Need God?

Need God?


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The Master's Hands

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to
begin, a mother who had gone to use the facilities returned
to her seat and discovered that her little boy was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the
impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her
little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out
"Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano
master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and
whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit." "Keep playing."

Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left
hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached
around to the other side of the child, and he added a running
obbligato.

Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what
could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully
creative experience.

The audience was so mes merized that they couldn't recall what
else the great master played. Only the classic, " Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star."

Perhaps that's the way it is with G-d. What we can accomplish
on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results
aren't always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of
the Master, our life's work can truly be beautiful. The next time
you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You may hear
the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit.
Keep playing."

May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are
there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces.

Remember, G-d doesn't seem to call the equipped, rather, He
equips the 'called.'

Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than
by the things you acquire, the job you possess, the money you
make, etc.

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Who YOU are

WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors
in high school by telling them the difference they each made.
She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time.

First she told each of them how they had made a difference to
her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue
ribbon imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I Am
Makes a Difference."

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what
kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave
each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go
out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to
follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to
the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby
company and honored him for helping him with his career planning.
He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him
two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on
recognition, and we'd like you to go out find somebody to
honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue
ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this
acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to
me and tell me what happened."

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had
been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his
boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a
creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised.

The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the
blue ribbon and would he give him permis sion to put it on him. His
surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue
ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he
gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor?
Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring
somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons
is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition
ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him
down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I
was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told
me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative
genius.

Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue
ribbon that says: "Who I Am Makes a Difference," on my jacket
above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to
find somebody else to honor.

As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I
would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to
honor you. My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't
pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not
getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a
mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just
let you know that you do make a difference to me.

Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life.
You're a great kid and I love you!" The startled boy started to sob
and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook.
He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad,
earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and
Mom explaining why I had killed myself and asking you to
forgive me.

I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just
didn't think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don't think
I need it after all." His father walked upstairs and found a
heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain. The envelope was
addressed, "Mom and Dad! ." The boss went back to work
a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to
let all his employees know that they made a difference.

The junior executive helped several other young people with career
planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a
difference in his life...one being the boss's son. And the
young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson.

Who you are DOES make a difference.

You never know what kind of difference a
little encouragement can make to a person.

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The Cup of Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together
to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned
into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and
returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups-
porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking,
some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help
themselves to the coffee.

When all the former students had a cup of coffee in hand,
the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking
expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain
and cheap ones.

While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves,
that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the
cup itself, adds no quality to the coffee in most cases, just more
expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the best cups... and then began eyeing each
other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; and the jobs, money and
position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and
contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor
change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the
coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups..........enjoy your coffee!

~~Author Unknown~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quit worrying about what the "Jones's" have and enjoy what
YOU have instead!

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THE U IN JESUS

Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God stuck U in the name of His Son.
And each time U pray, you'll see it's true,
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U.

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.
And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?
The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.
"Go into the world and tell them it's true
That I love them all - Just like I love U."

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?
It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know,
But it all starts with U.

~~Author Unknown~~



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The Worry Tree

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient one ton truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he went in with an amazing transformation.. His face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children...

So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

"Funny thing is," he smiled," when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

~~Author Unknown~~

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Gathering Golf Balls

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar
and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items
in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with
golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled
into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the
students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into
the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked
once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an
unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the
table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you
to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are
the important things---God, your family, your children, your health,
your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your
house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "
If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no
room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will
never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children. Spend time with your parents.
Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will
always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked.
"The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life
may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee
with a friend."

~~Author Unknown~~

Good philosophy!

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Hello God

Hello God, I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.


You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.


I want to ask you please to keep,
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.


Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.


I thank you God, for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.


Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.


So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You, too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!

~~Author Unknown~~


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Scandal in the House

I like a lot of the Mountain Wings moments that are emailed to me...this one just seemed apropos. Want your own Mountain Wings moments to come to you? Sign up from my link.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ministry has its share of attacks. Often ministers are unfairly and unjustly slandered, maligned and just downright lied upon. Often they are but far too often the accusations are not only true, they don’t even reveal the full depth of the wrongdoings.

We’ve had some major news coverage of ministers on the wrong side of the cloth. The areas of downfall usually fall into one or more of three areas: sex, money and pride.

