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"I Believe in You!" Archives Index
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| << November29, 2006 - "A day like this" |
December08, 2006 - "What a gift..." >> |
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"I Believe in You!"
A message of Hope, stories from the
road.
By Bob Perks
*************************************************
Hello, my friend!
Good Monday morning to you all!
I have a task assigned to me each year at this time.
Raise enough money to
help us continue to "Touch the world one person at a
time."
Marianne, is the boss and I have not been doing my
job.
In order to keep my stories coming we need to pay for
services to reach the millions
who are in need of a little hope in each day.
We have created many gifts at reasonable prices and offer
now a special sale.
The profits from the sale of our products and the
donations we receive assure us
that I can and will continue to do my job.
It would be a difficult life here if Marianne should
choose to fire me.
So, I am doing my job by asking you to consider our gifts
for giving or a send a
small donation.
As uncomfortable as I am with all of this...I realize we
cannot do it alone.
Our deadline to ship in time for Christmas Day giving is
December 15th.
It is also when the sale ends.
Please see the links below to visit our store or make a
donation.
Love always and all ways.
Bob and Marianne (the boss)
*************************************************
Perks Pearl of Wisdom
"Letting go of things or people is so much more a
challenge than holding on.
Except when you come to what
appears to be the "end of
your rope. Letting go is not an option." Bob
Perks
*************************************************
Sale Ends December
15th!
10 % off entire
purchase.
Your purchase helps us to continue our efforts to
"touch the world, one person at a time"
Make your selections and during the checkout enter
the
word Bob in the coupon code section. It will
calculate the
deduction at checkout.
You can find great gifts related to
my stories
by visiting our online gift
shop.
"Wishes" Gift
Store
Special one of a kind gifts.
Tapes, Books, Greeting Cards, Wall prints,
Send a Hug Mugs, T-shirts
Buying products helps keep these messages
F R E E
*********************************************************
Make a donation
this holiday season
to keep us going in 2007.
These messages are f r e e...
but writing and speaking is the way I make a living.
If you enjoy reading and sharing my work, you can help us
continue
our "Ministry of the Heart" in 2007 by making a donation of any
amount:
If you can't help financially at this time there is something you can
do...
an even greater need...
please pray for our mission to "touch the world one person at a
time."
Thanks, my friend!
Bob and Marianne *********************************************************
All stories copyright 2006 Bob Perks
Today's Message:
"To see the light"
By Bob Perks
I can remember how dark night was when I was a
child.
I am guessing it was the same then as it is today, the
only difference
was fear. Unjustified, unrelenting, fear caused me
to tremble in bed
each night after my mother tucked me in and kissed
me goodnight.
The vivid imagination I have, that I value today, was my
enemy back
then. It created monsters and sounds, deep dark
holes to fall into and
creepy, crawling insects that appeared as soon as the
light went out.
This message today reads more like a Halloween story than
a message of
hope. So why am I writing it?
It took me 56 years to see the light.
Every evening as I make my way up to bed, I always check
to make sure the
doors are locked, the shades drawn and of course, the
lights are out.
The very last light I turn off is in our living
room. Even though I recently placed two
night lights downstairs, they appear dim and of little
help as I carefully make my
way toward the steps.
If I permit myself to "remember the darkness" of my
childhood, I get this urge to run
up the stairs fearing that someone or something is
grabbing at my feet.
When it happens as an adult it is usually mixed with
laughter as I acknowledge
how silly it really is.
Still, I run.
It was the other night that I suddenly realized there was
no reason to fear the
darkness.
In the first few minutes of the evening as I prepare to
fall asleep, I often question myself
on my efforts to remember to lock the back door.
Convinced that I may have forgotten,
I walk to the top of the stairs and carefully make my
way down. Lucy, our beautiful black
dog, blends into the background at night. I believe she
now expects me to check the back
door one more time, so she sits on the stairs
waiting.
Her sudden bolt down the steps startles me.
The dimly lit rooms cause me to walk slower, reaching my
hands out in front of me
in an effort to avoid dining room chairs.
The door was locked. It almost always is.
Still, I check it.
Later that evening I woke up to see what appeared to
be a downstairs light on.
"I know I checked that earlier!" I thought to
myself.
I got up and went downstairs to check it out.
There were no lights on...just the two night
lights.
That's when it hit me.
We are always in the presence of light.
There are times in our life when the world is bright and
beautiful. As life goes,
there are also times of
darkness. Fear comes into our life crippling our
ability to function, to live, to enjoy the beauty that is
still there, but unseen.
My eyes need to adjust to the dim night lights
immediately after I turn off
the last lamp. But later on, those night lights
appear to be so bright that
I can walk through the house without much
effort.
In the darkness there is light. In those times
when we cannot see the way,
it may be that the brightness of previous joy-filled days
make the beauty of the
"here and now" impossible to
see.
Tonight to test my theory, I will remain downstairs and
make note of how long
it takes for me to adjust, not to the darkness, but to the
light.
Perhaps that has always been my problem. My focus in
those days of challenge
was always on the darkness. I chose not to see
the light or even to acknowledge the
existence of beauty in the world even when I could
not see it.
In the dark days of winter we bring out the candles of our
faith filled holiday traditions.
Christian homes throughout the community are trimmed in
hundreds of twinkling lights.
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by our
Jewish friends, acknowledging
the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days.
Other faiths symbolically use light as a sign of hope and
commitment.
So why then, when faced with our darkest days, do we hide
in fear?
The Light of Hope, the beauty of the world we can so
easily see in the light of day,
is always there, always on when we choose to see
it.
Faith gives us the power to not only see in the darkness,
but be the light for others.
Darkness, therefore, is not the absence of light, but of
faith and the failure to see the light within
ourselves and others.
One must acknowledge the darkness but choose "To see the
light."
"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks
I encourage you to share my stories with your friends but, when
copying I ask that
you keep my name and contact information
attached so that new readers can find their way
here. Use of this
story for commercial use is prohibited without
direct permission
from the author.
***********************************************
May I Suggest...
Visit my photo album:
Why not send me your picture to be added to
"My Friends I've never met"
Think you missed a message from
me?
Here are the archives...
*************************************************
Your Comments... If you would like
to share brief comment
about today's message, please write to Bob@BobPerks.com
I will use only first names and no email
addresses.
**************************************************
"I wish you enough!"
Bob Bob Perks is a professional speaker, author and vocalist. Member National Speakers Association. Visit http://www.BobPerks.com Visit Bob's story site: http://www.IWishYouEnough.com Sign up to receive Bob's free stories sent three times weekly. "I wish you enough!" written by Bob Perks (c) 2001 "I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye." |
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| << November29, 2006 - "A day like this" |
December08, 2006 - "What a gift..." >> |
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