A TOUCHING STORY FOR WORKING PARENTS

To My Dear Family, Loved Ones & Friends,

This afternoon, after taking an afternoon nap, I went to check my email. I clicked on an email forward by a christian from the Philippines which was sent to me July 20,2008. Being a father of three girls, I was curious because the subject was on parents. Begun to read and scroll down. I was amazingly touched, blessed,
encouraged and stirred in my heart. I was filled with gratitude and thanksgiving for the one who forwarded this email to me.

On the other hand, I for one must admit that I have failed many times to give the time to you my family, loved ones and friends. I say, forgive me. I will trust the LORD to make me more sensitive in those times that you need someone the most, that I will be there by the grace of God. I will endeavor to be physically present as
much as possible. If not, I will seek to communicate by other means (telephone call, email, text messages). Do please let me know though when such times of need arises so I can somehow "Be There".

Be blessed, be encouraged, be touched as I have been touched by this email.

To my dear wife Delia, my daughters Mynes, Aissa & Love and my son-in-law Levi: I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH and am ever grateful & thankful to our God & Saviour Jesus Christ for the gift of my "family";

To my loved ones: brothers Boy & Ray; sisters Ellen, Jean & Lynn: to my extended family: brothers-in-law & sisters-in-law; nephews, nieces, uncles and aunts, I say to you all today: I LOVE YOU ALL;

To my friends, and there are so many of them: Thank you for being a friend to me and I thank God for you all;

To my Christian Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I love you all with the love of our LORD Jesus Christ. Thank you for touching my life along the way in our sojourn to our eternal home in heaven.

Sent with love and gratitude in my heart to you all.

Emmanuel

Here now is the forward!


A Touching Story For Working Parents

Date: Thursday, 17 July, 2008, 12:35 PM
> A small touching story mainly for professionals. ..
>
> A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to
> find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

> SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

> DAD: 'Yeah sure, what is it?' replied the man.
> SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
> DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you
> ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

> SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much you make an hour?'
> DAD: 'If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.'
> SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his
head down.

> SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $10.00?'
> The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior.
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and
opened the door. 'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.
'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy. 'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man.
'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation
on you. Here's the $10.00 you asked for.' The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have
some?' the father grumbled. 'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son and begged for his forgiveness.
It's just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do remember to share that $20.00 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
PLS READ WITH FAITH..
This is an awesome prayer.

Believe it and you shall be blessed.

The problem with many of us is that we don't believe that God will open a Window and pour out blessings that we won't have room to receive them.
I Dare anyone to try God. He is true to His word. God cannot lie and His Promises are sure.

Three things will happen to you this coming week:
(1) You will find favour with someone you don't expect;
(2) You will be too relevant to be ignored;
(3) You will encounter God and you will never remain the same again.

My prayer for you today:

The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil, the hands that will send this message to others shall not labour in vain, the mouth saying Amen To this prayer shall laugh forever.
Remain in God's love as you send this Prayer to everybody on your list. Have a lovely journey
of life! Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will never fail you because He is AWESOME!
If you truly need a blessing,
continue reading this email:

Heavenly Father, most Gracious and Loving God, I pray that you Abundantly bless my family and me. I know that you recognize, that a Family is more than just a mother, father, sister, brother, husband and wife, but all who believe and trust in you. Father, I send up a prayer request for blessings not only for the person who sent this to me, but for me and all that I have forwarded this message to. And that the power of joined prayer of those who believe and trust in you is more powerful than anything..
I thank you in advance for your blessings. Father God, deliver the person reading this right now from debt and debt's burdens. Release your Godly wisdom that I may be a good steward over all that You have given me Father,
for I know how wonderful and mighty you are and how if we just obey you and walk In your word and have the faith of a mustard seed, that you will pour out blessings. I thank you now Lord for the recent blessings I have received and for the blessings yet to come because I know you are not done with me yet.

In Jesus' most precious & powerful name, I pray. Amen !!!

TAKE 60 SECONDS and send this on quickly and within hours, you will have caused a multitude of people to pray to God for each other.
Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life for doing the thing that you know He loves. Remain
Blessed!!!

Have an awesome day

JOHN NEWTON & GOD'S AMAZING GRACE

EPHESIANS 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith, And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.


