Wise Parables from Children

A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest. Their insight may surprise you...

Better to be safe than.....Punch a 5th grader.

Strike While the.....Bug is close.

It's always darkest before.....Daylight Savings time.

Never underestimate the power of.....Termites.

You can lead a horse to water but.....how?

Don't bite the hand that.....looks dirty.

No news is.....impossible.

A miss is as good as a .....Mr.

You can't teach an old dog new.....math.

If you lie down with dogs, you'll.....stink in the morning.

Love all, trust.....me.

The pen is mightier than the .....pigs.

An idle mind is.....The best way to relax.

Where there's smoke there's.....Pollution.

Happy the bride who.....gets all the presents.

A penny saved is.....not much.

Two's company, three's.....the Musketeers.

Don't put off till tomorrow what.....you put on to go to bed.

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and.....you have to blow your nose.

None are so blind as.....Helen Keller.

Children should be seen and not.....spanked or grounded.

If at first you don't succeed.....get new batteries.

You get out of something what you.....see pictured on the box.

When the blind leadeth the blind.....get out of the way.

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of its water and was only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.

~ Author Unknown

Daddy's Poem

My sister-in-law, Pam Martin, checks in on my blog every now and then and noticed that a lot of what I post is inspirational in nature. So she e-mailed me this poem and, after reading it, I knew I had to share it with all of you. I do have to warn you, though, that you had better have a kleenex nearby because you will need it by the time you reach the end unless your heart is made of stone.


Daddy's Poem

Her hair was up in a pony tail,
her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
and she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;
she knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
for her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees
a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
for everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
a student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
a man who wasn't there.

'Where's her daddy at?'
She heard a boy call out.
'She probably doesn't have one,'
another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
she heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad,
too busy to waste his day.'

The words did not offend her,
as she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,
slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
came words incredibly unique.

'My Daddy couldn't be here,
because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
and how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories
he taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's always with me,
even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
he'll forever be in my heart. '

With that, her little hand reached up,
and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
but its message clear and loud.

'I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
but heaven's just too far.

You see he is a Marine
and died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
and taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away.'
And then she closed her eyes,
and saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
she witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
they saw him at her side.

'I know you're with me Daddy,'
to the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
for each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,
by the love of her shining star.
And given the gift of believing,
that heaven is never too far.


I want to express my gratitude to the men and women who have sacrificed and are sacrificing their time and sometimes even their very lives to fight for freedom and peace. I am grateful to the parents who raised these men and women of valor. And my most humble thanks goes out to those families that are left behind, some who never see their loved ones again when they are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

Thank you, my friends!

And thank you, Pam, for proving that even grown men cry. I know now to never open your e-mails while I am at work.

If this has touched you in any way, I hope you will share it with others.

Something to Smile At!

Hello, again, all my fellow bloggers and blogettes along with all you blog readers and ... readettes? If any of you check my blog regularly, you will notice that I have been absent from the Land of Blog for over a week. I was so looking forward to posting something special for the 4th of July, too, but, unfortunately, life happened.

The day before Independence Day I started to catch a cold. It figures that I could run around all winter in nothing other than sweatpants and a light sweatshirt totally soaked with sweat and not get sick, but, as soon as we hit the 100-degree temperatures, I get a cold. The hard part of it is that I felt like I was almost over it this morning and then, all of a sudden, it just about knocked me out for the count this afternoon. It is now worse than it has ever been and I totally feel like crud. But it is what it is.

I don't like to dwell on the unfortunates of life, so I am so glad to have stumbled across the video below. I needed something to make me smile and this totally did the job. I apologize for the name of the video and website, but it is totally worth visiting http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/ and seeing what it is all about. Enjoy the show!

(Tip - Before you hit play, pause the music at the bottom of my page so you don't have overlapping songs.)