Cleaning out the other half of my mailbox!

POTFH

Matthew 14 : 28 ?30

28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the
water."
29"Come," he said.
30Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward
Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink,
cried
out, "Lord, save me!"

As I read these scriptures the other day a song that my cousins sang some
years ago began to play back through my mind. The words to this song were
taken directly from these scriptures and have stayed with me through the
years. I don't remember the song title but the words went like this;

Jesus said come, so Peter went.
But when the Faith he had was spent,
Peter sank low but Jesus had waves roll under His Feet.

The part that always has caught my attention is the part that speaks of
Peter's faith being spent. At first it sounded kind of odd to me, as I did
not understand how a person could "spend" his or her faith. But through
the
years I have come to realize that indeed we do have to Bank up our Faith so
to speak, and that Faith is not something that God just hands out and
endless supply of when we first come to know Him personally.

Faith is a gift of God, and He is willing to give it to us in endless
fashion, but it is something that we have to ask for and seek after. So
how
is it that we get this Faith, and how do we avoid losing it? Well I think
if look back at the scriptures we can find the simple answer to this
question.

Peter was walking on water along with Jesus until what happened? He "saw
the wind". Well in order for him to see the wind, he had to take his eyes
and focus off of Jesus, and that is when his Faith savings ran dry.

So the simple answer is that in order to keep adding deposits to our Faith
we must first and foremost keep our eyes and Focus upon Jesus, the issuer
and perfector of our faith.

Prayer

Lord Jesus I cast my eyes upon You this day and stretch out my hands
anxiously awaiting a new deposit of Faith to help me walk across the waters
of this day.

Subject: The Dart Test

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary
class, given by her teacher, Dr. Smith. She says Dr. Smith was known for his
elaborate object lessons. One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary
class and knew they were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target, and
on a nearby table were many darts.
Dr. Smith told his students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked
or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts
at the person's picture, if they wished.
Sally's girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend.
Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of
a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even
drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the overall effect she
had achieved.
The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the students threw
their darts with such force that their targets were ripped apart. Sally
looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr.
Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.
As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a
chance to throw any darts at her target, Dr. Smith began removing the target
from the wall. Underneath the Target was a picture of Jesus.
A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of
Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face, and His eyes were pierced.
Dr. Smith said only these words....."In as much as ye have done it unto the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." - Matthew 25:40.
No other words were necessary; tears filled the eyes of the students,
focused only on the picture of Christ.
This is an easy test; you score 100 or zero. It's your choice. If you aren't
ashamed to do this, please follow the directions.
Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you, before My
Father."
Not ashamed.....pass this on.
Ashamed?.....delete

Subject: Fw: Worth a Few Minutes
This says it all!

After hearing that the state of Florida changed its opinion and let a
Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's license with her face covered
this is an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa
newspaper. He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT. I am tired of this nation worrying
about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by
the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely
settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the
possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost
entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few
things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some
born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural
community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national
identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own
language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over
centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women
who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our
society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right
wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and
women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly
documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our
schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the
world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are
happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't
care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land,
and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every! citizen the right to
express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But
once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our
pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take
advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

If you agree -- pass this along; if you don't agree -- delete it!

AMEN
I figure if we all keep passing this to our friends (and enemies) it will
also ,sooner or later get back to the complainers, lets all try, please
____________________________________________________

I've Learned

I've learned-
that we don't have to change friends if we
understand that friends change.

I've learned-
that no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned-
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I've learned-
that you can do
something in an instant that will give
you heartache for life.

I've learned-
that it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I've learned-
that you should always leave loved ones
with loving words. It may be the last
time you see them.

I've learned-
that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned-
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I've learned-
that either you control your attitude
or it controls you.

I've learned-
that regardless of how hot and steamy a
relationship is at first, the passion fades and
there had better be something else to take
its place.

I've learned-
that heroes are the people who do what has to
be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I've learned-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score

I've learned-
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned-
that sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get backup.

I've learned-
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned-
that just because someone doesn't love
you the way you want them to doesn't
mean they don't love you with all they have

I've learned-
that maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned-
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by
others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned-
that our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for
who we become.

I've learned-
that just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do.

I've learned-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a
secret.
It could change your life forever.

I've learned-
that two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally...different.

I've learned-
that your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.

when a friend cries out to you.
you will find the strength to help.

I've learned-
that credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned-
that the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon. Send this to all
the people YOU BELIEVE IN...I just did.

So Live Your Life That You Have No Regrets

Married Bliss!

There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years.
They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept
no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box
in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open
or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day,
the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not
recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down
the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.
She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.

When he opened it, he found two crocheted doilies and a stack of money
totalling $25,000. He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be
married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage
was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you I should
just keep quiet and crochet a doily."

The little old man was so moved, he had to fight back tears. Only two
precious doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him two
times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with
happiness. "Honey," he said, "that explains the doilies, but what about all
of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the doilies on Ebay."

11111

At Sunday School they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Tommy, a child in the kindergarten class, seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs.

Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, "Tommy, what is the matter?"

Little Tommy responded, "I have a pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

2222222

For those who don't know, you can adopt a military person to pray for
through this web site: www.presidentialprayerteam.org. They will give you
his or her name, branch, spouse, and number of children.

Please join ranks with other Christians to pray daily for a military
person. You can also add a name to the list.

Cleaning out the other half of my mailbox!

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