Food for Thought

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Action + Vision

Action without Vision is just an ACTIVITY.
Vision without Action is just a DREAM.

A 60sec Sermon

To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.

Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than going to McDonald’s make you a hamburger.

Real friends are those who, when you feel you’ve made a fool of yourself, don’t feel like you’ve done a permanent job.

A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and decides to remain anonymous.

Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on the same side.

I don’t have to attend every argument I’m invited to.

Lead your life so you won’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.

People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross.

Life is 10 percent of what happens to you, and 90 percent of how you respond to it.

Did it ever occur to you that nothing occurs to God?

Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

There are two things I’ve learned: There is a God and I’m not Him.

Following the path of least resistances is what makes rivers and men crooked.

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. Your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

– Source unknown

Facts about Men and Women

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t want.

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little.
To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

Married men live longer than single men.
But married men are a lot more willing to die.

Any married man should forget his mistakes.
No sense two people remembering the same thing.

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change and she does.

A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

One Full Circle

Nowadays human always do a lot of things, and thought that they had gone very far. But actually, they end up back to the starting point. This story is one of an example.

An investment banker was on the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. His boat was full of beautiful yellow tuna.

The banker complimented the fisherman on his catch, asking how long it took to catch. The fisherman replied "only a short time."

The banker asked why not stay out and catch more. The fisherman replied, "I've enough fish to feed my family."

The banker then asked what did the fisherman do with the rest of his time?

He replied, "I will sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening, sip wine with my friends, play my guitar, I have a full and busy life."

The banker was not impressed. "I have a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat and from those increased proceeds you could buy several boats and soon have a fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you could control production, processing and distribution by building your own cannery. You could leave this small coastal village and move the city then to New York where you could run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "How long will this take?"

The banker said, "Ten to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the fisherman.

"Next you would announce an IPO and sell your stock to the public, making millions and millions. Then you could retire to a small coastal village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll into the village in the evenings, sip wine and play your guitar with your friends," said the banker smiling.

The fisherman looked puzzled, "I don't understand this, you are suggesting that I should go one big loop so as to end up where I am today, happily fishing on the cliff?"

***

I once heard this saying: "Man spends the first fifty years of their lives, using their health to get wealth, and spends the rest of their lives using their wealth to get back their health." Human's sure have a weird way of prioritizing. Another situation is one where parents work so hard to provide everything for their children, and in the process, neglecting them. They should let go of a bit of their work, make enough to get along, and most importantly, spent time with the children they love so much.

101 Ways to Use a Barometer

Some Time ago I received a call from a colleague, who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.

I went to my colleague's office and read the examination question: "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer."

The student had answered:" Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."

I pointed out that the student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify competence in physics but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised when the student did.

I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on. In the next minute he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula S=1/2A(T)(T), calculate the height of the building."

At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit.

In leaving my colleague's office, I recalled the student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were.

"Well," said the student, "there are many ways to getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and, by using simple proportion, determine the height of the building"

"Fine," I said, "any others?"

"Yes," said the student. " There is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units. A very direct method.

"Of course, if you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated."

" On this same tack, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street and then swing it as a pendulum. You can then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession."

"Finally there are many other ways of solving this problem," he finally concluded. "Probably the best way is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer.'"

At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said he was fed up with the college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

In

In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In Leviticus, He is your sanctification.
In Numbers, He is your guide.
In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher.
In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror.
In Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer.
In I Samuel, he is the root of Jesse;
In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is our Intercessor and High Priest.
In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies.
In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power
to do something about them
In Psalms, He is your song-and your reason to sing.
In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense out of life and live it
successfully.
In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity.
In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the everlasting father,
and more. In short, He's everything you need.
In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
In Lamentations, He is the ever faithful one upon whom you can depend.
In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel-the one who assures that dry, dead
bones will come alive again.
In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the everlasting God who never runs out of time.
In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to come back-even when you
have abandoned Him.
In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side.
In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In Micah, He is judge of the nation.
In Nahum, He is the jealous God.
In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In Zephaniah, He is the witness.
In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies
In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Malachi, He is the Restorer of Marriages; He also opens the windows of Heaven and
pours out Blessings on those who Tithe Faithfully.
In Matthew, He is king of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the servant.
In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is Savior of the world.
In Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel.
In II Corinthians, He the triumphant one, giving victory.
In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
In Ephesians, He is head of the Church.
In Philippians, He is your joy.
In Colossians, He is your completeness.
In I Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In II Thessalonians, He is the LORD of peace.
In I Timothy, He is your faith.
In II Timothy, He is your stability.
In Titus, He is the washer, regenerator and renewer of our souls.
In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In James, He is the power behind your faith.
In I Peter, He is your example.
In II Peter, He is your purity.
In I John, He is your life.
In II John, He is your pattern.
In III John, He is your motivation.
In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In the Revelation, He is your coming King.

