Stories

STORIES

Creation, life, humans, body, creator

According to a 2013 research article by Dr. Strippoli et al., the average person has 37.2 trillion human cells in her or his body—not to mention the trillions of bacterial cells. To put that in perspective, there are about 5,000 stars in the night sky on a clear night visible to the naked eye. That’s a tiny number in comparison. So let’s use the number of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, which is about 100-400 billion stars. If we use the average of those estimates, that would mean that there are 150 times more of your cells in your body than there are stars in our galaxy!

love, care, holding, death, Jesus

On March 3 in the middle of the night a tornado ripped through Nashville, TN killing 24 people. Hattie Collins was a 4 year old girl who lost her life that night. Every night before bed, Hattie’s mom, Macy would read Hattie a story. Monday night, after they finished reading, Hattie looked up at Macy as she often does after story time. Hattie would rather talk than sleep. She told her, “Mommy, I can see Jesus and he is wearing all white.” Hattie could see more clearly than the rest of us. Before we knew Jesus was going to hold her that night, she did. We do not believe the Lord took our girl from us. We believe he is holding our girl for us. And Hattie loves to be heldIn sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commit this body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless her and keep her, the Lord maketh his face to shine upon her and be gracious unto her and give her peace. Amen.

Debt, forgiveness, mercy, grace, guilt, substitute

During one of the severe potato famines in Ireland, a number of families wrote letters to their landlord saying they had absolutely no money at all to pay their rent and begged to be let off all their debts. The Irish landlord was Canon Andrew Robert Fausset, born near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1821. Canon Fausset wrote back to his tenants. He said it was quite impossible to let them off their debts. It would set a bad precedent. They had to pay every single penny. ‘But,’ he wrote, ‘I enclose something that might help you.’ In contrast to so many of the other landlords at the time, he sent a cheque for a very large sum of money – which far more than covered all their debts.

Mercy, justice, grace

A man was having his portrait painted by a successful artist. When the portrait was finished it was unveiled. The man was most unhappy with the result. When asked whether he liked it, he replied, ‘I don’t think it does me justice.’ To which the artist replied, ‘Sir, it is not justice you need, but mercy!’

Influence, isolation

according to sociologists, even the most isolated individual will influence 10,000 other people during his or her lifetime!

Encouragement,

A business consultant was training more than 3000 employees of a mid-western grocery chain to approach their jobs with a goal of creating a memory for their customers. She stated that "this is what will distinguish your store from all others."

Johnny was a 19-year old bag boy that had down-syndrome. His first response to the consultant's suggestion was "I'm just a 'bag boy.'" Nevertheless, he went home and shared what the consultant said with his mother. They began to ponder the consultant's words about how he could create a memory for his customers. Johnny had a habit of collecting inspirational thoughts that he would often read. He decided he would begin printing these sayings and place one in each of the bags of his customers. When customers came through the line he would place the sayings in their bag and say, "I've included some of my favorite sayings in your bag in hopes it will encourage you today. Thanks for shopping with us."

After just a few weeks, an amazing thing began to happen. One day the store manager noticed that all the customers were lined up at only one cashier station when there were other stations open. He began to panic, thinking the other stations were broken. After further investigation he found this was not the case. Actually, customers wanted to come through Johnny's line in order to get his saying of the day.

One woman came up to the manager and said, "I used to come to the store only once a week, but now I come everyday!" Johnny's example spread to other departments in the store. The florist began giving a flower to each florist customer. The meat department put Snoopy stickers on each meat order with a special greeting. This one act by a bag boy changed the entire climate of the store.*

Suffering, eternity, pain, sorrow, justice, fair

A one-year-old boy shattered his back falling down a flight of stairs. He spent his childhood and youth in and out of hospital. Gavin Read, the former Bishop of Maidstone, interviewed him in church. The boy remarked, ‘God is fair.’ Gavin asked, ‘How old are you?’ ‘Seventeen,’ the boy replied. ‘How many years have you spent in hospital?’ The boy answered, ‘Thirteen years.’ Gavin asked, ‘Do you think that is fair?’ He replied, ‘God has got all of eternity to make it up to me.’

Help, alone, confession, ask, admit, team, work

A Bricklayer’s Accident Report

Dear Sir:

I am responding to your request for additional information regarding how my recent injury occurred. In block No. 3 of your accident report form, I put “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully. I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six- story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at the ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in block No. 2 of the accident report form that my weight is 135 pounds.

Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence-of-mind and did not let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building.

Near the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and collarbone.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately by this time, I had regained my presence of mind allowing me to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 pounds.

I refer you again to the information in block No. 2. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

Near the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.

The encounter of the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks. Fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay in pain on the bricks, unable to stand up and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope so it came down upon me and broke both of my legs. I hope I have furnished the additional information you required as to how the accident occurred.

Everybody, anybody, nobody, somebody, responsibility

Who's Job is it?

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Who wants Change?

Once there were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody who wanted change.

So, Everybody said "I want change".

Somebody said "If only anybody would start to change, I will join."

But nobody said "I will change."

Finally Everybody stayed same, blaming Somebody for waiting for Anybody to start changing. So, nobody changed.

Fake, imposter, actor, hypocrite, cheap, disguise

A zoo in China has angered visitors by trying to pass off a hairy dog as a lion, Chinese state media reported. A visitor, surnamed Liu, told the state-run Beijing Youth Daily she discovered the fraud when visiting a zoo in a park in Louhe, a city in the central province of Henan, with her son. As they approached the cage marked "African lion," they were shocked to hear the beast inside emit a bark. It was a Tibetan mastiff -- a large, hairy breed of dog. "The zoo is absolutely trying to cheat us," Liu said. "They are trying to disguise dogs as lions."

Wisdom, foolishness, belief, faith, agnostic

One day, students in one of Albert Einstein’s classes were saying they had decided that there was no God. Einstein asked them, how much of all the knowledge in the world they had amongst themselves collectively, as a class. The students discussed it for a while and decided they had 5% of all human knowledge amongst themselves. Einstein thought that their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: “Is it possible that God exists in the 95% that you don’t know?”

Cross, salvation, selfishness, preference, forgetting, purpose

Let every pulpit rightly say, “we preach Christ crucified!” A strong church once inscribed these words on an archway leading to the churchyard. Over time, two things happened: the church lost its passion for Jesus and His gospel, and ivy began to grow on the archway. The growth of the ivy, covering the message, showed the spiritual decline. Originally it said strongly, we preach Christ crucified. But as the ivy grew, one could only read we preach Christ, and the church also started preaching “Jesus the Great Man” and “Jesus the Moral Example” instead of Christ crucified. The ivy kept growing, and one could soon only read, we preach. The church also had even lost Jesus in the message, preaching religious platitudes and social graces. Finally, one could only read we, and the church also just became another social gathering place, all about we and not about God.

Hope, help, bible, scripture, encouragement, hope

When George Peabody was staying at Sir Charles Reed’s house, he saw the youngest child bringing to his father a large Bible for family prayers. Mr. Peabody said, “Ah! my boy, you carry the Bible now; but the time is coming when you will find that the Bible must carry you.”

fear, best, sacrifice, honor, trust

Queen Mary, who made it her practice to visit Scotland every year. She was so loved by the people there that she often mingled with them freely without a protective escort. One afternoon while walking with some children, she went out farther than she’d planned. Dark clouds came up unexpectedly, so she stopped at a nearby house to borrow an umbrella. “If you will lend me one,” she said to the lady who answered the door, “I will send it back to you tomorrow.” The woman didn’t recognize the Queen and was reluctant to give this stranger her best umbrella. So she handed her one that she intended to throw away. The fabric was torn in several places and one of the ribs was broken. The next day another knock was heard at the door. When the lady opened it, she was greeted by a royal guard, who was holding in her hand her old, tattered umbrella. “The Queen sent me,” he said. “She asked me to thank you for loaning her this.” For a moment the woman was stunned, then, she burst into tears. “Oh, what an opportunity I missed,” she cried. “I didn’t give the Queen my very best!”

Pride, deceptive, deception, humility

Dr. H. A. Ironside, who was pastor of the prestigious Moody Church in downtown Chicago, felt that he was not as humble as he should have been. So he asked an older friend what he could do about it. The friend suggested, “Make a sandwich board with the plan of salvation in Scripture on it. Put it on and walk through the business district of Chicago for a whole day.” Ironside followed his friend’s humiliating advice. After he got home, as he took off the sandwich board he caught himself thinking, “There’s not another person in Chicago that would be willing to do a thing like that.”

Accidents, ideas, perseverance, good out of bad

In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M in the United States, was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally created a "low-tack", reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive. For five years, Silver promoted his "solution without a problem" within 3M both informally and through seminars, but failed to gain acceptance. The idea for the Post-it note was conceived in 1974 by Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow 3M employee Spencer Silver. No application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry's idea. The 3M company was initially skeptical about the product's profitability, but in 1980, the product was introduced around the world. Today, Post-it notes are sold in more than 100 countries

Freedom, bondage

Back in the nineteenth century our sixteenth president realized something radical must be done about slavery in our country. Unwilling to look the other way any longer, on September 22, 1862, he presented what came to be known as the Emancipation Proclamation, an official document condemning human slavery. Abraham Lincoln, realizing that slavery is completely against human dignity, officially abolished it from the United States on that day. Tragically, little changed in the daily life of our nation, even though the slaves were officially declared free. You know why; you’ve read the stories. The Civil War was still going on. The plantation owners never informed their slaves. The vast majority of the former slaves couldn’t read, so they had no idea what the news was carrying. There was no mass media then to announce those kinds of presidential pronouncements. And so for the longest time, slavery continued even though it had been officially brought to an end. The war ended in April 1865. Do you know when Lincoln’s declaration was officially enacted? When the people finally began to leave their enslaved lives and make their way toward freedom? December 18, 1865—more than three years after he first released his proclamation.

Love, ministry, serving, acknowledgement, pride,

Chuck E. Cheese and celebration station have games you can play to win tickets but all those tickets you save won’t get you anything that is worth much. People who are becoming love don’t count tickets. They don’t do nice things for Jesus to get a bunch of tickets they can trade someday for an eraser full of grace. They shun all the attention because they don’t need it anymore. They realize bright lights dont need spotlights. Instead they see every act of selfless love as a declaration of their faith. They’ve come to see love as its own reward simply because it pleases God. People who are ticket counters mistakenly try to guantify how much we love Him back by offering Him success and accomplishments. the problem is these are just a bunch of tickets he wants our hearts not our help. We don’t count how many times a day we talk about football, hunting or cars? We talk most about what we love the most. People who are becoming love talk a lot more about what God is doing than what they are doing. In the end, none of us wants to find out we’ve traded the big life Jesus talked about for a box full of acknowledgment- Bob Goff, Everybody Always

Pride, help, solitude, fear, running, lost, salvation

There was duck named Ringo who lived in a park in Toronto. There was a pond there. People would sometimes throw soda-cans in the park and into the pond. Ringo was trying to stick his beak into a can and he got the pull tab stuck around his beak. He couldn't get it off and he couldn't open his mouth. As a result, he was starving to death. So he became a project for the people of Toronto to try to help poor Ringo.

They tried everything they could do to catch that duck. But they couldn't catch him. He didn't know people were trying to help him. And he was starving to death. They actually went so far as to get a canon that shoots a net. And shot a net that covered the whole pond. Yet he got away.

Then they hired a skin-diver to swim around the pond and swim up to Ringo and grab him. But Ringo knew what size ducks were. Then they tried to allure him with food - bread and corn. But all that did was draw hundreds of seagulls. Finally, they got Canada's champion duck caller. And he got the attention of every duck in the pond but Ringo.

They never could help Ringo. He just couldn't understand that all those attempts were not designed to frighten him but to free him from his problem.

finish, perseverance, help, assistance

Derek Redmond held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4x400 metres relay at the World Championships and European Championships. However, his career was blighted by a series of injuries. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona he tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but continued the race limping. His father Jim came running down onto the track and assisted him saying, “I’m here son, we’ll finish together”. They completed a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Comparison, submission, consistency

When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, was a university student, he lived in a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher who was unable to leave her apartment. Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they would go through together. He would come down the steps, open the old man’s door, and ask, “What’s the good news?” The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair and say, That’s middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, THAT is middle C!”

Bad advice, instant gratification, risk, choices

Spencer Haywood, who is an NBA Hall of Famer, played for a total of six NBA teams over the course of his career, being named to five All-Star games, winning the 1970 MVP award, and winning a championship with the Lakers in 1980. Spencer while playing in the NBA early on in his career was approached by Phil Knight with a proposition. Either take $100,000 upfront, or take 10% of the company in exchange for promoting Nike’s shoes. His agent talked him into taking the money upfront which would today be worth over $6 billion

Evangelism, gospel, good news, witness, share

I read of a Chinese farmer who had cataracts removed from his eyes at a Christian mission clinic. A few days later, the missionary doctor looked out his window and noticed this farmer holding the end of a long rope. In single file holding to the rope were several dozen blind Chinese who had been rounded up and led for miles to the doctor who had worked a miracle on this farmer’s eyes

Satisfied, granted, grace, spoiled

A story is told about a vendor who sold bagels for 50 cents each at a street corner food stand. A jogger ran past and threw a couple of quarters into the bucket but didn’t take a bagel. He did the same thing every day for months. One day, as the jogger was passing by, the vendor stopped him. The jogger asked, “You probably want to know why I always put money in but never take a bagel, don’t you?” “No,” said the vendor. “I just wanted to tell you that the bagels have gone up to 60 cents.” Too often, as believers, we treat God with that same kind of attitude. Not only are we ungrateful for what He’s given us—but we want more

mountain, higher ground, mesa, snake, devil

There is, in nature, an invisible, yet very real and definite, line above which you will never find a snake. Early settlers in America referred to this line as “the snake line”. Often, when they were purchasing a property, they would ask the seller whether or not the property was above “the snake line”. They knew the land on the mountain was more rocky, harder to clear, and not as fertile as the land in the valley. But, they also knew the land in valley was infested with rattlesnakes, adders, and copperheads. Many settlers chose to raise their families on the higher ground, above “the snake line”, rather than risk snake bites for themselves or their families. Just as the Lord has drawn an invisible line in the mountains which the snakes can’t pass, there is a spiritual “snake line” as well

fruit, supply, vine, connect, outflow, source

Lawrence of Arabia once brought a group of Bedouins to London and housed them in a beautiful hotel. The only kind of dwelling they had ever lived in was a tent in the desert. They quickly became fascinated with the faucets in the hotel. In the desert water was hard to come by, but in the hotel they merely had to turn a knob to get all the water they needed. When Lawrence helped them pack up to leave, he discovered they'd taken the faucets off all the sinks and put them in their bags. They believed that if they possessed the faucets they would also possess the water. Christians often forget that in the spiritual realm they are like faucets. Unless they are connected to the pipeline of spiritual water, they are just as useless as the faucets the Bedouins had in their bags. Spiritual fruit flows out of a Christian only when he or she is connected to the source of spiritual power..."which comes through Jesus Christ"

Bigger, larger, outreach, expand, witness, share, grow

It is said that one day Michelangelo entered his studio to examine the work of his students. As he came to the painting of one of his favorite pupils, he stood and looked at it for a long time. Then, to the utter surprise of the class, he suddenly took a brush and wrote one word across the canvas. That one word he splashed on the picture was amplius, meaning "larger." Michelangelo was not rejecting the work, for it exhibited great skill and was good as far as it went. But the small size of the canvas had made its design appear cramped. It needed to be expanded.

The Lord may have to write the word amplius across many of our lives. Our spiritual outlook becomes confined, and our vision of what God wants to do in and through us gets restricted by our small faith and limited spiritual growth (and limited spiritual vision). He wants to increase the dimensions of our spiritual lives (and the spiritual vision of our hearts), widen our outreach, and strengthen our witness.

Encouragement, boldness, strength, fear, safety, help, friend, scripture

In 1934, when Adolf Hitler summoned German church leaders to his Berlin office to berate them for insufficiently supporting his programs, he was surprised when Pastor Martin Niemoller stood up to him. That evening his Gestapo raided Niemoller’s rectory, and a few days later a bomb exploded in his church. He was later arrested and placed in solitary confinement. Dr. Niemoller’s trial began on February 7, 1938. That morning, a green-uniformed guard escorted the minister from his prison cell and through a series of underground passages toward the courtroom. Niemoller was overcome with terror and loneliness. What would become of him? Of his family? His church? The guard’s face was impassive, but as they exited a tunnel to ascend a final flight of stairs, Niemoller heard a whisper. At first he didn’t know where it came from, for the voice was soft as a sigh. Then he realized that the officer was breathing into his ear the words of (commentary): “The name of the Lord is a strong tower The righteous run to it and are safe.” Niemoller’s fear fell away, and the power of that verse sustained him through his trial and his years in Nazi concentration camps.

Blessing, abundance, riches favor, giving, trusting

Back many years ago, a young boy accompanied his father and mother as they took the wagon into town for supplies. After the supplies had been purchased and were being loaded in the wagon, the owner of the store said to the boy, "Son, you have been such a good boy, I'm going to let you put your hand in the candy jar and get all the candy you can grab." The little boy just stood there and made no move for the candy. The owner put his hand into the jar, grabbed a handful of candy and handed it to the boy. On the way home, the father asked the boy why he didn't reach his own hand into the jar. He said, "It's not like you to be shy." The boy responded, "I wasn't shy. I was just waiting on him. I knew his hand was bigger than mine." That's a good description of the way God gives His riches to us. He gives them to us by the handfuls.

Purpose, change, vision, problem

Jacob Davis was a tailor with a problem. It was the height of the Gold Rush in the 1800s American West and the gold miners’ work pants kept wearing out. His solution? Davis went to a local dry goods company owned by Levi Strauss, purchased tent cloth, and made work pants from that heavy, sturdy material—and blue jeans were born. Today, denim jeans in a variety of forms (including Levi’s) are among the most popular clothing items in the world, and all because tent material was given a new purpose.

blame, victim, responsibility

Many years ago, famous writers were invited by a newspaper in England to respond to the question, “what’s wrong with the world?” They were supposed to limit their answers to 800 words. But GK Chesterton didn’t need 800 words. He needed only one word, for in response to the question, “what’s wrong with the world”? Chesterton wrote simply, “me”.

anger, bitterness, hurt, blame, victim

In his spiritual autobiography, William Barclay, the venerable Scottish scholar, tells the tragedy of losing his 21-year-old daughter and her fiancé who were drowned in a boating accident. He writes, "God did not stop that accident at sea, but he did still the storm in my own heart so that somehow my wife and I came through that terrible time still on our own two feet." Barclay also tells of receiving an anonymous letter about his daughter's death. It said, "I know why God killed your daughter. It was to save her from corruption by your heresies." Barclay says, "If I had known the writer's address, I would have written back in pity, not anger, saying, as John Wesley once said, 'Your God is my devil.'"

Anger, resentment, bitterness, revenge

It reminds me of the old man who was pondering how blessed He was, but struggled with bitterness over an incident with an old friend. God said to him, “I’ll bless you with whatever you want, but whatever you ask for I’m going to give your enemy twice as much”. The old man thought for a moment and then wished to be blind in one eye

Perseverance, overcome, odds

Wilma Rudolph was a successful Olympic athlete in the 1960’s, but most do not know her story. She was born the 16th of 18 children in a poor black family in middle Tennessee, weighing only 4 lbs. and 1 oz. At the age of 4 she contracted polio and lost the use of her left leg. The battle with polio left her weakened and she immediately developed chronic pneumonia and scarlet fever. Even though she managed to survive those deadly diseases, she spent the bulk of her childhood as a cripple. It was only through years of therapy, which her mother carried her to on her one day off a week, and determination that Wilma was able to regain the use of her left leg. She went on to play high school basketball setting a single season record for most points scored: 803 in 25 games. In 1960, Wilma Rudolph represented the United States in the Olympics, which was held in Rome, Italy and she won gold medals in all three of the events in which she competed. In both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, she finished at least three yards in front of her closest competitor. She tied the world record in the 100-meter and set a new Olympic record in the 200. And in the 400-meter relay she brought her team from behind to win the gold.

Witness, evangelism, conviction, presence

R. C. Sproul (The Holiness of God [Tyndale], pp. 91-92) tells about a leading professional golfer a few years ago who was invited to play in a foursome with Gerald Ford, Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. He had played with Nicklaus before, but he was in awe of playing with Ford and Graham. After the round was finished, one of the other pros came up and asked, “Hey, what was it like playing with the President and with Billy Graham?” The pro unleashed a torrent of cursing, and said in a disgusting manner, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat.” With that he turned and stormed off, heading for the practice tee. His friend followed the angry pro and watched him take out his driver and beat ball after ball in fury. The friend said nothing, but just sat on a bench and watched. After a few minutes, the pro had calmed down. His friend said quietly, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?” The pro heaved an embarrassed sigh and said, “No, he didn’t even mention religion. I just had a bad round.”

Faith, trust, healing, power, curse

George Wood’s father was a missionary in China when he was out on horseback for a couple of week to witness to Tibetans who had never heard the gospel. He was poisoned by a Tibetan tribal chief. As he rode away from their encampment, he became violently ill. He tried to break the crystal of his watch to let his wife, back at the mission station, know what time he died. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit woke up his wife and she felt a burden to pray for him. All night long she prayed in language she knew and language she didn’t. When dad returned a week later, she asked him what happened on the trip. He told her about the poison. The night he was dying was the same night she had been awakened to pray for him. A month later, some of the Tibetans were in town getting supplies. They saw Mr. Wood and two of them came over and said, “You must have a very strong God. Our chief gave you enough poison to kill ten men, but you are alive. We want to hear more about your God.”- Told by George Wood

Faith, God’s voice, boldness, love, forgiveness, protest, peace, fear

Martin Luther King Jr.- In the middle of the night on January 27, 1956, Martin Luther King Jr. answered a telephone call and heard “Listen, nigger, we tired of you and your mess. If you ain’t out of this town in three days, we gonna blow your brains out and blow up your house.” Click.

Filled with fear, the young Baptist preacher could not go back to sleep so he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at his kitchen table clasping his head in his hands.

Two months earlier, Rosa Parks had refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery Alabama

The Montgomery Bus Boycott had begun. The organizers of the boycott sought the support of the black ministers in town, the youngest of whom was King at just twenty-six years old.

King was reluctant to get too involved. When invited to a meeting he replied, “Let me think on it awhile. Call me back.” He eventually decided to attend because the organizers had already decided to hold the gathering at King’s church

At the meeting King was quickly elected the president of the boycott committee. In truth the other leaders had “passed the buck” to the new kid in town. “It all happened so quickly,” King recounted, “I did not even have time to think it through. If I had, I would have declined the nomination.”

Within days King had become the focus of the White Citizens’ Council’s attacks. Hate mail, obscene phone calls, threats to his wife and infant daughter came quickly.

Then came the phone call on the night of January 27 and King admitted being “scared to death” and burdened by the “paralyzing effect” of fear.

Over his cup of coffee he contemplated how he might leave Montgomery without appearing like a coward. “I got to the point that I couldn’t take it any longer. I was weak.” He confessed his fear to God as he prayed in the darkness of his kitchen.

While praying he heard an inner voice. “Stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you, even until the end of the world.”

King knew the voice belonged to Jesus, and in that moment his fear disappeared. Although raised in a very religious home, theologically educated, and trained as a minister, that night in his kitchen King experienced God in a profoundly personal and intimate way. For the first time he felt the reality of God with him.

His newfound courage in God’s unceasing presence would be tested four nights later. King’s wife and two-month-old daughter were home while he conducted a rally for the boycott at the First Baptist Church. As he finished speaking a church member entered and told King, “Your house has been bombed!”

When he arrived at the parsonage, King found it on fire with the front of the home destroyed. Hundreds of angry black citizens were surrounding the house with more coming from every direction.

The white police officers tried to keep order, but the mob was armed with knives, bats, bottles, and guns. King made certain that his wife and daughter were unharmed and then pushed his way through the crowd to the smoldering porch.

King signaled the crowd to calm down. He reminded those who had “come to do battle” that “he who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword.” Then to the amazement of both the angry black citizens and the frightened white police officers, King calmly told the mob, “I want you to love your enemies. Be good to them. Love them and let them know you love them . . . What we are doing is right. What we are doing is just. And God is with us.”

One witness said there were tears on many faces. The weapons were put down and the crowd began singing “Amazing Grace.”

King’s wife later said, “This could well have been the darkest night in Montgomery’s history, but the Spirit of God was in our hearts.” The sight of Reverend King, standing on the rubble of his firebombed home and calling the black citizens of Montgomery to love those responsible, changed the course of the civil rights movement.

He had preached about love, forgiveness, and nonviolence before, said one historian. “But now, seeing the idea in action . . . millions were touched, if not converted.”

The real conversion did not happen that night on King’s bombed-out porch, but four nights earlier in his tranquil kitchen. There, over a cup of coffee, his fear was replaced by faith

in the One who promised to always be with him.

Help, others, assistance, delegate

During World War II some 300,000 British troops were pinned by Hitler at Dunkirk with their backs to the sea. The only way out was to retreat across the water. But how do you move 300,000 people by water? There isn’t a boat big enough to carry them. The call went out to anyone with a boat to rescue them. One thousand boats arrived, and over the course of ten days, all of the troops were evacuated. They couldn’t build a boat big enough to move 300,000 people, but 1,000 little boats could do the job

Bitterness, unforgiveness, grudges, anger, resentment

Bitterness always inflicts a deeper wound on the person who harbors it than the person against whom it is directed. A man who had car trouble on a lonely road asked a farmer to tow him to the nearest garage. On the way his wife was protesting to her husband the fee the farmer charged. “It is scandalous,” she said, “to charge us ten dollars for towing this car only three miles.” To which her husband replied, “Never mind, dear. I’m having my revenge—I’ve got my brakes on.”

love, trust, faith, storms, winds, trials

A farmer had a weather vane on his barn, on which was written "God is love." When friends asked why, the farmer said, "This is to remind me that no matter which way the wind blows, God is love."

Standard, ruler, judge, Bible, Word, straight, compromise

""To make straight furrows, son, just pick out an object beyond the field and keep your eyes fixed on it."" The boy nodded his understanding, and the farmer left. When he came back an hour later, the farmer was shocked to see a field of twisted furrows. ""What happened, son? I thought I told you to keep your eye on an object beyond the field."" ""I did, Dad,"" the boy replied, pointing to the ""standard"" he had chosen--a cow in the adjoining pasture!

When missionary John Paton was translating the Scripture for the South Sea islanders, he was unable to find a word in their vocabulary for the concept of believing, trusting, or having faith. He had no idea how he would convey that crucial concept to them. One day while in his hut translating, a native came running up the stairs into Paton's study and flopped in a chair, exhausted. He said to Paton, "It's so good to rest my whole weight in this chair." John Paton had his word: Faith is resting your whole weight on God. That word went into the translation of their New Testament and helped bring that civilization of natives to Christ. Believing is putting your whole weight on God.

Sin, temptation, devotion, flesh, spirit

The story is told about an old Indian chief who was converted. Later a missionary asked him:

"Chief, how are you doing spiritually? Are you experiencing victory over the devil?"

"It's like this," the chief replied. "I have two dogs inside me: a good dog and a bad dog. They are constantly fighting with each other." "Which dog wins?" asked the puzzled missionary. "Whichever one I feed the most," retorted the wise old man

The charioteer is pulled by a Black horse and a White horse. The black horse being mortal pull you towards worldly desires and what not while the while horse being Immortal pulls you towards spirituality and Heavenly things. The charioteer resembles your life/soul and you decide what direction you go by steering in that direction

Neglect, quickly, serious

Colonel Rahl, commander of the British troops in Trenton, New Jersey, was playing cards when a courier brought an urgent message stating that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware River. Rahl put the letter in his pocket and didn't bother to read it until the game was finished. Then, realizing the seriousness of the situation, he hurriedly tried to rally his men to meet the coming attack, but his neglect was his undoing. He and many of his men were killed and the rest of the regiment were capture. Nolbert Quayle said, "Only a few minutes' delay cost him his life, his honor, and the liberty of his soldiers."

Prayer, intercession, intercede, help, throne, access

George Woods dad was preaching in Tibet to the unreached and was poisoned. On the way home as he thought he would die his mom woke up and interceded for him. God healed him and a few weeks later some of the tribe saw him and said our chief gave you enough poison to kill 10 men. Your God is more powerful than ours and we want to hear about him.

Prayer, intercession, intercede, help, throne, access

During the Civil War, there was a young Union soldier who had lost his father and older brother in the war. He went to Washington, D.C., to see if he could get an exemption from military service so that he could go back home and help his mother and sister with the spring planting. When he approached the White House and asked to see the president, he was turned away. Totally disheartened, the soldier sat down on a park bench nearby. A little boy approached him and said, “You look unhappy, soldier. What’s wrong?” After the soldier shared his story, the little boy took him by the hand. He led him through the back door of the White House, past the guards, and into the president’s office itself. President Lincoln looked up and asked, “What can I do for you, Tad?” Tad said, “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you”—and the soldier was not turned away

Prayer, consistency, passion

Years ago in Central Africa, the gospel reached a number of tribes and there were many new believers. Just as a newborn baby cries, so these babes in Christ began to cry out to the Lord in prayer. Since they had no church building, they cleared a central spot in the jungle where they could gather for prayer. Soon there were trails from many different huts that converged on that spot. Whenever a convert seemed to be losing his first love and enthusiasm, other believers would admonish him saying, “Brother, the grass is growing on your path.”

