by Stephen Buslon
When Jesus Christ comes back
And calls His children home
Will you be there?
The time He sounds the trumpet
To proclaim His Kingdom come
Will you be there?
"Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
When He rewards the faithful
And thank all those who followed
Will you be there?
When He destroys the wicked
And defeats the foe
Will you be there?
The time will come when everything will end
It isn’t far; it might just be around the bend
But when that time arrives
It will happen in a blink of an eye
Jesus Christ wants you to be by His side
Now ask yourself, will you be there?
When Jesus weds the Church
Oh what triumphant feeling
I’ll be there!
When angels in God’s court
Sings “Glory to God the Highest”
I’ll be there
The time will come when everything will end
It isn’t far; it might just be around the bend
But when that time arrives
It will happen in a blink of an eye
Jesus Christ wants me to be by His side
I do believe, I will be there!
But when that time arrives
It will happen in a blink of an eye
Jesus Christ wants you to be by His side
Ask yourself, will you be there?
I do believe, I will be there!
Logan is a 13 year-old boy who lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. Logan listens to Christian Radio station 89.3FM KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX. Logan called the radio station distraught because he had to take down a calf . His words have wisdom beyond his years.
Ang aking talino at lakas ng katawan,
Ang salapi at magarang ari-arian.
Mga taong mapagkakatiwalaan,
Paano kung sa isang iglap ay lumisan.
Lakas ng loob at kapayapaan,
Pagmamahal na walang paglagyan.
Nag-uumapaw na kasapatan,
Ay di na makakamtan.
Natuto akong tumanggap ng kabutihan,
Kaya’t buong puso ring tatanggap ng kahirapan.
Wala akong dala-dala nang ako ay isilang,
Kaya’t wala rin akong maipagyayabang sa Kanyang harapan.
Hanggang wala ng dahilang purihin ka,
Hanggang natitira na lang sa’kin ay hininga.
Hanggang wala nang dahilang magpatuloy pa,
Hanggang sarili ay tila sumuko na.
At kahit sabihin pa ng lahat,
Na itigil ko na ang pagsusumikap.
Na purihin ka sa kabila ng paghihirap,
Magpapatuloy ako, kahit wala nang dahilan.
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.
It was June of 1968, and I was fleeing for my life, carrying my two-month-old, baby daughter. My brother had managed to scrape together enough money for a first class ticket on an airplane traveling from Atlanta to Detroit. My first marriage had become too dangerous, and as I flew home to be with my family, I felt very agitated. Anything, God, I silently prayed. Anything to break the monotony of my own tortured thoughts.
At that moment, my baby bobbed over toward a smoker, a bit of drool dripping from her chin. As she studied him with wide-eyed wonder, she let out an enormous belch, right in his face! It was all I could do to keep from laughing! The man gave a disgusted grunt, and stepping over us, he retreated down the isle into the back of the plane. I never saw him again.
Behind me, across the isle, I heard someone laughing. Turning to look at him, I saw a man with a beet red face, nearly helpless with amusement. Our eyes locked, and we both cracked up.
"Out of the mouths of babes!" Said my conspirator, with a wicked twinkle in his eye. We laughed for some time, and then we began to visit. He was heading home to visit his parents in Detroit, Michigan. My daughter and I were also on our way home to stay with my parents, who lived just southwest of Detroit.
"What a beautiful child," he said, gazing at my little girl, with her soft dark curls and her big brown eyes. I agreed. Something about this man was vaguely familiar, but I just couldn’t place him. We talked. He was warm, kind, and funny. I was pensive from time to time, but it was a relief to have a kindred soul to distract me from my troubles.
I introduced myself, and he told me that his friends called him "Chuck." As we were visiting, I just could not get out of my mind, that I knew this man from somewhere. I certainly knew no one who traveled first class, and it would have been unlikely that we had ever met. He was traveling from Los Angeles. I was traveling from the south, and we had no similar points of reference, except Atlanta.
His voice was mesmerizing. It was so familiar. Strong and evenly tempered. Where had I heard that voice? All of a sudden, I knew him! I was sitting across from a very famous man. Charlton Heston! I couldn’t believe it, and we were talking like we were old friends! Should I tell him that I recognized him? What could I say?! "I just loved you in The Ten Commandments?!" How stupid would that sound? Tell him that he was the famous Charlton Heston? I don’t think so. I was pretty certain that he knew exactly who he was. I didn’t think that he needed me to inform him. And breaking into his privacy, to ask for an autograph, was simply not going to happen. So, I never said a word.
He was charming and kind. He held my little girl, and he played the typical baby games, speaking to her in a warm and coaxing way. She crowed in his face and giggled. I don’t remember what we talked about. Ordinary things. We visited for three and a half hours. I didn’t tell him that I was fleeing for my life, and he never told me that he was a famous movie star.