THE STORY OF "AMAZING GRACE"

A tablet on the north wall
of the Church of St. Mary, Woolnoth,
contains the inscription:

"John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine,
a seller of slaves in Africa,
was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
preserved, restored, pardoned,
and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy."


These simple words describe in rugged terseness and brief outline the life story of the writer of the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace".

John Newton, the celebrated English preacher and hymn-writer, realized that he was a trophy of divine grace. A while before his death, a fellow minister came in to have breakfast with him. Family prayers followed the meal. Mr. Newton's sight had almost failed, and he was unable to read. He sat and listened to his friend as he read the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. When this tenth verse was read, "But by the grace of God I am what I am," Mr. Newton began to speak:

"I am not what I ought to be. Ah! How imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be. I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good. I am not what I hope to be. Soon, soon, shall I put off, with mortality, sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was, a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge, By the grace of God I am what I am."

John Newton's conversion is a true illustration of saving grace. When he was only seven years old, his pious mother was taken from him. However, she had taught him when just an infant to pray and had sowed in his young heart the seeds of the Gospel.

When a young man he went to sea on board a slave ship with his father and learned all the evil of the seaman's life. Still later, he was forced into the navy. He deserted, but was caught and stripped and beaten, until the blood flowed from his wounds. He had now become a hardened infidel. He fell in with African slave traders. He went on from bad to worse, until he himself was sold as a slave. He was reduced to utter poverty, starving and sinning and blaspheming.

One day he found a Gospel book on board, and he took it up and read it. He was thus led to ask the question, "What if these things should be true?" The thought terrified him, and he closed the book. He had had a sight of the holiness of God. He went to his hammock that night as usual, having contrived to put the solemn question out of his mind. However, in the dark of the night he was awakened by the dash of waves. A storm had arisen, a terrible sea was sweeping over the vessel, and the cabin was fast filling with water. The cry arose, "The ship is sinking!" All was confusion and terror.

John Newton's life came up before him as on a cinema screen. He saw himself a guilty sinner in the hands of a holy God. For four solid weeks the vessel was tossed to and fro, he being sometimes at the helm and sometimes at the pumps, wave upon wave breaking over him. In the midst of his danger, he began to cry, "My mother's God, the God of mercy - have mercy on me!"

That storm was to John Newton what the earthquake was to the jailer at Philippi. It got him to his knees. It brought his sins before him. It brought before him his eternal ruin. It brought him to the Cross where he saw the love of God being poured out in the blood of Christ.

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

The "new object" which met his eye, as he stood at the helm and walked the deck with the waves dashing over him was the Crucified Christ. The cross and the Son of God there bearing his sins stood out before him in the brightness of Divine love, for thus he writes:

I saw one hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

As it was with Simon Peter, when the Lord turned and looked upon him, so was it with John Newton. In both cases, the look of love melted the sinner down.

Sure, never, till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Tho' not a word He spoke.

That look of love, holy love, went through and through his conscience, making him feel his sin in all its vileness. Sin, which had hitherto been treated by him as a mere trifle, or being altogether overlooked, now presented itself in all its terrors. He was doomed; he was lost; what should he do?

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.

He is overwhelmed. He is in despair as he sees how his sins had nailed Christ to the cross. But as he looks, he sees something more in that look and hears that voice of pardon coming from the cross.

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgave:
This blood is for thy ransom paid,
I die that thou may'st live."

The sight of the crucified Saviour not only wrought conviction of sin, but brought peace to his heart. Here John Newton saw the love of God supplying the sacrifice which His holiness demanded, the Son of God stepping into the place of ungodly men and at the hands of justice suffering the wrath and condemnation due to man on account of sin. By trusting in that finished work the "African blasphemer" was saved. Truly, this is "Amazing Grace!"

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

The grace of God which softened and saved and raised up John Newton as a witness is unmerited and free. God is no respecter of persons. His grace extends to you. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The precious blood which cleansed John Newton's crimson stains was shed for you. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7). "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2).

The Word of God thus assures you of salvation if you will but believe on His Son. "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31). Then like John Newton, you will be able to sing:

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath bro't me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.