Family Happiness

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

~ George Burns

Expect the Best

"Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life."

~ John F. Kennedy, U.S. president

For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry

(excerpt, Jubilate Agno)

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.

For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.
For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having consider'd God and himself he will consider his neighbour.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.

For when his day's work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.

For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he's a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.
For every family had one cat at least in the bag.

For the English Cats are the best in Europe.
For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.

For the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
For he is tenacious of his point.
For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For he knows that God is his Saviour.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.

For he is of the Lord's poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually--Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.
For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.
For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.
For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.

For he is docile and can learn certain things.
For he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.
For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.
For he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.
For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.
For he can jump from an eminence into his master's bosom.
For he can catch the cork and toss it again.

For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.
For the former is afraid of detection.
For the latter refuses the charge.
For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.

For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.
For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.
For he killed the Ichneumon-rat very pernicious by land.
For his ears are so acute that they sting again.
For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.

For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.
For I perceived God's light about him both wax and fire.
For the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.

For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.
For, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.
For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.
For he can swim for life.
For he can creep.

~ Christopher Smart
English poet (1722 - 1771)
http://www.poemhunter.com/

The Surgeon's Prayer

"May we be helped to do here whatever is most right."

~ author unknown

People as They Really Are

A minister sees people at their best.
A lawyer sees people at their worst.
A physician sees people as they really are.

~ heard from Malcolm McCuaig, 1-11-98

Despair, Fear, and Rage

Spiritual forces that hide us from God:
despair, fear, and rage.

~ Rev. Wesley Avram

Do no injure yourself

"No one can harm the man who does not injure himself."

"You become evil only with your own consent. Nothing external can ever do evil to the soul."

~ Plato

The One Who Spends An Hour

The ones who spend an hour
kneeling on cold moist earth
stones biting at their knees
early March wind
bothering at their backs
planting peas dried and wrinkled
know what a promise is,
know the love that makes it
know the joy that seals it
know the faith that keeps it
know the hope that binds it
to the harvest, yet to come.

~ George Pasley
poet and pastor, rural Kansas
summer/fall 2001 InSpire

Everyone has genius

"Everyone has genius, but if you judge a fish by how it climbs a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid."

~ Albert Einstein

Things are just as they are

"If you understand,
things are just as they are.
If you do not understand,
things are just as they are."

~ Zen Koan

You get what you negotiate

"You don't get what you deserve.
You get what you negotiate."

~ Rev. Paul Sheppard

Hope in God after sinning

Micah 7:8-9 NRS
Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I must bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he takes my side and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall see his vindication.

Matthew 12:15-21 NRS
When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."

Definition of a TEAM

Together Everyone Achieves More

Wishful Thinking? Turning your "if onlys" into reality

by Gary D. Chapman

"Most couples I encounter in my counseling office have dreams of how wonderful their marriage would be if only. The if only statements almost always focus on things they wish their spouse would change. ...

"Here are the guidelines for making requests.

• Limit your requests to one every other week. (That's 26 requests a year. If you could see 26 things change, would that be a good year for you?)
• Never make a request when your spouse is hungry or tired.
• Always make your requests in private—never in front of other people. When you bring up something in front of others, it becomes a putdown to your spouse.
• Ask if your spouse is emotionally ready for you to make your request.
  For example, "Would this be a good night for me to make a request of you or would it be better to wait?" This respects the emotional state of your spouse and gives the right to select a more appropriate time.
• Precede your request with at least three compliments.
  A husband might say, "Before I share my request, let me tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you cook good meals for the children and me. I really appreciate all the work you invest in doing that. Secondly, I want you to know how much I appreciate the fact that you take my shirts to the laundry each week. That's a real help to me. Thirdly, I want you to know how much I appreciate your involvement at church. It makes me feel good when I see you singing in the choir. Bottom line, I really like you. Now, here's my request. Would it be possible for you to get the hairs out of the sink before you leave the bathroom?""

~ Gary D. Chapman, Ph.D., author of The Chapman Guide to Negotiating Change with Your Spouse
(Tyndale House)

Scriptures on Generosity

Psalm 72:4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water.

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Mark 10:21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Luke 12:15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

Luke 12:22-34 22 He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ... 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you-- you of little faith! ... 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

Luke 14:25-35 25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ... 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. 34 "Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

1 Corinthians 13:3-8a 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8a Love never ends.

Tobit 4:7 give alms from your possessions, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it. Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor, and the face of God will not be turned away from you.

Tobit 12:8-10 8 Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than wealth with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. 9 For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, 10 but those who commit sin and do wrong are their own worst enemies.

