DANCE " ...HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN..."

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 a.m. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health; he told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left; I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.'

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

--Author Unknown

Labels: RAIN

  ¶ 4:18 PM 1 Comments

  74 "...74..."...on March 7th, 2010...I need 74 people to pray for our PRISON MINISTRY..!
Why "74"....that is my BIRTHDAY..."74-years-old"....74-people Praying as your gift to me and Prison Ministries...30+ inmates in 9 Prisons (State-Federal-County)..."inmates for Christ"...Bible Correspondence Lessons (in New Testament an Daniel and Revelation...)

LET ME KNOW that you are a "PRAYER PARTNER" for Prison Ministries..!

GOD BLESS YOU...in 2010....on March 7th...! OKAY..!

Labels: PRAYER

  ¶ 5:51 PM 0 Comments

  LOVE What is LOVE??

With Valentine's Day coming up, February is usually considered the month of love. When I was a student in college I had to write a paper about "the principle of love" for my ethics class. Now, it looks like a nice bunch of words from some good study and research, focusing a lot on "agape love," though it also covers two other types of love: phileo and eros. However, at that time, I had not personally experienced marital love, or a "mother's love" (except for what I had observed in my own home). And I'm sure I really didn't understand the words very much.

But, I'm still asking myself if I truly understand love - especially agape love. That's sacrificial love - not "self-serving, feel good" love - but acting for the good of another person and not for one's self.

I read a story recently about a young mother and her two children driving down a mountain road one morning. She was on her way to work and to drop her children off at the babysitters on the way. They never arrived at their destinations. After 8 1/2 hours of searching, they were found in their upside down submerged car in a cold mountain stream down the mountain side.

The little girl was dead, the mother had also died, with evidence she had struggled to free herself but was trapped. However, the two-year-old baby boy was still alive - barely! How had he survived? The mother had held him up, in a very painful position for herself, so that his head was above the water in a pocket of air inside the vehicle! She eventually died in that position. She gave her life so that the baby might live! Is that love?? Does it not remind us of Jesus? He gave His life with unbearable suffering so that we might live. That's agape love!

It is said that love is not something you feel, but something you do. Fortunately, many times when we "do" love, God blesses us with a pleasurable feeling too. But often it is just a decision. We are acting for the good of another person, recognizing their worth, and not pleasing ourselves.

Again, (ask yourself) what is LOVE? HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
- Joyce Brotzman

Labels: VALENTINES

  ¶ 5:26 PM 2 Comments

  VALENTINE ST. VALENTINE'S STORY...

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago.! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies - secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time I was caught. (not quite as light in my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown into jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

Labels: LOVE

  ¶ 9:50 PM 0 Comments