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