Sexual misconduct is usually revealed when someone goes on a tell all spree. A simple audit often reveals what is called inpolitically correct terms, “misappropriation of funds.” Stealing is the more truthful word.

Pride is more hidden, can rarely be concretely proven but is just as insidious.

In the wake of a recent media blast someone asked me about a particular minister, “How can they know God and do such things?”

It was a good question. They had built a major ministry.The bigger you are the more accountable you should be because greater is the impact of any negative behavior, but wrongdoing is wrongdoing whether you are the leader of one or thousands.

“No one can know God and do such things,” they insisted.

It is hard to fathom how anyone can truly have a spiritual relationship with the Almighty Creator and yet fall to such depths that even the common man shakes his head in disgust wheneven the partial truth is told.

How indeed?

I simply replied, “Did David know God?”

They were stunted. (And probably stunned, if they knew the story of King David!)

For those who know the story, David, often hailed as the greatest King of Israel, conqueror of Goliath, writer of the book of Psalms, military leader extraordinaire, chosen of God and called by God in the Bible “a man after my own heart,” sinned big time.

He slept with another man’s wife. He then murdered by his command the woman’s honorable husband to hide the resulting pregnancy.

That relationship resulted in Solomon, the wisest king and rebuilder of the temple, Solomon had a woman problem. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. (Where did he find the time?)

Sound like a modern day soap opera or movie?

Paul, the major writer of the New Testament said the evil things that he should not do, are the very things that he finds himself doing, and the good things that he should do are the things that he doesn’t do. (Romans 7:19)

What was Paul doing or not doing? He wisely doesn’t say, else we would use Paul’s specific weaknesses to justify ours.

So did David, Solomon and Paul know God?

Absolutely!

The point is we cannot judge. We do not know the true heart. Most of the atrocities of body, resources and spirit will never splash across headlines. They will only color hearts.

Much of the degradation in ministry will remain covered to human eyes and only God will know and can judge the truth.

So it is in ministry. So it is in our lives. When judgment day comes, the heart and actions that God will ask you about, are going to be your own, minister or not.

Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly,“I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”(Mat 7:22-23 NIV)

~A MountainWings Original~

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Them

This is what God in his wisdom said about you:

I will send prophets and apostles to them, and they will kill some and persecute the others. And you of this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God's prophets from the creation of the world. (Luke 11:49-50 NLT)

The above verses are Jesus talking to the religious leaders of that day. He was saying that those whom God had sent were persecuted and killed by the established order, by them.

Some of you face the established order now.You have truth in your heart but you know that to speak it or act on it will result in unpleasant consequences. On your job, in your family, in your school or among your friends the truth can set you free but it can also get you fired, friendless, forsaken and frustrated.

It can get you persecuted and in many ways killed.

Some bring truth.

Some hide, suppress, distort and kill truth.

You are either a truth bearer and receiver

or them.

You either go along with things because it is simply easier to do so or you try to make things right.

From the creation of the world there has been truth and them.

I don't know the truth that you struggle with right now. It hides within you but cries out to be heard.

In your group drugs, alcohol, dishonesty, unscrupulous business practices, cheating, cursing, lying, hypocrisy, greed or a host of other things may be the established order.

I speak now to the prophet or apostle of the house.

It's time to let "them" know the truth.

~A MountainWings Original~

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Woman

This is written in the Hebrew Talmud, the book where all of the sayings and preaching of Rabbis are conserved over time.

It says:

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because

God counts her tears.

The woman came out of a man's rib.

Not from his feet to be walked on.

Not from his head to be superior,

but from the side to be equal.

Under the arm to be protected,

and next to the heart to be loved."

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Showing Support for Our American Soldiers

This is a really cool site where you can show your support of our troops.

It is sponsored by the Xerox corporation and they will print out the card of your design and mail it to an American soldier!

Let's say Thanks!


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Choosing your first job

The Boss

We were discussing life-changing statements. You know, the type of statement that hits home so hard that it changes your thinking, forever steering you on a different path.

Some movies have that quality, some sermons, some people, some moments, and even some MountainWings. They literally drill their way into your spirit. You enter one person and exit another, forever influenced and changed by the encounter.

My mother and I were having dinner with a lawyer. It was not business but a friendly dinner with the lawyer, his wife, and two of their children. He told a personal story about a life-changing statement and its effect that I feel will change the life course of at least one person that reads MountainWings.

