Of Roses and Thorns..

'Of Roses and Thorns' A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully. Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that would soon blossom.

He also saw the thorns, and he thought,

"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,

burdened with so many sharp thorns?"

Saddened by this thought,

he neglected to water the rose,

and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people ...

Within every soul ... there is a Rose.

The "G-d-like" qualities planted in us at birth,

growing amidst the thorns of our faults.

Many of us look at ourselves and

see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking nothing good

can possibly come from us.

We neglect to water the good within us,

and eventually it dies.

We never realize our potential.

Some don't see the rose within themselves ...

It takes someone else to show it to them.

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess ...

is to be able to reach past the thorns

and find the rose within others.

This is the truest, most innocent,

and gracious characteristic of love -

to know another person,

including their faults,

recognize the nobility in their soul,

and yet still help another to

realize they can overcome their faults.

If we show them the rose,

they will conquer the thorns.

Only then will they blossom,

and most likely, blooming thirty,

sixty, a hundred-fold,

as it is given to them.

Our duty in this world is to help others,

by showing them their roses and not their thorns.



It is then that we achieve the
love we should feel for each other.
Only then can we bloom
in our own garden.
Author Unknown


Fathers Love Letter

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The Full Armor Of God

http://www.geocities.com/elainemarieslittlelantern/ArmorOfGod.htm

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Once upon a time there was a little grape stem. This stem was so glad to be alive ...She drank water and minerals from the soil and grew and grew She was young and strong and could manage quite well ... All by Herself
But then, the Wind was cruel, the rain was harsh, the snow was not one bit understanding, and the little grape stem suffered She drooped, weak and suffering.

It would be so easy to stop trying to grow, to stop trying to live. And the grape stem was poor! The winter was long, and the stem was weary.

But then the little grape stem heard a voice. It was another grape stem calling out to her ... "Here, reach out ... hang on to me." But the stem hesitated.
"What would this mean?" she thought For you see, the little stem had always managed quite well, ... All by herself.

But then, every so cautiously, she reached out towards the other grape stem. "See, I can help you" it said. "Just wind your tendrils about me and I will help you lift your head." And the little stem trusted ...and suddenly she could stand straight again.

The wind came ... and the rain ... and the snow, But when it came, the little grape stem was clinging to many other stems. And although the stems were swayed by the wind ... and frozen by the snow, They stood strongly united to each other. And in their untired strength ... they could smile and grow.

And then, one day the little stem looked down and saw a tiny stem, swaying, frightened. And our little grape stem said, "Here, hang on ... I will help you." And the other stem reached up to our grape stem... And together all the stems grew ... Leaves budded ... flowers bloomed ... And finally, grapes formed
And the grapes fed many.
--Author Unknown