A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like

that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under

the store owner's sign. "How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he asked.

The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50." The little boy reached in his pocket

and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37," he said.

"Can I please look at them?" The store owner smiled and whistled and out of

the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five

teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind.

Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said,

"What's wrong with that little dog?" The store owner explained that the

veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn't

have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The

little boy became excited. "That is the puppy that I want to buy." The

store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you really

want him, I'll just give him to you." The little boy got quite upset. He

looked straight into the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger, and said,

"I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as

much as all the other dogs and I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you

$2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for." The store owner

countered, "You really don't want to buy this little dog. He is never going

to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies." To

his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to

reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace.

He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, "Well, I don't run so

well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!" We

ALL need someone who Understands!!

Horror gripped the heart of the World War I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle.

Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant

if he might go out into the "No Man's Land" between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back.

"You can go," said the Lieutenant, "but I don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably

dead and you may throw your own life away." The Lieutenant's words didn't matter, and the soldier

went anyway. Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder, and bring

him back to their company's trench.

As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded

soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. "I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said.

"Your friend is dead, and you are mortally wounded."

"It was worth it, though, sir," the soldier said.

"How do you mean, 'worth it'?" responded the Lieutenant. "Your friend is dead!"

"Yes sir," the private answered.

"But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive, and I

had the satisfaction of hearing him say, 'Jim, I knew you'd come.'"

"A true friend is the greatest of all blessings and the one which we take the least thought to acquire."

We often learn the most from our children. Some time ago, a friend of mine 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 . Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father

the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction,

but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, "Don't you know

that when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside of it?" The little girl

looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Daddy it's not empty. I blew kisses into the box.

All for you, Daddy." The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged

her forgiveness. My friend told me that he kept that gold box by his bed for years. Whenever he

was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put

it there.

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose

of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next

door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry,

the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When

his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry."

A father just came home from work. His son was waiting for him at the door. As he came in, his

son asked "How much do you make an hour, daddy?" Being tired from work the man was very angry

that his son had asked him this. He said "Your mother doesn't even know that!" "But please

daddy, how much do you make an hour?" The man said "Fine, I make 25$ an hour." Hearing that

the son left the room.

After some time, his son came back to him and asked, " Daddy will you please give me 10$?"

But he was too tired to do anything. So he just told his son to leave him alone. That night

he felt bad for the way he treated his little boy. So he got out of bed and went to his

son's room. The boy was still awake. He went over to him and gave him the $10 he had asked

for. Immediately the son picked up his piggybank, took out all the money from it and kept

everything on his daddy's hand. The man didn't understand what's going on, so he asked

his son, "What's the matter son?" His son replied," Daddy I want to buy one

hour of your time......."

-=-=-=- Have you hugged and spent time with your child today? -=--==

There was a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice,

he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the boys, he got absolutely

nowhere. At all the games this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special

relationship. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in

the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of

the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but

also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn't

want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He

was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he'd get to

play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a

practice nor a game, but remained a bench-warmer all four years. His

faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of

encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to

try out for the football team as a "walk-in." Everyone was sure he could

never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the

roster because he always puts his heart and soul into every practice, and

at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle

they badly needed. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so

much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father

shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college

games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four

years at college, but he never got to play in a game. It was the end of his

senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly

before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young

man read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he

mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning. Is it all right if I

miss practice today?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and

said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't even plan to come back

to the game on Saturday." Saturday arrived, and the game was not going

well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent

young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his

football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were

astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon. "Coach, please let

me play. I've just got to play today," said the young man. The coach

pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in

this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling

sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go

in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could

not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before

was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran,

he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The

score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid

intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans

broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering

you never heard. Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had

showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this young man

was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and

said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into

you? How did you do it?" He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes,

and said, "Well, you knew my Dad died, but did you know that he was blind?"

The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came to all my games,

but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him

I could do it!"

The old man turned to me and asked, "How many friends have you?"

Why 10 or 20 friends have I, And named off just a few

He rose quite slow with effort and sadly shook his head

"A lucky child you are to have so many friends," he said,

But think of what you're saying

There is so much you do not know

A friend is just not someone to whom you say "Hello".

A friends lends a tender shoulder on which to softly cry

A well to pour your troubles down And raise your spirits high

A friend is a hand to pull you up from darkness and despair...

When all your other "so called" friends have helped to put you there

A true friend is an ally who can't be moved or bought

A voice to keep your name alive When others have forgot

But most of all a friend is a heart A strong and sturdy wall

For from the hearts of friends there comes the greatest love of all!

So think of what I've spoken for every word is true

And answer once again my child, "How many friends have you?"

And then he stood and faced me Awaiting my reply

I Pinged her heart and waited for reply?