Character, revenge, truth, justice

At his father's funeral, American Carl Lewis placed his 100-meter gold medal from the 1984 Olympics in his father's hands. "Don't worry," he told his surprised mother. "I'll get another one." A year later, in the 100-meter final at the 1988 games, Lewis was competing against Canadian world-record-holder Ben Johnson. Halfway through the race Johnson was five feet in front. Lewis was convinced he could catch him. But at 80 meters, he was still five feet behind. It's over, Dad, Lewis thought. As Johnson crossed the finish, he stared back at Lewis and thrust his right arm in the air, index finger extended. Lewis was exasperated. He had noticed Johnson's bulging muscles and yellow-tinged eyes, both indications of steroid use. "I didn't have the medal, but I could still give to my father by acting with class and dignity," Lewis said later. He shook Johnson's hand and left the track. But then came the announcement that Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids. He was stripped of his medal. The gold went to Lewis, a replacement for the medal he had given his father.

idols, self, pride, submission, humilty, submission

Mircea Eliade used to speak of a legend that was well known in the mountains of Nepal. According to the legend, in the cool air of a mountaintop a huge wax god sat in solitary splendor. Generations of villagers from the valley below made their way up the mountain to worship at the shrine. There came a time, though, when some decided to bring the god down from his chilly citadel and establish him in the center of their marketplace. He was convenient then, and worship was not such a bother. But in the heat of the following days, the wax god softened and sagged. And the villagers realized that they could now make a few changes in their god. Those who thought his countenance too stem molded a delightful smile on his face. Soon the god looked just the way they wanted him to look. In the heat, though, he continued to sag. Little by little, the people began to take away pieces of the wax to light their homes. Soon all of the wax-and all of the god-was gone. When we mold God into our image and use him to fill our own needs, we soon find that we have no god at all. True worship does not bring God down into conformity with what we've always wanted him to be. True worship invites us up to a fearful encounter with the sacred Creator of our lives.

Busy, hurry, fast, rest, sabbath

But the reality is that you are sitting on a planet that is spinning around its axis at approximately one thousand miles per hour. Planet earth will make one full rotation in the next twenty-four hours. Not only that, but you are also hurtling through space at approximately sixty-seven thousand miles per hour. And you didn't have any big plans for today! Before the day is done, you will have traveled 1.3 million miles in your annual trek around the sun

Busy, hurry, fast, rest, sabbath

In his book Anam Cara, John O'Donohue tells a story about a European explorer in Africa who hired some native Africans to help carry his equipment through the jungle. They didn't stop for three days. At the end of the third day, the hired hands stopped and refused to move on. The explorer asked why, and one of the African natives said, “We have moved too quickly to reach here; now we need to wait to give our spirits a chance to catch up with us.” The word Sabbath means “to catch one's breath

Bible, God’s Word, authority, idol

Thomas Jefferson loved the teachings of Jesus. In fact, the author of the Declaration of Independence called them “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.” But Jefferson was also a child of the Enlightenment. He didn't have a cognitive category for miracles, so Jefferson literally took a pair of scissors and cut them out of his King James Bible. It took him two or three nights. And by the time he was done, he had cut out the virgin birth, cut out the angels, cut out the Resurrection. Jefferson extracted every miracle, and the result was a book titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, or what is commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible

Missionary, sacrifice, epitaph

I've been inspired by a group of early-twentieth-century missionaries who became known as “one-way missionaries” because they packed all their earthly belongings into coffins and purchased one way tickets when they departed for the mission field. They knew they'd never return home. The story is told of one such missionary named A. W. Milne who felt called to a tribe of headhunters in the New Hebrides. All the other missionaries to this tribe had been martyred, but that didn't keep Milne from chasing the Wild Goose. He lived among the tribe for thirty-five years and never returned home. When the tribe buried him, they wrote the following epitaph on his tombstone: “When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness.

Question, teachable, learning, pride, assumption

According to the research of Rolf Smith, children ask 125 probing questions per day. Adults, on the other hand, ask only a half dozen probing questions each day. That means that somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose 119 questions per day

Sarcophagus on Cole Hill in Plymouth Massachusetts, risk, challenge

History records no noble venture for faith and freedom than that of this pilgrim band. In weakness and painfulness in watchings, often in hunger and cold, they laid the foundations of a state wherein every man through countless ages should have liberty to worship God in his own way. May their example inspire thee do to thy part in perpetuating and spreading the lofty ideal of our republic throughout the world

Mistakes, optimism, positive, vision, fight

Sunday, December 7th, 1941--Admiral Chester Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington D.C. He was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the phone. He told Admiral Nimitz that he (Nimitz) would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. He landed at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. There was such a spirit of despair, dejection and defeat--you would have thought the Japanese had already won the war. On Christmas Day, 1941, Adm. Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters everywhere you looked. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, "Well Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?" Admiral Nimitz's reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, "The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make, or God was taking care of America . Which do you think it was?" Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, "What do mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?" Nimitz explained:

Mistake number one:

The Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and been sunk--we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.

Mistake number two:

When the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks opposite those ships. If they had destroyed our dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of those ships to America to be repaired.

As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time we could have towed them to America . And I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.

Mistake number three:

Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in top of the ground storage tanks five miles away over that hill. One attack plane could have bombed those tanks and destroyed our fuel supply. That's why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or.....God was taking care of America

Deposit, evangelism, lost, backslidden

“Listen to a tale, which is not a mere tale,” Eusebius begins, “but a narrative concerning John the Apostle, which has been handed down and treasured up in memory.”

John has just returned from exile on the island of Patmos and is busy traveling around ordaining bishops. In one town, he takes particular concern for the spiritual welfare of one of their young men and exhorts the local bishop, “This one I commit to you in all earnestness in the presence of the Church and with Christ as witness.” The bishop agrees, and John heads home to Ephesus.

The bishop gives one of his presbyters (or, priests) the task of watching over the young man, who instructs him and baptizes him. But, misjudging that the young man is now strong in the faith, the presbyter pre-maturely relaxes his discipline. That’s when things start to go down hill.

Enticed by “costly entertainments,” the young man gets in with a bad crowd who persuades him to commit robbery with them.

But he still has some conscience. He knows that what he is doing is wrong, but unfortunately, knowing how great his crimes are, begins to despair of God’s mercy. Figuring he is now lost forever, he throws himself deeper into their illicit activities and, as Eusebius describes it, becomes “a bold bandit-chief, the most violent, most bloody, most cruel of them all.”

Some time later, John is visiting the church again and asks the bishop, “Come, O bishop, restore us the deposit which both I and Christ committed to you, the church, over which you preside, being witness.”

At first the bishop is confused, thinking John is referring to money, but John clarifies: “I demand the young man and the soul of the brother.” The bishops bursts into tears, and confesses to John, “He is dead, dead to God. For he turned wicked and is now a robber. And now, instead of the church, he haunts the mountain with a band like himself.”

John, according to Eusebius, “rends his clothes, and beating his head with great lamentation” cries out, “A fine guard I left for a brother’s soul! But let a horse be brought me, and let someone show me the way.” And John rides off at once to the robber’s outpost.

When he gets close, he is taken prisoner by some of the robbers. He doesn’t resist but just demands to meet their leader.

The young man is standing armed when John approaches, but when the young man recognizes John, he turns “in shame to flee.”

Then, John, who may have been in his 70s or 80s, “forgets his age, pursues him with all his might,” and shouts after him,

“Why, my son, do you flee from me, your own father, unarmed, aged? Pity me, my son; fear not; you have still hope of life. I will give account to Christ for you. If need be, I will willingly endure your death as the Lord suffered death for us. For you will I give up my life. Stand, believe; Christ has sent me.”

The young man stops and looks down, then throws away his weapons and begins to “tremble and weep bitterly.” As John embraces him, the young man confesses his sins, “baptizing himself,” as Eusebius puts it, “a second time with tears.”

Forgiveness, shed blood, salvation, crucifixion, substitute

The beautiful, green hills of New Zealand, a country known for its sheep industry, are dotted everywhere with white sheep. During the yearly lambing season, thousands of baby lambs are born. Unfortunately, some lambs die at birth. Many mother sheep are also lost during lambing season; they die giving birth.

In an attempt to save the orphaned lambs, the shepherds match baby lambs that have lost their mothers with mother sheep who have lost their lambs. It's not as easy as it sounds, though, since a mother sheep won't accept a lamb and nurse it unless it is her own.

How, then, do shepherds get a mother sheep to accept an orphaned lamb as her own? The process is as old as shepherding itself. The mother's own lamb, which has died, is skinned, and the skin of the dead lamb is draped

over the living lamb as it is placed by the adoptive mother's side. The mother sheep then smells the skin and blood and accepts the orphaned lamb as her own.

Heaven, future, kingdom

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "Ne Plus Ultra," which means "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "ne" or "no," making it read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was indeed "more beyond."

Heaven, hell, saved, sinner

Following a campaign speech, a young man rushed up to Senator Everett Dirksen and said, "Senator, I wouldn't vote for you if you were St. Peter!" Dirksen eyed the young man for a moment, then said: "Son, if I were St. Peter, you couldn't vote for me, because you wouldn't be in my district."

Conflict, watching, seeing, back

Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. Called "Christ of the Andes," the statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted -- the statue had its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, "The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans.

God’s word, bible, preaching, common sense, spirit led, truth, anointing

The missionary Robert Moffat was in Scotland trying to find men who would go to Africa to be missionaries. One night he showed up to speak at a church and there were only a handful of women there. To make matters worse, his pre-arranged text was Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. Moffat raced through his sermon, finishing early; trusting God to make something of it somehow. When it was over, he departed; to the usual round of polite handshakes and smiling thank yous, but not a single recruit to show for his efforts. Or so he thought. Moffat had no way of knowing it, but his words that night would make an enormous difference in the history of Christian missions. Unbeknownst to him, there was a man in the sanctuary that night, well, not a man exactly, but a boy. High up in the choir loft he sat, waiting for the sermon to end, so he could do his job; pumping the bellows of the pipe organ with his feet. As he waited, young David Livingstone could not help but hear the preacher’s words. It seemed as though they were directed to him alone. Years later, by then a young man, David Livingstone would train as a doctor, and pack himself off to the most uncharted regions of Africa as a medical missionary and explorer. All this took place because, one blustery Scottish night years before, a man heard from God and preached a sermon in spite of what things looked like.

Depression isolation fear confidence overcoming divorce

A little boy's father left their family when he was five years old to pursue a boxing career. His month was gone for long periods of time working. He eventually was adopted by his grandparents and moved from the South to Michigan. In these new surrounding he developed a stuttering problem and chose not to speak for 18 months. The problem continued in high school, where an English teacher suggested he memorize speeches and enter speaking contests. This cured Jones of his problem. He was given a full scholarship to the University of Michigan where he took acting classes as a hobby. Soon after this it became his major. In his career he has been the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa the lion King. The little boy grew up to be James Earl Jones

Abby, money, cost, tithe, giving, ministry, life, death

Is the church costing too much? Americans spend annually more on dog food than on church contributions. It is not unusual for an individual to pay more for his country club membership than he gives to the church. Let me share an experience with you. On June 2, 1940, a little girl was born to us. She cost us money from the moment she was born. As she grew from babyhood to girlhood, she cost even more - her dresses and shoes were expensive, and we had to have the doctor through all those childhood diseases. She was even more expensive during her school and teen years. When she went to college we discovered, along with other parents, that all college expenses are not in the catalog. After graduation, she fell in love and married. She was married in a church wedding and that, too, cost a lot of money. Then, five months after her marriage, she suddenly sickened and within a week she was dead. She hasn't cost us a penny since the day we walked away from her grave. As long as the church is alive, it will cost money. And the more alive a church is, the more money it will cost. Only a dead church is no longer expensive. Is the church costing too much?

purpose, salvation, help, suicide

A lady in Biloxi, Mississippi jumped off a bridge intending to kill herself. A fishermen below saw her hit the water and jumped in to save her. In his excitement he forgot that he couldn't swim. As he was flailing and screaming for help the girl under the water saw him and rescued him. Both were taken to the hospital and survived. a newspaper reporter later said, "The man did not save the girl, purpose saved the girl."

Cross, Salvation, gratitude, thankfulness, silence, light, dark

One of the most famous sermons of the Middle Ages was given by an anonymous monk who announced he was going to preach on agape, or the “love of God.” The sermon was to take place on a Saturday evening just before dusk. For those who were present, the next moments represented what Walter Benjamin once called “chips of messianic time.” Instead of mounting the pulpit that evening, the monk sat silently in his seat. The setting sun shone through the stained-glass windows with an eerie glow. When the cathedral was finally dark, he went to the altar and lit a candle. Then he walked over to a statue of Jesus on the cross. In silence, he held up the candle to illuminate the wounded hands. For several minutes he lit just the hands. Then he moved the candle down to the feet and held the candle there for several minutes. Then he moved the candle up to the open side and then finally to the crown of thorns. After doing all this, the monk pronounced the benediction, and everyone left the church in silence—pondering the greatest sermon they would ever hear, a wordless worship of the One who loved us so much he would die on the cross for us.

Relationship, companionship, friends, alone, satisfaction, fulfillment

A rather crude and cruel experiment was carried out by Emperor Frederick, who ruled the Roman Empire in the thirteenth century. He wanted to know what man's original language was: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin? He decided to isolate a few infants from the sound of the human voice. He reasoned that they would eventually speak the natural tongue of man. Wet nurses who were sworn to absolute silence were obtained, and though it was difficult for them, they abided by the rule. The infants never heard a word -- not a sound from a human voice. Within several months they were all dead.

Hypocrite, false, fake, glorify

During the Spanish conquest of Mexico under Hernando Cortez in the early 1500s, a resistance leader named Hatney was captured after a fierce battle and sentenced to be burned alive. After tying him to the stake, his captors urged him to become a Christian so that at his death his soul might be given an entrance into heaven. He asked his tormentors if they expected to go to this place. On being told that they did, he cried out, “Then I will not be a Christian, for I would not again go to a place where I would find men so cruel!”

Hypocrite, false, fake, glorify, integrity, character, consistency

Will Houghton, president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940's, was such a person. Before Houghton became president of Moody, he pastored a church in New York City. An agnostic living there was contemplating suicide, but he decided that if he could find a minister who lived what he professed, he would listen to him. Since Will Houghton was a prominent figure in the city and a pastor, the man chose Houghton for his case study. He hired a private detective to watch him. When the investigator's report came back, it revealed that Houghton's life was above reproach. The agnostic went to Houghton's church, accepted Christ, and later sent his daughter to Moody Bible Institute

Hypocrite, false, fake, glorify, integrity, character, consistency, worldliness

Our church has a good, clear-ringing bell. But yesterday we were ashamed of it. The first dull sound sent me looking for the bell ringer, who soon found out what was wrong. Nearly an inch of snow and sleet had blown on it during a night storm, and it was thoroughly encased in ice. What a poor call to worship it gave! Then the Lord impressed on me the thought that Christians often become sheathed in the sound-deadening things of the world. As a result, their witness becomes `ice-encased'.

security, trust, power, assurance, faith, confidence

Did you know that when they began to build the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the work went very slowly for quite a while. It was not that they were short on workers, or short on money—they had plenty of both. The reason was that the men were scared to be working over those cold, icy waters of the San Francisco Bay. They went very slow because they were afraid to fall to their death. And in fact, twelve men did fall to their death, and with each one, the workers grew more and more scared and worked more and more slowly. And with each passing day, the job got further and further behind schedule. So finally, the contractor had the idea to lay a safety net below the bridge. And he ran it from one side of the bay to the other, underneath the workers, so that if they fell, it wouldn’t matter. They would land on the safety net and be safe. And guess what? After that, the work went very quickly. Two men did fall from the bridge, but neither one died. And the bridge was finished on time. What was it that made all the difference? Security. The assurance that if they fell, they would be caught. This freed the workers up to focus just on the task at hand, and not have to also worry about keeping their balance in the blustery winds of San Francisco Bay.

charity, congress, benevolence

Davy Crockett served in the Congress from 1827 to1835. He voted for a bill appropriating $20,000 for relief to victims of a fire in Georgetown. When he return home a farmer chastised him for supporting the bill and giving "what is not yours to give". The farmer told Crockett the Constitution does not grant Congress the power to give charity and if it did, "You will be very easily perceived what a wide door this would open for favoritism and corruption, on the one hand and robbing the people on the other".

Practice, passion, drive, work, ethic, better, grow

ESPN article on Melvin Gordon and running backs not being drafted in the first round. In the past 5 drafts only 3 running backs have been top 20 picks. It’s nearing 3am in Madison, Wisconsin, and many of Melvin Gordon's teammates are lounging at home after a June night out -- splayed on couches, winding down, getting ready to call it a night. Gordon is not. To find him, you'd need to look to the front yard, where the 6-foot-1 junior has tossed a rope ladder to the ground and chosen this time, as good a time as any, to run a few agility drills. Bouncing on his toes, knees raised high, legs pumping like pistons, soaked in sweat, he's darting between each rung, an athlete's version of hopscotch. Leftrightleftright, ininoutout, leftrightleftright, ininoutout. Gordon pauses, just long enough to catch his breath, and fires off a Snapchat to Kenzel Doe, a senior receiver for the Badgers: "Are you sleeping or getting better? I'm getting better."

Practice, luck

Gary Player- I was practicing in a bunker down in Texas and this good old boy with a big hat stopped to watch. The first shot he saw me hit went in the hole. He said, “You got 50 bucks if you knock the next one in.” I holed the next one. Then he says, “You got $100 if you hole the next one.” In it went for three in a row. As he peeled off the bills he said, “Boy, I’ve never seen anyone so lucky in my life.” And I shot back, “Well, the harder I practice, the luckier I get”

Sandwich, invention, idea, cards, dirty, purity

In 1748, the British politician and aristocrat John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, used a lot of his free time for playing cards. One of the problems he had was that he greatly enjoyed eating a snack, whilst still keeping one hand free for the cards. So he came up with the idea to eat beef between slices of toast, which would allow him to finally eat and play cards at the same time. Eating his newly invented “sandwich,” the name for two slices of bread with meat in between, became one of the most popular meal inventions in the western world.

Outside, Inside, Integrity, honesty, cover up, pretend, hypocrisy

The Queen Mary was the largest ship to cross the oceans when it was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a World War she served until she was retired, anchored as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach, California.

During the conversion, her three massive smokestacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But on the dock they crumbled. Nothing was left of the 3/4 inch steel plate from which the stacks had been formed. All that remained were more than thirty coats of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had rusted away.

alone, character, integrity

Robert Redford was walking one day through a hotel lobby. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator. "Are you the real Robert Redford?" she asked him with great excitement. As the doors of the elevator closed, he replied, "Only when I am alone!"

hypocrite, honesty, kids

A rather pompous-looking deacon was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me a Christian?" the man asked. After a moment's pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it's because they don't know you."

Decisions, choices, plan, future

The Tay Bridge disaster, the tragic collapse of a Scottish rail bridge of 1879. Seventy-five lives were lost when the train crossing that bridge fell into the Firth of Tay. But two passengers had decided at the last minute to stay an extra night in Edinburgh rather than take that train. Those two passengers who barely missed being on that bridge when it went down? Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Who knows how different history might have been except for that one random decision?

Process, grow, sanctification, holiness, change, Christlike

Ruth Bell Graham (1920–2007), the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, is buried on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her headstone bears a phrase she chose herself—words that so moved her husband that on his first visit to the gravesite, he asked his staffers to read them to him three times. They are worth rereading here as well, a fitting reminder of the nature of every life’s journey: "End of construction. Thank you for your patience”

Discipleship, time, process, making

My dad was a watch maker. I said one day while I watched him labor over the highly carved piece, “there’s no way you can charge the customer for the amount of time you’re investing in restoring that piece. Why do you keep doing this?” I’ll never forget his answer: “I’m not making money. I’m making clocks.” There is no substitute for a follow-me-as-I-follow-Christ mentor-apprentice relationship. Yes, it is time-consuming. It can be tedious and frustrating. But we need to remember that we’re not making money. We’re making disciples.

Baton, torch, generation

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Lauryn Williams ran the anchor leg for the women’s 4x100 relay team in the final. Marion Jones, who ran the third leg, and Williams failed to complete the baton exchange within the 20-meter passing zone, resulting in disqualification of the U.S. team.

In the Beijing Olympics of 2008, Lauryn Williams ran the anchor leg in the relay, but a mix-up in the semi-final with team-mate Torri Edwards caused Edwards to drop the baton. Williams picked up the baton to finish in last place, but the USA was disqualified because she had had to run outside her lane in order to retrieve the baton. In the same Olympics Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay dropped the baton in the men’s relay.

There is no success without a successor

Challenge, finish, inspire, encourage, give

Eugene Lang, a self-made millionaire, greatly changed the lives of fifty-nine students in East Harlem. Asked to speak to the sixth-grade class at a school with a high drop-out rate, he wondered what he could say to inspire these students to stay in school. He wondered how he could get them to even look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I'll help pay college tuition for every one of you." For the first time, those children had hope. Said one student, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly ninety percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

failure, tenacity, challenge, perseverance, discouragement, inspiration, quit

SOICHIRO HONDA was passed over for an engineering job at Toyota and left unemployed. But then he began making motorcycles, started a business and became a billionaire.

VERA WANG failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at 40 and today is the premier designer in the business, with a multi-billion dollar industry.

WALT DISNEY was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie Snow White. Today, most childhoods wouldn’t be the same without his ideas.

ALBERT EINSTEIN didn’t speak until age four and didn’t read until age seven. His teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.” But Einstein just had a different way of thinking. He later won the Nobel prize in physics.

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village

The child of a peasant woman

He grew up in another obscure village

Where he worked in a carpenter shop

Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him

He never wrote a book

He never held an office

He never went to college

He never visited a big city

He never travelled more than two hundred miles

From the place where he was born

He did none of the things

Usually associated with greatness

He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away

One of them denied him

He was turned over to his enemies

And went through the mockery of a trial

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves

While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing

The only property he had on earth

When he was dead

He was laid in a borrowed grave

Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone

And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race

And the leader of mankind's progress

All the armies that have ever marched

All the navies that have ever sailed

All the parliaments that have ever sat

All the kings that ever reigned put together

Have not affected the life of mankind on earth

As powerfully as that one solitary life

finishing, faithful, backslide

The year was 1945.

Three men came shooting out of the starting blocks like rockets.

27 year old, Billy Graham came storming out seemingly nowhere to fill auditoriums across America, speaking to as many as 30,000 people a night.

Graham became the first full time evangelist for Youth for Christ and his reputation as a uniquely gifted preacher roared across America like a prairie fire.

But Billy Graham wasn't the only young preacher packing auditoriums in 1945.

Chuck Templeton and Bron Clifford were accomplishing the same thing.

All three young men were in their mid twenties.

One seminary president, after hearing Chuck Templeton preach one evening to an audience of thousands, called him "the most gifted and talented young man in America today for preaching".

Templeton and Graham were friends.

Both ministered for Youth for Christ.

Both were extraordinary preachers.

Yet in those early years, Most observers would have put their money on Templeton.

As a matter of fact, in 1946 the National Association of Evangelicals published an article on men who were best used of God in that organizations five year existence.

The article highlighted the ministry of Chuck Templeton.

Billy Graham was never mentioned.

Templeton, many felt would be next Babe Ruth of evangelism.

Bron Clifford was yet another gifted 25 year old fireball.

In 1945 many believed Clifford the most gifted and powerful preacher, the church had seen in centuries.

Clifford preached to an auditorium of thousands in Miami, Florida.

People lined up ten and twelve deep outside the auditorium, trying to get in later.

Later that same year, when Clifford was preaching in Chapel of Baler University, the president ordered the class bells turned off so the young man could minister to the young men without interruption to the student body.

For two yours and fifteen minutes, he kept those students on the edge of their seats as he preached on the subject "Christ and the philosophers stone".

At the age of 25, young Clifford touched more lives, influenced more leaders and set more attendance records than any other clergyman in his age in American history.

Graham, Templeton and Clifford, all came out of the starting blocks like rockets.

51 years have gone by.

You've heard of Billy Graham.

So how come you have never heard of Chuck Templeton or Bron Clifford.

In 1950, Templeton left the ministry to pursue a career as a radio and television commentator and newspaper columnist.

Templeton decide he no longer was a believer in Christ, in the orthodox sense.

By 1950, this future Babe Ruth wasn't even in the game and no longer believed in the validity of the claims of Jesus Christ.

What about Clifford?

By 1954, Clifford had lost his family, his ministry, his health and then his life.

Alcohol and financial irresponsibility had done him in.

He wound up leaving his wife and their two Down’s syndrome children. At just thirty five years of age, this once great preacher died from cirrhosis of the liver in a rundown motel on the edge of Amarillo. His last job was selling used cars in the panhandle of Texas. He died, as John Haggai put it, “unwept, unhonored, and unsung.” Some pastors in Amarillo took up a collection among themselves in order to purchase a casket so that his body could be shipped back East for decent burial in a cemetery for the poor.

In 1945, three men with extraordinary gifts were preaching the gospel to multiplied thousands across this nation. Within ten years, only one of them was still on track for Christ.

In the Christian life, it’s not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish.

Integrity, character, fake, hypocrite

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day

Just go to a mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say

For it isn't your father, mother or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass

The fellow whos verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass

Some people may think you are straight-shootin' chum

And call you a wonderful guy

But if the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest

For he's with you clear up to the end

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the man in the glass is your friend

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life

And get pats on the back as you pass

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass

--Dale Wimbrow - The man in the glass

faith, trust, risk, doubt

Charles Blondin, was a famous French tightrope walker. Blondin's greatest fame came on September 14, 1860, when he became the first person to cross a tightrope stretched 11,000 feet (over a quarter of a mile) across the mighty Niagara Falls. People from both Canada and America came from miles away to see this great feat. He walked across, 160 feet above the falls, several times... each time with a different daring feat - once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and blindfolded. One time he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet in the middle of the rope! A large crowd gathered and the buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oohed and Aahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across - one dangerous step after another - pushing a wheelbarrow holding a sack of potatoes. Then a one point, Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" The crowd enthusiastically yelled, "Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe!" "Okay," said Blondin, "Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow." As far as the Blondin story goes, no one did at the time!

forgiveness, anger, bitterness

When the first missionaries came to Alberta, Canada, they were savagely opposed by a young chief of the Cree Indians named Maskepetoon. But he responded to the gospel and accepted Christ. Shortly afterward, a member of the Blackfoot tribe killed his father. Maskepetoon rode into the village where the murderer lived and demanded that he be brought before him. Confronting the guilty man, he said, "You have killed my father, so now you must be my father. You shall ride my best horse and wear my best clothes." In utter amazement and remorse his enemy exclaimed, "My son, now you have killed me!" He meant, of course, that the hate in his own heart had been completely erased by the forgiveness and kindness of the Indian chief.

forgiveness, anger, bitterness, second chances

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a "light bulb" and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You've probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men twenty-four more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one.

forgiveness, anger, bitterness

Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!

forgiveness, anger, bitterness

Corrie ten Boom told of not being able to forget a wrong that had been done to her. She had forgiven the person, but she kept rehashing the incident and so couldn't sleep. Finally Corrie cried out to God for help in putting the problem to rest. "His help came in the form of a kindly Lutheran pastor," Corrie wrote, "to whom I confessed my failure after two sleepless weeks." "Up in the church tower," he said, nodding out the window, "is a bell which is rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the sexton lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on swinging. First ding, then dong. Slower and slower until there's a final dong and it stops. I believe the same thing is true of forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we've been tugging at our grievances for a long time, we mustn't be surprised if the old angry thoughts keep coming for a while. They're just the ding-dongs of the old bell slowing down." "And so it proved to be. There were a few more midnight reverberations, a couple of dings when the subject came up in my conversations, but the force -- which was my willingness in the matter -- had gone out of them. They came less and less often and at the last stopped altogether: we can trust God not only above our emotions, but also above our thoughts."

Right time, timing, combination, fellowship, together, planning, cooperation

Ice Cream was invented in 2000 BC but the cone wasn’t invented till 3,900 years later. Meat was on the planet before humans and bread was baked in 2,600 BC but it took another 4,300 years for someone to put them together to make a sandwich. The modern flush toilet was invented in 1775, but it wasn’t until 1857 that somebody thought up toilet paper.

Trapped, sin, temptation

Aaron Ralston survived a canyoneering accident in south-eastern Utah in 2003, during which he amputated his own right forearm with a dull multi-tool in order to extricate himself from a dislodged boulder, underneath which he had been trapped for five days and seven hours. After he freed himself, he had to rappel down a 65 foot sheer cliff face to reach safety

Temptation, sin, stay away, obedience

"Son," ordered a father, "Don't swim in that canal." "OK, Dad," he answered. But he came home carrying a wet bathing suit that evening. "Where have you been?" demanded the father. "Swimming in the canal," answered the boy. "Didn't I tell you not to swim there?" asked the father. "Yes, Sir," answered the boy. "Why did you?" he asked. "Well, Dad," he explained, "I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn't resist the temptation." "Why did you take your bathing suit with you?" he questioned. "So I'd be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted," he replied.

Justice, mercy

Thomas Hooker was one of the early Puritan leaders here in America. He is known today as the father of Connecticut and was one of the founders of Hartford. He died in 1647 but on his death bed his friends gathered around and tried to comfort him by saying, “Be of good cheer, Thomas, you are going to receive your reward.” But Thomas known as an outstanding preacher responded “No. Brothers, I’m going to receive mercy”.

