October Newsletter
Back in the 50's there was a well known radio host/comedian/song writer in Hollywood named Stuart Hamblen who was noted for his drinking, womanizing, partying, etc. One of his bigger hits at the time was "I won't go hunting with you Jake, but I'll go chasing women."
One day, along came a young preacher holding a tent revival. Hamblen had him on his radio show presumably to poke fun at him. In order to gather more material for his show, Hamblen showed up at one of the revival meetings. Early in the service the preacher announced, "There is one man in this audience who is a big f ake." There were probably others who thought the same thing, but Hamblen was convinced that he was the one the preacher was talking about (some would call that conviction) but he was having none of that.
Still the words continued to haunt him until a couple of nights later he showed up drunk at the preacher's hotel door around 2AM demanding that the preacher pray for him!
But the preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God and I'm not going to get in the middle of it."
But he did invite Stuart in and they talked until about 5 AM at which point Stuart dropped to his knees and with tears, cried out to God.
But that is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking, quit chasing women,
quit everything that was 'fun.' Soon he began to lose favor with the Hollywood crowd.
He was ultimately fired by the radio station when he refused to accept a beer company as a sponsor.
Hard times were upon him. He tried writ ing a couple of "Christian" songs but the only one that had much success was "This Old House", written for his friend Rosemary Clooney.
As he continued to struggle, a long time friend named John took him aside and told him,
"All your troubles started when you 'got religion,' Was it worth it all?"
Stuart answered simply, "Yes."
Then his friend asked, "You liked your booze so much, don't you ever miss it?" And his answer was, "No." John then said, "I don't understand how you could give it up so easily."
And Stuart's response was, "It's no big secret. All things are possible with God."
To this John said, "That's a catchy phrase. You should write a song about it."
And as they say, "The rest is history." The song Carl Stuart Hamblen wrote was "It Is No Secret." "It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you. With arms wide open, He'll welcome you. It is no secret, what God can do...."
By the way... the friend was John Wayne. And the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen? ...That was Billy Graham.
The average American home now has more television sets than people.
That threshold was crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.
With televisions now on buses, elevators and in airport lobbies, that development may have as much to do with TV's ubiquity as an appliance as it does conspicuous consumption. The popularity of flat-screen TVs now make it easy to put sets where they haven't been before.
The Five Finger Prayer
This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.
1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."
2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
BUREAUCRACY IN ACTION
1. Start with a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a
string and put stairs under it. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs and
start to climb toward the banana.
2. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the apes with cold water.
After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result--all the apes
are sprayed with cold water.
3. Turn off the cold water. If later another ape tries to climb the stairs, the
other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays them.
4. Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new ape
sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other
apes attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to
climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
5. Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one.
The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes
part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
6. Again, replace a third original ape with a new one. The new one makes it to
the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four apes that beat him have no
idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are
participating in the beating of the newest ape.
7. After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which have
been sprayed with cold water have been replaced.
Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?
"BECAUSE that's the way it's always been done around here."
Prayer for those who are stressed (Author Unknown)
Lord, I need your help. I am feeling the strain of stress. My body is agitated by worry and fear. I confess to you my inability to handle it alone. I surrender my mind to you. Take charge of the control center of my brain. Think your thoughts through me and send into my nervous system the pure signals of your peace, power and patience. I don't want to have a divided mind fragmented from your control. Forgive my angers rooted in petulant self-will. Make me a channel, a riverbed, of Your love to others suffering as much stress as I. Help me act on the inspiration You gave me rather than stifling Your guidance. Take charge of my tongue so that it becomes an instrument of healing. Make me a communicator of love and forgiveness as I cheer others on to their best. I commit my schedule to you, Lord: help me to know and do your will. Guide me in doing your will on your timing so that I don't burn out doing the things I don't really want to do, or fearing to do what is your best for me. Set me free from the tyranny of acquisitiveness and the lust of seeking my security in things rather than in my relationship with you. I long to be the person you created me to be and not anyone else. Forgive me when I take my signals of success from others and not you. Most of all, Lord, help me to catch the drumbeat of your guidance and live by your timing. Here is my life - invade it, fill it, transform it. And I thank you in advance for the healing of my life and for giving me strength to conquer the stress of daily life. Amen.
