Not-So-Identical Twins
Author Unknown
There were once two brothers who were identical twins. Now even though they looked exactly alike, they were exact opposites when it came to their personalities. One brother was an eternal optimist--he always saw good in everything and everybody. The other brother, however, was an eternal pessimist--he never saw good in anything anywhere.
One Christmas, their parents decided to try an experiment on them to see if there was any way that the two brothers could find some balance in their personalities. To the pessimist son, the parents gave a bright, shiny bicycle. To their optimist son, they gave a bag filled with nothing but straw. They put their presents under the tree with the boys' names on them and waited to see what would happened.
On Christmas morning, the two boys ran downstairs to discover what they had received from their parents. Upon finding the bicycle, the pessimist proclaimed, "A bicycle? Why did you give me a bicycle? It's too cold to ride outside, and besides, I will probably fall and hurt myself. I can't believe you got me a lousy bicycle!"
The optimist opened his present, found the bag of straw and thought for a minute. Suddenly he ran to the backyard and began looking around frantically. His parents and brothers were completely puzzled, and they finally asked him "What in the world are you doing?" To which he replied, "Well, after getting that bag of straw, I just know there's a pony around here someplace! I just haven't found him yet!"
Attitude can make a huge difference in your circumstances. When things happen to you at home, at school, with your friends--you have two choices. You can take the high road or the low road. The high road is to remain positive and look for the good in your situation. The low road is to be negative and to see only the bad. One road leads to happiness, the other to despair. Really, the choice is yours. Circumstances don't have to control your life. You can instead control how those circumstances affect you. You have the power.
As Christians, we have every reason to take the high road and to be optimistic about life. Because of Christ, we have hope--real hope. We know that no matter what happens, God is in control and we have the victory that Christ won for us on the cross. The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). That's the kind of attitude we need to have.
THE APPLE BASKET
Author Unknown
One day an elderly man entered into a hospital. He was grumpy from
being on medication and the nurses thought him to be insane, as he
yelled for his wife to get the apple basket. By the time they had
checked him into his room the nurses were exhausted from the fight he
was putting up.
"Sir you have to calm down we are doing everything we can for you"
they would try to explain.
"I don't need your help" the grumpy man would yell "I want my apple
basket". He finally slept. The nurses sighed with relief and talked
among themselves whether they should call the hospital psychologist
about the old man and his obsession with the apple basket.
As they talked and laughed about the situation the wife came in
carrying the basket of apples. They looked kind of stunned as she
asked if she could see her husband and deliver his basket. Sure, they
agreed as they watched her slip past into his room.
Curiosity consumed them over the next few weeks as they tended to the
elderly man. He was eaten with cancer and the doctors had given him no
hope of survival. He turned out to be a very calm, happy man once he
had his basket. His wife, they noticed, would come in with apples and
go out with apples and the curiosity grew even more till one nurse
couldn't stand the suspense.
One night as he was nearing the end, the nurse sat down in a chair by
the wife." May I ask why do you have that apple basket? I just don't
understand the significance."
"I am an apple farmer by trade he sighed. From the time I was 20 till
the day I do die I will forever have my apples." The nurse nodded
thinking she understood. He just likes his work, she thought, assured
now he was a little bit crazy.
As she started to leave, the old man asked her to sit down. "At age 20
I was saved, I accepted the Lord as my Savior." Oh no, the nurse
thought. Here comes the lecture on religion. The old man continued.
"The day I accepted the Lord as my Savior I got this basket, and each
time I had a problem or concern that I could not handle, I put an
apple in the basket un-shined."
"Why?" the nurse said shaking her head.
"Because it reminded me to give those problems to the Lord for him to
shine. See my basket now, he stated. As my problems disappear so do
the apples. As I get new problems, ones I cannot handle alone, I put
an apple in."
The humble nurse looked into the basket...only one apple was there.
With that, he took a big breath and grabbed his wife by the hand and
faded into eternal sleep. The wife paused for a moment and got up from
her place to take from the basket the last remaining apple. She
whispered in his ear that his reward awaits him in heaven.
The nurse stayed still and asked with tears in her eyes, "what do you
think his riches will be?"
The wife knew what they were, eternal life with Jesus Christ. But she
could see the concern and sadness upon the young nurses' face and
handed her the apple and said "the biggest apple pie you can
imagine!"
That was the day the young nurse was saved, and from that day on she
always had a basket by her bed.
March 25
Let thankfulness temper all your thoughts. A thankful mind-set keeps you in touch with Me. I hate it when My children grumble, casually despising My sovereignty. Thankfulness is a safeguard against this deadly sin. Furthermore, a grateful attitude becomes a grid through which you perceive life. Gratitude enables you to see the Light of My Presence shining on all your circumstances. Cultivate a thankful heart, for this glorifies Me and fills you with Joy.
And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
—1 Corinthians 10:10
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
—Hebrews 12:28–29 – From Jesus Calling
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