Life...

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.

- Helen Keller -

Life-Speed

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round, or listened to rain slapping the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight, or gazed at the sun fading into the night? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
Do you run through each day on the fly, When you ask "How are you?", do you hear the reply? When the day is done, do you lie in your bed, with the next hundred chores running through your head? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow, and in your haste not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die, 'cause you never had time to call and say "hi"? You better slow down, don't dance so fast, time is short, the music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, it's like an unopened gift thrown away. Life is not a race, so take it slower, hear the music before the song is over.
- Unknown

Knowledge

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Avoid him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a humble man. Teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a leader. Follow him.

Omar Khayam

Stretch Out

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain -

Standing in the Way

George Watson once wrote:
There are a number of things which are not sinful, nevertheless our attachment to them prevents our greatest fulness of the Holy Spirit and our amplest cooperation with God. Infinite wisdom takes us in hand, and arranges to lead us through deep, interior crucifixion to our fine parts, our lofty reason, our brightest hopes, our cherished affections, our religious views, our dearest friendship, our pious zeal, our spiritual impetuosity, our spiritual arrogance, our narrow culture, our creed and churchism, our success, our religious experiences, our spiritual comforts; the crucifixion goes on till we are dead and detached from all creatures, all saints, all thoughts, all hopes, all plans, all tender heart yearnings, all preferences; dead to all troubles, comforts or annoyances; dead to all climates and nationalities; dead to all desire but for Himself.

Sorry Day Prayer

Almighty and loving God, you who created ALL people in your image,
Lead us to seek your compassion as we listen to the stories of our past.
You gave your only Son, Jesus, who died and rose again so that sins will be forgiven.
We place before you the pain and anguish of dispossession of land, language, lore, culture and family kinship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced.
We live in faith that all people will rise from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have endured the pain and loss of loved ones, through the separation of children from their families.
We are sorry and ask God's forgiveness.
Touch the hearts of the broken, homeless and inflicted and heal their spirits.
In your mercy and compassion walk with us as we continue our journey of healing to create a future that is just and equitable.
Lord, you are our hope.
Amen.

Aboriginal and Islander Commission
National Council of Churches in Australia. 2002

NOTE: SORRY DAY is commemorated this day each year in recognition of past injustices carried out on Indigenous People in Australia and their continuing impact today

The Israeli Archaeologist

An archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy, a rather rare occurrence in Israel, to say the least. After examining it, he called Abe, the curator of the Israel museum in Jerusalem.
"I've just discovered a 3,000 year old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!" the excited scientist exclaimed.Abe replied, "Bring him in. We'll check it out."
A week later, the amazed Abe called the archaeologist. "You were right about both the mummy's age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?"
"Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, '10,000 Shekels on Goliath'."

Potential

A favorite fish of many hobbyist is the Japanese carp, commonly known as the koi. The fascinating thing about the koi is that if you keep it in a small bowl, the fish will only grow to be 2-3 inches in long. Place it in a larger tank or a small pond and it will reach 6 - 10 inches. However, when placed in a huge lake where it can really stretch out, it has the potential to reach sizes up to 3 feet!
You've probably already figured out the simple point to this illustration. The size of the fish is in direct relation to the size of the pond. A comparable analogy can be made concerning people. Our growth is determined by the size of our world. Of course, it is not the world's measurable dimensions that are most important...but the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical opportunities we expose ourselves to.

The Top 10 Leadership Principles of Jesus

1. Leadership is servanthood
2. Let your purpose prioritize your life.
3. You must live the life before you can lead others.
4. Walk slowly through the crowd.
5. Replenish yourself.
6. Great leaders call for great commitment.
7. Show security and strength when handling tough times.
8. Lead on a higher level.
9. Choose your key people.
10. There is no success without a successor.

by John Maxwell

Honesty

Today I'm giving two examinations. One in trigonometry and the other in honesty," Dr. Madison Sarratt used to tell his class at Vanderbilt University each year.
I hope you will pass them both. If you must fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people in the world who can't pass trig, but there are no good people in the world who cannot pass a test of honesty.

