August 8

Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium.

The more the world whips around us, the deeper we must drive the stake of God into the ground of our soul.

Every morning when you get up, refuse to dwell on what you did wrong the day before. Refuse to dwell on yesterday's disappointments.
Get up each day knowing that God is a loving and forgiving God, and he has great things in store for you.

If you make your church important, it is quite likely to return the favor.

Many people go to church praying that they will hear preaching that will hit someone else.

A church without a purpose is like a house without a door - it has no reason to exist.

"Cured ham? No thanks, pal. Cured of what? What if it has a relapse on my plate?


The church is not made up of people who are better than the rest, but of people who are trying to become better than they are.

My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, "60."
He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

It is impossible for you and me to shine as lights in the world as long as we have our hearts focused on fear, or doubt God’s ability to save. As long as I am worried about anything, I’m not very likely to be shining very brightly for Jesus Christ. --Rocky Henriques

Knowing What The Saddle Is For (By Rocky Henriques)
We're told that it is a very frightening experience for a wild horse to feel a saddle on his back for the first time. Some horses react with anger. They rear back and kick and struggle to get away. Their nostrils flare, their eyeballs roll back, and panic takes over. But other horses are so afraid that they can't move. They just stand in one spot as though frozen, shaking and trembling like a leaf on a tree.
Many Christians are just like that. Take a good look at yourself. When something unpleasant or threatening happens, do you react with anger, lashing out at other people, even at God? Perhaps something has occurred which you cannot control or change, and you're so angry about it that you are determined someone is going to pay for your discomfort. You say, "God, You did this to me!" or you ask, "God, why did You let this happen?" Or do you react with such fear that you are essentially immobilized? You're afraid to step one way or the other, thinking that if you do anything you'll make a fatal mistake?
The mature Christian, the one who is constantly growing in Christ, can be compared to a horse which has learned to trust his trainer, and knows what the saddle is for. He knows that when the saddle of trouble and difficulty is suddenly thrust upon him, it is there for a purpose. That purpose may be known only to our Heavenly Father, but as long as He knows it, the mature Christian doesn't kick and rebel.

How to Solve Your Physical Problems.
Yesterday I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was high, I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so hot.
My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicated and it would solve my physical problems. He said just think in colors; Fill your plate with bright colors; greens, yellows, reds, etc.
I went right home and ate an entire bowl of M&M's and sure enough, I felt better immediately. I never knew eating right could be so easy

A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's computer. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me, and always she was correct. But it was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying sagely, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!"

A West Virginia state trooper stopped a woman for going 15 miles over the speed limit. After he handed her a ticket, she asked him, "Don't you give out warnings?" "Yes, ma'am," he replied. "They're all up and down the road. They say, 'Speed Limit 55.' "

Summer Break was over and the teacher was asking the class about their vacations. She turned to little Johnny and asked what he did over the break.
"We visited my grandmother in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania," he replied.
"That sounds like an excellent vocabulary word," the teacher said. "Can you tell the class how you spell that?"
Little Johnny thought about it and said, "You know, come to think of it, we went to Ohio."
DETERMINATION
"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you." -- Denis Waitley

"Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong." -- Ella Fitzgerald

"I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000l-step process." -- Thomas A. Edison

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. IF you think about that, you'll do things differently." -- Warren Buffett

"All of us are entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts." - Daniel Moynihan, former U.S. senator

"On cable TV they have a weather channel – 24 hours of weather. We had something like that where I grew up. We called it a window." - Dan Spencer

"I know God won't give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much." - Mother Theresa

"Any married man should forget his mistakes, there's no use in two people remembering the same thing." "Freedom of speech is wonderful - right up there with the freedom not to listen"

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." -- Gerald Rudolph Ford

"The person who upsets you the most is your best teacher, because they bring you face to face with who you are." -- Lynn Andrews

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

"Character, in the long-run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike." – Theodore Roosevelt

"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by obvious realities. We need men and women who can dream of things that never were." -- John F. Kennedy

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it will always be yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But, if it just sits in your living room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your telephone, takes your money, and doesn't appear to realize that you had set it free....... You either married it or gave birth to it"

A song can often touch people in a way that a sermon can't. Music can bypass intellectual barriers and take the message straight to the heart


God has to push us out into some new place of difficulty in order to develop our faith and show us what He can do for us and through us. You will never know how God can use you until you venture upon Him and attempt more than you are equal to in your own strength and resources. --A. B. Simpson

August 1

The only thing of value we can give kids is what we are, not what we have.

John D. Rockefeller's three simple rules for anyone who wants to become rich:
1. Go to work early. 2. Stay at work late. 3. Find oil.

"In today's modern times, one out of every three people lives on less than $2 a day - 2.4 billion people total. That's impossible to comprehend. If a third of the world cannot afford one cup of Starbucks a day, that should matter to Christians." - The Green Bible (HarperOne, 2010)

"Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action." -- David J. Schwartz

JOY 9
"The real battle is about whether God is Lord, or whether government is Lord. And make no mistake, if government can redefine or restrict our freedom of religion, our first freedom will be gone. And, as our Founders understood, when that freedom is gone, we will, in short order, lose the other freedoms as well." -- Chuck Colson

"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." -- Jenny Craig

"I love the man who can smile in trouble, gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection." -- Thomas Paine

"If I had to pick the No.1 key to success, it would be ... self-discipline." -- Brian Tracy

"No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined." -- Harry E. Fosdick

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." -- Agatha Christie

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." -- Paul Boese

One Sunday morning when my son, David, was about 5, we were attending a church in our community. It was common for the preacher to invite the children to the front of the church and have a small lesson before beginning the sermon. He would bring in an item they could find around the house and relate it to a teaching from the Bible.
This particular morning, the visual aid for his lesson was a smoke detector. He asked the children if anyone knew what it meant when an alarm sounded from the smoke detector.
My child immediately raised his hand and said, "It means Daddy's cooking dinner."

Don't expect wisdom to come into your life like great chunks of rock on a conveyor belt. It isn't like that. It's not splashy and bold . . . nor is it dispensed like a prescription across a counter. Wisdom comes privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of spiritual principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom comes .
. . not from trying to do great things for God . . . but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see. -- Charles R. Swindoll

Look back. Do you see God's hand working in your life? Remember the times when you dared to trust Him and you were not disappointed. Remember the times you thought you could not survive . . . but you did. Remember the times you thought you knew better . . . but now you see that His way would have been the right way. Can you see even those times when God was working on your behalf before you ever came to Him? --Rocky Henriques

Let us learn to be deliberate in our prayers. Many people pour out a reckless mass of ill-considered supplications much like a child blowing bubbles into the air, scarcely expecting to see them again.--A. B. Simpson

