I have been blessed to live in America for several decades. Three years ago, I posted this video on YouTube, and it is as relevant or even more relevant this year. Please watch this video and let me know your thoughts. If you like it, please share it on Social Media.
A son took his father to a restaurant to enjoy a delicious dinner. His father was quite old and therefore a little weak too. While eating, food occasionally fell on his shirt and pants. The other guests watched the old man with their faces contorted in disgust, but his son remained calm.
After they both finished eating, the son, quietly helped his father and took him to the toilet. Cleaned food scraps from his crumpled face, and attempted to wash food stains from his clothes; graciously combed his gray hair and finally put on his glasses.
As he left the bathroom, a deep silence reigned in the restaurant. The son was ready to foot the bill, but before leaving, a man, also old, got up and asked the old man's son: 'Don't you think you left something here ? '
The young man replied: 'No, I did not leave anything.' Then the stranger said to him: 'You left a lesson here for every son, and a hope for every father! ”The whole restaurant was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
One of the greatest honors that exists, is being able to take care of those who have taken care of us too. Our parents and all those elders who sacrificed their lives, with all their time, money and effort for us, deserve our utmost respect.
“The first police officer reaches under the one-ton bale of hay and attempts to lift it off of me. Of course, it doesn’t budge. He grabs his flashlight and shines it under the hay into my face. I blink. He yells over his shoulder to his partner, “He’s alive! He’s alive! Help me move the hay.”
Even working together, two officers can’t move it – not a fraction of an inch. A thousand pounds each? Of course they can’t move it.
“Cut the strings,” I whisper. My voice is weak. They can’t hear me. I’m not going to last much longer. If they will just cut the strings, the bale will break apart, and they can drag me out of here.
“Lift, Joe, lift!” I hear.
“Just cut the strings,” I mumble.
“C’mon harder.”
“It’s too heavy! We can’t lift it. We gotta go for help! Hang on, we’ll be right back!”
I am alone again in the growing darkness. Wonderful painless, peaceful, irresistible sleep beckons. I struggle to remain conscious.
Where are they? How long does it take for police, fire, ambulance, to arrive? Where is the Coast Guard? Where are the Marines? Where is that one old farmer with enough common sense to just cut the strings?
The desert air grows chilly as the sky darkens. I grow weaker. Dizziness overcomes me and I begin to drift off into that gray space somewhere between the living and the dead.
Help finally arrives. One of the police officers bends down so I can see his face. “Hold on! A fire engine is here. There are six men aboard.”
I do the math. Two big, strong cops and six burly firemen must move a ton of dead weight off me. That’s two hundred forty five pounds each. No way can they possibly do that – but somehow, miraculously, they do. A couple of neighbors who have arrived at the scene stand by to catch me. They lower my limp body to the ground where I lie in a broken heap.
Why didn’t they cut the strings? They could have saved a long, tortured hour.
How heavy is hay? A piece of hay is about the weight of a feather. How many pieces of hay does it take to make two thousand pounds? Lots. That package of sixteen bazillion individual pieces of hay wrapped in a gigantic bundle is a crushing weight. But separated, it would have been nothing. I feel bad saying this, because it makes me sound ungrateful – and I am very grateful to the guys who saved my life that night – but there is a point to be made here, isn’t there?”
True Story, by Chad Hymas
From a Teacher
Today I was running low on pencils so I asked all of my kids to pull out any of my pencils that they had in their desks. I had one student ask me if he could keep his pencils that his mom gave him for school. Of course, I said yes.
He then said, “well, I guess I’ll give you a few so my classmates can have them too.” I thought nothing of it and took the pencils that he handed me. When I was sharpening them, I noticed writing on a few of them. I then realized that my student’s mother took the time to write on his pencils. I asked him if he would mind showing me the rest of them. What I read melted my heart:
- You are so talented.
- This will be a great year.
- You are creative.
- You are phenomenal.
- Never give up.
- You can do this.
- You are knowledgeable.
- You are a math whiz.
- You are intelligent.
- Proud of you everyday.