Mistakes, error, perfect, best, future, bible

Korean Airline Flight #007 departed Anchorage, Alaska on September 1, 1983, for its direct flight to

Seoul, Korea. However, unkown to the pilot and crew, the computer engaging the flight navigation system contained a one and one-half degree routing error. At the point of departure mistake was unnoticeable; 100 miles out the deviation was still so small as to be undetectable. But as the giant 747 continued through the Aleutians and out over the Pacific, the error was picked up by Soviet radar. Jets were scrambled for the intercept, and over mainland Russia Flight #007 was shot out of the sky. All 269 passengers and crew on board lost their lives. A small error made at the departure point resulted in a tragic trajectory and a destructive finish. If only someone had seen the mistake and spoken up.

Mentor, influence, music, faithful, faithfulness

In October of 2002, a series of sniper attacks paralyzed the Washington Beltway, turning normally placid gas stations, parking lots, restaurants, and school grounds into chaotic killing fields. After the spree, ten people were dead and several others wounded. The perpetrators were forty-one-year-old John Allen Muhammad and his seventeen-year-old protégé, Lee Boyd Malvo. Called in by the judge to serve on Malvo’s defense team, social worker Carmeta Albarus was instructed by the court to uncover any information that might help mitigate the death sentence the teen faced. Psychologists told her his personality was so submerged with John Muhammad they he couldn’t be reached. The first time she interviewed Malvo he said, “They want to use me to kill my dad, but that’s not going to happen. We are one.” Albarus met with Malvo numerous times and repeatedly traveled back to his homeland of Jamaica, to interview his family members, teachers, and friends. What she uncovered was the story of a once promising, intelligent young man, whose repeated abuse and abandonment left him detached from his biological parents and desperate for guidance and support. In search of a father figure, Malvo instead found John Muhammad, a veteran of the first Gulf War who intentionally shaped his protégé through a ruthlessly efficient campaign of brainwashing, sniper training, and race hatred, turning the susceptible teen into an angry, raging, and dissociated killer with no empathy for his victims. Albarus took video of family and friends telling Malvo how much they loved him and cared for him. When she showed Malvo the video, he was unmoved… that is until he saw a video of his aunt. His aunt was unable to talk but instead she sang. She sang the hymn, “Great is thy faithfulness”. As Malvo listened to her singing, he began to sing with her and when it finished he wept.

Friendship, acceptance, encouragement

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947. That season he faced jeering crowds, fastballs at his head, spikings on the bases, brutal epithets from the dugouts and crowds. During one game in Boston the taunts and racial slurs seem to reach their peak. Robinson committed an error and the fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then, shortstop Pee Wee Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson, faced the crowd and stood there for what seemed like an eternity. The fans then grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career

Friendship, Acceptance, Encouragement

A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following:

"One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable."

"One who understands our silence."

"A volume of sympathy bound in cloth."

"A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down."

The winning definition read: "A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out."

Appearance, integrity, value, potential

A little girl and her grandfather were walking through the park when they saw a bunch of helium balloons rising into the sky after a concert. The little girl tugged on her Papa's arm and asked papa which color balloon do you think will go to the highest and he said any it's not the color of the balloon that is important it's what's inside that makes all the difference

Pioneer, first, leader, belief, perseverance

For many years it was believed that the four minute mile was a physical barrier that no man could

break without causing significant damage to his health, even causing his own death. For a long time, achieving a four minute mile simply seemed beyond human capacity. Running a mile in four minutes translates to a speed of 15 miles per hour. But on May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile barrier in a race at Oxford College. It was a feat that was compared with Linbergh's trans-Atlantic flight, Hillary’s ascension up Mt. Everest and Yeager breaking the sound barrier. Forbes magazine selected it as the greatest athletic accomplishment of the last 150 years. However, the record only lasted 46 days. In fact, within three years of Rogers historic run breaking the four minute mile barrier 16 other runners also cracked the four minute mile and the world record for the mile has fallen 17 times since Bannister's run. Roger Banister was a very determined individual that opened the door for others to run below the four minute mark. He was once famously quoted as saying “The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.” He opened the floodgates for others to go through.

Door, mistake, false, hoax

On October 15, 2009 in Fort Collins, Colorado, Richard and Mayumi Heene allowed a gas balloon filled with helium to float away into the atmosphere, and claimed that their six-year-old son Falcon was inside it. After more than an hour-long flight that covered more than 50 miles across three states, the balloon landed about 12 miles northeast of Denver International Airport. Authorities closed down the airport and sent several National Guard helicopters and local police in pursuit. After the balloon landed and the boy was found not to be inside, authorities began a manhunt of the entire area, raising fears that he had fallen from the balloon. Later that afternoon the boy was reported to have been hiding in his home's attic the entire time

Door, mistake, false

Down in Texas there is a Republican congressman named Ralph Hall. Ralph is 90 years old and is both the oldest serving member of Congress and the oldest person ever to serve in the House of Representatives. He is one of the most ardent defenders of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act. One night Ralph went to attend a reception on Capitol Hill hosted by one of his buddies. Representative Hall walked through the door and made his usual rounds shaking hands and schmoozing with everyone he could find. After about 30 minutes he inquired about where his congressman friend was at which point he was informed that he was at the wrong party. You see, Congressman Hall had walked through the wrong door and was in the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund party.

Door, mistake, false

On July 16, 2012, Lake Country Florida Sheriff's deputies were attempting to arrest Jonathan Brown for attempted murder. His motorcycle was seen in front of the Blueberry Hills apartment complex. At 1:30 AM deputies knocked on the door and when 26 year old Andrew Scott answered with his gun drawn. Deputies shot killed Scott only to later find out they had knocked on the wrong door.

Truth, belief

Truth does not depend on or change as a result of my personal belief. Although the phrase, “That may be true for you, but not true for me” is commonly used by teens, we must ask, can truth exist solely for the person who believes it? Can something be true for one person but not another? Beneath this phrase lies a deep-seated confusion between the concepts of truth and belief. Clearly, we are each entitled to our own beliefs (at least in America, the land of the free), but this does not mean that we each have our own respective truths. A belief is a personal view of how things are, but truth is the way things actually are in the real world. Therefore, when we consider the nature of truth it makes no sense to say that something is true for you and not for me. While people may have different beliefs, they cannot have different truths, for truth is indifferent to perspective. Philosopher J.P. Moreland put it this way: “Truth is disgustingly indifferent to what we believe.” Truth is what it is, regardless of my feelings or beliefs. We can choose our beliefs, but we can’t choose the truth. Hopefully our beliefs will match up with reality (since our everyday lives and eternal destinies rest upon having truthful beliefs), but we have no power to create truth anymore than we can make a wish come true simply by believing it.

Secrets, honesty, truth, hide, sin, exposed

Several years ago, in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place and bought a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken--over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here." Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Oh, great, let me call the newspaper. I'm gonna have your picture put in the local newspaper. You're the most honest man I've heard of." To which they guy quickly responded, "Oh no, no, don't do that!" Then he leaned closer and whispered, "You see, the woman I'm with is not my wife...she's uh, somebody else's wife."

Charles Swindoll, Growing Deep in the Christian Life, p. 159-60.

Sin exposed, light, secrets, dark, hide, honesty

A drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he'd received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he'd pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. "You were drunk last night weren't you!" "No, honey I wasn’t." "Well, if you weren't, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?"

Sin exposed, light, secrets, dark, hide

A tightfisted old farmer was teasing one of his workers carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his girlfriend. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the worker said," and look what you got!"

Salvation, heaven, direction, forgetting, lost

Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vet pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn't there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it. "The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.' "Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. "The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are; no problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.' Einstein looked at him and said, "Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.

Peace, peacemakers, serving, servant

I remember the old story of a young soldier boy who was a Christian. After the lights were out in the barracks he would slip down on his knees by his bunk in order to pray. One night the sergeant, who had little use for anything religious or Christian, threw his very muddy boots at the boy, striking him on the side of the head. The next morning the sergeant found his boots beside his bed all clean and polished to perfection. He was so impressed by the actions of the young man that he was eventually reached for the Lord.

Goals, fulfillment, satisfaction, fame, popularity

Jack Higgins was a famous author who wrote many bestsellers, including “The Eagle Has Landed” in 1975 which sold over fifty million copies. He’s sold over 250 million book, been translated into 55 different languages and had 11 book turned into movies. Once he was asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His answer: "That when you get to the top, there's nothing there."

Sin, missing the mark, goals

One of golf’s immortal moments came when a Scotsman demonstrated the new game to President Ulysses Grant. Carefully placing the ball on the tee, he took a mighty swing. The club hit the turf and scattered dirt all over the President’s beard and surrounding vicinity, while the ball placidly waited on the tee. Again the Scotsman swung, and again he missed. Our President waited patiently through six tries and then quietly stated, “There seems to be a fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball.” (Campus Life)

Tithing, promises

W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, "I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00."

Survival, sacrifice, selfless, blood

On December 7, 1988, 55,000 people were victims of the worst earthquake in the history of Soviet Armenia. Susannah Petroysan and her daughter, 4 year old daughter Gayane, had gone to Susannah's sister's house, planning to make Susannah a new dress. Susannah's sister's apartment was on the 5th floor of a 9-story building. When the earthquake struck Susannah just had enough time to gather her daughter in her arms before the floor gave way beneath them and they fell into total darkness. The entire building collapsed, and when Susannah regained consciousness she was in complete darkness. She heard her daughter crying in her arms and reaching above her head she felt a tomb-like concrete panel 18 inches above their bodies. Hours passed without any sign of rescuers coming to their aid. Gayane began to cry incessantly that she was thirsty. As time when by, the little girl's cries began to grow weaker until her mother realized it was likely that her child would die of dehydration before rescuers could find them. In desperation she felt around in the rubble and miraculously found a jar of Blackberry jam. Hours later the jam was gone and the little girl was still crying. "Mommy I am so thirsty, please Mommy give me something to drink." But there was no juice, no water, nor any liquids of any kind available to save the life of her child. In desperation she cried out to God to help her save her daughter. It was then that she realized that she did have something she could give her child. She had her own blood. It was all she had so in her love for her child she slashed her fingers with some glass from the jam jar and she gave her daughter her very life's blood to drink to keep her child alive. Eight days after the earthquake they were rescued. Susannah had saved her child's life through the gift of her own blood.

Contentment, satisfied, greed, more

There once lived not far from the River Indus an ancient Persian by the name of Ali Hafed. Hafed owned a very large farm; that he had orchards, grain-fields, and gardens; that he had money at interest and was a wealthy and contented man. One day there visited that old Persian farmer one of those ancient Buddhist priests, one of the wise men of the East. He sat down by the fire and told the old farmer about what he called, “a congealed drop of sunlight” that is a diamond. The old priest told Ali Hafed that if he had one diamond the size of his thumb he could purchase the county, and if the had a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth. Ali Hafed heard all about diamonds, how much they were worth, and went to his bed that night a poor man. He had not lost anything, but he was poor because he was discontented, and discontented because he feared he was poor. He said, “I want a mine of diamonds,” and he lay awake all night. Early in the morning he sought out the priest. "Will you tell me where I can find diamonds?” The priest answered "Diamonds! What do you want with diamonds?” “Why, I wish to be immensely rich.” said Hafed. “Well, if you will find a river that runs through white sands, between high mountains, in those white sands you will always find diamonds.” Ali Hafed said, “I will go.” So he sold his farm, collected his money, left his family in charge of a neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds. He began his search, at the Mountains of the Moon. Afterward he came around into Palestine, then wandered on into Europe, and at last when his money was all spent and he was in rags, wretchedness, and poverty, he stood on the shore of that bay at Barcelona, in Spain, when a great tidal wave came rolling in between the pillars of Hercules, and the poor, afflicted, suffering, dying man could not resist the awful temptation to cast himself into that incoming tide, and he sank beneath its foaming crest, never to rise in this life again. Years later the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm one day led his camel into the garden to drink, and as that camel put its nose into the shallow water of that garden brook, Ali Hafed’s successor noticed a curious flash of light from the white sands of the stream. He pulled out a black stone having an eye of light reflecting all the hues of the rainbow. He took the pebble into the house and put it on the mantel which covers the central fires, and forgot all about it. A few days later this same old priest came in to visit Ali Hafed’s successor, and the moment he opened that drawing-room door he saw that flash of light on the mantel, and he rushed up to it, and shouted: “Here is a diamond! Has Ali Hafed returned?” “Oh no, Ali Hafed has not returned, and that is not a diamond. That is nothing but a stone we found right out here in our own garden.” “But,” said the priest, “I tell you I know a diamond when I see it. I know positively that is a diamond.” Then together they rushed out into that old garden and stirred up the white sands with their fingers, and lo! There came up other more beautiful and valuable gems than the first. “Thus was discovered the diamond-mine of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond-mine in all the history of mankind producing the The Kohinoor, and the Orloff of the crown jewels of England and Russia, The Hope and Regents Diamond and the idol’s eye

Contentment, satisfied, greed, more

A man in California in 1847, owned a ranch. He heard they had discovered gold in southern California, and so with a passion for gold he sold his ranch to Colonel Sutter, and away he went, never to come back. Colonel Sutter put a mill upon a stream that ran through that ranch, and one day his little girl brought some wet sand from the raceway into their home and sifted it through her fingers before the fire, and in that falling sand a visitor saw the first shining scales of real gold that were ever discovered in California. The man who had owned that ranch wanted gold, and he could have secured it for the mere taking. Indeed, thirty-eight millions of dollars has been taken out of a very few acres since then.

Decision, disobedience, ambassador, representative

In 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanies led an attack on Egypt and also sent a fleet to capture Cyprus. Before reaching Alexandria, his path was blocked by a single, old Roman ambassador named Gaius Laenas, who delivered a message from the Roman Senate directing Antiochus to withdraw his armies from Egypt and Cyprus, or consider themselves in a state of war with the Roman Republic. Antiochus said he would discuss it with his council, whereupon the Roman envoy drew a line in the sand around him and said, "Before you cross this circle I want you to give me a reply for the Roman Senate" – implying that Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately. Weighing his options, Antiochus decided to withdraw.

Empathy, compassion

In 1886, Karl Benz drove his first automobile through the streets of Munich, Germany. He named his car the Mercedes Benz, after his daughter, Mercedes. The machine angered the citizens, because it was noisy and scared the children and horses. Pressured by the citizens, the local officials immediately established a speed limit for "horseless carriages" of 3.5 miles an hour in the city limits and 7 miles an hour outside. Benz knew he could never develop a market for his car and compete against horses if he had to creep along at those speeds, so he invited the mayor of the town for a ride. The mayor accepted. Benz then arranged for a milkman to park his horse and wagon on a certain street and, as Benz and the mayor drove by, to whip up his old horse and pass them--and as he did so to give the German equivalent of the Bronx cheer. The plan worked. The mayor was furious and demanded that Benz overtake the milk wagon. Benz apologized but said that because of the ridiculous speed law he was not permitted to go any faster. Very soon after that the law was changed.

Empathy, compassion

Little boy peed his pants in class and was embarrassed. The girl across the aisle noticed and quickly pushed her cup of water off her desk and onto this lap acting as if it was an accident. Everyone felt sorry for the boy and he was allowed to go and change his clothes. Later he told the girl thank you and she said, "I've wet myself before". She understood wht he was going through.

Missions, healing, Oleg, Roman

Bishop Oleg’s father Nikolai was blind. When Oleg was in the military his father went to the cellar church and was healed of his blindness. He wrote Oleg a letter telling him what God had done for him. Oleg got saved when he came home.

When they started preaching people would ask them Bible questions and many

times they didn't know the answer because they only had a New Testament. They would ride on a bus or train to Tbilisi to a guy who had a whole bible and look for answer and bring it back the next week. They would get on a train at night to ride to Tbilisi to attend church. They had two coats, one they would lay on the floor of the train and cover themselves with the other one.

In the town of Rustavi a lady was paralyzed and diseased for 18 years. Oleg fasted and prayed for three days. She was completely healed and the started attending the church. She was well for 26 years and died in 2011

In the town of Ozurgeti a lady stood outside the church and told people that the people inside we're liars. They are church people pretending to be sick and claiming to be healed. So she brought her deaf husband to prove them wrong and God healed him. They are saved and members of the church.

A lady named Eteri in the town her husband died. She had a dream that she should go to a certain bridge in town and she would meet three women. If she would follow them they would lead her to a place where she would hear the words of life. She did and followed them to the cellar church and got saved. Oleggi came to the village to preach and the townspeople stopped him. He told them he came to visit this family. A leader in the town said we will gather the town together at the cultural center and you will speak and we will decide if you can come back. Many people got saved and they started the church. Today her son is the pastor

Pastor Roman found a letter in his car one morning from the KGB stating they knew what he did where he went and threatening to kill his family if he preached again. He went anyway and nearly the whole church of 400 were baptized in the Holy Spirit and 35 were baptized in freezing cold water. When he got home his family was ok and his daughter got baptized in the Holy Spirit at the exact same time the Holy Spirit fell at the church.

The Old president hated the Pentecostals and said, “I will smoke them out of their cellars like rats.” During a government coop he ran and hid in the basement of the parliament building and was flushed out with tear gas.

In the town of Zestafomi- Pastor Roman changed location 19 times before their new building. They run 300 adults and 150 kids. They were never warned about the closings. They would just show up and the doors would be locked. For a few weeks they met in the woods and then one week a tractor came and knocked the trees down and dug holes. Then they met in a field and it was set on fire. They finally met on a steep slope so the overweight policemen couldn't climb it. They would set big rocks on the slope and carry the grandmas up there so they could lean on them so they wouldn't roll down. They've started 35 churches out of this church. When many women with unbelieving husbands wouldn't let them come during the harvest because they claimed the church doesn't care about jobs. The church will send teenagers to help with their harvest or work. They've raised money for unbelieving husbands to have surgeries and buy medicine

Missions, healing, power in blood, choice

Gil is a Datoog warrior I met this year in February 6 hours outside of Arusha, Tanzania. He and his wife Dalfi are missionaries now and he's one of the most effective soul winners in the area. His story began as a young man addicted to alcohol. He was considered the town drunk and on more than one occasion he was found passed out near death. His family pulled their money and resources together so that he could see the local witch doctor. He said his family took him to every witch doctor in the area... However, none of them could help him. There was one witch doctor left but she was the most powerful and most expensive. He said she gave him a potion (liquid drink) that he had to take twice a day for three weeks. Basically it was a cleanser and made him throw up twice a day. After he finished the potion he said it did help for a short time but within a few weeks he returned to the alcohol worse off than before. There was a group traveling through the region showing the Jesus film and one day they stopped in Gil's village. He said they invited him to watch the movie and he thought to himself, the witch doctors didn't have enough power to heal him so why not give Jesus a try. He gave his heart to The Lord that day and couldn't wait to show his family the dramatic change in his countenance and appearance. He told me that he was a horrible son always disrespecting his parents and despising any authority in his life. However, since he received Jesus he was completely different... He respected his parents and his mother was astonished which was the biggest miracle that could have happened. Here's the problem, In Gil's tribe as a Datoog they follow the spiritual leadership of the witch doctors. When Gil came home healed by another spiritual force other than the witch doctors it offended the tribe leader and forced him to call a tribal meeting. At this meeting Gil was presented a choice.

1. He could choose the oil from a sacrificed cow and it would instantly allow him to came back to the tribe, be forgiven and life could resume.

2. Or he could choose the blood of the sacrificed cow and it would remain on him. In other words, choosing the blood he would have to turn his back on the tribe and his family and never again return to his family ever again.

He said without hesitation... That he ran to the leader, dipped his hands in the blood and declared, "I choose the blood! After spending time with him recently I asked him if he had ever returned to his village. He said yes. His life was so different after being saved that he became the talk of the town. He not only was asked to return... But most of his tribe is now saved because of him and Dolfi

missions, giving, sowing, reaping

The Seed Grain

The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr, who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil: I was always perplexed by until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and stops it. The year's food, of course, must all be grown in those four months. People grow sorghum or milo in small fields. October and November...these are beautiful months. The granaries are full—the harvest has come. People sing and dance. They eat two meals a day. The sorghum is ground between two stones to make flour and then a mush with the consistency of yesterday's Cream of Wheat. The sticky mush is eaten hot; they roll it into little balls between their fingers, drop it into a bit of sauce and then pop it into their mouths. The meal lies heavy on their stomachs so they can sleep. December comes, and the granaries start to recede. Many families omit the morning meal. Certainly by January not one family in fifty is still eating two meals a day. By February, the evening meal diminishes. The meal shrinks even more during March and children succumb to sickness. You don't stay well on half a meal a day. April is the month that haunts my memory. In it you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Most of the days are passed with only an evening cup of gruel. Then, inevitably, it happens. A six or seven-year-old boy comes running to his father one day with sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We've got grain!" he shouts. "Son, you know we haven't had grain for weeks." "Yes, we have!" the boy insists. "Out in the hut where we keep the goats—there's a leather sack hanging up on the wall—I reached up and put my hand down in there—Daddy, there's grain in there! Give it to Mommy so she can make flour, and tonight our tummies can sleep!" The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's next year's seed grain. It's the only thing between us and starvation. We're waiting for the rains, and then we must use it." The rains finally arrive in May, and when they do the young boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and with tears streaming down his face, he takes the precious seed and throws it away. He scatters it in the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the harvest. The seed is his; he owns it. He can do anything with it he wants. The act of sowing it hurts so much that he cries. But as the African pastors say when they preach on , "Brothers and sisters, this is God's law of the harvest. Don't expect to rejoice later on unless you have been willing to sow in tears."

Servant, second, pride, humility

An admirer once asked Leonard Bernstein, celebrated orchestra conductor of the New York Philharmonic, what was the hardest instrument to play. He replied without hesitation: ‘Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm, now that’s a problem

Purpose, comfort, risk

In the late 1940s, the United States government commissioned William Francis Gibbs to work with United States Lines to construct an eighty-million-dollar troop carrier for the navy. The US government underwrote $50 million of the $78 million construction cost, with the ship's operators, United States Lines, contributing the remaining $28 million. In exchange, the ship was designed to be easily converted in times of war to a troopship with a capacity of 15,000 troops, or to a hospital ship. The purpose was to design a ship that could speedily carry fifteen thousand troops during times of war. By 1952, construction on the SS United States was complete. The ship could travel at forty-four knots (about fifty-one miles per hour), and she could steam ten thousand miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. She could outrun any other ship and travel nonstop anywhere in the world in less than ten days. On her maiden voyage on July 3, 1952 the United States broke the transatlantic speed record held by Queen Mary for the previous 14 years by over 10 hours. To minimize the risk of fire, the designers of United States used no wood in the ship's framing, accessories, decorations, or interior surfaces. Fittings, including all furniture and fabrics, were custom made in glass, metal, and spun glass fiber to ensure compliance with fireproofing guidelines set by the US Navy. It even had a grand piano that was made of fireproof wood. The SS United States was the fastest and most reliable troop carrier in the world. The only catch is, she never carried troops. At least not in any official capacity. The ship was put on standby once during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, but otherwise she was never used in all her capacity by the U.S. Navy. Instead the SS United States became a luxury liner for presidents, heads of state, and a variety of other celebrities who traveled on her during her seventeen years of service. As a luxury liner, she couldn’t carry fifteen thousand people. Instead she could house just under two thousand passengers. Those passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators, and the comfort of the world’s first fully air-conditioned passenger ship. Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, the SS United States became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic

Christlike, sacrifice

On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: "James Butler Bonham--no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom." No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the Son who makes us free can be seen in the lives of His true followers.

Substitute, substitution, replacement, sacrifice, unselfish

During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier's fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell's heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!"

Substitute, substitution, replacement, sacrifice, unselfish

During the war between Britain and France, men were conscripted into the French army by a kind of lottery system. When someone's name was drawn, he had to go off to battle. There was one exception to this, however. A person could be exempt if another was willing to take his place. On one occasion the authorities came to a certain man and told him he was among those who had been chosen. He refused to go, saying, "I was shot 2 years ago." At first they questioned his sanity, but he insisted that this indeed was the case. He claimed that the military records would show that he had been conscripted 2 years previously and that he had been killed in action. "How can that be?" they questioned. "You are alive now!" He explained that when his name came up, a close friend said to him, "You have a large family, but I am not married and nobody is dependent upon me. I'll take your name and address and go in your place." And that is indeed what the record showed. This rather unusual case was referred to Napoleon Bonaparte, who decided that the country had no legal claim on that man. He was free. He had died in the person of another!

Substitute, substitution, replacement, sacrifice, unselfish

In the middle of the Great Depression, New York City mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia, strived to live with the people. It was not unusual for him to ride with the firefighters, raid with the police, or take field trips with orphans. On a bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told the mayor that her daughter's husband had left, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. However, the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. "It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor," the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson." LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions. Ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous hat, saying, "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Baliff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."

The following day, New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered woman who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren

Substitute, substitution, replacement, sacrifice, unselfish

In his book Written In Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor. "Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room--Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence. "Doctor, when do I die?' Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he'd agreed to donate his blood. He's thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great decision. Johnny, fortunately, didn't have to die to save his sister. Each of us, however, has a condition more serious than Mary's, and it required Jesus to give not just His blood but His life.

Priorities

The story is told of a prosperous, young investment banker who was driving a new BMW sedan on a mountain road during a snow storm. As he veered around one sharp turn, he lost control and began sliding off the road toward a steep cliff. At the last moment he unbuckled his seat belt, flung open his door, and leaped from the car, which then plummeted to the bottom of the ravine and burst into a ball of flames. Although he had escaped with his life, the man suffered a ghastly injury. Somehow his arm had been caught near the hinge of the door as he jumped and had been torn off at the shoulder. A passing trucker saw the accident in his rearview mirror, pulled his rig to a halt and ran back to see if he could help. When he arrived at the scene, he found the banker standing at the roadside, looking down at the BMW burning in the ravine below. Incredibly the banker was oblivious to his injury and moaned, “My BMW! My new BMW!” The trucker pointed at the banker’s shoulder and said, “You’ve got bigger problems than that car. We’ve got to find your arm. Maybe the surgeons can sew it back on!”` The banker looked where his arm had been, paused a moment, and groaned, “Oh no! My Rolex! My new Rolex!”

Priorities, greed, selfish

Fans of the American Wild West will find in a Deadwood, South Dakota museum this inscription left by a beleaguered prospector: "I lost my gun. I lost my horse. I am out of food. The Indians are after me. But I've got all the gold I can carry!"

Priorities, advice

A number of years ago a fascinating interview took place between Mr. Charles Schwab, then president of Bethlehem Steel, and Ivy Lee, a self-styled management consultant. Lee was an aggressive, self-confident man who by his perseverance had secured the interview with Mr. Schwab, who was no less self-assured, being one of the most powerful men in the world. During the conversation, Mr. Lee asserted that if the management of Bethlehem Steel would follow his advice, the company's operations would be improved and their profits increased. Schwab responded, "If you can show us a way to get more things done, I'll be glad to listen; and if it works, I'll pay you whatever you ask within reason." Lee handed Schwab a blank piece of paper and said, "Write down the most important things you have to do tomorrow." Mr. Schwab did so. "Now, " Lee continued, "Number them in order of importance." Schwab did so. "Tomorrow morning start on number one, and stay with it until you have completed it. Then go on to number two and number three and number four...Don't worry if you haven't completed everything by the end of the day. At least you will have completed the most important projects. Do this every day. After you have been convinced of the value of this system, have your men try it. Try it as long as you like, and then send me your check for whatever you think the advice is worth." The two men shook hands and Lee left the president's office. A few weeks later Charles Schwab sent Ivy Lee a check for $25,000--an astronomical amount in the 1930s! He said it was the most profitable lesson he had learned in his long business career.

Priorities, greed, looking back

In his book Feminine Faces, Clovis Chappel wrote that when the Roman city of Pompeii was being excavated, the body of a woman was found mummified by the volcanic ashes of Mount Vesuvius. Her position told a tragic story. Her feet pointed toward the city gate, but her outstretched arms and fingers were straining for something that lay behind her. The treasure for which she was grasping was a bag of pearls. Chappel said, "Though death was hard at her heels, and life was beckoning to her beyond the city gates, she could not shake off their spell...But it was not the eruption of Vesuvius that made her love pearls more than life. It only froze her in this attitude of greed."

Unity, together

In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." Linus looked at his fingers and said, “Why can’t you guys get together like that?”

Priorities

In Berlin art gallery is a painting by German painter Adolf Menzel (1815-1905). Only partially finished. Intended to show Fredrick the Great speaking with some of his generals. Menzel painted generals and background, left king until last. Put outline of Fredrick in charcoal, but died prior to finishing. Many Christians come to end of life without ever having put Christ into his proper place, center stage.

Decisions, choices, regrets, mistakes, fear, opportunity

Most people know Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac but they've never heard of Ron Wayne. He was the third co-founder when Apple began in 1976. His role was the older business-wise member of the group. He got cold feet ten days after the company started and sold his 10% for $2,300. Today it would be worth $35 billion. He now lives on Social Security in a small desert home outside of Las Vegas.

