motivational stories - THE 4 WIVES

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and
adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and
gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to
show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she
might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact
is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always
turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult
times.

Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in
maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However,
the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly
took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He
thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I
die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing
and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me
company?" "No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The sad merchant
then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good
over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned
cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped
me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very
most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and
the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go."
The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she
suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken
much better care of you while I could have !"

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it
look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to
 others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for
us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and
sensual pleasure.

PUPPIES FOR SALE - inspirational stories, motivational stories,

 

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the
pups and set about Nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving
the last nail into the post, he Felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the
Eyes of a little boy.
Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these
puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he
pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine
cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whistle,"Here,Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls
of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced
with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else
stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this One
noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner
the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy.
He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began
rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running
down both sides of his leg attaching itself To a specially made shoe. Looking back
up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need
Someone who understands."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands

 motivational story -
Inspirational God Story : Wait For The Brick
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in
his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down
when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick
smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot
where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest
kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he
pleaded.
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked
car.
"It's my brother," he said.
"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his
wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly
lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed
at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother
down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was
very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there
to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you
to get your attention!

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't
have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

motivational sayings & stories - A Box Full of Kisses

 

 
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll
of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to
decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to
her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."

The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he
found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give
someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him
with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box.
They're all for you, Daddy."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her
forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept
that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out
an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a
gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses... from our children,
family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession,
anyone could hold, more precious than this.
 

 inspirational motivational stories - The Wooden Bowl

 

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year old
grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step
faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly
grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled
off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the
tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must
do something about grandfather," said the son. I've had enough of his spilled milk,
noisy eating, and food on the floor. So the husband and wife set a small table in
the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner
at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was
served in a wooden bowl. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's
direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple
had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The
four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on
the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the
boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food
from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The
words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream
down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the
family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some
reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was
dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. Children are remarkably perceptive.
Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the
messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere
for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The
wise parent realizes that every day that building blocks are being laid for the
child's future.

Let us all be wise builders and role models. Take care of yourself, ... and those you
love, ... today, and everyday!

stories that inspire - Trees That Wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes
and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be
filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and
everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and
queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in
me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the
forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the
heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all
time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen
came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong
tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it
down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a
treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to
sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way
to becoming a mighty ship.
 When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he
knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen
said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it
down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals.
He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed
for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a
mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large
pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their
dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the
baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that
he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree
could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure
of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second
tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a
great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe.
The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped.
At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the
people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was
nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the
tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as
close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always
know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great
gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not
our ways, but His ways are always best.

Inspirational stories

A short inspirational story :Two frogs

 

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them
fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit
was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The
two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit
with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop,
 that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took
heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down
and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again,

the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He
jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the
other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to
them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the
entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging

word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it
through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes

to kill them.

Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your
path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand
that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak
words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in
difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time
to encourage another.

Sand and Stone

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the
journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who
got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST
FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one,
who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST
FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote
in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where
winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we
must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND, AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS
IN STONE
Mothers day - inspiring story about mother
( an inspiring motivational story )

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived
two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.
He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother.
But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."
The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.
As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."
She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

 Inspirational love stories -  Love and Time

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness,
Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the
feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible
moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no
place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity,
please help me!"
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"
Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when
Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed
and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they
arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the
elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of
understanding how valuable Love is."

The Making Of A Mother - inspiring mother stories

By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the
sixth day working overtime.  An Angel  appeared and
said "Why are you spending so much  time on this
one?"

And the Lord answered and  said, "Have you read the
spec sheet on her? She has to be completely
washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable parts, all
replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a
lap that can hold three children at one time and that
disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can
cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart;
and have six pairs of hands." 

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs
of hands! No way!"  said the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem.  It's the
three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!" 

"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see
through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing
even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head
are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she
can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head.  They are for
looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves
him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord  "This is too much work for one day.
Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this

creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself 
when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of
hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower." 

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have
made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You
have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel. 

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able
to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the
woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like You have a leak with this model. I
told You that You were trying to put too much into  this one."

"That's not a leak." the Lord objected.  "That's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked. 

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow,
her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her
pride."  

The Angel was impressed.  "You are a genius, Lord.  You thought of
everything for this one.  You even created the tear!"

The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are
wrong again.  I created the woman, but she created the tear!"
 The Buzzard, The Bat, and the Bumblebee
 

If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top,
the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that
a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet.
Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will
remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air,
cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it
can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some
slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes
off like a flash.

A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is
taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find
some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none
exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bee. They
are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the
answer is right there above them.