From the beginning of the world to its end, there is no place you can look and not see
Jesus. He is everywhere. He is everything.
"He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (hold together)."(Colossians 1:17)

A Change in the Flight Plan

Today's Scripture verse reminds us to seek God's guidance. It's an important reminder, because sometimes we don't think about His guidance until we desperately need it.

My friends Kevin and Greg and I once flew from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Billings, Montana, in a small plane. Kevin was our pilot, and although he as very good, he only had a visual flight rating -- he hadn't been trained to fly using only the cockpit instruments. That meant that he could only fly in good weather -- when he could clearly see landmarks and other planes in the area. And flying though clouds was a definite no-no. So when we ran into a snow-storm over Casper, Wyoming, we were forced to land and stay overnight.

The next morning was cold, bright and clear. Kevin got a good report from the National Weather Services -- Clear skies all the way from Casper to Billings. Kevin filed his flight plans and we took off. Everything was going great.

But somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, the weather changed unexpectedly. We found ourselves in dense cloud cover. Visibility: Zero. Kevin didn't have the training to climb out of clouds, using instruments only, and we couldn't fly any lower because of the mountains. I looked down my backseat window and could barely see the tops of the pine trees dotting the peaks and valleys below. I glanced up at Kevin who was feverishly checking his flight maps to make sure no especially high mountain peaks were in our way. Up to that point in time, I have lead a pretty uneventful life. But now it crossed my mind that we could crash and die. I started to pray. Hard.

Kevin radioed a "Mayday" call to the Billings control tower. An air traffic controller would have to talk us down to the airport. Kevin steered, tensely watching his instruments as the small radio on the instrument panel squawked flight instructions: "Maintain altitude ... turn ... descend." On we flew into the unending whiteness, trusting the controller to help us avoid smacking into a mountainside.

Finally we got the go-ahead for our approach. Dropping out of the clouds, we found the runway directly beneath us. The tower guided us to a perfect landing.

We have been in a real fix but the air traffic controller didn't hassle us for getting into trouble. He just gave us the help we needed. That's how God is. It's why the psalmist wrote Psalm 107. When we dont know where we are, we can cry out to the Lord, and he will deliver us from our distress (v7).

Remember: God wants you to reach your destination in one piece. Ask Him to show you the way.

The Whipping

There was a school with a class of students no teacher had been able to handle. Two or three teachers had been run off from this school in one year by the unruly students.

A young man, just out of college, heard about the class and he applied to the school. The principal asked the young man, "Do you not know what you are asking for? No one has been able to handle these students. You are just asking for a terrible beating."

After a few moments of silent prayer, the young man looked at the principal and said, "Sir, with your consent I accept the challenge. Just give me a trial basis."

The next morning the young man stood before the class. He said to the class, "Young people, I came here today to conduct school. But I realize I can't do it by myself. I must have your help." One big boy, they called Big Tom, in the back of the room whispered to his buddies, I'll not need any help. I can lick that little bird all by myself."

The young teacher told the class that if they were to have school, there will have to be some rules to go by. But he also added that he will allow the students to make up the rules, that he would list them on the blackboard.

This was certainly different, the students thought! One young man suggested "NO STEALING." Another one shouted "BE ON TIME FOR CLASS." Pretty soon they had 10 rules listed on the board. The teacher had then asked the class what the punishment should be for breaking these rules.

