Angels At Work?

Today, I have three stories of what I believe are angels at work here on Earth. This is a rather long post but well worth reading to the end.

The first one comes from a post in a discussion group, from the social networking site TEE BEE DEE (www.tbd.com). Bridget gave me permission to reprint it here.

'Les' is his name. A homeless man that have touched and have a very special place in my heart.

I don't make a habit to handout money to the homeless in every corner of the street but Les is an exception. He began to appeared around the corner from my house shortly after I moved into my house a while back. I watched him everyday struggling with his cane moving his exhausted crippled body to the middle divider of the street to beg for money. He looked so broken......... broken and forgotten from the world full of noise; so noisy perhaps he had became invisible.

Every week I gave him a little bit of money and tries to greet him and shake his hand as I make my U turn to get to the freeway. Whether I have money in my hand or not his tireless smile with barely any teeth left greeted me with the most heartfelt greeting "God bless you and please make it a great day". Wow! he hadn't forgot about God for that matter and wishes me to make it a great day.

For the past 3 years Les has become a daily comfort as my daily spiritual ritual. Les doesn't know that he is not only in my life but he had impacted my outlook on life...... life full with hope and faith.

I haven't seen Les for 3 days. My heart miss him and worries for him. I hope to see him soon.

Wherever you are Les. God bless you for your kindness. You show me hope and faith in a place where most would have not.

B

This next one is from Chuck Norris' Column in the WorldNetDailey, Posted: August 04, 2008, 1:00 am Eastern, © 2008

Here is the link to the actual column: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=71376

Traveling up the coast of California for our summer vacation, we stayed near the seaside amusement park Santa Cruz’s Beach and Boardwalk. We were really excited about spending a few days there with our 6-year-old twins.

After dinner one evening, we began to walk back to our hotel. On our way we passed three apparently homeless men. One of them said as he looked at the kids, "Hey, wait a minute. I have something for you." We stopped cautiously, as our kids know not to receive things from strangers. Looking at the man, I saw warmth in his eyes so we walked over to him. The man searched his pockets while saying that he had some coupons to ride the rides. But after a few minutes of rummaging around his clothing and wallet, he came up empty-handed. Still, I thanked him for his offer, and we walked on.

A short distance later our kids began to ask, "Who was he? Why was he so dirty? Why was he living on the street?" What followed was a good, age-oriented family discussion about homelessness. There was something different about this homeless man. In even our brief encounter, we sensed that he had a kind heart and a genuinely grateful attitude about life and others.

Back at the hotel, our daughter Danilee said that she would like to draw a picture and give it to this man we met. But it was too dark and late to be running around the city looking for him on the streets. So my wife Gena replied to her, "Sweetheart, you can draw him one in the morning," thinking like most parents that she would likely just forget by morning. When we went to bed that night, we prayed together as we always do, and our kids prayed for this man we met.

The next morning we were on our way to a restaurant for breakfast. As we passed many people on the sidewalk, to our surprise one of them was the homeless gentleman we met the night before. His eyes and gentle smile clearly showed that he remembered us. And we began to think about how Danilee wanted to draw him a picture (which we didn’t have) – and how a small act of kindness goes a long way and that these things sometimes happen for a reason. We also thought about how our kids learn from us how to treat others, even those upon whom society generally frowns or ignores. Gena later told me she prayed silently, "Oh Lord, give us one more chance to give him that picture."

At the restaurant, the waitress brought my kids some crayons and paper so they could finally draw the pictures they wanted to give to this stranger. Danilee drew two beautiful angels overlooking her and this man walking side by side. And our son Dakota drew three crosses. When they completed the pictures, they put them in their fanny packs and then asked us if we could buy him a breakfast – which we did even though we had no idea if we would even see him again. Though it was one of the hottest days on record, we carried this breakfast with us for hours, continually looking for this sojourner as we went about another vacation day. But there was no sign of him anywhere. The day and evening came and went. We had only one more chance to meet him in the morning before we left Santa Cruz.

Walking to the same restaurant for breakfast, we didn’t see him anywhere. As we left the restaurant, however, Gena looked across the street. Up ahead about 50 yards, she noticed two men walking around a corner near a covered bus stop. As we got closer, a familiar face came into view and we all began to smile. We told him that we’d been looking for him for two days. The kids told him about the breakfast that never made it to him the day before, and that we brought him some iced tea on that day. Then they pulled out the pictures they made for him. We could all see how they truly touched his heart, as he repeatedly thanked the kids for their kindness. He told them how he had been in Santa Cruz since he was 3 years old, and that he was now 35.

For those few moments time seemed to just stand still. As he stared with his piercing blue eyes and talked to us, we simply seemed to forget about all those complicated matters and issues that often surround homelessness. Instead, we were just humans showing cordial concern and compassion for one another.

