Vivekanandha quote

May all your prayers be answered

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.

The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.

However, to determine whose prayers should be most effective, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food.

The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island and boarded the ship with his wife.

Since none of the other man’s prayers had been answered, he considered him unworthy to receive God's blessings, so he decided to leave the second man on the island.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are a result of my faith and prayers, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so I figured he does not deserve anything."

"You are sorely mistaken, and are in great debt to him.”

“How’s that?” the first man asked.

”It was his great faith that invoked the blessings, and he prayed that all your prayers might be answered."

Are our blessings the fruits of our prayers and work alone, or of those of another praying for us? What (and who) are you praying for?

With obedience come blessings. May all your righteous prayers be answered.

Positive thinking A-Z

A - Avoid fault finding attitude.
B - Be lavish in praising good work.
C - Correct mistakes inoffensively.
D - Direct others as you would have them direct you.
E -  Explain organization rules clearly and vividly.
F -  Feel free to invite suggestions from all members.
G -  Give instruction not orders .
H -  Help members to grow.
I  -  Induct new members with personal interest.
J  -   Joint action is built through good discipline.
K -  Know that a worker is not a machine but a human being.
L  -   Listening promotes respect.
M -  Make the member friendship conscious.
N -   Never chide in public.
O -   Offer incentives for better output.
P -   Prefer to be a leader never a dictator.
Q -  Quickly redress grievances.
R -  Respect the member’s individuality.
S -  Set a congenial work climate both physically and psychologically.
T -  Tell why want the work done, you will get co-operation.
U -  Use “we” approach.
V -  Value the member’s view point and opinion.
W-  Work study is valuable aid.
X -  Executives should endeavor to make a member feel important.
Y -  Yardstick of success lies in understanding people.
Z  -  Zeal to avoid friction is necessary.

How do you think ?

Misunderstanding

“How often, you wonder, has the direction of your life been shaped by such misunderstandings?
How many opportunities have you been denied--or, for that matter, awarded--because someone failed to see you properly?
How many friends have you lost, how many have you gained, because they glimpsed some element of your personality that shone through for only an instant, and in circumstances you could never reproduce?
An illusion of water shimmering at the far bend of a highway.”

― Kevin Brockmeier, The View from the Seventh Layer  
 

Misunderstanding and miscommunication happen mostly in a group work. In fact, when it comes to the work environment, it can often be especially challenging to communicate with a variety of different people who have different communication styles, various skill levels and have perceptions that are quite different from ours. When those inevitable miscommunications or misunderstandings happen, it can be important to make wise choices about how to fix things, clear up misunderstandings and move on.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where it was almost as if the two of you were speaking completely different languages? You say one thing and she hears something quite different from what you intended. She responds and you react in a way that she thinks is inappropriate? When misunderstandings occur in the workplace, they can affect productivity and work relations, but they can also get out of hand if things are not cleared up and put right as soon as possible.

When misunderstandings happen at work, immediately focus on finding a solution and common ground instead of trying to pick things apart and figure out where they went wrong. It is not important to find someone to blame and it can take far too much time to try to hammer out the creation of a misunderstanding. Instead, use the shared goal of getting past it to figure out how to move forward. It is perfectly appropriate to acknowledge there is a miscommunication or misunderstanding without feeling the need to blame someone: "We seem to have had a misunderstanding and I am sorry about that. Let's move forward and figure out how we can focus on the project."

Try not to involve others and once you have acknowledged the misunderstanding and moved on, drop it and refrain from bringing it up again. Personality conflicts and misunderstandings can be sustained and enlarged when the individuals involved are not able to let go and move one. Once you have focused on the shared goals and moved forward, it is important not to bring up the misunderstanding again. Use it as an opportunity to learn more about each other and then use that knowledge to improve your communication with each other, as well as your working relationship.

Published by Kori Rodley Irons

Kori is a freelance writer, public relations and nonprofit management specialist living in the Pacific Northwest. She also raised three children as a single parent and is an activist involved in various comm...  View profile

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A Piece of cake

A little boy is telling his grandma how everything is going wrong.....school, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which, of course, he does.

"Here, have some cooking oil."
... "Yuck" says the boy.

"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Grandma!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

"Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves, but when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times, but God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!

We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!"God loves you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

Hope your day is a "piece of cake!"

Looking back

How donkey got cross ?

Legend on Donkey's cross

A poor farmer near Jerusalem had a small donkey which seemed to be too small to do any work. The man could not make the beast to carry very much on its back. He felt that he could not continue to feed a little animal like this, one that could do him no good whatsoever. So at the supper table he told his family that he was going to kill the donkey.

His children, who loved the little creature, begged him to sell it rather than harm it. But the farmer said, "How can I sell an animal that can't do a good day's work?"

His son suggested, "Father, tie the donkey to a tree on the road to town, and let it be known that whoever wants it may have it for nothing." The next morning, that's what the farmer did.

Soon, two men approached and asked to take the animal. "It can carry almost nothing," the farmer warned them.

"The Lord has need of it," replied one of the men. The farmer could not imagine what the Lord would want with such a useless donkey, but handed it over. The men took the animal to Jesus. Now, in Jesus's mind, he had seen that the donkey was in danger, and so he had put the idea of giving the animal away into the mouth of the farmer's son.

Jesus stroked the sweet animal's face, and then mounted it with no trouble.

So it was that on the day we now call Palm Sunday, riding on the back of this tiny donkey, the Son of God led his followers into the city of Jerusalem. 

The little donkey loved the Lord that he wanted to help Him carry the cross. But alas, he was pushed away. The sad little donkey waited to say goodbye untill nearly all had left. As he turned to leave, the shadow of the cross fell upon his back and shoulders. And there it has remained, a tribute to the loyalty and love of the humblest of God's creature. 

If you look at the back of a donkey, you will notice that there is a dark patch of hair that goes the length of its back, and another that crosses its shoulders. Legend has it that the donkey has worn this cross since the day it carried Jesus.

Palm Sunday

Holy Week is the week before Easter, commemorating events in the last days of Jesus' life on Earth. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Monday. 

• Palm Sunday the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.
• Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Last Supper and the betrayal by Judas.
• Good Friday (Holy Friday), the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ.
• Holy Saturday, the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave.

Palm Sunday is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. 

The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday because the crowds waved palm branches as they followed Jesus' procession into Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday is the day we remember the "triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem, exactly one week before His resurrection (Matthew 21:1-11). 

Some 450-500 years earlier, the Prophet Zechariah had prophesied, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). 

Matthew 21:7-9 records the fulfillment of that prophecy: "They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!’” This event took place on the Sunday before Jesus' crucifixion. 

'Hosanna' means 'Save us now'

In remembrance of this event, we celebrate Palm Sunday. It is referred to as Palm Sunday because of the palm branches that were laid on the road as Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday was the fulfillment of the Prophet Daniel's "seventy sevens" prophecy: " Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times" (Daniel 9:25).

The same crowds that were crying out "Hosanna" were crying out "crucify Him" five days later (Matthew 27:22-23). 

Why complicate Life ?

Life lessons - Albert Einstein

Regret ?

Women and Men should know

Israel’s Only Savior (Isaiah 43)

Isaiah 43:1-7

New International Version (NIV)

¹ But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 
² When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”