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Everything about life in the USA 🇺🇸 Buy ads: https://telega.io/c/american @Source_Ads ↪️ Feedback : @cobbl
What's your religion? Mine is love
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Catholic, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat...
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school... The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about.. And we said okay..
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Talk about this, if you think it has merit. If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
@american
Moonpie
Over the last few months I have once again been reminded of two things: God has a sense of humor and God knows how to heal a hurting heart. It all started a few weeks after the death of our beloved dog. At the time I was in mourning and had no intention of adding yet another pet to a house still crowded with 1 dog, 1 cat, and a turtle with a bad attitude. Little was I to know, however, that God had other plans. That very day my cousin came home from her walk carrying a small, sad-eyed bag of bones in her arms. She had rescued the poor, limping puppy after it had almost gotten hit by a car.
I knew that I would have to take this little dog into my home at least while we looked for her owners. I was worried too that she might not be easily accepted by our other dog and cat and the turtle. Instead she quickly and happily took over the entire house. With a curious combination of cuteness and rambunctiousness she made us all laugh and love her at the same time. Her leg quickly healed. She put on weight and soaked up the love and attention we gave her like a sponge. Soon she was sharing my bed, bringing out the playful puppy in our older dog, chewing on my shoes, and touching my soul as well. She showed me something we all should know: the best way to heal is to open your heart and love again.
No one ever claimed this 4 legged angel so she joyfully made her home in our house and in our hearts. We named her "Moonpie" because she was as sweet as the dessert. She was also ornery, full of energy, and more than a handful at times. Still, I thank God for bringing her into our lives. He knew just what we needed and just when we needed it. Thanks to little "Moony" our hearts have been healed and our days are even more full of love. And I am sure too that when we laugh at her antics, God and the angels are laughing with us.
@american
@american
Good Morning, I love You ...
"As you get out of bed each morning and stumble into the bathroom, jump-start each day with a positive attitude, Look in the mirror and say, 'Good Morning. I love you. We're going to have a great day!'"
Jill implemented this plan at home when their Sunday scramble to church had become a war. It was a fight to get her family out of bed and dressed. Yet, despite all her raving and ranting, they always arrived late, surrounded by an angry cloud of silence.
One Sunday, she tried her new affirmation. She stood over her husband's side of the bed and whispered in his ear, "Good Morning. I love you! We're going to have a great day!"
Dan opened one eye and said, "What? Are you crazy?"
She just smiled and went across the hallway to their five-year-old son's bedroom. She opened the door and repeated the greeting. Jeff rolled over and said, "You're wrong, Mom. We're going to have a bad day!"
She smiled again and went across the hallway to check on Dan. She couldn't believe it. He was already up, dressing!
She trotted back to Jeff's room. To her surprise he too was out of bed, putting on his clothes!
That Sunday was the first in a month of Sundays they arrived at church on time and still liking one another.
So Jill turned this greeting into a morning ritual. She had been especially worried about her five-year-old's negative attitude. Each morning, she woke Jeff with her new greeting, and each morning, he gave her some sort of a cynical retort.
Her worries ended when one morning, she opened his bedroom door and before she could speak, Jeff looked up at her with his big brown eyes and said, "Good Morning. I love you, Mom. We're going to have a great day!"
@american
Changing Your World...
A friend who was down in the dumps wrote me a letter a few weeks ago. His life was full of problems. His heart was full of worries. He was low on hope. He ended his letter to me with this question: “We can’t really change this crazy world we live in, can we?” I answered him immediately and started my own letter with these words: “Yes, we most certainly can!”
I can still remember one of the first times someone changed my world. She was the music teacher at my elementary school, the guitarist at our church, and a family friend. I had a huge crush on him too and wanted to impress him more than anything. I had no talent at any instrument, however, and my singing while enthusiastic was quite awful. One day he let me try playing his guitar. I did my best but could only stumble along. When I was done I put my head down. “I guess I am not very good,” I told him. He looked at me with his kind eyes, smiled, and said: “We are all good at something. You just need to find out what you are good at. Then you can share it with the world.”
Those simple words changed me. They planted a seed in my soul that continues to grow to this day. They made me realize that I had something to give to others. I had something inside of me that was good and that could change this world for the better. I just had to find it, bring it out and share it. And that is what I have tried to do all of the years since that fateful day.
