Priorities..:)

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.

“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.

“He’s a fine looking boy” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”

Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Tanya?”

Tanya pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.”

The man nodded and Tanya continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”

Again Tanya pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”

The man smiled and said, “OK.”

“My god, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Rohit was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Rohit and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Tanya.

She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play.”

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today! 

Are we happy???

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.
After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation,or when we retire.
The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one.
So, stop waiting
--until your car or home is paid off
--until you get a new car or home
--until your kids leave the house
--until you go back to school
--until you lose ten pounds
--until you gain ten pounds
--until you finish school
--until you get a divorce
--until you get married
--until you have kids
--until you retire
--until summer
--until spring
--until winter
--until fall
--until you die
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So, work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching.
Hope for the best and never forget that anything is possible as long as you remain dedicated to the task.
Happiness will follow you.

Love

                          He was driving home one evening, on a two-lane old village road. Work, in this small mid-western community, was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking. Ever since the Clothes factory closed, he'd been unemployed, and with winter raging on, the chill had finally hit home.
                 It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it, unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfil. But he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and knew the country.
                He could go down this road blind, and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, that came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He'd better get a move on.
You know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Sedan and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
                  Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you m'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm. By the way, my name is Ajay."
                 Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough Ajay crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from a distant village and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Ajay just smiled as he closed her trunk.
                She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been alright with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Ajay never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Ajay added "...and think of me".
                 He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor, it didn't ring much.
                 Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Ajay.
                After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get her change from a thousand rupee note, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on a napkin. There were tears in her eyes, when she read what the lady wrote. It said, "You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too. Someone once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here's what you do. Don't let the chain of love end with you."
                Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be alright, I love you Ajay."

Let be yourself....

There are a lot of people who have the “I-wanna-be-free-I-wanna-be-me” mentality. Their ultimate goal in life is “to be themselves”, whatever that means.

This  can be very problematic in our “fallen” world.

There are two big problems in this mentality. First is the word “free”. What most of us consider freedom is actually abuse of freedom. Modern man’s idea of freedom is doing anything you want. That is not freedom but it is license. Freedom has boundaries. You are not free to murder or steal.

Many people like to use the word “freedom” so they can be free to be selfish. They like to do whatever fancies them, at all cost. Like a person, if who wants to be “free” from his/her family. So they leave their families to pursue their personal happiness. That is not freedom that is abandonment.

Another problematic part of that mentality is the “me”. Modern man in general has no clue who he is. He is fashioned by his environment, especially by the media. It is the same media who educates the masses that being a fallen human being is normal. And to strive to be the human God created us to be is psychologically problematic.

Our idea of “me” will be probably egoistic. Our “me-attitude” can be sum up to “It is all about me and to hell with the rest.”

Our idea of our humanity is very selfish. It is all about getting what we want.

But that is not who we are.

We were created to love. To forget ourselves in love. God created us to have a “We” attitude and not a “Me” attitude. Selfishness is the total opposite of our humanity.

It is same with freedom. God gave us freedom not to be selfish, but to love. Only free people can love. A selfish person is not free to love because he cannot love anyone else but himself. It takes great freedom to love, for most of us are slaves of our fears and selfishness.

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” 

If we want to be really “free” and to be really “me”, we must start defining freedom and ourselves by God’s standards and not of the world’s.

So how we can do it?

We must love everybody with all our being, and love everybody out here as ourselves.

The ultimate act of freedom is to love.

The fulfillment of our humanity is love as well.

So be free to give your “me” to love. 

His ways are always the best

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."
Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."
Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

God.. m busy rite now

Have you ever said to God, “Can I have a rain check?” Or “I am still busy pursuing my thing here. I will get back to you later.”

Most of us are guilty of this.

We have placed God on the sidelines or on the shelf.

Growing up we were thought to pursue our careers. We seldom hear people telling us to pursue our vocation. “Be a good doctor.” is more often heard than “Be a good follower of Christ.” Because of this kind of environment and philosophy, we have put all our hopes on our careers. We have come to believe that having a successful career would automatically bring us joy and fulfillment.

