stories that inspire - Trees That Wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their
hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest.
I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with
intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and
queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel
safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in
the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and
think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the
greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of
woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This
looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ...
and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the
carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be
able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was
on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he
knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the
woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one",
and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for
animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what
he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His
dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third
tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the
trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed
the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man
wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to
do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the
greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat
made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they
were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong
enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and
said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried
the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as
the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the
man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When
Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top
of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified
on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way,
always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will
give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way
they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just
know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

A short inspirational story :Two frogs

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them
fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit
was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The
two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit
with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop,
that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took
heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down
and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again,

the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He
jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the
other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to
them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the
entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging

word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it
through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes

to kill them.

Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your
path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand
that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak
words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in
difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time
to encourage another.

Story of the year

Mountain Story - An interesting short story

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:
"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"

Building Your House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his

plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife
and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he
wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just
one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was
easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship
and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house.
Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house...
my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would
have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best
into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we
have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail,
place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."
Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the "house" you will live
in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!

inspiring love story - The Rose Within

  A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it
blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem
and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened
with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water
the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like
qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us
look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We
neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize
our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it
to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach
past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

This is one of the characteristic of love... to look at a person, know their true
faults and accepting that person into your life... all the while recognizing the
nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If
we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns.
Only then will they blossom many times over.