Growth, persistence, roots

The Chinese bamboo tree grows totally underground for the first four years to develop its massive root structure. In the 5th year it grows up to 80ft

Evolution, monkeys

Three monkeys sat in a coconut tree Discussing things as they are said to be. Said one to the others, “Now listen, you two, There’s a rumor around that can’t be true, That man descended from our noble race. The very idea is a great disgrace. “No monkey has ever deserted his wife, Starved her babies and ruined her life. And you’ve never known a mother monk To leave her babies with others to bunk Or pass from one on to another Till they scarcely know who is their mother. “And another thing you’ll never see, A monk build a fence round a coconut tree, And let the coconuts go to waste, Forbidding all other monks to taste. -Why, if I put a fence around a tree, Starvation will force you to steal from me! “Here’s another thing a monkey won’t do, Go out at night and get on a stew, Or use a gun or club or knife To take some other monkey’s life. “Yes, man descended, the ornery cuss, But, brother, he didn’t descend from us!”

Prayer, intercession, circle, perseverance

The Book of Legends, a collection of stories from the Jewish Talmud, the true legend of Honi the Circle Maker. A devastating drought threatened to destroy a generation--the generation before Jesus. The last of the Jewish prophets had died off nearly four centuries before. Miracles were a distant memory. And God was nowhere to be heard. But there was one man, an old sage who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem, who dared to pray anyway. His name was Honi. And even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them. With a six-foot staff in his hand, Honi drew a circle in the sand. Then he dropped to his knees and raised his hands to heaven. With the authority of the prophet Elijah who called down fire from heaven, Honi called down rain. Lord of the Universe, I swear before your great name that I will not move from this circle until you have shown mercy upon your children. Then it happened. As his prayer ascended to the heavens, raindrops descended to the earth. The people rejoiced over the rain, but Honi wasn't satisfied with a sprinkle. Still kneeling within the circle, Honi lifted his voice over the sounds of celebration. Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill cisterns, pits, and caverns. The sprinkle turned into such a torrential downpour that the people fled to the Temple Mount to escape the flash floods. Honi stayed and prayed inside his protracted circle. Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of benevolence, benediction, and grace. Then, like a well-proportioned sun shower on a summer afternoon, it began to rain in perfect moderation. Some within the Sanhedrin threatened excommunication because his prayer was too bold for their taste, but the miracle couldn't be repudiated. Eventually, Honi the Circle Maker was honored for "the prayer that saved a generation." The circle he drew in the sand symbolizes the power of a single prayer to change the course of history. It's also a reminder of this timeless truth: God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.

Dollar, history, founding fathers

Who Was Haym Solomon? History from a $1 Bill-Fascinating! On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States . The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took those four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved. If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the Capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin 's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. 'IN GOD WE TRUST' is on this currency. The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, 'God has favored our undertaking.' The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, 'a new order has begun.' At the base of the pyramid is the Roman numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI) If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States, and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean. The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England. Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on it’s own. At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read, ' E PLURIBUS UNUM' meaning, 'from many - one.' Above the Eagle, you have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one. Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows. They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this:

13 original colonies,

13 signers of the Declaration of Independence

13 stripes on our flag,

13 steps on the Pyramid,

13 letters in 'Annuit Coeptis,'

13 letters in ' E Pluribus Unum,'

13 stars above the Eagle,

13 bars on that shield,

13 leaves on the olive branch,

13 fruits, and if you look closely,

13 arrows.

And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Haym Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper. Haym Solomon brokered over $650,000 for the war effort, the equivalent today of around 40 million.

Value, valuable, expensive, price, surprise, shock, hidden, discovered, unique, creator

John Kuhn, a commercial real estate agent who works part-time as an art prospector was in a suburban Milwaukee home looking at antique furniture and saw a painting on the families wall that caught his attention. He told the family he thought the painting might be by Vincent Van Gogh. He said the painting caught his eye because it looked like a Van Gogh he had once seen in a private collection. Sure enough the painting was confirmed and is estimated to sell at auction for around $800,000.

Value, valuable, expensive, price, surprise, shock, hidden, discovered, unique, creator

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Martin Kober, who lives in Buffalo, New York had an unfinished painting of Jesus & Mary that had been in his family for years. One day it was knocked off the wall by a stray tennis ball and fell behind their couch. The family wrapped it up and left it behind the couch for 27 years. Recently they had it checked out and found that it to be a work by Michelangelo and it is valued at 300 million dollars.

Nothing new done to it, they simply discovered who the artist was

Value, valuable, expensive, price, surprise, shock, hidden, discovered, unique, creator

From 1909-1911 American Tobacco Company (ATC) stuck a card with a picture of Honus Wagner from the Pittsburgh Pirates (considered to be one of the greatest players of all time) in the cigarette packs. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to continue, either because he did not want children to buy cigarette packs to get his card, or because he wanted more compensation from the ATC. The ATC ended production of the Wagner card and a total of only 60 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public. In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of $50. It sold in 2007 for 2.8 million

Purpose, suffering, providence, future

Victor Plymire, was a pioneer missionary to China and Tibet. He went to that part of the world in 1908 and served 16 years before he won his first Tibetan convert. In his 19th year of missionary service, his only son, 6 years of age, and his wife died within one week of each other from smallpox. The local cemetery refused him burial permission, so he bought a small plot of land on a Tibetan hillside overlooking a valley outside of town. It was the middle of winter in that bitter-cold part of the world. He had only enough strength to dig one grave through the frozen ground for the two of them.. What was his and their reward for all of this?. Victor died without ever knowing what purpose the death of his wife and son filled in the economy of God. But about 65 years after that desolate moment on the Tibetan mountainside, and some 36 years after his death, God’s long-range purposes began to come into view. In 1991 the church in Victor Plymire’s adopted town in China wanted to officially reopen. Permission was denied on the grounds the church had no proof the property purchased and buildings erected by my uncle had ever been used as a church. The officials, as did everyone else in the town, knew the true story. But games were being played with the pastor, the son of the martyred leader left in charge of the work when Victor Plymire left in 1949.. In desperation the Chinese pastor asked Victors son David if any written evidence existed which could prove the buildings and property belonged to the church. David came back and searched the file of his father in Springfield, Mo. There he found a deed. But it was not the deed to the church property — no such legal instrument has ever been found. The deed was to the grave on the hillside. For some reason known only to God, Victor Plymire had deeded that grave not in his own name, but the name of the church. When David Plymire returned to China and gave the deed to that pastor, the local authorities accepted it as incontrovertible evidence that the church had indeed existed. The property was returned, the buildings were repossessed, and the church was officially open again. Had the town cemetery been available to Plymire, there would have been no deed for proof. In fact, years ago the town cemetery was leveled and apartments were built over it; but the Plymire grave still rests undisturbed on the edge of the sprawling town. God, who had not caused the deaths of Victor Plymire’s first wife and son, nevertheless intended to use that loss to anchor the church in that very town at the close of the century. Plymire died long before this twist in the story; but we now can see an earthly reward for this precious sacrifice.g

Instructions, common sense, test, little things

Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch standard 4 pound dead chickens at the windshields of

airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields. British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers. When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, blasted through the control console, snapped the engineer's back-rest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin, like an arrow shot from a bow. The horrified Brits sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield and begged the U.S. scientists for suggestions. NASA responded with a one-line memo -- "Defrost the chicken."

faith, trust, clarity

When John Kavanaugh, the noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, he was seeking Mother Teresa … and more. He went for three months to work at “the house of the dying” to find out how best he could spend the rest of his life. When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.” “No,” Mother Teresa answered, “I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said: “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”

worry, overwhelmed, priorities, tasks

In 480 B.C. the outmanned army of Sparta's King Leonidas held off the Persian troops of Xerxes by fighting them one at a time as they came through a narrow mountain pass. Commenting on this strategy, C.H. Sprugeon said, "Suppose Leonidas and his handful of men had gone out into the wide-open plain and attacked the Persians--why, they would have died at once, even though they might have fought like lions." Spurgeon continued by saying that Christians stand in the narrow pass of today. If they choose to battle every difficulty at once, they're sure to suffer defeat. But if they trust God and take their troubles one by one, they will find that their strength is sufficient.

Repentance, legacy, honesty, risk

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example. Toward the end of Capone’s reign Eddie turned states evidence and agreed to tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone. Some say it was only to plea bargain out of jail, others say it was because he wanted to leave a good example for his son. No matter what the reason, Eddie would be risking his life to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. On November 8, 1939 Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."

Repentance, choices, past, history, change, cycle

In WWII Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American Fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and in 1949 change the name of Chicago’s Orchard Depot airport to O'Hare Airport in tribute to the courage of this great man. So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2. SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O'Hare was Edgar Joseph "Easy Eddie” O’Hare’s son.

Forgiveness, competition, bitterness, resentment, family

After WWII many Russian Jews immigrated to the US. One particular family, the Friedman’s had two daughters, Pauline Esther and her identical twin; Esther Pauline. The girls went by the nicknames "Popo" (Pauline) and "Eppie" (Esther). The sisters were close and both went to Central High School in Sioux City and later Morningside College where the two sisters wrote for the college newspaper. In 1939, they were married in a joint wedding ceremony on their birthday. Esther began writing an advice column in 1955. In January of 1956, when Pauline, a 37-year-old newcomer to the Greater San Francisco Area, phoned the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and said that she could write a better advice column than the one she had been reading in the newspaper. In 1956, Pauline offered her column to the Sioux City Journal at a reduced price, provided that the paper refused her sister Esther’s column. The feud between the two sisters, by most accounts lasted up until Ester died of cancer in 2002. Pauline passed her column off to her daughter Jeanne in 2002 after the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. For nearly 50 years these two sisters gave millions of people advice while they themselves let resentment and unforgiveness destroy their relationship. You might have listened to their advice a time or two yourselves. Esther went by the pen name of “Ann Landers” and Esther’s by the name “Dear Abby”.

Forgiveness, bitterness, infection

In l880, James Garfield was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn't find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn't locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president's body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him.

Peer pressure, bullies

In 1979 at Western Heights Junior High in Oklahoma City a young girl walked in to the cafeteria and began firing a gun up into the air. The principal quickly ran to her and tried to get her to calm down. After talking to her for a moment he noticed that her hand was on the pistol but her finer was not on the trigger. While talking he looked away hoping she would take her eyes off of him and when she did he grabbed her hand and wrestled her to the ground. The girl began to cry and said, “Maybe know they will remember my name”. The young girl was unattractive and overweight and students had made fun of her for years and called her cruel nicknames.

Peer pressure, bullies

Everyday a young boy in fourth grade would come home from school sobbing. When his mother was pregnant with him she was given some medicine that contained tetracycline in it and it has caused his teeth to be stained brown. Each day at school the students would make fun of him because of his teeth. His parents were trying to save up enough money to get him the dental work he needed but it was taking more time than they expected. Finally in May of 1995 they had the money saved and took him to the oral surgeon. The surgeon put him asleep under anesthesia and took repaired his teeth giving him a great smile. The only problem is that they young boy never woke up from the anesthesia. He died trying to get the acceptance and approval of the other students.

Persistence, consistency, stamina, stubborn

The truth is that human raw speed is rather unremarkable when compared with the significance and uniqueness of our relative speed. African hunters do what is called persistence hunting. They keep chasing an animal until it tires to the point that they can catch it and kill it because animals aren’t designed to run for a long period of time. Persistence hunting helps prove that when it comes to human movement, speed doesn't kill, stamina does- The great dance, a hunters story by Craig Foster.

Consistency

The ark of the covenant was covered with gold inside and out because our lives should be the same in private as they are in public the poles to carry the ark were to never be removed because the law was never to stay in one place but to always go with us- ,

Giving

the word portion has no English equivalent. It implies a separation of a portion to be set aside for a higher purpose. The root word means "to lift". Thus the effect of the contribution was to elevate the giver and his concept of the purpose of wealth with which God had blessed him- the Chumash

Investment

Tom Brady- 2000 6th round (199 pick) by Patriots. 3 superbowls, 6 pro bowls

Joe Montana- 1979 3rd round (82 pick) by 49ers. 4 superbowls, 8 pro bowls

Roger Staubach- 1964 10th round (129 pick) by Dallas. 2 superbowls, 6 pro bowls

Jay Novacek- 1985 6th round (168 pick) by Cardinals. 1 superbowl, 5 pro bowls

Jared Allen 2004 4th round (126 pick) by Chiefs. 3 pro bowls, 83 sacks

Shannon Sharp- 1990 7th round (192 pick) by Broncos. 3 superbowls, 8 pro bowls

Ryan Leaf- 1998 Chargers 2nd pick- threw 15 picks to just two TDs as a rookie. $31.25 million. Complete 317 passes, 14 touchdowns, 36 interceptions

Tony Mandarich- 1989 Packers 2nd pick ahead of 3) Barry Sanders, 4) Derrick Thomas, 5) Deion Sanders He fell out through training camp in 1989 and then couldn't make it off special teams.

Charlie Rogers- 2003 Lions 2nd pick- caught 22 passes, three of them TDs, in his first five games. Then he broke his collarbone in a speed drill, and that was that. More injuries led him to drugs and arrests. Never played again.

Brian Bosworth- Seattle Seahawks- They gave a 10-year, $11 million contract to The Boz. After four sacks as a rookie, he was out of the league two years later.

Change, rules

1905 had been a bloody year on the football field. The Chicago Tribune reported 18 players had

been killed and 159 seriously injured that season. Many people wanted to abolish the game. But President Theodore Roosevelt personally intervened and held a meeting of more than 60 schools to try to find a way to make the game safer. This meeting was the first step toward the establishment of what would become the NCAA. The final meeting of the Rules Committee was held on April 6, 1906, at which time they decided the way to make the game safer was to change the rules so that a forward pass officially became a legal play. Up until then the game was played like rugby in which most players blocked. The rule change they believed would open up the game and bring about a game in which speed and skill would supersede mere brute strength. The decision however was met with skepticism and The New York Times responded to the decisions by saying "There has been no team that has proved that the forward pass is anything but a doubtful, dangerous play to be used only in the last extremity.”

Salvation, whole, healing

Plato emphasized the soul and heaven and not the physical needs of people. Jesus met people’s needs and then addressed their souls and heaven. In the 19th Century it was the church that was fighting for people’s rights, feeding widows & orphans, transforming prisons. At the turn of the century the liberalism broke and wanted to help people, but didn’t believe in Jesus. In response the church said OK, you do the social part and we’ll worry about the soul and heaven. So now the church has limited salvation to just the spiritual experience rather than saving the whole person- Mark Foreman, Wholly Jesus

Salvation, conviction, fake, hypocrite

Stuart Hamblem was a well known radio host/comedian/song writer in Hollywood who was noted for his drinking, womanizing, partying, etc. One of his bigger hits at the time was "I won't go hunting with you Jake, but I'll go chasing women." One night after attending a Youth for Christ meeting he was so convicted showed up at the preacher's hotel door around 2AM demanding that the preacher pray for him! But the preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God and I'm not going to get in the middle of it." But he did invite Stuart in and they talked until about 5 AM at which point Stuart dropped to his knees and with tears, cried out to God. But that is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking, quit chasing women, and began to lose favor with the Hollywood crowd. A long time friend named John sad to him, "What’s this I hear? You got religion?” Stuart answered, “It is no secret what God can do in a man’s life.” John replied, “Well that sounds like a song.” Stuart Hamblen was inspired and wrote, "It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you. With arms wide open, He'll welcome you. It is no secret, what God can do...." By the way... the friend was John Wayne. And the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen? Billy Graham.

materialism, relationships

Philosopher Erich Fromm said there are two societies today, one based on having and another one based on being. A society based on having focuses on things like property possessions even people. The one based on being focuses on their experiences. They derive meaning from sharing exchanging and engaging with other people. A culture driven by consumerism like ours is doomed to the having orientation which leads to dissatisfaction and emptiness. This may be why America has exploded to having over 2 billion square feet of public storage in the past 30 years.

protection, father, restriction, freedom

A little boy was in Carlsbad caverns with his family and his dad was holding his hand to keep him out of trouble. He viewed it as a restriction. Then they turned out the lights to show everyone what darkness was really like. In that moment the fathers hand went from feeling restrictive to feeling protective

Listening, paying attention

President Theodore Roosevelt was a man of action, but he was also a good listener, and he appreciated that quality in other people. Once at a gala ball, he grew tired of meeting people who returned his remarks with stiff, mindless pleasantries. So he began to greet people with a smile, saying, ‘I murdered my grandmother this morning.’ Most people, so nervous about meeting him, didn’t even hear what he said. But one diplomat did. Upon hearing the president’s remark, he leaned over and whispered to him, ‘I’m sure she had it coming to her!’ The only way to find out what you’re missing is to start listening

Risk, trial, new, different

When Jonas Hanway introduced the umbrella into England and walked down the street with it he was pelted with stones and dirt.

Honesty, truth, lying, steal

During his time as a rancher, Theodore Roosevelt and one of his cowpunchers lassoed a maverick steer, lit a fire, and prepared the branding irons. The part of the range they were on was claimed by Gregor Lang, one of Roosevelt's neighbors. According to the cattleman's rule, the steer therefore belonged to Lang. As his cowboy applied the brand, Roosevelt said, "Wait, it should be Lang's brand." "That's all right, boss," said the cowboy. "But you're putting on my brand," Roosevelt said. "That's right," said the man. "Drop that iron," Roosevelt demanded, "and get back to the ranch and get out. I don't need you anymore. A man who will steal for me will steal from me."

Lying, truth, honesty

On January 8, 1956 five American missionaries were murdered by members of the Auca/Waodani tribe in Ecuador. The day before, after numerous flights over Waodani territory, pilot Nate Saint secretly flew the five men in a small plane to the remote sandbar, where they made what seemed to be friendly contact with the locals. The next day they were speared to death by the Waodani. What happened to anger them after what seemed like a promising start? A Waodani named Nenkiwi ("George" to the missionaries), was caught unsupervised with a young Waodani female, and claimed he was with her because the five missionaries tried to kill them. Enraged, the Waodani returned to the sandbar and slaughtered the unsuspecting missionaries. The lie came out only years later.

Compromise, indecision

A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. "Well," said the would-be cattleman, "I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other wanted the Lazy-Y. So we're calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y." "But where are all your cattle?" the friends asked. "None survived the branding."

Forgiveness

Forgiveness made me free from hatred. I still have many scars on my body and severe pain most days but my heart is cleansed. Napalm is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness, and love are much more powerful. We would not have war at all if everyone could learn how to live with true love, hope, and forgiveness. If that little girl in the picture can do it, ask yourself: Can you? — Kim Phúc (girl in Vietnam Napalm picture)

Purpose, stumbling block, intervention, repentance, wake up call

Anyone who watched the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots in 2008's Super Bowl remembers the catch made by David Tyree, a receiver for the Giants. Eli Manning, quarterback for the Giants, threw what looked like a desperate pass. Tyree somehow jumped high above defensive coverage, picked the ball out of the air, pinned it to his helmet, and fell to the ground for a completion. The Giants went on to win the game, 17–14.

In the wake of his new fame, Tyree has talked openly about a troubled past. Tyree started drinking when he was in junior high. By his junior year in high school, he was regularly consuming 40 ounces of malt liquor and a half a pint of Jack Daniel's. It was not uncommon for him to smoke marijuana in the same sitting. The habits continued throughout his college career.

After Tyree was arrested for selling drugs to pay off a fine he had incurred during his rookie season with the Giants, his pregnant girlfriend threatened to leave him. "I had no peace," the player says. "My life was obviously in disarray." When he picked up a Bible and read its message of redemption, he knew things would turn around. He decided to never drink again and started attending church for the first time in a long time. Tyree is now sober, married, and a Super Bowl hero. Looking back on his life thus far, Tyree says, "It's more than just a feel-good story. It's about destiny and purpose."

Sharing, selfishness

In its January 25, l988 issue, TIME provided an insight on selfishness and its corollary, sharing. Speaking about the introduction of the videocassette recorder, the article said, "The company had made a crucial mistake. While at first Sony kept its Beta technology mostly to itself, JVC, the Japanese inventor of the VHS (format), shared its secret with a raft of other firms. As a result, the market was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the VHS machines being produced." This drastically undercut Sony's market share. The first year, Sony lost 40 percent of the market, and by 1987 it controlled only 10 percent. So now Sony has jumped on the VHS bandwagon.

Sacrifice, foothold

At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire and his home was destroyed. He died bankrupt.

Stealing, sex, affair, adultery, lust, secret

Coffee was originally native to Ethiopia. By the early 1700’s you could find some in Europe. In 1727, the Brazilian government decided it was time they joined the coffee market. Brazil sent Lieutenant Colonel Francisco de Mello Palheta on a mission to steal a coffee plant from the French. When he found he couldn’t steal any coffee he befriended the governor of French Guiana's wife, Marie-Claude de Vicq de Pontgibaud and had an affair with her. Later at a state farewell dinner she presents him a sly token of affection: a bouquet of flowers hiding coffee seedlings. From these sprouted the world's greatest coffee empire. By 1800 Brazil's monster harvests would turn coffee from an elite indulgence to an everyday drink for the people After this time massive tracts of rainforest were cleared for coffee plantations, first in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro and later São Paulo. Brazil went from having essentially no coffee exports in 1800, to being the largest producer in the world by 1852. In 1910-20, Brazil exported around 70% of the world's coffee.

Stealing, thief, pride, secret

The Man Who Brought Down Manaus

In the years before the First World War, Manaus was one of the richest places in the Americas – North or South. It was the first city in South America to install an electric grid; the first to have a telegraph link with Europe; the women wore French fashions; the children were sent to France to be educated; the per-capita consumption of champagne was higher than anywhere else in South America.

The opera house (above) was built with marble from Carrara and hand-painted tiles from Portugal. It featured chandeliers of Baccarat crystal and huge decorative vases from Sèvres. The rafters rang with the great voices of the age, Sarah Bernhardt and Jenny Lind among many others. All of which is pretty surprising when you consider where Manaus is located. It’s nine hundred miles from the sea, smack in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Even today, there are no roads that will take you there from Brasilia, or Rio de Janeiro, or São Paulo. You have to fly, or you have to take a boat.

So how come Manaus was so rich?

Rubber.

Back in those days Brazil had a monopoly on all the rubber in the world.

Rubber trees were native to the Amazon rainforest - and existed nowhere else. Naturally, the Brazilians wanted to keep it that way, To that end, they made it illegal to export the seeds or the seedlings of the rubber tree, and made it clear they’d classify anyone who did it as a thief.

Enter this man, Henry Wickham:

Wickam, in defiance of Brazilian law, stole 70,000 seeds and bore them off to the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. They were planted the day after their arrival. Over two thousand of them germinated.

The descendants of those seedlings were sent to Sri Lanka, to Singapore and to India. With them, the English established their own rubber trade, a trade that ended up being far more successful and lucrative than the Brazilian one.

And that for one reason: every other place in the world the trees could be planted in groves; but not in Brazil. The Amazon rainforest, you see, harbors a blight that exists nowhere else in the world, a blight that attacks rubber trees. If one tree is infected, the blight kills all the other trees in the neighborhood. The Brazilian trees, therefore, are always spaced throughout the jungle. The harvest of their latex is an expensive proposition, too expensive to compete with the plantations, and low labor costs, of the East.

Brazil’s loss.

England’s gain.

Henry Wickham got a knighthood.

Manaus got shafted.

simple complex

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address defined the character of America in 272 words. The Declaration of Independence changed the course of history in about 1,300 words. The Constitution established a great nation in under 5,000 words. The Holy Bible is around 773,000 words. The Federal Income Tax Code, with its rules and regulations, surpasses nine million words

history king God boss leader submission

Thomas Paine, who inspired the revolution that led to this nation’s independence and the ultimate signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, was once asked, “Where is the king of America?” “I will tell you, friend,” Paine replied, “He reigns above!”

Reward, expectation, payment

One morning I opened the door to get the newspaper and was surprised to see a strange little dog with our paper in his mouth. Delighted with this unexpected "delivery service," I fed him some treats. The following morning I was horrified to see the same dog sitting in front of our door, wagging his tail, surrounded by eight newspapers. I spent the rest of that morning returning the papers to their owners.

Reversible, new, resurrection, heaven, end

When Winston Churchill’s funeral was held at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, the service was conducted according to his instructions. After the blessing, a bugler positioned high in the dome played taps, signaling the end of the day. But after that, a bugler on the other side played reveille, signaling a new day has begun

stress, burdens, strength, rest

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.

Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Christlike, example

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and brief-cases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly." As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

facilitating, direction, help

When Dartmouth built their college they didn't build any sidewalks. They waited for a while to see where the kids actually walked and then built the sidewalks there.

Restless, peace, contentment, bored, empty

Evander Holyfield earned 205 million in his career (92 million in last five fights). He recently divorced his 4th wife and now lives alone in 54,000' house in Fayetteville, GA. He’s an avid collector of cars...has stable of thoroughbreds worth millions on hundreds of acres on estate (reg. size baseball diamond...miles of horse/cycle trails). He owns a restaurant in Atlanta that bears his name. He’s had an illustrious career and will be remembered as one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, but he’s still fighting! Asked in a recent interview why he continues to fight: “Because I’m bored.”

Giving, tithe, reap, sow

J.L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, who had given approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, "The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord."

Giving, tithe, reap, sow

J.D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week."

Assume, intimidation, robbery, threat

In 1994 Robert Walker walked into a Wachovia Bank in North Carolina and demanded money from the teller. When he was arrested at trial he plead innocent noting that he didn’t have a gun. He simply intimidated the teller into giving him money. He was sentenced to over 8 years in prison.

Sticky, discipleship, relationships, community

Velcro was invented in 1941 by Swiss engineer, George De Mestral who lived in Commugny, Switzerland. The idea came to him one day after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps. He took a close look at the Burrs (seeds) of that kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He examined them under a microscope, and noted their hundreds of "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing, animal fur, or hair.

hope, salvation, forgiveness, salvation

A man visiting a man on his death bed said, "Is there anything I can do for you?". The man replied, "No, but can you undo some things?".

Integrity, honesty, fake, real, earn

Nate Haasis is a senior quarterback for Springfield Southeastern High School in Springfield, Ill. He's a very good quarterback. On Oct. 25, he was on the verge of breaking a conference passing record. But it looked doubtful that he'd have a chance. It was late in the game -- less than a minute remained -- and Springfield Southeastern's opponent, Cahokia High, had the ball, and the lead, and was milking the clock. The coaches of the two teams conferred during a time out. They decided that Springfield Southeastern's defense would allow Cahokia to score quickly and get the ball back into Haasis' hands. Then, the Cahokia coach would tell his defense to allow Haasis to complete a 37-yard pass to break the record. According to reports about the game, the Cahokia defenders stood and watched as Haasis threw the pass, doing nothing to stop it. (Cahokia won, by the way, 42-20.) Haasis didn't know about the plot ahead of time, but the way the play unfolded, he knew something was up. Haasis had the record. He should have been happy. He wasn't. He wrote to the president of the conference and disowned the record. "While I admittedly would like to have passed the record, as I think most high school quarterbacks would, I am requesting that the Central State Eight does not include this pass in the record books," Haasis wrote.

Involvement, help, responsibility

Bystander effect - Latané and Darley sat a series of college students in a cubicle amongst a number of other cubicles in which there were tapes of other students playing (the student thought they were real people). One of the voices cries for help and makes sounds of severe choking. When the student thought they were the only person there, 85% rushed to help. When they thought there was one other person, this dropped to 65%. And when they thought there were four other people, this dropped again to 31%.

Creativity, retirement, authority, old, elderly, money

Outside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1.40), £5 for busses (about $7). Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent. The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility. The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee. The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll. Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (or some such scenario), is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own; and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars!

Resurrection, politically correct, heaven, hell, Jesus

One little girl was told that should couldn’t talk about Jesus at school during the Easter season. The little girl said, “But it is Easter, and Jesus rose from the dead.” The teacher said, “You Christians are so foolish. Jesus did not rise from the dead. The Roman soldiers stole his body.” The little girls replied, “No they didn’t.” The teacher then scolded her and said, “Prove it.” The little fourth grade girl was frustrated and said, “I can’t prove it, but when I die and go to heaven, I’ll ask the Roman guards and they will tell me that they didn’t steal his body.” The teacher said, “Yeah, but what if they aren’t in heaven?” And the little girls said, “Then when you die, you can ask them.”

Savior, judge, mercy, time, justice

A young boy playing on a boat dock got too close to the edge and fell into the water. He began to cry out because he couldn’t swim. Quickly an older man reached over the dock and pulled the young boy to safety. For several years they kept in touch but soon grew apart. The young boy ended up in a life of crime and eventually was on trail looking at a life sentence. As he entered the court room he recognized the judge to be his old friend who had pulled him out of the water as a child. He sat through the trial with a calm assurance that the judge would “save” his life once again when to his amazement he was found guilty and sentence to life in prison. Upon hearing his sentence he jumped to his feet and screamed at the judge, “Don’t you remember me? You kept me from drowning! You saved my life! How can you sentence me to life in prison now?” The old man looked down from the bench at him and said, “Son, that day I was your savior, but today I am your judge”

Perseverance, faithfulness, don’t give up

From the diary of John Wesley. . .

Sunday, A.M., May 5 Preached in St. Anne's. Was asked not to come back anymore.

Sunday, P.M., May 5 Preached in St. John's. Deacons said "Get out and stay out."

Sunday, A.M., May 12 Preached in St. Jude's. Can't go back there, either.

Sunday, A.M., May 19 Preached in St. Somebody Else's. Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn't return.

Sunday, P.M., May 19 Preached on street. Kicked off street.

Sunday, A.M., May 26 Preached in meadow. Chased out of meadow as bull was turned loose during service.

Sunday, A.M., June 2 Preached out at the edge of town. Kicked off the highway.

Sunday, P.M., June 2 Afternoon, preached in a pasture. Ten thousand people came out to hear me.

