Reunion

I'll never forget the first time we met; We tried so hard to impress. We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars, And wore our most elegant dress. It was quite an affair; the whole class was there. It was held at a fancy hotel. We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined, And everyone thought it was swell. The homecoming queen, who once had been lean, Now weighed in at one-ninety-six. The jocks who were there had all lost their hair, and the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks. No one had heard about the class nerd Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon; Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain; She married a shipping tycoon The boy we'd decreed 'most apt to succeed' Was serving ten years in the pen, While the one voted 'least' now was a priest; Just shows you can be wrong now and then. They awarded a prize to one of the guys Who seemed to have aged the least..Another was given to the grad who had driven The farthest to attend the feast. They took a class picture, a curious mixture Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties. Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini; You never saw so many thighs.
At our next get-together, no one cared whether They impressed their classmates or not. The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal; By this time we'd all gone to pot. It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores; We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans. Then most of us lay around in the shade, In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans By the fiftieth year, it was abundantly clear, We were definitely over the hill. Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed, And be home in time for their pill. And now I can't wait; they've set the date;Our sixtieth is coming, I'm told. It should be a ball, they've rented a hall At the Shady Rest Home for the old.
Repairs have been made on my hearing aid; My pacemaker's been turned up on high. My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled; And I've bought a new wig and glass eye. I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light. It'll be lots of fun; But I just hope that there's one Other person who can make it that night. Author Unknown Life is Wonderful..Don't forget it!

Attitude of Gratitude

How To Let the Attitude of Gratitude Change Your Life
taken from a message given by Adrian Rogers
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20
Let me ask you a question. Do you have difficulty with bitterness, selfishness, self‑pity, negativism, or pride? An attitude of gratitude can change those things and literally transform your life.
There are four levels of living. People in the lowest levelconstantly complain. These folks are always griping and complaining. Rather than being humbly grateful, they’re grumbly hateful.
The second level is just a tad higher. These are not people who are constantly complaining; they just never give thanks for anything. They take things for granted.
The third level are those who thank God for the obvious blessings, when things are going good and everything is fine.
But the fourth level, the highest level, are those who give thanks always for all things. This is the attitude that will change your life.
Let me give you five principles that will help you achieve the highest level.
Our Gratitude is Proper
Anything good that you have has come from God. You didn’t get it by luck, ingenuity, hard work, wit, or wisdom. It is proper to thank God for it.
Our Gratitude is to Be Perpetual
You’re not just simply to be thankful one day a year. One day is not long enough to thank God for all that He’s given you. His blessings come daily. Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loadeth us with benefits...” Every day God has brand-new blessings for you, and every day ought to find you thanking God. Every prayer that you pray ought to be salted with thanks.
Our Gratitude is to Be Pervasive
In everything give thanks. Not in some things, but in all things. Every thing, every area of life is to be a the subject of thanksgiving. There’s so much to be thankful for.Spiritual things - If you didn’t have anything else but Jesus, you would have enough to praise God for all eternity.
Simple things – You should be thankful for your families, health, food, and even a glass of water. Thank God for the simple things.
Sorrowful things – You can even be thankful for the heartaches, the pains, and the sufferings. Romans 8:28 says, “…All things work together for good…” That is, the thing itself is not good, but it is God Who is working all things together for good.
Do you want to live on the highest level of life? Cultivate the attitude of gratitude always and in all things. I don’t care how bad, difficult, dark, or mysterious things get; take the ultimate step of faith and say, “God, You’re greater than this, and I thank You.” You may say, “Well, I don’t feel like thanking Him.” Don’t thank Him by feeling; thank Him by faith. You’re not told to feel thankful but to be thankful. Nothing shows your faith in the absolute sovereignty of God more than just simply thanking God in every situation. Our Gratitude Will Be Pleasurable Thankful people are happy people. “Well,” you say, “if I had something to be thankful for, I’d be happy.” You have missed the point! You do have something to be thankful for. You have life. You have Christ. You may say, “But my circumstance are not good.” The apostle Paul was in prison when he this letter to the Ephesians, yet he was rejoicing in the Lord. Gratefulness turned his prison to a palace, but ungratefulness can turn your palace to a prison. I’m telling you, the attitude of gratitude will change your life. Our Gratitude Is Possible
Before we are told to give thanks in verse twenty, verse eighteen says, “…Be filled with the Spirit.” Living with gratitude is not a human way to live, not a natural way to live – it’s supernatural. And this kind of thank fulness only comes out of a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the substance of it, the source of it, and the strength of it. We are to be filled with the Spirit, and we are to be giving thanks. And that’s the only way we can do it.Whether you’re in a prison, as Paul was, or enjoying your Thanksgiving Day dinner, you can praise God. I’m telling you it will change your life. Bitterness, fear, self‑pity, ungratefulness, and negativism will go out of your life if you will practice the grace of gratitude. It’s possible when you let the Holy Spirit fill you.