JOY 10
The Nature and Nuture of the Soul The soul of a person is the most important aspect of his being, more valuable than any amount of material luxuries or benefits. Caring for and nurturing the soul is the most important work in which any Christian can be involved.
That work begins in understanding the unique composition of the soul. The soul consists of three spiritual components - the heart, the mind, and the conscience. Of the three, the heart is the starting-point, the fount of all existence, the animating and guiding element of the soul. Our understanding of the soul, as well as the proper care of it, must begin with the heart. The heart is the heart of the matter when it comes to spiritual development and the nurture of the soul.
While the heart is frequently indicated as a source of intellectual activity (cf. Matt. 9:4), its primary role is to engender the affections that guide our lives. "Affections" are those strong inclinations that arise from within us and provide the motive power for all our existence. They include such powerful sentiments as love and hate, desire, revulsion, compassion, zeal, delight, longing, joy, and hope. As Jonathan Edwards explained in his classic work, A Treatise on Religious Affections, affections are of two sorts. First are those affections which incline us toward something - love, zeal, joy, enthusiasm, and so forth. On the other hand, there are those affections which cause us to move away from something - revulsion, anger, indifference, hatred. Both kinds of affections are valid and important, but they must be properly focused and continually monitored and re-invigorated if they are to serve us well. The challenge is always to make sure that our affections are properly engaged and that we are not being led astray in any way. Jeremiah reminds us that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked by nature (Jer. 17:9); left to itself, it will always incline us away from a Godly lifestyle and seek out the corridors of wickedness and sin. The proper nurture of our soul requires that we understand each of the affections and how God intends them to be focused, and then to put and keep in place all the affections in their proper function, and with their proper intensity. Here is a challenge that must occupy the believer throughout his life.
We may experience times of unusual closeness, when every prayer is answered in an obvious way and God seems intimate and caring. And we may also experience "fog times," when God stays silent, when nothing works according to formula and all the Bible's promises seem glaringly false. Fidelity involves learning to trust that, out beyond the perimeter of fog, God still reigns and has not abandoned us, no matter how it appears.
-- Philip Yancey

If your manna has to drop straight from heaven looking like a perfect loaf of butter-crust bread, then chances are you are going to go hungry a lot. --Barbara Brown Taylor

"For peace of mind, we need to resign as general manager of the universe." -- Larry
Eisenberg



Three Kinds of Givers
There are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge, and the honeycomb. Which kind are you? To get anything from the flint, you must hammer it. Yet, all you get are chips and sparks. The flint gives nothing away if it can help it, and even then only with a great display. To get anything from the sponge, you must squeeze it. It readily yields to pressure and the more it is pressed, the more it gives. Still, one has to squeeze it. To get anything from the honeycomb, however, one must only take what freely flows from it. It gives its sweetness generously, dripping on all without pressure, without begging or badgering. The honeycomb is a renewable resource. Unlike the flint or the sponge, the honeycomb is connected to life; it is the product of the ongoing work and creative energy of bees. If you share like a honeycomb giver your life will be continually replenished and grow as you give.
When we share we freely give and we acknowledge that all we have is on loan and others have as much right to the things of God’s creation as we do.

Making the Situation Worse
When I was a kid, I was often ravaged by poison ivy. The key to poison ivy, once you have it, is not to scratch. Restraining yourself is hard, for your skin itches and you want relief. But scratching only makes poison ivy worse.
Greed works the same way. We get infected, and we want to scratch, although we know we shouldn't do so. Possessing more and more promises relief, but only makes the situation worse. We keep scratching, but it's no solution.
Jesus issues a warning, a warning inspired by a squabble over inheritance, but one that all of us need to hear. He says: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
Clarence Jordan's translation of this verse brings out its original earthiness. Here's what Jesus says according to Jordan: "You all be careful and stay on your guard against all kinds of greediness. For a person's life is not for the piling up of possessions."
In these few words, Jesus rejects much of what keeps our society humming. He warns us against greed, avarice, the desire to possess more than we need, more than we can use, more than we want. Charles Hoffacker, Avarice: The Disease and Its Cure

Thoughts On Advertising
- Advertising is the fine art of convincing people that debt is better than frustration.
- Advertising helps raise the standard of living by raising the standard of longing.
- One of life's biggest disappointments is discovering that the person who writes the ads for the bank is not the one who makes the loans.
- An ad executive's career: Yes sir, No sir, Ulcer.
- If you think advertising doesn't work, consider the millions of people who now think that yogurt tastes good.
- You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.
- Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don't know which half.

Rich in Things, Poor in Soul
This is how I see our situation today: We’re killing ourselves on junk food – we watch mindless drivel on TV with vulgar displays of sexuality and horrific scenes of violence; we listen to endless chatter on the radio with never-ending conflict and criticism; we chase after every conceivable form of entertainment and pleasure; all the while, coming up empty and, ironically, craving for more.
We’re like children in a video arcade – no matter how many quarters or tokens you give them, when the last game’s over, they always ask for “just one more.” There’s no end to it. In the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, we’re “rich in things and poor in soul.”
What’s the answer? The answer is that we need to get back to the basics and re-establish our priorities. In a word, we need to put God first. We need to follow the Great Commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt. 22:37-39) It’s as simple as that: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33)

"To really know a man, observe his behavior with a woman, a flat tire and a child." - Unknown

Someone asked John D. Rockefeller (of all people) "How much wealth does it take to satisfy a person?" He replied, "Just a little bit more." The Romans had a proverb: "Money is like sea water; the more you drink, the thirstier you become."

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." - William Shedd

July 25

THE ABCs OF GOD'S SALVATION
A = All have sinned.
B = Behold he Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
C = Come to Christ for peace, pardon, and eternal life.

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

"Recovery is a process, not an event." - Unknown

"It is not a question of whether you 'have what it takes,' but of whether you take the gifts you have--they are plenteous--and share them with all the world." - Neale Donald Walsch

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." - J. Sidlow Baxter

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." - Maya Angelou

"If people knew how hard I worked to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful." - Michelangelo

"Great men say, 'Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness. In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience.'" - Unknown


"Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so our lives matter, so the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it."

Lance Briggs during the offseason after the Chicago Bears offered him $7.2 million to occupy 16 of his Sundays playing football: "I've played my last snap for them. I'll never play another down for Chicago again." He signed with the Bears on Wednesday for $7.2 million.

"If genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, I wind up sharing elevators with a lot of bright people." - Unknown

Why don't you ever see the headline: "PSYCHIC WINS LOTTERY"?

Be as patient with others as God has been with you.
Enthusiasm for Christ is contagious -- has anyone caught it from you?
Those who walk with God won't run from people's needs.
When you find yourself far from God, remember it is not He that moved.
When God calls 'Time', the game is over. Which exit will you take?
Experts made the Titanic. Amateurs made the ark.
God doesn't need great men. Great men need God.
Visitors aren't just welcome. They are expected.
Give your troubles to God. He's up all night anyway.
You learn to walk by starting on your knees.
God answers knee mail.

The Joy of Life
The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.

Football players at the high school were stealing the practice jerseys, so the coach ordered a set with "Property of Central High School" emblazoned on them.
When the thefts continued, he ordered a new batch that had the imprint "Stolen From Central High School." But the jerseys still kept disappearing.
The larceny finally stopped after he changed the wording to "Central High School 4th String."


A mother sent her fifth grade boy up to bed. In a few minutes she went to make sure that he was getting in bed. When she stuck her head into his room, she saw that he was kneeling beside his bed in prayer. Pausing to listen to his prayers, she heard her son praying over and over again. "Let it be Tokyo! Please dear God, let it be Tokyo!"
When he finished his prayers, she asked him, "What did you mean, 'Let it be Tokyo'?"
"Oh," the boy said with embarrassment, "we had our geography exam today and I was praying that God would make Tokyo the capital of France."
Prayer is not a magical means by which we get God to do what we want. Prayer is an inner openness to God which allows his divine power to be released in us. Ultimately, the power of prayer is not that we succeed in changing God, but that God succeeds in changing us.

