Bear's Inspirations

10/29/2026

PANCAKES

Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard, and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.



He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk, and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor

which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how the stove worked!). Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.



Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.



That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky, we insult a friend, we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in

tears because we can't think of anything else to do.



That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets allover Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes," for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried ...



~ Author Unknown ~

10/28/2026

God Has Kept Me Here For A Reason
Repeat after me: God has kept me here for a reason. I survived because He has a plan for me. All my bad relationships, the addictions, the consequences, the bad credit, the repossessions, the death of my
loved ones, the back stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, or the lack of support; I made it because I am blessed!
I release and let go of all past hurts, misunderstandings and grudges because I am abundantly blessed! I recognize them as the illusions
they are, and sent from the enemy to kill my spirit, steal my joy, and destroy my faith;
For God is all there is. All else is a lie! Now give
yourself a hug, wipe your tears away and walk in victory!!!!!!!! I love
you, but more appropriately God loves you BEST! Be blessed and know that you are at one with THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD! And may the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. Genesis 31:49. Amen!
Now since you are a true child of God, you know that with every
blessing, a blessing is required! So be a blessing to another, by passing this on.
Be Blessed "The Will of GOD will never take you where the GRACE of GOD will not protect you."
"Friends warm you with their presence, trust you with their secrets, and remember you in their prayers"

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10/27/2026

The Empty Chair



A man's daughter had asked the parish priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.

"I guess you were expecting me," he said.

"No, who are you?" said the father.

The priest told him his name and then remarked, "I see the empty chair; I figured you knew I was going to show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"

Puzzled, the priest shut the door.

"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. " But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.

I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, `Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest.' Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised; `I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."



So I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.

The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.

"Did he die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head in the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

The priest wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

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10/26/2026

THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS

(A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona)

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took hold of the rope, and started up the face of that rock.



Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.



Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there.



Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.



When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.



She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see

all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."



Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.



One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"



W ell, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on its back.



Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."



I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him… I can do things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

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10/22/2026

COME SIT WITH ME

You got hammered at the bar on Saturday but came to church on Sunday….
You can sit with me, you’re right where you need to be.

You’re a drug addict but came to church on Sunday….
You can sit with me, you’re right where you need to be.

You’re divorced and the last church you attended condemned you for it….
You can sit with me, you’re right where you need to be.

You’ve had an abortion and it’s slowly eating away at your heart but you came to church on Sunday….
You can sit with me, you’re right where you need to be.

You’ve been unfaithful to your spouse but came to church on Sunday….
You can sit with me, you’re right where you need to be.

Here’s the thing, people don’t come to church on Sunday for you to sit in the pew and quietly judge them because you feel that you’re somehow better than them.

People come to church because in their deepest, darkest, most painful moments they heard about a man named Jesus that could save their soul and they’d like to know him.

The man that just snorted co***ne off his kitchen table isn’t a bigger sinner than you who told your boss a lie on Monday so you could leave work early.

The woman that had an abortion 10 years ago isn’t a bigger sinner than you who flipped a man off in traffic last week because he cut you off.

The drunk man laying on the bar isn’t a bigger sinner than you who occasionally has too much to drink at home in private.

The woman that just got caught cheating on her husband isn’t a bigger sinner than you who had s*x with your now husband before you were married.

Stop judging others because their sin is different than yours.

Romans 3:23-24 says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

There isn’t a person in this world too bad, too broken, too mean, or too damaged for Jesus to save.
Romans 10:13 says “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

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10/21/2026

PEDAL



I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him.



But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since I took the back seat to Jesus, My Lord. Christ makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way, but it was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.



But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said "Pedal!" I was worried and anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered the adventure. And when I'd say, "I'm scared", He'd lean back and touch my hand.



He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord's and mine. And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away; they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.



I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd

wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Christ.



And when I'm sure I just can't do any more, He just smiles and says ... "Pedal."



-- Author Unknown

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10/15/2026

A Good Day



"What Kind of Day Shall I Have?"



I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the day ends.

I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.

My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.



Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or ...

I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.



Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or

I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan

my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.



Today I can grumble about my health or

I can rejoice that I am alive.



Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me

when I was growing up or ...

I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.



Today I can cry because roses have thorns or ...

I can celebrate that thorns have roses.



Today I can mourn my lack of friends or ...

I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.



Today I can whine because I have to go to work or ...

I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.



Today I can complain because I have to go to school or ...

I can eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.



Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or ...

I can feel honored because Life has provided shelter for my mind, body, and soul.



Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the

sculptor who gets to do the shaping.



What today will be like is up to me

10/14/2026

Do Good Today



Isn't he always there when we need him?



Come with me to a third grade classroom....

There is a nine-year-old Kid sitting at his desk and all of

a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet.

He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he Knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop, he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat:."

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.



The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ''Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Now all Of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him down Stairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out.

All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk.



The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie. She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. "You've done enough, you klutz"

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the

bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "you did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.

10/07/2026

A Different Type Of Prayer

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.



Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student,

balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.



Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought

to get a job!) is a slave to addictions

that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.



Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking

our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go

shopping together.



Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

10/06/2026

23rd Psalm For The Workplace
Author Unknown

The Lord is my boss, and I shall not want.

He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.

He reminds me to pray, before I speak in anger.

He restores my sanity.

He guides my decisions that I might honor Him in all I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mail, system failures, copier jams, back-ordered supplies, unrealistic deadlines, staff shortages, budget cutbacks, red tape, downsizing, gossiping co-workers and whining customers, I won’t give up, for You are with me.

Your presence, peace and power will see me through.

You raise me up, even when the boss fails to promote me.

You claim me as your own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

Your loyalty and love are better than a bonus check.

Your retirement plan beats any 401K, and when it’s all said and done, I’ll be working for you a whole lot longer!

Thanks be to God!