Four Ice Cream Cones

By Mary Nella McLaughlin on June 05, 2014 / 3,808 views

By Mary Nella McLaughlin on June 05, 2014 / 3,808 views

16 year old Marrissa and I went out for ice cream after the service. We had just heard a challenging message on meals that count. A meal that counts is when you invite someone to eat with you that you don’t know or have as a guest someone who needs a meal and friendship. We were mulling this over as we drove to 31 Flavors. We passed a young man standing by himself in front of the door. Marrissa nudged me,...

Interesting Travels

By Joseph J. Mazzella on June 05, 2014 / 1,514 views

The curvy, rugged roads here in the mountains of my home can make for some very interesting travels at times. In the last few weeks I have had my nostrils stung when the smell of a squashed skunk got sucked through the open windows of my car. I have screeched to a stop to let a group of whitetail deer cross the road. I have swerved to miss a wandering dog who was paying more attention to his nose than his eyes. I...

WHAT NEXT? SING

By LINDA BOYLAN on June 05, 2014 / 4,476 views

Her frame is small but her voice is BIG. I love to open my window to listen as her words come up and over and spill into my kitchen. It’s not so much as the words she sings as it is the passion that I’m drawn to. Ten years old with lots to say but she forms her words into a song. Original tunes and lyrics flow from her with ease as I recall a little girl who used to do the exact same thing; me. Our flat...

The Perfect Guy

By Drew on June 04, 2014 / 8,182 views

By Drew on June 04, 2014 / 8,182 views

I was struggling with a long distance relationship for quite some time, with no more feelings from my side, practically I was in the process of ending it, when I met this boy, yes you might wonder why I said boy because when I first saw him in the living room of my sister’s house, he seemed like a 16 year old boy, with a very cute baby face, his 16 years turned out to be 27(I was 28)… it was a set up date,...

4 Years Ago I Was Told By Doctors That I'd Probably Never Move Anything Below My Shoulders Again

By Paul on June 02, 2014 / 7,308 views

By Paul on June 02, 2014 / 7,308 views

I suffered a C5 incomplete SCI from a football hit October 2009. My neck was broken, my spinal cord bruised, compressed and bleeding. I was paralyzed from the shoulders down. I was rushed into emergency surgery to stabilize the spinal cord. After a few weeks I was classified by a team of neurosurgeons, neurologists and physiatrists as C5/6 sensory incomplete (I could kind of feel when someone touched my legs),...

An Old Man's Smile

By Sunshine on June 02, 2014 / 15,297 views

By Sunshine on June 02, 2014 / 15,297 views

It was another rainy day, it had stopped raining but the ground was still wet, with this remarkable smell of freshness, I was in the car with my friend, and ahead of us was this old pathetic looking old man, with a cane in his hand as it seemed he was having hard time standing up or barely doing any effort-, I have always had a weakness to old people; they break my heart, especially the ones begging on the streets,...

How Bipolar, Stabilizing My Life, And Karma Literally Saved My Life From Bacterial Meningitis.

By Sarah on June 01, 2014 / 6,743 views

We're sorry, this content has been...

Rebirth After Traumatic Heartbreak

By Dalia on May 31, 2014 / 6,031 views

To say that I got burnt, would be an understatement. After many heartbreaks, I meet the man who I considered to be the love of my life and best friend. I truly believed all the heartbreaks in the past had happened to lead me to him. We get engaged and I’m on cloud nine. A wedding date was set, dress paid for, venue booked, etc. Nine months into our engagement and five months before we were scheduled to get married...

My Birthday Gift

By Yogi on May 30, 2014 / 7,241 views

I grew up with a father who was always away from home, always at his work, never had time for us because he was always working hard to get us the best life he could, he is the most generous and caring person you can ever meet, but simply we couldn’t feel it much since he was away.... years passed by and dad got older and he got sick, he started forgetting things, forgetting incidents, places, people... its been...

A Dish Of Ice Cream

By Lisa P. on May 29, 2014 / 10,846 views

By Lisa P. on May 29, 2014 / 10,846 views

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "50 cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting...

I Made A New Friend

By Dave on May 29, 2014 / 1,530 views

Today I had a moment where I actually enjoyed working in retail. I work at a certain big blue electronics retailer, in the video games department. A little girl came in with her grandmother and asked me if we had any copies of Pokemon Conquest. That morning when I was getting ready to open, I had only seen one copy. I told her I thought we had one left, and took her over to where it was. It was still...

Putting On My Glasses

By Joseph J. Mazzella on May 21, 2014 / 11,421 views

I was in the middle of a delightful dream last night when suddenly a loud CRASH startled me awake. The dogs in my bedroom all started to bark loudly. With my heart pounding I stumbled out of my bed and stubbed my toe on the dresser. I yelped and hopped on one foot as I fearfully opened my bedroom door. A dark form flashed by me and banged into the bedroom door. I jumped back, tripped over my smallest dog, and fell...

Pass The Love Forward

By Mary Nella McLaughlin on May 19, 2014 / 8,494 views

By Mary Nella McLaughlin on May 19, 2014 / 8,494 views

I tried to find an organized prayer event in the city of Stockton where I am but to no avail, so I took off prayer walking on my own. I was almost home when I passed a convenience store and had an urge for coconut water! I have never bought a can of coconut water in my life. I didn’t even know if there was such a thing. I tried to talk myself out of it since I was just three blocks from my house. It would seem...

Who Says You Can't?

By Chantal Stoddard on May 18, 2014 / 10,663 views

Life was good before things fell apart. I was a medical receptionist, and had a wonderful family. But one day that all changed. My husband wanted a separation, and my Crohn's disease had gotten worse and I couldn't keep working where I was because of it. But I saw this as an opportunity to change. I decided to try my hand at Carpentry, and moved away with my daughter to go to school. This course was the hardest...

Graduation Speech

By Unknown on May 16, 2014 / 8,148 views

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-three students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and moms freely brushed away tears. This class would not pray during the commencements; not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. The principal...

What Wonders

By Joseph J. Mazzella on May 12, 2014 / 2,001 views

There comes a day in the mountains of my home when I can finally say that Spring is here to stay. That day was today. April was getting ready to give way to May. A rain the day before had made the air so fresh that I could feel my lungs expand joyfully with each new breath. The sunshine had chased the clouds away and seemingly over night a million little dandelions had appeared to reflect its yellow light....

A History Of Strong, Single Women And Mother's Day

By Amanda Richter on May 11, 2014 / 7,643 views

By Amanda Richter on May 11, 2014 / 7,643 views

Mother's Day is a terrific time to honor the women who put their family's care, well-being and happiness above all else. While motherhood is always challenging, single moms have a special reason to celebrate Mother's Day. Hard work, long hours, sacrifices and doing the job of both Mom and Dad can be exhausting—here's to the women who do it alone. As a single mom on Mother's Day, celebrate your hard work and...