All too soon our trip was over. The plane landed and we both got our carry-ons. Mine was a diaper bag. His was something more Samsonite. He gathered his things, and I picked up my infant daughter. He left the plane to be greeted by the press and cameras. I left to obscurity. We both hugged our families, and my last sight of him was to see him smile and nod his head at me, as he began to answer questions from someone holding a microphone. I smiled back, and we parted forever.
I didn’t watch the news. I didn’t see the interview. I don’t know the rest of his story. I did tell my parents, who doubted that the man was famous. After all, on the plane we were simply two travelers, passing time. Somehow, this event was a pivotal point in my life. I had respected the privacy of a famous man, simply because I could. After eleven months of married hell, he had made me feel, well, normal.
Now, that he has passed-on, I remember a man who gave me my first glimpse into a normal life, one where humor and kindness saved the day. Mr. Heston could have been aloof and superior, but somehow I don’t think that was a part of his character. Often in the tumultuous days of my bitter divorce, I would think of that very famous man, who touched my life with so much grace.
Now, nearly forty years later, it occurs to me, how blessed I am, that I did not invade the privacy of that famous man. He gave me a precious memory, and, by the way, he did give me his autograph. He wrote his autograph upon my life!
Jaye Lewis is an award winning inspirational writer, who lives and writes in southwestern Virginia. She is also a frequent contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul. Jaye writes freelance, and she finds much of her inspiration from the beautiful mountains which surround her home. "The Lips of God" is a true story, written from the heart of Jaye's life. Read more of Jaye's life on her website www.entertainingangels.org or email her at jayelewis@comcast.net
We treat life differently. Some are thankful about it, but some would rather throw it away. But one thing is for sure, life must not be dwelt in the past nor be stuck too far in the future, it is best enjoyed today and treat it as a gift, that's the reason that it is called 'Present'.
Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still. -- Lou Erickso
Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us. -- Thomas L. Holdcroft
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. -- Winston Churchill
Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -- Gandhiji
Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies. -- Ann Landers
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.-- Buddha
Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you plan to stop peddling.-- Claude Pepper
It is not length of life, but depth of life. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. -- Albert Einstein
Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway. -- Steven Coallier
Life isn't worth living unless you're willing to take some big chances and go for broke.-- Eliot Wiggington
Being on the tightrope is living; everything else is waiting. -- Karl Wallenda
On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. -- Buddha
In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed. -- Sid Caesar
by: Stephen Buslon
May isang sisiw na agila. Maliit, mahina, at walang kakayahang mabuhay mag-isa. Siya ay isinilang sa isang mundong mapanganib. Ngunit sa tulong ng kanyang magulang at ng mga agilang mas matanda sa kanya, siya ay natuto ng maraming bagay. Sapagkat siya ay isang sisiw pa lang, hindi siya marunong kumuha ng kanyang sariling pagkain kaya ito ay binibigay sa kanya ng kanyang mga magulang.
Hindi rin siya marunong tumayo sa kanyang sariling mga paa, kaya siya ay nasa kanyang pugad lang maghapon. Higit sa lahat, hindi siya marunong lumipad na gaya ng mga matatandang agila. Nais niya rin sanang maabot ang tayog ng himpapawid at matanaw ang kagandahan ng daigdig. Nais niyang madama ang lamig ng hanging dadampi sa kanyang mga pakpak. Pero sa ngayon, isa pa lamang siyang sisiw. May nakilala siyang isang kuyang agila na nakatira malapit sa kanyang pugad. Ito’y masungit at seryoso sa kanyang mga ginagawa. Pero bilang kuya, may kagustuhan siyang magturo sa mga mas nakababatang agila kung paano lumipad. Ngunit, siya ay strikto at hindi pumapayag sa mga palusot ng mga batang agila. “Kung nais mong maabot ang langit, kailangang kang magsimula ngayon kahit sisiw ka pa lang!” Yan ang palaging sinasagot ni kuya sa kanyang mga istudyante.
Sa tuwing ang mga magulang ng batang sisiw ay aalis upang maghanap ng makakain kasama ang ibang mga agila, kanilang hinahabilin ang kanilang sisiw kay kuya. Sapagkat alam nila na siya ay responsable at maraming maaaring maituro sa kanilang sisiw. Isang araw, sinimulan ni kuya ang pagtuturo sa sisiw. Tinuruan nya muna ito kung paano tumayo sa sariling paa, na hindi kumakapit sa mga dahon ng puno. Tinuruan niya rin ito kung paano lumipad. Sa simula ay pinapakita muna ni kuya sa kanya ito; kung paano ibubuka ang pakpak, kung paano gagamitin ang hangin para manatili sa ere, at kung paanong lumapag ng hindi sumisemplang. Matapos ipakita ito sa sisiw ng ilang beses, kanya ng hinikayat ang sisiw na subukang lumipad. “Ayaw ko kuya, natatakot ako”, sabi ng sisiw. “Wala kang mararating kung lahat ng bagay ay pangungunahan mo ng takot,” sagot ni kuya. “Palagi ka lang magtiwala sa iyong sarili na kaya mong gawin ang lahat ng bagay ng maayos. At higit sa lahat, hindi mo kailangang matakot dahil nandito ako para bantayan ka sa lahat ng oras. Walang mangyayari sayong masama hangga’t nandito ako bilang guro mo,” dagdag nito. Dahil sa sinabi ng kuyang agila sa kanya, nagkaroon siya ng lakas ng loob ng lumipad noong araw na iyon. At hindi nagtagal ay natuto rin siyang lumipad.
Sunod na itinuro sa kanya ng kanyang gurong kuya ay kung paano ang manghuli ng kanyang makakain. Sinubukan muna niyang manghuli ng isang kuneho na tumatalon talon sa damuhan sa gilid ng bundok. Nang hindi niya ito mahuli sa kabila ng pagsunod sa mga bilin ng kanyang kuya, kanya itong muling nilapitan. “Kuya bakit hindi ko mahuli ang kuneho? Sinunod ko naman yung mga sinabi mo ah?”, tanong ng batang agila. “Walang problema sa mga paraan ng iyong paghuli sapagkat nakikita ko namang ginagawa mo lahat ng pinagawa ko sayo. Ang tanging problema lang ay kung ano ang hinuhuli mo!”, tugon ng kuyang agila. “Ilang araw pa lang ang nakakalipas ng matutunan mong maglakad at lumipad, tama? Ngayon na nag-aaral ka na manghuli ng makakain mo, ay kaagad mong sinunggaban ang isang kuneho. Marahil ay nais mong magpasikat sa akin, o marahil ay nais mong makakain ng marami kaagad. Pero wala kang mararating kung lahat ng bagay ay iyong mamadaliin! Manghuli ka muna ng bubwit!”, dagdag ng gurong agila.
Dumating ang maraming araw, mas marami pang natutunan ang batang agila sa kanyang kuya. Mula sa paggawa ng sariling pugad, pagtukoy kung ang isang hayop ay maaaring kainin o hindi, pag alam ng panahon at iba pa. Pati pagpili ng babaeng maaaring mapangasawa, sa tamang edad ng pag-aasawa, at ano ang mga dapat paghandaan sa pag-aasawa. Marami nga talagang natutunan ang batang agila sa kanyang gurong kuya. Sila ay palaging nakikitang magkasama; sa paghahanap ng pagkain man o kahit as paglipad lang sa alapaap.
Dumating ang panahon na ang gurong agila, ang kuya ng batang agila, ang nagturo sa kanya ng lahat ng nalalaman niya ngayon, ay nagkasakit. Isang sakit na mahirap gamutin at tanging kamatayan ang kahihinatnan. Wala na siyang panahon na magturo pa sa batang agila. Wala na siyang panahon na samahan ito na manghuli ng makakain at lumipad sa ibabaw ng mga ulap. Sa takot na maaaring nakakahawa ang sakit ng kuya niya, hindi niya ito makuhang dalawin sa kanyang pugad. At sa mga panahong malakas ito at kayang manghuli ng makakain, sinusubukan ng kuyang agila na magkaroon silang muli ng oras na lumipad magkasama, silang dalawa ng batang agila. Ngunit di na gaya ng dati ang pagmamahal ng batang agila sa kanyang kuya, natatakot siyang makantsawan ng ibang agila sa tuwing sila ay magsasama. Makantsawan na baka magkaroon din siya ng sakit na gaya ng sakit ng kanyang kuya. At sa tuwing sila ay nagkikita sa alapaap, pilit na sinusubok ng kuya na lumipad sa tabi ng kanyang mahal na istudyante at makausap man lang saglit. Ngunit ang kanyang istudyante ang patuloy na lumilipad palayo.
Di naglaon, namatay ang kuyang agila. Nabalitaan na lamang ito ng batang agila mula sa ibang agila. Ang sabi nila nakita nila ito noong gabi bago ito pumanaw na hinang hina na at umiiyak at para bang may sinasambit. Isa sa kanila ay nagsabi na para bang narinig niya na tinatawag niya ang pangalan ng batang agila. Pinuntahan ng batang agila ang pugad na iniwan ng kanyang kuya. Isa sa mga nakakatandang agila ang nagsabi, “Nakakaawang agila. Sa huling hininga niya ay hinahanap niya ang kanyang mahal na kaibigan. Ang tangi niyang kaibigan. Ang kanyang matalik na kaibigan. Pero sa huling hininga nito ay di man lang dinalaw o dalhan man lang ng nabubulok na bubwit. Kung sakali man na kilala mo yung kaibigan na tinutukoy niya, paki sabi mo naman sa kanya na sa huling hininga nito, siya ang nasa isip niya.”
Ngayon ang batang agila ay di na sisiw. Isa na siyang malakas at matalinong agila. Sa tulong ng kanyang kuya, natutunan niya ang maraming bagay. Ngunit isa ang kanyang di makakaila, sa haba ng panahon na sila ay magkasama, di man lang niya ito napasalamatan, kahit kailan. Hanggang sa ang kanyang gurong kuya ay namatay na lang.
