The Truth Shop

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the name of the shop: THE TRUTH SHOP.
The salesgirl was very polite: What type of truth did I wish to purchase, partial or whole? The whole truth, of course. No deceptions for me, no defences, no rationalisations. I wanted my truth plain and unadulterated. She waved me on to another side of the store.
The salesman there pointed to the price tag. "The price is very high, sir," he said. "What is it?" I asked, determined to get the whole truth, no matter what it cost. "Your security, sir," he answered.
I came away with a heavy heart. I still need the safety of my unquestioned beliefs.

from Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird

They said it...

“The Americans have need of a telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” - Sir William Preece, in 1876; Chief Engineer of the British Post Office

“I think there is a world market for about five computers” - Thomas J Watson, Head of IBM forecasting confidentially in 1958

“Man won’t fly for a thousand years.” - Wilbur Wright to his brother Orville after a disappointing flying experiment in 1901

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” - Harry M Warner, in 1927 Head of Warner Brothers Silent Pictures

What will God “never do” in your life...???!!!

A Small Beginning

The journey to discovery of your strength and your beauty begins as a tiny seed nurtured through the droughts and the harsh winters struggling towards the light to form a single bud which slowly opens its petals to reveal its beauty for the world to gaze in wonder.

Another Way of Being

Dear God, we pray for another way of being: another way of knowing.
Across the difficult terrain of our existence we have attempted to build a highway and in so doing have lost our footpath. God lead us to our footpath: Lead us there where in simplicity we may move at the speed of natural creatures and feel the earth's love beneath our feet. Lead us there where step-by-step we may feel the movement of creation in our hearts. And lead us there where side-by-side we may feel the embrace of the common soul. Nothing can be loved at speed. God lead us to the slow path; to the joyous insights of the pilgrim; another way of knowing: another way of being. Amen.

from Leunig, The Prayer Tree

A Hasidic Tale

Late one evening a poor farmer on his way back from the market found himself without his prayer book. The wheel of his cart had come off right in the middle of the woods and it distressed him that this day should pass without his having said his prayers.
So this is the prayer he made: “I have done something very foolish, Lord. I came away from home this morning without my prayer book and my memory is such that I cannot recite a single prayer without it. So this is what I am going to do: I shall recite the alphabet five times very slowly and you, to whom are all prayers are known, can put the letters together to form the prayers I can't remember.”
And the Lord said to his angels, “Of all the prayers I have heard today, this one was undoubtedly the best because it came from a heart that was simple and sincere.”

Anthony de Mello, Prayer of the Frog

Recognising Value

This little gem has been in my possession for a few years. It was a letter from a minister to his congregation.

Dear Friends,

It has been said that if you can't get what you want, you should want what you get. The wisdom of this idea is aptly illustrated by a story told to me by a friend during our recent holiday.
Many years ago it was the custom to hold annual "Hiring Fairs". At these fairs, farm workers offered themselves and their abilities to farmers for a mutually agreed price.

One such fair was held in Totnes in Devonshire. A certain farmer unavoidably arrived late at the fair and found that those who had arrived before him had selected the workers of their choice. There were only three workers remaining who had not been offered employment. Each of them had a particular disability. One had a wooden leg, one had a hump-back, and the other a "drag-foot". The farmer was delighted, promptly agreed a price with them and took them into his employment.

He had recently ploughed a large field in which to plant potatoes. His hired men were a god-send, for he had been quick to see the advantages of their relative disabilities. The man with the wooden leg was to walk up and down the rows in the field. Everywhere he went he would leave a hole in the soil. He was followed by the man with the hump-back, who would plant each potato in the holes made by the man with the wooden leg. Finally the man with the drag-foot was to follow them and cover the potatoes which had been planted. In this way, the entire field was planted to the farmer's satisfaction. He learned that a person's disability is his own special talent.

Blessed is the church that discovers how to use each member's disabilities as talents!

Generations

Do not confine your children to your own learning,
for they were born in another time.
- Hebrew proverb -

Who am I?

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea , at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.

