BLESSED!

If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than the
million who won't survive the week.



If you have never experienced
the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture or
the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 20 million people
around the world.



If you attend a church meeting
without fear of harassment,
arrest, torture, or death,
you are more blessed than almost
three billion people in the world.




If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back,a roof over
your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of this world.



If you have money in the bank,
in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish someplace, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy.



If your parents are still married and alive,
you are very rare,
especially in the United States.



If you hold up your head with a smile
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the majority can,
but most do not.




If you can hold someone's hand, hug them
or even touch them on the shoulder,
you are blessed because you can
offer God's healing touch.



If you can read this message,
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.



You are so blessed in ways
you may never even know.




If you are feeling blessed, repay the blessings bestowed unto you and do something for others.

A blessing cannot be kept. If it stops with you, then the blessing will disappear. The blessing will only keep working if it is continuously passed around. If you are a recipient of a blessing, keep the blessing working by being the source of blessing to other people.

The 7 Ups!

1. Wake Up !!

Decide to have a good day.
"This is the day the Lord hath made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118:24



2. Dress Up !!


The best way to dress up is to put on a smile.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7




3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen.
God gave us two ears and one mouth,
so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking.

"He who guards his lips guards his soul."
Proverbs 13:3




4. Stand Up!!


. . . for what you believe in.
Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time,
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."
Galatians 6:9-10



5. Look Up !!


. . . to the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me".
Philippians 4:13




6. Reach Up !!
. . . for something higher.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6





7. Lift Up !!
. . . your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead
PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING."
Philippians 4:6





A POSITIVE THOUGHT

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring, and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.
He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem;
not to mention that Friday at Calvary.
Face it, He's crazy about you.



Invite people here that you care about.
I thought this was mighty special, just like you.
Pass this on and brighten someone's day, and remember . . .


God answers Knee-Mail!

Gold Wrapping Paper

I received this from a friend who had a choice to make.
It said that I had a choice to make too.
I've chosen.

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her 5 year
old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.
Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child
used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas
Tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her
mother the next morning and said, "This is for you, Momma."
The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but
her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was
empty.

She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner. "Don't you know,
young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed
to be something inside the package?"

She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Mo! mma, it's not
empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms
around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her
thoughtless anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time
later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed
for all the years of her life.

Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she
would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the
love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings,
have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love
and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD. There is no
more precious possession anyone could hold.

You now have two choices:
1. Pass this on to your friends, or
2. Delete it and act like it didn't tou! ch your heart.
As you can see, I took choice No. 1.

Friends are like angels who lift us to our feet, when our wings have
trouble remembering how to fly.
If you receive this more than once in return, just know that your
friends have also thought of you.

MAN IS A TREE

Do not miss any line from this..............
Sometimes we get what we need and not what we want....

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said,
"Someday, I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold,
silver and precious gems and be decorated with intricate carvings.
Everyone would see my beauty."

The second tree said, "Someday, I will be a mighty ship. I will take
kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of other
world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my
hull."

Finally, the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and
straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill
and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how
close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time,
and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group
of woodsmen came upon the trees. One came to the first tree and said,
"This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the
wood to a carpenter," and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy,

because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure
chest. At the second tree, one of the other woodsman said, "This looks
like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." Then
a second tree was happy, because he knew he was on his way to becoming
mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened,
because it knew that, if it was cut down, its dreams would not come
true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my
tree, so I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenter's, he was made into a feed

box for animals, placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at
all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a
small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying
kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and
left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one
day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth, and they placed
the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree.
The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this
manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this
event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the
second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were
out on the water, a great storm arose, and the tree didn't think it was

strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and
he stood and said "Peace," and the storm stopped. At this time, the
tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through
the streets, and the crowd mocked the man who was carrying it. Finally,

the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top
of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was
strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as

was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that, when things don't seem to be going
your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your
trust in Him, He will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had
imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just
know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

Keep it moving...pass it on, so it could inspire more people. Sometimes

the heart sees what the eyes can't.

Thanks,

antoneveli@yahoo.com

Shipwreck & Prayers

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of
the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.
The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they
had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out
whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the
territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning,
The first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his
side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit.

The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for
a wife.

The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only
survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land.

On the other side of the island, there was nothing! .
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food.

The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him.
However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife
could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked
at his side of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to
leave the second man on the island.

He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings,
since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from
heaven booming,

"Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for
them," the first man answered.

"His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one
prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have
received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice,
"what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers
alone, but those of another praying for us.

This is too good not to share. With obedience come blessings. My
prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be
blessed.

"What you do for others is more important than what you do for
yourself" This was shared with me by a friend, I hope you will
share with your friends, if you choose to do so. Have a great
day!

FRIENDS

Friends are God's way of taking care of us"

This was written by a Hospice of Metro Denver physician

I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and wanted to
share it with my family and dearest friends:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic
on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I
barely managed to coast, cursing, i! nto a gas station, glad only that I
would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to
wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make
the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and
it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I
got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it looked more like
she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was ayoung
woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes.

She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it
to her. It was a nickel. At that moment, everything came into focus for
me: the crying
woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the
back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95. I asked her if
she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying "I don't
want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the othe! r side of the
pump from her car.

She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard
for her right now.

So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a
little but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard
yu, and He sent me." I took out my card and swiped it through the card
reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it
was fueling walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of
food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave
the food to the kids in the car who attacked it like wolves, and we
stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little. She told me her
name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2 months ago
and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have
money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called
her parents, with whom she had not! spoken in about 5 years. They lived
in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on
her feet there. So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She
told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that
they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for
safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are
you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said,
"Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God
uses regular people." It was so incredible to be a part of someone
else's miracle.

And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right
away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow
to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the
flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless,
especially for the months in 2005, and I picked you. Please pass this to
four people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards, let's continue to pray for one
another.

Here is the prayer:

"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends,
relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new
revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to
their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your
peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence
through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

I know I picked more than four and you can, too. When Satan is knocking
at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could You please get that for me?"

Being blessed is GOOD...being HIGHLY FAVORED is best! Don't settle!

WITHOUT GOD'S LOVE

Without God's Love for U and I, The days of the week would have been Mournday,Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday ,Fightday, Shatterday, & Sadday .So we need to give God the Glory Who made the days a Blessing to US! Have a strong conviction that it shall be well with you this year, i am of the opinion that no matter how many obstacles u come across this year you will succeed. You have been destined to make it and you shall surely achieve all your goals this year. If you believe send it to 7 persons and the person who sent it to you. By doing this you have succeeded in praying for 8 people today. God Bless You.