Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale ~ Acres of Diamonds T here  was a Persian farmer named Ali Hafed who sold his farm and left his family to travel the world in search of wealth. He looked everywhere but he could not find the diamonds he lusted after. Finally, alone and in despair as a homeless pauper, he ended his own life. His search for riches had consumed him. In the meantime, the man who bought the land from Hafed was grateful for every blade of grass that was now his and lavished love and hard work on his farm. At night, surrounded by his family and eating the fruits of his labor, he was a contented man. Finally one day he made a remarkable discovery.  In the backyard that Ali Hafed had abandoned was a diamond mine – literally an acre of diamonds. The simple farmer became wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. This illustrates an extraordinary and wonderful message: within each of us lies a wellspring of abundance and the seeds of opportunity. For each of us there is a deeply personal dream...

  W isdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when    you would have preferred to talk. ~ Unknown B e attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, so that  you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. ~ Proverbs 5:!-2

  A n important part of praying is a  willingness to become part of the answer. ~ Nona Baker  A nd Mary said, "Behold, I am the hand maid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. ~ Luke 1:38

  W e are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. ~ Cheri Widman J esus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, BUT not with God; for all things are possible with God." ~ Mark 10:27

  O ne thing you can give and still keep, is your word. ~ Howard Rasmussen  L et what you say be simply "yes" or "no"; anything more than this comes from evil. ~ Matthew 5:37

Friday Tale ~ Nothing Beats Family    I  stepped  into my hotel room to a pleasant surprise. Lots of room surrounded an inviting king-size bed, flanked by overstuffed armchairs that rested against sliding glass doors that opened onto a private patio. A small dining table sat next to a kitchenette with a separate sink, refrigerator and coffee machine. "Wow," I thought to myself. "Nice place."   I love hotels - from the Holiday Inn Express to the Ritz-Carlton and everything in between. I love to enter a clean room, hang my clothes and gaze out the window, walk out in the morning knowing that each afternoon when I return, someone else will have made the bed. I like in-room dining and the way they greet you so professionally. "Nice to have you with us again, Mr. Goldsborough." Very cool.   The problem is that unless Alison travels with me, I never sleep well in hotels. I miss my family. Even though Linus and Camille, at ages 4 and almost 2, find a way to inter...