"Rules are no good unless they are enforced," he said. Someone in the class suggested that if they rules were broken, they should receive 10 licks with a rod across their back with their coat off. The teacher thought that was pretty harsh, so he asked the class if they would stand by this punishment. The class agreed.

Everything went pretty good for two or three days. Then Big Tom came in one day very upset. He declared that someone had stolen his lunch. After talking with the students, they came to the conclusion that little Timmy had stolen Big Tom's lunch. Someone had seen little Timmy with Big Tom's lunch!

The teacher called little Timmy up to the front of the room. Little Timmy admitted he had taken Big Tom's lunch. So the teacher asked him, Do you know the punishment? Little Timmy nodded that he did. You must remove your coat, then," the teacher instructed. The little fellow had come with a great big coat on.

Little Timmy said to the teacher, "I am guilty and I am willing to take my punishment, but please don't make me take off my coat."

The teacher reminded Timmy of the rules and punishments and again told him he must remove his coat and take his punishment like a man. The little fellow started to unbutton his old coat. As he did so, the teacher saw he did not have a shirt on under the coat. And even worse, he saw a frail and bony frame hidden beneath the coat. The teacher asked Timmy why he had come to school without a shirt on.

Timmy replied, "My daddy's dead and we don't have much money. I don't have but one shirt, and my mother is washing it today. I wore my big brother's coat so's to keep warm."

That young teacher stood and looked at the frail back the ribs sticking out, the spine protruding against the skin. He wondered how he could lay a rod on that back and without even a shirt on. Still, he knew he must enforce the punishment or the children would not obey the rules. So he drew back to strike Timmy. Just then Big Tom stood up and came down the aisle and asked, "Is there anything that says I can't take little Timmy's whipping for him?"

The teacher thought about it and agreed. With that Big Tom ripped his coat off and stooped and stood over little Timmy at the desk. Hesitatingly the teacher began to lay the rod on that big back. But for some strange reason, after only five licks that old rod just broke in half. The young teacher buried his face in his hands and began to sob. He heard a commotion and looked up to find not even one dry eye in the room. Little Timmy had turned and grabbed Big Tom around the neck, apologizing to him for stealing his lunch, begging his forgiveness. Timmy begged Tom to forgive him. He told Tom that he would love him till the day he died for taking his whipping for him.

Aren't you glad that Jesus took our whipping for us, that He shed His precious blood on Calvary so that you and I can have eternal life in Glory with Him?

We are unworthy of the price He paid for us, but aren't you glad He loves us that much? This is a story everyone needs to know. So if you know anyone else who may be blessed by this story, please pass it on. God bless you and keep you safe. Most people's troubles come from too much time on their hands and not enough on their knees

A Prayer to Remember

An interesting prayer was given recently in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate in 2000. It seems prayer still upsets some people.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate with a prayer, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and call it pluralism."

We have worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism."

We have endorsed perversion and called it "alternative lifestyle."

We have exploited the poor and called it "the lottery."

We have rewarded laziness and called it "welfare."

We have killed our unborn and called it "choice."

We have shot abortionists and called it "justifiable."

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it "building self-esteem."

We have abused power and called it "politics."

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it "ambition."

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of "expression."

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it "enlightenment."

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will, to open our hearts and ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and whole-heartedly become our desire, that we again can be called one nation under God.

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends.

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything."

The Christian ABCs

* A lthough things are not perfect
* B ecause of trial or pain
* C ontinue in thanksgiving
* D o not begin to blame

* E ven when the times are hard
* F ierce winds are bound to blow
* G od is forever able
* H old on to what you know

* I magine life without His love
* J oy would cease to be
* K eep thanking Him for all the things
* L ove imparts to thee

* M ove out of "Camp Complaining"
* N o weapon that is known
* O n earth can yield the power
* P raise can do alone

* Q uit looking at the future
* R edeem the time at hand
* S tart every day with worship
* T o "thank" is a command

* U ntil we see Him coming
* V ictorious in the sky
* W e'll run the race with gratitude
* X alting God most high

* Y es, there will be good times and yes some will be bad, but.......

* Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

"Too blessed to be stressed!"