An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"
The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I'll run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's sake, Dylan, come in or stay out!'"

"Alter your attitude and you can alter your life."

"You can't risk what you don't have and you can't have what you won't risk for."

"Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." -- Stevie Wonder


The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn't ask for directions.

One hour of eternity, one moment with the Lord, will make us utterly forget a lifetime of desolations. --Horatio Bonar

July 18

All of us have wondered at times why God doesn't do more to fix our problems. But our human eyes often fail to see that God isn't rushing to change our circumstances because he is concerned with a much more serious problem--our character. While you struggle with the woes of this world, God's main occupation is preparing you for the world to come. The focus of what God is doing in your life takes place in you, not around you. -- Andy Stanley, "Like A Rock"
"Worry looks around, sorry looks back, Faith looks up." No doubt it sounds strange, but in order to love God with all your strength, you have to admit that you are weak and that your strength is limited. By doing this, you acknowledge God as the true source of your strength, and that in your weakness, he is strong. You become strong as you become totally dependent upon him, allowing his strength to work through you. God doesn’t ask you to take steps of faith alone; he is with you in every step, filling you with a grace-charged strength. God only asks you to take one step of faith at a time.

Sweatshirt with Pigpen from Charlie Brown on it with the saying: “The world needs messy people ... Otherwise the neat people would take over.”
"Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"When you have a purpose in life, a vision for what you want to achieve, and know why you want to achieve it, work becomes fun, and the time you spend working seems to just whiz by." -- Clayton J. Moore

"One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it." -- Knute Rockne

"What a man is contributes much more to his happiness than what he has." -- Arthur Schopenhauer

"Don't wait until the storm passes over, learn to dance in the rain." -- Unknown

"Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it with use." -- Ruth Gordon, actress


JOY 9
"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." -- Jim Rohn

My Living Will Last night, my kids and I were sitting in the living room and I said to them, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."
They got up, unplugged my Computer, and threw out my wine!
The little so-and-sos!

"The person who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated." -- Ronald Reagan

The Highest Priority
Have you ever been in a hurry and buttoned up a long overcoat with lots of buttons and when you were done, found out that the coat was uneven? What went wrong? I'll tell you what went wrong. When you don't get the first button in the right hole, all the rest are out of sequence too, right?! That's a parable about life. Jesus said it this way in the Sermon on the Mount: "Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." (Matthew 6:33) If the Lord is not the high priority in your life, then, like the overcoat, so many other things in life will be out of whack as well.

A Priorities
A time management guru, a professor in the business school at Harvard, speaks about A, B, and C priorities, and then he notes that too many people spend too much of their time on the C priorities! And then he asks, "Why do you think that is?" The answer is that the C priorities are, first, much easier to accomplish, and, second, give you the impression that you are actually getting something done. In other words you can keep busy with the C priorities all day and never get to the more important things. The lesson from Mary and Martha is "Don't let the good (the C priorities) get in the way of the best (the A priorities). Sound like anyone you know?

Our prayer should be:
"Slow me down, Lord. I'm goin' too fast.
I can't see my brother when he's walking past.
I miss a lot of things day by day when it comes my way.
Slow me down, Lord, I'm goin' too fast."

Mickey Rivers, a one time outfielder for the Texas Rangers professional baseball team, stated his philosophy of life: "Ain't no sense worrying about things you got control over, because if you got control over them, ain't no sense worrying. And there ain't no sense worrying about things you got no control over either, because if you got no control them, ain't no sense worrying."

There are two great days in a person's life -- the day we are born and the day we discover why. William Barclay



Created for Faith not Fear
I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non- worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality. E. Stanley Jones,

Martin Luther said that those who listen are those who are truly wise, because they always begin anew so that they may forget the things that are behind and stretch themselves to what is ahead. But the lukewarm and the hypocrites, he said, think they have already chosen what is best. "They forget what is before them and fall back into what is behind them, and there they rest and snore."

If we are willing to take hours on end to learn to play a piano, or operate a computer, or fly an airplane, it is sheer nonsense for us to imagine that we can learn the high art of getting guidance through communion with the Lord without being willing to set aside time for it. It is no accident that the Bible speaks of prayer as a form of waiting on God. --Paul S. Rees

The young man from Mississippi came running into the store and said to his buddy, "Bubba, somebody just stole your pickup truck from the parking lot!" Bubba replied, "Did you see who it was? "The young man answered, "I couldn't tell , but I got the license number.

When we stand in the middle of a lifestorm, it seems as if the storm has become our way of life. We cannot see a way out. We are unable to chart a course back to smoother waters. We feel defeated--and broken. Will that brokenness produce a cynicism that will keep us forever in the mire of "if only" thinking? Or will we yield up that brokenness to the resources of One who calms the winds and the waves, heals the brokenhearted, and forgives the most grievous of sins? The choice is ours. --Verdell Davis, "Riches Stored in Secret Places"

There are two types of chaos: the chaos of creativity vs. the chaos of over-creation and incompletion. Which one best describes you? —Leslie Boyer, “Managing Chaos,”

If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.
Only 14 percent of evangelicals in the United States believe poverty is something that churches should take the lead in addressing. That's still more than triple the rate of the average population (4 percent). - Source: Barna.org (June, 2007)

Americans spent more last year on bottled water than on iPods and movie tickets -- a whopping $15 billion.

"Being a Christian doesn't mean hovering above the ugliness of life. It means we are given the weapons necessary to face wickedness with the hope of creating something good in its place." - Paul Coughlin, No More Jellyfish, Chickens, or Wimps

"The God-life cannot be domesticated or used – it can only be entered into on its own terms. Holiness does not make God smaller so that he can be used in convenient and manageable projects; it makes us larger so that God can give out life through us, extravagantly, spontaneously. The holy is an interior fire, a passion for living in and for God, a capacity for exuberance in the presence of God." - Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

Police excuse angry computer user for outburst BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who startled his neighbors when he hurled his computer out of the window in the middle of the night, was let off for disturbing the peace by police who sympathized with his technical frustrations. Police in the northern city of Hanover said they would not press charges after responding to calls made by residents in an apartment block who were woken by a loud crash in the early hours of Saturday. Officers found the street and pavement covered in electronic parts and discovered who the culprit was. Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the 51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer.
"Who hasn't felt like doing that?" said a police spokesman.
While escaping any official sanction the man was made to clear up the debris.

If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese, U.S. researchers predicted on Wednesday.

Eating beef ' is less green than driving'
Producing 2.2lb of beef generates as much greenhouse gas as driving a car non-stop for three hours, it was claimed yesterday. Japanese scientists used a range of data to calculate the environmental impact of a single purchase of beef. Taking into account all the processes involved, they said, four average sized steaks generated greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 80.25lb of carbon dioxide.
This also consumed 169 megajoules of energy.
That means that 2.2lb of beef is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which have the same effect as the carbon dioxide released by an ordinary car travelling at 50 miles per hour for 155 miles, a journey lasting three hours. The amount of energy consumed would light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days.

