Stories by Modestobob (18 matches)

57 Cents That Made History

A young girl, Hattie, stood outside a small church from which she had been turned away because 'it was too crowded'. "I can't go to Sunday School," she said to the pastor as he walked by. The pastor carried the child inside and found a place for her to sit in the back. The next time the pastor met her he said "Hattie, we are going to have a larger Sunday school room soon. When we get the money with which to erect a school building we are going to construct one large enough to get all the little children in, and we are going to begin very soon to raise the money for it."   The pastor did not see Hattie again, until  he heard from her parents some two years later.  Hattie had sadly died her parents called for the kind-hearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the ... Read Full Story >>

Cherish Life Today for Tomorrow May Never Come

  Let Me Be A Little Kinder Glen Campbell   Let me be a little kinder Let me be a little blinder To the faults of those about me Let me praise a little more Let me be when I am weary Just a little bit more cheery Think a little more of others And a little less of me Let me be a little braver When temptation bids me waver Let me strive a little harder To be all that I should be Let me be a little meeker With the brother that is weaker Let me think more of my neighbor And a little less of me Let me be when I am weary Just a little bit more cheery Let me serve a little better Those that I am strivin' for Let me be a little meeker With the brother that is weaker Think a little more of others And a little less of me   We attend a funeral service planned for Danny at 2pm on Friday.   ~ModestoBob     Last week, two days before Father’s Day, a close personal ... Read Full Story >>

Grocery Store Commotion Turns Into Kindness

"Some people!" snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the grocery store. "You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line," said a woman. I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it. "It's one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job like everyone else," said the man standing behind me. The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment. 'It was me,' he said, pointing to himself. The young lady's face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the store. Everyone in the checkout line ... Read Full Story >>

A Teacher's Gift

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers. That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." were most of the comments. No one ever mentioned those papers in class ... Read Full Story >>

Choosing to Live Fully

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'  He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.  Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!  You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"    He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood, or you can choose to be in a bad mood.  I choose to be in a good mood.   Each time something bad ... Read Full Story >>

Thoughts on the Magic of Helping Others

Something magical happens when you put your focus on helping someone else. All your own worries, fears, concerns and doubts seem to disappear. By forgetting yourself you discover the best you can be too. In sincerely seeking to give value, you bring great value into your own life and the life of others. Give, not because it looks good or even because it feels good. Give, because it fulfills your deepest purpose and brings you completely to life.   Seize the opportunities to be of value and to be of service too. Live and act beyond yourself, and it opens your eyes to whole new realms and levels of possibilities.   With your sincerest actions, acknowledge and celebrate the connection you have to all others. In that connection you'll find a limitless source of joy and fulfillment.   Give your best. And you truly become your best.   May your week be filled with finding ... Read Full Story >>

Growing From A Rescue Opportunity

We had a marvelous 10 days in Idaho and were driving home a day earlier than we'd planned. We just wanted to have a day to rest and prepare for our work weeks ahead. Little did we know the impact our leaving early would have on someone else. We left Caldwell, Idaho at around 1pm and went through a small town called Marsing, population 790. They have a volunteer fire department, a couple of gas stations and a small market. About 10 miles on the other side of Marsing, we saw thick black plumes of smoke miles down the road to where we were driving. It didn't look good at all. We got to where the smoke was, and discovered a Big Rig (18-wheel truck) on fire and the driver was sitting on the side of the road. Another car pulled over to see if everything was okay too. We pulled up to assist ... Read Full Story >>

You Can Be My Neighbor Just As You Are

As a youngster, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather's farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stone walls, the house and barn provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to neat-as-a-pin parlors that seemed to whisper, “Not to be touched!” I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first visit to the farm, I'd wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the property. My parents would never approve. The walls were old. Some stones were missing, and others were loose and crumbling. Still, my yearning to scramble across those walls grew so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I summoned all my courage and entered the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner. “I, uh. I wanna climb the stone walls,” I said hesitantly. Everyone ... Read Full Story >>

I Love YOU More!

I wanted to share a thought on a game my wife, Denise and I play with each other. It’s called “I love YOU more!” I make it a part of my day to tell her that I Love Her. And she does the same thing with me. She’s pretty loveable and so it’s always been easy all these years to say it and to mean it. And maybe that’s one of the reasons that we’ve been married so long, (33 years). What I’ve realized though, is that there are days that “I love Her more” than she loves me and visa versa. Because of this we have a relationship where the power of that love is constantly shifting. In a funny sort of way, I’ve found that the person who loves the least that day, is the one with the most power in the relationship as they actually need more love ... Read Full Story >>

Quotes Celebrating Fathers

Father’s Day Quotes (Don’t Forget Father’s Day on Sunday, June 14th!) He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  ~Clarence B. Kelland My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys."  ~Harmon Killebrew When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.  ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874 One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters.  ~George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640 Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.  ~Bill Cosby A father carries pictures where his money used to be.  ~Author Unknown The greatest gift I ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Welcome Home