- I love you.
- You have a brilliant mind.
- You are wonderful.
- You are a problem solver.
- Follow your dreams.
- You are perfect.
- I am proud of you.
- You will change the world.
- You are amazing.
- You are the best.
- You are important.
- This probably took his mom a few minutes to do yet it lit up his whole day at school. He wasn’t embarrassed that his mom wrote on his pencils. Thanks to his mom, he was reminded of his self worth and wanted to share the same feeling with his classmates.
- THESE are the things that we should be reminding our kids (both parents AND teachers). Imagine the look on a child’s face when they are reminded that they are important, talented, loved, knowledgeable and so much more.
- Help them know that someone believes in them and is proud of them in everything they do. Even if you think it is cheesy or you don’t have enough time or that you will have little impact, remember that you may be the only one telling and reminding them these things and EVERY kid needs to know their value. This is why I teach.
A young man went to seek an important position at a large printing company. He passed the initial interview and was going to meet the director for the final interview. The director saw his resume, it was excellent. And asked,'
"Have you received a scholarship for school?" The boy replied, "No".
'It was your father who paid for your studies? '' Yes.' He replied.
'Where does your father work? ' 'My father is a Blacksmith'
The Director asked the young man to show him his hands.
The young man showed a pair of hands soft and perfect.
'Have you ever helped your parents at their job? '
'Never, my parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can do the job better than me.
The director said:
'I have got a request: When you go home today, go and wash the hands of your father and then come see me tomorrow morning.'
The young man felt his chance to get the job was high.
When he returned to his house he asked his father if he would allow him to wash his hands.
His father felt strange, happy, but with mixed feelings and showed his hands to his son. The young man washed his hands, little by little. It was the first time that he noticed his father's hands were wrinkled and they had so many scars. Some bruises were so painful that his skin shuddered when he touched them.
This was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to work every day to be able to pay for his studies. The bruises on the hands were the price that his father payed for his education, his school activities and his future.
After cleaning his father's hands the young man stood in silence and began to tidy and clean up the workshop. That night, father and son talked for a long time.
The next morning, the young man went to the office of the director.
The Director noticed the tears in the eyes of the young man when He asked him,
'Can you tell me what you did and what you learned yesterday at your house?'
The boy replied: 'I washed my father's hands and when I finished I stayed and cleaned his workshop.'
'Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my father I now realize how difficult and hard it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping my family.
The director said, "This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship others go through to accomplish things, and a person who realizes that money is not his only goal in life".
'You are hired'.
A child that has been coddled, protected and given everything he or she wants, develops a mentality of "I have the right" and will always put himself or herself first, ignoring the efforts of parents, family and friends. If we are this type of protective parent are we really showing love or are we helping to destroy our children?
You can give your child their own room in a big house, good food, a computer, tablet, cell phone, and a big screen TV, but when you're washing the floor or painting a wall, children need to experience that too.
After eating, have them wash the dishes with their brothers and sisters, let them fold laundry or cook with you, pull weeds or mow the lawn. You are not doing this because you are poor and can't afford help. You are doing this because you love them and want them to understand certain things about life.
Children need to learn to appreciate the amount of effort it takes to do a job right. They need to experience the difficulties in life that people must overcome to be successful and they must learn about failure to be able to succeed.
Children must also learn how to work and play with others and that they will not always win, but they can always work harder to reach their goals. If they've done their best, then they can take pride in all the effort they put forth.
Life is about giving and serving and these qualities are taught in our homes.
(Anonymous)
Are You Painting A Boat, Or Painting A Better World?
A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.
While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.
When he finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting.
The painter was surprised and said “You've already paid me for painting the boat Sir!”
“But this is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the hole in the boat.”
“Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”
“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened:
“When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole.
“When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.
“They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.
“When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.
“Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.
“Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole!
“You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your 'small' good deed.”
So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the 'leaks' you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone.
Along the way, you may have repaired numerous 'boat holes' for several people without realizing how many lives you've save.
Make a difference....