What happened last still sends shivers up my spine. Without recognizing who I was, he stuck out his hand and respectfully introduced himself, "My name is Alan." His few words nearly took our breath away because Gena’s father’s name was also Alan, and he also had a very similar gentle and kind demeanor, but her father had passed away six months earlier and was still so dearly missed. Just before we walked away, Dakota handed him the iced tea we brought. After he sipped it, he exclaimed, "Aaahhh. Sweet tea – I love sweet tea!" To which Gena softly replied, "So did my dad."

God spoke to us that early summer day. Heaven sent a big sign through what might seem like a relatively small encounter to many others. But it can be a reminder to us all – one that’s also spelled out in the Good Book, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

The last one is also from the Tee Bee Dee website and was shared with permission by Judi.

What a wonderful and inspirational story, Bridget!! It reminds me of the years I worked at a downtown Fort Worth hospital, and on my way to work, I would always see an elderly woman, with layers of coats on, pushing a basket full of her life's possessions. I never passed close enough to her to give her a handout (I saw her from across the freeway, or duck under a bridge). Other nurses would talk about seeing her, and we would try to guess her background.

One day, the lady was brought into our ER in a diabetic coma. Her name, "Ethel". I will never forget the ragged, sad, thin woman with the extremely pale face. A body that had apparently lived a life that we could only imagine. About 16 nurses all decided to do something about her situation. We pooled our money, collected food, money and clothes from other staff and doctors, and contacted Habitat for Humanity.

By the time she awoke from her coma, learned how to care for her bruised, torn-up and infected feet, as well as give herself insulin, we had found her a one-room house, renovated it with the help of Habitat, and moved her in, lock, stock and barrel. She couldn't remember her birth date, but doctors estimated her to be in her 60's.

She had home health set up to see her twice a week, we set up for her to have Meals On Wheels, and we each took turns visiting her. She told us many, many stories of her "20 some-odd years" on the street, some funny, some winsome, some downright scary, and others quite horrible. She had "3 children", one a school teacher, one an administrative secretary, and another a pharmacist. She would never tell us their names, and said they were better off not knowing how their "mama" lived her life, but we could tell from her voice and in her eyes that she loved them.

About 14 months after she moved into the house, one of my fellow nurses found her in her "favrit' cheer" (favorite chair), where she had "gone to meet up with Jesus", as she had predicted months earlier.

We will never forget Ethel, the joy she brought each of us, the things she taught us about love, caring, laughter, and heartache.

Ethel, if you're reading this, you are missed dearly!!!

Here is the link to the TBD web site where two of the stories can be found. http://www.tbd.com/group/23/discussion/357342/show?startIndex=0

There is nothing really for me to add here, the stories speak for themselves.

If you are 40+ and you want a social networking site that is inspirational, funny, caring, compassionate, exhilarating and spiritually and personally rewarding, join TBD. It's free and I guarantee it will improve you life!

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry

Social Networking and What It Has Dome For Me So Far

Today I wanted to give my impression of what social networking has done for me thus far:

1. It has helped to introduce me to some incredilby talented business people.

2. It has also helped me meet some wonderful, loving, sharing and caring people. A majority of them also fall in #1.

3. It has helped me become a better writer and editor.

4. It has opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities that the internet offers.

5. It confirms that this is a world of abundance and that the law of attraction is alive and well,

6. It has reinforced my global view.

7. It has shown me that living outside the box is even more satisying and creative then just thinking outside the box.

8. It continues to open my eyes to new and innovative ways of marketing.

9. It has actually made me want to do even more to help others. Because every time I help one of my "friends", I get that wonderful rush and I want to do it again and again.

10. Finally, it has shown me that it is OK to make money while helping others.

I know that I have not even scratched the surface of social network marketing but I am open to learn as much as I can so I can help as many people as I can through my products and services. And for this I am eternally grateful!

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry

Who is more spiritual? And is there such a thing?

In a discussion group that is part of a social networking site, someone proposed this; Put yourself to the test. Are you a "real" spiritual person? (Since the discussion first began and the person who started the discussion got heck for it, the name has since been changed.) Then he proceeded to ask us to watch a video of animals being slaughtered and say that "cruelty is not a spiritual practice.

Well, needless to say the human in me got a perturbed at the suggestions that somehow anyone is less spiritual because they choose to eat meat, thus are contributing to the cruelty towards the animals. It has been a lively discussion to say the least.

Here are my posts in the group thus far. With them I have been trying to invoke thought and further discussion. As a Spiritual person I am not judging which side is right or wrong because quite frankly there is no right or wrong, since I know for me that spirituality is a personal thing. WARNING, THIS ONE IS KINDA LONG!