Having a successful career is not the end goal of our life. It is just a part of it. God created us with a certain purpose in mind. Each and one of us have a certain role to play in His great drama titled “Life.” Our vocation is finding that purpose, discovering that role. Only when we realize and live that purpose, that role, can we find true fulfillment and joy.

A fish is happy when it swims. A bird is happy when it flies. They are happy because they doing what they are created to do.

A fish out of water is an unhappy fish. A person who is not living his vocation is an unhappy person.


Discerning God’s calling to our lives should be our priority. It is our priority simply because we want to be happy, we want to be fulfilled. To delay is to postpone joy and fulfillment.

No more excuses!

Get with the program.

Iron man needs something else..

One of my favorite scenes in Marvel’s movie Iron Man was when Tony Stark, Iron Man, arrived back home from his captivity and asked for a cheese burger before anything else. It was a funny yet profound scene. 

It is something I experience in my own life. Trials and crisis has the power to strip us down and simplify us. 

Tony could have asked for a fine meal at a great hotel or luxurious vacation to take the trauma and stress of his abduction away, but he asked for a cheeseburger. Tony became a simple man after his kidnapping. 

He had stopped his “rich playboy” life style and started focusing in what was really important. 

It was also the time that he started noticing how beautiful her secretary was. 

Sometimes God permits trials and crisis in our lives to shake us up from our all the meaningless and empty distractions we pursue. Trials taken the right way can lead us to a better appreciation of what we have. 

Yes even the cheeseburger.  

We realize that even though we got all sorts of problems we can still eat a cheeseburger which may people in the world cannot afford.  So can anybody get Iron Man some cheeseburger?

Dream and grow big by following it..

The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: "How have you done so much in your lifetime?"
He replied, "I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real. While other people were saying, 'You can't do that, it isn't possible,' I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted." As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers."
They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."
So please, don't let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they are too impossible.
"Sing your song, dream your dreams, hope your hope and pray your prayer."

Happy Living

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, Be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others - Even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons - they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career - However humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is. Many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection, neither be cynical about love. For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, It is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the council of the years, Gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune, But do not distress yourself with imaginings - Many fears are borne of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, Keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Affection...

The upstate NY man was rich in almost every way. His estate was worth millions. He owned houses, land, antiques and cattle. But though on the outside he had it all, he was very unhappy on the inside. His wife was growing old, and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a little boy to carry on the family legacy.
Miraculously, his wife became pregnant in her later years, and she gave birth to a little boy. The boy was severely handicapped, but the man loved him with his whole heart. When the boy was five, his mom died. The dad drew closer to his special son. At age 13, the boys's birth defects cost him his life and the father died soon after from a broken heart.
The estate was auctioned before hundreds of bidders. The first item offered was a painting of the the boy. No one bid. They waited like vultures for the riches. Finally, the poor housemaid, who helped raise the boy, offered $5 for the picture and easily took the bid. To every-one's shock, the auctioneer ripped a hand written will from the back of the picture. This is what it said: "To the person who thinks enough of my son to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate."
The auction was over. The greedy crowd walked away in shock and dismay.
How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we had only sought after His Son alone? 

Live as u want...

Who do you think is more courageous in facing an enemy with a machine gun, Superman or a normal soldier?
Superman does not need courage to defeat the enemy because he is invulnerable to bullets. He knows he won't get hurt. On the other hand, a normal soldier needs a lot of courage to take down the enemy. He knows he can lose his life going against this enemy. Courage is when the soldier decides to fight the enemy even if he is shaking in his boots.
You don't need courage in front of a tree. You need courage in front of a bully. Courage can only be practiced under fire.
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is overcoming your fear in front of danger. It is also taking a risk for the sake of the good.
You can never pursue your dreams without courage. Only courage can silence our fears. A lot of people have been crippled because of their fear of failure and getting hurt. Fear continually robs them of their dreams. Fear has made them mediocre, helpless and worst, hopeless.
Only courageous people can go against the river, cowards are swept away.
Courage can make the difference between your mediocrity and greatness.
You can never be great sitting on your butt waiting for the perfectly safe moment or opportunity before you act. It will never happen.
You need to have the courage to take risks if you want to go anywhere in life.
"If you don't take risks for God, you won't give anything worthwhile." - St Louis de Montfort
Mountain climbers risk their own safety to see the beautiful view at the peak. It is the same for us. If we want to go beyond mediocrity and experience the peak of life, we must be courageous. We must risk.
Will you have the courage to live life to the full?

