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Bear's Inspirations, 1820 Wynnton Road, Columbus, GA (2025)

08/19/2025

Jim and Jesus

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 kind of shabby

and his coat was worn and frayed,

the man knelt, he bowed his head,

then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,

each noon time came this chap,

each time he knelt just for a moment,

a lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister's suspicions grew,

with robbery a main fear,

He decided to stop the man and ask him,

"What are you doing here?"

The old man said, he worked down the road.

Lunch was half an hour.

Lunchtime was his prayer time,

for finding strength and power.

"I stay only moments, see,

because the factory is so far away;

as I kneel here talking to the Lord,

this is kind of what I say:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,

HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,

SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP

AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.

DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I

THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.

SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY."

The minister feeling foolish,

told Jim, that was fine.

He told the man he was welcome

to come and pray just anytime.

Time to go, Jim smiled, said

"Thanks." He hurried to the door.

The minister knelt at the altar,

he'd never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,

and met with Jesus there.

As the tears flowed, in his heart,

he repeated old Jim's prayer:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,

HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN,

SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP

AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.

I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I

THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.

SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY."

Past noon one day, the minister noticed

that old Jim hadn't come.

As more days passed without Jim,

he began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,

learning he was ill.

The hospital staff was worried,

but he'd given them a thrill.

One week that Jim was with them,

brought changes in the ward.

His smiles, a joy contagious.

Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn't understand

why Jim was so glad,

when no flowers, calls or cards came,

not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,

he voiced the nurse's concern:

No friends came to show they cared.

He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up

and with a winsome smile;

"the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know,

that in here all the while

everyday at noon He's here,

a dear friend of mine, you see,

He sits right down, takes my hand,

Leans over and says to me:

"I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM,

HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN,

SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP,

AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN.

ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,

I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY,

AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS

CHECKING IN TODAY."

Author Unknown

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/17/2025

Small Miracles
Two years ago in downtown Denver my friend, Scott, and I saw something tiny and insignificant change the world, but no one else even seemed to notice. It was one of those beautiful Denver days. Crystal clear, no humidity, not a cloud in the sky. We decided to walk the ten blocks to an outdoor restaurant rather than take the shuttle bus that runs up and down the Sixteenth Street Mall. The restaurant, in the shape of a baseball diamond, was called The Blake Street Baseball Club. The tables were set appropriately on the grass infield. Many Colorful pennants and flags hung limply overhead.
As we sat outside, the sun continued to beat down on us, and it became
increasingly hot. There wasn't a hint of a breeze, and heat radiated up
from the tabletop. Nothing moved, except the waiters, of course. And
they didn't move very fast, either.
After lunch Scott and I started to walk back up the mall. We both
noticed a mother and her young daughter walking out of a card shop
toward the street. She was holding her daughter by the hand while
reading a greeting card. It was immediately apparent to us that she was
so engrossed in the card that she did not notice a shuttle bus moving
toward her at a good clip. She and her daughter were one step away
from disaster when Scott started to yell.
He hadn't even gotten a word out when a breeze blew the card out of
her hand and over her shoulder. She spun around and grabbed at the
card, nearly knocking her daughter over. By the time she picked up the
card from the ground and turned back around to cross the street, the shuttle bus had whizzed by her. She never even knew what almost happened. To this day two things continue to perplex me about this event: Where did that one spurt of wind come from to blow the card out of that young mother's hand? There had not been a whisper of wind at lunch or during our long walk back up the mall.
Secondly, if Scott had been able to get his words out, the young mother might have looked up at us as they continued to walk into the bus. It was the wind that made her turn back to the card -- in the one direction that saved her life and that of her daughter.
The passing bus did not create the wind. On the contrary, the wind came from the opposite direction. I have no doubt it was a breath from God protecting them both.
But the awesomeness of this miracle is that she never knew.

As we continued back to work, I wondered how God often acts in our lives without our being aware. The difference between life and death can very well be a little thing.

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08/17/2025

When The Wind Blows

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around
the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and
rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is
coming tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, can sleep when the wind blows. "

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare
for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The
cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly
secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired
hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

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08/13/2025

A Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry and so she brought him a large glass of milk.

He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said, "Then I thank you from my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strengthened also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year's later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, he went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested from the business office to pass the final billing to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill.

She read these words:

"PAID IN FULL WITH ONE GLASS OF MILK....

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly."

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, God, that Your love is shed abroad through human hearts and hands."

