I love to read this story

an emperor

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!

Kisah Bekas Kenek Jadi Pengusaha Sukses di London

Suara Pance Pondaag menyanyikan Demi Kau dan Si Buah Hati menemani Firdaus Ahmad menyetir Mercedes 120 CDI di jalanan London yang padat pada suatu siang akhir Februari lalu. Mobil jembar yang sanggup mengangkut sepuluh orang itu adalah kendaraan "dinas" laki-laki 54 tahun ini dari rumah ke restorannya.

Nusa Dua Restaurant berdiri di sudut Dean Street 11, Soho, di jantung ibu kota Inggris itu. Bangunan tiga lantai ini satu-satunya restoran Indonesia di kawasan belanja dan tempat nongkrong anak-anak muda itu. "Sejak Presiden Barack Obama datang ke Indonesia, menu favorit di sini nasi goreng," kata Daus.

Selain itu, ada banyak makanan khas Indonesia di daftar menu: ayam kremes, sayur asem, sambal terasi, tahu isi, soto ayam, tempe, dan kerupuk udang. Saya makan di sana ketika restoran masih tutup menjelang sore. Tapi, di depan pintu, pelanggan dari pelbagai ras yang akan makan malam sudah antre mengular.

Resto ini adalah buah kerja keras Daus selama 20 tahun. Ia tiba di London pada akhir 1981 dengan tiket pesawat yang dikirim saudaranya, sopir di Kedutaan Besar Indonesia di London. Daus nekat berangkat ke Inggris karena penghasilan sebagai kondektur angkutan kota Kampung Melayu-Bekasi tak menentu.

Mendarat di Bandar Udara Heathrow yang sibuk, lulusan SMA 1 Indramayu ini termangu dua jam. Ia tak tahu jalan keluar. Ia amati setiap penumpang. Asumsinya, orang yang kusut pasti baru mendarat setelah penerbangan yang jauh. Ia ikuti mereka menyeret koper. "Saat itu saya baru tahu arti ''exit'' itu keluar," katanya, terbahak.

Daus lalu bekerja di restoran Indonesia sebagai pencuci piring. Tapi resto ini tak berumur lama. Pemiliknya ketahuan mengakali pajak. Pemerintah mengambil alih dan menjualnya. Pembelinya adalah tukang masak asal Malaysia. Resto itu kini jadi rumah makan Asia yang tukang masaknya adalah pemilik lama, bekas majikan Daus.

Seorang pengusaha Singapura kemudian mendirikan Nusa Dua Restaurant. Daus diajak bergabung dan naik pangkat jadi chef. Tapi perkongsian ini hanya bertahan tiga tahun. Pengusaha itu tak sanggup membayar cicilan modal. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) menyitanya. Daus kelimpungan tak punya pekerjaan.

Pada 1991 ia sudah menikahi Usya Suharjono, perempuan manis yang tengah kuliah kesekretariatan di London. Ayah Usya adalah wartawan radio BBC seksi Indonesia. Ia mengikuti orang tuanya ke London setelah lulus SMA 2 Jakarta Pusat pada 1983. Daus punya ide mengambil alih Nusa Dua.

Usya maju sebagai negosiator dengan bank karena ia fasih berbahasa Inggris. Daus hingga kini masih gagap. Kepada tiga anaknya, ia berbicara dalam bahasa Indonesia, tapi dijawab dalam bahasa Inggris. Usya membujuk bahwa resto itu merugikan RBS karena tak mendatangkan untung, sementara pajak tetap harus dibayar.

Daus meyakinkan mereka akan mengelola rumah makan dengan jaminan membayar cicilan 1.000 pound tiap bulan tepat waktu. ”Jika tahun pertama pembayaran tak jelas, bank silakan ambil alih lagi,” katanya. Deal. RBS ternyata setuju.

Sejak itu, Daus yang pegang kendali. Ia belanja, ia memasak, ia pula yang melayani pembeli. Karena makanan racikannya enak, pelanggan lama kembali, dan pembeli baru berdatangan. Restorannya mulai untung dengan omzet 10 ribu pon (Rp 140 juta) setiap pekan. Dalam waktu enam tahun, utang 100 ribu pound lunas.