Russia communism persecution faith

In the Ukraine we stayed with a family and their Great Grandmother Nadia. Nadia was born in 1921 and survived the great Famine in the Ukraine. She became a believer in 1947. Her and her sisters would put a dress over the windows to hide from the neighbors when they prayed. One of their unbelieving neighbors shot into their window three times because he knew they were Christians. She would walk 27 kilometers at night to attend church and return home in the morning to take care of her family. In 1991 they were first allowed to have church openly.

unbelief, backslide, faith, suffering, blame

Man’s usual response to tragedy is to blame God, as Charles Darwin did after the death of his beloved daughter Annie. “Annie’s cruel death destroyed Charles’s tatters of beliefs in a moral, just universe. Later he would say that this period chimed the final death-knell for his Christianity . . . . Charles now took his stand as an unbeliever.”

life, old age

On the first day, God created dog and said: 'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.' The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?' So, God agreed. On the second day, God created the monkey and said: 'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.' The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten just like Dog did?' And God agreed. On the third day, God created cow and said: 'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years. The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty, and I'll give back the other forty?' And God agreed again. On the fourth day, God created man and said: 'Eat, sleep, play, marry, and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.' But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, plus the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?' 'Okay,' replied God, 'You asked for it.' So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you.

trust, faith, defend, dependency, freedom, liberation

The citizens of Feldkirch, Austria, didn't know what to do. Napoleon's massive army was preparing to attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town, which was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday, and the people had gathered in the local church. The pastor rose and said, "Friends, we have been counting on our own strength, and apparently that has failed. As this is the day of our Lord's resurrection, let us just ring the bells, have our services as usual, and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness, and not the power of God to defend us." The council accepted his plan and the church bells rang. The enemy, hearing the sudden peal, concluded that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the service ended, the enemy broke camp and left.

Freedom, Escape, risk, holocaust, jews, rescue, sacrifice

On May 12, 2008 Irena Sendler passed away from Pneumonia at the age of 98 in Warsaw, Poland. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. After one beating she awoke to a Gestapo officer who told her he had accepted a bribe from her comrades in the resistance to help her escape. The officer added her name to a list of executed prisoners. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most, of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Communism, singing, protest, stand up

From December 16-22, 1989 thousands of Romanians protested the communist leadership of Nicolae Ceaucescu in the city of Timisoara. They gathered in this square to protest the mandatory moving of a Hungarian Reformed minister. As more and more people gathered, they began to chant “Down with Ceausescu”. At one point during the protest two elderly women began to sing, “He’s coming soon”. Soon the crowd joined in. Ceausescu ordered the police to stop the protest but they could not. He eventually ordered planes to bomb the city square but the pilots returned saying they couldn’t find the city. On December 22, 1989, Nicolae & Elena Ceausescu were tried and executed for crimes against Romania leading to the eventual collapse of Communism.

Risk, initiative, first, dare, daring, challenge, rules

In the Battle of Albuera in 1812, James Eillis

was killed. Mrs Ellis and her two sons were left totally unprovided for except for a small army pension of 10 pounds a year for each child. She decided to move to Rugby, Warwickshire so that William and his older brother Thomas could receive a good education at Rugby School. The rule of the day was that any pupil living within a radius of 10 miles of the Rugby Clock Tower could go to school for free. On December 12th, 1880 William was playing football. According to the rules of the time you could only punt the ball or hold it for someone else to kick it. On this day however, William caught the ball in his arms. disregarded the rules, and instead of retiring backwards, rushed forwards with the ball in his hands towards the opposite goal. No one knows what happened next except that this became a new rule in the game of rugby. In Warwickshire, England there is a monument to the sport of rugby. At the base of the statue is this inscription: “This stone commemorates the exploit of William Webb Ellis who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it.”

Forgiveness, guilt, condemnation, lost, searching

Earnest Hemingway, in his short story, “The capital of the world” tells the story about a father and his teenage son who lived in Spain. Their relationship became strained and the son ran away from home. The father looked for him but could never find him. As a last resort he put an ad in the Madrid newspaper that said, “Dear Paco, meet me in front of the Madrid newspaper office tomorrow at noon. All is forgiven. I love you.” The next day 800 “Pacos” showed up at the newspaper office, all seeking forgiveness

Lost, motivation, others, sharing, caring, passion

One time William Booth was asked to write a telegram for all the Salvation Army spread throughout the world. They wanted something to stir up the troops and enthuse them for the challenges and trials that lay ahead. Booth stared at the blank paper laid before him while his eager assistant stoop impatiently at the doorway behind him. After a long struggle with what to say, Booth wrote six letters on the page O-T-H-E-R-S.

Grace, mercy, seeing the best, positive, potential, optimistic

One of the world’s most renown violinist is named Itzhak Perlman. Itzhak walks with the help of braces because he was struck down with polio at the age of 12. He practices for nine hours each day and 45 minutes before each concert with two guards at the door so he won’t be disturbed. One evening he was playing a concert in the New York Lincoln Center. This night Perlman was to play Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major. This six minute technical piece is considered by many to be simply unplayable. A few seconds into his solo, Perlman broke a string. The orchestra immediately stopped playing as the crowd gasped. Protocol permits a musician to call for a pause, allowing them time to hurry off the stage to replace the string. But Perlman, with the wave signaled the orchestra to continue. Instantly he transposed the music for three strings instead of four and delivered a flawless rendition of this difficult piece. Six minutes later, spent and soaked in sweat, he lowered his violin and the crowd went wild. After a few minutes of applause, Perlman motioned for silence, and then the man with two busted legs and one busted string spoke: “All my life has been my mission to make music from that which remains.”

Lottery, shortcuts, easy, not ready

William "Bud" Post, who won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania Lottery in 1988, had a brother who tried to have him killed for the inheritance. Post lost and spent all his winnings. He was living off Social Security when he died in January.

• Two years after winning a $31 million Texas Lottery in 1997, Billie Bob Harrell Jr. committed suicide. He had bought cars, real estate, gave money to his family, church and friends. After his death it was not clear whether there was money left for estate taxes.

• Victoria Zell, who shared an $11 million Powerball jackpot with her husband in 2001, is serving time in a Minnesota prison, her money gone. Zell was convicted in March 2005 in a drug- and alcohol-induced collision that killed one person and paralyzed another.

• Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey Lottery twice, in 1985 and 1986, for a total $5.4 million, gambled and gave away all of her money. She was poor by 2001, and living in a trailer.

“The reality is that 70 percent of all lottery winners will squander away their winnings in a few years,” the Connecticut financial advisers said in a news release. “In the process, they will see family and friendships destroyed and the financial security they hoped for disappear.” The authors of a book about how success often destroys families, Worse yet, said the advisers who have served clients in 18 states, winning a bunch of money doesn’t build character. “(It) reveals character and magnifies all of the good and weak traits the winner lives by.”

Old, wisdom, smart, outsmart, outwit, arrogance, pride

A new rooster comes to the pen and tells the old rooster he's taking over. The old rooster says you'll have to race me around the barn and give me a head start. The young rooster says ok. The farmer looks out and sees the young rooster chasing the old rooster and shoots the young rooster. The he sadly says, "For crying out loud, that's the 3rd gay rooster I bought this week"

Drinking, drunk

The symphony was performing Beethoven's 9th which includes "ode to joy" where the bass players don't sing for 20 minutes. During that time the bass section went across the street and got drunk. They took their time because one of the guys tied a string around each page of the score. When they got back the conductor was hot. One of the tenors asked why and another one said, "It's the bottom of the ninth, the score is tied and the bases are loaded."

Pride, personal, late, finish

A student finished his test thirty minutes late. The professor said he would not accept the test because it was past due. The student said, "Do you know who I am" the professor said, "No, I really don't care." The student quickly lifted part of the stack of completed exams and stuffed his in the middle. "Good," he said and walked out of the room.

Lazy, marriage, parents, job, support

A father was asking His future son in law what his plans were. I am a Bible scholar said the young man, I will study and God will provide for us. And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring. God will provide for us. And children? I will concentrate on my studies and God will provide. The conversation proceeded like this. Later the mother asked, "How did it go honey". The father said, "He has no job and no plans but the good news is he thinks I'm God."

Truth, honesty, costume, lie

A cabbie picks up a nun. She gets into the cab, and the cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why is he staring and he replies, "I have a question to ask you but I don't want to offend you." She answers, "My dear son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun a long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive." "Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me." She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you have to be single and #2 you must be Catholic." The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I am single and I'm Catholic too!" The nun says "OK, pull into the next alley." He does and the nun fulfills his fantasy. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying. "My dear child," said the nun, "Why are you crying?" "Forgive me sister, but I have sinned. I lied, I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish." The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Bruce and I'm on my way to a Costume party."

Truth, attitude, salesman, positive

There was a man named Jones who had this marvelous horse. "Each morning." he would tell his friends at the club, "that horse of mine goes to the dairy and gets fresh milk for my breakfast." "After that," Jones continued, "he goes to the newsstand for my paper. When I'm ready to go to work, he brings me right to the office door. And at quitting time, I just whistle, and he's there." Smith was very impressed by this and offered Jones $500 for the horse. Jones declined, saying the offer was way too low. Smith then offered $3,000 and Jones grabbed it. For a week, Jones didn't show up at the club. When he finally returned, he heard Smith complaining how bad the horse was, how the animal did nothing but eat and sleep. That's when Jones said, "You know, if you keep talking about the horse like that, you'll never sell him."

Scripture, fear, boldness, Holy Spirit

A burglar was robbing the home of an elderly woman. When she came out of her room and saw him she yelled, " Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The burglar froze until the police arrived. When the policeman asked the burglar why he didn't try to get away when the old lady just quoted scripture, the burglar replied, "Scripture? She said she had an axe and two 38's."

Positive, attitude, failure, overcome

A little boy said, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world." Then he threw a ball up in the air, swung his bat at it and missed. He did the same thing two more times. Then he held the ball up in the air and said, "I'm the best pitcher in the world."

Perseverance, quit, get up, finish, motivation, attitude

A young assistant coach about to go on a recruiting trip asked the old crusty head coach about his philosophy so he knew they were on the same page. The old coach said, "Son there are players who get knocked down and quit. There are others who get knocked down and get back up again. Then there are others who get knocked down and get back up again, get knocked down and get back up again." The young coach interrupted and said, "I understand, you want players who'll get back up again." The old crusty coach said, "No, we want the guy who keeps knocking him down."

Blonde, joke, fear

West Texas Cowboy staggers into a "female only" bar. He finds his way to a bar stool and orders a drink. After sitting there for a while, he yells to the bartender, "Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?"! The bar immediately falls absolutely quiet. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it is just fair-given that you are blind drunk- that you should know five things:

1 - The bartender is a blonde girl.

2 - The bouncer is a blonde girl.

3 - I'm a 6 foot tall, 175 lb. blonde woman with a black belt in karate.

4 - The woman sitting next to me is blonde and is a professional weightlifter.

5 - The lady to your right is a blonde and is a professional wrestler.

Now think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?" The Cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters, "Nah...not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."

Christlike, honesty, thief, thieves, lawyer

An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his IRS agent and his lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling. For a time, no one said anything. Both the IRS agent and the attorney were touched and flattered that the old preacher would ask them to be with him during his final moment. They were also puzzled because the preacher had never given any indication that he particularly liked either one of them. Finally, the lawyer asked, "Preacher, why did you ask the two of us to come?" The old preacher mustered up some strength, then said weakly, "Jesus died between two thieves, and that's how I want to go too."

Risk, give it your all, best, challenge, safe

Ted Williams was batting 400 on the last day of the baseball season in 1941. On that day, September 28 they were playing a double-header against Philadelphia when his manager wanted to bench him to protect his average. Williams said no and went 6 for 8 in the double header and ended the year with a 406 average. He was the last man to hit over 400 in a season.

Gossip, conclusions, appearance

Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities , but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Frank, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one after noon. She emphatically told Frank (and several others) that every one seeing it there WOULD KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING ! Frank , a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away he didn't explain, defend, or deny he said nothing. Later that evening, Frank quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house ... walked home... . .and left it there all night !!!

Thief, thieves, gun, old people, police, help

George Phillips age 82 of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police, who asked 'Is someone in your house?' He said ‘No.' Then they said ‘All patrols were busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available.' George said, 'Okay'. He hung up the phone and counted to 30.Then he phoned the police again. 'Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot them.' and hung up. Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence, and caught the burglars red-handed. One of the Policemen said to George, 'I thought you said that you shot them!' George said, 'I thought you said there was nobody available!'

Hypocrites, hypocrisy, live the life

A man was being tailgated by a stressed- out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, 'I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him.'

I noticed the "What Would Jesus Do "bumper sticker, the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "Follow Me to Sunday-School" bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car.'

Perseverance, endure, stamina

Dubbed by the media as "Gentleman Jim Corbett," he was rumored to have a college education, although in reality, he had never gone beyond grammar school. He also pursued a career in acting, performing at a variety of theaters. He has been called the "Father of Modern Boxing" because of his scientific approach and innovations in technique. Some think that he changed prizefighting from a brawl to an art form.

On May 21, 1891, Corbett fought Peter "Black Prince" Jackson, a much-heralded bout between cross-town rivals, since Corbett and Jackson were boxing instructors at San Francisco's two most prestigious athletic clubs. They fought to a draw after 61 rounds.

On September 7, 1892 at the Olympic Club in New Orleans, Louisiana, Corbett won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship by knocking out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round. Corbett's new scientific boxing technique enabled him to dodge Sullivan's rushing attacks, and wear him down with jabs. When asked how he won he said, "Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round-remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped."

Silence, standing up, boldness, concern, rebuke, confrontation

Khrushchev was scheduled to appear at the National Press Club in Washington. It was widely expected he would deliver an abbreviated version of his Politburo speech. Every newspaper and magazine of any standing made sure they had at least one reporter present. The room was packed. Khrushchev did not disappoint: he delivered, via translator, a shortened but potent indictment of his former boss, complete with corroborating evidence. He finished and opened the floor for questions. Someone called out from the crowd, “Mr. Khrushchev, you have just given us an account of Mr. Stalin’s many crimes against humanity. You were his right-hand man during much of that. What were you doing?” The question was translated to Khrushchev, and when he heard it he exploded with anger. “Who said that?” he demanded. No one answered. “Who said that?” he bellowed, and glowered at the audience. Silence. “Who said that?” he asked again, this time low and quiet, with more menace. Everyone looked at their shoes. After a moment, Khrushchev said, “That’s what I was doing.”

Works, actions, prayer, help

It is said Martin Luther was close friends with another monk. He was just as convinced as Luther of the necessity of the Reformation. So they made an arrangement. Luther would go down into the world and fight the battle there; the other would remain in his cell praying for the success of Luther’s labors. But one night the monk had a dream. In it he saw a single reaper engaged in the impossible task of reaping an immense field by himself. The lonely reaper turned his head and the monk saw his face was the face of Martin Luther; and he knew he must leave his cell and go help. Anyone who thinks prayer can be a substitute for effort, his prayers are merely a way of escape.

Innocence, sacrifice, service, military, veterans

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning Alex.' 'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque. 'Pastor, what is this? The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.' Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, 'Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:45?'

Serving, humility

A young man who attended a retreat led by Ghandi complained when he learned that he had to help clean the bathrooms. He protested, "Don't you know I have a doctorate from the London School of Economics. I am meant to do great things." Ghandi replied, "I know you can do great things. What I do not know is whether you can do little things."

Warning, anchor, sign The mighty Niagara River plummets some 180 feet at the American and Horseshoe Falls. Before the falls, there are violent, turbulent rapids. Farther upstream, however, where the river's current flows more gently, boats are able to navigate. Just before the Welland River empties into the Niagara, a pedestrian walkway spans the river. Posted on this bridge's pylons is a warning sign for all boaters: DO YOU HAVE AN ANCHOR? followed by, DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE IT?

Repetition, vanity, waste, monotony

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and to repeat this throughout eternity.

Proof, fruit

Setting out from Hamburg, Germany, one day to give a concert in London, violinist Fritz Kreisler had an hour before his boat sailed. He wandered into a music shop, where the proprietor asked if he could look at the violin Kreisler was carrying. He then vanished and returned with two policemen, one of whom told the violinist, "You are under arrest." "What for?" asked Kreisler. "You have Fritz Kreisler's violin." "I am Fritz Kreisler." "You can't pull that on us. Come along to the station." As Kreisler's boat was sailing soon, there was no time for prolonged explanations. Kreisler asked for his violin and played a piece he was well known for. "Now are you satisfied?" he asked. They were!

proof, fruit, faithfulness

A young American engineer was sent to Ireland by his company to work in a new electronics plant. It was a two-year assignment that he had accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. She had a job near her home in Tennessee, and their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned. They corresponded often, but as the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her, exposed as he was to comely Irish lasses. The young engineer wrote back, declaring with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. "I admit," he wrote, "that sometimes I'm tempted. But I fight it. I'm keeping myself for you." In the next mail, the engineer received a package. It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica. "I'm sending this to you," she wrote, "so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls." The engineer replied, "Thanks for the harmonica. I'm practicing on it every night and thinking of you." At the end of his two-year stint, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters. He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl. Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob. Before any serious kissin' and huggin' gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!"

Conviction, guilt, bondage, prison

A little boy visiting his grandparents and given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!" So Johnny did the dishes. Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing., Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Conviction, passion, belief

There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something." "Well, what is it? I don't know that I can explain anything to a preacher." "What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all." Macready's answer was this: "This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction."

12 Days of Christmas

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each

element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love .

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Perseverance, stubborn, goals, dreams, attempts, trial, error

When Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, "Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp." And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb.

Forgiveness, pardon, acceptance, gift, salvation

In 1829 a man named George Wilson robbed US mail carriers and in the act committed many felonies. He was later arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged. Some of his friends petitioned President Andrew Jackson for a pardon. Though that pardon was granted, Wilson refused to accept it. Eventually the matter came before the US Supreme Court. In their decision, Justice Marshall explained that in order to be valid, a pardon must be accepted by the condemned person. George Wilson was executed while his written pardon lay at the Sheriff’s desk.

Responsibility, leadership, sacrifice, hero

In a heartwrenching moment of the Beijing Opening Ceremony, a nine-year old child earthquake survivor, Lin Hao, proudly led the Chinese team around the Bird’s Nest stadium while waving two flags in his small hands. His small patch of cropped hair was a poignant reminder of the recent Sichuan earthquake which devastated the province and took the lives of hundreds of school children, including two-thirds of Lin Hao’s elementary school class. He has been regarded as a national hero for helping rescue two of his unconscious classmates from the rubble of his school. When asked about his heroism, he replied that he was a hall monitor, a class leader after all. He even led his fellow surviving students in singing songs to keep their spirits up while they waited for rescue and aid. Then, having lost both his parents, he left the area with his two sisters and hiked 7 hours to a neighboring village for his own personal aid. In a recent Chinese interview, Lin Hao playfully said he wished for his hair to grow back quickly.

Decisions, direction, ambassador, envoy, apostle, sent one

Antiochus Epiphanes, invaded Egypt. Rome desired to stop him and sent an envoy called Popillius to tell him to abandon his projected invasion. Popillius caught up with Antiochus on the borders of Egypt and they talked of this and that for they had known each other in Rome. Popillius had not the vestige of an army with him, not even a guard. Finally Antiocus asked him why he had come. Quietly Poillius told him that he had come to tell him that Rome wished him to abandon the invasion and go home. “I will consider it,” said Antiochus. Popillius smiled a little grimly; he took his staff and drew a circle in the earth round Antiochus. “Consider it,” he said “and come to your decision before you leave that circle.” Antiochus thought for a few seconds and then said: “Very well. I will go home.”

Perseverance, tenacity

On October 29, 1941, United Kingdom (Great Britain) Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to hear the traditional songs he had sung there as a youth, as well as to speak to the students. This became one of his most quoted speeches, due to distortions that evolved about what he actually said. The myth is that Churchill stood before the students and said, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." Then he sat down. In reality, he made a complete speech that included words similar to what are often quoted

Honesty, truthfulness, laziness, lying

At LSU, there were four sophomores taking chemistry and all of them had an "A" so far. These four friends were so confident that, the weekend before finals, they decided to visit some friends and have a big party. They had a great time but, after all the hearty partying; they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to LSU until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided that after the final, they would explain to their professor why they missed it. They said that they visited friends but on the way back they had a flat tire. As a result, they missed the final. The professor agreed they could make up the final the next day. The guys were excited and relieved. They studied that night for the exam. The next day the professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet. They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points. Cool, they thought! Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy. ... Then they turned the page. On the second page was written.... For 95 points: Which tire? ________

Fathers love, never let go, hold on

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go."

Faithfulness, sacrifice, commitment

One of the most tragic events during the Reagan Presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. A few days after the tragedy, Marine Corps Commandant Paul Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors in a Frankfurt, Germany, hospital. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man; yet he survived. As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words -- "Semper Fi" the Latin motto of the Marines meaning "forever faithful."

Faithfulness, evangelism, perseverance

Norman Geisler, the famous theologian, as a child, went to a VBS because he was invited by some neighborhood children. He went back to the same church for Sunday School classes for 400 Sundays. Each week he was faithfully picked up by a bus driver. Week after week he attended church, but never made a commitment to Christ. Finally, during his senior year in High School, after being picked up for church over 400 times, he did commit his life to Christ. What if that bus driver had given up on Geisler at 395? What if the bus driver had said, "This kid is going nowhere spiritually, why waste any more time on him?"

Reward, faithful, honest, kindness

One stormy night a couple entered the lobby in Philadelphia and asked for a room. The motel manager said they were filled, as were all the hotels in town. "But I can't send a fine couple like you out in the rain," he said. "Would you be willing to sleep in my room?" The couple hesitated, but the manager insisted. The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said, "You're the kind of man who should be managing the best hotel in the United States. Someday I'll build you one." The manager smiled politely. A few years later the manager received a letter from the elderly man, recalling that stormy night and asking him to come to New York. A round-trip ticket was enclosed. When the manager arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street, where stood a magnificent new building. "That," explained the man, "is the hotel I would like for you to manage." The man was William Waldorf Astor, and the hotel was the original Waldorf Hotel. The young hotel manager, George C. Boldt, became its first manager.

Compassion, passion, love

Agnes Bojaxhiu = boh-yah-Joo was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, (Scopia) Albania. Her father died when she was 8. She left home at age 18 to become a missionary and never saw her family again. After learning English in Ireland she went to India in 1929. In Calcutta she became known as Teresa and founded the Missionaries of Charity. This group of Roman Catholic nuns ran hospices and homes for people with AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis as well as soup kitchens, orphanages, and schools. Members of the order must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and to give "Wholehearted and Free service to the poorest of the poor". Mother Teresa said said "By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus” When she died on September 5, the Sisters of Charity consisted of over 4,500 nuns running 450 centers in 133 countries around the world. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was voted the most admired person of the 20th Century in a 1999 Gallop poll.

The story is told of a man who saw Mother Teresa caring for the poor told those around him, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” Mother Teresa overheard the man and replied, “Neither would I”

Mother Teresa was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery, like a beautiful, wise old granny. Her feet were deformed. Many wondered if she had contracted leprosy. One day a Sister explained, “Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds them. And years of doing that have deformed her feet.”

Sin, temptation, too long

Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.

Imitation, cost

Minister reached for Dr. Pepper but grabbed Dr. Thunder because it was cheaper. God spoke to him and said, "That's your problem. You settle for an imitation because it's cheaper".

Honesty, truthfulness, integrity

in the 1980’s an IRS researcher named John Szilagyi realized taxpayers were incorrectly claiming dependents for the sake of exemption. He decided the most efficient way to clean up this mess was to require taxpayers to list their children’s social security numbers. The law was put into place in 1986 and the next year seven million dependants suddenly vanished generating nearly 3 billion in revenue.

Encouragement, mercy

The famous painter Benjamin West said he became a painter because of his mother. One day his mother went out leaving him in charge of his little sister Sally. In his mothers absence he discovered some bottles of colored ink and began to paint Sally's portrait. In doing so he made a considerable mess of things with ink blots all over. His mother came back. She saw the mess but said nothing. She picked up the piece of paper and saw the drawing. "Why" she said, "It's Sally" and she stooped and kissed him. Ever after Benjamin used to say, "My mothers kiss made me a painter."

glory, humility, credit, honor

Toscanini was one of the greatest orchestral conductors in the world, preparing to play one of Beethoven’s symphonies with them he said; “Gentlemen, I am nothing; you are nothing; Beethoven is everything.”

work, job, attitude

On one occasion when Sir Christopher Wren was building St. Paul’s Cathedral, he was making a tour of the work in progress. He came upon a man at work and asked him, “What are you doing?” The man said, “I am cutting this stone to a certain size and shape.” He came upon a second man and asked him what he was doing. The man said, “I am earning so much money at my work.” He came to a third man at work and asked him what he was doing. The man paused for a moment, straightened himself and answered, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build St. Paul’s Cathedral.”

love, peace, inclusion, acceptance

Rita Snowden tells a story of the war. In France some soldiers with their sergeant brought the body of a dead comrade to a French cemetery to have him buried. The priest told them gently that he was bound to ask if their comrade had been a baptized adherent of the Roman Catholic Church. They said that they did not know. The priest said that he was very sorry but in that case he could not permit burial in his churchyard. So the soldiers took their comrade sadly and buried him just outside the fence. The next day they returned to see that the grave was all right and to their astonishment could not find it. Search as they might they could find no trace of the freshly dug soil outside the fence. As they were about to leave in bewilderment the priest came up. He told them that his heart had been troubled because of his refusal to allow their dead comrade to be buried in the churchyard; so, early in the morning, he had risen from his bed and with his own hands had moved the fence to include the body of the soldier who had died for France.

confidence, pride, walk the talk, brag

After Bird made four straight baskets with Rodman guarding him, he ran over to Chuck Daly and asked "who's guarding me, Chuck? Is anyone guarding me? You better get someone on me or I'm gonna go for 60." Then he'd continue the banter the next time he got the ball with Rodman inches away. "I started talking a little trash to him," Horace Grant recalled, when the Celtics were the defending champions. "I'm saying, 'You're not going to score. You're not getting this basket. I remember him then telling me exactly what he was going to do to me. He says he's going to fake me left and then he's going to shoot a right-hand hook over me. And then he goes and does it and scores."

change, congratulations, effectiveness

Once Dr. Chalmers was congratulated on a great speech to a crowded assembly. “Yes,” he said, “But what did it do”.

submission, God’s will, plan, decisions

On one occasion Abraham Lincoln and his counselors had taken an important decision. One of the counselors said, “Well, Mr President, I hope that God is on our side.” Lincoln answered, “What I am worried about is, not if God is on our side, but if we are on God’s side.”

grace, work, effort

John Wesley preached 42,000 sermons. He averaged 4,500 miles a year. He rode 60-70 miles a day and preached three sermons a day on average. When he was 83 he wrote in his diary, “I am a wonder to myself. I am never tired, either with preaching, writing, or traveling.”

heaven, paradise, friend, reward

The word paradise comes from a Persian word which means a walled-garden. When a Persian king wished to confer a very special honor on someone specially dear to him, he made him a companion of the garden and gave him the right to walk in the royal gardens with him in intimate companionship.

knowing God, relationship

There is a famous story which tells how a company of people were dining together. After dinner it was agreed that each should recite something. A well-know actor rose and, with all the resources of elocution and dramatic art, he declaimed the twenty-third psalm and sat down to tremendous applause. A quiet man followed him. He too began to recite the twenty-third psalm and at first there was rather a titter. But before he had ended there was a stillness that was more eloquent than any applause. When he had spoken the last words there was silence, and then the actor leaned across the table and said, “Sir, I know the psalm, but you know the shepherd.”

used, serving, sitting, watching, waste

The great violinist, Niccolo Paganini willed his marvelous violin to city of Genoa on condition that it must never be played. The wood of such an instrument, while used and handled, wears only slightly, but set aside, it begins to decay. Paganini's lovely violin has today become worm-eaten and useless except as a relic. A Christian's unwillingness to serve may soon destroy his capacity for usefulness.

Faithfulness, courage, guts, obedience

John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family's housekeeper: It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. "Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson." "He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him." "Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him." "No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you. When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. "Tell that woman I want her here in the White House."

