SHOES IN CHURCH I showered and shaved.............. I adjusted my tie. I got there and sat.............. In a pew just in time. Bowing my head in prayer......... As I closed my eyes.. I saw the shoe of the man next to me..... Touching my own. I sighed. With plenty of room on either side...... I thought, 'Why must our soles touch?' It bothered me, his shoe touching mine... But it didn't bother him much. A prayer began : 'Our Father'.............. I thought, 'This man with the shoes, has no pride. They're dusty, worn, and scratched. Even worse, there are holes on the side!' 'Thank You for blessings,' the prayer went on. The shoe man said............... A quiet 'Amen.' I tried to focus on the prayer....... But my thoughts were on his shoes again. Aren't we supposed to look our best. When walking through that door? 'Well, this certainly isn't it,' I thought, Glancing toward the floor.. Then the prayer was ended............ And the songs of praise began. The shoe man was certainly loud...... Sounding proud as he sang. His voice lifted the rafters........ His hands were raised high. The Lord could surely hear. The shoe man's voice from the sky. It was time for the offering...... And what I threw in was steep. I watched as the shoe man reached.... Into his pockets so deep. I saw what was pulled out............ What the shoe man put in. Then I heard a soft 'clink' . As when silver hits tin. The sermon really bored me............. To tears, and that's no lie.. It was the same for the shoe man..... For tears fell from his eyes. At the end of the service...... As is the custom here. We must greet new visitors, And show them all good cheer. But I felt moved somehow.............. And wanted to meet the shoe man. So after the closing prayer........ I reached over and shook his hand. He was old and his skin was dark..... And his hair was truly a mess. But I thanked him for coming......... For being our guest. He said, 'My names' Charlie............ I'm glad to meet you, my friend.' There were tears in his eyes........ But he had a large, wide grin. 'Let me explain,' he said........... Wiping tears from his eyes. 'I've been coming here for months.... And you're the first to say 'Hi.'' 'I know that my appearance............'Is not like all the rest. 'But I really do try.................'To always look my best.' 'I always clean and polish my shoes..'Before my very long walk. 'But by the time I get here..........'They're dirty and dusty, like chalk.' My heart filled with pain.......... And I swallowed to hide my tears. As he continued to apologize............ For daring to sit so near He said, 'When I get here..............'I know I must look a sight. 'But I thought if I could touch you..'Then maybe our souls might unite.' I was silent for a moment........... Knowing whatever was said Would pale in comparison... I spoke from my heart, not my head.. 'Oh, you've touched me,' I said......'And taught me, in part; 'That the best of any man...............'Is what is found in his heart.' The rest, I thought,...................... This shoe man will never know. Like just how thankful I really am... That his dirty old shoe touched my soul You are special to me and you have made a difference in my life. I respect you, and truly cherish you.  Let old friends know you haven't forgotten them, and tell new friends you never will. Remember, everyone needs a friend..

Realise your Potential

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "Maybe I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem."  So he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer."

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle."

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"

With head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch of the tree where the bird was sitting."

Moral :-

We are all made to fly - to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.              So let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves

 to the glory of flight...

Short inspirational stories are great to read. The fantastic thing about them is that they’re extremely straightforward to follow and digest, and there’s always a moral to learn at the end of the story. Whether they’re true or not is another thing all together, as many of them are legends from hundreds of years ago. However, the 6 short stories below are so inspirational and powerful that they will really get you thinking.

1. The Group of Frogs

A group of frogs were traveling through the forest when two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that there was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs ignored their comrades and proceeded to try to jump out of the pit. However, despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of the pit were still saying that they should just give up as they’d never make it out.

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed of what the others were saying and he gave up, jumping even deeper to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the group of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and to just die.

He ignored them, and jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that he thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

Moral of the story: People’s words can have a huge effect on the lives of others. Therefore, you should think about what you’re going to say before it comes out of your mouth – it might just be the difference between life and death

 2. A Pound of Butter

Once, there was a farmer who regularly sold butter to a baker. One day, the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the exact amount that he asked for. He found out that he wasn’t, so he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he uses any measure to weigh the butter. The farmer replied, “Your Honor, I’m primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”

The judge replied, “Then how do you weight the butter?”

The farmer replied; “Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day, when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it’s the baker.”

Moral of the story: In life, you get what you give. Don’t try to cheat others.

3. The Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a king had his men place a boulder on a roadway. He then hid in the bushes, and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers passed by and simply walked around it.

Many people blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone removed.

One day, a peasant came along carrying vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the way. After much pushing and straining, he finally managed.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and note from the King explain that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the road.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle that we come across gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and while the lazy complain, others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity, and willingness to get things done.

