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[linnettejane]

HAIRBRUSH EXPERIENCE OF BETH MOORE AT THE AIRPORT
>> >
>> >
>> > For those of you who do not know Beth Moore, she is an outstanding
>> > Bible teacher, writer of Bible studies, and is a married mother of
>> > two
>>  daughters.
>> >
>> > This is one of her experiences:
>> >
>> > April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville, waiting to board the
>> > plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was
>> > doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because
>> > I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God
>> > really working in you.
>> >
>> >
>> > You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.
>> > Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the
>> > least of which is your ego.
>> >
>> > I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped
>> > over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that
>> > obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier His knees
>> > protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat
>> > hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses
>> > of veins and bones.
>> >
>> >
>> > The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair
>> > hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His
>> > fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.
>> >
>> > I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my
>> > face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found
>> > myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I
>> > remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an
>> > impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying
>> > to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin
>> > slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me.
>> > All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a
>> > feeling for him.
>> >
>> > Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true
>> > concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this
>> > bizarre-looking old man.
>> >
>> > I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall.
>> > I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so
>> > contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen.
>> > And it may be embarrassing.
>> >
>> > I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my
>> > spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God,
>> > please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight
>> > through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man.
>> > Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same
>> > plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front
>> > of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!'
>> >
>> > There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please
>> > don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.'
>> > Then I heard it...'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to
>> > brush his hair.'
>> >
>> > The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my
>> > thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair?
> No-brainier.
>> > I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live
>> > and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man.
>> > I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to
>> > a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair
>> > is a mess if
>>
>> > he is
>> > not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man' Again as clearly as
>> > I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement
>> > across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't
>> > want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.'
>> >
>> > I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my
>> > suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a
>> > hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to
>> > walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will
>> > thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)
>> >
>> > I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself.
>> > Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same
>> > butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely
>> > as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'
>> >
>> >
>> > He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?'
>> >
>> > 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'
>> >
>> > To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me
>> > to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.'
>> >
>> > At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out , 'SIR, MAY I
>> > HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in
>> > the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room
>> > looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and
>> > forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with
>> > absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.' Are you
>> > kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested
>> > in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart
>> > until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I
>> > have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my
>    bag,' he responded.
>> >
>> > I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands
>> > and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing
>> > what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair.
>> > It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do
>> > many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience
>> > untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done
>> > with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing
>> > at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to
>> > pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that
>> > old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no
>> > one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and
>> > I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was
>>  out
>> > of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that
>> > kind
>>
>> > of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my
>> > heart, I
>>  -
>> > for that few minutes -
>> > felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my
>> > heart for
>>  a
>> > little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home
>> > for a short while.
>> >
>> > The emotions were so strong and so pure t hat I knew they had to be
>> > God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.
>> >
>> > I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face
>> > him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said,
>> > 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?'
>> >
>> > He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained,
>> > 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until
>> > I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I
>> > haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and
>> > she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to
>> > myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'
>> >
>> > Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment
>> > when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other
>> > hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened
>> > in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll
>> > never forget it.
>> >
>> >
>> > Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was
>> > deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud
>> > to have accompanied him on that aircraft.
>> >
>> > I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the
>> > airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her
>> > cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why
>> > did you do that? What made you do that?'
>> >
>> > I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing! '
>> >
>> > And we got to share.
>> >
>> > I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted,
>> > you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to
>> > move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're
>> > hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning
>> > under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair
>> > brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!
>> >
>> > I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many
>> > opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way . all
>> > because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send
>> > me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.
>> >
>> > John 1:14 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
>> > have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the
>> > Father, full of grace and truth'
>> >
>> > Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of
>> > arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to
>> > skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly
>> > shouting, 'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!'
>> >
>> > Please share this wonderful story.
>> >
>> > If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light........
> Mt. 6:22
>> >
>> > By God's grace I am what I am..... 1 Corinthians 15:10
>> >

 

[linnettejane]

What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

Dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do.

He cannot understand things as other children do.. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally
and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball.

Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'

I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play.

The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning.


I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.

I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart.

The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?


Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball..

However, as Shay stepped up to the

Plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.


The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for
the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He
died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interact ions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2. Forward

May your day, be a Shay Day 


 
     

 

[linnettejane]

Subject: A little boy's explanation of God
>
>
>
>
>
>  It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula
>    Vista, CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to
>      "explain God".  I wonder if any of us could have done as well ?
>      [ .... and he had such an assignment, in California , and someone
>              published it, I guess miracles do happen ! .. ]
>
>                            EXPLANATION OF GOD:
>  "One of God's main jobs is making people.  He makes them to replace the
>  ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on
>  earth.  He doesn't make grownups, just babies.  I think because they are
>    smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his
>  valuable time teaching them to talk and walk.  He can just leave that to
>                            mothers and fathers."
>
>  "God's second most important job is listening to prayers.  An awful lot
>  of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at
>  times beside bedtime.  God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV
>  because of this.  Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible
>  lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off."
>
>
>  "God sees everything, hears everything, and is everywhere which keeps Him
>  pretty busy.  So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom
>      and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have."
>
>  "Atheists are people who don't believe in God.  I don't think there are
>  any in Chula Vista.  At least there aren't any who come to our church."
>
>  "Jesus is God's Son.  He used to do all the hard work, like walking on
>    water, performing miracles, and trying to teach the people who didn't
>  want to learn about God.  They finally got tired of him preaching to them
>  and they crucified him.  But he was good and kind, like his father, and
>    he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to
>                      forgive them and God said O.K."
>
>  "His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard
>      work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road
>  anymore.  He could stay in heaven.  So he did.  And now he helps his dad
>  out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God
>  to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having
>          to bother God.  Like a secretary, only more important."
>
>  "You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they
>        got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time."
>
>  "You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and
>            if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!
>
>  Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going
>  to the beach.  This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the
>                          beach until noon anyway."
>
>  "If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very
>  lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp,
>  but God can.  It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in
>  the dark, or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water
>                                by big kids."
>
>    "But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I
>    figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.
>
>                    And...that's why I believe in God."
>                (Embedded image moved to file: pic07627.gif)
>
>
>
>  (If you believe in God, please pass this on, and may God bless you too.)
>
>  Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you!

 

[shortdawg]

AWESOME MESSAGES !!!! THANKS !!!!!!!!