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs

Attn: Entrepreneurs

Everyone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is
www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always
www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:
www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
www.gotahoe.com

(via independentsources.com)

Cyber Alert

Shannon could hear the footsteps behind her as she walked toward home. The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster. "You're being silly," she told herself, "no one is following you." To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept up with her pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost home.

Shannon said a quick prayer, "God please get me home safe." She saw the porch light burning and ran the rest of the way to her house. Once inside, she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the safety of her home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there. The sidewalk was empty. After tossing her books on the sofa, she
decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213: Hi I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?
ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees.
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really kewl.
GoTo123: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile...... GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far.

Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age:13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.

Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the seventh grade at the Canton Junior High School. She had told him
all this in the conversations they had on-line. He had enough information to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ball park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her. Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the fear she had felt. After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car. Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move. Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room.

"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the manfromthe ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you." Shannon moved cautiously to a chair across from the man. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am Shannon?" The man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123." Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and he lives in Michigan!"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to find kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I
came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to give out too much information to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. Your name, the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."

Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?"

She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out
information a little here and there online. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again"

"I won't," Shannon promised solemnly.

"Will you tell others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

That night Shannon and her dad and Mom all knelt down together and prayed. They thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

Cold Winter's Day

It was a cold winter's day that Sunday. The parking lot to the Church was filling up quickly.
I noticed as I got out of my car that fellow church members were whispering among themselves as they walked to the church.

As I got closer I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside the church. He was almost laying down as if he was asleep. He had on a long trench coat that was almost in shreds and a hat topped his head, pulled down so you could not see his face.

He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet with holes all over them, his toes stuck out. I assumed this man was homeless, and asleep, so I walked on by through the doors of the Church.

We all fellowship for a few minutes, and someone brought up the man laying outside. People snickered and gossiped but no one bothered to ask him to come in, including me.

A few moments later church began. We all waited for the Preacher to take his place and to give us the Word when the doors to the church opened. In came the homeless man walking down the aisle with his head down.

People gasped and whispered and made faces. He made his way down the aisle and up onto the pulpit. He took off his hat and coat.

My heart sank. There stood our preacher ... he was the "homeless man." No one said a word. The preacher took his Bible and laid it on the stand.

"Folks, I don't think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today." Then he started singing the words to this song.

"If I can help somebody as I pass along. If I can cheer somebody with a word or song. If I can show somebody that he's traveling wrong. Then my living shall not be in vain."

You may not know me, but I know everything about you .... Psalm 139:1
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered ... Matt 10:29-31.
For you were made in my image .... Genesis 1:27.
I knew you even before you were conceived .... Jeremiah 1:4.
I chose you when I planned creation .... Ephesians 1:11.
And I knit you together in your mother's womb .... Psalm 139:13.
You are not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book .... Psalm 139:16.
I determined when you would be born and where you would live .... Acts 17:26
Because I love you with an everlasting love .... Jeremiah 31:3.
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me .... John 8:41-44.
I am not distant and angry but am the complete expression of love ... 1 John 4:16.
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you .... 1 John 3:1.
For every good gift that you receive comes from my hand .... James 1:17.
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could ... Matthew 7:11.
Because I am the perfect Father .... Matthew 5:48.
And I am the provider who meets all your needs .... Matthew 6:11-33.
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope .... Jeremiah 29:11.
My thoughts toward you are as countless as the sands on the seashore .... Psalm 139:17,18.
And I rejoice over you with singing .... Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you .... Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession .... Exodus 19:5
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart .... Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires .... Philemon 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine .... Ephesians 3:20,21
For I am your greatest encourager .... 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles .... 2 Corinthians 1:3,4
When you are brokenhearted I am close to you .... Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart .... Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe every tear from your eyes .... Rev 21:3,4
Because I love you even as I love my son, Jesus .... John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed .... John 17:23
He is the exact representation of my being .... Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you .... Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins .... 2 Colossians 5:18,19
Jesus died so that we could be reconciled .... 2 Corinthians 5:18,19
His death was my ultimate expression of love for you .... 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything that I loved to gain your love .... Romans 8:31,32
If you receive the gift of my Son you receive me.... 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again .... Romans 8:38,39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen .... Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father .... Ephesians 3:14,15
My question is.... Will you be my child? .... John 1:12,13
I am here if you ever want to talk

Your Father

The Old Fisherman

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic.