(Anonymous)
No sports, no pools, no vacations... everything has vome to a halt. Habeeb shares the best gift to give our children, one that will keep giving over and over and over.
A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."
"Is the man of the house home?", they asked. "No," she said. "He's out." "Then we cannot come in," they replied.
In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a House together," they replied. "Why is that?" she wanted to know.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said, pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!" His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?" Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"
"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest." The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"
The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!"
My WISH FOR YOU...
Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.
Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your Ability to work through them.
Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength.
Where there is fear, I wish you love, and courage.
I was walking down life's highway a long time ago.
One day I saw a sign that read,"Heaven's Grocery Store".
As I got a little closer the door came open wide,
and when I came to myself I was standing inside.
I saw a host of Angels, they were standing everywhere.
One handed me a blanket and said, "My Child shop with care".
Everything a Christian needs is in that grocery store,
and all you can't carry, come back the next day for more.
First, I got some Patience, Love was in the same row.
Further down was Understanding, needed everywhere you go.
I got a box or two of Wisdom, a bag or two of Faith,
I just couldn't miss the Holy Ghost, it was all over the place.
I stopped to get some Strength and Courage to help me run this race,
but then my blanket was getting full, and I remembered I needed Grace.
I didn't forget Salvation, which like the others was free,
so I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me.
Then I started to the counter to pay my grocery bill,
for I thought I had everything to do my master's will.
As I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer and had to put it in,
for I knew when I stepped outside, I would run right into sin.
Peace and Joy were plentiful, they were on the last shelf.
Song and Praises were hanging near, so I just helped myself.
Then I said to the Angel, "How much do I owe"?
The Angel smiled and said, "Just take them everywhere you go."
Again, I politely asked "How much do I really owe?"
The Angel smiled again and said,"My Child, Jesus Paid Your Bill
A Long Time Ago."
Epilogue for COVID-19 “they are NEVER out of toilet paper, it wipes our the sins away”
~ Anonynous
Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’
They kissed and the daughter left. The father walked over to the window where I was seated. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but I could not refrain from asking:
‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?’
He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.’
He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more.
‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’
Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more..
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting…
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good- bye.
Pain in life sooner or later will have an upside, and the highs in life don't last forever, so don't take them for granted. Appreciate every moment.
I wish you enough.
(Anonymous, from various sources)
Lessons from King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20)
Although the battle is spiritual not physical, here are my (Habeeb’s) takeaways that still apply to us today. All these are from this one chapter (2 Chronicles 20):
SEEK THE LORD: 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
PRAY TO THE LORD: 9 "If calamity comes upon us... whether ... plague or famine, we will stand in your presence... and will cry out to you in our distress..."
LOOK TO THE LORD" "12 "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
BE COURAGEOUS IN THE LORD: "Do not be afraid or discouraged..."
DEPEND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD: 15 "For the battle is not yours, but God’s."
WORSHIP THE LORD: 18 "and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord."
HAVE FAITH IN THE LORD: 20 “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God.”
PRAISE THE LORD: 21 "praise him for the splendor of his holiness, saying: Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”... 26 they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord."
BE JOYFUL IN THE LORD: 27 "Then... Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem"...
FEAR THE LORD: 29 "The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms."
HAVE PEACE IN THE LORD: 30 "And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
STAY FAITHFUL TO THE LORD: 32 "So Jehoshaphat...followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord."
(c) 2020 ~ written by Habeeb Habeeb | www.habeebhabeeb.com
The Christmas Gift That Cannot Be Bought
My dearest children.
I wish I could buy you this special gift, one that would become your most treasured possession, but sadly it is not for sale.
This is a gift that would give you contentment, respect, and great success. One that would make you more attractive, a better leader, a better partner, and would help you be a better person all the way around.
This gift will become an heirloom, one that you can pass on to your children, one that would make your world a better world.
It is priceless, yet the richest person in the world cannot buy it.
I wish I can give you the gift of knowing your value, knowing that you are priceless, that you matter, that you were born for a purpose. I wish I can convince you that it does not matter how many possessions you have if you don’t possess the right character on the inside.
