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December18, 2006 - "I helped you again." >> |
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"I Believe in You!"
A message of Hope, stories from the
road.
By Bob Perks
*************************************************
Hello, my friend!
It is warm here. Not at all December like for
me. But I was reminded today
that one year ago it was -15.
Warm isn't so bad after all. Sometimes we need to
see life that way.
Our very best to you...always.
*************************************************
Perks Pearl of Wisdom
"It is a day like any other, but for one thing. It
is the
day you have been dreaming of all of your
life.
The day that turned your life around."
Bob Perks
*************************************************
Until 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.
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Store
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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. "Touch the world one person at a
time"
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 2006 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:
"Be the Star"
By Bob Perks "It just doesn't look the same," she said as we looked at her Christmas tree. I don't like the star any more.
"Maybe it's not the star, but how you see it," I told her. By this time, two weeks before Christmas, many celebrating the holiday have already pulled out all the decorations and
have
their tree up. A friend of mine has struggled with the
celebration this
year and waited until this past weekend to decorate.
Normally she
would have had her house twinkling right after
Thanksgiving.
But this hasn't been a normal year for her. Life is challenging sometimes. But it is life and when it goes full circle it naturally comes to and end. Sometimes within that cycle
other things
begin and end, like jobs, friendships and sadly marriages.
This year my
friend has seen it all. She lost her job, and her
marriage. All in one year.
Of course we can also throw in a few friends. It's an odd
thing when we are
suddenly faced with some overwhelming challenges in life,
we discover
the true roots of our friendships. The real ones stay no
matter how you change.
The rats abandon ship as you begin to sink below the water
line.
"It was the right thing to do, you know. You needed desperately to have some normalcy in your life. Putting up a Christmas tree and
participating in this
holiday is a part of the healing process," I told
her.
"It was just so very difficult for me," she said. "I know. But in order for you to rise above all of this you needed to reconnect with life. As I have said a hundred times in my talks,
"Life is what happens
while making other plans," I said.
"Life just hasn't been fair to me," she said quietly. "Life isn't fair to anyone. It's just a flow in the cycle of the world. The energy in that system keeps moving. We either choose to
participate and help
guide our destiny or we die in the flow and it takes us
wherever it desires.
Like sitting in a tube on the river, you go where the
water takes you until you
decide it's far enough, put your feet down and stand up.
This weekend you
stood up," I said.
"But there was no feeling in the choice, no emotion attached to the experience of setting up that tree. Yes, as I handled each
ornament,
memories connected to it came rushing into my soul, but I
was dead
in my spirit," she said.
I sat quietly listening. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a friend is not to talk to them but to just listen.
"I really didn't want to celebrate Christmas this year," she continued. "But then I remembered what you had said to me the year your
father died. You
said the celebration was in his honor just the way he
would want it and this
celebration isn't the gifts, the parties and the glitter,
but the joy of the birth of the
Christ Child. There is no other true reason for
it."
"We tend to forget it is a holy day in the Christian faith. You could certainly eliminate all the fancy decorations if you needed to, but
to deny the day because
you mourn a loss, or your year has been too difficult, is
to deny Him," I said.
"But I wanted you to go a step further. I prayed that you would at least put up the tree. It's more than a decorated tree, it is a memory tree
full of hope, promises
kept, dreams fulfilled and a monument to it all. In the
end, when you finally
placed your beautiful star atop that tree, I hoped it
would connect you to the
love that once filled your life." I continued.
"It just doesn't look the same," she said. "Maybe it's not the star, but how you see it," I told her. "What do you mean?" she asked. "The star is the same as the day you made it. Yes, the years have dulled it a bit, it's shape has changed somewhat, but all that it
once represented
remains intact. Like the way I see you. From the first day
we met I saw this
bright shining star full of hope, love and potential. Yes,
life has dulled your
luster a bit, but I still see you the same way. In spite
of the fact that you have
lost your spirit for living I still choose to see you as
you were meant to be," I told her.
"A tarnished star?" she said sarcastically. "No, a bright guiding light for those who have loved and admired you all of your life," I said. Then reaching for her hand I said, "Be the
star!"
"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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| << December08, 2006 - "What a gift..." |
December18, 2006 - "I helped you again." >> |
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