Never give up..........

The vast majority of us, since childhood, have been trying desperately to prove our worth. We try to prove our worth to our parents, teachers, friends and lovers. We become so absorbed in meeting their standards that we missed out finding our own potential.
To focus our life in proving ourselves to others is not only a loosing battle but a waste of time.
The downside of proving your worth to others is that different people has different standards of what being “worthy” means. To be obsessed in proving your worth to another person is to give that person control of your life. Now think how many persons are you trying to prove your worth?
Ten? 
That mean 10 people are somehow stirring your life in 10 different directions.
Feeling dizzy?
If we give more time meeting other’s standards, we may sacrifice finding our own identity.
God did not create us to prove ourselves to others, but to live life to the full. Jesus Himself said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” And we shall find life’s fullness in discovering and living out our vocation. Our vocation is God’s will, calling and plan for our lives.

To discover and realize God’s plans for our lives is to open ourselves to unlimited possibilities that we have not even come to imagine. Living out our vocation is to let the seed of greatness that God planted in us grow. And like a small mustard seed, it shall grow into a great tree.
The road to greatness is the path of discovering our God given gifts and living out our vocation. We should stop trying to meet other people’s standards and start living in His.
In every one of us lies a great potential.
You do not need to prove it.
It is there.
What you need to do is live it.
…unlimited possibilities awaits.

Live for yourself.. not others

 Do you constantly trying to prove to others that you are “good enough?”


We must admit that most of our actions are motivated to win the acceptance and admiration of our peers. There is something about pleasing people that pleases us.


Most of the time, it is our personal insecurities that cause this “I need to be good enough for you” mentality. One psychologist said that to even entertain this “I need to be good enough” debate in your head is already a choice to go to the path of unhappiness. For you will never be good enough in your mind. You will always find something that you need to be “good enough” to please others.


To live in the mercy of other’s approval and acceptance is like building your life on shifting sands. People’s opinions are fickle. They love you today and then hate you tomorrow. We can see this with movie stars and music artist. Here today and gone tomorrow. Putting the direction of your life at other’s hands is to miss out your own life.
We need to learn to accept ourselves. Even those things we do not like in ourselves. Accepting does not mean liking what you see, but accepting that they are real. If you have a bad temper, you do not need to like your bad temper. But you must accept that you have one!


Only when we accept ourselves for who we really are can we start to grow. We must accept our strengths and also our weakness, the good and the bad in us. Only when we can look at ourselves objectively can we start changing those aspects of our lives that need improvements.


We must first win the approval of ourselves. I approve of me! Yes I approve of me because God approves of me. If God did not approve of me, I would not even be here.
If you want to win the approval of others, win the approval of the God first. God approves of your creation, but do you think He approves on how you are living your life right now?


But why do we want God’s approval on our lives?


Because we want joy!


Happiness can only be found when we are in line with God’s plan for our lives.

Dream big if u dare to achieve it..