"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or
any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again." -- Stephen Grellet

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." -- Frank A. Clark

"What is harder than rock, or softer than water? Yet soft water hollows out hard rock. Persevere." -- Ovid, Roman poet


"The person rowing the boat seldom has time to rock it." -- Author Unknown

FEEL USELESS AND HOPELESS?
Ever feel like the world is a tuxedo - and you're a pair of brown shoes? Just remember, you're in good company
NOAH was a drunk
ABRAHAM was too old
ISAAC was a daydreamer
JACOB was a liar
GIDEON was afraid
JONAH ran from God
ZACCHAEUS was too small
TIMOTHY was too young
JOHN the BAPTIST was called "crazy"
And all of them, and each of us, is forgiven by God in Christ Jesus! Look out world, here we come!

When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through. --Corrie Ten Boom

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." -- Albert Einstein

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph." -- Haile Selassie

July 11

Scientific 'theory' is just madness, The theory of gravity is also incorrect, it's really God holding us down so we don't float to heaven too early.


"Golf is harder than baseball. In golf, you have to play your foul balls."

If you don't go to work for the Lord because you are afraid of making mistakes, you will probably make the greatest mistake of your life--that of doing nothing. --D. L. Moody

In 1999, Catherine Ryan Hyde wrote a novel called "Pay It Forward" (later turned into a movie). It starts with a teacher's assignment to "Think of an idea for world change and put it into action " Trevor, the 12-year-old hero, comes up with an idea. If he does something "real good" for three people and asks in return that instead of them "paying him back," they
"pay it forward" by doing a good deed for three other people, who are in turn asked to pay it forward, the math quickly shows that he could change the world.

The tests, conducted late last month in a sound-proof studio, found the vuvuzela emitted 127 decibels, more than the air horn - 123.5 decibels - and the Brazil's samba drums.
A referee's whistle was fourth while the cowbell, a favourite in Switzerland and Austria, trailed at 114.9 decibels.
"To put it in perspective, when a sound is increased by ten decibels our ears perceive it as being twice as loud, so we would consider the vuvuzela to be more than double the volume of the cowbell," audiologist Robert Beiny said in a statement.
Hear the World said extended exposure to 85 decibels risked permanent hearing loss and urged fans to use protection, such as ear plugs and ear muffs.

The bride was escorted down the aisle and when she reached the altar, the groom was standing there with his golf bag and clubs at his side. She said:
"What are your golf clubs doing here?"
He looked her right in the eye and said, "This isn't going to take all day,` is it?

"I don't believe that God chose you and blessed you so that you could heap those blessings up upon yourself. I believe God chose you...because He wants to make a difference in this world. And you know what? What I think is scary about God is He didn't come up with any 'plan B.' That He left the church here, and the church is the only group of people and the church is the only institution in the world that can bring about a change. This government cannot do it, so stop depending on the government. Educational systems cannot do it, so stop trusting educational systems. The church was chosen by God to make a difference...And you know what people?...You're gonna make a difference when you lay down your life, and in complete submission to God, choose to die with Him in service to other people." - Rich Mullins, the "Awesome God" guy

A police car pulls up in front of grandma Bessie's house, and grandpa Morris gets out. The polite policeman explained that this elderly gentleman said that he was lost in the park and couldn't find his way home.
"Oh Morris", said grandma, "You've been going to that park for over 30 years! How could you get lost?"
Leaning close to grandma, so that the policeman couldn't hear, Morris whispered, "I wasn't lost. I was just too tired to walk home."

The Good Samaritan is like “a Plains Indian in 1875 walking into Dodge City with a scalped cowboy on his horse, checking into a room over the local saloon, and staying the night to take care of him. Any Indian so brave would be fortunate to get out of the city alive even if he had saved the cowboy’s life.”


By loving the unlovable, You made me lovable. Augustine to God

1. Americans' Church Attendance Inches Up in 2010
Americans' self-reported church attendance has continued to inch up in 2010, with 43.1% of Americans reporting weekly or almost weekly attendance.
"A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities." – William Arthur Ward
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." -- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"He who angers you conquers you." – Elizabeth Kenny
Most of North America lives in multi-housing; 95% without Christ About 57 percent of all people in North America reside in multi-housing -- apartments, expensive high-rises, mobile home parks and condominiums. An estimated 95 percent of them are lost without Christ.


• What's So Funny?
As one gets older, it may be harder to "get" or understand jokes. Researchers at Washington University found that older adults — because they have "greater difficulty with cognitive flexibility, abstract reasoning and short-term memory — also have greater difficulty with tests of humor comprehension," reports the Associated Press. Findings revealed that the younger adults did six percent better on verbal jokes and 14 percent better on the comic portion [of their tests] than did older participants. (Now we know why people are not laughing at Pastor Don’s jokes)

"God must have had a lot of confidence in you to put you on the planet at just this time. It was his sovereign decision to insert you onto planet earth during a time of huge transition. It takes incredible faith to lead during hinge points of history." - Reggie McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003)

"Why do bad things happen? I don't know. Why did Jamie die? I don't know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me, and I know he has a plan – whether it makes sense to me or not. Rather than asking why, I'm asking what. What can I learn from this? What can I do for God's glory and to help others?" - Tony Dungy, talking about his son's 2005 death in Quiet Strength (Tyndale House, 2007)

The estimated cost of all of the parts of the iPhone cost $200. The average cost for the newest technological gadget to create consumer feeding frenzy is $499. - Source: Time magazine.

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." - Amy Carmichael

The question is not “Who is my neighbor?” but “Am I a neighbor?” In other words, the burden of proof does not lie with another as to whether or not he is a neighbor in order to quality for my love. The question is, “Am I a neighbor to any and all, especially to those who are needy?” —Richard C. Halverson.


All the blessings we enjoy are divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors. —John Calvin.

"Real leaders come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. But they all have a few things in common:
"They are never so big that they can't bend down to help someone else.
"They are never so wise that they don't remember who taught them.
"They are never so gifted that they won't share their skills with others.
"They are never so fearless that they don't play by the rules and live by the law.
"They are never such big winners that they forget what it feels like to lose."

The Good Black Man
How did this parable affect the people who heard it? Think of it this way: If Jesus went to a Ku Klux Klan rally and they asked who is my neighbor. Jesus then might tell the parable, having the Grand Master of the Klan crash into a ditch only to be passed over by a white sheriff and a white minister. Finally, along would come a black sharecropper playing the part of the Good Samaritan.
How do you think the hearers at the Ku Klux Klan meeting would respond when Jesus asked, “Which of the three proved to be a neighbor?” They’d suddenly find themselves pairing together the words “good” and “black.” “The good black man.” And how would they deal with that topsy-turvy reality?

THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY
This is the most important day in your life.
Because this is the day that you are now living.
If your life is headed in an undesirable direction,
this is the day you can change it.
If there are dreams you are longing to fulfill,
this is the day you can follow them.
This day, right now,
is the day when you can put to use all the knowledge,
experience and wisdom you've accumulated.
On this very day,
you can do the things you've been meaning to do
and connect with the people you've been meaning to see.
On this day, you have a world full of choices.
On this day, there are more possibilities than ever before.
Of all the days you've ever lived, and of all the days to come,
this is the one special day that now matters the most.
For it is on this very day that you can now think
and speak and act and love and live.
Give yourself a quiet, peaceful moment,
and grasp the immense value
that is now yours on this very day.
Then step forward and fill it with beautiful life.



