How To Forgive (WOW)
One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the woods. As he thought about his life this day, he knew many  things were not right. He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a job.  His thoughts turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him. He remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned to the illness he had that no one could cure. His very soul was filled with  anger, resentment and frustration. Standing there this day, searching for answers he could not find, knowing all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak  tree to seek the one he knew would always be there. And with tears in  his eyes, he prayed:
"Lord- You have done wonderful things for me in this life. You have told me to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed.
Today, you have told me to forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot. I don't know how. It is not fair Lord. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done  against me and I shouldn't have to forgive. As perfect as your way is 
Lord, this one thing I cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive. My anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear you, but I pray
that you teach me to do this one thing I cannot do - Teach me To
Forgive."
As he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt something fall onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes. Out of the  corner of one eye, he saw something red on his shirt.

He could not turn to see what it was because where the oak tree had  been was a large square piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw two feet held to the wood with a large spike through them. He raised his head more, and tears came to his eyes as he saw
Jesus hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His hands, a gash in His side, a  torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head.
Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His precious face. As their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak. 
"Have you ever told a lie?" He asked. 
The man answered - "yes, Lord." 
"Have you ever been given too much change and kept it?"
The man answered - " yes. Lord." And the man sobbed more and more. 

 "Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?" Jesus asked?  And the man answered - "yes, Lord." 
"Have you ever sworn, using my Father's name in vain? "
The man, crying now, answered - "yes, Lord." 
As Jesus asked many more times, "Have you ever"? The man's crying 
became uncontrollable, for he could only answer - "yes, Lord." 
Then Jesus turned His head from one side to the other, and the man  felt something fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it was the blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus, and there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before. 
Jesus said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you." 

 It may be hard to see how you're going to get through something, but when you look back in life, you realize how true this statement is.

Read the following first line slowly and let it sink in. 
If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it. 
When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you!

Another story from "Fruits Basket" ... Credit to Takaya Natsuki

The most foolish traveller in the world

A foolish traveler was on a journey.

He was so foolish that he was so easily tricked by others.

He was tricked by vilagers and lost his clothes and shoes.

But the traveller was foolish, so when the townspeople lied to him saying, "This will really help"... tears would stream down his face and he would say "Please be happy, be happy."

When he gave away his last belonging, he was naked and ashamed to be seen. So he decided to travel in the forest.

Then he met the monsters who lived in the forest. They wanted to eat him so they tricked him with clever words.

Of course, the traveller was ooled. And when the monsters asked, he gave up his arms and his legs.

Eventually, the traveller was nothing but a head. He even gave his eyes to the last monster he met.

As the monster munched on his eyes he said, "Thank you. I'll give you this in return." and he left him.

But that was a lie too. His gift was a single piece of paper that had "FOOL" written on it. But the traveller cried and cried, saying:

"Thank you. Thank you. This is the first time anyone's given me anything. I'm so happy. Thank you. Thank you."

Tears kept flowig from his eye socket. And whie he was crying, he died.

 

Now close your eyes and think about the traveller.  Think about the traveller who was tricked into being nothing but a crying head saying "thank you, thank you."

How lucky he was.

Loss

suffering.

It's pointless to think about them. The traveller didn't think about them.

That might be stupid to some people but it's not stupid to me. I won't trick anyone, even if other people think that person deserves it.

I just want to make them happy.

Do you really think that's stupid?

When you close your eyes...

...what do you think?

It's been a while since I post something on the Doorman so here it is... enjoy!

This story is creditted to Natsuki Takaya for it is taken from his manga "Fruits Basket"

Maybe  because its stuck on your back.

If you think of someone's good qualities as the umeboshi (dried plum, often used in riceball stuffing) in an Onigiri (a japanese riceball),then the umeboshi must be stuck on its back.

In this world, there are umeboshi with so many different shapes and with so many different colors and flavor.

"I have nothing" said one "I only have white rice"

But that's not true.

Everyone has an umeboshi on their back. One with a unique flavour, color and shape that is special to each individual onigiri.

The reason why people envy others is probably because you can see it better if it is on another's back.

I can see it too. I can see it very clearly.

An amazing umeboshi on your back.

Someone might be envious of you right now.

Some one might be admiring something that you yourself hadn't realised yet.

 

Welcome to reality,

Nothing in the world is softer than water,
Yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong.
This is because nothing can alter it.
That the soft overcomes the hard and the gentle overcomes the aggressive is something that everybody knows, but none can do themselves.
Therefore the sages say:
"The one who accepts the dirt of the state becomes its master.
The one who accepts its calamity becomes king of the world."
Truth seems contradictory.

Tao Te Ching (78)

How To Plant Your Garden

First, you  Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses....

 

Salvation Plan
HERE ARE FIVE STEPS THAT WILL HELP YOU TO KNOW HOW TO REACH HEAVEN...


Step One

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Everyone, including you, has fallen short of Heaven because of our
individual sin.


Step Two

Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death;...”

The penalty for our sins is death, separation from God for eternity in a
literal, burning Hell. There are no exceptions, even ‘moral’ people will die
for their sins.


Step Three

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

God loves you so much and proved that love by sending Jesus Christ, His
sinless Son, to die in your place on the cross. Jesus Christ was the perfect
sacrifice; He paid the entire penalty for your sin.
Step Four

Romans 6:23b “ ... the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.”

Forgiveness of sins and assurance of Heaven cannot be earned by good works
or religion. Good works and religion will send you to Hell. Salvation is a
gift, and a gift is free; it cannot be paid for by the receiver.


Step Five

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.”

Only faith in Jesus Christ can save you from your sin. ‘Whosoever’ means
you. Right now is the best time to take God at His Word and be saved.


You have just read the ‘FIVE steps’ to achieve TOTAL assurance in your life,
it is now up to you....

To place your faith in Christ you may want to pray a simple prayer like
this...

"Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I believe that you died and rose again for me.
Please forgive all my sin, come into my heart, and take me to Heaven when I
die. Thank you for saving me. Amen"

THE SPOONS

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.

"The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy
man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into! the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man  shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, "I don't understand.

"It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves.

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."