~ New Revised Standard Version

Sometimes miracles occur only when you jump in

“We all think of the scene in The Ten Commandments movie with Charlton Heston, where Moses lifted up his rod, and the waters rolled back. But this midrash says that's not how it happened. Moses lifted up his rod, and the sea did not part. The Egyptians were closing in, and the sea wasn't moving.
"So a Hebrew named Nachshon just walked into the water. He waded up to his ankles, then his knees, then his waist, then his shoulders. And right when water was about to get up to his nostrils, the sea parted. The point is, sometimes miracles occur only when you jump in.”

~ from “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs

Anything Good Going to Happen?

"They ain't going to show up if they don't believe that anything good is going to happen."

~ Yogi Berra

The spiritual works of mercy

Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae:

Prayer
Instructing the ignorant
Counseling
Comforting
Reproving the reprobate
Pardoning injuries against ourselves
Bearing with the annoying: "Thirdly, in respect of the result of an inordinate act, on account of which the sinner is an annoyance to those who live with him or her, despite his or her intention; in which case the remedy is applied by bearing with them, especially with regard to those who sin out of weakness ... and not only as regards their being infirm and consequently troublesome on account of their unruly actions, but also by bearing any other burdens of theirs with them."

How much you care

"I don't care how much you know
until I know how much you care."

~ author unknown

An Antidote to Depression

from P. L.:

The last time I was acutely depressed, I woke up one morning believing that God was asking me to SING to Him for twenty-four hours. That sounded crazy to me! Stay up for twenty-four hours? It took me a couple hours to do the task, and then I decided to comply.

So I started singing. Hymns from some hymnals I'd collected, listening to praise songs on the radio, singing original tunes to the psalms, making up new psalms, singing made up tunes in a walk to the park, playing on my flute - it was constant praise music all day long. I even sang through the evening.

J. came to me about 11 PM, and he said: "this seems to be working. Why don't you really sing for the whole twenty-four hours!" So I sang through the night.

I kicked that depression, and it hasn't really bit me since. Singing praises to the Almighty actually changes the body at a cellular level. I've read that since. And there is a scripture that says: "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."

So I recommend singing praises to the Creator. He deserves our praise. He made us. We are created to give Him glory! And it's an antidote to depression. Go for it. Start singing. I'll be singing right along with you!

Nothing can be changed until it is faced

"Not everything that is faced can be changed,
but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

~ James Baldwin

Winning the War

The Greek word for "good news" came from "we are winning the war."

A Lack of Mercy Stirs Up the Anger of God

Archbishop Justin Rigali
Show Us Your Mercy: Thirty Reflections on Life in Jesus Christ
Paulist Press, 2003

"We have many weaknesses, which God understands and even transforms, but a lack of mercy on our part stirs up the anger of God, precisely because he has been so merciful and forgiving toward us."

Fear

from Star Wars:

Fear leads to anger,
anger leads to hate,
hate leads to suffering ...

I sense much fear in you.

~ Yoda

Logos, Pathos, and Ethos

Leadership Journal, Summer 2007
Is PowerPoint Fading?
Interview with Leith Anderson, pastor,
Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/003/21.37.html

Aristotle's classic teaching suggests the three components of effective communication are logos, which is "word" or "truth"; pathos, which is "passion"; and ethos, which is "character." The best communicating is done by a person of good character, well spoken, telling the truth.

If someone tells the truth but is not passionate about it, or if someone passionately says something true but lacks character, the message is undermined. All three ingredients are essential.

Knowing what to leave undone

"The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone."

~ Oswald Chambers

An enemy is the greatest teacher

"The Tibetans say an enemy is the greatest teacher because only an enemy can help develop patience and compassion."

"They believe with rock-like faith that the power of their religion will protect them against these Chinese. In preparation for the general´s visit sacred ceremonies are performed throughout Lhasa. Sculptures of deities have been carved with great care in butter. As the sun melts them, they become a reminder that nothing lasts."

The Chinese believe: "Religion is poison."

movie Seven Years in Tibet
about the Dalai Lama

What?

"Inside every old person is a young person yelling, 'What the hell happened?'"

~ author unknown

Hurt People Hurt People

"The root cause of violence is traumatic events. Hurt people hurt people. When a male is being violent to another male, one thing we know about him is that somewhere in his life he had a profound victimization that he has not healed from."

"We need to make sure every boy is connected to someone, an adult teacher or mentor. A strong connection to parents and school is crucial."

psychologist Michael Reichert
Bearing WItness: Violence and Collective Responsibility

Keep Going!

"If you're going through hell, keep going!"

~ Winston Churchill

Is the Grass Really Greener?