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
Would you agree with the statement that a dream is born from an idea-a simple idea conceived in the mind?
Back in the 19th century two brothers had an idea which eventually became their passionate and consuming dream. Their relentless pursuit of that dream was rewarded with an accomplishment that changed world travel.
On Friday December 17, 1903 at 10:35 AM, the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) achieved their dream. They flew "the world's first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight." This memorable feat took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on a cold windy morning.
The dream started with an idea that was planted in their minds by a toy given to them by their father. In the words of the boys, "Late in the autumn of 1878, our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor." This simple toy made of bamboo, cork and stretched rubber bands, fascinated the Wright brothers and sparked their lifelong interest in human flight.
The Wright brothers were great thinkers. They enjoyed learning new things. Initially, they recycled broken parts, built a printing press and opened their own printing office. Their interest moved to bicycles and in 1893, they opened the Wright Cycle Company where they sold and repaired bicycles. But Wilbur (the older brother) had his mind set on something more exciting. He decided to seriously pursue flying.
The brothers spent many hours researching, testing their machines and making improvements after unsuccessful attempts at human flight. What started out as a hobby soon became a passion. With determination and patience they realized their dream in 1903.
The next time you hear or see an airplane or travel on one, remember where it all started. A simply idea conceived in the minds of two young men who did not finish high school. Believe it or not, they did not have a University degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or any other subject. They were not scientists in the true sense of the word. In fact, many of their peers who did not witness their accomplishment, had trouble believing that two bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio did what they claimed.
What idea or ideas are YOU working on? Have you said you can't do this or that because you are not a scientist? Have you limited yourself by saying you are not smart enough? Or have you joined the majority in saying that everything has already been invented or discovered?
Since the introduction of the first generation of personal computers in 1981, we are able to do many things more efficiently. With a super computer between your ears and the personal computer at your finger tips, your dream can be achieved. First, give birth to that dream with an idea. A simply idea that ANYONE of us can conceive!

Learn from trials....

Have you ever wondered what life really is all about? Have you ever questioned if there is a deeper kind of life than the one you are living?

Most of us seldom ask these questions when life is easy and going our way. We are preoccupied in enjoying ourselves with what we have and we never bother to really meditate about life’s meaning. When everything is all well, we have a tendency to focus on pleasuring ourselves. We have a lot to distract us from asking the big questions in life, like “What is it all about?”

These are where trials can help us.

Trials can be shock therapy to wake us from our self-absorption. When we are stripped of our pleasures and distractions, we are forced to look at life in a different way.

A rich person can fall to the trap of Materialism. His life meaning becomes accumulating objects instead of loving people. Since he has the money to fund his materialism, he can continue to distract himself and live a shallow life till the end of his days. Sometimes loosing his riches is the best remedy for him.

For an addict to be sober he must be cut off from his drugs. It is also true with us. We also need to be separated with the things that feed our disordered desires to achieve sobriety.

If a person thinks that life is all about wealth, and he loses his wealth, he is now forced to look life differently. He is now forced to learn to live life without his precious wealth. Now he is strained to move out from his narrow world and live in the real world. He now starts to search life’s meaning beyond what he always knew.

And those who seek shall find.

 If you are experiencing trials maybe God permitted it to wake you up from your false view of life. Maybe it is God’s way to bring back sobriety in your life by cutting of all your distractions.

Many great people have found life’s meaning at their lowest point in life, maybe you are one of them.

Don’t waste your trials. Use them as opportunity to go deeper in life.

The sacrifice.... a story

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass thru freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.
A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance thru the dimming twilight and caught sight of the trainlights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.
Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision.
The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we speed along thru life without giving a thought to what was done for us thru God????

Live summing up your weakness and failures as well

Most of us have a problem with our self image. I think the root of the problem is that we do not really know who we are. Typically our self image is based on the opinion of others. Growing up we have been labeled and branded by a lot of names, mostly based from our weakness and failures.
“Why you no good…”
“You are such a loser.”
“You will never amount to anything.”
“You’re hopeless”
There are a lot more nasty words that have been spoken to us that have shaped how we see ourselves.
Our past mistakes also have broken our self image. Our mistakes have caused us so much pain that it lead to self-hatred. We have become our own worst critic. Sometimes it is you who put yourself down more than anyone else.
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”
Our weakness and failure does not define us. Our definition comes from the center of our very being. We are beings created out of the sheer love of God. And that the God has left in each and one of us a seed of greatness. And no matter how broken we are this capacity for greatness remains within. For this capacity comes from the fact that we were created in the image and likeness of God. And that is irrevocable.
We have to start defining ourselves differently. We have to stop summing ourselves by the opinion of the world and start seeing ourselves as God sees us. We are precious. We are beautiful.
We are God’s beloved.
God wants us to be great men and women, like his saints were. But we have to stop putting ourselves down. We have to stop looking down on ourselves and start looking up. And when we start to look up, we will see God’ hand reaching out to us. And He will lift us up.
You are awesome. And no one can take that away from you.
Not even yourself…

Are you really happy????

