The Old Tree

Once upon a time there was a leafy tree in a field. Leaves grew densely on the tall branches. The roots were deeply into the ground. The tree was the most remarkable among the rest.
The tree then became the home for some birds. They built their nests and they lived on his branches. The birds made holes on him, and they hatched their eggs within the greatness of the tree. The tree felt so delighted because he was accompanied as he walked through his long lasting days.

People were grateful for the presence of the tree. They often came over and sheltered under him. Under his branches, they sat down and opened their picnic baskets. "This tree is very useful," that's what the people said every time they went home from shelter. The tree was very proud hearing those compliments.

However, time went on. The tree was beginning to be sick. His leaves and twigs were falling, then his body became thin and pale. The greatness he used to have was fading away. Birds felt reluctant to build their nests there. No one would come to sit under the tree to shelter anymore.
The tree wept, "Oh God, why is it so hard for me? I need friends. Now no one would come close to me. Why do you take all the glory I used to have?" The tree cried loudly, so it echoed throughout the forest. "Why wouldn't you cut me down, so I don't have to bear this suffering?" The tree kept on crying, and his tears were running down his dry body.

Seasons came and went, but his condition had not changed. The tree was still feeling lonely. His branches became drier and drier. Every night the tree wept and cried, until the morning broke.
"Cheep...chirp....cheep" Ah, what was that noise? Oh, it's a little baby bird who has just pipped from the egg. The old tree woke up from his daydream.

"Cheep...chirp...cheep", the noise became louder and louder. There was another baby bird. Not long after that, the tree became noisy because of the birth of new baby birds. One...two...three...and four baby birds have been born to this world. "Ah, He has answered my prayers," exclaimed the old tree.

The day after, there were many birds flying to the old tree. They were going to build new nests. The dry branches have turned out to attract their attention to nest there. The birds felt warmer to stay inside the dry branches instead of their place before. The number of birds was increasing and there were more kinds of them. "Wow, now my days are brighter with their presence here", murmured the old tree gladly.

The old tree was back to cheer again. And when he looked down, his heart was flowing with joy. There was a new little tree growing near his roots. The new tree seemed to smile at him. The tears of the old tree has grown a little tree who would continue his devotion to nature.
Dear friends, that's the way it is. Is there any lesson that we could take from the story? God always has secret plans for us. The Almighty God will always gives answers to our questions. Even though it is not always easy to guess what the resolution is, be certain that the Omniscient God knows what's best for us.

When there are times He sends temptation for us, in other times He gives us His overflowing blessings. The test He gives us isn't something that can't be overcome. When God gave the temptation to the old tree, actually He DELAYED in giving His glory. God didn't choose to cut the old tree down since He kept some secrets. God was testing his patience.
So, dear friends, be sure, whatever temptation we are facing is a part of the chain of glory He is preparing for us. Don't give up, and don't be discouraged. God is always there beside patient people.

Three Bricklayers

The story of the three bricklayers has been around for many years. The reason it continues to be told is the messages that the story tells. The following is the story of The Three Bricklayers:


"Once there were 3 bricklayers. Each one of them was asked what they were doing.
The first man answered gruffly, 'I'm laying bricks.'
The second man replied, 'I'm putting up a wall.'
But the third man said enthusiastically and with pride, 'I'm building a cathedral.'" --Author Unknown


This story clearly reveals two secrets of success:
1. Attitude - Your attitude towards whatever you are doing determines your ultimate level of success. Having enthusiasm and pride in what you are doing will show in your work. Your attitude is one of the most important things that you control. You choose your attitude each and every day.And the choice you make will determine your success.


2. Ability to See the Bigger Picture - Being able to see the end result, rather than just the task, eliminates obstacles, focuses your energy, and provides motivation to excel. At times our focus is only on the immediate task. When we change our focus on the bigger picture or the end result it provides motivation to continue, it inspires solutions to challenges.


To summarize, when you face challenges, when you feel discouraged, when you feel like you will never reach success, remember the story of The Three Bricklayers and look at your attitude and visualize your end result!

The 99 Club- Are you Part of it?

Some time ago, there lived a King.This king should have been contented with his life, given all the riches and luxuries he had. However, this was not the case! The King always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content with his life.

Sure, he had the attention of everyone wherever he went, attended fancy dinners and parties, but somehow, he still felt something was lacking and he couldn't put his finger on it.

One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing away... following this singing... he saw that one of the servants was singing and had a very contented look on his face.
This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers.

The man entered the King's chambers as ordered. The King asked why he was so happy?

To this the man replied: "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don't need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration, they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy."

Hearing this, the King dismissed the servant and summoned his Personal Assistant to his chambers.

The King related his personal anguish about his feelings and then related the story of the servant to his Personal Assistant, hoping that somehow, he will be able to come up with some reasoning that here was a King who could have anything he wished for at a snap of his fingers and yet was not contented, whereas, his servant, having so little was extremely contented.

The Personal Assistant listened attentively and came to a conclusion. He said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."
"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

To which the Assistant replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do the following... place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep, you will then understand what The 99 Club is."
That very same evening, the King arranged for 99 Gold coins to be placed in a bag at the servant's doorstep. Although he was slightly hesitant and he thought he should have put 100 Gold coins into the bag, but since his assistant had advised him to put 99 that is what he did.

The servant was just stepping out of his house when he saw a bag at his doorstep. Wondering about its contents, he took it into his house and opened the bag. When he opened the bag, he let out a great big shout of joy...Gold Coins... so many of them. He could hardly believe it. He called his wife to show her the coins.

He then took the bag to a table and emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins and he thought it was an odd number so he counted again, and again and again only to come to the same conclusion... 99 Gold Coins.

He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last 1 coin? For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to make up for that 1 Gold coin to make his entire collection an even 100 Gold Coins.

He got up the next morning, in an extremely horrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his delay, not realizing that he had spent most of the night conjuring ways of working hard so that he had enough money to buy himself that gold coin. He went to work as usual - but not in his usual best mood, singing happily - as he grumpily did his daily errands.
Seeing the man's attitude change so drastically, the King was puzzled. He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers. The King related his thoughts about the servant and once again, his assistant listened. The King could not believe that the servant who until yesterday had been singing away and was happy and content with his life had taken a sudden change of attitude, even though he should have been happier after receiving the gold coins.
To this the assistant replied "Ah! But your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He explained: "The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never contented, therefore they are always working hard and striving for that extra 1 to round it out to 100!
We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with very little in our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more!

Lesson to learn from this Story:

We are not the same happy contented person we used to be, we want more and more and by wanting more and more we don't realize the price we pay for it.

We lose our sleep, our happiness; we hurt the people around us just as a price to pay for our growing needs and desires.

That is what joining The 99 Club is all about."

Hearing this the King decided that from that day onwards, he was going to start appreciating all the little things in life.

Striving for more is always good, but let's not strive so hard and for so much that we loses all those near and dear to our hearts, we shouldn't compromise our happiness for moments of luxuries!