"So you bored with Husband? If you think the grass is greener on the other side, maybe you ain't watering your own lawn. And who knows? You might be looking at Astroturf."

~ Joanne Hart (Mother Love)
May 25, 1995, Philadelphia Inquirer

Einstein on Jesus

from
http://einsteinandreligion.com/einsteinonjesus.html

Christianity and Judaism
If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity.
It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can. If he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and trampled under foot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the community to which he belongs lucky.
— From Einstein's book The World as I See It (Philosophical Library, New York, 1949)
pp. 111-112

The following comes from "What Life Means to Einstein: An Interview by George Sylvester Viereck,"The Saturday Evening Post, Oct. 26, 1929, p. 17.
The questions are posed by Viereck; the reply to each is by Einstein. Since the interview was conducted in Berlin and both Viereck and Einstein had German as their mother tongue, the interview was likely conducted in German and then translated into English by Viereck.
Some portions of this interview might seem questionable, but this portion of the interview was explicitly confirmed by Einstein. When asked about a clipping from a magazine article (likely the Saturday Evening Post) reporting Einstein's comments on Christianity taken down by Viereck, Einstein carefully read the clipping and replied, "That is what I believe."
See Brian pp. 277 - 278.

"To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?"
"As a child, I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."

"Have you read Emil Ludwig's book on Jesus?
"Emil Ludwig's Jesus," replied Einstein, "is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot."

"You accept the historical existence of Jesus?"
"Unquestionably. No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. How different, for instance, is the impression which we receive from an account of legendary heroes of antiquity like Theseus. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus."

"Ludwig Lewisohn, in one of his recent books, claims that many of the sayings of Jesus paraphrase the sayings of other prophets."
"No man," Einstein replied, "can deny the fact that Jesus existed, nor that his sayings are beautiful. Even if some them have been said before, no one has expressed them so divinely as he."

Edited by Arnold V. Lesikar, Professor Emeritus
Dept. of Physics, Astronomy, and Engineering Science,
St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498

Sucking Out the Life

"The reader is a kind of Dracula who renews himself continually by sucking out the inner life of the characters he's encountering."

~ Dr. Garrett Stewart, Univ. of Iowa professor,
James O. Freedman Chair of Letters, English Dept.

Peace with Your Enemies

Feb, 5, 1999 Philadelphia Inquirer:

President Bill Clinton discussing a conversation with then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Sept. 19, 1993, just before Rabin and Arafat sealed their peace accord with a handshake, saying Rabin's words resonate with him still:

"You do not make peace with your friends, but friendship can come with time and trust and humility, when we do not pretend that our willfulness is an expression of God's will."

President Bill Clinton:

"Remember that all the great peacemakers in the world, in the end, have to let go and walk away, like Christ, not from apparent, but from genuine, grievances."

You Brought Pavement!

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.
An angel hears his plea and appears to him. "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you." The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.
The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God had decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Peter seeing the suitcase says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
But, the man explains to Peter that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord.
Sure enough, Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check it's contents before letting it through."
Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?!!!'

~ author unknown

A Long Flight

Brent Porterfield:

A Long Flight

The first transcontinental flight across the country from New York, NY to Long Beach CA was completed by American aviation pioneer Cal P. Rodgers in an early Wright flyer called the Vin Fiz after a soft drink company that sponsored the trip. On September 17, 1911 he left Sheephead Bay at Brooklyn NY and arrived in California on December 10, 1911, 84 days later. Rodgers actual time in the air was 3 days, 10 hours and 14 minutes. The airplane was forced down by weather and mechanical failure more than 30 times resulting in "light crashes" to crashes that required major repairs. When Rodgers landed in Long Beach the only original parts on the airplane were the rear rudder and the oil pan on the engine.

I would have given up the first time I lost my wings.

We Are God's Answer to Injustice

King Duncan, Collected Sermons:

Listen to me. If you are being bullied in school, God knows about it and God hates it. If you are being harassed in the workplace, for any reason, God hates it. If you are being taken advantage of--or if you are taking unfair advantage of someone else--there will be a day of reckoning. If there is anyone anywhere praying for God to intervene and put an end to their oppression, eventually that prayer will be heard and that which is wrong will be set right. That's the promise of Scripture.

Now, where does that leave us? Let me tell you a story.

A young black man asked his minister why their people had to suffer so much poverty, hardship, and oppression. "Why doesn't God do something?" he wailed.

"He has," said that wise pastor. "He has created you."

And so Desmond Tutu, now the archbishop of South Africa, became the answer to his own question.