Sin, friends, bad influence, holiness

A wise old farmer was worried about his son because he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. One Sunday after dinner he asked his son to go clean out the chicken coop. When the boy got up to go to his room to change into his work clothes and the father asked him where he was going. He said he was changing so he wouldn't ruin his church clothes. The father replied, "That's right, you can't work in that mess without getting some of it on you."

mocking, forgiveness, love, compassion

One of the all-time greats in baseball was Babe Ruth. His bat had the power of a cannon, and his record of 714 home runs remained unbroken until Hank Aaron came along. The Babe was the idol of sports fans, but in time age took its toll, and his popularity began to wane. Finally the Yankees traded him to the Braves. In one of his last games in Cincinnati, Babe Ruth began to falter. He struck out and made several misplays that allowed the Reds to score five runs in one inning. As the Babe walked toward the dugout, chin down and dejected, there rose from the stands an enormous storm of boos and catcalls. Some fans actually shook their fists. Then a wonderful thing happened. A little boy jumped over the railing, and with tears streaming down his cheeks he ran out to the great athlete. Unashamedly, he flung his arms around the Babe's legs and held on tightly. Babe Ruth scooped him up, hugged him, and set him down again. Patting him gently on the head, he took his hand and the two of them walked off the field together.

conclusions, judgment, misunderstanding

Out West, a cowboy was driving down a dirt road, his dog riding in back of the pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer behind. He failed to negotiate a curve and had a terrible accident. Sometime later, a highway patrol officer came on the scene. An animal lover, he saw the horse first. Realizing the serious nature of its injuries, he drew his service revolver and put the animal out of his misery. He walked around the accident and found the dog, also hurt critically. He couldn't bear to hear it whine in pain, so he ended the dog's suffering as well. Finally he located the cowboy --who suffered multiple fractures--off in the weeds. "Hey, are you okay?" the cop asked. The cowboy took one look at the smoking revolver in the trooper's hand and quickly replied, "Never felt better!"

complaining

A guide at Blarney Castle in Ireland was explaining to some visitors that his job was not always as pleasant as it seemed. He told them about a group of disgruntled tourists he had taken to the castle earlier in the week. "These people were complaining about everything," he said. "They didn't like the weather, the food, their hotel accommodations, the prices, everything. Then to top it off, when we arrived at the castle, we found that the area around the Blarney Stone was roped off. Workmen were making some kind of repairs." "This is the last straw!" exclaimed one lady who seemed to be the chief faultfinder in the group. "I've come all this way, and now I can't even kiss the Blarney Stone." "Well, you know," the guide said, "according to legend, if you kiss someone who has kissed the stone, it's the same as kissing the stone itself." "And I suppose you've kissed the stone," said the exasperated lady. "Better than that." replied the guide. "I've sat on it."

complaining, quiet

A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, "Do you have anything to say?" The monk replied, "Food bad." After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, "Bed hard." Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, "I quit." "It doesn't surprise me a bit. You've done nothing but complain ever since you got here."

repent, change, sorrow, regret, quit, stop

FW Charington was heir to a fortune made from brewing alcohol. One night as he was passing a tavern he saw a woman trying to keep her husband from going back into the bar. The man in his drunken state hit his wife, knocking her to the ground. As Charington started forward to help the lady he saw the name above the door of the bar was his own. He said, "With one blow that man did not only knock his wife out, he knocked me clean out of that business forever." And he gave up his future fortune rather l than touch money earned through alcohol.

mistake, accident

George Bush senior was in Australia and was waving the peace/victory sign to a large group of protesters while going to a meeting with some government officials. What he didn’t know is that in Australia the peace/victory sign is the same thing as giving people the middle finger in America.

appearance, failure, success

Vinko Bagataj, a Slovenian ski jumper, became famous in the United States for a moment of grand failure. Bogataj was competing in the World Ski Flying Championships in Oberstdorf, West Germany, on March 21, 1970. At the start of the event, snow began to fall, getting heavier as the jumping continued. Midway down the ramp for his third jump, Bogataj realized that the conditions had made the ramp too fast. His failed attempt to end his jump resulted in a horrific crash now known as “the agony of defeat”. Bogataj only suffered a mild concussion from the horrible crash. What most people do not realize is that Bogataj was successful in what he was trying to accomplish at that moment: stopping his jump before his fate became much worse.

leadership, friendship, influence, emotions

Edward M. Stanton was a thorn in the side of President Lincoln. He treated him with a total lack of respect. He called Lincoln “a low and cunning clown”, he nicknamed him “the original gorilla” and said that Du Chaillu was a fool to wander about Africa trying to capture a gorilla when we could have found one so easily at Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln said nothing in reply. Instead, he made Stanton his war minister because he was the best man for the job and he treated him with every courtesy. The years wore on. The night came when the assassin’s bullet murdered Lincoln in the Ford theatre. In the little room to which the President’s body was taken stood that same Stanton, and, looking down on the Lincoln’s silent face, he said through his tears, “Now he belongs to the ages. There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.” The patience of love that Lincoln showed had conquered in the end. In fact, Lincoln was often criticized for being to courteous to his enemies and when reminded that it was his duty to destroy them, he replied, "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

hypocrite, hypocrisy, pride

Napoleon always advocated the sanctity of the home and the obligation of public worship... for others. Of himself he said, “I am not a man like other men. The laws of morality do not apply to me.”

encouragement, words, negative, positive, mentor, influence

Adam Clark was one of the great theologians but at school he was very slow to learn. One day a distinguished visitor paid a visit to the school, and the teacher singled out Adam Clark and said, “That is the stupidest boy in the school.” Before he left the school, the visitor came to the boy and said kindly, “Never mind, my boy, you may be a great scholar some day. Don’t be discouraged but try hard, and keep on trying.”

mind, thoughts, imagine, dream

Major James Nasmith was in a Vietnamese prison camp for seven years. He made it through by playing a round of golf in his mind each day. When he returned home to America he shot a 74 the first time he place golf. He was shooting in the 90’s when he left for the war.

change, salvation, difference

The town drunk came to Christ and turned his life around. His workmates tried to shake him and said, "Surely a sensible man like you can't believe in the miracles the Bible talks about. You cannot, for instance, believe this Jesus of yours turned water into wine." "Whether He turned water into wine or not," said the man, "I do not know; but in my house I have seen him turn beer into furniture."

selfish, lost, compassion, love, hate, concern

Lashonda Calloway, a 27-year-old mother of three, lay on the floor of a Wichita, Kansas convenience store on June 23, 2007, stabbed and bleeding, while at least five customers stepped over her to complete their transactions. No one seemed bothered by the situation and no one called 911 for two minutes. Store video showed Ms. Calloway struggled to her feet and collapsed three times without any assistance. In fact, one shopper stepped over Ms. Calloway four times, eventually taking a picture of the victim with her cell phone. The picture appeared briefly on the Internet. Ms. Calloway died at the hospital. The store owner pleaded ignorance, saying that the store was busy at the time and she didn’t think the employee on duty realized anything was going on.

luck, blessing, fate, near miss, purpose

The USS Indianapolis headed into the beautiful Pacific in July of 1945 with the Atom bomb on board. They dropped off their cargo on a small Island called Tinian, that is only ten miles long and three miles wide. On July 30, 1945, at just past midnight, a Japanese submarine saw the ship and attacked it. Out of the 1,200 men aboard, only 317 men survived.

hate, anger, prejudice

For every word Hitler wrote in Mein Kempf, 125 people died

pride

Former heavy-weight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma who fought out of Chicago in the early 1980s. He still remembers his first day in the Windy City after his arrival from Tulsa. "I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under by arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, 'I'm going to conquer Chicago.' "When I looked down, the suitcases were gone." - Today in the Word, September 10, 1992.

pride

Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a lesson about overconfidence:

It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, Congratulations." I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters. You don't forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven't in the 30 years since.

Carol Mann, The 19th Hole, Longmeadow.

servant, humility, work ethic, help

A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman. Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady. The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute

pride, misunderstanding, hearing, understanding

Walter Cronkite recalls the following incident: Sailing back down the Mystic River in Connecticut and following the channel's tricky turns through an expanse of shallow water, I am reminded of the time a boatload of young people sped past us here, its occupants shouting and waving their arms. I waved back a cheery greeting and my wife said, "Do you know what they were shouting?" "Why, it was 'Hello, Walter,'" I replied. "No," she said. "They were shouting, "Low water, Low water.'" Such are the pitfalls of fame's egotism. Ray Ellis and Walter Cronkite, North by Northeast.

pride, careless

Pali, this bull has killed me." So said Jose Cubero, one of Spain's most brilliant matadors, before he lost consciousness and died. Only 21 years old, he had been enjoying a spectacular career. However, in this l958 bullfight, Jose made a tragic mistake. He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed. Considering the struggle finished, Jose turned to the crowd to acknowledge the applause. The bull, however, was not dead. It rose and lunged at the unsuspecting matador, its horn piercing his back and puncturing his heart. Just when we think we've finished off pride, just when we turn to accept the congratulations of the crowd, pride stabs us in the back. We should never consider pride dead before we are.

Craig Brian Larson

pride, help, alone, arrogance

Man Dies After Lying In Yard For Days Refusing Help, February 27, 2004 ORLANDO, Fla. -- An 83-year-old man was found lying dead in his yard next to his wife after he fell, became stranded and ordered his wife not to get help for three days despite heavy rainstorms, according to authorities. Sheriff's deputies said Glen Schibley, 83, was working in his yard at 5459 Brosche Road in Orlando Monday when he fell and was unable to get up. When his wife, Harriet, 79, found Glen on the ground, he instructed her not to get help and that he would take care of his situation, Local 6 News reported. The man's wife left him in the yard but continued to care for him for three days by covering him up in a tarp during rainstorms and bringing food and water. Sheriff's deputies said that while caring for her husband, Harriet also fell and was unable to get help. The couple's son-in-law went to the house to check on the elderly couple and found them in the yard. Glen Schibley had passed away and Harriet was found injured. She was transported to Florida Hospital East, where she is expected to recover. "They wanted to be left alone and we left them alone and maybe we shouldn't have left them alone," neighbor Sherman Brunell said.

Decisions, indecisive, double-minded, procrastinate

A shoemaker was going to make Ronald Reagan a pair of shoes when he was a boy. He asked him if he wanted the toes of his shoes to be round or square. Reagan couldn't make up his mind. The next day the shoemaker saw him in the street and asked him again if he wanted the toes of his shoes to be round or square and Reagan still couldn't make up his mind. The shoemaker showed up the next day with his new shoes and they had one shoe with a square toe and one with a round toe. He kept them in his office as a reminder to be a good decision maker.

Preparation, faith, confidence, belief

Notre Dame broke UCLA basketball teams 88 game win streak on January 19, 1974 by the score of 71-70. The week of the game coach Digger Phelps had his players practice cutting down the nets every day.

sin, hard life, destruction

The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, a noted Italian artist; and the time engaged for its completion was seven years. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ himself were painted from living persons. The life-model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first. When it was decided that Da Vinci would paint this great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed, in an endeavor to find a face and personality exhibiting innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of dissipation caused by sin. Finally, after weeks of laborious searching, a young man nineteen years of age, was selected as a model for the portrayal of Christ. For six months, Da Vinci worked on the reproduction of this leading character in his famous painting. During the next six years, Da Vinci continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one, fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles; space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot, as the final task of this masterpiece. This was the Apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, worth $16.96 in our present day currency. For weeks, Da Vinci searched for a man with a hard callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, and crime; a face that would delineate a character, who would betray his best friend. After many discouraging experiences, in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to Da Vinci that a man, whose appearance fully met his requirements, had been found in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder. Da Vinci made the trip to Rome at once, and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There Da Vinci saw before him a dark, swarthy man; his long, shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face, which betrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin. At last, the famous painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting. By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the picture was being painted; and for months he sat before Da Vinci at appointed hours each day, as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting to his painting this base character in the picture representing the traitor and betrayer of our savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, "I have finished. You may take the prisoner away." As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to Da Vinci, crying as he did so, "Oh, Da Vinci, look at me! Do you not know who I am?" Da Vinci, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man, upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six months and replied, "No, I had never seen you in my life, until you were brought before me out of the dungeon in Rome." Then, lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "Oh, God, have I fallen so low?" Then turning toward the painter he cried, "Leonardo Da Vinci! Look at me again, for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ." Many lessons can be learned from this true story of the painting of The Last Supper. This is a story of how we often perceive others – how easily we overlook the Christ within the people we meet, and judge by outward appearances. This also strongly teaches the lesson of the effects of right or wrong thinking, on the life of an individual. Here was a young man whose character was so pure and unspoiled by the sins of the world, that he presented a countenance of innocence and beauty fit to be used for the painting of a representation of Christ. But within seven years, following the thoughts of sin and a life of crime, he was changed into a perfect picture of the most traitorous character ever known in the history of the world.

compassion, concern, empathy

A 17 year old boy name Brandon Teel was asked to wrestle a boy name Trevor Howell who had Downs Syndrome. Trevor had been on the wrestling team all year, but never had a match. Brandon was asked to give him a decent match and then at the end he could pin Trevor. Brandon instead allowed Trevor to pin him and received a standing ovation.

Christmas, busy, stress, priorities

Who started Christmas? This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children; after many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both of her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year---overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, make sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card. Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry. We already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

preparation, practice, work

One of my favorite stories is about Brandi Chastain, the great soccer player. A few years ago the United States played china in the finals of the world cup and at the end of regulation they were tied. They played overtime and were still tied so the game went to a shootout. In a shootout both teams choose five players to shoot one on one against the opponent’s goalie. In the shootout Brandi kicked the winning goal for the United States. As things settled down a television reporter asked her when it was that she decided where she would kick the ball. Was it while she was waiting her turn to kick, the reporter asked, or maybe as she approached to ball, waiting to see if the goalie would commit too soon. But, her reply was “No, I made up my mind weeks ago where I was going to kick the ball, and I’ve been practicing it ever since.”

humility, work ethic, servant, passion

Booker Washington walked hundreds of miles to one of the few universities that took African American students. When he got there he was told that the classes were full. He was offered a job making beds and sweeping floors. He took it and did such a great job they took him in as a student.

accident, key, forget, lost, salvation, warning

It looks for all the world like an ordinary key but this unremarkable piece of metal could have saved the Titanic from disaster. It is thought to have fitted the locker that contained the crow's nest binoculars, vital in detecting threats to the liner lurking in the sea in the pre-sonar days of 1912. Catastrophically for the Titanic and the 1,522 lives lost with her, the key's owner, Second Officer David Blair, was removed from the crew at the last minute and in his haste forgot to hand it to his replacement. Without access to the glasses, the lookouts in the crow's nest were forced to rely on their eyes and only saw the iceberg when it was too late to take action. One, Fred Fleet, who survived the disaster, later told the official inquiry into the tragedy that if they had had binoculars they would have seen the obstacle sooner. When asked by a US senator chairing the inquiry how much sooner, Mr Fleet replied: "Enough to get out of the way." The key and its importance has only properly come to light 95 years later after it was put up for auction. Alan Aldridge, of auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Sons in Devizes, Wilts, said: "We think this key is one of the most important artefacts from the Titanic to have come to light. "A few days before the Titanic sailed, Mr Blair was bumped off the ship, a decision which probably saved his life. "But in Blair's rush to leave the Titanic he carried this key off with him in his pocket and forgot to hand it to his replacement, Charles Lightoller. "Obviously he only realised this after the Titanic had left Southampton and kept the key as a memento. But had Lightoller had the key then there probably would have been a pair of binoculars in the crow's nest. "It is the key that had the potential to save the Titanic." Mr Blair, 37, from Broughty Ferry, Forfarshire, sailed on the Titanic from Belfast to Southampton on April 3, 1912. He had been due to be the second officer for the Titanic's voyage to New York on April 10. But the White Star Line, the ship's owners, removed Mr Blair and drafted in Henry Wilde, a senior officer from sister ship, the Olympic, because of his experience of such large liners. He wrote of his disappointment in a postcard he sent to his sister-in-law days before the Titanic left Southampton. In the card, which is also up for auction, he wrote: "Am afraid I shall have to step out to make room for chief officer of the Olympic. This is a magnificent ship, I feel very disappointed I am not to make her first voyage." The 46,000-ton Titanic struck the iceberg in the north Atlantic at 11.45pm on April 14 and sank at 2.20am on April 15. Mr Wilde was among those who perished. According to the US inquiry into the sinking, Mr Fleet recalled seeing Mr Blair with binoculars during the trip from Belfast to Southampton. Asked where Mr Blair's glasses went, Mr Fleet replied: "We do not know. We only know we never got a pair." Senator Smith, the chairman of the inquiry, said: "Suppose you had glasses… could you have seen this black object [at] a greater distance?" Fleet: "We could have seen it a bit sooner." Smith: "How much sooner?" Fleet: "Well, enough to get out of the way." Smith: "Were you disappointed that you had no glasses?" Fleet: "Yes, sir." Mr Blair, who was later awarded the King's Gallantry medal for jumping into the Atlantic to rescue a crewman, eventually passed the key on to his daughter Nancy. She gave it to the British and International Seamans Society in the 1980s. Intriguingly, the key may not entirely unlock the Titanic mystery. According to an alternative account, it may have unlocked the crow's nest telephone. It is expected to fetch up to £70,000 on September 22, 2007.

history, church, priority

The first American settlement had a church in the middle of it. They had a morning and evening service and if you missed a service you didn't get your food ration for the day. If you missed too many services you were publicly flogged.

peer, pressure, influence

Bro. McNabbs little brother started doing drugs after his friends left a dead chicken on their porch. He gave in and died a few years later from AIDS through drug use.

honesty, openness, reality, flaws

Oliver Cromwell was disfigured by warts on his face. A painter who was painting a portrait of him, thinking to please him, omitted the disfiguring warts. When Cromwell saw the picture he said, "Take it away, and paint me warts and all."

acceptance, loner, solo, lonely, hate

Classmates said that on the first day of an introduction to British literature class last year, the 30 or so English students went around and introduced themselves. When it was Cho's turn, he didn't speak. The professor looked at the sign-in sheet and, where everyone else had written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "Is your name, `Question mark?'" classmate Julie Poole recalled the professor asking. The young man offered little response. Cho spent much of that class sitting in the back of the room, wearing a hat and seldom participating. In a small department, Cho distinguished himself for being anonymous. "He didn't real out to anyone. He never talked," Poole said. "We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole said. By ADAM GELLER, AP National Writer

Bible, passion, anger, hatred, persecution

It was Tyndale who gave England its first printed Bible. To do so, as he said himself, he suffered, “poverty, exile, bitter absence from friends, hunger and thirst and cold, great dangers and innumerable other hard and sharp fightings.” In 1536 he was martyred. When, some years before, the authorities had burned the book, he said, “They did none other thing than I looked for; no more shall they do if they burn me also.”

salvation, priority

Sir James Simpson who discovered chloroform and pioneered its use was once asked, "What do you believe was your greatest discovery?" expecting the answer, "chloroform". But Simpson answered, "My greatest discovery was that Jesus Christ is my Savior."

old people, complaining

Watkinson, the great preacher, tells how once at the seaside, when he was with his little grandson, he met an old minister. The old man was very disgruntled and, to add to all his troubles, he had a slight touch of sunstroke. The little boy had been listening but had not picked it up quite correctly; and when they left the grumbling complaints of the old man, he turned to Watkinson and said, “Granddad, I hope you never suffer from a sunset!”

emotions, patience, goodness, concern, pressure, friend

When Abraham Lincoln was criticized for being to courteous to his enemies and reminded that it was his duty to destroy them, he replied, "Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

openness, confession, humility, honesty

An architect once offered to build Plato a house in which every room would be hidden from the public eye. "I will give you twice the money," said Plato, "if you build me a house into every room of which all men's eyes can see."

friendship, accountability, working, together, teamwork, strength

In California many people have built multi-million dollar homes in the middle of the redwood forest. During bad weather, several of these homes were destroyed when the Redwood trees fell over onto the homes. Redwood trees can reach heights of up to 300 feet but they have no taproot and their roots rarely go deeper than six inches to a foot into the ground. The key to their strength is their ability to lock their root systems together with the other redwood trees around them. Engineers discovered that when they began clearing the trees for these large homes, the trees became vulnerable to the wind because they didn’t have other trees to lock roots with them. We are the same way, we need each other.

working together, team work, passion, help

By the end of WWII, the factories of America had produced 296,000 aircraft, 531 million tons of aircraft bombs, 8.2 million tons of warships, 86,333 tanks, 12.5 million small arms, and more than 3.8 billion tons of ammunition, from bullets and grenades to heavy artillery rounds.

basics, fundamentals, better, together, team, teamwork

Former Michigan coach, the late Bo Schembechler often said to his teams, "Do you know how we're going to win today? We're going to master the fundamentals. We're going to block and tackle better than everyone. We're going to throw and catch better than everyone. We're going to protect the football. And we're going to do it together. That's how we're going to do it. There's not going to be any superstars on this team. Everybody is going to be more interested in Michigan than in himself. That's how we're going to win.

example

A little girl learned about the disciples in Sunday School. When she was trying to tell her parents about the lesson she couldn't say disciples and called them Jesus' samples.

boldness, fear

One of Wesley's preachers was going to preach is a hostile town. He hired the town-crier to announce the meeting but he announced it in a terrified whisper. The preacher took the bell from him and rang it and shouted out. "Mr. So and so will preach in such and such a place at such and such a time tonight and I am the man".

possible, impossible, blind

Esther Medley from Centralia, Florida bowled a 244 in October of 2006. Oh yeah, she's also blind.

wrong way, backwards, penalty, rules, football, mistake

On Oct 25, 1964 Jim Marshall of the Minnesota Vikings scooped up a fumble against the San Francisco 49ers and ran the wrong way for a safety. Minnesota still won 27-22.

Tricky, smart, deceptive, blame

The Old Dog

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company. One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine! Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear! , the old poodle says. "Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Teamwork, burden, help, carry

BARN RAISING

I have never lifted a barn…but Herman Ostry, a farmer in Bruno, Nebraska, did! After buying a piece of land with a barn, a nearby creek rose and the barn was sitting in twenty-nine inches of water. He jokingly said to his family, “I bet if we had enough people, we could pick up that barn and carry it to higher ground.” To his surprise, one of his sons calculated the weight of the boards, timbers, and nails. He estimated the barn weighed approximately 19,000 pounds. Furthermore, he figured that 345 people would have to lift about 55 pounds each to carry the barn. Herman and his son then designed a grid of steel tubing with handles and attached it to the barn. Since the town of Bruno was planning a centennial celebration, Herman convinced the committee a “barn raising” would be apropos. Word of the “barn raising” spread and on the morning of the lift, nearly 4,000 people from 11 states showed up. On Herman’s count of three the 345 people lifted the barn! The crowd cheered and applauded as they carried the 9 ton barn fifty yards uphill in just three minutes. Just like the folks in Bruno, Nebraska, if we all lift together great things can and will happen. If some people in Bruno, Nebraska, can give an old barn a lift, then imagine what the Lord can do through us as we work together for Him.

Baptism, example

A little boy came up to Ed Young after a baptismal service and asked, "When can I get advertised"

Truth, deception, false, fake

Charlie Chaplin once placed third in a Charlie Chaplin look a like contest.

Hypocrites, prejudice, searching

“As a young man, Mahatma Gandhi (the architect and founder of modern India and Pakistan) was extremely interested in Christianity. As a matter of fact, he left his native India and came to England for one singular reason—to investigate the claims of Christianity with a purpose of intending to give his life to Christ. But the racism that he experienced from Christians and churches in England because he was an Indian, so turned him off that he left England and went to South Africa hoping there to find a more authentic brand of Christianity. When he arrived in South Africa, he found Christians there supporting and preaching apartheid, which caused him to become even more disillusioned. While there he decided to attend a church service. As he came up the steps of the large church where he intended to go, a white South African elder of the church barred his way at the door. "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" the man asked Ghandi in a belligerent tone of voice. Ghandi replied, "I'd like to attend worship here." The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps." From that moment, Ghandi said, he decided to adopt what good he found in Christianity, but would never again consider becoming a Christian if it meant being part of the church. Finally he went back to India, having decided to remain a Hindu for the rest of his life. Once when the missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Ghandi he asked him, "Mr. Ghandi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?" Ghandi replied, "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Leper, scripture, bible, memorize, memory, example

Alberto Silva has been in the leper colony for 35 years now. He is 65 years old and when he was in is early 20s he came to Christ. After he got saved he started to read the Bible and memorize scripture, became a deacon in his church, but a few years later he was diagnosed with leprosy and sent to live in the colony. Over the years because of his condition he lost his fingers his feet, his eye sight, his ears, his nose, but not his love for Jesus. Albert serves as a deacon in the church that functions in the colony and is a living testimony of the love of God.

Over the years Albert has memorized over 1000 verses of scripture he can quote psalm 119 by memory, he also has a beautiful voice that he uses to praise the Lord. Routinely, nurses and workersat the colony ward that are going through difficult times will come to bed number #53, sit beside Albert and ask him quote them Bible verses and sing a song. Tears will fill their eyes as the walk away from that small frail man with a giants heart, assured that Jesus loves them.

Teamwork, empathy, care, love

At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started but, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back......every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

Expense, expensive, coffee, money, waste

There is a coffee that is made in Indonesia that cost $300 a pound. The bats eat the coffee beans and then poop them out. Farmers harvest the poop and use it to make the coffee.

Missions, wealth, funeral, Brazil

A wealthy man from England approached Samuel a pastor/leader in the Amazon region of Brazil about changing the country of Mozambique. He said if you can get 50 missionaries from Brazil to go I will pay the entire budget. Samuel asked his 50 top pastors to go and 95% of them agreed to go. They asked them for a three year commitment and five years later they had established 2 Bible colleges, 180 churches, and had 30,000 converts. Two of the Pinda graduates lost children to Malaria. When Samuel went to do the funerals he asked them if they would like to return home. They said, “No, we have more reason to stay here now than ever”.

Missions, cost, reward, appreciation, passion

O.S. Boyer went to Brazil in 1932 as a missionary for the Church of Christ. He was baptized in the Holy Spirit and forced to return home. He went back to Brazil in 1935 as an Assemblies of God missionary. On his first term He translated 33 books into Portuguese. His wife had Alzheimer's and would get lost for days in Rio De Janeiro. Because of this DFM made him go home. Three years later his wife died. DFM sent him $3,000 to bury his wife. He instead took the money and returned to Brazil. Phillip Hogan received a bill for the funeral expense a few months later and called Brother Goggin to find out where O.S. Boyer was. Goggin informed him that he had returned to Brazil. When Hogan contacted brother Boyer he told him let the dead bury the dead. While there he translated 65 books into Portuguese. Finally he was in such poor health that he couldn't walk and was forced to go home. He lived a few months in Maranatha Village before passing away. Only four people from headquarters attended his funeral.

Release, penalty, terrorism, punishment

Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners." However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released. Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified. It was censored in the US from all later reports

Goals, challenge

When Apollo Mission Astronaut Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, he not only gave his famous "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" statement but followed it by several remarks, usual com traffic between him, the other astronauts and Mission Control. Just before he re-entered the lander, however, he made the enigmatic remark "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky." Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs. Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled. On July 5, 1995 (in Tampa Bay, FL) while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26 year old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had finally died and so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question. When he was a kid, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball which landed in the front of his neighbor's bedroom windows. His neighbors were Mr. & Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky, "sex! You want sex?! You'll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"

Missions, sacrifice, passion, giving

John Williams landed on the island of Aramonga to preach the gospel to 400 people and was beaten to death and eaten on the beach. John Gordon a Presbyterian missionary heard and went and suffered the same fate. His brother James Gordon went and was also killed. Seven missionaries were killed by this unreached tribe. When James and John's mother heard of their fate she went to the altar and wept because she had no more sons to send.

Slavery, bravery, martyr, character

That great American hero, editor, school teacher, and Presbyterian clergyman Elijah Lovejoy left the pulpit and returned to the press in order to be sure his words reached more people. The Civil War might have been averted and a peaceful emancipation of slaves achieved had there been more like him. After observing one lynching, Lovejoy was committed forever to fighting uncompromisingly the awful sin of slavery. Mob action was brought against him time after time; neither this nor many threats and attempts on his life deterred him. Repeated destruction of his presses did not stop him. "If by compromise is meant that I should cease from my duty, I cannot make it. I fear God more that I fear man. Crush me if you will, but I shall die at my post..." And he did, four days later, at the hands of another mob. No one of the ruffians was prosecuted or indicted or punished in any way for this murder. (Some of Lovejoy's defenders were prosecuted! One of the mob assassins was later elected mayor of Alton!) However, note this: One young man was around who was deeply moved by the Lovejoy martyrdom. He had just been elected to the Illinois legislature. His name was Abraham Lincoln.

Wisdom, foresight, opportunity

Ryanaire is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. It's the Southwest airlines of Europe. After 9-11 everyone was canceling their orders with Boeing so President Michael O'Leary saw an opportunity and negotiated 200 737's from Boeing for half price (28 million each)

Preparation, prepared, passion, teamwork

The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation's top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

Pride, arrogance, teamwork, unity

Carmello Anthony with the Denver Nuggets. On Friday, February 25, 2005 coach George Karl sat him out in the last couple of minutes of a tight game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The game ended tied and Carmello did not play in during the overtime session. The Nuggets eventually won 97-94 but Anthony left in a huff when teammates tried to celebrate with him.

Truth, false, lie, deception, death

An anesthesiologist was administering a controlled mixture of oxygen and gas to a patient in a New York hospital. When one of the tanks was empty, the doctor began using a new one clearly marked "Oxygen." Almost immediately the patient died. The coroner's autopsy revealed carbon dioxide poisoning. Upon investigation, the second tank was found to contain pure carbon dioxide and had been mislabeled.

Chance, past, future, memory, risk

Baseball pitcher Tug McGraw had a wonderful philosophy of pitching. He called it his "frozen snowball" theory. "If I come in to pitch with the bases loaded," Tug explained, "and heavy hitter Willie Stargell is at bat, there's no reason I want to throw the ball. But eventually I have to pitch. So I remind myself that in a few billion years the earth will become a frozen snowball hurtling through space, and nobody's going to care what Willie Stargell did with the bases loaded."

Honesty, truth, confession

A Duke boarded a ship crossing the seas and went below deck to talk to the prisoners. He asked several of them what their offenses were. Almost every man claimed he was innocent, blaming someone else or accusing the judge of taking a bribe. One young fellow, however, replied, "Sir, I deserve to be here. I stole some money. No one is at fault but me. I'm guilty." Upon hearing this, the duke shouted, "You scoundrel, you! What are you doing here with all these honest men? Get out of their company at once!" He was set free, while the rest were left to tug at the oars.

