THE DEVIL'S AUCTION

As most of you may know I personally do not believe in the Devil.I surely don't think the Mastermind of all Creation would ever have allowed an entity such as Lucifer to exist. But for today's entry I wanted to share this story called the Devil's Auction which was written by a devouted Christian Scientist named William Rathvon who penned this story almost 100 years ago.Whether you personally believe in the Devil or not I believe the story still has many truths which I hope you will enjoy.
"It was once announced that the Devil was going out of business and would offer his tools for sale to whoever would pay his price. On the night of the sale, they were all attractively displayed, and a bad-looking lot they were. Malice, envy, hatred, jealousy, carnality, deceit, and all the other implements of evil were spread out, each marked with its price. Apart from the rest lay a harmless looking, wedge-shaped tool, much worn and priced much higher than the other tools."
 "Someone asked the Devil what it was. "Thats discouragement," was the reply.
 "Well, why do you have it priced so high?"
 "Because," replied the Devil. "it is more useful to me than any of the others. I can pry open and get inside a man's(or woman's) consciousness with that tool when I couldn't get near him or her with any of the other tools, and when once inside, I can use them in whatever way suits me best. It is so much worn because I use it with nearly everybody, as very few people yet know that it belongs to me."
 "You say you use this wedge of discouragement with nearly everybody. With whom can't you use it?"
 The Devil hesitated a long time and finally said in a low voice,"I can't use it in getting into the consciousness of a grateful person." Obviously, grateful Spirits cannot be confined! So just how Grateful are you this vfery moment my friends? I hope all of you are forever eternally grateful for all you are blessed with. My hope is that this new week will be filled with much love, peace, joy, and inner contentment for all of you. And please dont forget to do something nice for someone just because you can.Let your Love Light Shine!  "HUGS" to all.

YOU ARE A LIGHT IN THIS WORLD

And you thought you was only wasting time and taking up space by being here! But I dare say you are truly a light in this darkened world if you realize it or not. Now as to what you do with your light , that is entirely up to you my friend. I wish all you folks a truly blessed Easter sunday and weekend. I will leave you with a quote from John Randolph Price who said: "You are a spiritual being embodying all of the Power of the Universe within you. Will you not accept the Truth and start living as the Light of the world that you are?" My hope is that you will allow that inner Light to beam from within and help to dispel the darkness of this world. Peace I now leave with you all!

IT AIN'T WHAT YOU EAT,IT'S THE WAY HOW YOU CHEW IT

Do you think life is fair? Well, I don't! Maybe fair is only in the eye of the beholder but Ive seen time and time again things that just don't sit too well with my sense of fairness. Why do good people get taken advantage of by those who just dont give a damn about anyone else but themselves? Why do people who treat others in a fair and unbiased way get trampled on by egotistical people who think they are always right? Why do people who place their complete trust in others to do the right thing get knocked down to the ground repeatedly? Why do law abiding peaceful folks fall prey to the thugs who rob cheat and steal? Why do so called businessmen that cheat their customers get away with it while the customer is the one who suffers? Why do the thieves and cheats live a life filled with riches while the honest man barely gets by? I sure don't have the answers to these questions and doubt if you do either. But one thing I do know is no matter what others throw into our lives it is entirely up to us as to how we "chew and digest" those things. Shall we allow them to turn us into a bitter person who just withdraws from society and become a crusty old fart or do we continue to treat others as we want to be treated and even when we get shafted have enough courage and love inside our hearts to forgive and continue to try and be the very best human being we can? That choice is the one that will either help us to grow in Spirit or to become just one more "victim" of life's circumstances. My hope and wish for each of you wonderful people is that you will always be able to call upon that inner strength when "bad" things happen and that you will continue to be a kind caring and loving person who brings sunshine into this often times darkened world. Keep the faith no matter how many times you see injustices and remember It ain't what you eat, its the way how you chew it. "HUGS" to all!

THIS ONE ETERNAL MOMENT

I AM NOT AFRAID OF TOMORROW, FOR I HAVE SEEN YESTERDAY, AND I LOVE TODAY

ANGELS AMONG US

Dont even try and tell me there are no such thing as Angels! I run into them all the time and I even married one of them!Maybe we should all be a little nicer to the folks we meet every day just in case they are indeed angels! I hope all o f you  folks have a blessed weekend filled with much love peace and joy. I remind you of what the Good Book says in Hebrews 13:2--Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