4. The Butterfly

Once upon a time, a man found a butterfly that was starting to hatch from its cocoon. He sat down and watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force itself through a tiny hole. Then, it suddenly stopped making progress and looked like it was stuck.

Therefore, the man decided to help the butterfly out. He took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man thought nothing of it, and he sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. However, that never happened. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with small wings and a swollen body.

Despite the man’s kind heart, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small hole were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings to prepare itself for flying once it was free.

Moral of the story: Our struggles in life help to develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not rely on help from others all the time.

5. The Blind Girl

There once was a blind woman who hated herself purely because she could not see. The only person she loved was her boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, then she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her loving boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The woman was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and wrote a short note to her saying: “Just take care of my eyes, dear.”

Moral of the story: When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to appreciate them.

6. Box Full of Kisses

Some time ago, a man punished his young daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became angry when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the girl brought the gift to her father on Christmas day and said, “This is for you, daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his overreaction a few days before, but his rage continued when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a gift, there’s supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at her dad with tears in her eyes and cried; “Oh, daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, daddy.”

The father was devastated. He put his arms around his daughter, and begged for her forgiveness.

A little while later, the girl died in an accident. Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was feeling down, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

Moral of the story: Love is the most precious gift in the world.

Life is an echo….

….. Heaven or Hell…. The choice is yours ?

A person asked a question to his Guru, "My workers are not true to me. My children, my wife and the entire world is very selfish. Nobody is correct."​ ​Guru smiled and told a story...,​        ​In one small village there was a room with 1000 mirrors. One small girl used to go inside and play.! Seeing thousands of children around her she was joyful.​ ​She would clap her hands and all the 1000 children would clap back at her​.                                 ​She considered this place as the world's happiest and beautiful place and would visit often.​

 ​This same place was once visited by a sad and depressed person.​ ​He saw around him thousands of angry men staring at him.​ ​He got scared and raised his hands to hit them and in return 1000 hands lifted to hit him back.​ ​He thought... this is the worst place in the world and left that place.​ ​This world is also a room with 1000 mirrors around you... 

What we let out of us is what the universe will give back to us.!!​ ​"This world is a Heaven, or Hell….                                                                  It's up to us what we make out of it..." 

“Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions”

When I look at a patch of dandelions,                                                                            I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.                                          My kids see flowers for Mum and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.                                                           My kids see someone smiling at them

and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can’t carry a tune and don’t have much rhythm, so I sit self-consciously and listen.                                                             My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.                                                                     My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and

fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.                                                                                                                                                   My kids say, Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight.    Sorry, I don’t want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mummy and Daddy.

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.

My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross,                  and worms to play with.                                              

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children! 

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.                                                                                                          

 I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions!

Life is an echo….

….. Heaven or Hell…. The choice is yours ?

A person asked a question to his Guru, "My workers are not true to me. My children, my wife and the entire world is very selfish. Nobody is correct."​ ​Guru smiled and told a story...,​        ​In one small village there was a room with 1000 mirrors. One small girl used to go inside and play.! Seeing thousands of children around her she was joyful.​ ​She would clap her hands and all the 1000 children would clap back at her​.                                 ​She considered this place as the world's happiest and beautiful place and would visit often.​

 ​This same place was once visited by a sad and depressed person.​ ​He saw around him thousands of angry men staring at him.​ ​He got scared and raised his hands to hit them and in return 1000 hands lifted to hit him back.​ ​He thought... this is the worst place in the world and left that place.​ ​This world is also a room with 1000 mirrors around you... 

What we let out of us is what the universe will give back to us.!!​ ​"This world is a Heaven, or Hell….                                                                  It's up to us what we make out of it..." 

Real treasure to be found 

If you're always chasing happiness ?                                                                                                     it will never be able to find you.                                                                                                              Relax, simply give happiness a place to live in you,                                                                      and it will be in great abundance. 

When you put conditions on enjoyment,                                                                                              it turns into just another chore.                                                                                                           Let go, and sincerely enjoy the miracle that is your life                                                                as it comes to you in each moment. 

If you become overly attached to specific results,                                                                                  you set yourself up for disappointment and disillusionment.                                                     Be ambitious, yet do not be your ambition. 

Sometimes, when things fail to go the way you planned,                                                           they turn out better than you could have possibly expected.

Welcome life's surprises and choose to see the positive value                                                    that is in each one of them. 

Don't be too quick to place judgments on the people,                                                          situations and events in your life.                                                                                                         In everything that comes along, there is an opportunity                                                             for you to more fully discover and express your true purpose. 

Be open to whatever life brings your way.                                                                                  

There is real treasure to be found in it all