Can you change the world? Yes you can! You can change it and make it better every single day of your life. You can change it one choice, one person, and one kind act at a time. All you have to do is share your goodness. All you have to do is live your love. Mother Teresa once said: “God doesn’t ask us to do great things, only small things with great love.” Make your love great then! Live well!
@american
...for a story that can
transport people to another place.”
―J.K. Rowling
Let me distract you for a moment and tell you a short story:
All the Difference in The World
Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.
This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.
“Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”
She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.”
“Wow! That’s really nice of you!” I exclaimed.
She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.”
“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked.
“Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied.
I scratched my head. “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?”
The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”
The moral: You can change the world – maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time. Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference. It does.
@american
Dear Myself,
Life is scary. One day you wake up feeling like you can take over the world, and the next day you wake up feeling like all you want to do is to lay in bed and hide from everything. People walk into your life, grab your hand, and lead you the most beautiful path you've known, but sometimes the same people let go of your hand without warning, and you become stranded at a place where you never thought you'ld feel lost.
Let's be honest, sometimes everything is going so great and it seems like nothing could go wrong , but right when you begin to think that, something so horrible comes crashing down and all of a sudden more problems come riochecting around you and you just feel so hopeless cause it's so bad...so f*cking (excuse my French) , shitty!
It's so hard to understand why such things happen in life, and I personally wish I had an answer to that "why?" you always ask yourself , but all I can say that is no matter how hard life gets, you have to keep going.
The life around you will never stop going on. I'll be honest and say that sometimes I feel a little bit worried and all I can think is "will I be able to keep up? What if everything goes too fast?" But I realized that being scared and living with that burden of running away from problems only slow me down even more. And I've come to the point where I believe that because life never stops, I shouldn't stop either.
It's okay to take break and to give yourself time to heal, but you cannot give up and you cannot quit. There's so much waiting for us to do and we simply can't give fear the satisfaction of winning when we can give success, growth , and accomplishment.
Please believe in yourself and encourage yourself, instead of doubting yourself. Keep positive, fill you heart with gratitude for what ypu already have, and always remind to humble and true to who you are..Because even life is scary, and living it is even scarier.
With love,
Your Soul
@american
BUILDING BRIDGES
Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.
Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.
One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work," he said.
"Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?"
"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence - an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place anymore. Cool him down, anyhow."
The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."
The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.
The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped.
There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge... a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work handrails and all - and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched.
"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."
The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.
"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have many more bridges to build.
@american
❤
❤Husband comes home drunk, vomits and falls down on the floor… Wife pulls him up and cleans everything.
Next day when he gets up, he expects her to be really angry with him… He prays that they would not have a fight.. to his surprise, he finds a note near the table that reads:
“Honey, your breakfast is ready on the table, I had to leave early to buy groceries. I love you.”
He asks his son about what happened last night, his son told:
When mom pulled you to bed and tried removing your boots and shirt.. you were dead drunk and you said… “Hey lady! Leave me alone… I’m married!”
❤There was a girl who loved a boy so much. One day, she asked the boy: “If I tell you that I like you, do you take it as a joke?”
The boy replied: “Yes, I do.”
She asked: “Why?”
The boy replied: “Because I know you don’t like me, I know you love me!”
❤There was a girl named Victoria and a boy named Andrew. Everyday during school lunch, Victoria would look at Andrew and day dream until lunch was over. Everyday she would hope that he liked her. Victoria was very brave so one day she walked up to him and asked: “Do you like me?”
He said, “Not even close”. She asked, “Do you think I’m pretty?” He said, “Not in a million years.”
Victoria was so upset, she ran away but Andrew was too quick. He grabbed her arms and said, “You are so pretty you can never get prettier and I love you so much that I would do anything for you.”
❤A girl wanted a ring, but the boy gave her a teddy bear instead. In her anger the girl threw the bear on the road.
The boy rushed to take it back but was hit by a car and died.
At his funeral, the girl hugged the bear and the machine in it spoke: “Will you marry me?”
Guess what? She found a ring inside it.
❤Two butterflies were in love. One day, they decided to play a game.
Boy butterfly: “The one who first sits on this flower tomorrow morning means that one loves the other more.”
Girl butterfly: “Ok.”
Next morning, the boy butterfly waits for the flower to open so that he can sit on it before the girl butterfly does… Finally, the flower opened but what did he see?