- Dr. Madison Sarrat

Why Worry When You Can Pray?

When Scripture encourages us to pray without ceasing, and to cast all our care upon him, it is literally saying redirect those restless, energetic minds into a positive stream of communication with God. Turn it all into prayer! Instead of nursing our wounds of self-pity, pray for the grace to forgive. Instead of worrying about those for whom we are responsible, ask God to intervene and lift the burden from our shoulders. Instead of thinking creatively about how to bring someone else down, pray creatively about how to build them up. When I lived in England, my landlady had a little wall plaque that read, "Why pray when you can worry?" I always saw the humor of it, and the reverse psychology was good for me. It always drove me to really say, "Why worry when you can pray?"

John Guest in "Only a Prayer Away," Christianity Today - Vol. 33, #2

Friendly Obstacles

For every hill I've had to climb
For every stone that bruised my feet
For all the blood and sweat and grime
For blinding storms and burning heat
My heart sings but a grateful song....
These were the things that made me strong.

For all the heartaches and the tears
For all the anguish and the pain
For gloomy days and fruitless years
And for the hopes that lived in vain
I do give thanks for now I know
These were the things that helped me grow!

'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate man's will to strive
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep man's will alive
O'er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

- Author Unknown

Intelligent Life?

The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us
- Bill Watterson

Michelangelo Redeems Broken Marble

In 1463, members of the City Council of Firenze (Florence) Italy decided they needed a monument to enhance their city. They commissioned a sculptor to carve a giant statue to stand in front of city hall. Someone suggested a biblical character wrought in the neoclassical style, an expression of beauty and strength.
They approached Agostino di Duccio, who agreed to their terms. Duccio went to the quarry near Carrara and marked off a 19-foot slab to be cut from the white marble. However, he had the slab cut too thin. When the block was removed, it fell, leaving a deep fracture down one side. The sculptor declared the stone useless and demanded another, but the city council refused. Consequently, the gleaming block of marble lay on its side for the next 38 years, a source of embarrassment for all concerned.
Then, in 1501, the council approached another citizen, the son of a local official, asking him if he would complete the ambitious project, using the broken slab. Fortunately for them, the young man was Michelangelo Buonarroti. He was 26 years old, filled with energy, skill, and imagination. Michelangelo locked himself inside the workshop behind the cathedral to chisel and polish away on the stone for three years. When the work was finished, it took 49 men five days to bring it to rest before the city hall. Archways were torn down. Narrow streets were widened. The people from across Europe came to see the 14-foot statue of David relaxing after defeating Goliath. It was even more than the city fathers had envisioned. The giant stone had been transformed from the massive fractured waste of rock to a masterpiece surpassing the art of either Greece or Rome.

— Sam Whatley, Pondering the Journey (True Life Publishers, 2002), pp. 17-18

What Nationality were Adam and Eve?

A Briton, a Frenchman and a Russian are viewing a painting of Adam and Eve frolicking in the Garden of Eden.
"Look at their reserve, their calm," muses the Brit. "They must be British."
"Nonsense," the Frenchman disagrees. "They're naked, and so beautiful. Clearly, they are French."
"No clothes, no shelter," the Russian points out, "they have only an apple to eat, and they're being told this is paradise. They are Russian."

Superior Technology!

During the heat of the space race in the 1960s, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration decided it needed a ball point pen to write in the zero gravity confines of its space capsules. After considerable research and development, the Astronaut Pen was developed at a cost of approximately $1 million U.S. The pen worked and also enjoyed some modest success as a novelty item back here on earth. The Soviet Union, faced with the same problem, used a pencil.

It's actually a great story, although the truth is just as interesting.

Strange, but true...

Yorkshire (UK) police were jolted from their routine of traffic radar when they apparently began clocking a speeder at 300 mph. It proved to be no malfunction as a low-flying Harrier Jet screamed overhead a few seconds later.
When Police officials registered a complaint with the Ministry of Defense about their damaged equipment, the MOD only replied that the damage could have been worse. Much worse.
It seems the Harrier's defense systems had locked onto the radar and had gone into an automatic pre-emptive strike mode before the pilot decided enemy anti-aircraft activity was unlikely along the motorways of northern England.