One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face-it was lopsided from swelling, red and raw. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus until morning."

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments..."

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning." I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her
husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury. He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God or a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going. At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him.

When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment, and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind." I told him he was welcome to come again. And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!" Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But, oh, our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse. As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!"

My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining a scene in heaven. "Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body."

All this happened long ago-and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely oul must stand. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)

A Miracle

One afternoon, a couple was traveling on the road when all of a sudden at a far distance they saw a woman in the middle of the road asking them to stop. The wife told her husband to keep on driving because it might be too dangerous, but the husband decided to pass by slowly so he wouldn't stay with the doubt on his mind of what might have happened and the chances of anyone being hurt. As they got closer, they noticed a woman with cuts and bruises on her face as well as on her arms. They then decide to stop and see if they could be of any help. The cut and bruised woman was begging for help telling them that she had been in a car accident and that her husband and son, a new born baby, were still inside the car which was in a deep ditch.

She told them that the husband was already dead but that her baby seemed to still be alive. The husband that was traveling decided to get down and try to rescue the baby and he asked the hurt woman to stay with his wife inside the their car. When he got down he noticed two people in the front seats of the car but he didn't pay any importance to it and took out the baby quickly and got up to take the baby to it's mother. When he got up, he didn't see the mother anywhere so he asked his wife where she had gone. She told him that the woman followed him back to the crashed car.

When the man decided to go look for the woman, he noticed that clearly the two people in the front seats were dead; a woman and a man with both their seatbelts on. When he looked closer, he noticed that it was the exact same woman that was begging them for help in the beginning.

Do you think that it was a miracle?

Please Take Me

I was driving to the grocery store just thinking of everything on my list to do today. Taking the kids to soccer practice, cleaning the house, getting groceries, getting the oil changed in the car, the list went on and on. I was feeling overwhelmed and was already tired before I had even gotten started.

On my way to the store I saw something horrible happen!! A train had run into a car that was crossing the tracks. I thought, "Oh no! This is horrible, there is no way the driver of that car could have lived!!" I was the closest car to the tracks so I put my car in park and got out. I ran over to the car and looked in and could not believe what I was seeing.

Tears came to my eyes and I just couldn't take it. Inside the car was a woman driving that was obviously dead. In the back-seat was a baby in its car seat bleeding everywhere and next to the baby was a little girl who I guessed to be about 4 years old and she was bleeding also. Just then the little girl spoke.

She said, "Is my mommy and baby sister okay?" I just looked at her and said, "Honey I don't know. There is a doctor on his way right now." Just then the little girl started crying and said, "Don't take my mommy and baby sister - Take me with you too!! Please!!" She was pleading at who knows what to take her -- but take her where?? I asked the little girl who she was talking to and she said, "Don't you see? That Angel is taking my mommy and my baby sister! I want to go with them too! My mommy is waving good-bye to me and she is holding my baby sister and she is smiling!" The little girl started to cry because she did not want to stay, she wanted to go with her mommy and baby sister. I felt so sorry for her. I didn't believe in God and I thought to myself, where did an Angel come from? "What kind of God would take a mommy and a baby, but not the sister?"

At that moment, I saw the little girl start to smile so big as she held her arms out to something, someone, to pick her up. I thought to myself that she must be delirious and maybe she is hurt worse than I thought. Just then the little girl closed her eyes and slumped over in her seat.

She was dead! I couldn't be sad even though this was a 4 year old little girl that had just died. You wouldn't be sad either if you could see that beautiful smile on her face! I guess her mommy and baby sister came back to get her. That was also the day that God came to get me--as that was the day that I became a believer.

~~Author Unknown

But They Did Not Give Up

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success. He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.”

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. He later wrote, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up.” (his capitals, mind you)

Socrates was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and continued to corrupt even after a sentence of death was imposed on him. He drank the hemlock and died corrupting.

Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing.

Robert Sternberg received a C in his first college introductory-psychology class. His teacher commented that “there was a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Three years later Sternberg graduated with honors from Stanford University with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. In 2002, he became President of the American Psychological Association.

Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps

Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and one of his teachers described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.