OK, here goes:

I also do not mean any offense, but I have to agree with Krysteenah, your tone seems to come off like, if you do not believe what I believe, you are not very spiritual.

First of all, I believe the beautiful thing about spirituality is that there is no dogma, religious rules, ceremonies, etc. It is a personal one on one relationship with the Universe (Creator, Great Spirit, God, etc). Spiritual people do not judge and really are not interested in how spiritual others are. We do not have arbitrary rules (the whole no meat on Friday former Catholic rule that was eventually changed by man) about what we can and cannot eat and we do not need commandments or even laws to tell us how to treat one another. We just know!

In my humble opinion spiritual people do not get caught up in all the drama and discussions about religion because it is irrelevant and redundant and really does not matter. We also do not impose our thoughts on others, we simply share ideas about what we believe to be the truth for us and let others find their way.

I do have some questions at this point just to provoke some thought and friendly discussion.

Why would "God" provide something to us that will nourish us physically and not want us to use it? If that is the case, what exactly is the purpose of a beef cow, other than to produce methane gas? And why make some beef cows and some dairy cows?

Where does one draw the line as to what is OK to eat to be spiritual? Could it be that anything grown under ground is considered dirty and so should not be eaten? And finally, there is one religion out there that according to their religious writings, God said "Everything in moderation", not some things, everything but, everything, so does that make those who follow that religion less spiritual if they eat meat?

Here is my philosophy of life: I do not care what you call yourself, love one another. If all this makes me less spiritual in someone else's eyes, that is for them to deal with, not me. Also, it will be painfully obvious that you are not getting the whole conversation.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

Now, my second post:

Otter, You raise some interesting points but what I choose to eat should not be the basis on how spiritual I am.

I will agree that there has to be better, more humane ways to allow those of us to eat meat and perhaps more should be done to make it so.

And my last one so far:

Agingstoner, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Now, please do not take my passion for this subject as me being defensive. I am just pushing the envelope here to provoke further thought and discussion. I am glad that you do not agree with everything I have to say, that is your right and quite frankly the way it should be. Now, please allow me some indulgence. Thanks!

Quite frankly,I believe you missed the whole point of my post. I was not trying to show my animal husbandry knowledge (IN HIS POST HE BLUNTLY TOLD ME THAT BEEF AND DAIRY COWS WERE NOT CREATED BY GOD BUT BY MAN, FOR ME THAT WAS ANOTHER SUBJECT FOR A DIFFERENT DAY), which obviously is a little rusty. LOL

What I was trying to say is that spirituality is in fact personal and no one has the right to judge me in any way as to how spiritual I am. That is between me and ____ (God, Great Spirit, Universe, The Creator, etc).

I also noticed that you conveniently did not address my question about where does one draw the line as to what is OK to eat to be spiritual.

I might think that eating things grown in the earth is not being spiritual because they are dirty. Absurd, right? Now, does that make me more spiritual because of what I think? I can say that no it does not. I mean plants that are consumed by vegetarians are also living things that we kill to eat. So, I guess the killing of one living thing is alright but not the other? Isn't killing, well, killing? And if we agree that all killing of any living thing is wrong, what would we eat? How would we survive? Once again I am taking this to the point of almost absurdity but where do we draw the line?

Native Americans thanked and blessed everything they killed or used to survive. The animals, the plants, the rocks, everything. Does that make them more spiritual? If I thank everything I consume, will I be more spiritual?

I agree with Mary, that the stuff in this video is appalling and you can say that by my eating meat I am condoning it but regardless no human being has the right to judge me on my level of spirituality. I am passionate about this subject because it is this judging that has led to one human being feeling that they are superior to another, which in turn has led to all the countless horrors we have unleashed on one another and the earth.

Once again, I do not care what you call yourself, love one another.

May you be blessed always and in all ways.

OK, that's it so far. So, what do you think? Please share your thoughts but try to do it in a loving, non judgemental manner. Will that make your more spiritual? I d not know, that is between you and your God.

Blessings!

Harry

Please, share your time with those that love you!

I was sent this by a friend of mine on the social networking site, Powerful Intentions. Her husband found it through a friend on Facebook. This is social networking at it's very best. I do not the original author but it was provided by MelissainArizona as noted below.

I found it really moving and even though I do not normally post to this blog on Sunday, I just had to share it with everyone right away because there is a powerful message here. Now without further adieu and needless explanation, I give you this wonderful story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the Man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an Hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.

' The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the Door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little Boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After About an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of The little boy's room and opened the door. 'Are you asleep, son?' He asked. 'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy. 'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you Asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy! he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. 'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.. Because I didn't have enough, but Now I do,' the little boy replied. 'Daddy, I have $50 now.
Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of Your time with someone you love..

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

- From my house to yours

Melissa in Arizona
www.RichMomRichDad.com