How Did The Idea Of Birthstone Start?

Birthstone

Many people wear a birthstone to show which month they were born in.

From very early times there have been superstitions about gems.  Ancient people thought that certain gems had magical powers and could protect them from harm and bring good luck.

Some gems were supposed to have an influence on love and marriage.  Others were supposed to strengthen such personal traits as courage, sincerity and loyalty.

The idea of birthstones came from old superstitions that certain gems brought good luck and good health to people, defending on their birth dates.  Each month was given a stone.

The birthstone for the month of May, for example, is the emerald.  Wearing this stone, people thought, would bring love and success to anyone whose birthday was in the month.

Not many people still believe that birthstones affect the wearer’s life.

But many do enjoy wearing their birthstones set in rings, brooches, and other jewelry.

Do you know your birthstone? – Dick Rogers

BEING TOGETHER ~ Quote

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is succcess." ~ Henry Ford

Get rid of Stinking Thinking (Part 1 of 2)

Good morning friends. Many said let us get rid of stink thinking. I believe in that. Sometimes when we think of horrible things even if it’s not happening yet, we feel different. And it affects ourselves. Life is hard but I believe we have to think all positive thoughts so our doings will all be resulted to positive too. Let me tell you something that I had been read in the weekly Beacon of our church. It’s a good one. Here it says …

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5).

“You can think your way to failure and unhappiness, but you can also think your way to success and happiness. The world in which you live is not primarily determined by outward conditions and circumstances but by the thoughts that habitually occupy your mind.” Norman Vincent Peale.

Marcus Aurelius said, “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”

It has been said that the wisest man who ever lived in America was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Sage of Concord. Emerson declared, “A man is what he thinks about all day long.”

If you think you can have revival, you can.

You get what you pray for. If you are praying for revival and believe with all of your heart that revival will come, it will come. It will come with god’s timing, and He is bound by His word. And His word says that He hears us when we pray. If we are seeking for His will and are sincerely seeking revival for our church and community, it will come. We have to believe!

“But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putted in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” (mark 4:29)

If you think your church will grow, it will.

If you are praying for your church to grow, it will. If you plant the seed of faith, and water it with prayers and fasting, the church is destined to grow. It is the will of God for the church to grow. This is His church and He wants it to succeed. We have to get our thinking right, get our attitudes straightened up and get on board with what God has in store for us.

See you on the second part of my article ….

The Packaging

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.

Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his Father called him into his private study and told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was a very successful businessman.

He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away and had willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. In tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse: Matthew 7:11 “And if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?”

As he read those words, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words… PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? - Beacon

The Up Side

Good morning friends. Here are some good words to some people. I want to share it with you. It’s a nice thing.

“A friend of mine, Olga, has developed her own personal definition of success. She says that ‘Success is when you are happy to go to work in the morning and happy to come back in the evening, and you are very welcome and liked in both places.’” –Scott W. Ventrella, from his book Me, Inc: How to Master the Business of Being You

“It is impossible to hold a grudge and have peace of mind at the same time. It would be like trying to have day and night exist in the same moment.” – Lee L. Jampolsky, Ph.D., author of Smile for No Good Reason

“If you always tell the truth, you do not need a good memory.” – Submitted by Guideposts reader Gwendolyn Wilson, of Laurel, Mississippi

“Happiness: something to do, somebody to love, something to look forward to.” – Adair Lara, in her new book, The Bigger the Sign, the Worse the Garage Sale

“Wake up every morning expecting blessings from God and you will not be able to count them by the end of the day.” – submitted by Guideposts reader Cynthia Scott, of Medon Tennessee

Source: Guideposts

Michael Jackson dies (2)

Organizers of the concerts at the time stressed the delay was not linked to Jackson's health.

While Jackson reigned as the "King of Pop" in the 1980s, his once-stellar career had been overshadowed by his colorful public behavior, his startling physical transformation and multiple allegations of child abuse.

Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.

Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar struggled to recover.

Four years later, Jackson is still worshipped by fans for revolutionizing music, dance and music videos at the peak of his success.

The attention however paid to him in recent years has been less flattering, focusing on apparent cosmetic surgery -- which he denies -- his baby dangling antics and a decade of swirling child abuse allegations.

Born on August 29, 1958, Jackson made his show business debut with four of his older brothers in the Jackson Five pop group, and went on to lead the stage clan with a piping soprano and dazzling dance moves.

By 1969, the group had signed a contract with Motown Records, becoming one of the last great acts to emerge from the legendary label.

The Jacksons produced seven platinum singles for Motown, selling over a million, and three multi-platinum albums, selling more than two million. They moved to CBS's Epic Records in 1976.
Despite the early success, Jackson was to recall those years as unhappy and lonely ones. Eventually the family act broke up, as Jackson went solo.

In 1979, Quincy Jones produced Jackson's first solo album for Epic, "Off the Wall," a huge disco-oriented success that sold 10 million copies.They teamed up again in 1982 for what would be Jackson's breakthrough album as a composer and co-producer, "Thriller," which became the top-selling album of all time, with sales exceeding 41 million. - Agence France-Presse

Photo courtesy: imagecache2

Enlightenment and enrichment

Good morning everybody. I was reading a newspaper when I came across with one good article. First of all I should give you the simple meaning of enlightenment . Enlightenment is the realization of the truth.. How about enrichment. It means to fill with things of value.

We need not feel impoverished in times of economic difficulties. Here are gems of wisdom to enlighten and enrich your life:

1. If a man empties his pursure into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. --(Benjamin Franklin)

2. It is in knowledge as in swimming; he who flounders and splashes on the surface makes more noise and attracts more attention than the pearl diver who quietly dives to the bottom in quest of treasures. –(Washington Irving)

Wisdom

3. You can buy education, but wisdom is a gift from God.

4. For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. –(The Bible)

5. Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. –(The Bible)

6. Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding. – (Solomon)

7. A mind enlightened is like heaven; a mind in darkness is like hell. –(Chinese proverb)

8. Whom, then, do I call educated? First, those who control circumstances, instead of being mastered by them; those who meet all occasions manfully and act in accordance with intelligent thinking; those who are honorable in all dealings, who treat good-naturedly persons and things that are disagreeable; and furthermore, those who hold their pleasure under control and are not overcome by misfortune; finally, those who are not spoiled by success. –(Socrates)

9. That jewel of knowledge is great riches. It isn’t plundered by kinsmen, nor carried off by thieves, nor decreased by giving. –(Bhavabhuti)

10. To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge. (Benjamin Disraeli) – R.Valencia,S.Bismark