What delights you? How do you make yourself happy? What is the source of your joy? 
Does shopping delights you? Do you find happiness in being popular among your peers? Is accomplishing your goals bring you joy?
Most of us when we think of happiness we think of getting what we want. The media has done a good job ingraining our minds that if you want to be happy, “then go get some”. We have become a society of “Go Getters!” 
But are we really happy with what we've got? Or do we feel that our joy is lacking or incomplete?
When a rich young man approached god and asked what he still lacked. God answered to sell all his possessions and come follow Him. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
I once heard a priest  said, “If you feel depressed, go help somebody.”
I have read somwehere, “For it is in giving that we receive.”  Real, deep and abiding joy comes from giving ourselves to others. It is in selflessness and not in selfishness can we find authentic joy. The “Go Givers” are happier than the “Go Getters”. 
If you still have not found the joy that you are looking for, maybe it is time for you to go find it outside of yourself.........

Intelligence in not just trying.....

Have you experience trials in your life? If not, then you must be dead! 

No one escape trials in this life. Only those on the cemetery are free from it. Only those buried six feet underground are resting in peace.
Many of us try to escape our trials in life, only to catch up with us in the end. Unfortunately when it catches up and gets us, it is bigger and meaner. Running away from our trials does not solve anything.
Imagine you are a lazy person. The only thing you do all day long is eat in front of the TV. Your dad noticing that you are becoming unhealthy with the kind of lifestyle you are living. So he decides to get you on a diet and exercise.
If you are a lazy person, your first initial reaction to the diet and exercise is dread and rejection. The diet and exercise to you is a sign of labor and pain. It would also mean lessening your time being a couch potato. So you try to escape it.
But the diet and the exercise are something you need. They are something that can help your body to be healthy again. And the more you are healthy the more you can enjoy life.
I believe God sends us trials for our own sake. We have become obsessed to the least important things in life and have abandoned those things that truly meaningful. We have run after a life of success than of fulfillment and happiness. We have greatly invested on our physical beauty and forgotten to develop our character and inner beauty.
Sometimes God uses trials to get us back in track. Most of us have chosen an unhealthy and worldly lifestyle that is self-destructive. Most of the times trials can knock us back to our senses. It can give us a reality check. All is not well. And most importantly you are not well.

We can view our trials as a health program for the soul. Taken well, it can eliminate those fats in our soul, like laziness, irresponsibility, indifference to the plight of others etc. It can also help us build our character. Trials can strengthen the soul. It can also be a source of wisdom. You are able to see the “real world” and not what is on TV. It can give you a deeper understanding of life, of others and yourself.
Michael Jordan did not become great because he was playing with monkeys. He became great because he was tried and challenged by the best of the best. And he overcame them. MJ won’t be a legend if he defeated monkeys in basketball!
Trials are opportunity for your personal growth and greatness. Do not run away from it.

Where are we heading?????

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Are you the kind of person who moves fast? Do you pursue things with much zeal and impatience?
Moving fast is great, if you are heading the right way. But if you are going the wrong way, you are getting lost fast!
Have you ever asked yourself where exactly are you headed? What is your final destination?
Most of us are caught in the frenzy of pursuing things of this world. We never run out of things to pursue, whether in our careers, businesses or personal lives. We are always on the move trying to get things. We are a society of Go-getters!
But do we actually need the things we are trying to grab? Are the things we are pursuing would make us happy in the end?
Or are we just pursuing them because the media and advertising told us so?
Most of us seldom think about the things we are pursuing. Most of us seldom think who we are as humans. And most of us seldom think what life is all about. Pilling up the things of this world does not guarantee fulfillment. It is like having a great mansion and being all alone in it. Its enormity only makes you realize how alone and lonely you are!
We must first know who we are as humans before we start running after things. To know who you are is to know what will make you really happy. To fail to realize this is to waste your time and energy pursuing empty things. What a waste of life!
So who are we?
We are made in the image and likeness of God. And St John said, “God is love.” So we are beings that are made for love. Love created us, Love sustains us and Love is our end.
Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. – John Paul II
Only love can truly make us happy.
If love is not the end of our pursuit, then we are like travelers who traveled the whole world but failed to find a home.
So look at yourself now. After all the pursuit, are you happy?
Or just plain tired?

