Future Price of Roses

The young man ahead of my father at the flower shop was taking an unusually long time to place his order.

When the clerk asked how she could help, he explained that his girlfriend was turning 19 and he couldn't decide whether to give her a dozen roses or 19 roses -- one for each year of her life.

The woman put aside her business judgment and advised, "She may be your 19-year-old girlfriend now, but someday she could be your 50-year-old wife."

The young man bought a dozen roses.

Special Bank

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day, every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course!
Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME.

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow".

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and
success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

The Boy's Flowers

For some time I have had a person provide me with a rose boutonniere to pin on the lapel of my suit every Sunday.  Because I always got a flower on Sunday morning, I really did not think much of it.  It was a nice gesture that I appreciated, but it became routine.  One Sunday, however, what I considered ordinary became very special.

As I was leaving the Sunday service a young man approached me.  He walked right up to me and said, “Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?”  At first I did not know what he was talking about, but then I understood.

I said, “Do you mean this?” as I pointed to the rose pinned to my coat.

He said, “Yes, sir.  I would like it if you are just going to throw it away.”  At this point I smiled and gladly told him that he could have my flower, casually asking him what he was going to do with it.  The little boy, who was probably less than 10 years old, looked up at me and said, “Sir, I'm going to give it to my granny.  My mother and father got divorced last year.  I was living with my mother, but when she married again, she wanted me to live with my father.  I lived with him for a while, but he said I could not stay, so he sent me to live with my grandmother.  She is so good to me.  She cooks for me and takes care of me.  She has been so good to me that I want to give that pretty flower to her for loving me.”

When the little boy finished I could hardly speak.  My eyes filled with tears and I knew I had been touched in the depths of my soul.  I reached up and unpinned my flower.  With the flower in my hand, I looked at the boy and said, “Son, that is the nicest thing I have ever heard, but you can't have this flower because it's not enough.  If you'll look in front of the pulpit, you'll see a big bouquet of flowers.  Different families buy them for the church each week.  Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best.”

If I hadn't been touched enough already, he made one last statement and I will always cherish it.  He said, “What a wonderful day!  I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet.”
Pastor John R. Ramsey

Batteries Included!

You know when you buy toys for your kids or grand-kids often times on the package in fine print are these words: “Batteries not included.” 

Do you know what that means? 

It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gives. 

God’s gift of holiness includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - the power to make it work. 

For God, the Batteries Are Included!

(Steven Dow - Sermon Central).