some stories...........

unkindness, scars
Molly had a fiery temper when she was a young girl. It often caused her to say or do unkind things. Finally, her father told her that for each thoughtless, mean thing she did, he would drive a nail into their gatepost. For each kindness, a nail would be pulled out. As the nails increased, getting them out became a challenge. Finally, the wished-for-day arrived - only one more nail!! As her father pulled it out, Molly danced around proudly, exclaiming, "see daddy the nails are all gone!". "Yes", agreed her father thoughtfully, "the nails are gone - but the scars remain".

Winners and losers:
the winner- is always part of the answer
the loser - always a part of the problem
the winner - always has a programme
the loser - always has an excuse
the winner - says, " let me do it for you"
the loser - says, "that`s not my job"
the winner - sees an answer to every problem
the loser - sees a problem in every answer
the winner - says, "it may be difficult, but it`s possible"
the loser - says, "it may be possible, but it`s too difficult".

Old age and usefulness:
An old clock maker had been put out of business by the new electronic watches. He was out of work and destitute. One day, walking along a back alley in town he noticed a pile of old clocks on a dump heap behind a jewelry store. They were clocks of all shapes and sizes and colours, in every degree of disrepair.
He begged the jeweler to give them to him and let him try to get them going again. So with a couple of screwdrivers and some oil he set to work, and began to pick their insides. Suddenly, one of them began to tick. He polished the case tenderly and set it upon a shelf. One after another, the clocks responded to his seemingly magic touch. They began to tick - to come alive. Only a few were hopelessly beyond redemption.
Old clocks are symbolic of old age itself. It must have a purpose in life - and then the old heart will tick again, long after it is supposed to have stopped. -tonne

God is everywhere:
My daughter burst into the kitchen one day with a breathless question, "mom, God is everywhere, right?"
"Right", i assured her. "Well, I just know he`s at our new grocery store right now".
"You do?" "Why?" "He opens the door for everybody!!" she exclaimed. (automatic door).
- christian reader

Marriage:
Many married people think that when they marry, they possess their partner much as they possess and own a fridge or a stove or a radio. But man and wife don`t belong to one another; they have been given to one another. They keep their identity. A Lebanese poet says, "In the temple the pillars stand alone. And just because of that they carry the beautiful ceiling". Take a l;ook at any church or large building; the pillars are never together, or in pairs. No. They are spaced out. Even in Nature we have this tolerance and trust. Beautiful tress like cypresses and oaks never grow in one another`s shadow. Shadows stunt tree growth and shape and sizes.
True love needs distance. The more a partner can allow his or her partner the sense of personal freedom, the more often will he or she receive that partner in return as a free and willingly given gift.

Mothers day:
Two little boys, bothers, presented their mother on Mother`s day with a wary-looking gardenia plant, which they had managed to buy with their saved-up dimes and nickles allowance money.
Mom was especially pleased because they had done it all on their own, without any prompting. She hugged them and kissed them. The elder of the two, a six year old, made this presentation, "Gee, mom, if we only had another three dollars, we could have bought you a really pretty wreath. It has the words, "REST IN PEACE'. That would have been really keen, cuz we wanted you to take it easy on Mother`s Day."

LISTENING;
On a dark side street, next to a car lot, body shop, and hamburger stand in the business district of Spokane, Washington, is an organization that will listen to people talk on whatever subject they want. The fee is $15 for a half-hour. "Let`s talk" is the name of the organization and it is staffed by three people six days a week. First there`s Kathy - no last names, please - a bespectacled brunette who ushers the clients into a room furnished with plants, a matching couch and chair, and earth-toned rugs.
"Here`s a cup of coffee", she says. "Al will be in to see you soon". Al is the founder....... and he looks like a 6-3 football player, which he used to be until a few years ago. The third staff member is Cindy and all of them differ from psychiatrists because they only listen and don`t give advice. They just listen.....and people come in everyday and pay $15 for 30 minutes, when they can talked themselves out.... They can be themselves or be someone else and no one will make them feel ashamed of it or point an accusing finger. -Grit

CHAIRMEN
A four year old had been elected chairman of a neighborhood group of older boys. The father of a member asked his son why they had elected such a little fellow.. "well, you see dad, " the boy explained, "he couldn`t be secretary because he can`t read. We couldn`t elect him treasurer `cause he can`t count. He`s too little to throw anyone out, so we couldn`t make him sergeant-at-arms and we know he`d feel bad unless we elected him to something, so we made him the chairman". -sunshine