Tabungannya mulai kembung. Daus membeli sebuah rumah seluas 300 meter persegi seharga Rp 5,2 miliar di sudut jalan dekat sekolah anaknya. Rumah sembilan kamar itu kini disewakan kepada pelancong asal Indonesia dengan tarif 19,5 pound semalam. Meski tak ada papan nama, orang tahu rumah bata merah di sudut jalan kompleks elite Colindale itu ”Wisma Indonesia”.

Daus-Usya tinggal tak jauh dari situ. Tiga mobil nangkring di garasi. Semuanya Mercedes yang harga satu unitnya rata-rata Rp 1,4 miliar. Daus kerap bolak-balik London-Bekasi untuk menengok keluarga besarnya di Jatiasih.

Setelah semua pencapaian ini, Daus hanya punya satu cita-cita: pulang kampung setelah anak-anaknya mandiri dan membuat taman pendidikan agama untuk anak-anak miskin.

Strong Women vs Women of Strength

 

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ...
but a woman of strength Sujud in prayer to keep her soul in shape...

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ...
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ...
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them...

A strong woman walks sure footedly ...
but a woman of strength knows Allah SWT will catch her when she falls...

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face ...
but a woman of strength wears grace...

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey ...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

My Timeline

Waawww...I had found my childhood photo, The photo was taken about twenty years ago by my beloved mother .

When we held a small farewell party for my sister, my sister would go and settle in another country, the atmosphere was mixed between joy and sorrow.

Could you imagine how far apart in age between me and my sister  ? Our age far adrift....hehee

My memory immediately drifted to that time, 20 years is not a short time.
I so miss my mom, so miss my wonderful childhood, miss my neighborhood used to be, time passes so fast.

Now I've grown up, become a woman and   many people said to me ..if I very similar with my mother....

I love You Ibu, May Allah Bless U Mom.....
Look at me mom, your little girl was became a beautiful girl...but still same...still childish...
But i'm happy mom..... ^__^

An afternoon at Sorrento ..Italy

Sorrento is a beautiful town at the northernmost part of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, nearly hidden amongst lemon and olive groves.  We enjoying traversing the bustling streets, overflowing with shops selling all manner of lemon and olive-themed goodies.  Piazza Tasso spans the gorge you can see here:

Somewhere along one of the streets, perhaps Corso Italia or Via San Cesario, we visited a little shop that produced and bottled its own Limoncello (a sugary lemon liqueur).  Very refreshing in the hot Italian sun.

18 sources of Barokah

If we were to look for an Islamic definition of Productivity, it can probably be summarised in the word “barakah” or Blessing. Being able to achieve more with few resources, doing much in little time, and generating a lot with little effort is surely a blessing from Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala). Yet Barakah has somehow become a lost treasure these days; everyone’s looking for it, but no one seems to find it! You always hear people complaining that there’s no barakah in their time, no barakah in their sleep, no barakah in their money and the rest of it.

In this article, we’ll solve this mystery inshaAllah: we’ll find out what Barakah is and where you can find it!
What is Barakah?

A Well-known daee explains it as follows:

والبركة: هي ثبوت الخير الإلهي في الشيء؛ فإنها إذا حلت في قليل كثرته، وإذا حلت في كثير نفع، ومن أعظم ثمار البركة في الأمور كلها إستعمالها في طاعة الله عز وجل.

“Barakah is the attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it increases it. And if it occurs in something much it benefits. And the greatest fruits of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah (Subahanahu Wa Ta’ala)”

Sources of Barakah

I’m a firm believer that Barakah is not a lost treasure, rather, it’s right in front of our eyes! This treasure is only available and ready to be handed over to the one who works for it. Below, I list some of the sources of Barakah. It’s not an exhaustive list, therefore, I do hope you can contribute to it with your comments inshaAllah so we can all share.....