One day, along came a young preacher holding a tent revival. Hamblen had him on his radio show presumably to poke fun at him. In order to gather more material for his show, Hamblen showed up at one of the revival meetings. Early in the service the preacher announced, "There is one man in this audience who is a big f ake." There were probably others who thought the same thing, but Hamblen was convinced that he was the one the preacher was talking about (some would call that conviction) but he was having none of that.
Still the words continued to haunt him until a couple of nights later he showed up drunk at the preacher's hotel door around 2AM demanding that the preacher pray for him!
But the preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God and I'm not going to get in the middle of it."
But he did invite Stuart in and they talked until about 5 AM at which point Stuart dropped to his knees and with tears, cried out to God.
But that is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking, quit chasing women,
quit everything that was 'fun.' Soon he began to lose favor with the Hollywood crowd.
He was ultimately fired by the radio station when he refused to accept a beer company as a sponsor.
Hard times were upon him. He tried writ ing a couple of "Christian" songs but the only one that had much success was "This Old House", written for his friend Rosemary Clooney.
As he continued to struggle, a long time friend named John took him aside and told him,
"All your troubles started when you 'got religion,' Was it worth it all?"
Stuart answered simply, "Yes."
Then his friend asked, "You liked your booze so much, don't you ever miss it?" And his answer was, "No." John then said, "I don't understand how you could give it up so easily."
And Stuart's response was, "It's no big secret. All things are possible with God."
To this John said, "That's a catchy phrase. You should write a song about it."
And as they say, "The rest is history." The song Carl Stuart Hamblen wrote was "It Is No Secret." "It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you. With arms wide open, He'll welcome you. It is no secret, what God can do...."
By the way... the friend was John Wayne. And the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen? ...That was Billy Graham.
The average American home now has more television sets than people.
That threshold was crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.
With televisions now on buses, elevators and in airport lobbies, that development may have as much to do with TV's ubiquity as an appliance as it does conspicuous consumption. The popularity of flat-screen TVs now make it easy to put sets where they haven't been before.
The Five Finger Prayer
This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.
1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."
2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.
3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.
4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.
5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.
BUREAUCRACY IN ACTION
1. Start with a cage containing five apes. In the cage, hang a banana on a
string and put stairs under it. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs and
start to climb toward the banana.
2. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the apes with cold water.
After a while, another ape makes an attempt with the same result--all the apes
are sprayed with cold water.
3. Turn off the cold water. If later another ape tries to climb the stairs, the
other apes will try to prevent it even though no water sprays them.
4. Now, remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new ape
sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his horror, all of the other
apes attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to
climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
5. Next, remove another of the original five apes and replace it with a new one.
The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes
part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
6. Again, replace a third original ape with a new one. The new one makes it to
the stairs and is attacked as well. Two of the four apes that beat him have no
idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are
participating in the beating of the newest ape.
7. After replacing the fourth and fifth original apes, all the apes which have
been sprayed with cold water have been replaced.
Nevertheless, no ape ever again approaches the stairs. Why not?
"BECAUSE that's the way it's always been done around here."
Prayer for those who are stressed (Author Unknown)
Lord, I need your help. I am feeling the strain of stress. My body is agitated by worry and fear. I confess to you my inability to handle it alone. I surrender my mind to you. Take charge of the control center of my brain. Think your thoughts through me and send into my nervous system the pure signals of your peace, power and patience. I don't want to have a divided mind fragmented from your control. Forgive my angers rooted in petulant self-will. Make me a channel, a riverbed, of Your love to others suffering as much stress as I. Help me act on the inspiration You gave me rather than stifling Your guidance. Take charge of my tongue so that it becomes an instrument of healing. Make me a communicator of love and forgiveness as I cheer others on to their best. I commit my schedule to you, Lord: help me to know and do your will. Guide me in doing your will on your timing so that I don't burn out doing the things I don't really want to do, or fearing to do what is your best for me. Set me free from the tyranny of acquisitiveness and the lust of seeking my security in things rather than in my relationship with you. I long to be the person you created me to be and not anyone else. Forgive me when I take my signals of success from others and not you. Most of all, Lord, help me to catch the drumbeat of your guidance and live by your timing. Here is my life - invade it, fill it, transform it. And I thank you in advance for the healing of my life and for giving me strength to conquer the stress of daily life. Amen.
posted by joypastordon at 12:01 PM
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