Random Thoughts

Never explain - your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyhow. - Elbert Hubbard
If you consult enough experts, you can confirm any opinion.
Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. - Galbraith's Law
Nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies beyond the will of God.
Never mistake activity for achievement.
The person who does not read good books has no advantage over the one who can't read them.
Direction is more important than speed.

Faith and Politics

One Sunday morning during junior church we learned a song with the line, "He has conquered every foe." When I saw a number of puzzled expressions, I explained a foe is an enemy. Still thinking on my feet, I said, "The name of one of our foes begins with the letter D." I was referring to the Devil, but I got some immediate insight into one family's politics when one child replied, "Oh, you mean the Democrats!"

How Do You Get To Heaven?

"If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?" I asked the children in my Sunday school class.
"NO!" the children all answered.
"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?"
Again the answer was, "NO!""Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?" I asked them again.
Once more they all answered, "NO!"
"Well," I continued, thinking they were a good bit more theologically sophisticated than I had given them credit for, "then how can I get into heaven?"
A five-year-old boy shouted out, "You gotta be dead!"

Holiness

Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria; it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons. It is for everyone; it is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament.

Pope John Paul II, on the beatification of Father Damien of Molokai

Context for Spirituality

Spirituality is not developed in a vacuum. All of our lives are intertwined and closely tied up with one another. God does not create us to live in isolation. He created us incomplete, so we would need one another, so we could help one another, so we could reach out and touch one another’s lives. Holiness is growth in godliness, and God is not self-centred. He is a giving God, always sharing the immensity of His infinite goodness with His creatures. Though he works with each of us personally, moulding in us His own inner life, He channels through ourselves and others what we all need for our survival and our growth, so we become the woof and warp of life’s tapestry. The real work of our spiritual life lies essentially in what subconsciously takes place beneath the surface of our daily life as God uses events and circumstances as well as people to alter our thought patterns, clarify our vision, reset the direction of our life, and realign our personality to harmonise with Jesus’ own inner life.
Once we become aware of the complex way God works in our lives, it becomes clear why it is critical for us to be attuned to God’s presence and sensitive to His voice. While it is impossible for us to perpetually aware of His presence because our lives are so harried, we can still snatch brief moments of quiet time each day to listen to Him and become attuned to His unheard voice within us. It is at times like this, though not only at times like this, that we become aware of new insights into ourselves, our understanding of God, and the marvellous way He works throughout His creation.

Excerpt taken from Never Alone, by Joseph F. Girzone

The Look of Jesus

In the Gospel according to Luke we read:
But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" At that moment, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter…and Peter went outside and wept.
I related well with the Lord. I would converse with him, thank him, ask for help.
But I always had this uneasy feeling that he wanted me to look at him… And I would not. I would talk, but look away when I sensed he was looking at me. I was afraid I should find an accusation in his eyes of some unrepented sin. Or a demand: something he wanted from me.
One day I summoned up courage and looked! There was no accusation. No demand. The eyes just said, “I love you.”
And, like Peter, I went outside and wept.

From Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird

Finding our bearings

“When God would make His name known to mankind, He could find no better word than ‘I AM’… Everyone and everything else measures from that fixed point. “I am that I am,” says God, “I change not.” As the sailor locates his position on the sea by ‘shooting’ the sun, so we may get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when and only when we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position. Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.”

- A. W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God, Christian Publications, 1948

The Value of Expertise

An apartment building maintenance man was rousted out of bed one cold night because one of the tenants needed more heat.
The man went to the apartment, sized up the situation, took out a rubber-headed mallet, and with one WHACK started the heat flowing again through the radiator.
"How much do I owe you?" the tenant asked. "$25," was the reply. "What? $25 for one whack of your mallet?" "No," said the maintenance man. "The whack only cost fifty cents. Knowing WHERE to whack cost $24.50."

From the Mouths of Babes ...