Love... give and give..

We often hear that to be in a good relationship there has to be a “give and take” within the partners. But I think sometimes the “give and take” mentality can get old quick because it has a tendency to be selfish. I give so I can take. Their giving becomes an indirect egotism.
There is no hidden agenda in real love. You love the person for the sake of the person and not because you can get something out of the person.
A real loving relationship practices “give and give.” There is no need for taking because the longings are being satisfied by the partner even before the other asks for it. A person who is deeply in love is focused on her beloved and not on himself. He wants to make his beloved happy. He puts her before himself every time in every thing. And she does the same.
Both are satisfied and fulfilled.
Both feel loved.
Most of us when we are considering entering into a relationship with someone ask this question, “What can I get from this person?” Another way of putting it is “What can this person give me?”
I think we should have a radical change of attitude if we want to experience real and lasting love. We must change the question “What can I get” to “What can I give to this person?”
The best example of this love is Jesus on the Cross. When Jesus let Himself get crucified, it was solely for you and me. There was no hidden agenda on Jesus’ suffering except our salvation. It was a totally selfless act. Jesus died because He loved you and me.
So if we want to have a beautiful relationship, we must learn to love like Jesus. Our love has to be totally unselfish and self-giving.
There is no greater love than to give one’s life for a friend..

Confidence or simply God-confidence

I have noticed that there are a lot of book about gaining self-confidence. There are also a lot of articles and talks on how to boost your self-esteem. If there are so many books, articles and talks on this topic, it means that there is a big market wanting such information. It also means that there are a lot of people who want to gain self-confidence.
Our society is plague with insecurity (which I personally blame advertising and the media) that self-confidence has become a precious commodity.
Self-confidence is a good thing. It helps one person to be positive and accomplish more. But I also believe it has limits.
Self-confidence is based on your “self.” It is based on what you have or what you can do. If you are honest with yourself, you know you have limits. You know that your self-confidence can only go so far. To go further is an illusion which many pop-psychologists preach these days. 
There is something better than self-confidence. God-confidence!
God-confidence is better because our confidence is based on the one who is God. We all have limits but God does not. When we put our trust on God, we can move mountains. What is impossible for man is possible for God.
Having a God-confidence also makes you more courageous. You know that you are being supported by Someone bigger than you. You know that God’s grace can accomplish anything, so you are not easily disheartened when you encounter a mountain on your way. You know God can move the mountain or lift you up to fly cross it. It also makes you more courageous because you know that God will catch you if you fall or make a mistake.
Having a God-confidence is also better because He does NOT change and we humans do. Self-confidence is based on your personal state. It is dependent on a lot of factors, like your health for one. If those factors are taken away from you, could still be self-confident?
It is hard to put your confidence in shifting sands. Humans are such fragile beings. Our self-confidence may shatter with one disease or accident. Or even just plain old age. But Jesus is eternal. He is unchangeable. He is the Rock we can build our confidence on. Jesus can still make us great even if we are stripped of all our strengths. It will be His strength that will lift us up.
Now THAT is confidence!

Live your DREAMS

Do you wish that right now you are living your dreams?

Maybe you are wishing that right now you are a millionaire or an owner of a company. Or maybe you are wishing that right now that you are a famous artist or celebrity. Whatever you are wishing, have you ever thought of the problems that come with it?