Heaven, love, blind, best, chance

A boy on the Kansas football team was always on the 2nd string and never got to play in any of the games. One week he missed practice to go home and attend his father's funeral. On Saturday he begged his coach to allow him to play because of his dad's death. The coach finally agreed and said, "I'll put you in and we'll see how you do." On first down he made the tackle. On second down he tackled the ball carrier in the backfield. On third down he sacked the quarterback. When he came out for the punt the coach asked him why he was doing so well. The player responded, "You remember my dad died this week. You may also remember that my dad was blind. You see coach, today is the first time my dad has ever seen me play football."

Perseverance, risk, ownership, stewardship, contract

Andre-Francois Raffray, thirty years ago, at the age of 47 worked out a real estate deal with Jeanne Calment who was age 90. He would pay her $500 a month until her death, in order to secure ownership in her apartment in Ales, France. This is a common practice in France, benefiting both buyers and seniors on a fixed income. Unfortunately for Raffray, Jeanne Calment has become the world's oldest living person. Still alive at 120 she outlived Raffray, who died in December 1995 at the age of 77. He paid $184,000 for an apartment he never lived in. According to the contract, Raffray's survivors must continue payment until Mrs. Calment dies.

Truth, example, hypocrite

A country preacher was being interviewed by a city church, but he had very poor grammar skills. One of the deacons worried about his speech asked him, "If a hen is on the nest is she setting or sitting." The country preacher said, "I don't know, all that matters is when she cackles is she laying or lying."

Truth, chance, listen, teachable

On a foggy night a proud battleship captain saw a light directly ahead of him that wasn't moving. He thought it was another ship and that they were on a collision course. He grabbed the radio and said, "I'm the captain of a battleship, change your course 20 degrees." The radio came back with, "I'm a second class officer sitting on a lighthouse, you better change your direction."

Investing, hard work, sacrifice, benefit

Hoover Dam- Thousands of men worked in three shifts around the clock except for Christmas and the fourth of July. They were each paid $6.00 a day. They poured 4.4 million cubic yards of concrete. That's enough to pave a highway 16 feet wide from New York City to San Francisco. They finished it in less than four years, two years ahead of schedule. It is 660 feet thick at the base and hold up 110 miles of Lake Mead, which is enough water to cover Pennsylvania one foot deep in water. 110 men died during construction of the dam. There is a plaque on the dam to honor these men that reads, "These died that the desert might rejoice and blossom like a rose"

Searching, found, lost, pride, stuck

A guitar player was on stage playing his guitar, but he never moved his hands. A man came up to him after the service and asked him why he didn't move his hands. The guitar player said, "They're all looking around for the note, but I've already found it."

Excuses, complaining

NBA referee Derrick Stafford, to the complaining coach Kevin Laughery; "You know, Kevin, all the good coaches coach, and all the bad coaches referee."

Salvation, last, end, death, sorrow, regret

Ty Cobb played in over 3,000 games. In four years, he batted over 400. On his death bed on July 17, 1961 he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He said, "Tell the boys I'm sorry it was the ninth inning before I came to know Christ. It should have been the first inning.

Anger, unfair, fault, process, transformation, change, testing, trials

Scottish author George MacDonald told this story of a woman who had experienced a great tragedy in her life. The heartache was so crushing and her sorrow so bitter that the one in distress exclaimed, "I wish I'd never been made." With spiritual discernment, her friend answered, "My dear, you are not fully made yet; you're only being made, and this is the Maker's process!"

Forgiveness, words, hurt, condemnation, love, acceptance

A young lady in a small town had been through several marriages, along with drug and alcohol problems. Her friends in town finally convinced her to go see the town Psychiatrist to get help. As she told the Psychiatrist her life story he asked her to go back and repeat the story she had told him about 3rd grade. She told him that it was the worst day of her life and that things had never been the same since that day. You see, when she was a young girl in 3rd grade she was known to be the meanest person at her school. One day, after she was involved in a fight at recess, her teacher had put up with enough of her mischief. She told the class, "I want each of you to come to the chalk board and write down one word that you think describes this young girl." The first student quickly ran to the board, picked up the chalk and wrote the word, "UGLY." One by one each student took their turn at the board with the chalk. As she told the story to the psychiatrist she broke down sobbing uncontrollably. The psychiatrist then asked her to finish the story. She told him that she couldn't remember anything else. To this he then reminded her, "Don't you remember that at the end of the class, the last boy to go to the chalkboard was a quiet kid who sat at the back of the class. When he went to the board instead of picking up the chalk, he picked up the eraser and erased everything the other students had said about you. Then he wrote three words, "I love you."" When he said these things it jarred the women's memory. That day she was sitting in the office of the young boy who had grown up to be the town's psychiatrist.

Humility, football, criticism, challenge, pride, humble

When the legendary Knute Rockne was head coach at Notre Dame, a column appeared in the school paper with no clue as to who wrote it, other than the signature "Old Bearskin." The column was highly critical of the football players. It's author seemed to have inside information on the strengths and weaknesses of every man on the team. And he spared no words in lambasting each player for his short-comings and inept performance. The writer of that column was never identified - that is, until after Rockne died. And guess what? The column "died" with him. "Old Bearskin" was actually the players' best friend. He was aware of what happened to football heroes whose success on the field went to their heads. As "Old Bearskin," his criticisms helped them to avoid pitfalls of pride and to strive continually to do better.

Decisions, setbacks, temptation, serious, freedom, liberty, escape, bondage

Bill Jeracki was fishing in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains when a boulder fell on his leg and he was trapped, unable to free himself. Knowing that as night came on he might die of exposure, Bill did what he knew he had to do. Relying on his skill as an assistant to a doctor at a Denver hospital, he took a nylon rope out of his tackle box, tied it tightly above his knee, and cut his leg with his knife. He then dragged himself to his car and drove 10 miles to the nearest town. He not only survived the trauma, but with an artificial limb he is out fishing again.

Life, breathe, opportunity, gifts, grace

What do you do 18 times a minute, 1,080 times an hour, 25,920 times a day, yet rarely notice? The answer: you breathe. God gives you 26,000 gifts a day.

honesty, truth, hide, hiding

A man had a white bunny and his neighbor had two Rottweilers. One day when the bunny owner was on vacation it was raining and the dog owner saw his dog in the neighbors yard with the bunny in his mouth. He got the bunny, washed it, blow dried it and put it back in it's cage. The neighbors came home and screamed. The dog owner ran outside and said, "What happened." They said, "We don't know. Our rabbit died 3 days ago, we buried him and when we got home he was back in his cage." Some things are better left buried.

Scars, wounds, wounded, hurt, overcome, healing

A boy asked his veteran dad what a scar was from. It's where I was shot in the war. The boy said are you gonna die? No son, people don't die from scars, they die from wounds.

Hurt, purpose, healing, future, process, trials, tests

During Stacy Dales freshman year they were in San Antonio and she blew her knee out in a game. She began to ask the question "Why do these bad things happen to me." Her coach, Sherri Coale told her "If you're going to ask, "Why do these bad things happen to me, then you also have to ask why do good things happen to me. You just keep working hard and it will all work out in the end. Who knows, maybe we'll be back here to play in the National Championship game in a few years." 5 years later, Stacy did play in National Championship game in 2002 in San Antonio, Texas.

Acceptance, love, family, bully, bullies, names, friends

Tammy gave birth to Dat in 1975 in a refugee camp in Fort Chaffe, Ark. A year later, the family moved to Rockport, TX with lots of other Vietnamese. It was hard for the Vietnamese to find a job, harder to find acceptance. Eighty miles up the road, a man was found dead. All the racism bled down to the kids in Rockport, who paid attention to Dat only when they felt like pushing him around. They didn't try to learn to pronounce Nguyen. They settled for "slant-eyes," and "gook." The kids even scolded 6-year old Jimmy Hattenbach Jr. when he tried to play with Dat on the playground. But, encouraged by his parents, Jimmy Jr. took Dat home with him. Jimmy Jr. and Dat became friends, and Dat joined the youth soccer team Jimmy Sr. coached. Jimmy Sr. paid his $15 entry fee, and when Dat went on to score nearly 80% of the goals for the team, Jimmy realized it was perhaps the best $15 he ever spent. A few years later the team won the league title. For the next 12 years, Dat almost never left the Hattenbach house. Dat liked it so much that when his family moved to nearby Corpus Christi, Dat moved in with them. Two years later when the family returned to Rockport, Dat didn't even tell the Hattenbachs. He stayed with them for two months after his own family came back. In High School he switched to football where he led the team in tackles. He led Texas A&M in the tackles for 4 straight years, was named big 12 Defensive player of the year, won the Lombardi award his Senior year. His name is Dat Nguyen

Hypocrites, irony, fire, accidents

March 24, 1997 Russia's oldest firefighting academy burned to the ground.

Empathy, substitution, savior, forgiveness,

One school had a class of Boys that continually ran off teachers. A new teacher came to the class and told the boys he would let them make the rules. They set the penalty for breaking the rules at 5 lashes with a leather strap on a bare back. Things went great for about two weeks until Joey stole Josh's lunch. When Joey confessed the teacher brought him to the front of the class and had him take off his shirt for his lashes. When Josh saw what was happening he took off his shirt and ask the teacher to give him the lashes instead. That's what Jesus did for us.

Faith, sight, doubt

A teacher held keys in his hand and closed his fist. He told the students he had keys in his hand. He told them they had faith if they believed him, but he wasn't lying. He then said he was going to destroy their faith and he opened his hand and showed them his keys. He destroyed their faith because they could now see it so it couldn't be faith.

Bible, Word, healing

The Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II thought if he ate the Bible he would get well. He died in 1913 after eating the entire book of 2 Kings.

Shock, surprise, ending, final, accident

Playwright David Lodge was at a play on November 22, 1963. As part of the play an actor was tuning in a radio when the words came over the radio for all to here, "Today in Dallas Texas, president John F. Kennedy was shot and killed". Needless to say the play was over.

Children, faith, humility, weakness, serving, servant

A pastor asked who is the greatest in our church? He named a few prominent people in their church and then picked up a child. We imitate the all-powerful all-knowing by being weak and serving.

Love, acceptance, belonging

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the Charles Manson girl, who almost killed Gerald Ford, said she was sitting on a curb in Venice, California, when Charles Manson enlisted her. When asked why she followed him she said, "A beaten dog will follow anyone who loves it."

Love, acceptance, belonging, gossip, rivalry, divisions

There's a Hassidic legend about a community of Jewish monks that had descended into factionalism, rivalry, gossip, suspicion. A wise man visited the abbey and the abbot told him about the situation. The wise man replied "I am so surprised, for it is widely rumored the Messiah is in your midst." Soon afterward the community had changed because the monks began to treat each other as if they might be the Messiah.

Help, dumb, labels, instructions, accidents

I am a medical student currently doing rotation in toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down, and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants. I told her that she had better bring her daughter into the Emergency room right away.

Sin, truth, honesty, exposure, light, caught, stealing

In late 2004 some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. When they took it for a float on the river, a Coast Guard helicopter coming towards them surprised them. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator beacon, which activated when the raft got wet. They are no longer employed at Boeing.

Sin, truth, honesty, exposure, light, caught, stealing

A friend of a friend's mum was on her way back from her daughter's new house and had stopped to top up with petrol at a motorway service station. She had just finished and was about to rejoin the main carriageway when her eagle eyes spotted a microwave oven glinting on the hard shoulder, seemingly abandoned. Figuring it must have fallen off the back of a lorry, the overjoyed woman screeched to a halt and hoicked the modern technological marvel into her hatchback. Even if it was damaged, her handyman husband would soon get the gadget up and cooking. The woman couldn't believe her luck: her conventional cooker was on its last legs, and for months she'd been jealous of her neighbours, who never stopped gassing about their microwave marvel. Eager to get home and excited by her good fortune, she put her foot down. But shortly after she'd set off, a police motorway patrol car came haring up behind her, sirens wailing. The driver flashed her and indicated she should pull over. As the officers sauntered over towards her, the poor woman began perspiring heavily and just couldn't help looking horribly guilty. Deciding honesty was the best policy, she was ready to blurt out the whole sorry tale about the microwave when one of the officers jammed his head through her open window. 'I'm terribly sorry to bother you, madam, but could you please tell us why you've just stolen this object,' he oozed. Through floods of tears, the women explained everything: 'I just wanted to use it to cook my family's dinner,' she sobbed. 'You'd be hard-pushed to cook for anyone with that thing,' smirked one of the officers. 'You see, it's a radar speed-trap box.'

Watching, tracking, eyes, secrets, revealed, hidden

In August 2002, when an Irish Light-Bellied Brent Goose being followed on its migration routes by the British-based Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust was found in a hunter's freezer in Cornwallis Island, Canada. The ill-fated goose, dubbed Kerry, had survived the arduous 4,500 mile trip only to be shot by a man out hunting. The goose, still wearing its $3,000 transponder, was discovered once local wildlife officials set out to locate the just-migrated bird and tracked its transponder signal to a house.

Watching, tracking, eyes, secrets, revealed, hidden

In an episode of the BBC comedy Chef! ("Do The Right Thing," original air date 22 September 1994), Chef Garath has a visit from the National Rivers Authority accusing him of receiving illegally-fished salmon. They were tracking the migration of salmon using radio implants, and while they had learned many interesting things about the migratory patterns, they were still amazed to find the fish "traveling 58 mph down the A40."

Dumb, robber, bank, theft, stealing, smart, caught

A true story out of San Francisco: A man, intending to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote "this iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn't the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, "OK" and left. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.

Dumb, stealing, theft, caught

Guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun and demanded all the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but he refused and said, "Because I don't believe you are over 21." The robber said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him because he didn't believe him. At this point, the robber took his driver's license out of his wallet and gave it to the clerk. The clerk looked it over, and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and he put the scotch in the bag. The robber then ran from the store with his loot. The cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that he got off the license. They arrested the robber two hours later.

Dumb, stealing, theft, caught

A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.

Dumb, caught, sing, falsehood, lying

A man from Charlotte, North Carolina purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars and then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the man filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the man stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: That the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The man sued. And won! In delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The Judge stated nevertheless, that the man held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the man for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires." NOW FOR THE BEST PART - So what would you decide to do as the insurance company? Here is what they did: After the man cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!! With his insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the man was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.

Persevere, punishment, penalty, thirsty, discipline, parents, kids

A little girl was threatened with a spanking for continually asking for a drink of water at bedtime. Finally she said, "Momma, when you get up to spank me, will you bring me a glass of water."

Accountability, work, honest, better

A young boy walked into a drug store and asked to use the phone. He dialed a numbers and said, "Hello, Dr. Brown? Do you want to hire a guy to cut the grass and run errands for you? Oh, you already have someone? Are you completely satisfied with him? Ok, then good-bye doctor." The druggist who overheard the conversation said, "Son, if you're looking for work, I could use someone like you." "Thank you said the boy, but I have a job." The druggist replied, "Didn't I just hear you trying to get a job from Doctor Brown.?" "No, sir," said the boy "I am the boy who works for Doctor Brown. I was just checking up on myself."

Murder, hate, hatred, kill, dumb

Jailers confiscated Derrick Echols' artificial leg after he used it to beat a cellmate (Peoria, Ill.)

Innocence, kids, altar, honesty

At our Kids Crusade a girl in the back was making her way to the altar knocking over chairs with her eyes closed. She didn't know she could open her eyes.

Blind, influence, crowd

Whales swim in crowds. At times the lead whale can get a parasite that eats into his brain. As he get disoriented he will beach himself and the whole crowd will go with him.

Distractions, attention, focus, creativity

In Casper, Wyoming in a Jr High Basketball game a kid got in the corner with 3 seconds left before the end of the game. Just before the ball was thrown in bounds he got on all fours and began to bark. When the players looked at him, his team threw the ball in and made a lay up and won.

Faith, hearing, trust

A women in Brazil with 3 kids, no food or money prayed to God for help. God spoke to her and told her to go to the Royal Brazilian Market. When she walked in there were 128 check out lines. God told her to get enough groceries for 1 month. After she got her groceries God told her to stand in line 7. When she got to aisle 7 the cashier was leaving for lunch. People tried to get her to move but she said "My father said to wait here in line 7." As her last item crossed the register an announcement came on that it was the stores 7th anniversary and whoever was currently on lane 7 would get their food for free.

Teamwork, together, help, basketball, score

On March 28, 1990 Michael Jordan scored 69 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers and rookie Stacy King scored only 2 points. After the game a reported found Stacy King sitting by himself in the locker room and asked him how he felt to know that he only scored 2 points on a night that Michael Jordan had scored 69. He said, "This is the night I will always remember when Michael and I teamed up to score 71 points." That night the bulls were tied at the end of regulation and went on to win in overtime by a score of 117-114.

Faith, God, America, country

After the war Dwight D. Eisenhower added the phrase "under God" to the pledge of allegiance and made it his National Campaign for the presidency.

Dumb, accident, pessimism, hurt

The following is taken from a Florida newspaper:

A man was working on his motorcycle, cleaning the engine and such with a rag and a bowl of gasoline in the family living room. When he finished he decided to start the motorcycle to see if everything was still ok. Unfortunately, the bike was still in gear and went crashing through the patio glass door with him still clinging to the handlebars. The wife, hearing the crash, found her husband lying on the patio, cut badly from the glass. She called 911 and paramedics transported him to the emergency room. After they returned home with several stitches the wife cleaned up the mess in the living room and dumped the bowl of gasoline in the toilet. Later that evening the husband went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and smoked a cigarette. After finishing the cigarette, he flipped it between his legs into the toilet bowl while still seated. The explosion threw the husband through the bathroom door. The wife, who was in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. She ran to the bathroom and found her husband laying on the floor. His trousers had been blown away and he was suffering burns on the buttocks, the back of his legs and his groin. The wife again ran to the phone and called for an ambulance. The same ambulance crew was dispatched and the wife met them at the street. The paramedics loaded the husband on the stretcher and began carrying him to the street. While they were going down the stairs to the street accompanied by the wife, one of the paramedics asked the wife how the husband had burned himself. She told them and the paramedics started laughing so hard, they dropped the stretcher and broke his collarbone.

Leader, influence, push, shepherd

Dwight D. Eisenhower used to demonstrate the art of leadership in a simple but forceful way. He would place a single piece of string on a table and say, "Pull it, and it follows wherever you want it to go. But push it, and it goes nowhere."

Miracle, start, thief, theft, prayer, power

A boy told his pastor he wanted to get saved. The Pastor asked him why. He said two ladies came out after church to get in their car and they were across the street making fun of them. The ladies were real nervous and couldn't get the car to start. As the boys were heckling the ladies they saw the ladies pray and the car then started. The pastor said, "Well God answers prayer." The boy said "You don't understand. We stole the battery from the car."

Dumb, stealing, theft, caught

A thief climbing in through the roof to a beauty aids store got his sweater caught and it hung him. The name of the store was the "Dum Dum Boutique."

Life, suicide, answers, hope, reason

A young man in high school speech class asked the class the meaning of life. No one had an answer, so he asked the teacher. She had no answer. He said that's what I thought, then pulled out a gun and shot himself.

Savior, future, abortion, champion

Every time a champion was rumored to be born satan tried to kill babies. He did it with Moses. He did it with Jesus. He did it with us on Jan 22, 1973 with Roe V. Wade passing abortion.

Baptism, forgiveness, sin, salvation

In Kiev there is a street called Cheshiadic which means "way of baptism" The end of the street runs into the Neiper River. People would take two robes into the water and when the went under they would take one off. As they watch the old clothes float down the river it reminded them of the old man being taken away.

Apathy, giant, sleep

Napoleon stuck his finger on the map and said, "There lies a sleeping giant, let it sleep" speaking of China.

Optimism, pessimism, opportunity, vision

A little boy was given the assignment of counting how many stars he could see. Everyone in the class had huge numbers except the one boy. When the teacher asked him why he had so few stars compared to everyone else he said it was because he had a small backyard.

Faith, confidence, trust, doubt

A man for years pushed a wheelbarrow across a tightrope at Niagra Falls. He asked a fellow employee one day if he thought he would make it today. The employee said I have no doubt you'll make it. So the tightrope walker said get in the wheelbarrow.

Volcano, death, ignorance, apathy

In 79 AD Mt Gasurius volcano erupted and destroyed Pompeii. Today 1 million people live around the volcanic mountain.

Evangelist, gospel, witness, sacrifice, servant, serving

A Scottish preacher named John Harper was aboard the Titanic with his six-year-old daughter, Nana when it struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. He planned to travel to the Moody Church in Chicago, where he'd been invited to preach for three months. When the ship struck the fateful iceberg and began to sink, Harper made sure his 11 year old daughter was placed into one of the lifeboats. He then began what would be the last evangelistic work of his young life.

As the freezing waters began to fill the ship, Harper was heard shouting, "Let the women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats."

When the 1,528 people went into the frigid waters John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.

Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said, "Here then, you need this more than I do..." Because of the intense cold, he had grown too weak to swim. His last words before slipping under: "Believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved."

Following the disaster, a nameless survivor wrote about the stranger who urged him to call out to Jesus for his soul's safety: "Then and there, with two miles of water beneath me, in my desperation I cried to Christ to save me." Of the 1,498 people who went into the water that night, only six were rescued. One of them was this young man. Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris.

Trust, prayer, faith, bravery, war, action

On July 10, 1943 eighty ships landed on the shores of Cicili. Eisenhower saluted the men and prayed over them and said, "There's comes a time you use all your brains and training, but then you leave it in the hands of God."

Move, action, choice, decisions, hell

Paul Morvy the world's best chess player saw a painting in Philadelphia that had the devil playing a boy and having him near check mate. The caption said "The next move could damn your soul to hell." He looked at the picture for two hours and then when he saw the answer he yelled, "Make the move young man, make that move."

Rules, miss, mistake, sin, penalty, failure

Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball known for his powerful left-handed swing and dependable clutch hitting. He played 18 seasons with the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from 1921 until 1938. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. In 1924 the World Series between the New York Giants and the Washington Senators was tied after six games. They came to the ninth inning with the game score tied at three runs each. New York was put down in order and Washington came to bat. The home team fans screamed for one lone run, which would win the series and the world championship. The first two men made outs and it looked like extra innings. Then a player named Leon “Goose” Goslin came to the plate.

On the fifth pitch, Goslin stepped into the ball and slammed it to left center field. The crowd became delirious; it looked like a home run, but it hit inches below the top of the wall and fell back into the field of play. Goslin was slowing down for a triple when the third base coach waved him on to try for an in-park home run. The short stop took the peg from left center, and fired the ball to the catcher. Goslin slid into home in a cloud of dust, seemingly a split second before the tag. The catcher followed the routine of throwing the ball around the bases, just in case, while waiting for the umpire to make the call. The umpire made a delayed call, consulting the other umpires, and then cried, “You’re out!” Washington manager, Bucky Harris, along with his team and fans, rushed onto the field, protesting the call. The umpire secured order, and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the batter is out because he didn’t touch first base!”

Regret, choice, calling, sacrifice, passion

Charles Borden, son of the Borden Milk Tycoon was sent on a trip around the world for his graduation present. When he saw the world's Muslim's and felt like God was calling him to be a missionary to these people. That day he wrote the words "No reserve" in the front of his Bible. A few years later on the day he graduated from Seminary he wrote the words, "No retreat" in the front of his Bible. On the Ship ride he contracted spinal meningitis and died at the age of 25 in Cairo, Egypt. When he family got his Bible back they saw the words "No reserves" and "No retreat" in the front of his Bible. Then they saw on last entry…the words "No regrets." His tombstone in Cairo reads, “William Borden 1887-1913, apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.”

Fear, doubt, trust, prison, thoughts, hiding, truth

Shōichi Yokoi (March 31, 1915 – September 22, 1997) was a Japanese sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. For twenty-eight years, he hid in an underground jungle cave in Guam, fearing to come out of hiding even after finding leaflets declaring that World War II had ended.

There is a story of a Japanese soldier Lt. Hiroo Onada left on the island Lubang in the Philippines on December 25, 1944, with the command to "carry on the mission even if Japan surrenders." Onada continued his war alone. All efforts to convince him to surrender or to capture him failed. He ignored messages from loudspeakers announcing Japan’s surrender and that Japan was now an ally of the United States. Leaflets were dropped over the jungle begging him to surrender so he could return to Japan. He refused to believe or surrender. Over the years he lived off the land and raided the fields and gardens of local citizens. He was responsible for killing at least 30 Filipinos during his 29-year personal war. Almost a half million dollars was spent trying to locate and convince him to surrender. Thirteen thousand men were used to try to locate him. Finally, on March 10, 1974, almost 30 years after World War II ended, Onada surrendered his rusty sword after receiving a personal command from his former superior officer, who read the terms of the cease-fire order. Onada handed his sword to President Marcos, who pardoned him. The war was over. Onada was 22 years old when left on the island. He returned a prematurely aged man of 52. Onada stated, "Nothing pleasant happened in the 29 years in the jungle."

Imperfect, purpose, better, hope, faithfulness

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it up some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while I walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.

Help, sacrifice, serving, servant, others

At the Paralympics in Atlanta on the 100 yard dash, after about 20 yards one young man fell down. The other 8 stopped helped him up and arm in arm walked to the finish line together. All were given gold medals after a 10 minute standing ovation.

Freedom, guidelines, rules, discipline, rebellion, selfishness

A kite saw everything and wanted to be free, but as soon as it cut the string it fell to the ground

Passion, goals, evangelism, witnessing

Robert Woodruff became president of Coke. His first year was 1922 and they sold 25 gallons of Coke. He made it his goal that every person should be able to taste a Coca Cola if they wanted to. He said, "In my generation I want everyone to be able to taste Coke." When he retired in 1986 they sold 1.74 billion gallons of Coca Cola. That's 2.4 trillion 6oz bottles. If you stacked them end to end it would circle the earth 11,366 times, go to the moon 1,237 times or 1/3 of the way to Saturn. In 12oz bottles stacked end to end would take 19 million columns as high as Mount Everest. If it ran over Niagara Falls, it would flow for over 23 hours and 21 minutes. 97% of the world has heard of Coke, 72% have it available and 51% have it in their homes.

Bravery, compliance, compromise, stand up, apathy

In 1934 in Berlin, Hitler called together the countries most important pastors and preachers in His Reich Chancellery. He spent the day stroking their egos and making them feel important to stifle any criticism of his government. He promised them their tax exemptions and state subsidies were safe in the Hitler government. A young pastor named Martin Neimoller pushed to the front of the crowd, face to face with Hitler and said, "Our concern, Herr Hitler, is not for the church. Jesus Christ will take care of His church. Our concern is for the soul of our nation." The other pastors quickly removed Neimoller to the back of the room as if to say we don't agree. When Hitler saw the other minister’s reaction, he smiled and said, "The soul of Germany- you can leave that to me."

Hypocrite, mistake, ironic

Al Gore was giving a speech in 1999 about how important his faith was to him. He said his favorite Bible verse was . Of course his speech writer meant 3:16, but says, "And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father nor me."

Family, vision, perspective

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to see the country with the purpose of showing him how poor people can be. They spent the day on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "What did you learn from our trip today." The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon. When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless. His son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are."

Example, stop, repent, fix, wisdom

A middle school in Oregon had girls put on lipstick in the bathroom and press their lips on the mirror. Principal called them in and explained how hard it was to clean the mirrors. He asked the custodian to show them and he dipped a squeegee in the toilet and cleaned the mirrors.

Truth, deception, sin, rules, guidelines, alcohol, crime, caught, lying

In 1997 four teens in Tampa Florida that had been drinking removed the stop signs from a four way stop. Minutes later four teens in a car were hit by a semi and 3 were killed.

Sin, temptation, discipline

A dog will do anything for a treat. They will go and get locked in a garage or put outside for a little milk bone dog biscuit. So many Christians are the same way. We'll spend time in bondage and condemnation for a little treat that doesn't even taste good.

Freedom, bondage, rebellion, protection

We had a tadpole that wanted to be free. He jumped out of his bowl and into the sink. When we came home from a night away he was dead in the sink. His desire to be "free" killed him.

Dumb, greedy, caught, lazy

A man in Biloxi Mississippi called a casino and told them to give him $100,000 or he would come down there and start shooting people. He then gave them his home address. The police captain Kirk said it makes the job easier when they give you their name and address.

Marriage, alcohol, drunk, honesty, criticism

Once when Winston Churchill was drunk Lady Astor, said to him, "Mr. Prime Minister, I perceive you are drunk," Churchill smile and replied, "Yes, Lady Astor, and you are ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober."

Ironic, sin, caught, mistake, death

A man on death row got his penalty reduced to life in prison. One day he was standing on his metal toilet and using his teeth to fix a television wire and electrocuted himself.

Mistake, accident, smart, protection, help, humility

A man on the 23rd floor of an apartment complex stood on a wheel chair to feed his parrot. The wheel chair rolled and he fell to his death

Perseverance, quitting

Walter Payton ran for 16,726 yards and was tackled every 4 ½ yards. Emmitt Smith ran for 18,355 yards on 4,409 attempts. He was tackled every 4 yards.

Chance, risk, failure, perseverance, quitting

I saw a poster of Michael Jordan the other day that said, "I've missed 9,000 shots, lost 300 games, 26 times my team has trusted me to take the last shot and I've missed. I've fail time and time again. That's why I'm a success."

