Guest guest Posted May 1, 2001 Report Share Posted May 1, 2001 Everyone always tells their friends they'll be 'Friends Forever,' but how often does that last? You might be best friends one year, pretty good friends the next year, don't talk that often the next year, and don't want to talk at all the year after that. So, I just wanted to say, even if I never talk to you again in my life, you are special to me and you have made a difference in my life, I look up to you, respect you, and truly cherish you. Send this to all your friends, no matter how often you talk, or how close you are, and send it to the person who sent it to you. Let old friends know you haven't forgotten them, and tell new friends you never will. Remember, everyone needs a friend. Someday you might feel like you have no friends at all, just remember this e-mail and take comfort in knowing somebody out there cares about you and always will. Facts of life: 1. At least 5 people in this world, love you so much they would die for you. 2. At least 15 people in this world love you, in some way. 3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you, is because they want to be just like you. No kidding. I know some of those people. 4. A smile from you, can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. 5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. 6. You mean the world to someone. 7. Without you, someone may not be living. 8. You are special and unique, in your own way. 9. Someone that you don't know even exists, loves you. 10. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it. 11. When you think the world has turned it's back on you, take a look, you most likely turned your back on the world. 12. When you think you have no chance at getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you believe in yourself, you probably sooner or later will get it. 13. Always remember complements you received, forget about the rude remarks. 14. Always tell someone how you feel about them, you will feel much better when they know. 15. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great. **IF YOU DECIDE TO SEND THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, YOU WON'T GET ANY GOOD LUCK, AND YOUR CRUSH WON'T SUDDENLY LIKE YOU, BUT YOU'LL BRIGHTEN UP SOMEONE'S DAY, AND MIGHT CHANGE THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE, FOR THE BETTER! -------------------- <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC " -//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN " > <HEAD> <META content= " text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 " http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content= " MSHTML 5.00.2919.6307 " name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV style= " FONT: 10pt arial " >----- Original Message ----- <DIV style= " BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black " >From: <A HREF= " mailto:Gadzoo7@... " >Gadzoo7@...</A> </DIV> <DIV><A HREF= " mailto:cleweke@... " >cleweke@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:cfays@... " >cfays@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:rvjoe@... " >rvjoe@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:ballyhoo@... " >ballyhoo@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:bhbrown@... " >bhbrown@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:turboos@... " >turboos@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:murphchk@... " >murphchk@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:X10usa@... " >X10usa@...</A> ; <A HREF= " mailto:Snelshaw@... " >Snelshaw@...</A> ; kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 2, 2001 Report Share Posted May 2, 2001 Kathy, I really like this. Thanks for sharing. It was a day brightener for me. P Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a >concert at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you have have ever been to >a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement >for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and has braces on both >legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the >stage one step at the time, painfully and slowly is a sight. He walks >painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits >down, slowly, put his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his >legs, tucks one foot back and extend the other foot forward. Then he >bends down and picks up his violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the >conductor and proceeds to play >> > >By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he >makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain silent while he >undoes the clasps on his legs, they wait until he is ready to play. > > > >But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finihed the first few >bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap - it >went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what he had >to do. > > > >People who were there that night thought to themselves: " We figured that >he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches >and limp his way off the stage - to either find another violin or else >find another string for this one. Or wait for someone to bring him >another. > > > >But he didn't. Instead he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then >signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played >from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such >power and such purity, as they had never heard before. > > >> >Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work >with just three strings. I know that, you know that. But that night >Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, >changing and recomposing the piece in his head. At one point it sounded >like he was de - tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they >had never made before. > > > >When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then >people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause >from every corner of the auditorium. Everyone was on their feet, >screaming and cheering, doing everything they could to show how much they >appreciated what he had done. > > >> >He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet the >audience, not boastfully, but in a quiet reverent tone: > > > >. " YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT IS THE ARTIST'S TASK TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH MUSIC >YOU CAN STILL MAKE WITH WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT. " > > >> >What a powerful line that