Mi cumpleanos

Como sabrás, nos acercamos nuevamente a la fecha de mi
cumpleaños, todos los años se hace una gran fiesta en mi honor, y creo que este año sucederá lo mismo.

En estos días, la gente hace muchas compras, hay anuncios en las radios, en la televisión, y por todas partes no se habla de otra cosa sino de lo poco que falta
para que llegue el día.

La verdad, es agradable saber que, al menos un día algunas personas piensan
un poco en mi. Como tu sabes, hace mucho años comenzaron a festejar mi cumpleaños.

Al principio no parecían comprender y agradecer lo mucho que hice por ellos, pero hoy en día nadie sabe para que celebran.

La gente se reúne y divierte mucho, pero no sabe de que se trata.

Recuerdo el año pasado, al llegar el día de mi cumpleaños, hicieron una gran fiesta
en mi honor; pero, ¿sabes una cosa?,....... ni siquiera me invitaron.

Yo era el festejado y ni siquiera se acordaron de invitarme, la fiesta era para mí
y cuando llego mi gran día, me dejaron afuera, me cerraron la puerta. y yo quería compartir la mesa con ellos ....... (Apocalipsis 2:20).

La verdad no me sorprendió, porque en los últimos años todos me cierran
las puertas.
Como no me invitaron, se me ocurrió entrar sin hacer ruido y me quede,
en un rincón, estaban todos bebiendo, había algunos borrachos contando chistes, riéndose fuertemente; la estaban pasando en grande.

Para colmo llegó un viejo un viejo gordo, vestido de rojo, de barba blanca
gritando "jo, jo, jo, jo, jo", parecía que había bebido de más, se dejó caer pesadamente en un sillón y todos los niños corrieron hacia él diciendo
"Santa Claus, Santa Claus", como si la fiesta fuera en su honor.

Llegaron las 12 de la noche y todos comenzaron a abrazarse, yo extendí mis brazos esperando que alguien me abrazara.
Y, ¿sabes? Nadie me abrazó.

Tal vez creerán que yo nunca lloro, pero esa noche lloré; me sentía destruido,
como un ser abandonado, triste y olvidado.

Me llegó tan hondo, pero al pasar por tu casa, tú y tu familia me invitaron a pasar, además me trataron como un rey.

Tú y tu familia realizaron una verdadera fiesta en la que yo era el invitado de honor, además cantaron himnos recordando mi nacimiento; hacía tanto tiempo que a nadie
se le ocurría hacer eso.

Que Dios bendiga a todas las familias como la tuya, yo jamás dejo de estar con ellas ese día y todos los días.

Otra cosa que me asombra es que el día de mi cumpleaños en vez de hacerme
regalos a mí, se regalan unos a otros.

¿Tu que sentirías si se hicieran regalos unos a otros y a ti no te regalaran nada?

Una vez alguien me dijo:
¿Cómo te voy a regalar algo si nunca te veo?

Ya te imaginarás lo que le dije:
"Regala comida, ropa y ayuda a los pobres, visita a los enfermos
y a los que están solos y yo lo contaré como si me lo hubieras
hecho a mí".... (Mateo 25, 34-40).

Recuerdo lo que sucedió a un anciano llamado Juan, un día de mi cumpleaños
anduvo de casa en casa pidiendo posada porque tenía hambre y no tenía familia.

Tocó en muchas puertas sin que en ninguna le invitaran a la mesa, se dio
por vencido al ver que ni siquiera esa noche iba a sentir el calor de un hogar.

¿Que tienes Juan? El dijo: "Es que nadie me invitó a pasar"

Yo me senté a un lado de él y le dije:
"No te apures que a mí tampoco me han dejado entrar".

Pero toda paciencia tiene un limite, aun la MIA. Voy a contarte un secreto:
como son pocos los que me invitan a la fiesta que han hecho, estoy pensando
en hacer mi propia fiesta, una fiesta grandiosa como la que jamás se hubiera imaginado.

Una fiesta espectacular con grandes personalidades: Abraham, Moisés,
el rey David y otros.

Todavía estoy haciendo los últimos arreglos, por lo que quizá no
sea este año.

