~TREASURES IN HEAVEN~

[Rhonda]

*George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the
home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him
to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.

Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, the rich man boasted,
“Twenty-five years ago, I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s
all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of
grain, he said, “That’s all mine.” Turning east toward huge herds of
cattle, he bragged, “They’re all mine.”

Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed,
“That too is all mine.” He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment
him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the
man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said,
“How much do you have in that direction?” The man hung his head
and confessed, “I never thought of that.”

Though one might accumulate great wealth of houses and land, without
treasures of the Lord laid up in heaven, all of their work is in vain.
God wants His children to be in good health and prosper, even as
their soul prospers. We are told to "seek the Lord first and His
kingdom, and everything else we need shall be added unto us.
When we seek God's will first, He provides for us and will supply
all of our needs according to His riches in glory, just as promised.
We are given abundant blessings when we serve God with our
whole heart, and make Jesus Lord of all.

Our Father not only owns all the hills, but the cattle on a thousand hills.
All the gold and silver belong to Him. Can you image streets of pure
gold such as will be in that heavenly city? If streets are made of gold
and gates of pearl, we know the New Jerusalem will be more glorious
than our mind could ever comprehend. Jesus will be what makes
it heaven for us. One day we shall behold Him in all of His glory.
Until that day, may we be about the Father's business and lay up treasures
in heaven. Moth and rust cannot harm heavenly treasures,
We can rejoice if we are a child of the King.
May our Lord be given all praise and glory, now and forevermore!

Blessings In Christ,
Jo Ann Kelly © 2009, 2005
J. P.'s Inspirations
www.my.homewithgod.com/jpinspirations/
This writing may be used in its entirety, with credits intact,
for non-profit ministering purposes.

**Illustration: Our Daily Bread, October 1992
********************

[Rhonda]

God's Busy!

A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan . One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU .

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in, looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, 'God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes.' The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, 'Here I am God. I'm still waiting.' It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-thingyed him, knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked, stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, 'What the heck is the matter with you? Why did you do that?' The Marine calmly replied, 'God was too busy today protecting American soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So, He sent me.'


And all God's people said -- AMEN!

[Rhonda]

Magnolias-A Beautiful Story-
I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding running last-minute trips to the caterer, florist, tuxedo shop, and the church about forty miles away.


As happy as I was that Patsy was marrying a good Christian young man, I felt laden with responsibilities as I watched my budget dwindle . . .so many details, so many bills, and so little time.

My son, Jack, was away at college, but he said he would be there to walk his younger sister down the aisle, to take the place of his dad who had died a few years before. He teased Patsy, saying he'd wanted to give her away since she was about three years old!

To save money, I gathered blossoms from several friends who had large magnolia trees. Their luscious, creamy-white blooms and slick green leaves would make beautiful arrangements against the rich dark wood inside the church.

After the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, we banked the podium area and choir loft with magnolias. As we left just before midnight, I felt tired but satisfied this would be the best wedding any bride had ever had! The music, the ceremony, the reception - and especially the flowers - would be remembered for years.

The big day arrived - the busiest day of my life - and while her bridesmaids helped Patsy to dress, her fiancé, Tim, walked with me to the sanctuary to do a final check. When we opened the door and felt a rush of hot air, I almost fainted; and then I saw them - all the beautiful white flowers were black. Funeral black. An electrical storm during the night had knocked out the air conditioning system, and on that hot summer day, the flowers had wilted and died.

I panicked, knowing I didn't have time to drive back to our hometown, gather more flowers, and return in time for the wedding.

Tim turned to me. "Edna, can you get more flowers? I'll throw away these dead ones and put fresh flowers in these arrangements. "

I mumbled, "Sure," as he be-bopped down the hall to remove the dead flowers.

Alone in the large sanctuary, I looked up at the dark wooden beams in the arched ceiling. "Lord," I prayed, "please help me. I don't know anyone in this town. Help me find someone willing to give me flowers - in a hurry!"

I scurried out praying for four things: the blessing of white magnolias, courage to find them in an unfamiliar yard, safety from any dog that may bite my leg, and a nice person who would not get out a shotgun when I asked to cut his tree to shreds..

As I left the church, I saw magnolia trees in the distance. I approached a house...no dog in sight. I knocked on the door and an older man answered. So far so good.....no shotgun.

When I stated my plea the man beamed, "I'd be happy to!"

He climbed a stepladder and cut large boughs and handed them down to me. Minutes later, as I lifted the last armload into my car trunk, I said, "Sir, you've made the mother of a bride happy today."

"No, Ma'am," he said. "You don't understand what's happening here."

"What?" I asked.

"You see, my wife of sixty-seven years died on Monday, on Tuesday I received friends at the funeral home, and on Wednesday . . .. He paused. I saw tears welling up in his eyes.. "On Wednesday I buried her." He looked away. "On Thursday most of my out-of-town relatives went back home, and on Friday - yesterday - my children left." "This morning, he continued, I was sitting in my den crying out loud. I miss her so much. For the last sixteen years, as her health got worse, she needed me. But now nobody needs me. This morning I cried, Who needs an eighty-six-year- old wore-out man? Nobody! I began to cry louder. Nobody needs me!"
"About that time, you knocked, and said, 'Sir, I need you'."

I stood with my mouth open.

He asked, "Are you an angel? The way the light shone around your head into my dark living room..."

I assured him I was no angel.

He smiled. "Do you know what I was thinking when I handed you those magnolias?"

"No.”

“I decided I'm needed. My flowers are needed. Why, I might have a flower ministry! I could give them to everyone! Some caskets at the funeral home have no flowers. People need flowers at times like that and I have lots of them. They're all over the backyard! I can give them to hospitals, churches - all sorts of places. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to serve the Lord until the day He calls me home.”

I drove back to the church, filled with wonder. On Patsy's wedding day, if anyone had asked me to encourage someone who was hurting, I would have said, "Forget it!" It's my only daughter's wedding, for goodness' sake! There is no way I can minister to anyone today. But God found a way. Through dead flowers.




THIS IS SO TRUE, BEING NEEDED IS SO UPLIFTING TO EACH OF US.


"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.

It's the way it is.

The way you cope with it is what makes the difference."

If you have missed knowing me, you have missed nothing.

If you have missed some of my emails,

you may have missed a laugh.

But, if you have missed knowing God,

you have missed everything in the world.

May God's blessings be upon you.

This story is too beautiful not to send...