Bernie and Esther were not the most religious Jews and in fact they really only went to Temple once a year. As they were leaving the Temple, the Rabbi said, "Bernie, it sure would be nice to see you and Esther here more than once a year!"
"I know," replied Bernie, "but at least we keep the Ten Commandments."
"That's great," the Rabbi said. "I'm glad to hear that you keep the Commandments."
"Yep," Bernie said proudly, "Esther keeps six of them and I keep the other four."

Someone has observed that Knowledge is exploding at such a rate--more than 2000 pages a minute--that even Einstein couldn't keep up. In fact, if you read 24 hours a day, from age 21 to 70, and retained all you read, you would be one and a half million years behind when you finished.

The essential act of prayer is not the bending of God's will to ours . . .but the bending of our will to His. The proper outline of a Christian's prayer is not "Please do for me what I want," but "Please do in me, with me, and through me what You want." -- William Temple

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."--Mother Teresa

- "Suspicion often creates what it suspects." - C.S. Lewis
- "If your dreams turn to dust... vacuum." - Unknown
"Jesus loves you as you are, and not as you should be; because you will never be as you 'should be.'" --Brennan Manning

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

July 4

Christian motto: I'm going to Heaven, having a great time doing it, and want to take as many with me as possible.

"What can I do today that I would be proud to look back on at the end of my life?" -- Unknown



"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art ... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival." – C.S. Lewis

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs--jolted by every pebble in the road." -- Henry Ward Beecher

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are." -- Thomas Dreier

"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it's on ... a football field, in an army or in an office." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved." -- Helen Keller
If you hold your thumb at arms length toward the sky, there are more than 250,000 galaxies behind the space of you thumbnail.

"Don't tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." - George Patton

"We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein

He who made us also remade us. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

I spent a fortune on a trampoline
A stationary bike and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse
And gadgets to prove my progress results
And others to show the miles I've charted -
But they left off the gadget to get me started.

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence":

From bondage to spiritual faith;
from spiritual faith to great courage;
from courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
from abundance to selfishness;
from selfishness to complacency;
from complacency to apathy;
from apathy to dependency;
from dependency back to bondage.


Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, has attributed the fall of the Empire to:
1. The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting and more brutal.
4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within, the decadence of the people.
5. The decay of religion--faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. Edward Gibbon

Love is the Christlike reaction to people’s malice.
Joy is the Christlike reaction to depressing circumstances.
Peace is the Christlike reaction to troubles, threats and invitations to anxiety.
Patience is the Christlike reaction to all that is maddening.
Kindness is the Christlike reaction to all that are unkind.
Goodness is the Christlike reaction to bad people and had behavior.
Faithfulness and gentleness are the Christlike reactions to lies and fury.
Self-control is the Christlike reaction to every situation that goads you to lose your cool and hit out.


Their Sacrifice, Our Freedom
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.

General Omar Bradley said, "America today is running on the momentum of a godly ancestry, and when that momentum runs down, God help America."
Bradley also said, "We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount… The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants."

"History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster." - General Douglas MacArthur

"Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - Pope John Paul II

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"…I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’" - Martin Luther King, Jr. (From his "I Have a Dream speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963)

"I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in the Assembly every morning…" Benjamin Franklin, 1787 Constitutional Convention

"I believe with all my heart that standing up for America means standing up for the God who has so blessed our land. We need God's help to guide our nation through stormy seas. But we can't expect Him to protect America in a crisis if we just leave Him over on the shelf in our day-to-day living."

"America today is running on the momentum of a Godly ancestry, and when that momentum runs down, God help America." General Omar Bradley

June 27

Knowledge is like money; the more a man gets, the more he craves.
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Education covers a lot of ground, but it does not cultivate it.
Philosophy is the last refuge of thinkers.
A man who acquires knowledge and does not use it is like a farmer who plows his
field but doesn't sow it.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -- William Arthur Ward
"The country clubs, the cars, the boats, your assets may be ample, but the best inheritance you can leave your kids is to be a good example." -- Barry Spilchuk
We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin’ thinkin’ which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes. ~Zig Ziglar

The Bible in Every Language in 15 Years Wycliffe Bible Translators expects to have the
Bible — or at least some of it — written in all of the world's 6,909 spoken languages by 2025.
About 2,200 languages remain without a Bible, which represents about 350 million people —
mostly in India, China, sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea. Portable computers and
satellites get the credit for speeding things up by about 125 years. Previously, a Wycliffe
missionary family or team could spend decades learning and transcribing one language in a
remote corner of the Earth. [DenverPost.com]

"Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. It won't take the potholes out of the road, but it sure makes the ride smoother." -- Barbara Johnson

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever
tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." --
Napoleon Hill

"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little
bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." -- Lou Vickery

"I would rather fail trying than succeed at doing nothing." -- Denis Waitley

"Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there." -- Josh Billings

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." -- Helen Keller

"Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach. It's the end you're after." -- Anthony Robbins

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage--pleasantly, smilingly,
non-apologetically--to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger
'yes' burning inside." -- Dr. Stephen Covey

Little Johnny burst through the front door with a smile on his face. Surprised, his mother asked,
"Why are you home from school so early?"
Johnny said, "They let me go early because I was the only one who could answer a tough
question."
"Oh, really? What was the question?" his mother asked.
"Who threw the eraser at the teacher?"

You Cannot Multiply Wealth by Dividing It
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one
person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The
government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from
somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the
other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no
good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is
about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-
2005.

Difficult Decisions When considering a difficult decision, look ahead in your life toward the day
when you will die, and consider: which option would you regret most not doing. In most cases,
your answer will be immediately clear.

"Before beginning a hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it." -- Winnie the Pooh
"When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" -- Sydney J. Harris

Joni Eareckson Tada, 60, founder and chief executive officer of Joni and Friends
International Disability Center in Agoura Hills, Calif., has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Joni is an international disability advocate as a quadriplegic herself, and is also known for
being an artist and author. "I've often said that our afflictions come from the hand of our
all-wise and sovereign God, who loves us and wants what is best for us," Tada said. "So,
although cancer is something new, I am content to receive from God whatever He deems fit
for me. Yes, it's alarming, but rest assured that Ken [her husband] and I are utterly convinced
that God is going to use this to stretch our faith, brighten our hope and strengthen our witness
to others." [WordPress.com]

"Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to carry out the mundane." -- Chris Widener

Whatever our season of life, it offers its own opportunities and challenges for spirit growth.
Instead of wishing we were in another season, we ought to find out what this one offers.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
Prayer: Lord, help me to accept my current season of life and discover what you want me to learn and how I should grow. Amen

A sunrise is God's way of telling the world to lighten up. --Roadside Church Sign

Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave when they think that their children are naive.
--Ogden Nash

June 20

"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." -- Phillips Brooks

"We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so little scar." -- William James

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -- Lord Acton

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." -- Abraham Lincoln

"To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must sail, and not drift or lie at anchor." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -- Margaret Thatcher


JOY 10
It was the first day of school, and mother sent little Billy off to class. When he came home that day, she asked, "So Billy, what did you learn on your first day of school?"
Little Billy replied, "I learned to write."
"Oh, my!" his mother responded. "And on your first day of school! What did you write?"
"I don't know," said Billy. "I haven't learned to read yet."

