a guided tour of HEAVEN

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. Wewalked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'Thisis the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayerare received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so manyangels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets andscraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the secondsection. The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging andDelivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked forareprocessed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them.I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels workinghard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested andwere being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at thedoor of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angelwas seated there, idly doing nothing. 'This is the AcknowledgmentSection,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me.

He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going onhere?' I asked.'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings thatthey asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.
'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'
'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roofoverhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in adish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy

And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% inthe world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... youare more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day 'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness ofimprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are ahead of 700 million people in the world.'

'If you can attend a place of worship without the fear of harassment,arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than,three billion people in the world .'

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are veryrare.'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you'reunique to all those in doubt and despair.
'OK, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing inthat someone is thinking of you as very special and you are moreblessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read atall.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass thisalong to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

Acknowledge Dept.: 'Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability toshare this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with.

[source: Internet]

Life Management Lessons

A little while ago, I was feeling terribly overwhelmed. So much to do... so little time, at least that's the way things seemed. I can remember crying out to God and asking Him to help me. After praying, He gave me some very practical answers... three of which I'd like to share with you:

1.) Get Rid of Distractions
Are you tied up with people and things that just keep you perpetually off track and out of balance? If so, you have to get that in check. If you're honest, you'll admit that some individuals consume far too much of your time. Whenever they're around, you end up trying to accommodate them while losing precious moments in the process. When this happens, you need to re-prioritize and re-order your life.

2.) Say No
Why is it so hard for us to say no? Well, for many people, it's the need to please and placate, that keeps them in a constant cycle of doing things they can't or don't want to do, just to keep others happy. Have you ever struggled with that?

Remember, just because demands are made on your time, energy, and other resources, doesn't mean you have to give in. This lesson can be hard to learn, but it's necessary. Certainly, you can give "a pleasant no"... but by all means, don't say yes to things that will end up creating unnecessary hardships for you.

"...just because demands are made on your time, energy, and other resources, doesn't mean you have to give in..."

3.) Pace Yourself
Hard work and perseverance is necessary to excel in life, but you can't expect things to happen overnight. Everything won't come together in a day... you have to be patient. Recognize that things will manifest when the time is right... and not a day sooner. No amount of toiling can alter God's timing. Struggling, trying to force things to come together will only lead to disappointment and frustration. So, pace yourself. Take things one day at a time, and trust God to do what you cannot. Most assuredly, He will!