We Didn't Have The Green Thing In My Day . . . . BUT

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.

The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said that she was right our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain: Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.

But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.

We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

Dinner was cooked and desserts made in our own kitchen.  We didn't buy everything and then have gobs of trash for landfill.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing."

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

The Touching Story of the Boy Who Listened and Did!!

The little boy put on his warm clothes, since it was so cold and wet outside, and then told his father:

"Ok dad, I'm ready"

His Dad, the pastor, said: "Ready for what?"

"Dad, it's time to go outside and distribute our flyers."

Dad replied: "Son, it's very cold outside and it's drizzling."

The child looked surprised at his father and said: "But dad, people need to know about God even on rainy days."

Dad replied, "Son, I'm not going outside in this weather."

With despair, the child said: "Dad, can I go alone? Please!"

His father waited for a moment and then said: "Son, you can go. Here's the flyers, be safe."

"Thank you dad!"

And with this, the son went out into the rain. The 11-Year-old walked all the streets of the village, handing out the flyers to the people he saw.

After 2 hours walking in the rain and in the cold and with his last flyer in his hand, he stopped on a corner to see if he saw someone to give the flyer too, but the streets were now totally deserted. Then he turned to the first house he saw, walked to the front door, touched the bell several times and waited, but no one came out.

Finally the boy turned to leave, but something stopped him. The child turned back to the door and began to touch the bell and pound the door strongly with his knuckles. He kept waiting while he continued to knock. Finally the door was opened gently.

An older lady opened the door with a very sad look and gently asked:

"What can I do for you, son?"

With radiant eyes and a bright smile the child said "Lady, I'm sorry if I bothered you, but I just want to tell you that God really loves you and that I came to give you my last flyer, which talks about God and His great love for you."

The boy then gave her the flyer.

She just said, "Thank you, son, God bless you!"

Well, the next Sunday morning, the pastor was at the pulpit and when the service began he asked:
"Does someone have a testimony or something they want to share?"

Gently, in the back row of the church, an older lady stood up. When she started talking, a radiant and glorious look sprouted from her eyes:

"Nobody in this church knows me. I have never been here, even last Sunday I was not Christian.
My husband died a while ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday was a particularly cold and rainy day, and it was also in my heart; that on this day I came to the end of the road, since I had no hope and didn't want to live anymore.
I took a chair and a rope and went up to the attic of my house. I tied one end of the rope to the rafters of the roof; then I climbed onto the chair and put the other end of the rope around my neck."
I stood on the chair, so alone and heartbroken, I was about to throw myself off the chair, when suddenly I heard the loud sound of the door being knocked.
So I thought: 'I'll wait for a minute and whoever it is will go.
I waited and waited, but the door knocking was getting louder and louder every time. It got so loud that I couldn't ignore it anymore.
So I wondered, who could it be?
No one ever comes close to my door or comes to visit me!
I released the rope from my neck and went to the door, while the bell was still ringing and the door was still being knocked on.
When I opened the door, I couldn't believe what my eyes saw  -  in front of my door was the most radiant and angelic child I've ever seen.
His smile, ohhh, I can never describe it! The words that came out of his mouth made my heart, dead so long ago, come back to life, when he said with the VOICE OF A CHERUB: 'Lady, I just want to tell you that God really loves you'.
When the little angel disappeared between the cold and the rain, I closed my door and read every word of the flyer.
Then I went to the attic to remove the chair and rope.
I didn't need them anymore, as you see. Now I am a happy daughter of the King.

From the direction of the boy and his flyer, I was to come to this church. I came personally to say thank you to that little angel of God who came just in time, and in fact, to rescue my life from an eternity in hell. And replaced it with an eternity in God's presence. "

The story touched the whole congregation and tears were in their eyes, with a radiant countenance upon them.

The Pastor walked down from the pulpit, where his little angel was sitting; he took his son in his arms and thanked him for listening to and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  They both walked to the back of the church to hug the lonely women and invite them to their home for dinner and much needed company.

Remember, God's message can make a big difference in someone's life, never be afraid to spread it.

I Became A Teacher Because of the GREAT Example of A Teacher

An old man meets a young man who asks:

“Do you remember me?”

And the old man says no. Then the young man tells him he was his student, And the teacher asks:

“What do you do, what do you do in life?”

The young man answers:

“Well, I became a teacher.”

“Ah, how good, like me?” Asks the old man.

“Well, yes. In fact, I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you.”

The old man, curious, asks the young man at what time he decided to become a teacher. And the young man tells him the following story:

“One day, a friend of mine, also a student, came in with a nice new watch, and I decided I wanted it and I stole it, I took it out of his pocket.

Shortly after, my friend noticed the flight and immediately complained to our teacher, who was you. Then you went to the class:

‘This student's watch was stolen during classes today. Whoever stole it, please return it.’

I didn't give it back because I didn't want to. Then you closed the door and told us all to get up and you were going to search our pockets one by one until the watch was found. But you told us to close our eyes, because you would only look for his watch if we all had our eyes closed.

So we did, and you went from pocket to pocket, and when you went through my pocket, you found the watch and took it. You kept searching everyone's pockets, and when you were done you said

‘open your eyes. We have the watch.’

You didn't tell me and you never mentioned the episode. You never said who stole the watch either. That day you saved my dignity forever. It was the most shameful day of my life.

But this is also the day my dignity was saved and I decided not to become a thief, a bad person, etc. You never said anything, nor even scold me or took me aside to give me a moral lesson, I received your message clearly.

And thanks to you, I understood what a real educator needs to do. Do you remember this episode, professor?

And the professor answers:

‘I remember the situation, the stolen watch, which I was looking for in everyone’s pocket, but I didn't remember you, because I also closed my eyes while looking.’

This is the essence of teaching:

If to correct you must humiliate; you don't know how to teach "