Some time back I read a statement which really got my attention....
The statement declared that a little, tiny gnat can wreck an automobile. Of course, I wondered, "How?" And the article then explained that a tiny gnat had wrecked a car by flying into the eye of the driver at a critical time, causing the driver to lose control.
The lesson was quite plain: So often in life, little things can do great harm. It is easy for us to be like the gnat. Our petty criticisms, murmuring, complaints, and fault-finding can "wreck" the most ambitious person or program.

"Always be eager to learn, no matter how successful you might already be. In the Millionaires' Club, we sometimes invite a billionaire to come talk to us. He says, 'You're doing okay, but come on. How about if you really poured it on!'"

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." -- William Arthur Ward

"The country clubs, the cars, the boats, your assets may be ample, but the best inheritance you can leave your kids is to be a good example." -- Barry Spilchuk

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny." -- Unknown



My Dad's Hands

Bedtime came, we were settling down,
I was holding one of my lads.
As I grasped him so tight, I saw a strange sight:
My hands. . .they looked like my dad's!

I remember them well, those old gnarled hooks,
there was always a cracked nail or two.
And thanks to a hammer that strayed from its mark,
his thumb was a beautiful blue!

They were rough, I remember, incredibly tough,
as strong as a carpenter's vice.
But holding a scared little boy at night,
they seemed to me awfully nice!

The sight of those hands - how impressive it was
in the eyes of his little boy.
Other dads' hands were cleaner, it seemed
(the effects of their office employ).

I gave little thought in my formative years
of the reason for Dad's raspy mitts:
The love in the toil, the dirt and the oil,
rusty plumbing that gave those hands fits!

Thinking back, misty-eyed, and thinking ahead,
when one day my time is done.
The torch of love in my own wrinkled hands
will pass on to the hands of my son.

I don't mind the bruises, the scars here and there
or the hammer that just seemed to slip.
I want most of all when my son takes my hand,
to feel that love lies in the grip.



A SON’S NEED - A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his five-year-old son waiting for him at the door. "Daddy, may I ask you a question?" "Yeah, sure. What is it?" replied the man. "Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?" "That’’s none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily. "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy. "If you must know, I make $20 an hour." "Oh," the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I borrow $9 please?" The father was furious. "If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you’’re being so selfish. I work long, hard hours every day and don’’t have time for such childish games."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door, obviously crestfallen. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about his son’’s questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money. After an hour or so the man calmed down. He started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $9; he didn’’t ask for money very often. The man went to his son’’s room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" he asked.
"No daddy, I’’m awake," replied the boy. "I’’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man. "It’’s been long day and I took my aggravations out on you. Here’’s that $9 you asked for." The little boy sat straight up, beaming. "Oh, thank you daddy!" he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled-up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to be angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. "Why did you want more money if you already had some?" the father grumbled. "Because I didn’’t have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied. "Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?"

June 13

It’s easy to stand for truth if you don’t love, and it’s easy to seem loving if you forfeit the truth. Living for Jesus requires both. – Rick Warren
"The big rewards come to those who travel the second, undemanded mile." -- Bruce Barton

"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd; a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." -- A. Lou Vickery

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us." -- Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

"Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment." -- Sidney Poitier

"Learn to...be what you are, and learn to resign with good grace all that you are not." -- Henri Frederic Amiel

The teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a fruitless search, he told his mother the lens was nowhere to be found.
Undaunted, she went outside and in a few minutes returned with the lens in her hand.
"How did you manage to find it, Mom?" the teenager asked.
"We weren't looking for the same thing," she replied. "You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150."

"Not all revolutions begin in the streets with tanks and guns. Some advance slowly, almost imperceptibly, until a nation is transformed and the public realizes too late that their freedoms are gone. Such is the revolution now taking place in America." -- Cal Thomas

“Heroism is endurance for one moment more.” -- George F. Kennan
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” -- Arthur Ashe
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." – Albert Einstein

We are all as close to God as we want to be. We are also as far from Him as we choose to be. Rick Joyner
There are three signs of old age. The first is your loss of memory, the other two I forget.

"What lies behind us and what lies between us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." --Oliver Wendell Holmes

No one told any better golf stories than Bob Hope. "Jerry Ford was the first person to make golf a contact sport. When he yelled, 'Fore!', you never knew if he was telling people to get out of the way or predicting how many spectators he was going to hit."
And again: "My new partner asked me what I shot. I said, 'I shot in the low 70s.' He said, 'Honestly?' I said, 'What's that got to do with it!"' (ed. note: For too many people today, "honesty" has too little to do with anything.)


One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books -- the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species.
In surprise he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?"
"Well," said the orangutang, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother."

Have you ever tried to accomplish a task using the wrong tool? It’s like trying to turn a slotted screw with a Phillips’ screwdriver! They don’t fit, the screw doesn’t turn. You need the right tool to match the requirements of the job. Building a household of faith is much the same way. Our Scripture lessons for today tell us God needs willing hearts, attitudes of reconciliation, and “just the right person with the right gifts for the right job.” You may wonder if you possess the right tools/skills for “faith-building” - you do, God has already given them to you. So stop hitting that nail with the handle of the screwdriver!

+ The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the alphabet (developed by Western Union to test telex/twx communications).
+ The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
+ In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."

June 6

A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life..."
"What's wrong with that, Johnny?" the pastor asked.
"Well," answered Johnny, "I understand about having goodness and mercy, for God is good. But I'm not sure I'd like Shirley following me around all the time."


My bathroom scales are also beginning to show signs of inflation.

I was getting to the point of my conversation when suddenly my train of thought pulled out of the station, leaving me on the platform.

Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

A Chinese supercomputer has been ranked as the world’s second-fastest machine, surpassing European and Japanese systems and underscoring China’s aggressive commitment to science and technology.
The Dawning Nebulae, based at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, China, has achieved a sustained computing speed of 1.27 petaflops — the equivalent of one thousand trillion mathematical operations a second — in the latest semiannual ranking of the world’s fastest 500 computers.
The world’s fastest computer remains the Cray Jaguar supercomputer, based at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Last November it was measured at 1.75 petaflops. The United States continues to be the dominant maker of supercomputers, and is the nation with the most machines in the top 500. The United States has 282 of the world’s fastest 500 computers on the new list, an increase from 277 when the rankings were compiled in November.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, Its learning to dance in the rain.


Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing
On his darkest day he believes in Spring.
Douglas Malloch (1877-1938), You Have to Believe

I Believe in Miracles
I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows;
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows;
I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will come to show the way;
I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will still be heard;
I believe that Someone in the great somewhere hears every word;
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, or touch a leaf, or see the sky,
Then I know why, I believe. Erwin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR CHILDREN and/or grandchildren?
It is very difficult not to get caught up in the adventures and consequences of Hollywood's "bad girls." The names Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie dominate news shows, newspapers and magazines. These young ladies, all under the age of 26, have become famous more for their misdeeds than their accomplishments. It has been said, "Fame, money and power change everything." Would you agree?
It is also a sad commentary on our society when the young ladies mentioned above become the role models for pre-teen and teenage girls around the world. In a USAToday survey people said money, fame and the negative influence of Hollywood had more to do with their bad behavior than parents doing a poor job. I wonder? I believe parents matter and they matter a lot. I also would think the parents of the four troubled ladies are heartsick at what they see.

