The Brave Little Soul

Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world.
He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen? Why is there suffering in the world?"
God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." The little soul was confused.
"What do you mean?," he asked.
God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer.
All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone."

The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued,
"The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love – to create this miracle - for the good of all humanity."

Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself.
With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied,
"I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!"

God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you."
God and the brave little soul shared a smile, and then embraced.

In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed."


Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God's strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts.


Those who were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys - some regained lost faith - many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place.
The miracle had happened.
God was pleased.

J. Alessi

Very True!!!

I stole this from my husband's blog, paulsthisandthat.blogspot.com, shhh. I really love this.....



I got this in an email several years ago and went back to find it. It was part of a chain mail (well sort of) but I think it had a real cool message.


1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for Best Actor and Actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series Winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remembers the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They're the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Now here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier, ain't it?


The lesson:

The people who make a difference in our lives aren't the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They're the ones who care. So lets acknowledge them and appreciate what they do for us simply by letting them know that we too care.

The Power Of The Mind

So I thought I would post a little about what life taught me in the past that I would know today and would be helpful with cf. Back when I was in college and living in my first apartment I had a roommate. We worked at the same job which was retail. She was a great girl but she was a little like a mom. Always asking if I finished my homework, waking me up every morning to make it to class and always riding me so that I wouldn't be late for work, ect. Well at that time I was not as responsible as she was and was more into partying and having a good time then really caring about making it to work and class on time which I am sure that is why she was always reminding me. One weekend she was going out of town to visit her sister and I got invited to a very important party so I called in sick to work on Fri. Then on Sat something else fun came up so I decided to call in sick that day too. I had a great time that weekend but kept trying to think of something to tell my roommate so that I wouldn't get in trouble with her. On Sun (which was the day she was coming home) my chest broke out with some kind of rash. I had bought a new perfume and guess I was allergic to it. So she came home and asked how work had gone that weekend and I told her I came down with a really bad sore throat and had broken out in some kind of rash and had gone to the doctor and he said a sore throat accompanied by a rash on the skin was going around and it was contagious so I couldn't go to work on Fri and Sat. Well she bought it and was glad I was feeling better. Looking back now I do feel guilty about lying to her but back then I was a dumb kid. Well guess what happened and mind you I made the whole thing up except the rash which was actually caused by the new perfume and was gone by Mon morning.....My roommate woke up with a rash and a sore throat. Yep, I kid you not! She went to the doctor and told him my doctor said it was going around and he said, hmmm I haven't seen this but I guess it is going around since you have it. Then she told me that her doctor said it would probably be contagious for 3 to 4 days and not to go to work or school till then. And no she did not use my new perfume because I had already taken it back. I felt bad because I knew her body had done a mind over body thing because of what I had told her but I couldn't tell her that. I didn't want her mad at me. So I learned back then that the mind is very powerful!

Shortly after that I got a new job I liked a lot better and me and my roommate got along really well till we went our separate ways about 6 months later. And occasionally we keep in touch. I haven't talk to her since I started this blog so that is why it is safe to tell this story.

Thought For The Day

"Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Wind and a bird

Last week when the wind was blowing a 100mph and I went to run I remembered a story
one of my college professors told the class. The story has stuck with me and the more I live
the more I see how true it is. So I will tell it here and now the best that I can. It involves a bird but I can't remember what kind of bird...it was a big bird like a hawk, eagle, something like that so anyway we will say a Eagle (although I don't think it was an Eagle because I googled it and it didn't have this info on it but we will still use this bird)

So the story goes from what I remember....The Eagle makes a nest in a tree and from there he will hunt for food and stay until the wind starts to blow hard. When the wind blows hard the Eagle must go where the wind will take him until the wind dies down and then he will make a new nest and home. If the Eagle tried to fight the wind to stay where he had already made his home he would die. The wind would be too strong for him to fight and he would spend all his time flying against the wind. So instinctively when the wind picks up the Eagle does not fight it but goes with it. The wind of change so to speak. When you live in this world, people have their own kind of wind of change. You can do two things...you go fight it as hard as you can to stay right where you are at or you can go with the wind and see where it takes you. Although we will not die if we fight it to stay where we are we are sure to miss out on opportunity that will never come our way again. No matter how hard you try you cannot stop the wind.

I remember not really understanding that story when my teacher told it. At least not to the degree I do today. Two years ago when we lived in the Dallas area and my husband got a job in the Austin area, I didn't want to move. I fought it tooth and nail. We tried commuting. That was horrible. Finally I agreed to move but was pretty negative about every house we looked at. Obviously, I was not remembering this story at the time! But finally I did have a wake up call and realized I was making things a lot harder than they had to be and started to go with the flow. My wake up call...one day looking at all the houses to buy my husband asked my 7 son which one he liked and he said he didn't care as long as we all lived there. Wow! It would take my 7 son to make me wake up! So after that things started to flow and our house sold in Dallas and we found a beautiful home in Austin with a gorgeous view from our backyard!! Every morning when I wake up and look out the back I promise myself I will never take the view for granted! And to think I almost missed out on this experience trying to stay in one place!! Who knows where the wind will take us next but it will be ok if it is here forever or some place new because I know if there is a next place it will be even more beautiful than here. Here is a pic of our view that I see everyday! Can't believe I fought this!!

Welcome To Holland

I thought this was beautiful! It can relate to almost anyone who had an idea about life and it didn't turn out the way we expected.


"Welcome To Holland", written by Emily Perl Kingsley, a writer for Sesame Street and the mother of a now-adult son with Down Syndrome
©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved.


I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this .

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you never would have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around . and you begin to notice Holland has windmills . and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy . and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away . because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But . if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to go to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things . about Holland.

©1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved.

Our Lives

Our lives are before us
Our past is behind us
But our memories
Are forever with us

This came on my niece's high school graduation announcement today and the part "Our lives are before us" really stood out to me. It made me think that everyone, no matter where you are in life, has their life before them. You can choose to do with it what you wish. If you ever had a dream, go out and do it! A right time is not going to come along unless you make the time right now. That is one of the lessons I have learned in life.