We just got back from enjoying 10 wonderful days of our vacation in Idaho with our daughter Amy & son-in-law Mark and grandbabies Sarah & Gracie-cakes. Amy, last month had our 4th grand-daughter, Grace Eliza (better known in our family as Gracie-cakes). We came home very late last night to find an area of our front yard under our large orange tree, planted in beautiful flowers and a handmade "Welcome Home" sign that after an almost 500-mile trek home was a welcome sight to see indeed. Denise & I had one of our friends, Pat, make sure that our yard was watered and cared for while we were on vacation. Well, it appears that she or someone else (we still don't know who as of this writing) had taken upon themselves to plant several dozen flowers and liven up our front yard, and we were soooo happy that they did! It looks awesome. This random act of kindness ... Read Full Story >>

What is in Your Attitude ?

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, including your mistakes, your guilt, your pain. In fact, it is more critical  than the education you have obtained, than the money you worked so hard to earn, than the circumstances in which you were born, than the failures you endured, than even the successes which with you have been blessed. It surely is more important than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than your physical appearance or your talents. It will make or break a company, a church , or a home. In fact, it will make or break something even more profound - your character. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude . I am convinced that  10% of life is what happens to you,  and 90% of it is how you react to it. So, the choice lies with you. It's all in your Attitude."

 -Charles Swindoll

11 Smiles for You

A smile will gain you ten more years of life ~ Chinese Proverb If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.   A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. ~Phyllis Diller   A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.   Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~ Leo F. Buscaglia   Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~Mother Teresa of Calcutta   Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh   Smile - It's the second best thing you can do with your lips. ~ Bob Armstrong   Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart. ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo   Start every ... Read Full Story >>

Togetherness: A Life After Life

I attended a funeral a week ago of a management friend who’s husband passed away of a heart attack very unexpectedly at age 50. He was survived by his wife and 12 year old child. It has been a difficult time for the family. On the back of their funeral announcement was this three paragraph poem that I thought was worth passing on to you. Hope you find it as valuable as I did:   Death is nothing at alI. I have only slipped away into the next room. Whatever we were to each other, we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the same easy way you always have. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Life means all that it ever means. It is the same as it always was. This is absolute ... Read Full Story >>

Would You Like A Piece Of My Heart?

There are so many people that for one reason or the other, are sad, alone, and spend many a night in their homes, behind locked doors, and in need of comfort. As you walk down the streets of any city, you might meet a homeless person with his only bed being a cardboard box, spread out on the hard concrete or under an overpass. He might have lost his family, or his home, or his job, and yet we walk by ignoring him, instead of attempting to comfort him or help in a small way. There are just as many sad people in homes and outside of homes, as there are happy people, and yet, we tend to ignore the sad, and team up with the happy. It’s our nature I suppose. There are some who are truly ailing here on the helpothers online community too. Please remember them in your hearts and know ... Read Full Story >>

Gratitude: The Key To Good Health

Gratitude is becoming quickly a central concept in the area of Positive Psychology. While there are various ways to express gratitude, what seems most important is that you find a way to express it that works for you. Frequently, a gratitude journal is used. You may have a specific notebook that is devoted just to writing what you're grateful for. The gratitudes need to stay fresh and you need to be emotionally invested when you write them if gratitude is to develop and deepen. For this reason, often writing daily is not the best route. Nor is reporting over and over the same items for which you are grateful, even though certainly you are still grateful for them. Expressing gratitude requires an "alive" and vibrant experience. You need to allow yourself to feel the gratitude in your body. Other ways to express gratitude include writing a letter of gratitude to individuals ... Read Full Story >>

A Tale of a Hero and His Nine Little Ducklings

Something really amazing happened in downtown Spokane, Washington this week, so  I decided to share the joy with you.    My good friend Betty has a brother named, Joel, who is a loan officer at Sterling Bank in Washington state. He works downtown in a second story office building, overlooking the busy street known as Riverside Avenue. Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck choose the cement awning outside his window as the uncanny place to build a nest above the sidewalk.    The mallard laid nine eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks and on a sunny Mondary afternoon all of her nine ducklings hatched.     Joel worried all night as to how the momma duck was going to get those nine babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment so they ... Read Full Story >>

A Vaccination in Kindness!

For those of you having a rough week, I put together some bulleted list of thoughts of my own and a few from the sages of our past who can help inject you with some jolts of kindness this week!   The best thing we can do for ourselves and the people in our lives is to love them unconditionally, forgive them without reservation and to accept them exactly as they are.  Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.   It's not the load that breaks you down. It's the way you carry it. ~Lena Horne - American actress and singer   It's hard to beat a person who never gives up. ~Babe Ruth- Major League Baseball player   You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed ... Read Full Story >>

Carrying Love Half Way Around The World

A California Town Turns Strangers Into Friends

Cherish Life Today for Tomorrow May Never Come