That's a good lesson for you and me. While we are waiting for God to bring in a perfect and just society, you and I are God's answer to the injustice in our world. That's what it means to take up a cross and follow Jesus. It's not a comfortable position to be in. It's not popular. But it is Christ's way.

Wisdom

"Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise."

~ Paul Engle

Afraid of how God might change them

author unknown:

"Jesus wasn't killed by 'the Jews'. Jesus was killed by the people who were afraid of how God might change them."
In Luke, the Holy Spirit appears when new things happen.

The Grace not to step on your enemies

Paul Sheppard:

"God will never put your enemies under your feet until he's given you enough grace not to step on them."

"Putting Your Ego In Check"
Enduring Truth broadcast, Oct. 12, 2007

Secret of a Happy Marriage

Jenna Bush:

Our whole family loves to laugh. My parents' marriage advice is to laugh and forgive. If you take yourself too seriously, life becomes more difficult than it needs to be.

"10 Questions for Jenna Bush",
Time magazineThursday, Oct. 11, 2007
By Carolyn Sayre

An Inventory of Blessings

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe:

The first thing that Robinson Crusoe did when he found himself on a deserted island was to make out a list. On one side of the list he wrote down all his problems. On the other side of the list he wrote down all of his blessings.

On one side he wrote: I do not have any clothes. On the other side he wrote: But it's warm and I don't really need any.
On one side he wrote: All of the provisions were lost. On the other side he wrote: But there's plenty of fresh fruit and water on the island.
And on down the list he went.

In this fashion he discovered that for every negative aspect about his situation, there was a positive aspect, something to be thankful for.

Nine Reasons They Did Not Return

King Duncan, Collected Sermons

Why did only one man cleansed from leprosy return to thank Jesus? Someone has made a list of nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy in the first place.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, "O, well, Jesus didn't really do anything."
One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
One said, "I was already much improved."

That's not surprising, is it?
I doubt that more than ten percent of us are ever truly grateful to God. In fact, it often seems that the more we have, the less gratitude we feel.

Thanking God for All We Do Have

Greg Anderson, in Living Life on Purpose, tells a story about a man whose wife had left him.

He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living. One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon.

In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?"

The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down.

The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."

That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning."

"All of a sudden," said our friend, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stop majoring in all that I didn't have. I started to be grateful."

Dying Woman Clings to High Priest

Bishop and author William Willimon tells of an encounter he once had with a dying woman:

She was in the last stages of lung cancer, gasping day after day for breath. It was obvious she was in great pain and exhausted from fighting. She clutched a crucifix daily, given to her by her grandmother when she was a girl, carved by a monk in Europe. It was a symbol of all that her Catholic faith meant to her.
When I entered the room that afternoon, I could see she was very near the end.
"Would you like me to pray for you?" I asked. "Would you like me to summon a priest?"
With her last ounce of energy, she held out the crucifix toward me, which depicted the body of Christ nailed to the cross. She said, "Thank you—but I have a Priest."

—William Willimon, "You Need a Good Priest," PreachingToday.com

The Poet and His Book

"The Poet and His Book" by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

Lift this little book,
Turn the tattered pages,
Read me, do not let me die !
Search the fading letters, finding
Steadfast in the broken binding
All that once was I !

From Millay, Edna St. Vincent. Second April New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1921. pp. 39-46.

Brother Roger of Taize - Reconciliation

In 1980, during a European young adult meeting in Rome, [Brother Roger] expressed this publicly in the following terms in Saint Peter’s Basilica, in presence of Pope John Paul II,

“I have found my own identity as a Christian by reconciling within myself the faith of my origins with the mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone.”

Receiving an Orthodox delegation one day, John Paul II later spoke of a communion that is “neither absorption, nor fusion, but a meeting in truth and in love”.

http://www.taize.fr/en_article3865.html

Skydiving

"If at first you don't succeed... so much for skydiving."

~ Henry Youngman

Thoughts for Having a Happy Marriage

Life is short!
Forgive quickly!
Kiss slowly!
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably,
And never regret anything that made you smile!

Beauty and Truth

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all...ye need to know.”

~ Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

Fast Friends

“Fast pay makes fast friends”

~ Len Leveen, Levengers

Quality and Price

Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

~ Stanley Marcus (of Neiman-Marcus)

Twelve Things to Remember

1. The value of time
2. The success of perseverance
3. The pleasure of working
4. The dignity of simplicity
5. The worth of character
6. The power of kindness
7. The influence of example
8. The obligation of duty
9. The wisdom of economy
10.The virtue of patience
11.The improvement of talent
12. The joy of origination

~ Marshall Field

You are Unique

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else."