~Author Unknown~

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/12/2025

Beautifully Stated

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. So send this to all of your friends (and me) in the next 5 minutes and a miracle will happen tonight

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

~anonymous~

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/11/2025

THE PREACHER

This is a true story:

I heard that one of our preachers was going to a city to preach a message. He was traveling at night on near deserted highway and praying to God to help him with the message for the next day. He was driving to the city that night to spend the night and would be speaking the next day. "" He was driving along the highway when the voice of God shook him as God spoke to him: "Stop this car and preach." He slowed down and said, "God there is no one anywhere near here. I've only met 2 cars in the hour I've been on this highway." God shouted at him, "Stop the car NOW, and get out and preach your message here, now." "" The preacher pulled over and stopped the car. He got his Bible and his flashlight and went to the front of his car. He laid his Bible on the hood of the car and began reading his text all the while wondering what God thought He was doing. He preached about the "Depth and height of the Love of God." He talked about how far God would reach just to save one soul. He gave the illustration of the one lost sheep, and how the Shepherd left the 99 to go to rescue the one lost sheep. "" A couple of minutes into his message and the anointing came. He preached as if he was preaching to a thousand people. He was preaching along, and a car came by slowly, slowed down ahead almost came to a stop, then went slowly on. A second car came by before he finished his message, slowed down, rolled the car window down as if to ask if he needed help, then drove on again. The minister finished his message, crawled back into his car and drove on. Lord, I do not know what you were trying to prove, but if it was practice I needed, I thank you."

Approximately three months later this minister was preaching in a small church in that same area. He had almost forgotten the ordeal. But God quickened him to again preach this same message this night. He preached with anointing and with power, and at the end asked if anyone wanted to come home to the sheepfold, as he gave the altar call. A young man sitting on the second row immediately got up from his seat and came forward. But instead of kneeling down he came on up on the platform and threw his arms around the minister, crying loudly. The minister prayed for him. After a few moments the young man said, "So you are the minister who stopped on the side of the road and preached that message about three months ago!" The minister nodded his head, and asked, "Were you in one of the cars that came by and almost stopped?" The young man shook his head and said, "No, I was in the culvert underneath your car. I was hooked on co***ne, my parents had washed their hands of me, and I was in trouble with the law for stealing to support my habit. I had tried to commit su***de that day, but I was still alive. I had no home, no clothes, no money and was hungry. I prayed as I found the culvert and made myself a bed for the night, "If there is a God, see if you can find me here!" "I got out of the culvert and sat on the grass out of your sight. I listened to you tell the story about the lost sheep and the love of a shepherd who would not sleep until He found him. Something got a hold of me that night. The next morning, I started walking to try to find a church to see if I could find this God who had answered my carelessly flung prayer that night. I had not walked far, when a man picked me up and took me to his church. His minister is up there sitting in that chair (pointed at the pastor of the church). He talked to me, took me to his home, fed me, cleaned me up and bought me some new clothes. Then he told me about Jesus. I repented, was baptized in His name that night. The next night I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Man, am I glad you practiced your sermon on the side of the highway that night! See all those people on that second row? I've brought all of them to this church and my family too."

What is the length and the depth of the love of God? It is never ending, for He will go out of His way to find a lost soul who has flung a helpless and careless prayer His way.

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/10/2025

Just Stay

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward,
holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused.

Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her, “Who was that man?” he asked.

The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.

“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”

“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman’s name?”

The nurse with tears in her eyes answered, “Mr. William Grey …”

The next time someone needs you … just be there. Stay.

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/07/2025

When I Say I Am A Christian

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not shouting, "I am saved!" I'm whispering, "I get lost; That is why I chose this way."

When I say, "I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble And need Someone to be my Guide.

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak, And pray for strength to carry on.

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed And cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are all too visible, But God believes I'm worth it.

When I say, "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, Which is why I speak His name.

When I say, "I am a Christian," I do not wish to judge. I have no authority; I only know I'm loved.

Have a blessed day in JESUS..

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/06/2025

The Bible or a Diamond Ring?

A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.

As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring. Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his study.

Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a Bible?'

She stormed out of the house, permanently leaving her husband. Many years passed and the lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family but realized her ex-husband was very old and thought perhaps her

Should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years. But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of things.

When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years before.

With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, 'And if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father, who is in heaven, give what is good to those who ask Him?' As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a diamond ring, with her name engraved on it --

the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words. 'LUV U ALWAYS'. How many times do we miss God's blessings, because they are not packaged as we expected?

I trust you enjoyed this. Pass it on to others. Do not spoil what you have, by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKAGED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKAGED THE WAY IT IS. ALWAYS APPRECIATE LITTLE THINGS; THEY USUALLY LEAD YOU TO BIGGER and BETTER THINGS.

'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.'

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/05/2025

Vision

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I would marry you.'

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked her; ’Now that you can see the world, will you marry me‘?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.

Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life Is a Gift. Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak. I

Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife — Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today before you complain about life — Think of someone who went too I early to heaven.

Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet

And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

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08/04/2025

GRANDMA’S APRON

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot woodstove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to eat.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the windowsill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the windowsill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

Mandi Collier
Bear's Inspiration Page
www.bearsinspirations.homestead.com

Send a message to learn more

07/31/2025

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.

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Bear's Inspirations

08/19/2025

08/17/2025

08/17/2025

08/13/2025

08/12/2025

08/11/2025

08/10/2025

08/07/2025

08/06/2025

08/05/2025

08/04/2025

07/31/2025

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