Louis Pasteur was only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15th out of 22 students in chemistry.

Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.

F. W. Woolworth was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, “he didn’t have enough sense.”

When Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to Western Union for $100,000. The offer was disdainfully rejected with the pronouncement, “What use could this company make of an electrical toy.”

John Garcia, who eventually was honored for his fundamental psychological discoveries, was once told by a reviewer of his often-rejected manuscripts that one is no more likely to find the phenomenon he discovered than to find bird droppings in a cuckoo clock. (sort of a cute critique actually)

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space.

Daniel Boone was once asked by a reporter if he had ever been lost in the wilderness. Boone thought for a moment and replied, “No, but I was once bewildered for about three days.”

An expert said of Vince Lombardi: “He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation.” Lombardi would later write, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.”

Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, “I’ve failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed.”

Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career (about which he said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.“). And didn’t Mark McGwire break that strikeout record? (John Wooden once explained that winners make the most errors.)

Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwakee Braves.

Stan Smith was rejected as a ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because he was “too awkward and clumsy.” He went on to clumsily win Wimbledon and the U. S. Open. And eight Davis Cups.

Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, and Jimmy Johnson accounted for 11 of the 19 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1993. They also share the distinction of having the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history - they didn’t win a single game.

After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, “Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don’t take either one too seriously.”

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn’t hire him.

After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” He kept that memo over the fire place in his Beverly Hills home. Astaire once observed that “when you’re experimenting, you have to try so many things before you choose what you want, that you may go days getting nothing but exhaustion.” And here is the reward for perseverance: “The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it’s considered to be your style.”

After his first audition, Sidney Poitier was told by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

When Lucille Ball began studying to be actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, “Try any other profession.”

The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through “a minute-and a half” of material and was jeered offstage. He returned the following night and closed his set to wild applause.

In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, “You’d better learn secretarial work or else get married.” I’m sure you know that Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe. Now . . . who was Emmeline Snively?

At the age of 21, French acting legend Jeanne Moreau was told by a casting director that her head was too crooked, she wasn’t beautiful enough, and she wasn’t photogenic enough to make it in films. She took a deep breath and said to herself, “Alright, then, I guess I will have to make it my own way.” After making nearly 100 films her own way, in 1997 she received the European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.

After Harrison Ford’s first performance as a hotel bellhop in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, the studio vice-president called him in to his office. “Sit down kid,” the studio head said, “I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star.” Ford replied, “I thought you were spossed to think that he was a grocery delivery boy.” The vice president dismissed Ford with “You ain’t got it kid , you ain’t got it … now get out of here.”

Michael Caine’s headmaster told him, “You will be a laborer all your life.”

Charlie Chaplin was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because his pantomime was considered “nonsense.”

Enrico Caruso’s music teacher said he had no voice at all and could not sing. His parents wanted him to become an engineer.

Decca Records turned down a recording contract with the Beatles with the unprophetic evaluation, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” After Decca rejected the Beatles, Columbia records followed suit.

In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him “hopeless as a composer.” And, of course, you know that he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

A Paris art dealer refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. One hopes that there is justice in this world and that the art dealer eventually went broke.

Van Gogh sold only one painting during his life. And this to the sister of one of his friends for 400 francs (approximately $50). This didn’t stop him from completing over 800 paintings.

John Constable’s luminous painting Watermeadows at Salisbury was dismissed in 1830 by a judge at the Royal Academy as “a nasty green thing.” Name of the judge, anyone? Anyone?

Rodin’s father once said, “I have an idiot for a son.” Described as the worst pupil in the school, he was rejected three times admittance to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His uncle called him uneducable. Perhaps this gave him food for thought.

Stravinsky was run out of town by an enraged audience and critics after the first performance of the Rite of Spring.

When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter asked him “Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” Mr. Casals answered, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. He was described as both “unable and unwilling to learn.” No doubt a slow developer.

Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family.

Emily Dickinson had only seven poems published in her lifetime.

15 publishers rejected a manuscript by e. e. cummings. When he finally got it published by his mother, the dedication, printed in uppercase letters, read WITH NO THANKS TO . . . followed by the list of publishers who had rejected his prized offering. Nice going Eddie. Thanks for illustrating that nobody loses all the time.

