Inspirational Stories of Faith, Wisdom and Honor

Faith on an Island

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit.The other man's parcel of land remained barren. After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a booming voice from heaven, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the Voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

Puppy Size Love

"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer. "What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked. "Puppy size!" replied the mother. "Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for." The mom answered sadly,"I know...we have seen most of them."

Just then Danielle came walking into the office "Well, did you find one?" asked her mom. "No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back next weekend?" Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking anymore," Dad finally said in frustration."We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either."

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, Mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. "I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"

Mom came running to meet Danielle. "But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks." Danielle said "No not size ---- the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed."

She continued, "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"

Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both."Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if he sighed when I held him in my arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. You can hear it the arms of your loved ones. The view of a sunset. The kiss of moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day. They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear.

What His Dad Taught Him About Honor & Purity

A teenager asked his father if he could go to a unsupervised party where there would surely be drinking. He denied his request. "Aw Dad, why not?" he complained. "I'm in high school now!" Dad replied: "Because some will drink and the party could get out of control." "But, Dad, those are just very small parts of the party! That's what my friend told me there would just be a few people drinking. "My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over. But you will not go to that party. End of discussion."

The teenager walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As he sulked, he was surprised to hear the sounds of his father preparing something in the kitchen. He soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and he thought, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to me with some fresh brownies. Maybe I can soften him up with lots of praise when he brings them out to me and persuade him to let me go to that party after all."

The teen was not disappointed. Soon his father appeared with a plate of warm brownies. He took one. Then his father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you very much." The teenager smiled, Dad was softening. "That is why I've made these brownies from scratch with the very best ingredients. The best stone-milled flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic pure cane sugar. Premium vanilla and the finest chocolate." The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teen began to become a little impatient with his dad's long speech.

"But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own backyard. But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies.The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think."

"Dad, would you mind telling me what that mystery ingredient is before I eat it?" Dad answered, "Why? The portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You won't even taste it." The teen said, "Come on, Dad; just tell me what that ingredient is."

"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop." The teen instantly dropped his brownie back on the plate and began inspecting his fingers with horror. "DAD! Why did you do that? You've tempted me by making me smell the brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell me that you added dog poop! I can't eat these brownies!"

Dad asked, "Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients, it has the same consistency as the browinies and you won't even taste it. Go ahead and eat it."

His son replied, "No, never."

The wise dad continued, "And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go to that party. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your life? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation. So how can you in good conscience entertain yourself with something that could easily get you into trouble?"

The teenager lowered his head, then looked up at his Dad. He smiled. He finally understood. He never did go to high school parties with drinking.

And he always remembered what his Dad taught him about honoring purity.

Wisdom in a Cup

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit an old university professor. Conversation soon turned in to complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee andan assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

"If you noticed, all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee in most cases. It's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what you drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup. But you went for the best cups, and then began eyeing each other's cups."

The professor continued, "Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live."

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the appearance of the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.