your sail to catch the breeze."

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The captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling sails in a dead calm.

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Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails."

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And it was done. The missionary went to his stateroom to pray.

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While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at his door.

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"Whose there?"

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The captain's voice responded, "Are you still praying for wind?"

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"Yes."

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"Well," said the captain, "you'd better stop praying, for we have more wind than we can well manage."

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And, sure enough, when but a hundred yards from shore, a strong wind struck the sails of the boat, and took it deep into the sea. And so the inhabitants of the island were cheated out of their human prey.

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Sails are made to catch the wind. The spreading of the sails, the sailors could do, but it belongs to God to send the wind.

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Do you have faith in your prayer?

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A prayer done without faith seem to goes unanswered, not because God didn't answer, but because we weren't prepared for it.

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Just imagine what would have happened if the missionary had prayed and God had answered but the captain wasn't prepared with the sails?

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Next time you pray to God to give you rain, keep an umbrella handy.

If you pray for good grades, don't forget to study and be on time for the exams.

If you pray to God for good health, don't forget to excerise and eat what's neccesary for the body.

And if by any chance you pray to God for the jackpot of a lottery, don't forget to buy one.

Well, you could discard the last example, for God wouldn't want to answer prayers which are unethical.

Blossoming !!!

"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next."

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Ursula LeGuin

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The world around us changes constantly. Trees turn from green to beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and brown in the fall. Yet, even if we watched the trees carefully, every minute of the day, we could not actually see the colors change. Change requires time, preparation, and patience.

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To make the changes we want, we need to let go of unhealthy but comfortable patterns that we're stuck in, the way the trees let their colors change and finally let go of their leaves altogether. We can't have total change right now, no matter how much we want it. It's important to accept both who we are now and who we are becoming. Just as the tree trusts without question that its leaves will grow and lets go of them when the time comes, we can believe in our own power to grow and let go of our accomplishments when the time is right.

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When we do, we can be assured that our lives will blossom again, like trees in the spring coming to life after a cold winter.

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Are you ready to blossom?

Life !!!

“It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project."

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Napoleon Hill

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An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

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He would miss the paycheck, but he wanted to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

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When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

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What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

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So it is with us. If we build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

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Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely.

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It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.

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Your attitudes and the choices you make today will be your life tomorrow, build it wisely.