The following are inspirational stories, readings, and thoughts received by me from a variety of different sources. Each is accompanied by an Audio Podcast version for your listening enjoyment. The names of the actual authors or sources where known, are published following each article. It is my hope that each who reads or listens to these stories will be uplifted in spirit and thought……J. Botie Bensonnoreply@blogger.com (J. Botie Benson)Tue, 4 Jul 2023 03:06:08 -0500Blogger http://www.blogger.com34125http://normannow.blogspot.com/en-ushttp://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/12/two-traveling-angels.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:27:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-116603447884537987 Audio Podcast Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the1http://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/08/pickle-jar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:37:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-115523877204513807 Audio Podcast The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/07/woman-and-fork.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Tue, 18 Jul 2006 15:37:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-115325508957903225Audio PodcastThere was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. Therefore, as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/05/integrity-of-ugly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 3 May 2006 16:14:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-114669095079486543Audio PodcastEveryone in the apartment complex that I that lived in knew who Ugly was.Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/02/did-god-create-everything.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:37:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-114064431522753555Audio Podcast This is a really great answer to a question you may be asked or have asked. Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil? A University professor at a well-known institution of higher learning challenged his students with this question. "Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied "Yes He did". "God 2http://normannow.blogspot.com/2006/01/thousand-marbles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Mon, 9 Jan 2006 15:08:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113684100077765050 Audio Podcast A friend sent this to me, so I to you, my friend. The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/12/always-believe-in-miracles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:54:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113520574359927448Audio Podcast Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The child climbed up on his lap, holding a picture of a little girl. "Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your sister?” "Yes, Santa," he replied. "My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," he said 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/12/57-cents.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Fri, 9 Dec 2005 15:56:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113416542609088175 Audio Podcast A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was "too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/11/mr-common-sense.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 30 Nov 2005 14:29:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113338266832939903 Audio Podcast Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense. Mr. Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/11/big-wheel-truck-stop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Tue, 22 Nov 2005 14:00:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113268968564956293 Audio Podcast In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/10/tablecloth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Mon, 24 Oct 2005 14:49:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-113018413792114282Audio PodcastTrue Story - submitted by Pastor Rob ReidThe brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.They 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/09/positive-person.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 7 Sep 2005 15:33:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-112612529896161565 Audio Podcast Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/08/wreck-on-highway-109-by-ruth-gillis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:00:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-112499286379187245A drunk man in an Oldsmobilethey said had run the lightthat caused the six-car pileupon 109 that night.When broken bodies lay aboutand blood was everywhere,the sirens screamed out elegies,for death was in the air. A mother, trapped inside her car,was heard above the noise;her plaintive plea near split the air:"Oh, God, please spare my boys!"She fought to 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/08/smell-rain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 10 Aug 2005 14:23:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-112370195624563144 Audio PodcastA cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was still groggy from surgery. Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news. That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo 1http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/06/window.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Wed, 29 Jun 2005 16:13:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-112007995833977563 Audio PodcastTwo men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/06/grandpas-hand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Tue, 14 Jun 2005 17:37:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111878910946794357 Audio Podcast Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK. He 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/06/list.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Mon, 6 Jun 2005 15:27:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111808966848451607 Audio Podcast One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/05/bank-account-of-memories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Fri, 27 May 2005 16:52:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111723084125456518 Audio Podcast The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/05/jimmys-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Fri, 13 May 2005 13:23:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111600965528985451 Audio Podcast Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?" The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it." Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/04/old-rusty-bird-cage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Fri, 29 Apr 2005 17:06:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111481256677108260Audio PodcastThere once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak..."I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/04/treasure-in-box.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Fri, 22 Apr 2005 18:37:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111421311210869427 Audio Podcast A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/04/prodigy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Tue, 5 Apr 2005 14:26:00 -0500tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111272933314125967Audio PodcastAt the prodding of my friends, I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. I've always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons-something I've done for over 30 years. Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a prodigy though I 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/03/true-friend.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:49:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111213691491677231Audio PodcastOne day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."I had quite a weekend planned (parties, and a football game with friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/03/potato-chips.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Mon, 21 Mar 2005 14:16:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111143639530829146Audio Podcast A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcases. He was about to take a 0http://normannow.blogspot.com/2005/03/just-checking-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Anonymous)Thu, 17 Mar 2005 14:37:00 -0600tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10372699.post-111109197374546763Audio Podcast A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day, Decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray. Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was kinda shabby and his coat was worn and frayed, the man knelt, he bowed his head, then rose and walked away. In the days0