REMAINING FREE IN AN UNFREE WORLD

Freedom! The very word itself rings out with a thunderous vibration. Of all the things one strives for,freedom, I do believe is the most sacred of all. If one cannot be free then what is the use of even being here in this world? I do consider myself very fortunate in that I was born in the UnitedStates of America which is one of the more free countries inthe world.But even though we have a constitution which gives all Americans the right to freedom it sure doesn't always seem like we are truly free.Our government is elected by the common people but does that mean all of us "common" people are truly free. I dont think so personally.I sure don't agree with lots of what our government does and how they operate but I still think it is by far one of the better governments. The biggest "problem" with our elected officials is that they are so far out of touch with us common folks.The politicians live by completely different rules than all of us do.They set their own pay scales and perks and do not have to be dependant on Social Security or a private 4011 k p;an. After serving one term they have enactedlaws that they will be forever taken care of financially with pensions they set up for themselves.Dont guess i can blame them for doing that. I suppose if I had a job and could set my own salary and benefits Id do the same. But Im gettingoff track here since I meant this entry tobe about finding freedom in an unfree world.Its hard to do but can be done if one takes the time and effort to think about all thats really important to them.Being free to me means that I can come and go as I wish and that as long as Im not breaking any laws or doing immoral stuff no one will try to take that from me.This crazy world we live in seems to try and take us down roads that we really dont wish to go.We become so focused on making money that we forget that everyone else is our brother and sister and we take advantage of them just to further our own selfish desires.Why is the price of everything so high these days?I think it is simply because of greed.Everybody wants as much as they can get and damn everyone else.Im just glad that I've learned not to be that way.I maynot have much in material wealth but I am free. As free as I could hope to be anyway.I read a quote from Gautama Buddha that I will leave you with today.He states:"As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world, having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world." My sincerest desire for each of you is that you will quickly find total "Freedom" in eaqch area of yor life and that you will be quick to help others find theirs.Until then keep on smiling and do something nice for someone just cause you can!

FAITH

You gotta believe! Anything you want to do or see happen you first gotta have faith that it can and will eventually show up.One thing about faith tho is that it works both ways. By that I mean if you go around thi nking "bad" things a re gonna happen then this misplaced faith will make those "bad" things happen. It seems that for many of us it is easier to have faith in "bad" things instead of the "good" ones. And then we wonder why the bad stuff keeps on appearing in our lives.Im sure most of us need to work on our faith in things unseen and hopefuly by doing so we will see our lives quickily  get "better"I wil leave you with a quotefrom Patrick Overton who states:"When you have come to the edge......and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly." I sincerely hope all of you will have a most rewarding week filled with lots of love, peace, and joy. And dont forget to do something nice for someone just cause you can!

IM HOT

Todays entry is a little different so please bear with me.I was awake most of the night(couldn't sleep cause the air conditioning in the house quit working and it was 85 degrees in here even with the windows open and the overhead fan running.It became one of those nights when sleep just wont come and then my mind starts running all over the place. The main thing that was bothering me happened yesterday. It was sunday and when I got out of bed it was already in the 80's in the house and the air unit would not cool. It just blew out warm air.Now knowing that it was gonna get hotter quick I scrambled trying to figure out what I could do to temporally get the A/C working.Because it was sunday I knew I wouldnt be able to call a repairman without costing me an arm and a leg so I suffered thru a miserable sunday and sunday night.Thankfully here on monday morning a weather front came thru and rained and cooled things down. Now its ok here in the house.And Ive got a good man coming out just as soon as the rain stops. Probably will have to get a new unit and hopefully it will keep us coo lthis hot summer coming up. I knew I should have taken that A/C course at the tech school!

THE CYCLE OF SPRING

Percy Bysshe Shelley says the following:"If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" The changing of the seasons should remind all of us that everything on this good earth will change.Somehow some way everything changes and it is up to us to adapt to these changes. When we learn to embrace change and accept it for what it is(another lesson to learn about life) we will find our lives more fulfilling and a lot less worrisome. At least that is what I have come to find out. The Science of Mind states:Our individualized Universe is forever complete, yet forever completing Itself, in order that every experience may teach us to transcend some previous one, in ever ascending cycles, upward bound. Let us all keep in mind that we must change if we are to grow and develop into the fullest and highest human being we possibly can become. And my hope for all of you is that the changes you have to endure will be easy enough for you to manage with the least amount of worry a nd concern. Peace I leave with each of you good folks and remember to be good to yourself and even better to others.

BEAUTIFUL NOISE

What a beautiful noise coming off from the street

Its got a beautiful sound, Its got a beautiful beat

Its a beautiful noise going on everywhere

Like the clickity clack of the train on the track

Its got rhythm to spare

Its a beautiful noise, Its the sound that I love

And it fits me as well as a hand in a glove

Yes it does yes it does

What a beautiful noise coming off from the park

Its the song of the kids, and it plays until dark

Its the sound of the cars on their furious flights

But theres even romance in the way that they dance

To the beat of the night

Its a beautiful noise made of joy and of strife

Like a symphony played by the passing parade

Its the music of life

What a beautiful noise coming into my room

And its begging for me just to give it a tune

Neil Diamond