Estoy enviando muchas invitaciones y hoy, querido amigo, hay una invitación
para ti.

Sólo que quiero que me digas si quieres asistir y te reservaré un lugar, y escribiré
tu nombre con letras de oro en mi gran libro de invitados.

Prepárate, porque cuando todo esté listo, daré la gran sorpresa. Hasta pronto.

1964 : The Shangri-Las score a #1 hit with "Leader Of The Pack"

During the early-60s girl-group explosion, the Shangri-Las score their first and only #1 hit on this day in 1964 with the famously melodramatic epic "Leader Of The Pack."

From its sweet beginnings in a candy store—"He turned around and smiled at me/You get the picture?"—the romance described in "Leader Of The Pack" between the song's protagonist and her leather jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding boyfriend, Jimmy, quickly progresses in the face of strong disapproval from her parents—"They told me he was bad/But I knew he was sad." It was a song, in other words, perfectly calibrated to appeal to the romantic fantasies of America's teenage girls—fantasies that blended wholesome innocence with hints of danger, rebellion and darkly handsome boyfriends.

But if "Leader Of The Pack" gave the impression that the Shangri-Las themselves were girls of the worldly-wise, gum-snapping, white lipstick-wearing variety, the truth was rather different. In fact, the Shangri-Las were a quartet of clean-cut high school classmates from Queens—two sets of sisters, in fact. And according to "Leader Of The Pack" co-writer and co-producer Ellie Greenwich, the Weiss and Ganser sisters were so inexperienced and so nervous about the subject matter of what eventually become their career-defining hit, that the recording session was fraught with difficulty, requiring "spoon-feeding, mothering, big-sistering and reprimanding" just to get the Shangri-Las through it.

For Ellie Greenwich and her then-husband/songwriting partner, Jeff Barry, "Leader Of The Pack" was their second #1 hit, following on the Dixie Cups' "Chapel Of Love," a song that spun a very different kind of teenage fantasy. Like their former colleagues Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry and Greenwich were responsible for many of the classic works associated with the peak of the girl-group era, including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Crystals' "And Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" (all from 1963). They also wrote later #1 hits for Manfred Mann—"Doo Wah Diddy Diddy" (1964)—and Tommy James and the Shondells—"Hanky Panky" 1966

This is a "thought-provoking" message read it!

Relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to
be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take
the time
to read long

jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer.

Friends, who pray together, stay together.

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to
see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God
and an
understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on
blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or
thought that was not
pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each
and every
day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me
continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when
I sin,
let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive
the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example --
to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when
I'm pushed
beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my
heart. Continue to use me to do

Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong
that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of
encouragement
for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I
pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who
don't know
You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing
it
with others. I

pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for
all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their
households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt
and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem,
circumstance, or situation

greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I
pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees
them and every
mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Pass this message to 20 people except you and me.
Don't ignore and God will bless you. Know that you are already blessed
by the person who sent this to you.

1942 : Jimi Hendrix born

Guitar legend Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle. Hendrix grew up playing guitar, imitating blues greats like Muddy Waters as well as early rockers. He joined the army in 1959 and became a paratrooper but was honorably discharged in 1961 after an injury that exempted him from duty in Vietnam. In the early 1960s, Hendrix worked as a pickup guitarist, backing musicians including Little Richard, B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, and Sam Cooke. In 1964, he moved to New York and played in coffeehouses, where bassist Bryan Chandler of the British group the Animals heard him. Chandler arranged to manage Hendrix and brought him to London in 1966, where they created the Jimi Hendrix Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. The band's first single, "Hey Joe," hit No. 6 on the British pop charts, and the band became an instant sensation.

In 1967, the Jimi Hendrix Experience made its first U.S. appearance, at the Monterey Pop Festival. Hendrix made a splash by burning his guitar and was quickly established as a rock superstar. In the next two years, before the band broke up in 1969, it had released such classic songs as "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," and "The Wind Cries Mary." The band's albums included Are You Experienced? (1967), Bold as Love (1969), and Electric Ladyland (1969).