This lawyer is the kind of man about whom I would say,"I want my son to turn out like him."He is the kind of man that if I were forced to choose another father I would say, "I would like a father like this man." I have a great respect for this lawyer. He is the reason that I have never used a lawyer joke on MountainWings though lawyer jokes seem to be the most common kind on the net.

His character is one of the best that I have seen among men, and each time I read a lawyer joke, I could never imagine him as that lawyer. As I heard Attorney Bill Merritt speak, I knew that at least one MountainWings reader would be affected by what he said, possibly for life. Maybe it's you.

Attorney Merritt began to tell the tale:

I had a professor in business school that, like a marine drill
sergeant, constantly drilled one thing into us. I didn't think it was that significant at the time but the drilling was so constant that when I graduated I automatically followed his advice (or drilling, whichever you want to call it).

It's amazing what repetition will do. We were all eager students, ready to conquer the world, ambitious, motivated, smart, loaded with dreams, and impatient to make our mark in the world.

The instructor's constant repetition was, "When you leave this school and look for a job, don't choose your job based on the salary.

Don't choose your job based on the city.

Don't choose your job based on the benefits or the prestige of the company.

Choose your first job on one criterion and one criterion only.

Choose it based on the character of your boss.


"I thought that was a strange thing. Not only strange but also difficult to determine. I trusted my instructor and his voice wouldn't leave my head, so his advice ultimately guided my job search.

I ended up out in the middle of nowhere working for a diesel engine manufacturing company in the Midwest, Cummins Engine.
My boss was the CEO, Henry Schacht. I didn't realize it until years after I started my own law firm that how I handled my business was exactly the way Schacht handled things.

I related to my secretary, to the other partners, to the paralegals, even to the clean-up crew, in the exact way that Henry Schacht did. We called his quotes and ways, Shockisms.

I remember most vividly a meeting held by Schacht.
The CEO's of some major Fortune 500 companies were there.
Most had flown in on private jets. You've read about those types of jets.
Multi-million dollar chariots with private bathrooms, couches, bars, large screen TV's, stereos, bedrooms, telephones, gourmet meals, you name it and they have it. Most have never seen the inside of such luxury jets much less flown in them.

These were the air cars these men flew in on. There were eight or nine of some of the most powerful men in America around that table. Henry Schacht sat at the head. I was awed and somewhat humbled being in the presence of such power, success, and wealth. These companies were blue chip all the way and here I was in the midst of them.

In the middle of the meeting, Schacht suddenly looked at his watch and said, "it's 4 o'clock, it's time for my son's soccer game," and he got up, excused himself, and left.

I saw the jaws drop of every CEO at that table. I could hear them thinking-"The nerve of this man to leave such an important meeting because his son has a soccer game. Doesn't he realize how many thousands of dollars per hour it costs just for my plane to fly me here? Doesn't he know how much my time is worth? All for a soccer game?"

Henry Schacht never missed a game that his son played. Henry Schacht had his priorities in order.


I now understand the wisdom of my instructor. What seemed so silly at the time, as I look back at it, makes so much sense. My first boss influenced me to a degree that I would have never thought possible. I act so much like him, that I now see why the instructor insisted that we choose our first full-time job based on the character of the boss.

That was Attorney Bill Merritt's story. We were at his house because he wanted his children to meet my mother. My mother wanted his children to meet me. The point is we were there because Attorney Merritt wanted his children to meet someone that he felt would add positive influence in their lives. His children are doing great. Of the two present at the dinner, one had just graduated from Princeton and the other is a sophomore at Princeton, majoring in aerospace engineering.

Both had a peace and maturity of spirit that far exceeded youth of their age and most older adults.

Do you know what it felt like? It felt like the children of a father that hadn't missed any soccer games, no matter what the cost.

The first boss's influence went beyond the boardroom.

For the student or person that has yet to enter their first career full-time job, this MountainWings may be for you. It's not something that you are generally taught, especially with the tight job market.

Maybe you don't need to think of leaving school and getting the
first job that you can. Maybe you need to think of school as making you really ready to learn and be shaped, like soft putty.

Maybe your first boss is the main sculpturer.

Be careful whom you allow to shape you.

Henry Schacht is now Chairman of Lucent Technologies.

I am willing to bet that he still has his priorities in order.
I am willing to bet that he still knows the true cost of a
missed game and that it is too high of a price to pay.

~A MountainWings Original~


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