Soul Candy

[Wake]

I like the good things in life. Making people smile. Bringing people's spirits up. Caring for people as a health care professional. Live by the Golden Rule, and let not your heart be troubled by the bad things in life. That thing we call a soul is influenced by both negative and positive energies. When you are afflicted by those malicious vibes, it can poison your soul. So, what you need is a pick-me-up. A way to detox, and feel happier and more positive, you know?

So, I'm going to make this thread with that goal in mind, because I'd like to have something to pull my spirits up, recharge my soul, and feel better. There's so much garbage happening in this world. Most of the news we hear is bad, too. And because life is so short, why waste it on the negative, when you can make a long and winding path lined with all the roses it has to offer?

 

[Wake]

For starters, this video really put me in a good mood, because of the man's expressions when he learned he was going to be a grandfather. After sharing it with my family, I shared it here on USMB earlier, and now I'm adding it here, too, because it fits perfectly. I love this video, and it never gets old.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2sM7tzILeE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2sM7tzILeE[/ame]

 

[Gracie]

Gosh. Soul Candy is a great title.

Soul Candy on Pinterest

 

[Gracie]

 

[Wake]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWFau-Q6HM4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWFau-Q6HM4[/ame]

These two children from Denver got one huge surprise from the Easter bunny this year.

"This is going to be what you always wanted," their father, Jacob Ouellette, told his sweet children, Ethan, 3, and Faithlyn, 6, in a YouTube video announcing his wife's pregnancy.

As the children anxiously cracked open their Easter eggs, the very last one from their baskets, they weren't exactly sure what the ultrasound photos found inside were supposed to mean.

"What is that a picture of?," mom, Hannah, asked, trying to coax the kids along.

"I can't tell," little Faithlyn replied.

Unable to hold in the good news any longer, Ouellette continues, "We have something to tell you. Mommy's going to have another baby."
DSP Fotographie

Without missing a beat, Faithlyn's eyes light up and her jaw hits the floor.

"You're having a baby in your tummy right now?," she innocently asks.

But before her mom can even answer the question, the little girl begins squealing in delight, immediately hopping up to throw her arms around her mommy's neck as she uncontrollably screams and giggles.

"Are you happy?," Oullette asks. "You're going to have another brother or sister. Another one!"

"Oh my God, I can't thank you enough," Faithlyn answers, perfectly capturing the pure joy of the moment.

Ever since the children found out they're having a new little brother or sister, they've been sharing the news with everyone they know.

"They're so excited about it," Ouellette, 34, told GoodMorningAmerica.com.

"Everywhere we go, they're talking about it all the time."

And as for his daughter's priceless reaction to the heartwarming news, "She's just a really expressive girl," he added. "The way she has the biggest smile on her face, almost with tears in her eyes, she's just such a happy, happy girl."

https://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blo...cant-thank-220950027--abc-news-parenting.html

 

[Wolfsister77]

What Temptation Looks Like:

 

[BDBoop]

You Are Special by Max Lucado

The Wemmicks were small wooden people. Each of the wooden people was carved by a woodworker named Eli. His workshop sat on a hill overlooking their village. Every Wemmick was different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all were made by the same carver and all lived in the village. And all day, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing: They gave each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers and a box of gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over the city, people could be seen sticking stars or dots on one another.

The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint, always got stars. But if the wood was rough or the paint chipped, the Wemmicks gave dots. The talented ones got stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump over tall boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very pretty songs. Everyone gave them stars.

Some Wemmicks had stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel so good that they did something else and got another star. Others, though, could do little. They got dots.

Punchinello was one of these. He tried to jump high like the others, but he always fell. And when he fell, the others would gather around and give him dots.

Sometimes when he fell, it would scar his wood, so the people would give him more dots. He would try to explain why he fell and say something silly, and the Wemmicks would give him more dots. After a while he had so many dots that he didn't want to go outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his hat or step in the water, and then people would give him another dot. In fact, he had so many gray dots that some people would come up and give him one without reason. "He deserves lots of dots," the wooden people would agree with one another. "He's not a good wooden person."

After a while Punchinello believed them. "I'm not a good Wemmick," he would say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who had a lot of dots. He felt better around them.

One day he met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met. She had no dots or stars. She was just wooden. Her name was Lucia. It wasn't that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just that the stickers didn't stick. Some admired Lucia for having no dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall off. Some would look down on her for having no stars, so they would give her a dot. But it wouldn't stay either. 'That's the way I want to be,'thought Punchinello. 'I don't want anyone's marks.' So he asked the stickerless Wemmick how she did it. "It's easy," Lucia replied. "every day I go see Eli."

"Eli?" "Yes, Eli. The woodcarver. I sit in the workshop with him." "Why?" "Why don't you find out for yourself? Go up the hill. He's there."

And with that the Wemmick with no marks turned and skipped away. "But he won't want to see me!" Punchinello cried out. Lucia didn't hear. So Punchinello went home. He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried around giving each other stars and dots. "It's not right," he muttered to himself. And he resolved to go see Eli. He walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and stepped into the big shop. His wooden eyes widened at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had to stretch on his tiptoes to see the top of the workbench. A hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard. "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he heard his name.

"Punchinello?" The voice was deep and strong. Punchinello stopped. "Punchinello! How good to see you. Come and let me have a look at you." Punchinello turned slowly and looked at the large bearded craftsman. "You know my name?" the little Wemmick asked.

"Of course I do. I made you." Eli stooped down and picked him up and set him on the bench. "Hmm," the maker spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles. "Looks like you've been given some bad marks." "I didn't mean to, Eli. I really tried hard." "Oh, you don't have to defend yourself to me, child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks think." "You don't?"

No, and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots?
They're Wemmicks just like you. What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."
Punchinello laughed. "Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"

Eli looked at Punchinello, put his hands on those small wooden shoulders, and spoke very slowly. "Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
Punchinello had never had anyone look at him like this--much less his maker. He didn't know what to say.
"Every day I've been hoping you'd come," Eli explained.
"I came because I met someone who had no marks."
"I know. She told me about you."
"Why don't the stickers stay on her?"
"Because she has decided that what I think is more important than what they think. The stickers only stick if you let them."

"What?"
"The stickers only stick if they matter to you. The more you trust my love, the less you care about the stickers."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"You will, but it will take time. You've got a lot of marks. For now, just come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the ground. "Remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."

Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think he really means it."
And when he did, a dot fell to the ground.


May all your dots fall silently to the ground, for if given by man, they matter only to other men, if given by the Gods, no one questions, the scars that make up our lives. (when given the choice, pass out stars, drop the dots in the trash.)

 

[mayrj]

For starters, this video really put me in a good mood, because of the man's expressions when he learned he was going to be a grandfather. After sharing it with my family, I shared it here on USMB earlier, and now I'm adding it here, too, because it fits perfectly. I love this video, and it never gets old.

I cried when I saw that vid