I wish the following for children:
* I want them to experience unconditional love, but with limits and parameters.
* I want them to grow under Christian influence. I want them to model their parents' values.
* I want their fathers to be their heroes, not some rock star or movie celebrity.
* I also want for them good guidance from their moms on what they wear, and how they look in public. Sometimes, parents must say "no" regardless of the reaction.
* I want for children open communication. I want them to be able to discuss anything with their parents.
* I also want them to understand the value of a dollar.
* I want for them friends who have good morals themselves, and good parental influence.
* I don't want our children to think Britney, Lindsay, Nicole and Paris are "cool." I love them too much.
What do you want for your children?
Be blessed and be a blessing.


Interest in Religion Increases on Campus
"There is probably more active religious life now [on campus] than there has been in 100 years," notes Harvard Professor Gomes, the university preacher. Gomes remembers when religious people on campus felt under siege or were seen as not very bright. No longer. Today on campuses across the nation, including Harvard and Berkeley, chaplains and professors are seeing more interest in religion and spirituality than at any time they can remember. At the University of California at Berkeley, alone, there are now more than 50 Christian organizations and student attendance at nearby churches has increased significantly.

"In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering." - Howard Hendricks

Who Says?
Philosophers say… Think your way out.
Intellectuals say… Read your way out.
Artists say… Create your way out.
Scientists say… Invent your way out.
Politicians say… Legislate your way out.
Industrialists say… Work your way out.
Businessmen say… Spend your way out.
Satan says… There is no way out.
Jesus says… “I am the Way the Truth and the Life: no man comet unto the Father but by Me.”

May 30

"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way." Unknown

Wouldn't you rather live your life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live your life as if there isn't, and die then find out there is?

A pastor was shaking hands with people as they left the church. A couple greeted him and said, "We listened carefully to every word you said." The pastor thanked the couple and said that he looked forward to seeing them next week. "Oh, we won't be here next week," the couple responded. "We're going to another church next week to get a second opinion."

+ The average size of the main courses of the Last Supper grew by 69 percent in artistic depictions from 1000 to 2000 AD. The average size of the depiction of bread grew by 23 percent. (Source: International Journal of Obesity via www.Christianitytoday.com)

“A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.” – William Arthur Ward
“It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” -- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
“He who angers you conquers you.” – Elizabeth Kenny
“Success is like death. The more successful you become, the higher the houses in the hills get and the higher the fences get.” -- Kevin Spacey

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ AMERICA'S NATIONAL DEBT -TOPS $13,000,000,000,000;
DEBT PER TAXPAYER - $117,975; US DEBT TO GDP RATIO - 90.3%

+ Patriotism is not a short and frenzied burst of emotion but the long and steady dedication of a lifetime. Thomas Jefferson
+ "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." Thomas Paine

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." -- Dwight Eisenhower

WHICH DISTURBS YOU MOST?
Which disturbs you most?
A soul lost in hell, or a scratch on a new car?
A sermon five minutes too long, or a lunch a half hour late?
Your Bible unopened, or your newspaper unread?
Contributions to the church increasing, or your income decreasing?
Children late for Sunday School, or late for public school?
Church work neglected, or housework neglected?
To miss prayer meeting, or to miss your favorite TV program?
Low attendance at worship services, or low attendance at club meetings?
Your child rebelling against you, or your rebelling against God?
A rainy Lord's Day, or a rainy work day?
A lazy employee, or your laziness in God's service?
Does it disturb you to give God second best?

As we begin to see the package God is putting together in our lives and discover his purposes for bringing us to our world, it will provide us with the framework we need to make wise choices. In addition, we will find that a sense of purpose gives hope in the midst of tragedy and difficulty, gives meaning to the mundane aspects of our lives, and helps us to make our lives count for God. R. Ruth Barton

"A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart." -- Unknown


"The more I practice, the luckier I get." - Jerry Barber

THE OX IN THE DITCH
Jesus spoke about the ox in the ditch on the Sabbath. But if your ox gets in the ditch every Sabbath, you should either get rid of the ox or fill up the ditch. --Billy Graham

HEAVEN KNOWS
A sign in front of a church in Austin, Texas, read: "Heaven knows when you were here last."

FACES IN THE CROWD
On any given Sunday, several faces can be spotted in the congregation. For example:
--The Frozen Face. They are trapped in a kind of religious trance. They sit there until that dreadful hour passes because there is not much they can do about it.
--The Frowning Face. Thankfully there are not many of these. But there are a few. They are not about to adopt any attitude other than that of being bored stiff.
--The Faraway Face. They are here, but they are not really here. Their mind is a million miles away. They are preoccupied with many things other than worship.
--The Friendly Face. Thank God for these dear people. They are, by far, the majority. They come with an expectant heart. They pray from the heart. They lift up their hearts to the Lord in praise and worship through their singing.
Why do you come to church? Is it to play or to participate? --Author Unknown

"Nearly all men can stand adversity; but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." -- Albert Schweitzer

May 23

"It is no advantage to be near the light if the eyes are closed." -- Augustine


HOW GREAT LOVE IS -Author Unknown
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the Feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the Feelings that the island would sink, so all prepared their boats and left the island. Love was the only one who stayed behind. You see, Love wanted to wait until the last possible moment before leaving. The island was almost sunk, and Love decided to ask for help.
Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you." Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" Vanity answered, "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat."
Sadness was close by, so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." Sadness said, "Oh...Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!" Happiness passed by Love too; Happiness did not hear the cry for help, for Happiness was so happy.
Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an Elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that Love forgot to ask the Elder's name. When they arrived at dry land, the Elder went on its way. Love, realizing how much it owed the Elder asked Knowledge, another Elder, "Who helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love, "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep Wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."
Remember ~ God doesn't give us what we can handle; God helps us handle what we are given!

Do not ask the Lord to Guide your footsteps
if you are not willing to MOVE YOUR FEET.

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.

I wear my wife's eyeglasses because she wants me to see things her way.
PARKED CARS CAN BECOME LIKE OVENS
On a 95 degree day, the interior of a parked car can reach:
Dashboard 181 degrees (temperature to cook poultry)
Seats 159 degrees (temperature to cook ground beef)
Steering wheel 159 degrees (temperature to cook medium rare beef)

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William Arthur Ward

"A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be." - Tom Landry

Do you know how important now is? Enjoy it as much as you can, because no matter how much you want to hold on to "now," it's going to be "was." Sid Caesar

There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit. Napoleon Bonaparte

The basic difference between physical and spiritual power is that men use physical power but spiritual power uses men. Justin Wroe Nixon (1886-1958)

May 16

"My wife suggested a book for me to read to enhance our
relationship. It's titled: 'Women are from Venus, Men are
Wrong.'"

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."

-- Babe Ruth

Edward Gibbon, in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," suggests the following as the five major reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire:

Family life disintegrated. (2) Traditional ethical systems were ignored and discarded--"anything goes" became the prevailing attitude of the day. (3) Entertainment became perverse and immoral. (4) Vast amounts of money were spent on maintaining the military machine to defend the Empire. (5) The Empire’s economy collapsed.