The girl butterfly had died inside the flower. She stayed in there all night so that early in the morning as soon as she sees the boy butterfly, she can fly to him and tell him how much she loves him.
❤One night a guy and a girl were driving home from the movie. The boy sensed there was something wrong because of the painful silence they shared between them that night. The girl then asked the boy to pull over because she wanted to talk. She told him that her feelings had changed and that it was time to move on.
A silent tear slid down his cheek as he slowly reached into his pocket and passed her a folded note.
At that moment, a drunk driver was speeding down that very same street, he swerved right into the driver seat, killing the boy. Miraculously, the girl survived. Later on, the girl opened the note and it read: “Without your love, I would die.”
❤Girl: Slow down. I’m scared.
Guy: No this is fun.
Girl: No it’s not. Please, it’s too scary!
Guy: Then tell me you love me.
Girl: Fine, I love you. Slow down!
Guy: Now give me a big hug. (Girl hugs him.)
Guy: Can you take my helmet off and put it on you? It’s bugging me.
In the paper the next day: A motorcycle had crashed into a building because of brakes failure. Two people were on the motorcycle, but only one survived.
The truth was that halfway down the road, the guy realized that his brakes broke. He didn’t want to let the girl know. He had her say she loved him, felt her hug one last time, then had her wear his helmet so she would live even though it meant he would die.
@american
A Thank You Letter To My Cousins
To My cousins, My best friends, My sisters, my brothers
This letter is hard to write, only because with so many things to say, I don’t know where to start. Having a good relationship with your cousins is something to cherish and work towards. Putting in the effort to spend time together is important, and completely worth it. Growing up alone has been a challenge, but because of you, I still felt like I had a brother. You make me want to be a better person, and set a good example. The memories that I have made with you will last a lifetime, and I will never be able to thank you enough. Not seeing you much is so hard, but it make me appreciate our relationships so much more.
Thank you for making me laugh until my stomach hurts, even when I’m in the worst mood. Our constant inside jokes will live on forever, and I know that we will never get tired of repeating them. Staying up all night with you is one of the best memories, because everything is more fun at 2 AM. Being exhausted the next morning is worth it because of all the new jokes we made and couldn’t stop laughing about. Thank you for everything. Having a heart to hesrt talk with you is my favorite thing about hanging out. I love getting a glimpse into your life, and being able to give you advice when you need it. Thank you for always sharing things and opening up to me, while allowing me to do the same.
Thank you for always being exciting. One thing that I never question is the fact that we are going to have fun when we are together. No matter what else is going on, we make the best of it and create our own fun. The constant joy I feel when I am with you guys makes me smile from ear to ear. The bond that we all have is so special, and it's not something that most people can say they have with their cousins. Thank you for being your complete selves with me, and letting me be mine. There are no judgements between any of us, and that’s really special.
My first year of my phd was stressful, but hanging out with you guys this summer has helped me remember that life is fun, and we should take advantage of it. I love hearing stories about the drama with your friends, or with the girls in your life, because it brings me back to the more simple times in mine. In middle school, there was nothing more to worry about than the daily drama in your friend group, and looking back, it was nice not having to worry about so much. Thank you for reminding me that being carefree is a blessing, and that I should always strive to have fun.
Each and every one of you makes me a better person. I have learned so much from all of you, and every time I hear about your life or your stories, I am inspired. You are the most genuine young women I have ever met. Although we aren’t super close in age, you guys are so mature, and capable of so much. Thank you for always reminding me that I am capable of great things, and that we will always have each other. I hope that our relationships only continue to get better, because I love you all so much.
I cannot wait to see where each of you goes in life. You are all extremely smart, handsome, besutiful, fun and ambitious. Don’t let the little things get you down, and never give up on your dreams. Life is short, and I hope that you will all take advantage of it, while continuing to have fun. Each and every one of you has impacted me in a different way, and for that I am so grateful. Thank you for teaching me more than I’d ever be able to learn on my own. Thank you for picking me up when I’m down. Thank you for always pushing me to be a better person. Thank you for being my best friends and sisters. You are all amazing in so many different ways, and have big things ahead of you.
I love you, forever
@american
If fame belonged to me, I could not escape her; if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase, and the approbation of my dog would forsake me then.
A letter from E. Dickinson