1. Good Intentions

2. Piety and Belief in Allah

3. Putting your trust in Allah

4. Reading Al-Quran

5. Saying Bismillah

6. Eating with People

7. Honesty in Trade

8. Do'a

9. Halal Income/money

10. Following the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad in everything

11. Praying Istikharah

12. Giving thanks to Allah in abundance

13. Charity

14. Tying your ties of kinship

15. Waking up early

16. Marriage

17. Shalat

18. Asking Allah for forgiveness
I hope this covers most of the sources of Barakah, but as I said before, this is not an exhaustive list. Please add your sources and recommend more tips for us to share!

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

You can Save someone's life by sharing this.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T..R ...

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.)
She had suffered a stroke at the party . Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this...

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the '3' steps, STR . Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster.
The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions :

S = Ask the individual to SMILE ..

T = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg 'It is  sunny out today').

R = Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE : Another 'sign' of a stroke is
1. Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue.
2. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

7 Dangerous acts after a meal

1. Don’t smoke ---- Experiments from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher)
………………………..

2. Don’t eat fruits immediately --- Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Thre fore take fruits 1 -2 hours after meal or 1 hour before meal.
………………………..

3. Don’t drink tea------ Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the protein content in the food we consume to be hundred thus difficult to digest.
............... .........

4. Don’t loosen your belt---------- Loosening the belt after meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted and blocked.
………………………..

5. Don’t bathe---------- ------- Bathing after meal will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs and body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease, this will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.
………………………..

6. Don’t walk about---------- --- People always say that after a meal walk a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake.
………………………..

7. Don’t sleep immediately---- -------- The food we intake will not be to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric and infection in our intestine.
………………………..

Beautiful pieces of my life

Day by day, hour by hour, second by second.

I am figuring out the puzzle of me. What I love. What I hate. What makes me happy. What makes me sad. What makes me strong. What makes me tremble. What my passion is. What my weaknesses are.

I’m discovering the parts of me that will make me whole. Page by page, moment by moment, breath by breath, I am creating myself by finding out who I am and who I choose to be.

I look forward to spending the rest of my time in this life putting me together, piece by beautiful piece…

and I believe Allah. thank you, Alhamdulillah ya Allah...

Don't feel alone anymore

Right now, there are people all over the world who are just like you.

They’re lonely. They’re missing somebody.

They’re in love with someone they probably shouldn’t be in love with.

They have secrets you wouldn’t believe.

They wish and they dream and they hope, and they look out the window whenever they’re in the car or on a bus or a train and they watch the people on the streets and wonder what they’ve been through.

They wonder if there are people out there like them.

They’re like you, and you could tell them everything and they would understand. And right now,

They’re sitting here reading these words, and I’m writing this for YOU so YOU don’t feel alone anymore.....

My Life Is Beautiful

Never feel ashamed for feeling hurt;
My Quiet Tears, or Pain.
It is My Freedom to acknowledge what I Feel;
That makes I so Courageous.
Give My self time to Heal.
Emotionally, Physically, Mentally and Spiritually.

Sometimes we need our own Time and Space to do that.
If I need to Take steps to Hope and Love;
Take them.
And feel Proud of My own emerging inner Strength and Faith.

Because I am not the Broken Pieces;
I am the Little Steps that bring I back to Light;
Life and Blossoming Joy..

Simply

"LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL BUT CONDITION APPLY"

♥ ♥ ♥ A Love Story ♥ ♥ ♥

Its Heart Melting Story Plz Read It With Patience...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

10th grade

As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called "best friend". I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before and handed them to her. She said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

11th grade

The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Senior year

The day before prom she walked to my locker. My date is sick" she said; he's not going to go well, I didn't have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together just as "best friends". So we did. Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step. I stared at her as she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she isn't think of me like that, and I know it. Then she said "I had the best time, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Graduation Day

A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said, "you're my best friend, thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

A Few Years Later

Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say "I do" and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn't see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said "you came!". She said "thanks" and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love her but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why.

Funeral

Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my "best friend". At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: I stare at him wishing he was mine, but he doesn't notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don't want to be just friends, I love him but I'm just too shy, and I don't know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me! `I wish I did too...` I thought to my self, and I cried...

MORAL- So never waste time, if you love someone go to him/her and tell how much you love them. If you get rejection just atleast you tried, cos its much painful if you love them yet your afraid to tell without knowing that he/she loves you too.