1. The cougar and the bear cub
Somebody sent me this video of a cougar chasing a little bear. I don’t know if this is a true story, or if it is somehow manufactured, but it is done very well. It is comforting to see how the mother bear comes to the rescue just in time.
2. Baby lions
This is a story of a lioness who gives birth to babies in a game reserve (I think). I got this one the other day, and the baby lions are so cute, it makes you want to cuddle them.
3. A little girl story of Jonah
Someone sent me this story last week, and it is told very well by a little girl in a church meeting. There are many good lessons here. Well spoken.
4. A true story of a guy who dies from jellyfish stings
This story is acted out with music in a very dramatic manner. It is very interesting. An Australian guy, Ian McCormack, dies, and comes back to life, and explains what happened when he was dead. He thought he would be in hell forever, but Jesus takes him up into the light. It could change your life.
5. Italian Tomato Garden. (Someone sent me this story last week.)
An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days. Love, Papa
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where the bodies are buried. Love, Vinnie
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left.
That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances. Love you, Vinnie
6. My Son. (Someone sent me this story last week.)
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..
He said, ‘Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly… He often talked about you, and your love for art.’ The young man held out this package. ‘I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.’
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. ‘Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.’
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. ‘We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?’ There was silence… Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, ‘We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.’
But the auctioneer persisted. ‘Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?’ Another voice angrily. ‘We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!’
But still the auctioneer continued. ‘The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?’
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. ‘I’ll give $10 for the painting…’ Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
‘We have $10, who will bid $20?’ ‘Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.’ The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. ‘Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!’ A man sitting on the second row shouted, ‘Now let’s get on with the collection!’
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. ‘I’m sorry, the auction is over.’ ‘What about the paintings?’ ‘I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will.. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!’
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: ‘The son, the son, who’ll take the son?’ Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE…THAT’S LOVE
7. THE LITTLE TREE
The Story of “The Little Tree” by Hennie Schoeman as told to me by my father Boetie Schoeman.
In 1933, my grandfather planted about a 100 Saligna(Blue Gum) trees on our farm in South Africa. They grow very quick and require hardly any maintenance. They all grew well except for one tree opposite the main house which stayed very small. It bothered the whole family very much. One night, about 3 years later, my Father(10 years old) had a dream and this is it:
He walked out the front door of the house, across the road, straight to this little tree and started to talk to it. “Why is it that you are not growing like all your brothers, who are 3 times as tall as you? We are really concerned about you. Are you sick or is something wrong?” To his amazement the little tree answered him: “You shouldn’t be concerned or worried about me. You see, I am growing, at least as much as my brothers but, I am growing where you cannot see. What I am doing is using all my resources to send my roots down deep until I find a constant source of underground water. I am also wrapping my roots around rock and that is pretty deep, so it takes time, a lot of time… There is a reason for this; When the droughts come and there is no rain for many years, I won’t have a problem with my source, the drought will have no affect on me and when the wind storms come, my roots will be strong enough to hold me upright in the highest winds. So you don’t have to be concerned about me, I am doing just fine. You wait and see..” Dad woke up from his dream and forgot about it for many years.
Growing up on the farm during the 1950’s and ‘60’s, I remember well the droughts that caused many of those trees to die. I also remember the wind storms we would get and witnessing many of those trees literally plucked out or push to one side by the wind until their roots could not hold them and thus they would be destroyed.
Years went by and in 1993 my Dad and I stopped by the ruins of what used to be the house they lived in. He told me this story and we looked down the line where about 100 trees were planted so many years ago. Most of them had fallen over, some had been struck by lightning and were dead and others had just dried up and died over the years. There were probably about 10 still standing. Most of them about 40 or 50 feet high and then there is this tree across the road from the old house, standing majestically like a monument, maybe 90 feet tall(or taller) with a trunk that would take 5 men holding hands to get around. I was stunned when I heard the story and then saw the tree. “THIS is the little tree that we were so concerned about,” my Dad said. “It obviously had it’s priorities right and we never had any reason to worry about it.
When we look at ourselves or other people, we so often look at “what we can see”or what is visible “above the ground”. Yet that is not really all that important. It is what goes on “underneath the ground” where “nobody can see” that is REALLY important. That is where we are being rooted and grounded in God and His Word. This process sometimes takes much longer than we like because if we are like most people, we want it sooner rather than later. But if we keep our priorities right AND apply patience, the end result will not only make us strong but it will bring glory to God and be a powerful witness to those around us.