If you are a millionaire, then you have a problem of keeping your millions. If you are business owner, you have the problem of sustaining your business or keeping it afloat. If you are famous celebrity can you handle all the pressures of being famous?

If you think achieving your dreams will solve all your problems… well you must be in another universe or reality for that to happen. Only people who have R.I.P in their names are the only ones who have no problems. They are the only ones who are resting in peace.

You can see it in the news how some rich or successful people break because they can’t handle what they have. Many of them get addicted to drugs or sex. Some get in a lot of scandals because of their bloated ego and crazy behavior. There are a few who literally gone insane.

Why?

They could not handle the weight of glory.

Have you ever tried going to the gym for the first time and over work yourself by lifting too much weights? Probably you will get injured. If you are lucky, you will just have a heck of a lot of body pains when you wake up the next day.

So what happened?

Your body was not yet ready for that kind of intense exercise and tension. So you crash at the middle of it or afterwards. The proper way of weight lifting is to start lifting weights that your body can handle. Slowly and steadily you increase the weight of what you are lifting. You increase the tension and pressure moderately so your muscles can handle it. In this way, your muscles will grow properly.

It is the same with our dreams. If God gave us our dreams right now, most of us will crash. We still don’t have the capacity to carry the weight of our dreams.

Our daily struggles in life can be used to increase our capacity to handle our dreams. If you can’t handle little things how can you handle big things?

So don’t waste your daily struggles and trials. Use it as an opportunity to grow and increase your capacity to handle greater pressures in life.

And one day when you have expanded enough, God will grant your deepest longings of your heart.

Thank You:)

Thanx to all the people who made my blog a success... My average daily visitors list has gone to 106 now from 2(which it was on the very first day.. 1 me and other Swati Munjal). I thank you all for your support specially Swati :), Preetam, Rahul, Shreya, my siblings, and all who matter me.. :) keep smiling..keep living :)

Success..

The word “success” seems to be always in the air. Are you one of those who are trying to catch it? Grasp it? Breathe it?

The modern man seems to desire success more than ever. He has pursued it with much zeal and passion. He has gone to a lot of sacrifice in the name of “success.”

But only a few actually thought about the success they are pursuing. Most of us pursue success and not really have a clear end goal.

Why I am doing this? Why am I seeking success? Questions few actually ask and meditate. To fail to ask this question is to waste a life time of effort.

In us, lies an inherent longing for happiness, joy and eventually eternal bliss. God has left this desire for joy in our soul so that we will seek him, for only He can fully make us happy. He is the eternal bliss Himself. Look into yourself and you will see that most of your actions are fueled by the desire for joy.

When we look at it, we pursue success to be happy. Success is just the means to find joy. Some say that they pursue success to be fulfilled, but even fulfillment is accompanied by joy. That is how you can say to yourself you are fulfilled, when you have a sense of joy in you.

Our problem today is that we have sought the means and not the end. We have pursued success for its own sake. We seem to be obsessed with the process and not the product. We sought wealth crazily only to find in the end that our possessions did not make us happy. At that point we are left with the question “What now?” It is a question that has driven many to despair.

To try to be successful for the sake of “being successful” is to have an unsubstantial goal. Success is the process of buying the food, not the food itself. To get stuck in the process of buying the food is to end up hungry.

Being an accomplished person is not as the same as being a successful person. Hitler was able to accomplish to move Germany to war and kill millions of people. I have not seen Hitler’s name in any “success” books.

Can you consider a miserable person successful?

If you end up miserable in the process of pursuing success, then you just have defeated your purpose. All your accomplishments will mean nothing if you are not happy. You might have the resources to numb the pain, but it does not take it away.

“What profit a man to gain the whole world and loses his soul?” Jesus said.

Success is a tool for joy. It is a tool for love as well, for only love can bring us everlasting joy. If you really want to be successful in this life and the next, then you must make love your end goal.

If loving God and loving your neighbor is the motivation and end goal of your pursuit for success, then your success will be substantial and joyful. It is a success that you can take with you on the next life.

So what is your reason in pursuing success?