~ Margaret Mead

Being Used to Do Good

from a Tolstoy novel:

it is necessary "to be used to do good to people"

The 7 Sayings of a Gracist

• "I will lift you up."
  Lifting up the humble among us.
  (Special honor)
• "I will cover you."
  Protecting the most vulnerable among us from embarrassment.
  (Special modesty)
• "I will share with you."
  Refusing to accept special treatment if it is at the detriment of others who need it.
  (No special treatment)
• "I will honor you."
  God, as a gracist, has given greater honor to the humble.
  (Greater honor)
• "I will stand with you."
  When the majority helps the minority, and the stronger help the weaker, it keeps us from division within the body.
  (No division)
• "I will consider you."
  Having a heart as big for our neighbors as we do for ourselves.
  (Equal concern)
• "I will celebrate with you."
  When the humble, or less honorable, are helped, we are to rejoice with them.
  (Rejoices with it)

From Gracism: The Art of Inclusion by David A. Anderson
(IVP Books, 2007)

to protect the poor and save the oppressed

Rabbi Hayyim of Brisk was once asked, "What is the function of a rabbi?"

R. Hayyim replied: "To redress the grievances of those who are abandoned and alone, to protect the dignity of the poor, and to save the oppressed from the hands of his oppressor."

Be the change you wish to see in the world

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

At Tara in this fateful hour

Christo-Celtic Prayer Against the Powers of Darkness
attributed to St. Patrick

At Tara in this fateful hour
I place all Heaven with its power
and the sun with its brightness
and the snow with its whiteness
and the fire with all the strength it hath
and the lightning with its rapid wrath
and the winds with their swiftness along their path
and the sea with its deepness
and the rocks with their steepness
and the earth with its starkness--
all these I place
by God's almighty help and grace
between myself and the powers of darkness.
Amen.

~ quoted by Madeleine L'Engle, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, p. 288-9

Ignorance is the Mother of Fear

Latin wisdom on the wall of Whitman College, Princeton University:

"Ignorance is the Mother of Fear"
"Ignorantia mater metus est"

A Mother's Hand to Care for Me

In her diary, Vietnamese surgeon Dang Thuy Tram, age 27, recorded thoughts on the war, her patients, relationship and friendship woes, criticism of the Communist Party and eulogies for her captured and deceased friends. In her last entry on June 20, 1970, she wrote:

"No, I am not a child: I am grown up and already strong in the face of hardships, but at this minute why do I want so much a mother's hand to care for me, or really the hand of a close friend, or just that of a person I know who is all right? Please come to me and hold my hand when I am so lonely. Love me and give me strength to travel all the hard sections of the road ahead . . ."

www.texastech.edu/tramdiaries/
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/news/stories/05-10-tram-diaries.php

God is Sending You

"You go nowhere by accident.
Wherever you go, God is sending you.
Wherever you are - God has put you there.
God has a purpose in you being there.
Christ who is in you has something He wants to do through you where you are.
Believe this and go in God's strength and love and power."

~ Richard Halverson,
former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate

Ride Out to Meet Them

from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

As he surveys the carnage of his realm, King Theoden mourns: "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?"
And Aragorn replies, "Ride out to meet them."

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Spring Wedding

I took your news outdoors, and strolled a while
In silence on my square of garden-ground
Where I could dim the roar of arguments,
Ignore the scandal-flywheel whirring round,

And hear instead the green fuse in the flower
Ignite, the breeze stretch out a shadow-hand
To ruffle blossom on its sticking points,
The blackbirds sing, and singing make their stand.

I took your news outdoors, and found the Spring
Had honoured all its promises to start
Disclosing how the principles of earth
Can make a common purpose with the heart.

The heart which slips and sidles like a stream
Weighed down by winter-wreckage near its source -
But given time, and come the clearing rain,
Breaks loose to revel in its proper course.

~ Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate, Great Britain

on the occasion of the wedding of
Camilla Parker Bowles to Prince Charles

The Passion of Music

"Music is the ultimate in safe sex. You have all of the passion and none of the guilt."

~ Susan Werner in concert, 1/21/99

Nourish Your Dreams

"Don't let weeds grow around your dreams."

~ author unknown, from Mom

Yogi Berra - About His Wife

"We have a good time together, even when we're not together."

~ Yogi Berra, former Major League Baseball player and coach

Getting There

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there."

~ Yogi Berra, former Major League Baseball player and coach

Beforehand

"I owe all my success in life to having always been a quarter of an hour beforehand."

~ Horatio Nelson

Popular Mandarin Saying

"We say that you should take a big problem and turn it into a small problem,
and then take that small problem and make it into no problem at all."