Love, witnessing, gospel, care, others, unselfish, influence

Rachel Scott wrote in her diary "I dare to believe that I can start a chain reaction through deliberate acts of kindness." She decided that she would reach out to three groups of people. Those who get picked on, those who are handicapped and those who are new at the school. She made her verse, "The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning, he awakens My ear to hear as the learned.-NKJ

She wanted to know how to speak, what to speak, to whom to speak and when to speak. Eric Harris wrote in one of his classes, "I want to start a chain reaction through violence"

Rachel Scott was shot at Columbine High School, outside the cafeteria, eating lunch with a handicapped student.

Dumb, caught, alcohol, drunk, hiding, sin

David Zerflah was pulled over and arrested for suspicion of DUI. While in the back seat of the police car he ripped off his underwear and began chewing on it. By the time the police got it out his mouth, his blood alcohol level was at .08.

Rapture, end times, serious, apathy

A man was on a short plane flight and he was really thirsty. As soon as the plane leveled off the stewardess started down the aisle with the drink tray. Shortly thereafter, the plane hit turbulence and the stewardess disappeared back up the aisle. The captain came on the speaker system and told the passengers, "Due to the turbulence and the shortness of time we will not be able to have service as usual." Due to the turbulence in our world and shortness of time we can not continue to have church service as usual.

Death, future, heaven, hell, waste, astrology, fortune telling

Sarah Winchester's husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died in 1918 of influenza she moved to San Jose, California. She went to visit a medium for her depression who told her that she would never die as long as she kept building her house. When she died at the age of 85 she had paid men over 5 million dollars in wages at $.50 a day. Her home had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 10,000 windows and enough materials to build for 80 more years.

Holy Spirit, conviction, tug, altar, faith

A little boy was flying a kite and it was so high that he couldn't even see it. A man looked up and asked the boy how he knew there was a kite at the end of the string since he obviously couldn't see it. The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Because I can still feel the tug."

Baby, peace, war, Christmas

On July 2, 1863, while General George E. Pickett was leading his famous charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, word

came that his first child had been born. All along the two-mile Confederate battle line, cheers were shouted and bonfires were built in celebration. The general had a son! General Ulysses Grant was curious to know what was happening. He sent out scouts, who returned with the news of the blessed event. General Grant said, "Have we no kindling wood on this side of the line? Why don't we strike up a row of lights for the young Pickett?" Soon bonfires were blazing all along the Union line as well. Not a shot was fired; not a gun was pointed at the enemy. Bright lights and peace reigned because a baby boy had been born.

Thirst, labels, mistake, counterfeit, imposter, hypocrite

During the North African campaign of World War II, some German troops became detached from their source of supplies. With their throats parched by the intense desert sun, they were overjoyed when they found a newly constructed British waterline. Shooting it full of holes, they fell on their stomachs and began gulping furiously. But they realized something too late. The British had been testing the pipeline with salty seawater. Within 24 hours all of the Germans were dying of thirst. Recognizing the severity of their situation, they quickly surrendered.

Grace, free, healing, price, ticket

Author Peter Kreeft tells the story of a poor European family who saved for years to buy tickets to sail to America. Once at sea, they carefully rationed the cheese and bread they had brought for the journey. After 3 days, the boy complained to his father, "I hate cheese sandwiches. If I don't eat anything else before we get to America, I'm going to die." Giving the boy his last nickel, the father told him to go to the ship's galley and buy an ice-cream cone. When the boy returned a long time later with a wide smile, his worried dad asked, "Where were you?" "In the galley, eating three ice-cream cones and a steak dinner!" "All that for a nickel?" "Oh, no, the food is free," the boy replied. "It comes with the ticket."

Love, help, others, voice

A young boy who was living in a poverty stricken area of the big city found his way into a gospel meeting and was converted. Not long afterward, someone tried to shake his faith by asking him several puzzling questions: "If God really loves you, why doesn't someone take better care of you? Why doesn't He tell somebody to send you a new pair of shoes?" The boy thought for a moment and then said, as the tears filled his eyes, "I guess He does tell somebody, but somebody forgets!"

Forgiveness, salvation, regrets, consequences

There was a boy whose father pounded a nail in the barn door every time the boy did something wrong. Soon there were many nails. Then one day the boy accepted Christ as his Savior. To impress upon his son the wonder of being forgiven, the father took him to the barn and pulled out every nail from the door. "That is what it means to have all your sins forgiven," he said. "They are gone forever." The boy was deeply impressed. Then looking at the door, he asked, "But Father, how can I get rid of the holes?" "I'm sorry," said the father, "but they will remain."

Better, hindrances, apathy, progress

Many years ago, a promising Greek artist name Timanthes was under the instruction of a well-known tutor. After several years, the young painter created an exquisite portrait. He was so thrilled with what he had painted that he sat day after day gazing at his work. One morning, however, he was horrified to discover that his teacher had deliberately ruined his painting. Angry and in tears, Timanthes ran to him and asked why he had destroyed his cherished possession. The wise man replied, "I did it for your own good. That painting was retarding your progress. It was an excellent piece of art, but it was not perfect. Start again and see if you can do even better." The student took his advice and produced a masterpiece called "Sacrifice of Iphigenia," regarded by some as one of the finest paintings of antiquity.

Hard, unrepentant, hate, evil

On December 12, 1938, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed 30 lists of death sentences. Yet on that very night the callous tyrant went to his personal theater and watched two comedies. Stalin's biographer, Dmitri Volkognonov, wonders how any human being could have a heart so hardened that he could smile and laugh after commanding the killing of some 5,000 victims, many of whom he knew personally.

Others, repentance, give, giving, sacrifice, worry, paranoia, stress

John D. Rockefeller had become the world's first billionaire. But he was a miserable man who couldn't sleep, who was unloved, and who needed bodyguards. Then at age 53 he was stricken with a rare disease. He lost all his hair, and his body became shrunken. He was given a year or so to live. Rockefeller started thinking about eternal issues, and suddenly he began to change. He gave away his money to help churches and the poor. He established the Rockefeller Foundation, which has underwritten critical health research. His health improved, and contrary to the doctor's prediction, he lived to be 98. He later said “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week."

Bible, witness, gospel

Chocolate lovers around the world know the name Cadbury, whose delectable’s have been produced near Birmingham, England, for more than 100 years. Helen Cadbury, the daughter of the founder accepted Christ at age 12. She immediately became interested in witnessing and in growing spiritually, so she began carrying her huge Victorian Bible to school. Because it was so cumbersome, her father gave her a small New Testament she could put in her pocket. Helen's Christian friends admired it and acquired one of their own so they could carry it with them and read it every day. Soon they were calling themselves the Pocket Testament League and began giving New Testaments to people who promised to read them. A policeman was the first to receive Christ after being given a free copy by one of Helen's friends. The Pocket Testament League today, has become a worldwide ministry with millions of members.

Clean, sanitary, dead, death

It's one of the few places on earth where the air is as fresh and clear as it must have been millennia ago. Constant winds keep out pollution and germs, and the climate discourages the growth of native viruses. It sounds like the healthiest place on earth. So why doesn't anyone want to live there? Because, it's just too cold. With temperatures that drop to -100 degrees Fahrenheit, the South Pole is too frigid even for germs.

Accident, insurance

When a cowboy applied for an insurance policy, the agent asked, "Have you ever had any accidents?" After a moment's reflection, the applicant responded, "Nope, but a bronco did kick in two of my ribs last summer, and a couple of years ago a rattlesnake bit me on the ankle." "Wouldn't you call those accidents?" replied the puzzled agent. "No," the cowboy said, "They did it on purpose!"

Rules, guidelines, ideas, rebellion, selfishness

In Galveston, Texas a hotel on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico put this notice in each room: NO FISHING FROM THE BALCONY. Yet every day, hotel guest threw in their lines to the waters below. Then the management decided to take down the signs- and the fishing stopped.

Kids, pregnant, secrets

In desperation, the mother of a four-year-old girl said, "If you keep sucking your thumb, you'll eventually blow up like a balloon." The next day the mother and her daughter attended a small social gathering. Among those present was a woman who was obviously pregnant. The little girl spotted her and couldn't contain herself. She walked up to the expectant mother and said, "I know what you've been doing."

Potential, future, done, kids

A man said to a boy, "Great picture of that dog, but where is the tail?" "It's still in the crayon" the boy replied.

Revival, heart

During the Welsh revival a reporter seeking directions asked a police officer where the revival was at. The policeman pointed to his heart and said, "It's right here."

Mistakes

Politician Joel Adams set up a computer to call people to ask for their vote. However, he messed up and the computer called the people in the middle of the night.

Pride, blind, ignorance

On August 1, 1985 the city of New Orleans held a party at the city's largest pool to celebrate their first drowning free summer in a long time at the city's swimming pools. Over 200 guests and 100 certified lifeguards were in attendance. At the end of the night as they were closing down the party, Jerome Moody was found fully dressed at the bottom of the pool. He had drowned at sometime during the party without anyone noticing.

Commitment, no options, sold out, no turning back

In 1519 Cortez ships landed at Veracruz. After all the soldiers reached the shore, he sent one rowboat back out to burn the ships so the men would rule out the option of retreat.

Teaching, criticism, job

Jimmy came home from school with a note pinned to his shirt that said, "Jimmy smells, wash Him." The next day he went to school with a note pinned to his shirt that said, "Jimmy's no rose, don't smell him, learn him."

Savior, imposter, pretender

Lenin's body was embalmed and laid in a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square. Millions view his body in a solid crystal casket which had these words inscribed on it. "Lenin was the greatest leader of all people. He was the Lord of the new humanity. He was the savior of the world."

Bible, gospel, change

A street preacher in NYC was approached by a bum and asked for his Bible. He said he wanted to use the thin pages to roll cigarettes. The preacher said I'll give it to you if you promise you'll read the page before you smoke it. A few months later a nice looking, clean dressed gentleman introduced himself to the preacher as the former street bum. The preacher asked what happened and the man said, "I smoked Matthew, Mark & Luke, but John smoked me." Told by Don Wilkerson at teen challenge banquet

Walls, freedom

The Berlin wall was 96 miles long, 11 feet high. 192 people died trying to escape. The wall fell on November 9, 1989.

Walls, freedom

The first section of the Great Wall of China took 10 years to build - at the rate of about one mile per day. At its peak the Ming Wall contained thousands of individual forts and towers and was guarded by more than a million men. It's estimated that the cost, in modern terms, of the Qin Great Wall would be $260 billion, which would pay for roughly half of all annual construction in U.S. If you took all the bricks from the Ming portion of the Wall alone, they could circle the Earth at the equator in a wall five feet high and three feet thick. The Great Wall is 4,500 miles long--the distance between Miami and the North Pole. It's estimated that for every person building the Qin Great Wall, another six were needed to provide building materials and supplies. It's long be rumored that dead were buried in wall. Not true. Decomposing bodies would have weakened structure. One section of the Wall ascends mountain ridges that climb at an angle of 70 degrees and are 7,000 feet above sea level. The estimated cost of the Ming Great Wall is $360 billion, or roughly what's been spent on America's interstate highway system in the last 40 years. Using satellite data scientists have rediscovered more than 600 miles of buried Wall in the past decade. The Ming Wall reportedly took close to 200 years to complete. The Great Wall's height averages from 15 to 30 feet high it's width averages from 15 to 25 feet wide with about a 13-foot wide roadway on top. Three million people--70 percent of China's population at the time--was involved in building the Qin Wall. The Great wall of China 4,500 miles long.

Potential, drugs, mistake, death, influence

On June 19, 1986 the Boston Celtics drafted Len Bias from the University of Maryland as the first player in the NBA draft. Two days later he dropped dead from drug related causes. Friends said he celebrated at his draft party by trying cocaine for the first time.

Christlike, image, vision, testing

Micheangelo stared at a block of marble in his studio all day everyday for four months and then would go home for supper. A visiting prince asked him what he was doing and he answered "working". Three years later the block of marble was the statue of David.

Voice of God, empathy

In 1842 Charles Dickins saw the poor children of the inner city of London and began to write an essay entitled, “An appeal to the poor and abandoned children of London” God spoke to him at 3:00 am and told him if he wrote the essay it would affect thousands, but if he wrote it as a story it would affect generations to come. That story became, “A Christmas Carol”.

Kids, honesty

The mind of a 6-year old is wonderful. First grade... true story: One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home. She read, "..And so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said, "Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?'" The teacher paused then asked the class, "And what do you think that man said?" One little boy raised his hand and said, "I think he said...'Holy cow! A talking pig!'

Pray, work, action, faith

We would all do well to heed St. Benedict of Nursia's mission statement, "Ora Labora". Benedict founded his Benedictine order as a reaction to the worldliness of the sixth-century church. His slogan was Ora Labora, from the Latin ora, "pray," and labora, "work." He taught his followers that to pray was to work, and to work was to pray. He plastered this motto all over his monasteries.

Dumb, robber, thief, caught

In Tulsa, OK suspected shoplifter Jacob Wise, 18, had cleverly removed security tags from clothes he was allegedly stealing from a store. But the alarm went off anyway as Wise strolled through the exit door. It seems he had merely put the removed tags in his pocket.

Mistake, accident, wrong place, time

Fire authorities in California found a corpse in a burned-out section of forest while assessing the damage done by a forest fire. The deceased male was dressed in a full wet suit, complete with scuba tanks on his back, flippers and facemask. A post-mortem test revealed that the man died not from burns, but from massive internal injuries. Dental records provided a positive identification. Investigators then set about to determine how a cab driver ended up in the middle of a forest fire. It was revealed that on the day of the fire, the man went diving off the coast, some 20 miles from the forest. The fire fighters, seeking to control the fire as quickly as possible, had called in a fleet of helicopters with very large dip buckets. Water was dipped from the ocean and emptied at the site of the forest fire.

Transparent, honesty

A young boy was running the overhead projector when the song leader broke out into a hymn that didn't have a transparency. He quickly found the hymn in the hymnal and laid the open book on the overhead projector. Even though the hymnal was full of great song it didn't do the congregation any good because it wasn't transparent.

Dumb, robber, thief, caught

A 36 year old man was tackled by customers as he attempted to rob the Zions Bank in Salt Lake City shortly after it opened. Several customers noticed him waiting outside for the bank to open- already wearing a hooded sweatshirt and mask. The man meekly waited in line for his turn before snatching money from a teller.

Lottery, lucky, apathy, winner

Thanks to a nine-day trash strike in Chicago, a brother and sister were able to claim their $10.5 million Lotto winnings. Ezekiel Garnett, 27 and his sister Karen, 24, had tossed out their Illinois lottery ticket without checking the numbers. Their mother insisted that they check their numbers because he heard that the winning ticket was sold in nearby Niles. When they checked the piles of garbage outside, they found the winning ticket.

Kids, mistake

As I was packing for my business trip, my 3 year old daughter was having a wonderful time playing on the bed. At one point, she said, "Daddy, look at this," and stuck out two of her fingers. Trying to keep her entertained, I reached out and stuck her tiny fingers in my mouth and said, "Daddy's gonna eat your fingers!" pretending to eat them before I rushed out of the room again. When I returned, my daughter was standing on the bed staring at her fingers with a devastated look on her face. I said, "What's wrong, honey?" She replied, "What happened to my booger?"

Passion, wholly, completely, sold out

DL Moody was walking by a store front church when he stepped in to listen to the preacher for a moment. The preacher Henry Varley said, "It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to him.” Moody decided that day that he would try to be that man

Persistence, passion, work, quit

Michael Jordan was cut from the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Instead of giving up after failing to make the team, Jordan used it to spur himself to greater achievements, practicing for hour after hour on the court. “Whenever I was working out and got tired, I'd close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said. He eventually made the team and led them to a state championship. He finished his career with 6 NBA titles, 10 scoring titles and 5 MVP's.

Sacrifice, martyr

In 1967 the Congo was in the middle of a civil war. Missionary JW Tucker was determined to go back against the wishes of his closest friends. On the airport runway, his fellow missionary Harold Carpenter begged him to stay home because it was too dangerous and feared that he might never come home. JW Tucker looked at Carpenter and said, “Jesus didn’t tell me to come home, he told me to go.” Joseph W. Tucker, 49, was brutally beaten to death by Congo rebels on Tuesday, November 24, 1964. Survivors said the rebels used “clubs and bottles to kill him while his hands were tied behind his back.” They took his body and unceremoniously threw it to the crocodiles in the Bomokande River. After JW Tucker died they held a memorial service for him at North Little Rock 1st. One lady told Mrs. Tucker, "I'm sorry they killed your husband on the mission field." Mrs. Tucker said, "They didn't kill my husband on the mission field, he died before he got there." The country of Zaire has been wrecked by war for many years. In the 90’s the government sent a man known as “The Brigadier” to try to help the area. Not so coincidentally, JW Tucker led the Brigadier to the Lord two months before he was murdered. The Brigadier noticed the people of the area were pagans and had a tradition which said, “If the blood of any man flows in our river, you must listen to his message.” This saying had been with the Mangbetos for time im-memorial. He called for the king and all the village elders and addressed them. “I want to tell you something. Sometime ago a man was killed, and his body was thrown into your river the Bomokande river. Before he died, he left me this message.” Then he went on to share the gospel with them. When he finished the Spirit of God descended, and people began to fall on their knees and cry out to God for mercy. Today in this Mangbeto tribe of Northeastern Zaire there are thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches line the banks of the Bomokande river. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

Honesty, hiding, truth, flaws, real, fake

Where does the word sincere come from? The ancient Greeks baked statues in ovens. Many times the statues would emerge from the kiln with small cracks. Artists tried to hide these flaws by filling the cracks with hot wax. Once in a while, a statue without blemish would appear. On the bottom of these works, the artist would write sinceros- "without wax".

Influence, imitation, copy

Family had a dog that's back legs got cut off. When it had puppy's they walk just like their mom, by pulling themselves across the floor with their front legs.

Serious, Christlike, preach, pulpit, sincere

I was goofing off on the platform at South Side A/G in St. Louis while taking a tour of the church when I walked up to the pulpit and read these words on a plaque located there, "Sir, we would see Jesus."

Imperfect, available, useable

God uses imperfect people. Noah had a drinking problem, Abraham was too old, Jacob was a mama's boy, Joseph was a dreamer, Moses was a murderer, Samson needed a haircut, Gideon was a chicken, David was an adulterer, Jeremiah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah was disobedient, Amos was a fig farmer, Mary was a teenager, Peter was arrogant, John was self-righteous, James was mean, Thomas was a doubter, Paul was a Pharisee, Mark was unreliable, Zacchaeus was short, Martha was a prostitute, Bartimaeus was blind, Timothy had ulcers & Lazarus was dead.

Comparison, depression, failure, gifts, talent

Margarat Mitchell was writing a book when a friend mailed her the book John Brown's Body by Stephen Vincent Benet. She thought her book would never be that good so she stopped writing it. Nine years later she changed her mind and finished her book Gone with the wind.

Purpose, vision, direction

One time during a greyhound race the rabbit came loose and fell off. One dog ran into the crowd, one chased it's tail, and the others laid down to sleep.

Goals, vision, passion, direction A new pastor went to a dead church and in prayer God told him He couldn't bless their church until they began to think outside. They put up a sign that said "Where there is no vision... the people perish." They did outreach and the church exploded. Years later a new pastor came and stopped the outreach over worry about the finances. The church declined and one Sunday morning they realized the "W" had fallen off their sign to read "here there is no vision... the people perish."

Sharing, unselfish, teamwork, partners

Two ladies who loved to play the piano were in the nursing home because of a stroke. One was paralyzed on the left, and the other on the right. They played the piano together by working together.

Potential, encouragement, positive, optimism

When Cheryl Pruitt was a little girl she worked around her father’s small country grocery store. Almost daily the milkman Mr. Horton would greet her with the words, " One day, little girl, you are going to be Miss America" At the age of twelve, Prewitt was in a near-fatal car accident which resulted in 100 stitches in her face, a broken back, a broken pelvis and her left femur crushed so severely that the doctors were unsure she would ever walk normally. Despite this tragedy the milkman’s greeting became a childhood fantasy… then a teenage dream… and eventually a reality as she was crowned Ms. America in Atlantic City in 1980.

Failure, perseverance, quit, persistence

Dr. Suess' first book was rejected by 27 publishers, some say 43. The 28th publisher sold 6 million copies. That book was “And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street”. He won two Oscars, sold over 220 million books that have been translated in over 15 languages. In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write a book using only 50 words. The result was “Green eggs and ham”, but Cerf never paid up.

Vision, dreams, faith, persistence, perseverance, quit

Walt Disney was forced to dissolve his company in 1921 because he couldn't pay his rent and was surviving by eating dog food. In 1926 Universal Studios hired all of his artists out from under him. In 1927 MGM studios told him the idea of Mickey Mouse wouldn't work because the idea of a giant mouse on the screen would terrify women. In 1933 the three little pigs was rejected by distributors in 1933 because it had only four characters. Disney was a constant dreamer who said, “You must see it before you see it, to see it.” Walt Disney died 4 years before Disneyworld was dedicated. On opening day the man at the podium told Mrs. Disney "Wouldn't it have been great if Walt could have seen this." When Mrs. Disney stepped up to the podium she said, "He did". Disney used to put pictures of his dreams on the ceiling so he could look at them while he laid in his hospital bed before he died. His company has won 48 academy awards and 7 emmy's.

Failure, perseverance, quit, persistence

Abraham Lincoln

1832 Lost his job

1832 Defeated running for State Legislature

1833 Failed in business

1835 Sweetheart died

1836 Nervous breakdown

1838 Defeated running for Speaker

1843 Defeated for nomination for Congress

1848 Lost renomination

1849 Rejected for Land Officer

1854 Defeated for US Senate

1856 Defeated for nomination for Vice President

1858 Defeated for US Senate

Missions, growth, room, appearance, acceptance, sacrifice

A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it "was too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus. Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings and the parents called for the kindhearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School. For two years she had saved for this offering of love. When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion. He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building. But the story does not end there! A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents. Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00 a huge sum for that time (near the! turn of the century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividend. When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300 and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained. Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday Schoolers, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time. In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "Acres of Diamonds"

Prejudice, judge, judging, appearance, acceptance, opportunity

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks Had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted. "Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to him. He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked. "Madam," he said, gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard." The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and Homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about. A TRUE STORY ----- by Malcolm Forbes

Rules, guidelines, mistake, done, final, over

In the 2002/2003 Big 12 tournament in Dallas, Kansas State player Pervis Pasco intercepted an inbounds pass in the final three seconds against Colorado, which should have given Kansas State an upset victory in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday night. Instead, he raised an arm in celebration and started to leave the court when he was whistled for traveling. Given yet another chance with 1.8 seconds left, the Buffaloes made the Wildcats pay when James Wright banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a remarkable 77-76 victory.

Comparison, quit, insecurity

Margarat Mitchell was writing a book when a friend mailed her the book entitled John Brown's Body by Stephen Vincent Benet. After reading Benet's masterpiece she thought her book would never be that good so she stopped writing it. Nine years later she changed her mind and finished her book Gone with the wind.

Choice, decision, progress, chance, risk, comfortable

Employment in the Swiss watchmaking business dropped from 65,000 to 15,000 from 1979 to 1982. The invention of the quartz watch caused the sudden collapse of a world industry. The research division of the Swiss watchmaking industry invented the quartz watch, and in 1967 presented the concept and the first prototype to their board. The owners and administrators weren't interested. Their thinking required gears and springs in watches. this new quartz approach didn't fit their idea of a watch.

Value, treasure, potential, opportunity

Alfred I. DuPont, former head of the DuPont corporation, was approached by a Philadelphia dealer claiming to have a portrait of DuPont's great-great-grandmother holding her infant son. The asking price was $25,000. When DuPont refused, noting the presence of two artistic styles in the portrait, the dealer dropped the price to $10,000, then $1,000, and, in desperation, $400, which DuPont accepted, believing the frame to be worth that much. A curator at the Philadelphia Museum examined the painting and found that 18th-century clothing had been painted over the subjects' original 17th-century apparel. After removing the new paint, the curator discovered that the original work was by Baroleme’ Murillo; the $400 painting was reassessed at $150,000.

Truth, lie, honesty

Gerald Kennedy tells the story of an Arabic man who felt hungry one night, lit a candle and opened a date. It was wormy, and he threw it aside. He tried another, and it also had worms. So did a third. Whereupon, he blew out the candle and ate the fourth one.

Lazy, replaced, work, help, value

Henry G. Bosch tells the amusing story of what happened when a customer in a small store discovered that “Eddie,” the slow-moving clerk, was not around. “Where's Eddie? Is he sick?' “Nope,” came the reply. “He ain't workin' here no more.” “Do you have anyone in mind for the vacancy?” inquired the customer. “Nope! Eddie didn't leave no vacancy!”

Sin, family, legacy, influence

Max Jukes lived in the state of New York. He did not believe in Christian training. He married a girl of like character. From this union they had 1,026 descendants. Three hundred were sent to the penitentiary for an average of thirteen years each and 190 were public prostitutes. There were 100 drunkards, and the family cost the state of New York $1,200,00. Jonathan Edwards lived in the same state. He believed in Christian training. He married a girl of like character. From this union had come, at the time of this research, 729 descendants. Out of this family have come three hundred preachers, sixty-five college professors, authors of good books, three United States congressmen, and one vice presidents of the United States; and except for Aaron Burr, a grandson of Edwards who married a woman of questionable character, the family has not cost the state a single dollar.

Comfortable, heaven, riches

John Wesley toured a vast estate with a proud plantation owner. They rode their horses for hours and saw only a fraction of the man's property. At the end of the day they sat down to dinner. The plantation owner eagerly asked, “Well, Mr. Wesley, what do you think?” Wesley replied, “I think you are going to have a hard time leaving all of this.”

Money, tithe, salvation, giving

When Sam Houston came to Christ he offered to pay half the local minister's salary. When someone asked him why, he responded, “My pocketbook was baptized, too”

Giving, tithing, sacrifice, blessing

RG LeTourneau- His machines represented nearly 70 percent of the earthmoving equipment and Engineering vehicles used during World War II, and he was responsible for nearly 300 patents. With the help of his wife, Evelyn, he founded what became a private, Christian university, LeTourneau University, in Longview, Texas, and was known as a devoted Christian and generous philanthropist to Christian causes. By the end of his life He was giving 90% of his income to the church.

Change, repent, giving, legacy, future

Alfred Nobel dropped the newspaper and put his head in his hands. It's was 1888. Nobel was a Swedish chemist who made his fortune inventing and producing dynamite. His brother Ludvig had died in France. But now Alfred's grief was compounded by dismay. He'd just read an obituary in a French newspaper- not his brothers, but his! An editor had confused the brothers. The headline ready, “The Merchant of Death Is Dead.” Alfred Nobel's obituary described a man who had gotten rich by helping people kill one another. Shaken by this appraisal of his life, Nobel resolved to use his wealth to change his legacy. When he died eight years later, he left more than $9 million to fund awards for people whose work benefited humanity. The awards became known as the Nobel Prizes.

Focus, blind, busy, trapped

When the Roman general Marcellus invaded his hometown of Syracuse in 212 BC Archimedes was outside his house, working on a math problem. The soldiers marched on the city, smashing, burning, looting, killing. Archimedes kept working. They came swift-footed down the street toward him. He sat unaware, immersed in his work. They came upon him and ran him through with a sword. All around him were loud, visible warnings- the thunder of hoof and foot, the clang of sword and spear, the sounds of approaching doom- and he was oblivious until the end.

Bravery, voice of God, stand up, change

Telemachus was a monk and a pig farmer in fifth-century Asia Minor. Small, wiry, and shy, he was a simple man, and simpleminded. But God spoke to him and told him that he was to go to Rome and bring an end to the popular bloodsport, the games of the gladiators. Telemachus did what he was told, setting out on foot for the long journey. He had no plan, just a word from God. He arrived in Rome and went to the Colosseum. Men were bludgeoning and hewing one another with swords and pikes and maces. The crowd roarded their approval. Telemachus moved among the crowd, yelling in his shrill voice, “In the name of Christ, stop”. The people, the few that heard him, laughed. They threw things at him. He made his way down through the crowd and climbed over the wall and dropped to the floor of the arena. Suddenly the crowds saw this scrawny little figure making his way out to the gladiators and saying, over and over again, ``In the name of Christ, stop.'' And they thought it was part of the entertainment, and at first they were amused. But then, when they realized it wasn't, they grew belligerent and angry. And as he was pleading with the gladiators, ``In the name of Christ, stop,'' one of them plunged his sword into his body. And as he fell to the sand of the arena in death, his last words were, ``In the name of Christ, stop.'' And suddenly, a strange thing happened. The gladiators stood looking at this tiny form lying in the sand. A silence fell over the Colosseum. And then, someplace up in the upper tiers, an individual made his way to an exit and left, and others began to follow. And in the dead silence, everyone left the Colosseum. That was the last battle to the death between gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. Never again did anyone kill or did men kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd.

Value, people, persecution, treasure

In AD 258 in Rome, Emperor Valerian, who hated Christians, commanded that Clergy that wouldn’t perform sacrifices to the Roman Gods would be executed and Roman Senators and knights who were Christians would lose their titles and property. He executed the Bishop of Carthage and the Bishop of Rome executed along with seven deacons including Lawrence of Rome. Lawrence was the archdeacon of Rome and took care of the treasury and riches of the church and the distribution of alms among the poor. Valerian had Lawrence hauled into his throne room and ordered him to bring the treasures of the church or be killed. Lawrence gathered a mob of poor people, cripple people, blind people, homeless people, and he brought these to the emperor. “These,” Lawrence said, “are the treasures of the church.”