There,but for the grace of God, go I!

A must READ - " Good morning," said a woman as she walked up to the man sitting on the ground.

The man slowly looked up.

This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new.. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life.

His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before.. "Leave me alone," he growled....

To his amazement, the woman continued standing.

She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the president. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm.

"What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone.

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked..

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?"

"See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. "Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack" the officer answered. "Don't blow it.."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived...

The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by his table. "What's going on here, officer?" he asked. "What is all this, is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business.."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled....... "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a godly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma’am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel, "I'll get your coffee for you right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said.

"That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this."

She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently.. "Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said.. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble... Then, when I looked over and saw you put the price of my food in the cash register, I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card.. "When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons...He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet... If you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you?" he said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "To God goes the glory. Thank Jesus...... He led me to you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways....

"Thank you for all your help, officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And.. And thank you for the coffee."

God is going to shift things around for you today and let things work in your favor.

If you believe, send it.

If you don't believe, delete it.

God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close..

If you need God to open some doors for you...send this on.

 

(facebook posting by Rhonda White Cable)

Dreamer.....

Norman Vincent Peale: Be Your Best

This links to "Be Your Best",  a speech by Dr. Peale! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9lm2y_4cAE

Following the Doctor's Advice.....

Happy Birthday, Doctor Seuss! March 2, 1904 - September 24, 1991

Doing Good to All Men

We need to mirror the ability to state clearly and without equivocation our individual commitment to a statement of faith such as this:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."       

- a portion of a reply to the Chicago Democrat in 1842

What a better world this would become!

Zig Ziglar's Most Unforgettable Character

By Zig Ziglar

The Eartha White story appeared in Reader’s Digest nearly 40 years ago. She was four-and-a-half feet tall and the daughter of a former slave. She believed that “service is the price we pay for the space we occupy on this planet.” She lived by the principle that each of us should do all the good we can in all the ways we can in all the places we can for all the people we can while we can.

Miss Eartha gave up a promising opera career to join her mother in trying to make things easier for the people who came to her mother’s free soup kitchen. She taught school for sixteen years, then used her small savings to open a department store that catered primarily to blacks. She eventually started a steam laundry, an employment agency, a real estate company and an insurance business. She amassed an estate worth well over a million dollars, only to commit most of it to projects that made her a one-woman welfare department.

Her life was about helping people. She reached down and lifted those who needed a hand up instead of a handout. She maintained an old folks boarding home for indigents and a mercy hospital for those who had become completely helpless. At another house she took in unwed mothers and in another she nursed alcoholics back to sobriety. She also donated buildings for two child care centers and turned a vacant movie house into a recreation center for slum children. Her deep faith led her to quote John 15:7 which says, “If you abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.”

She worked hard, lived expectantly and died fulfilled. If each one of us did a fraction of what she did, our contribution to society would be significant. The sheer joy of giving and doing for others is hard to top. Take action and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Ben Franklin's Secret to Success

Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His autobiography lists his 13 virtues as:

1. "Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
2. "Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
3. "Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
4. "Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
5. "Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
6. "Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
7. "Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
8. "Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
9. "Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
10. "Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
11. "Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
12. "Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
13. "Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates." 
    

Franklin did not try to work on them all at once. Instead, he would work on one and only one each week "leaving all others to their ordinary chance". While Franklin did not live completely by his virtues and by his own admission, he fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt made him a better man contributing greatly to his success and happiness, which is why in his autobiography, he devoted more pages to this plan than to any other single point; in his autobiography Franklin wrote, "I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit."

She Drew the Line!

 

by Zig Ziglar

Chances are pretty good you’ve never heard of Dr. June McCarroll, but she is truly one of the women who left their “mark” on the world. She was born in Nebraska and was a general practitioner who lived in California. Interestingly enough, her claim to fame lies outside the world of medicine. An accident was the trigger that got her thinking about making our highways safer. Her car was sideswiped and she determined to do something about cars that crowded others off the road.

As she was driving along a road that bulged down its center, she noticed that the bulge helped to keep motorists on their own side of the road. This gave her an idea and she started trying to persuade the town council to “paint a line down the middle of the road” to set an example and “lead the nation in public safety.” She got the typical bureaucratic response that her idea was ingenious but impractical. However, Dr. McCarroll was one of these people who will not take no for an answer so she took her idea to the local women’s club. The vote was unanimous in support of the project. Despite this fact, as the old saying goes, some minds are like concrete – all mixed up and permanently set, so she continued to face bureaucratic stubbornness for seven long years before her idea was implemented.

C. N. Hamilton was a staunch local supporter of Dr. McCarroll’s concept and when he became a member of the California Highway Commission in 1924 he convinced the Commission to approve the painting of a five-mile-long experimental center line on Route 99. An additional test strip was also painted. Accidents on both stretches diminished dramatically and soon the entire state boasted “McCarroll lines” on its highways. Most of the world has since followed suit.

Message: When you conceive an idea in which you fervently believe, go after that idea – especially if people you respect believe it’s a good one. Hang in there and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Put A Little “Fizz” In Your Life

You may notice, I really do love the late Zig Ziglar! I'm glad his son, Tom still sends out his dad's email!

Put A Little “Fizz” In Your Life

By Zig Ziglar

Coca-Cola is the best-known product in the world today, but had it not been for a couple of “little things,” it might have died shortly after its birth.
The formula for Coca-Cola was discovered in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, by a 50-year-old pharmacist named John Pemberton.  He was fascinated by the soda fountain in his store and the large number of drinks it offered the customers.  Because he was both creative and curious, he decided to develop a syrup that would be different and thirst-quenching.  While working in the back room of his pharmacy, he combined a mixture of cola nut extract, sugar, caffeine, decocainized coca leaves and vegetable extract.  To this day, the exact formula remains one of the most carefully-guarded secrets in the world.
The drink was relatively popular, but a few months later an assistant served a customer Coca-Cola mixed with soda water.  That little “fizz” was the “lucky touch” that caused an explosion in the popularity of the drink.  However, there was one other factor involved.  Pemberton’s partner, Frank Robinson, was the creative artistic talent that produced the elegant writing of the name Coca-Cola.  That design is the one they’re still using today.
“So what?” might be the question on your mind because you’ve “heard that story before.”  Here’s the “what.”  Is there a possibility that under your very eyes are simple “little things” that with a little tinkering could turn into something big?  Is there a better, faster, cheaper way of doing a mundane task that would make a big difference?  Could be.  It certainly would behoove each of us to keep our eyes and our minds open to that possibility.  Who knows – maybe if you put a little “fizz” in what you do you will find another Coca-Cola in your soda fountain.  Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

Our New Year Beginning!

Happy New Years from GladCasting University! We believe that if we put the Lord first in our lives, we can and should be prosperous in our lives. We will be focusing on a series of blogs chronicling the progress toward prosperity of at least one family. If you wish to share your Journey to Prosperity, please email us with your information!

In Loving Memory of Zig Ziglar 1926-2012

Finishing Well

By Zig Ziglar

Fortunately, there is a strong movement today in America to instill ethical behavior in the home, school and business environments.  While I applaud the trend, I believe it’s putting the cart before the horse.  The horse, in my opinion, is integrity.  Integrity is who you are, a measurement of your character and, consequently, the determining factor in your behavior.  Ethics are the result of our integrity.  It’s true that people of integrity will occasionally do unethical things.  However, it will be a rare occasion because, according to Dr. Joyce Brothers, you cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself.
Question: Do integrity and ethics work in our society of today?  Well, according to an article in Forbes Magazine and reported by Seth Godin, it works for CEO John Teets of the Dial Corporation.  I know Mr. Teets personally and I believe he epitomizes what we’re talking about.  According to Forbes, he is the opposite of the cold-hearted CEO, ensconced in an isolated executive suite.  Personal tragedies and early obstacles have made him deeply spiritual.  His Horatio Alger-like rise from mean circumstances has deepened his humanity rather than snuffed it out.  He is generous; he takes a keen personal interest in the people who work for him.  He demonstrates that commerce and religion are not incompatible and, in fact, that religion can help an executive be more sensitive to the needs of others, which is the essence of business—fulfilling the needs and desires of customers in an ethical manner.
Message: The good guys and the good gals really do win.  They not only live well, they finish well.  They have more of the things money will buy and all of the things that money won’t buy.  So wake up, America!  Let’s take one step back and build some integrity in our young people.  The ethics will naturally follow.  Think about it.  Live with integrity and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!