Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Simple Blessings of Christmas

Excerpt from The Simple Blessings of Christmas
by Mark Gilroy
Norman Vincent Peale, noted minister and author from the previous century, tells the story of a young girl from Sweden spending Christmas in big, bustling New York City. She was living with an American family and helping them around the house, and she didn't have much money. So she knew she couldn't get them a very nice Christmas present - besides, they already had so much, with new gifts arriving every day.

With just a little money in her pocket, she went out and bought an outfit for a small baby, and then she set out on a journey to find the poorest part of town and the poorest baby she could find. At first, she received only strange looks from passersby when she asked them for help. But then a kind stranger, a Salvation Army bell-ringer, guided her to a poor part of town and helped her deliver her gift. On Christmas morning, instead of giving them a wrapped present, she told the family she served what she had done in their name. Everyone was speechless, and everyone was blessed - the girl for giving, the wealthy family for seeing others with new eyes, and the poor family for receiving an unexpected gift.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Winter flowers at Gurjarvani

 Winter flowers are here with their beautiful vibrant coloures.   I have captured these before the monkeys eat them. These flowers are their favorite food. These  are on the tree next to Gurjarvani gate.



Monday, November 22, 2010

Joy in Life



The great Bible teacher William Barclay said: "A gloomy Christian is a contradiction of terms, and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces." When people who are without faith look at your face, what do they see? A twinkle in the eye and a smile teasing at the corners of your mouth? Or a dark, sullen anger or unhappiness? Maybe if we wanted to learn to share our faith with the world more effectively, we wouldn't attend another class on personal evangelism at church, but would spend time in front of the mirror practicing our smile!