I wish I can magically inject you with optimism, contentment, character, integrity, honor, courage, noble behavior, kindness, care, and compassion. But I cannot magically do it.
I wish I can shield you from any harm and adversity. I cannot, but I cherish the reality that both me and your grandparents had our share or adversity, and yet we became stronger and came through it better on the other side of our struggles.
I wish I can magically do all that for you, but I cannot. I guess I’ll just have to do for you what my parents did for me. They lived their life modeling the behavior and became my role models. And over time, I realized how their precious gift helped me in every aspect of my life.
They were poor in material possessions but rich in character.
They were less fortunate than their friends but helped those even less fortunate than themselves.
They had broken dreams but learned to live with contentment.
They were wronged but forgave.
They were in the middle of a family quarrel but acted as the peace makers.
They were not college graduates but educated their family and friends in character and good deeds.
They endured horrible hardships but kept their faith in God.
They passed no material inheritance to their children but left them the great legacy of character.
My dear children, I will endeavor to do for you what my parents did for me. As you unwrap my gift during my lifetime, may it become the best Christmas gift I gave to you.
Love forever
Daddy Habeeb
By Habeeb Habeeb, Champaign, Illinois
This is an inspiring and great story about great service on a bad day. The post was from 2015 and was very popular. The actual link is https://www.facebook.com/HabeebSquared/posts/871896682868722 but you can click on the image to go directly to the Facebook post.
It took Joseph 17 years in Egypt as a slave and a prisoner before he became second only to the king. Hang in there and keep the faith.
The measure of a person is the not related to the size of their position or the size of their business, but in the depth of their character and in the manner they treat their team, even the rookie team member... It is also related to the way they marshal and allocate resources in their company to insure everyone treats each other with dignity, kindness, and respect. Everyone on the team matters. Everyone is important. We do it together.
Is your team too busy for the 'latest invention'? Check the cartoon carefully :-)
Hi. I’m Habeeb Habeeb, and this is your motivational minute.
Imagine you are heading to work this morning. You have a slight headache, you did not get your dream job and this job was not your first choice, you know you will get calls from customers that will test your patience… You get to your desk at work and there you find a bouquet of bright flowers and a card. Your dad sent them to you and wrote in the card.
“Good morning Darling. I think of you often and I know you are on your own now. I wanted to brighten your day and tell you how proud I am of you. Your mom and I love you very much. Go knock them dead today. I know you will make all those around you better. Can’t wait to see you when you come home next month.”
Does that change your day for the better? Does it give you a renewed sense of purpose, ”someone loves me and believes in me”. Of course it does.
Kind, loving, encouraging words make our world brighter. If you are a father, send flowers to your daughter and write a nice message inside it. It’s OK to gush. It’s OK to be in touch with your female side. And do something for you son also. Males love encouragement as much as females.
I’m Habeeb Habeeb, and this was your motivational minute. I hope it brightened your day!
Instead of venting on Social Media and employing scorched earth tactics…
Let's watch our words
Give healing
Offer compassion
Show kindness
Be good human beings....
Same World. Different mindsets.
~ Habeeb Habeeb
Hi. I’m Habeeb Habeeb, and this is your motivational minute.
Passion… many people have it. We’re very passionate about the Bears, Cubs, Cardinals, White Sox. Some are passionate about knitting, fishing, camping, running, exercising etc.
No worries: stay passionate about these things, but may I ask us to consider adding one more passion to our lives? Humanity. People. Those who are around us.
How about we turn our Passion into Compassion…. As we go about our lives every day, we encounter many opportunities to shine from within, to glow with an inner light. Let’s say racism is increasing. Wouldn’t it be great to be kind to someone of a different color than us, to open the door for them, to smile at them, to be kind to them.
So I’m wondering: we want our country to be better? What are we waiting for? Treating people humanely does not require passing a law. It only requires us to act, and there is no law against that.
Let’s turn our passion into compassion. Who will you be nice to today?
I’m Habeeb Habeeb, and this was your motivational Minute
