“I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven’t the guts to bite people themselves.” – August Strindberg

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Hmm!

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside."That laundry is not very clean", she said. "She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, "Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

~ ~ ~ And so it is with life.

What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

- - - * - - - * - - -* - - -

PUN-ISHMENT!

No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

oooooooooooo

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the oldhas gone, the new has come!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Hallelujah!

Servant Ministry

In Matthew 20 we read that the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, two of the intimate circle of Jesus' twelve disciples, 11 of whom would go on to become Apostles after His Ascension into heaven, asked a favor of Jesus. She asked in v. 21, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom." The brothers must have been standing right there with Jesus and their mother for, in verse 22, Jesus answers and directs a question to them: "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

Judas, by this time, was no longer with them, and in v. 24 we read that "the ten" were quite displeased with the two brothers, James and John. Jesus immediately resolves the dispute (vv. 25-28): But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You now that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be sevred, but to give His life a ransom for many."

Remember - Service means "an unceasing and wholehearted labor in making ourselves available to Jesus so that He may Live, in and though us, His Life of infinitely tender, compassionate and merciful Love!

A Teacher's Question

TEACHER’S QUESTION

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said: “Let me see if I've got this right:

"You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. . . . .

"You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

"You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play,and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job.

"You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs ofantisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

"You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

"You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard,a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . .

"I CAN'T PRAY?"

The Mayonaise Jar

The Mayonnaise Jar

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students, if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes..

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – family, children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions – things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained – your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else – the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“So . . . pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.Play With your children; spend time with your family. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse or friend out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.The professor smiled. “I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Some Fun & Some Serious Thought!

Potato Pun-ishment!

Well, a Girl Potato and Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they called 'Yam.' Of course, they wanted the best for Yam. When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato', and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots!

Yam said not to worry; no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her! But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring Cousins.

When she went off to Europe, Mr. And Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland - and the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out West, to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped.

Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.' Mr. And Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University ) so that when she graduated she'd really be in the Chips.

But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry Tom Brokaw. Tom Brokaw! Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset. They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just . . . .

Are you ready for this?

Are you sure?

OK! Here it is!

A COMMONTATER !!!

POINT OF VIEW

“Astronomical Numbers”
by Kerby Anderson

Over this last year, we have been throwing around some very large numbers. How much is a trillion dollars? Ernest Istook (former member of Congress and fellow at the Heritage Foundation) used some helpful illustrations so we can get our heads around these large numbers.
One illustration looks at how long it would take to count to one trillion. Two years ago, Jeremy Harper made the news when he counted to one million in front of a webcam. He took sleep breaks, so it took him 89 days. But a million is really a very small number. One trillion is actually one million million. If someone wanted to count to a trillion (counting one number per second and taking no breaks), it would take 32,000 years.

Think of this number in another way. This country has not been around a trillion seconds. Western civilization has not been around a trillion seconds. All of recorded history is less than a trillion seconds.

Another illustration would be to cover a trillion miles. Even traveling at the speed of light, it would take two months. However, if you took a trillion one-dollar bills and laid them end-to-end, they would reach from the Earth to the sun.

While we are using astronomical illustrations, let's consider our own galaxy. Our solar system is just an incredibly small part of the Milky Way galaxy. But as large it is, there are probably only 100 billion stars in our galaxy. We would need ten galaxies like the Milky Way to equal a trillion stars.

Let's get back to Earth and consider $1 trillion. If you stacked $100 bills on top of each other, it would take a stack 789 miles high to equal $1 trillion. By the way, the interest on $1 trillion dollars at six percent interest is $166 million per day. One trillion dollars is an astronomical number.

I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

Some Edifying Thoughts

A Quote ~

From Ken Blanchard’s book, Leading At A Higher Level~ Success:

“It doesn’t mean the bottom line, or looking good to Wall Street or being praised by your peers. It’s not about getting the credit or promotions, or the raises. It’s about working with those you lead to get results in a way that honors God. It’s about people, service and results. It’s a new way of leading based on the teachings of Jesus, the greatest leader of all time.

He gave his followers a vision of something greater than themselves.
He consistently reminded them of the long-term effects of their work.
He allowed those around him to fail, but held them accountable.
He redirected them. He forgave them, and He inspired the best in others.

And the result? He started a movement that continues to thrive more than 2,000 years later!”


The American Creed
By Chuck Colson

We Hold These Truths. . . . 'The great British intellectual G. K. Chesterton wrote that “America is the only nation in the world that is founded on [a] creed.” Think about that for a moment. Other nations were founded on the basis of race, or by the power of kings or emperors who accumulated lands and the peasants who inhabited those lands. But America was—and is to this day—different. It was founded on a shared belief, or, as Chesterton said, on a creed.

And what is that creed that sets us apart? It is the eloquent, profound, and simple statement penned by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

I’ll never forget when I graduated from Brown University during the Korean War. I couldn’t wait to become a Marine officer, to give my life if necessary, to defend that creed, to defend the idea that our rights come from God Himself and are not subject to whims of governments or tyrants, and that humans ought to be free to pursue their most treasured hopes and aspirations.

Perhaps some 230 years later, we take these words for granted. But in 1776, they were earth-shaking—indeed, revolutionary. Yet today, they are in danger of being forgotten altogether. According to Gallup, 66 percent of American adults have no idea that the words, “We hold these truths . . .” come from the Declaration of Independence. Even worse, only 45 percent of college seniors know that the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are proclaimed in the Declaration.

As America grows more and more diverse culturally, religiously, ethnically, it is critical that we re-embrace the American creed. America has always been a “melting pot.” But what is the pot that holds our multicultural stew together? Chesterton said the pot’s “original shape was traced on the lines of Jeffersonian democracy.” A democracy founded on those self-evident truths expressed in the Declaration of Independence. And as Chesterton remarked, “The pot must not melt.”

Abraham Lincoln understood this so very well. For him, the notion that all men are created equal was “the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, and that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world.”

So today, go to the Fourth of July parade. Go to the neighborhood barbecue and enjoy the hot dogs and apple pie. But here’s an idea for you. Why not take time out at the picnic to read the Declaration of Independence aloud with your friends and your neighbors.

Listen—and thrill—to those words that bind us together as a nation of freedom-loving people: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

These are the words Americans live for and, if necessary, die for.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.