"I've never met a man who has given me as much trouble as
myself." - Dwight Moody

Anything that is of concern to you is fair grounds for prayer. The
power and beauty of prayer will come shining through in the
specificity of your praying. God will cease to be "out there" or "up
there" and will come to reside in your everyday life. God will not be
Creator only but will become Companion.
-- Steve Harper

When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want?

Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame?

Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car?

Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement?

Of course not. What will matter then will be people.

If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?

Max Lucado

I choose gentleness...
Nothing is won by force.
I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. Max Lucado

"The greatest conflicts are not between two people, but between one person and himself." -- Garth Brooks

"The greater part of our happiness depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances." -- Martha Washington

"The amount of satisfaction you get from life largely depends on your own ingenuity, self-sufficiently, and resourcefulness. People who wait around for life to supply their satisfaction usually find boredom instead." -- Dr. William Menninger

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson

"Never Complain About What You Permit." -- Unknown

"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it." -- Benjamin Franklin

On the Lighter Side
Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.

Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.

How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.

Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?

If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?

Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.

If Walmart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors ... but they all have to learn to live in the same box.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.


"Only one life
'Twill soon be passed.
Only what's done for Christ
Will last."


"He who constantly looks back loses sight in one eye.
He who never looks back loses sight in both eyes." --
Russian Proverb

"Too soon old. Too late 'schmartz.'" -- German
Proverb

"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what
my bank account was, how big my house was, or what
kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little
better, because I was important in the life of a
child." -- Forest Witcraft


On the Lighter Side
From a church bulletin: "Our minister is leaving the
church this Sunday. Will you please send in a small
donation? The congregation wants to give him a little
momentum."

From a sign on a church property: "The gospel is free,
but this church is for sale."

From a newsletter: "What God couldn't do if only he
had the money!"

From a church notice board: "Hear our pastor preach
tonight on the subject: 'What is Hell Like.' Come
early and hear our choir sing!"


Accidental Evolution--Believe It or Not

The evolutionist puts it thus: "Once upon a time under
a deadly sun, in an ammoniated ocean topped by a
poisonous atmosphere in the midst of a soup of organic
molecules, a nucleic acid molecule came accidentally
into being that could somehow bring about the
existence of another like itself."

From The Wells-Springs of Life, by
Isaac Asimov

May 9

*The most important occupation on earth for a woman is to be a real mother to her children. It does not have much glory to it; there is a lot of grit and grime. It’s kind of like a grimy shepherd taking care of wandering sheep. But there is no greater place of ministry, position, or power than that of a mother. --Phil Whisenhunt

Home should be a retreat to which a son or daughter can return in triumph or defeat, in victory or disgrace, and know they will be loved. --Unknown

One of the most pleasant ways to a mother's heart is through the doors of a good restaurant. --Unknown

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain".


If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research.
This reflected a 3 percent raise from last year's $134,121, according to Salary.com Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts.
The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said.
The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.

Five Minutes in the Green Boosts Self-Esteem
A new study shows that just five minutes of exercise outside in a “green area” can boost self-esteem. Researchers from the University of Essex found that outside activities like gardening, biking, and hiking can benefit the self-esteem of individuals, particularly the young and mentally ill. Green areas, like parks, in urban areas saw the same benefits as those in more rural areas. ‘We believe that there would be a large potential benefit to individuals, society and to the costs of the health service if all groups of people were to self-medicate more with green exercise,’ said one of the researchers, Jo Barton.
The influence of God’s creation on us should not be a surprising one. Spending time in the world that God created can help remind us of His presence in our lives and that we are a part of His creation too. Knowing God and feeling His presence around us cannot help but raise our self-esteem because we can recognize that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

No two friends are the same. Each has his or her own gift for us. When we expect one friend to have all we need, we will always be hypercritical, never completely happy with what he or she does have.
One friend may offer us affection, another may stimulate our minds, another may strengthen our souls. The more able we are to receive the different gifts our friends have to give us, the more able we will be to offer our own unique but limited gifts. Thus, friendships create a beautiful tapestry of love.


Redemption Is Found Through Suffering
The heroes and heroines of history are not those who took it easy, who had it good, but those who struggled and who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds."
A striking example is the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky regarded by many as one of the greatest literary geniuses of all time. His books are classics. The Brothers Karamazov is regarded by many as the greatest novel ever written. His stories all have a similar theme, that our redemption is to be found through suffering, not simply physical suffering, but in the anguish of our selfhood. We become fully human, Dostoyevsky believed, by being tested and being strengthened through it.

The Church Is Associated With Life
The mortuary funeral chapel is used for only one purpose and is associated with nothing but death. The church building, on the other hand, is associated with all aspects of life. All kinds of things go on at churches - baptisms, weddings, potlucks, many types of meetings, day care, choir rehearsals, funerals, worship services, confirmations. Churches are associated with life in all its variety and splendor, in all its sorrow and pain. The church reminds us that the story of Jesus is more about life than about death.

Put First Things First
The struggle of human existence is to let God be God.
Denzel Washington says, “I walked into the house one day and feeling full of myself, a movie star, said, ‘Mother, did you ever think this was all going to happen?’ She responded, ‘Oh please, go wash the windows for me. You have no idea how many people have been praying for you when you were a knucklehead.’”
C.S. Lewis says, “When I learn to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” When we put first things first, second things are not suppressed, but increased.

The Right Kind of Power
Dynamite is a powerful device for blowing away part of a mountain, but for the purpose of blowing out candles on a birthday cake, it is not very effective. Atomic bombs and nuclear-tipped missiles are great for destroying life as we know it on this planet, but if the purpose is to cleanse our hearts of hate and to help people to find their way to peace with God and with each other, then the atomic bomb is not the kind of power that is needed. The power that is needed is the power to accomplish a purpose. This is the kind of power that Jesus claims. He does not claim a power of coercion, but the power of persuasion. He does not claim a power of force, but a power of devotion from within. He does not claim a dictatorial power, but the power where people can freely choose.

Humanity’s total digital output currently stands at 8,000,000 petabytes - which each represent a million gigabytes - but is expected to pass 1.2 zettabytes this year.
One zettabyte is equal to one million petabytes, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual bytes. The current size of the world’s digital content is equivalent to all the information that could be stored on 75bn Apple iPads, or the amount that would be generated by everyone in the world posting messages on the microblogging site Twitter constantly for a century. The first survey, which was conducted in 2007, estimated that the digital universe was equivalent to 161,000 petabytes.



WHY GOD MADE MOMS "Why God made moms" answers given by elementary school age children to the following questions.
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly us string, I think.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work & work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.

"One person with passion is better than forty who are merely interested." -- Thomas K. Connellan

The Meanest Mom
Was your Mom mean?? I know mine was.
We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.
She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds. Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime.
It was all her fault. We never got drunk, took up smoking, stayed out all night, or a million other things other kids did.
Sundays were reserved for church, and we never missed once. We knew better than to ask to spend the night with a friend on Saturdays. Now that we have left home, we are all God-fearing, educated, honest, adults.
We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean Moms anymore.