When the 10-year-olds in Mrs. Imogene Frost's class at the Brookside, N.J. Community Sunday School expressed their views of "What's wrong with grownups?" they came up with these complaints:
1. Grownups make promises, then they forget all about them, or else they say it wasn't really a promise, just a maybe.
2. Grownups don't do the things they're always telling the children to do--like pick up their things, or be neat, or always tell the truth.
3. Grownups never really listen to what children have to say. They always decide ahead of time what they're going to answer.
4. Grownups make mistakes, but they won't admit them. They always pretend that they weren't mistakes at all--or that somebody else made them.
5. Grownups interrupt children all the time and think nothing of it. If a child interrupts a grownup, he gets a scolding or something worse.
6. Grownups never understand how much children want a certain thing--a certain color or shape or size. If it's something they don't admire--even if the children have spent their own money for it--they always say, "I can't imagine what you want with that old thing!"
7. Sometimes grownups punish children unfairly. It isn't right if you've done just some little thing wrong and grownups take away something that means an awful lot to you. Other times you can do something really bad and they say they're going to punish you, but they don't. You never know, and you ought to know.
8. Grownups are always talking about what they did and what they knew when they were 10 years old--but they never try to think what it's like to be 10 years old right now.

Computer Sales Jargon

New: Different colour from previous design.
All new: Parts not interchangeable with previous design.
Foolproof operation: No provision for adjustments.
Advanced design: The advertising agency doesn't understand it.
Here at last!: Rush job; nobody knew it was coming.
Years of development: We finally got one that works.
Unprecedented performance: Nothing we ever had before worked this way.
Microprocessor controlled: Does things we can't explain.
For those who are computer literate, find the true meaning of the computer acronyms while for those who feel that computer acronyms are GREEK to them, here is the translation ...
PCMCIA People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
ISDN It Still Does Nothing
APPLE Arrogance Produces Profit-Losing Entity
SCSI System Can't See It
DOS Defective Operating System
BASIC Bill's Attempt to Seize Industry Control
IBM I Blame Microsoft
DEC Do Expect Cuts
CD-ROM Consumer Device, Rendered Obsolete in Months
OS/2 Obsolete Soon, Too.
WWW World Wide Wait
MACINTOSH Most Applications Crash; If Not, The Operating System Hangs
PENTIUM Produces Erroneous Numbers Through Incorrect Understanding of Mathematics
COBOL Completely Obsolete Business Oriented Language
AMIGA A Merely Insignificant Game Addiction
LISP Lots of Infuriating & Silly Parenthesis
MIPS Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed
WINDOWS Will Install Needless Data On Whole System
GIRO Garbage In Rubbish Out
MICROSOFT Most Intelligent Customers Realize Our Software Only Fools Teenagers
RISC Reduced Into Silly Code

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.

Psalm 23: Antithesis

The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down only when exhausted.
It leads me to deep depression.
It hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy for activity's sake.
Even though I run frantically from task to task,
I will never get it all done.
For my "ideal" is with me.
Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me.
They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule.
They anoint my head with migraines.
My in-basket overflows.
Surely fatigue and time pressure shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration forever.

Adoring God

We - or at least I - shall not be able to adore God on the highest occasions if we have learned no habit of doing so on the lowest. At best, our faith and reason will tell us that He is adorable, but we shall not have found Him so, not have ‘tasted and seen’. Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are 'patches of Godlight' in the woods of experience.

- C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

Reflection on The Lord's Prayer

I cannot say OUR if my religion has no room for others and their need.
I cannot say FATHER if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my living.
I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if all my interest and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I, who is called by His name, am not holy.
I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.
I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.
I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN unless I am truly ready to give myself to His service here and now.
I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellow men.
I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION If I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am to be tempted.
I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.
I cannot say THINE IS THE KINGDOM if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.
I cannot say THINE IS THE POWER if I fear what my neighbors and friends may say or do.
I cannot say THINE IS THE GLORY if I am seeking my glory first.
I cannot say FOREVER if I am too anxious about other affairs.
I cannot say AMEN unless I honestly say, "Cost what it may, this is my prayer."
AMEN.