- Saint Augustine -

Lessons from the Ark

All I really need to know I learned from Noah’s Ark:
1. Don’t miss the boat
2. Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big.
5. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done.
6. Build on high ground.
7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails.
9. If you can't fight or flee -- float!
10. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals.
11. Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm outside.
12. No matter how bleak it looks, if God is with you, there's always a rainbow on the other side.

Food waste

Research suggests Australians are wasting at least $700 million a year on ditched fresh fruit and vegetables. Most households claimed to throw out more than $100 worth of spoiled produce a year. Busy families that buy then throw out fruit and vegetables because they have no time to cook are big culprits, but working couples with no children are the waste generation ringleaders. Older people on tight budgets were least likely to let food go bad. Food Science Australia experts said correct refrigeration temperature and proper storage kept food in good condition, warded off poisonous bacteria, and cut waste.

Herald Sun February 1, 2002

Freedom

When I want to be free at all costs, I am already beginning to bind myself.
When I pursue my own wishes, I throw myself in chains.
I do what I don’t want to do; I am at my own mercy.
And when I finally consider myself free, Freedom becomes a burden
Because I must make decisions Which I am unable to make
And my freedom turns into a new prison. I can only find freedom
In the ropes that bind me To you.

- Ulrich Schaffer -

Waiting to Live

There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down - until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living.

- George Sheehan -

Strange...

This is pretty strange or odd how it worked out this way.
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Answer - Psalm 117
What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Answer - Psalm 119
Which chapter is in the centre of the Bible? Answer - Psalm 118
(There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and there are 594 chapters after Psalm 118)
The verse at the centre of the Bible – in the middle of Psalm 118 is Psalm 118:8. What does this verse say about God's perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the centre of His will, just send them to the centre of His Word! Psalms 118:8 (NKJV) "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."

However, in the interests of accuracy, consider this.

Stem Cells and Ethics

There has been much discussion over the future of embryonic stem cell research over recent days. The following was relayed to me recently:
Theologian Stanley Hauerwas (Notre Dame) confronted a medical researcher who was defending experiments on foetal tissue. He posed the following question: 'What if it were discovered that foetal tissue were a delicacy; could you eat it?' He happened to believe that no amount of benefit to medicine could justify experimenting on foetal tissue: either it is human and deserves respect, or the door is open to all kinds of uses. (The medical researcher was forced to admit that, given the researcher's own logic, there is no reason to forbid Hauerwas's ghastly suggestion).

Sound Familiar?

An auto mechanic received a repair order that read: "Check for clunking sound when going around corners." Taking the car out for a test drive, he made a right turn, and a moment later he heard a 'clunk.' He then made a left turn and again heard a 'clunk.' Back at the shop he opened the car's trunk, and soon discovered the problem. Promptly he returned the repair order to the service manager with the notation, "Removed bowling ball from trunk".

The Local Church

When did the idea of the congregation degenerate into the idea of a local club? It was a perfectly natural development. The majority of people didn’t believe in Christianity at all. They commonly thought of it as a device for safeguarding their private prejudices… their private prejudices were public enough to enable them to form a club for their common protection against the gospel.

- Geddes MacGregor -

Solitude

Solitude, though it may be silent as light, is like light, the mightiest of agencies; for solitude is essential to man. All men come into this world alone; all leave it alone

- Thomas De Quincey, writer (1785-1859) -

Successful Ageing

The Study of Adult Development has tracked more than 800 American men and women for 60-80 years. The study concludes that:
* interaction with good people facilitates an enjoyable old age
* alcohol abuse consistently predicts unsuccessful old age
* learning to play and create after retirement and learning to gain younger friends are important
* a sense of humour, learning from your children and letting people are common elements in a happy old age.

(Melbourne Age Mar 18 2002)

The World Village

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:
There would be:

• 57 Asians 21 Europeans 8 Africans
• 14 from the Western Hemisphere (north and south)
• 70 would be non-white, 30 white
• 70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian
• 59% of the entire world's wealth would be in the hands of only six people and all six of them would be citizens of the United States.
• 52 would be female and 48 would be male
• One would be near death, one would be near birth
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 70 would be unable to read
• Just 1 would have a college education
• Just 1 would own a computer.

Wisdom and Wonder

Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands - a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world.

- Sidney Lovett -