is. And who knows? Perhaps that is the way of >life - not just for an artist but for all of us. Here is a man who has >prepared all his life to make music on a violin with four strings, who >all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, finds himself with only >three strings and the music he made that night with just three strings >was more beautiful, more sacred, more memorable, than any that had ever >made before, when he had four strings. > > >> >So perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in >which we live, is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then >when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left. > > >> >In this year where so much has been taken from us all, let us stop for a >moment during this holiday season and think how we can make beautiful >music with what we have left. You can't always believe what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 ----- Forwarded Message ----From: "Shirlrae@..." <Shirlrae@...>ardellwilliams@...; bobandgaynell@...; devere.hein@...Cc: goldennonnie1@...; janet_williams23@...; kkellam4@...; kparsley@...Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 11:31:59 AMSubject: Fwd: worth reading See what's free at AOL.com. See what's free at AOL.com. Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. ITC; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: -khtml-left; '> As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. Join now! Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out new cars at Autos. See what's free at AOL.com. Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. ITC; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: -khtml-left; '> As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. Join now! Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.' This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. ITC; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: -khtml-left; '> As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end. i'm making a difference. Make every IM count for the cause of your choice. Join now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Wow! Been there many times! Mike Baker Worth reading  Another member passed this along to me, thought many here might enjoy it, too. Jenee Woodard.Creator, TextWeek.com A Christmas Eve With My Autistic Son Posted: 1/21/12 It was Christmas Eve again. We were in church. Or, rather, it was before church. A number of folks from a college music group (college was 30 years ago) were getting together to play for the Christmas Eve service. My family was all in one room -- the rehearsal room before the church service. My daughter was playing horn, my spouse was playing trombone. I was listening. To everything. Because I knew that my son did not want to be there. Phil is 20 years old, 6'2 " tall and 285 lbs. He is severely disabled by his autism, and is incredibly bright and talented. He is not conversationally verbal. He is generally easy-going, but when he's pushed past his " limit " that's the end of his ability to tolerate " our world. " He has violent panic attacks. Christmas is the Perfect Storm: hushed sanctuaries, lights, added decorations, new churches, we were visiting grandma. Too much was new. I knew it was time to get him out of there. Over the years, I've come to recognize the signals of " overload, " and I've come to know when to watch for them. They were all present. He was pacing, barking and tense. I braced myself and told him that we would leave the one place I wanted to be that night. We walked out into the parking lot. I heard the church service begin. I was fighting feeling sorry for myself because I really wanted to be in there, making music with my family and friends, or at least listening. And that's when Phil started screaming and trying to get back into the church. I knew that if he got in there he would stand at the back and probably scream at the top of his lungs on this Holy Night, probably something that no one would understand, and it would completely ruin the whole Church Thing on Christmas Eve for everyone. He was struggling with me. He's too big for me to deal with physically anymore. He was screaming and making ground back toward the church. I had to get him to the car -- to the hotel, and to what for him, was sanctuary. It worked out. I remembered " low and slow " and we both calmed down. Of course he was sensing how angry I was about the whole situation and that once more everything was different than I had planned. He was reacting in the way he reacts, with his own need for everything to be " normal. " I remembered that, sat him down, walked into the church, got the keys to grandma's car which held the magical talisman-of-the-week (an iPad), put him in the other car, took the keys back and drove him to the hotel. I was thinking about another time when things didn't work out so well on Christmas. Another time that there were travelers and there was God-in-the-world in a way that no one understood or could comprehend. Another time that folks had to deal with their " normal " being ripped apart by the " normal " of someone else -- of God. We sat in the hotel room, Phil and me alone together on Christmas Eve once more. He hooted softly at Google Maps and the weather channel on his iPad (which he had networked four different ways before he settled on the system he wanted to use). I poured the diet cranberry ginger ale, and we sat, calming down. He snuggled up, put his head on my shoulder and wanted me to fix something. (An imaginative game we play when he is worked up. We find something to fix -- a car, a leaking window, a sports dome.) I said, " fix, fix, fix. " He let out his deep sigh. " Normal. " He said. " Normal, " I agreed, closing my eyes and relaxing with him. Once more, there were no churches but a strange room at someone else's hotel, no choirs but those in the drone of the electricity and wireless connections that Phil hears so much better than I, no worship but relationship with something Holy -- something Other -- something no one could understand unless they were there on that Silent Night. Once more, an opportunity for me to let go of all of the trappings and see them for what they are, and to see my son for what he is and the realities he unfolds for me every day. There is another world, another " normal, " another place with which I am becoming familiar -- the world inside the very deep soul of my autistic son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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