The Necklace...

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.

Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh Mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please mommy Please...?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00.

If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.

Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbour and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up.

She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed.

The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favourite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy.

And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, daddy, this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure.

So it is, with our God. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

Isn't God good? Are you holding onto things that God wants you to let go of?

Are you holding on to harmful or unnecessary partners, relationships, habits and activities that you have come so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?

Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand but do believe this one thing ...

God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

The greatest gifts happen when you share love and touch.

Happy Valentine's Day

When I Am Not Looking....

When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you hang my first painting on the wall,

and I immediately wanted to paint another one.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you feed a stray cat,

and I learnt that it was good to be kind.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you make my favourite cake for me,

and I learnt, even little things are special in life.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I heard you say a prayer,

and I knew that there is a God and I learned to trust in Him.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you make a meal for a friend who was sick,

and I learned that we all have to help each other.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you help people who had nothing,

and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw you take care of our house & everyone in it,

and I learned to take care of what we have.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good,

and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw tears come from your eyes,

and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I saw that you cared,

and I wanted to be everything that I could be



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good

and productive person when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking…

I looked at you and wanted to say,

'Thanks for all the things I saw




When you thought I wasn't looking.'

I am sending this to all of the people I know who do so much for others,

but think that no one ever sees.

Little eyes see a lot…



Each one of us -

Parent, Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle, Friends, Teachers…

Influence the life of a child.

Let's be a positive influence on the children around us

Bats...!

One was flying around my condominium's dim-lit neem tree last night.

…Catching mosquitoes.

I just hoped he didn't mistake me for one!

It was about 10:30 pm and I had just returned after an evening dinner with a friend of mine and looking out my third floor balcony, the neem tree whistling in the darkness looked too inviting to pass up.

But as I got down to the tree, there was this darn bat . . . skimming the tree in zig-zag circles.

And as I stood vulnerable in my evening walking shorts, the bat would come swooping down in 10 second loops on a dive-bomb collision course right toward my face!

But just at the last second . . .

Just as it was inches of crashing into me . . . with the most extraordinary timing, that little winged gymnast would do a seemingly impossible aerial acrobatic and switch directions 180 degrees.

It was totally unnerving.

Do I 'really' want to go out for a walk? I asked myself.

Yeek! Do I want that little creature accidentally bopping me on the head???

We all seem to have an innate and instinctive fear of bats. It probably comes from the bad reputation they've been given on television and in the movies. My environmental science education tells me that in truth, the far majority of bats are completely harmless. In fact, they're great to have around as they clear the air of mosquitoes and other pesky creatures.

But, nevertheless, I still was very hesitant.

Could I trust this bat's radar?

Bats are blind, far crying out loud!

Then I rationalized to myself, well gosh, if its internal guidance system is good enough for it to detect and catch tiny lightening-fast mosquitoes even in complete darkness, it certainly shouldn't have a problem avoiding a 180 cm, 85 kg human being strolling at less than 5 km per hour in the road!

And just as I was thinking that, I was struck by a bolt of wisdom.

I remember reading an article recently about the technique to magnify our inner voice that is always present, but which we often can have a difficult time perceiving and utilizing to our maximum advantage.

Unfortunately thanks to our left-brain educational training, we are cultured from childhood to ignore that inner guidance system in favour of more logical thinking.
And yet, I was like everyone else in our society, often find myself going back and forth, trying to "logically figure out" the solution to my concerns! --

"Should I go in this direction, or should I go in that direction to find greater meaning in my life?"

"Should I trust this friend or colleague who is offering me something, or should I be more cautious before moving ahead?"

"Should I let this slide, or should I say something to someone who just did or said something I don't feel quite comfortable with?"

These questions fly continuously through our heads like a swarm of bats.

But if we don't have a way to get a clear answer, we can find our self going back and forth, wondering why we don't seem to be able to get ahead, improve our relationships, or develop a much higher level of self- esteem and abundance.

So the question is . . .

Are you able to clearly hear what your inner voice is saying to you?

Or do you like I am, oftentimes feel confused, unsure whether the signal we receive is coming from our more superficial logical mind . . . and perhaps some external influence or negative past history . . .

Or is it rising up from the deepest, clearest, most pristine part of our self that 100% of the time knows what's most right and appropriate for us in order for us to increasingly experience more joy, love, inner wealth and abundance?

Now here's the REAL question . . .

How is YOUR Internal Radar System?

Is it finely tuned like the radar of the bat I was witnessing at the tree, where we are able to pluck a perfect answer and solution out of obscure darkness the way that bat at night could pluck tiny mosquitoes out of mid-air?

Or do we find ourself over-thinking and torturing yourself everyday trying to make both big and little decisions that affect our life . . . and our loved ones lives . . . just never quite sure if we're making the right decision?

That's to say . . . how certain . . . or uncertain . . . are we of our own Internal Radar?

Our own Inner Guidance System?

And how much would our life improve if we were able to easily "pluck" from all the bewildering possibilities running endlessly through our mind the one clearest, most appropriate, unmistakable signal, answer and solution to each of our great and small relationship, money and personal challenges?

Personally, I've tried to rely on my own Internal Radar System most of my adult life.
It has on most occasions guided me safely and with extraordinary grace through some major life trials, as well as to living a beautiful life where every day I take both little steps and occasional major leaps to both my dreams and my God-given Vision of what that Inner Guidance System has clearly let me know I'm supposed to accomplish in my life.

My secret?

A lot of hard but joyful work . . .

Taking regular exercise and meditation breaks even when working long hour days.

And having a simple but profound system to obtain crystal clear answers and solutions to any challenge or question I may pose to myself.

What about you . . . my friend?

Killer Presentation Skills

J. Douglas Jefferys brings twenty-five years of corporate training experience to his role as a principal of PublicSpeakingSkills.com. Mr. Jefferys has personally trained over 15,000 business presenters in his firm's unique presentation design and delivery skills; He is the author of “And Your Point Is?, A primer on proper presentation design, as well as two full-length videos on designing and delivering presentations that are at once compelling and yet easy on both audience and presenter.

Forget everything you've heard about eye-contact, body language, and voice - it's likely either old-school, or just plain wrong. In this very entertaining, knowledge-packed video, you will see and hear for yourself what has been imprisoning the excellent presenter inside you. The video, filmed before a live audience of 200 and enhanced with studio-overlaid visuals of the relevant slides, you will be privy to the most important presentation delivery skills that has heretofore only shared with private corporate clients.