As seen (heard) on TV: Man walks into a bar and asks for a drink; Bartender pulls out a gun, fires narrowly missing the man. Man places tip on bar says thanks and walks out. What was wrong with man?
Cherokee Cowboy "Tsalagi Spirit" Peaceful - 13 years, 10 months, 19 days ago

A bell is not a bell until you ring it,
A song is not a song until you sing it,
Love in your heart is not put there to stay,
Love is not love until you give it away!
Cherokee Cowboy "Tsalagi Spirit" Peaceful - 13 years, 10 months, 24 days ago

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg,TN.
One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping
to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food,
they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from
table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and
whispered to his wife, 'I hope he doesn't come over here.' But sure
enough, the man did come over to their table.

'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.

' Oklahoma,' they answered.
'Great to have you here in Tennessee,' the stranger said.
‘What do you do for a living?'

'I teach at a seminary,’ he replied.

'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a
really great story for you.' And with that, the gentleman pulled up a
chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great ..
Just what I need ....another preacher story!'

The man started, 'See that mountain over there? (pointing out the
restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there
was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing
up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same
question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school,
in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question,
'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from
other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that
question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12 years old, a new
preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out
early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day,
the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and
had to walk out with the crowd.

Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing
anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son,
who's your daddy?' The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every
eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the
answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?' 'This new preacher, though,
sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy
Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy... 'Wait a minute!
I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.'
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a
great inheritance. Go and claim it.'

'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the
door a changed person.. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody
asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them , 'I'm a Child of God..''
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, 'Isn't that a
great story?'

The professor responded that it really was a great story!

As the man turned to leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't
told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have
amounted to anything!' And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the
waitress over & asked her, 'Do you know who that man was -- the one
who just left that was sitting at our table?'

The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody here knows him.
That's Ben Hooper. He's governor of Tennessee.'

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's children.
'The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever.' ~~Isaiah
YOU'RE ONE OF GOD'S CHILDREN. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
Keep this going.
You have no idea which one of Your e-mail buddies could use a little hope today.
Cherokee Cowboy "Tsalagi Spirit" Peaceful - 13 years, 10 months, 25 days ago

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 the 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, 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, God 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

Please keep this moving... pass it on, so God may inspire more people on the way.

May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palm of His hand.
Cherokee Cowboy "Tsalagi Spirit" Peaceful - 14 years, 18 days ago

Blonde Cookbook:
It's fun to cook for Sam. Today I made angel food cake.
The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately.
The neighbors were nice enough to loan me the extra bowls.
He wanted fruit salad for supper.
The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn't dress
What a surprise when he brought a friend home for supper!
A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before
steaming the rice. It seemed kind of silly,
but I took a bath anyway.
I can't say it improved the rice any.
Today he asked for salad again I tried a new recipe.
It said prepare ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce
one hour before serving.
He asked me why I was rolling Around in the garden..
I found an easy recipe for cookies.
It said put the ingredients in a bowl and beat it..
There must have been something wrong with this recipe.
When I got back, everything was the same as when I left.
Saturday: He did the shopping today and brought home a
chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday.
I don't have any clothes that fit it, and for some reason
he keeps counting to ten.
I wanted to serve roast, but all I had was hamburger.
Suddenly I had a flash of genius..
I put the hamburger in the oven and set the controls
for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my
disappointment.
GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY. This has been a very exciting week!
I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe.
If I can talk him into buying a bigger oven, I would like to
surprise him with a chocolate moose.
Cherokee Cowboy "Tsalagi Spirit" Peaceful - 14 years, 24 days ago