Four Aspects of a Successful Novel

Riches
Rascals
Rape
Real Estate

Easygoing American Christianity

"More than 60 years ago, H. Richard Neibuhr summarized the creed of an easygoing American Christianity that has in our time triumphantly come to pass:

'A God without wrath
brought men without sin
into a kingdom without judgment
through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.'"

~ author unknown

The Church Is No Place for Joy

In church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag. He was just smiling.

Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, "Stop grinning! You're in a church!" With that, she gave him a belt on his hind side and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, "that's better," and returned to her prayers.

I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God, the God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us.

~ Erma Bombeck

If Jesus had used a management consultant:

MEMO

TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop
Nazareth 25922

FROM: Jordan Management Consultants
Jerusalem 20544

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service and for your guidance, we make some general comments, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no leadership qualities. The sons of Zebedee, James and John, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants

The Will of God

Remember...

The will of God will never take you
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you
Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercy of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now
but trust and believe in the Lord that
everything is for the best.

~ Author Unknown

Thinking

"She seemed nervous ... you could tell by the expression on her face. Instead of just blocking everybody out and doing her thing, you could tell she was thinking about it."

I Wish I Could Help, But I Don't Want To

Joey : "Pheebs, you wanna help?"

Phoebe: "Oh, I wish I could, but I really don't want to."

Friends

Humor

There’s a story told about the young son of a Baptist minister who was in church one morning and saw for the first time baptism by immersion. He was greatly interested in it all, and the next morning proceeded to baptize (you might have guessed this) his three cats in the bathtub.

The youngest kitten bore it very well, and so did the younger cat, but the old family tomcat rebelled at the whole thing. He struggled with the boy, clawing and hissing and wriggling and finally got away.

With considerable effort again the boy caught the old tom and once more tried to proceed with the “ceremony”; but the old cat acted worse than ever, clawing, spitting and scratching the boy’s face. Finally, after barely getting the cat splattered with water, he dropped him on the floor in disgust and said, “Fine, be a Presbyterian if you want to!”

The Something I Can Do

I am only one,
but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

~ Edward Everett Hale

Count the Cost

A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.

~ Martin Luther

The Living Word

Harvard University chaplain Peter Gomes' definition of the Bible:

"the living Word from the living God for a needy people"


Peter Gomes, The Good Book

Identifying With the Poor: 9 Steps to Third World Living

Adbusters (Winter, 1998) (Poverty, Third World)

First, take out the furniture: leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You've never had a bed, remember?

Second, throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes.

Third, all kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue the moldy potatoes from the garbage can: those are tonight's meal.

Fourth, dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and the lights and everything that runs by electricity.

Fifth, take away the house and move the family into the tool shed.

Sixth, no more postman, fireman, government services. The two-classroom school is three miles away, but only two of your seven children attend anyway, and they walk.

Seventh, throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5.

Eighth, get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one third and your moneylender 10 percent.

Ninth, find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won't be enough to keep bodies healthy--so lop off 25 to 30 years of life.

A Surprise Party

It's like the story of a small lad whose mother, unknown to him, planned a surprise birthday party. After he got home, he went upstairs to his room. Then all his classmates and teachers gathered in the living room.
When his mother went to his room to get him, he was gone. He had climbed down a tree outside his window and was hiding in a nearby park. The rest of the children went on to enjoy a good time, but Johnny never turned up.
When he came in for supper his mother asked where he had been; he had missed a wonderful time, planned just for him. He tearfully confessed he had heard her call but hid until suppertime because he thought she had a chore for him to do!
How sad - for him and for us if we make the same mistake. There is a party being prepared. The guest list is all inclusive. No matter how many parties we have missed in this world, we don't have to miss out on this party. The One who throws this party is all loving, all gracious, all generous. We are invited even though there is nothing in this world we can do to repay our host. All that is asked is that we accept the invitation.

~ Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection

Success that Counts

Mother Teresa was once asked, "How do you measure the success of your work?"
She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, "I don't remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts."

Writing From the Mind and the Heart

from The Bonesetter's Daughter, by Amy Tan, p. 197:

As he said this, Precious Auntie came back into my mind. I was remembering how she taught me that everything, even ink, had a purpose and a meaning: Good ink cannot be the quick kind, ready to pour out of a bottle. You can never be an artist if your work comes without effort.

That is the problem with modern ink from a bottle. You do not have to think. You simply write what is swimming on the top of your brain. And the top is nothing but pond scum, dead leaves, and mosquito spawn. But when you push an inkstick along an inkstone, you take the first step to cleansing your mind and your heart. You push and you ask yourself, What are my intentions? What is in my heart that matches my mind?