18 publishers turned down Richard Bach’s story about a “soaring eagle.” Macmillan finally published Jonathan Livingston Seagull in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.

21 publishers rejected Richard Hooker’s humorous war novel, M*A*S*H. He had worked on it for seven years.

22 publishers rejected James Joyce’s The Dubliners.

27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

English crime novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.

William Saroyan accumulated more than a thousand rejections before he had his first literary piece published. Way to not take a hint, Bill!

Gertrude Stein submitted poems to editors for nearly 20 years before one was finally accepted. See . . . a rose is a rose.

I bet you didn’t know that John Milton wrote Paradise Lost 16 years after losing his eyesight

One of Professor Pajares’s first research efforts came back with a review that began, “There are so many things I don’t like about this article I just don’t know where to begin.”

There is a professor at MIT who offers a course on failure. He does that, he says, because failure is a far more common experience than success. An interviewer once asked him if anybody ever failed the course on failure. He thought a moment and replied, “No, but there were two Incompletes.”

Let’s end with Woody Allen: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. Eighty percent of success is showing up.“

(via here)

Three Little Trees

Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.

The first little tree looked up at the stars twinkling like diamonds above him. "I want to hold treasure," he said. "I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I will be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!"

The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. "I want to be a strong sailing ship," he said. "I want to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings. I will be the strongest ship in the world!"

The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave this mountaintop at all," she said. "I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they will raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world!"

Years passed. The rains came, the sun shone, and the little trees grew tall.

One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest," thought the first tree. "I shall hold wonderful treasures."

The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters," thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship fit for kings!"

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me," he muttered. With a swoop of his shining axe, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought him to a carpenter's shop. But the busy carpenter was not thinking about treasure chests. Instead, his work-worn hands fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold or filled with treasure. He was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.

The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took him to a shipyard, but no mighty ships were being made that day. Instead, the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. Too small and too weak to sail an ocean or even a river, he was taken to a little lake. Every day he brought in loads of dead, smelly fish.

The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" the once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted to do was stay on the mountaintop and point to God."

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for Him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood.

"This manger is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

Years passed. One evening, a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and crashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. He knew he did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and rain.

The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand and said, "Peace!" The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the
King of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry, jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.

But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything.

It had made the first tree beautiful.

It had made the second tree strong.

And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God.

~ Angela Elwell Hunt ~

The Stranger

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the Word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill, and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up -- while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places -- go to her room, read her Bible, and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions.

But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house-not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home -- not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.

He talked freely (too much, too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were influenced by the stranger. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always just called him . . . . TV.

Crossroads

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where …” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

source: ‘alice in wonderland’ by lewis carroll

I remember

When three-year-old opened the birthday gift from his grandmother, he discovered a water pistol. He squealed with delight and headed for the nearest sink.

The Mother was not so pleased. She turned to Grandmom and said, "I'm surprised at you. Don't you remember how we used to drive you crazy with water guns?"

Grandmom smiled and then replied, "I remember."

On Higher Authority

My sister-in-law was married to a prominent surgeon who was a member of operating teams at both St. Francis Hospital and Christ Hospital in the Chicago area. He would operate in the mornings, then field calls about his patients in the evenings.

Once when I was visiting his home, he was on the phone talking to a resident at Christ Hospital when the other phone rang. My sister-in-law answered, then whispered to her husband, "It's St. Francis calling."

He wispered back, "Tell St. Francis I'll have to call back. I'm talking to Christ."

-- Avrum Hyman, quoted by Enid Henry and Ron Alexander in New York Times

A Mother's Love

When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all night long.

when you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.

When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.

When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.

When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud

When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.
You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"

When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor's window.

When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.

When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.

When you were 10 years old she drove you all day, from soccer to gymnastics to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.

When you were 12 years old, she told you not to watch certain TV shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

Those Teenage Years

When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.

When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.

When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

Growing Old and Gray

When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus, carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.

When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."

When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."

When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.

When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.

When you were 24, she met your fiancé and asked about your plans for the future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"

When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."

When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."

When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, she quietly died.
And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder.