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    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul: More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul: More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul: More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
    Ebook345 pages5 hours

    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul: More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit

    By Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The fourth installment in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series promises to be even more popular than its predecessors. The perfect gift for friends, family and business associates is now available in A 4th Course.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicken Soup for the Soul
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781453280362
    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul: More Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit
    Author

    Jack Canfield

    Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is the cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes forty New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor with Gay Hendricks of You’ve GOT to Read This Book! An internationally renowned corporate trainer, Jack has trained and certified over 4,100 people to teach the Success Principles in 115 countries. He is also a podcast host, keynote speaker, and popular radio and TV talk show guest. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

    Read more from Jack Canfield

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    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      This book is one of the best books I've read. It has 101 stories of hope, love, and courage. It helps us think we can overcome anything and everything with determination and God's help. That all of us are useful here in the society, and that all of us can be someone else's hope and source of happiness. I love this book and hope that you guys can also find the love and courage that I found in this book.
    • 3/5
      Easy reading for those on the run. Short inspirational stories.

    Book preview

    A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield

    "Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen have done it again. Another superb helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul!"

    RickDees

    Weekly Top 40

    "There is no such thing as too much Chicken Soup for the Soul. The powerful stories in A 4th Course will make you keep coming back for more and more servings of love, hope and inspiration."

    Rudy Ruettiger

    "Uplift yourself, your soul and your spirit. A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul will fill you with love, joy, warmth and good feelings about yourself, your future and other people."

    Lou Tice

    international educator, lecturer and author,

    Personal Coaching for Results: How to Mentor and Inspire

    Others to Amazing Growth

    "A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul is simple, inspiring and a must-read for anyone. A must-read for everyone."

    Fran A. Tarkenton

    "A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul is the perfect mirror of the love, wisdom and inspiration within all of us. Read it and remember!"

    Cathy Lee Crosby

    author, Le t the Magic Be gin

    "About A 4th Course... As usual, Jack and Mark have captured the essence of love and understanding between human beings. Having just lost my dad and missing him, oh, so dearly, On Parenting brought back many, many smiles that Dad and I shared together. I just thank my lucky stars that each time we met or parted, Dad and I would hug and kiss each other with warmth, pride and joy."

    "My heart and soul are touched again by the magic of Chicken Soup for the Soul. These heart-touching, soul-penetrating stories have stimulated me to new possibility thinking. A 4th Course of Chicken Soup is the best book yet!"

    Dr. Robert H. Schuller

    "The stories in A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul brought warmth to me and reassurance that there are still some decent, caring and compassionate human beings in the world."

    Lloyd Bridges

    "I have been hungry for this fourth serving of Chicken Soup. We need to be reminded that life is a magnificent, compassionate, enthralling adventure (with occasional thunderstorms), and this remarkable menu of reminders fills the bill (la fare) perfectly. Bon appétit!"

    Peter McWilliams

    author, DO IT!, LIFE 101, You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a

    Negative Thought, LOVE 101, How to Grow Yourself

    "More love, more encouragement and more incredible insights into living life on higher ground! I can’t wait for the next Soup serving!"

    Glenna Salsbury

    professional speaker and author, The Art of the Fresh Start

    A 4th Course of

    CHICKEN SOUP

    FOR THE SOUL®

    More Stories to

    Open the Heart and

    Rekindle the Spirit

    Jack Canfield

    Mark Victor Hansen

    Hanoch McCarty

    Meladee McCarty

    Backlist, LLC, a unit of

    Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC

    Cos Cob, CT

    Contents

    Introduction

    From a Previous Reader

    1.ON LOVE

    A Friend on the Line Jennings Michael Burch

    Simple Wooden Boxes Martha Pendergrass Templeton

    A Family for Freddie Abbie Blair

    A Birthday Song Robert Tate Miller

    When Kevin Won Janice M. Gibson

    A Mason-Dixon Memory Clifton Davis

    Beautiful on the Inside Pamela J. deRoy

    Such As I Have Bonnie Shepherd

    A Hair-Raising Experience Debbie Ross-Preston

    Money of My Own Bettie B. Youngs

    2.ON KINDNESS

    Hi, Cornelius Bob Greene

    Changed Lives Tim Kimmel

    Directory Assistance Joanna Slan

    A Christmas Story Author Unknown

    Cold Hands Joyce Andresen

    The Woodwork Angel Vard a One

    The 11th Box Pastor Bill Simpson

    The Sandwich Man Meladee McCarty

    Don’t Pass Me By Jude Revoli

    Bidding from the Heart Rita Price

    Ask for the Moon and Get It Percy Ross

    Passing on Small Change Nancy Mitchell

    Big Feet—Bigger Heart The Sower’s Seeds

    Winning Clifford and Jerie Furness

    Goodness Defies the Odds Mike Barnicle

    Hope in a Bottle Diana L. Chapman

    The Code of the Road Michele H. Vignola

    3.ON PARENTS AND PARENTING

    Cookies, Forgotten and Forgiven Robert Tate Miller

    What’s in a Name? Hanoch McCarty

    The Only Memory That Lingers Ted Kruger

    Urbana Farewell Doris W. Davis

    My Own Experience Karrey Janvrin Lindenberg

    A Simple Act of Love Sharon Whitley

    Permission to Cry Hanoch McCarty

    The Perfect Hug Hanoch McCarty

    Winners and Winners Al Covino

    When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

    Lessons in Baseball Chick Moorman

    Catch of a Lifetime James P. Lenfestey

    Letters to Eileen Ann E. Weeks

    4.ON TEACHING AND LEARNING

    Nouns and Adverbs Moments for Mothers

    How Could I Miss, I’m a Teacher! Hanoch McCarty

    On That Note Krista Lyn Johnson

    A Christmas Gift I’ll Never Forget Linda DeMers Hummel

    A Matter of Honor Dave Pelzer

    The Lesson Plan Sister Carleen Brennan

    In Praise of Teachers Mark Medoff

    The Greatest Teacher of My Life Dauna Easley

    The Thought Card Hanoch McCarty

    5.ON DEATH AND DYING

    A Treasure in Time Judy Walker

    You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Anymore Bits & Pieces

    The Grave No One Tended Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey

    The Donor Mary M. Jelinek

    Red Jell-O at Dawn Patricia Lorenz

    When We Give Thanks Sidney B. Simon

    A Mother Is Waiting Moments for Mothers

    I Thought You’d Want to Know Karen Nordling McCowan

    Matt’s Story Diana L. Chapman

    To All Parents Edgar Guest

    She Was Waiting Sara Parker

    6.A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

    A Little off the Top, and a Lesson to Remember Andy Entwistle

    The Scar Lih Yuh Kuo

    Thelma Shari Smith

    Through the Eyes of a Child Author Unknown

    To Save a Life Hanoch McCarty

    The Baby Flight Paul Karrer

    How to Tell When You’re Rich Harvey Mackay

    Chuck Petey Parker

    Calling On a Girl Named Becky Robert Tate Miller

    Innocence Abroad Henry N. Ferguson

    Looking Down Rusty Schweickart

    7.OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

    Angel at Work Donald Curtis

    Consider This Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty

    Let Me Die! Michael Bowker

    It’s Up to You Author Unknown

    Unexpected Detective Anne Newell

    Scattered Memories Lt. Col. Janis A. Nark

    Snowed In Susan G. Fey

    Susie’s Run Thomas R. Overton

    The Right Thoughts Riding in My Mind Kathy Higgins

    A Tale of Canine Courage Robert Tate Miller

    Don’t Quit Author Unknown

    Persistence Pays Off Curtis McAllister

    I’ll Do Anything! Dolly Trout

    Henri Dunant Bits & Pieces

    8. ECLECTIC WISDOM

    The Trouble Tree Author Unknown

    A Handle on Love Paul Glanville

    I Was Dying Anonymous

    Encouragement The Sower’s Seeds

    Guess You Just Had to Have Known Gladys Diane Brucato Thomas

    Inspiration Lea Gambina

    State of Mind Author Unknown

    101 Gifts to Give All Year Long Hanoch and Meladee McCarty

    Who Is Jack Canfield?

    Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

    Who Is Hanoch McCarty?

    Who Is Meladee McCarty?

    Contributors

    Permissions

    Introduction

    In days past, people sat around the kitchen table and talked. Laughter was shared between husband and wife, and wisdom was passed from grandparent to child. The stories that were told were the glue that bonded hearts and held families and friends together.

    With all that humans have gained with technology, computers and television, we have lost something special to humanity. It is time to once again share our stories, heart to heart.

    Patty Hansen

    Everyone has a story. No matter what we do for a living, how much we have in our bank account or what the color of our skin is, we have a story. Each one of us has a story, whether it is visible to the eye or it is locked inside of us. We are encouraged to believe that our past, our circumstances, both physical and emotional, and our experiences are our story. Our mental picture of our life’s story encompasses what we perceive to be true about ourselves and our possibilities.

    The life one is born into is not necessarily our destiny. All of us have the power to rewrite our story, to recast the drama of our lives and to redirect the actions of the main character, ourselves. The outcomes of our lives are determined mainly by our responses to each event. Do we choose to be hero or victim in our lives’ dramas?

    Good stories, like the best mentors in our lives, are door openers. They are unique experiences containing insights tied to emotional triggers that get our attention and stay in our memories. These stories can free us from being bound to decisions of the past and open us to understanding ourselves and the opportunities that are there before us. A really good story allows us to recognize the choices that are open to us and see new alternatives we might never have seen before. It can give us permission to try (or at least consider trying) a new path.

    Many of the people you will meet in these pages provide a model to follow of unconditional acts of kindness and love, of great courage and foresight, of belief when cynicism would be the norm, a sense of hope in what the world has to offer, and the inspiration to seek it for ourselves.

    Some of the stories you will refer to again and again because the message is one of comfort and encouragement. Other stories will inspire you to share them with your family, friends and colleagues.

    How to Read This Book

    We have had the tremendous opportunity to receive feedback from readers all over the world. Some have shared with us that they get the most value if they read our books from cover to cover. Others focus in depth on a particular chapter that interests them. Most people tell us that they find it works best to read one or two stories at a time, and really savor the feelings and lessons that the stories evoke. Our advice is to take your time and really let each story effect you at a deep level. Ask yourself how you could apply the lessons learned to your own life. Engage each story as if it mattered, as if it could make a real difference in your life.

    Compiling these stories has taken a lot of work, but we feel we have selected 101 gems. We hope you will love these stories as we have loved them. May they bring you tears, laughter, insight, healing and empowerment.

    We hope that we can in a small way contribute to your life by bringing you these models of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to guide you on your journey. We wish for you that, in the pages of this book there is a story that holds the key to doors that need opening in your life.

    Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen,

    Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty

    From a Previous Reader

    Dear Sirs:

    I am writing you from a military base in Panama to thank you for your marvelous book and to share with you the impact it has had on my life and upon those with whom I have shared it.

    I was alone in my hotel room one night after working extended hours when I read the story Information Please in A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul. I am not ashamed to confess that I cried profusely and found something healing in those tears. At that point I wrote a poem for you which I have enclosed.

    Later I shared your book with a Marine who was in charge of guarding access to classified information. He was the third in line of armed security making his job the least demanding and the most boring. Because of this his superior officer had given him permission to read, but he had forgotten a book. It was going to be a long 12-hour watch for him so I gave him a copy of A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, which I had in my briefcase. I warned him, however, that he might be caught in the act of unMarine-like emotional catharsis after reading some of the stories.

    I entered the hallway at the end of our watch and found another armed Marine standing next to the first. Both of them had moist eyes as one said, Kinda gets you, doesn’t it?

    The other Marine replied, Roger that, and walked off. Seeing me, he said, Thanks for the book, Lieutenant. I’m going to the exchange first thing tomorrow to buy me one.

    Told you there were some zingers in there, I said, and we bid each other good night.

    Thanks for a great book. I recommend it to everybody.

    Here’s the poem.

    Tell me a story, my heart is empty.

    Let the tears flow, my eyes are dry.

    Too long has discouragement bound me.

    Lift my soul, let me fly.

    Tell me a story, my hope has diminished.

    Tell me of faith and love.

    Remind me that we are created

    To live on earth as in heaven above.

    Tell me a story, fill my heart with compassion.

    Open my eyes, I’ve been blind.

    Remind me that all men are brothers,

    That we all should be loving and kind.

    Serve me another helping, More Chicken Soup for My Soul.

    To love let us encourage each other,

    That higher dimensions of love may we know.

    Lieutenant Morris Passmore, USNR

    1

    ON LOVE

    A chemist who can extract from his heart’s element, compassion, respect, longing, patience, regret, surprise, and forgiveness and compound them into one can create that atom which is called love.

    Kahlil Gibran

    A Friend on the Line

    Life without a friend is death without a witness.

    Spanish Proverb

    Even before I finished dialing, I somehow knew I’d made a mistake. The phone rang once, twice—then someone picked it up.

    You got the wrong number! a husky male voice snapped before the line went dead. Mystified, I dialed again.

    I said you got the wrong number! came the voice. Once more the phone clicked in my ear.

    How could he possibly know I had a wrong number? At that time, I worked for the New York City Police Department. A cop is trained to be curious—and concerned. So I dialed a third time.

    Hey, c’mon, the man said. Is this you again?

    Yeah, it’s me, I answered. I was wondering how you knew I had the wrong number before I even said anything.

    You figure it out! The phone slammed down.

    I sat there awhile, the receiver hanging loosely in my fingers. I called the man back.

    Did you figure it out yet? he asked.

    The only thing I can think of is... nobody ever calls you.

    You got it! The phone went dead for the fourth time. Chuckling, I dialed the man back.

    What do you want now? he asked.

    I thought I’d call... just to say hello.

    Hello? Why?

    Well, if nobody ever calls you, I thought may be I should.

    Okay. Hello. Who is this?

    At last I had gotten through. Now he was curious. I told him who I was and asked who he was.

    My name’s Adolf Meth. I’m 88 years old, and I haven’t had this many wrong numbers in one day in 20 years! We both laughed.

    We talked for 10 minutes. Adolf had no family, no friends. Everyone he had been close to had died. Then we discovered we had something in common: he’d worked for the New York City Police Department for nearly 40 years. Telling me about his days there as an elevator operator, he seemed interesting, even friendly. I asked if I could call him again.

    Why would you wanta do that? he asked, surprised.

    Well, maybe we could be phone friends. You know, like pen pals.

    He hesitated. I wouldn’t mind... having a friend again. His voice sounded a little tentative.

    I called Adolf the following afternoon and several days after that. Easy to talk with, he related his memories of World Wars I and II, the Hindenburg disaster and other historic events. He was fascinating. I gave him my home and office numbers so he could call me. He did—almost every day.

    I was not just being kind to a lonely old man. Talking with Adolf was important to me, because I, too, had a big gap in my life. Raised in orphanages and foster homes, I never had a father. Gradually, Adolf took on a kind of fatherly importance to me. I talked about my job and college courses, which I attended at night.

    Adolf warmed to the role of counselor. While discussing a disagreement I’d had with a supervisor, I told my new friend, I think I ought to have it out with him.

    What’s the rush? Adolf cautioned. "Let things cool down. When you get as old as I am, you find out that time takes care of a lot. If things get worse, then you can talk to him."

    There was a long silence. You know, he said softly, I’m talking to you just the way I’d talk to a boy of my own. I always wanted a family—and children. You’re too young to know how that feels.

    No, I wasn’t. I’d always wanted a family—and a father. But I didn’t say anything, afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold back the hurt I’d felt for so long.

    One evening Adolf mentioned his 89th birthday was coming up. After buying a piece of fiberboard, I designed a 2’ x 5’ greeting card with a cake and 89 candles on it. I asked all the cops in my office and even the police commissioner to sign it. I gathered nearly a hundred signatures. Adolf would get a kick out of this, I knew.

    We’d been talking on the phone for four months now, and I thought this would be a good time to meet face to face. So I decided to deliver the card by hand.

    I didn’t tell Adolf I was coming; I just drove to his address one morning and parked the car up the street from his apartment house.

    A postman was sorting mail in the hallway when I entered the building. He nodded as I checked the mailboxes for Adolf’s name. There it was. Apartment 1H, some 20 feet from where I stood.

    My heart pounded with excitement. Would we have the same chemistry in person that we had on the phone? I felt the first stab of doubt. Maybe he would reject me the way my father rejected me when he went out of my life. I tapped on Adolf’s door. When there was no answer, I knocked harder.

    The postman looked up from his sorting. No one’s there, he said.

    Yeah, I said, feeling a little foolish. If he answers his door the way he answers his phone, this may take all day.

    You a relative or something?

    No. Just a friend.

    I’m really sorry, he said quietly, but Mr. Meth died day before yesterday.

    Died? Adolf? For a moment, I couldn’t answer. I stood there in shock and disbelief. Then, pulling myself together, I thanked the postman and stepped into the late-morning sun. I walked toward the car, misty-eyed.

    Then, rounding a corner, I saw a church, and a line from the Old Testament leaped to mind: A friend loveth at all times. And especially in death, I realized. This brought a moment of recognition. Often it takes some sudden and sad turn of events to awaken us to the beauty of a special presence in our lives. Now, for the first time, I sensed how very close Adolf and I had become. It had been easy, and I knew this would make it even easier the next time, with my next close friend.

    Slowly, I felt a warmth surging through me. I heard Adolf’s growly voice shouting, Wrong number! Then I heard him asking why I wanted to call again.

    Because you mattered, Adolf, I said aloud to no one. Because I was your friend.

    I placed the unopened birthday card on the back seat of my car and got behind the wheel. Before starting the engine, I looked over my shoulder. Adolf, I whispered, I didn’t get the wrong number at all. I got you.

    Jennings Michael Burch

    Simple Wooden Boxes

    It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.

    Henry Ward Beecher

    I suppose everyone has one particular childhood Christmas that stands out more than any other. For me, it was the year that the Burlington factory in Scottsboro closed down. I was only a small child. I could not name for you the precise year; it is an insignificant blur in my mind, but the events of that Christmas will live forever in my heart.

    My father, who had been employed at Burlington, never let on to us that we were having financial difficulties. After all, children live in a naive world in which money and jobs are nothing more than jabberwocky, and for us the excitement of Christmas could never be squelched. We knew only that our daddy, who usually worked long, difficult hours, was now home more than we had ever remembered; each day seemed to be a holiday.

    Mama, a homemaker, now sought work in the local textile mills, but jobs were scarce. Time after time, she was told no openings were available before Christmas, and it was on the way home from one such distressing interview that she wrecked our only car. Daddy’s meager unemployment check would now be our family’s only source of income. For my parents, the Christmas season brought mounds of worries, crowds of sighs and tears and cascades of prayers.

    I can only imagine what transpired between my parents in those moments when the answer came. Perhaps it took a while for the ideas to fully form. Perhaps it was a merging of ideas from both of my parents. I don’t know for sure how the idea took life, but somehow it did. They would scrape together enough money to buy each of us a Barbie doll. For the rest of our presents, they would rely on their talents, using scraps of materials they already had.

    While dark, calloused hands sawed, hammered and painted, nimble fingers fed dress after dress after dress into the sewing machine. Barbie-sized bridal gowns, evening gowns... miniature clothes for every imaginable occasion pushed forward from the rattling old machine. Where we were while all of this was taking place, I have no idea. But somehow my parents found time to pour themselves into our gifts, and the excitement of Christmas was once again born for the entire family.

    That Christmas Eve, the sun was just setting over the distant horizon when I heard the roar of an unexpected motor in the driveway. Looking outside, I could hardly believe my eyes. Uncle Buck and Aunt Charlene, Mama’s sister and her husband, had driven

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