Learning to be an Eagle

There is a tale told about a certain man went through the forest seeking any bird of interest he might find. He caught a young eagle, brought it home and put it among the fowls and ducks and turkeys, and gave it chicken food to eat even though it was an eagle, the king of birds.

Five years later, a naturalist came to see him and, after passing through the garden, said 'That bird is an Eagle, not a chicken.'

'Yes' said the owner, 'but I have trained it to be a chicken. It is no longer an eagle, it is a chicken, even though it measures fifteen feet from tip to tip of its wings.'

'No,' said the naturalist, 'it is an eagle still; it has the heart of an eagle, and I will help it soar high up in to the heavens.'

'No,' said the owner. ' it is a chicken and will never fly.'

They agreed to test it. The naturalist picked up the eagle, held it up and said with great intensity. 'Eagle thou art an eagle; thou dost belong to the sky and not to this earth; stretch forth thy wings and fly.'

The eagle turned this way and that, and then looking down, saw the chickens eating their food, and down he jumped.

The owner said; 'I told you it was a chicken.'

'No,' said the naturalist, 'it is an eagle. Give it another chance tomorrow. '

So the next day he took it to the top of the house and said: 'Eagle, thou art an eagle; stretch forth thy wings and fly.' But again the eagle, seeing the chickens feeding, jumped down and fed with them.

Then the owner said: 'I told you it was a chicken.'

'No,' asserted the naturalist, 'it is an eagle, and it has the heart of an eagle; only give it one more chance, and I will make it fly tomorrow.'

The next morning he rose early and took the eagle outside the city and away from the houses, to the foot of a high mountain. The sun was just rising, gilding the top to the mountain with gold, and every crag was glistening in the joy of the beautiful morning.

He picked up the eagle and said to it: 'Eagle, thou art an eagle; thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth; stretch forth thy wings and fly.'

The eagle looked around and trembled as if new life were coming to it. But it did not fly. The naturalist then made it look straight at the sun. Suddenly it stretched out its wings and, with the screech of an eagle, it mounted higher and higher and never returned. Though it had been kept and tamed as a chicken, it was an eagle.

Communion on the Moon

Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon on Sunday, July 20, 1969. Most of us are familiar with astronaut Neil Armstrong's historic statement as he stepped onto the moon's surface: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

But few know about the first meal eaten there. Buzz Aldrin had brought aboard the spacecraft a tiny Communion kit provided by his church. Aldrin sent a radio broadcast to Earth asking listeners to contemplate the events of that day and to give thanks.

Then, in radio blackout for privacy … [Aldrin] read, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit." Silently, he gave thanks and partook.

~ Dennis Fisher, "Communion on the Moon," Our Daily Bread (June/July/August 2007)

Telling the Truth with Humor

If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.

~ Billy Wilder

I don't wanna . . .

I don't wanna do the dishes
I don't wanna do the wash
I sprinkled clothes a week ago
And now my iron is lost!!

I don't wanna rattle pots
I don't wanna rattle pans
I see the mail light flashin'
I wanna chat with friends!!

Oh the tables need some dustin'
and the floor could sure be mopped
But I know if I get started
there'll be no place to stop

The closets are so full things are falling off the shelves
I wish for cleaning fairies and magic little elves.
They could sprinkle fairy dust and twitch their little nose
The windows would be sparkling I would have no dirty clothes
Oh I know that I'm just dreamin' My head is in the sky

I must cook that meat that's graying and bake that apple pie
The Hubby needs a bath Doggy needs attention
Oh.. the other way around I mean my brain is in suspension
I am runnin' round in circles I am gettin' nothin' done,

I keep thinking of my web I am missing all the fun!!!
Well I know I'm not addicted though I hear that all the time
But I guess this stuff can wait on me Cause
Today I'll Be On Line!

~ author unknown

Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/fun/general/1364114/

What's Unique: Grace

This story from Philip Yancey is probably well known:

`During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room.
"What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions.
Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace."'
`Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional.'

