The Four Lovers

Once upon a time, there was a Queen who had four lovers.

She loved the 4th lover the most and adorned him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies.

She gave him nothing but the Best.

She also loved the 3rd lover very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms.
However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.
She also loved her 2nd lover. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her.
Whenever the Queen faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.
The Queens 1st lover was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom.
However, she did not love the first lover. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him.
One day, the Queen fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, I now have

four lovers with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.

Thus, she asked the 4th lover, I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you.
Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?

'No way!' replied the 4th lover, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad Queen then asked the 3rd lover, I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?

'No!' replied the 3rd lover. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to love someone else!'

Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the 2nd lover, I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me.
When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?

'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!' replied the 2^nd lover. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.'

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the Queen was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.'

The Queen looked up, and there was her first lover. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the Queen said, I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!

In truth, you have 4 lovers in your life:

Your 4th lover is your body. No matter how much time and effort
you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.
 

Your 3rd lover is your possessions, status and wealth. When you
die, it will all go to others.
Your 2nd lover is your family and friends. No matter how much
they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you
is up to the Grave.
And your 1st lover is your Soul, often neglected in pursuit of
wealth, power and pleasures of the world.
However, your Soul is the only thing that will follow you where  
ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the
only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue
with you throughout Eternity.

Thought for the day:

Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, You're in the
perfect position to pray.


Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've
decided to see beyond the imperfections..

I hope this touched you!

'For where your treasure is there your heart will be also'.
Matthew 6:21 

By His Wounds I am Healed
              Isaiah 53:5
¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º> ¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º>

THE Greatest Man in history!!

THE Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet they called him Master. Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. Happy Resurrection Day to Everyone! May each of you find Love, Joy and Peace in Him today and everyday!

Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!!!!

STORY NUMBER  ONE

     Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago .  Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
       Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason.  Eddie was very good!  In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
      To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well.  Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well.  For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of  the day.  The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.
       Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. 
       Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly.  Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld.   Price was no object.
       And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong.  Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.
       Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
       One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.
       He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity.  To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great.  So, he testified.
       Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street .  But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay.  Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.
       The poem read:
       "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour.  Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time.  For the clock may soon be still."
   STORY NUMBER  TWO
       World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
       He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
       One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission.  After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
       He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his  ship.
       His flight leader told him to return to the carrier.  Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
       As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
       The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless.  He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet.  Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.  There was only one thing to do.  He must somehow divert them from the  fleet.
       Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.  Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another.  Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
       Undaunted, he continued the assault.  He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
       Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
       Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.
       Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return.  The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale.  It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet.  He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft 
This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
       A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.  His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
       So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor.  It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

       Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
       (Pretty cool, eh!)

86,400

 

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:  Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your  private account for your use.
However,this prize has rules, just as  any game has certain rules.    The first set of rules would be:
       Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
      You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
      You may only spend it.
Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.       The  second set of rules:
      The bank can end the game without warning; at any time  it can say, Its over,the game is over!  It can  close the account  and you will not receive a new one.
        What would you personally do?
You would buy anything and everything you wanted right?  Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right?  Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't  possibly spend it all on yourself, right?  You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?
      ACTUALLY This  GAME is  REALITY!
Each of us is in possession of such a magical  bank. We just can't seem to see it.
               The MAGICAL BANK is  TIME!
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is  NOT credited to us.
What we haven't lived up that day is forever  lost.
Yesterday is forever gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank  can dissolve your account at any time....WITHOUT  WARNING.
SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400  seconds?
Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.
Think about that, and always think of this:
Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you  think.
So take care of yourself, be Happy, Love Deeply and enjoy life!
Here's wishing you a wonderfull and beautiful day.
Start spending.

Beer Analogy for Taxes

I did not write this article and I can’t find who did. Apparently neither can snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/howtaxes.asp). But I think it is an interesting look at how our tax system works.

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Ten men go out for beer. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. He said, "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80."

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men -- the paying customers?

How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four

continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He

pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!"shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2 ? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important.

They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up any more. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Cowboy Chili

A cowboy walks into a seedy cafe in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. He sits at the counter and notices an old cowboy with his arms folded staring blankly at a full bowl of chili.
 
After fifteen minutes of just sitting there  staring at  it, the young cowboy bravely asks the old cowpoke, 'If you ain't  gonna eat  that, mind if I do?'
 
The older cowboy slowly turns his head toward the young wrangler and, in his best cowboy manner, says, 'Nah, you go ahead.'

Eagerly, the young cowboy reaches over, slides the bowl over to his place, and starts spooning it in with delight. He gets nearly down to the bottom and notices a dead mouse in the chili.
 
The sight was shocking, and he immediately barfs up the chili back into the bowl. The old cowboy quietly says, 'Yep, that's as far as I got, too.'