After the band dissolved because of creative tensions, Hendrix made his famous appearance at Woodstock, playing a masterful, intricate version of "The Star Spangled Banner." Later that year, he put together a new group called the Band of Gypsies, which debuted on New Year's Eve in 1969. The band put out only one album, Band of Gypsies (1969). (A second album, Band of Gypsies II, was released in 1986.) Hendrix then recorded another album, without the band, called The Cry of Love, which was released in 1971.

Hendrix, one of the most innovative guitar players of the rock era, established an advanced recording studio in New York called the Electric Lady, boasting 46-track recording technology. The studio opened in August 1970, shortly before Hendrix died in London in September 1970, following a drug overdose. He was 27.

Laughter, it is real medicine

DOCTORS' ORDERS
Let go---laugh
some use laughter to manage chronic pain. some might suffered from
ankylosing spondylitis, the same disease that Dr Norman cousins had.
(You
might recall that Dr. Norman Cousins popularized the notion that the
body's
natural pain-killers are released when we laugh: he discovered that if
he
laughed for ten minutes he could sleep without pain for thirty.) some
report
that laughter managed pain, but that mostly it helped to cope
emotionally
with the condition.

Some find that laughter helped their children fall asleep. (They invent
all
sorts of games involving laughter that calmed children down enough to
rest.)
After a few minutes of laughter, children are out till morning (and
everyone
could rest easy).

What a powerful prescription laughter is, and one that can be applied to
so
many situations.

Laughter is free, fun, mood-altering, relaxing, life-changing,
relationship-building, tension-breaking, . But it does not come without
a
price: that of letting go.

You can't hold a grudge when you laugh. In those moments you give into
something more powerful: joy.

What a small price to pay.

This week, is there someone you with whom you could share a laugh?

1973 : Ringo Starr earns a solo #1 hit with "Photograph"

Ringo Starr becomes the third former Beatle to earn a solo #1 hit when "Photograph" tops the Billboard Hot 100 on November 24, 1973.

Ringo Starr—the man who replaced Pete Best on drums in the Beatles in 1962—once famously proclaimed of his role in the group that he was "joost happy to be here." But just because he was willing to act the part of the blindly lucky tagalong on the Beatles' gravy train doesn't mean that it was true. Ringo Starr's quietly spectacular drumming laid a foundation for the Beatles' revolutionary sound, and his self-effacing charm became a key component of the Fab Four's popular identity. But Starr's likability was no creation of the media. Indeed, even if fans could never agree on who their favorite Beatle was, there can be no question who was the Beatles' own favorite: It was Ringo—the one and only member of the Fab Four who maintained a solid friendship with each of his former band mates even after their acrimonious breakup.

Proof of Ringo Starr's special place within the Beatles can be found in his beautiful 2004 book Postcards from the Boys, a collection of sweet, funny and heartfelt cards sent to Starr by his famous former band mates both during and after their years together as Beatles. It is no accident that the former Mr. Richard Starkey was the only former Beatle to have such a collection gathering dust in a drawer at home, just as it is no accident that the only musical project to which all four Beatles ever contributed after their 1970 breakup was his 1973 album Ringo.

Ringo yielded two #1 hits for Starr: "Photograph," which topped the Billboard pop chart on this day in 1973; and "You're Sixteen," which did the same just two months later. "Photograph" was co-written by George Harrison, who also contributed backing vocals and a 12-string guitar solo to the track. Harrison had been the first solo Beatle to top the pop charts back in December 1970 with "My Sweet Lord," followed shortly thereafter by Paul McCartney with his two-sided 1971 hit "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." McCartney contributed the song "Six O'Clock" to Ringo as well as backing vocals on "You're Sixteen." John Lennon, who became the final former Beatle to top the pop charts when "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" hit #1 in November 1974, wrote the opening track of Ringo—"I'm The Greatest"—on which he also played piano and sang backup.

The New Version of Footprints

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.

For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently...

You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps.

Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one..

This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints.. They have become one.

This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.

You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray: 'Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You.'

'That is correct.'
'And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely..'

'Very good.. You have understood everything so far..' When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way.'

'Precisely.'
'So, Lord, was there a regression or something ? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.'

There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.

'You didn't know? It was then that we danced!