Justice and Mercy

Students Shocked by Professor's Judgment

On the first day teaching his class of 250 college freshmen, R. C. Sproul carefully explained the assignment of three term papers. Each paper was due on the last day of September, October, and November. Sproul clearly stated there would be no extensions (except for medical reasons).
At the end of September, some 225 students dutifully turned in their papers, while 25 remorseful students quaked in fear. "We're so sorry," they said. "We didn't make the proper adjustments from high school to college, but we promise to do better next time."
He bowed to their pleas for mercy, gave them an extension, but warned them not to be late next month.
The end of October rolled around, and about 200 students turned in their papers, while 50 students showed up empty-handed.
"Oh, please," they begged, "it was homecoming weekend, and we ran out of time."
Sproul relented once more but warned them, "This is it. No excuses next time. You will get an F."
The end of November came, and only 100 students turned in their papers. The rest told Sproul, "We'll get it in soon."
"Sorry," Sproul replied. "It's too late now. You get an F."
The students howled in protest, "That's not fair!"
"Okay," Sproul replied, "you want justice, do you? Here's what's just: you'll get an F for all three papers that were late. That was the rule, right?"
"The students had quickly taken my mercy for granted," Sproul later reflected. "They assumed it. When justice suddenly fell, they were unprepared for it. It came as a shock, and they were outraged."

Matt Woodley, in the sermon "The Grieving Heart of God,"
PreachingToday.com

Christians So Unlike Christ

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

~ Mohandas Gandhi

An Ecumenical Parable

From Max Lucado’s “A Gentle Thunder”, pp. 139, 140

Some time ago I came upon a fellow on a trip who was carrying a Bible.
“Are you a believer?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said excitedly.

I’ve learned you can’t be too careful.
“Virgin birth?” I asked.
“I accept it.”
“Deity of Jesus?”
“No doubt.”
“Death of Christ on the cross?”
“He died for all people.”

Could it be that I was face to face with a Christian? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I continued my checklist.
“Status of man.”
“Sinner in need of grace.”
“Definition of grace.”
“God doing for man what man can’t do.”
“Return of Christ?”
“Imminent.”
“Bible?”
“Inspired.”
“The church?”
“The body of Christ.”

I started getting excited. “Conservative or liberal?”
He was getting interested too. “Conservative.”

My heart began to beat faster.
“Heritage?”
“Southern Congregationalist Holy Son of God Dispensationalist Triune Convention.”

That was mine!
“Branch?”
“Pre-millennial, post-trib, noncharismatic, King James, one-cup Communion.”

My eyes misted. I had only one other question.
“Is your pulpit wooden or fiberglass?”
“Fiberglass,” he responded.

I withdrew my hand and stiffed my neck. “Heretic!” I said and walked away.

The Universality of the Golden Rule

Despairing of the possibility of ever bringing about religious unity through doctrinal, philosophical or theological dialogue, a great many people have latched onto the Golden Rule as the ultimate expression of their faith. It is provocative and inspiring to discover the remarkable universality of this ethical principle.

In Hinduism it is stated like this: "Those gifted with intelligence should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated."
The Shinto version is: "The suffering of others is my suffering; the good of others is my good."
In Buddhism it is: "A person can minister to friends and familiars by ... treating them as he treats himself."
Taoists say: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain and regard your neighbor's loss as your own loss."
In Islam: "None of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."
For Sikhs it is: "As thou deemest thyself so deem others. Then shalt thou become a partner in heaven."
In Confucianism and Zoroastrianism the rule is stated in the same way as in the New Testament except that it is couched in negative terms: "Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you."
The Jewish equivalent in Leviticus 19:18 is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

~ Carl L. Jech, Channeling Grace, CSS Publishing Company

If I Should Die Before I Wake

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
bless the bed that I lie on.
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.

Four corners to my bed,
four angels there aspread,
two to foot, and two to head,
and two to carry me when I'm dead.

I go by sea, I go by land,
the Lord made me by his right hand.
If any danger comes to me,
Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.

He's the branch, and I'm the flower,
pray God send me a happy hour.
And if I die before I wake,
I pray that Christ my soul will take.

~ an Old English prayer

Let Us Begin

"All of this will not be finished in the first one hundred days.
Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days...
Nor in the life of this administration,
Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet.
But let us begin."

~ John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961

Simpsons Quotes

Homer:
"Here's to alcohol, the cause of -- and solution to -- all life's problems."

Marge:
"Our differences are only skin deep, but our sames go down to the bone."

evil Mr. Burns:
"I'll keep it short and sweet -- Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business."

Ned Flanders:
"Ive done everything the Bible says -- even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff!"

Go Ahead and Cry--I'm Here To Be With You

Fred Rogers:

People have said, "Don't cry" to other people for years and years, and all it has ever meant is, "I'm too uncomfortable when you show your feelings. Don't cry."
I'd rather have them say, "Go ahead and cry. I'm here to be with you."

from The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
Fred Rogers

Evil Cannot Stand Forgiveness

Fred Rogers:

One of my wise teachers, Dr. William F. Orr, told me, "There is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness."

from The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
Fred Rogers

Age is Not Important

"Age is not important unless you're a cheese."

~ Helen Hayes