| Prior Date | Back to Archive Index | Next Date |
|
~~~~~~~ WITANDWISDOM™ - May 3, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Where there are friends; there is wealth. - Titus Maccius Plautus (250-184 BC) (E-zine: THIS AND THAT Mailto:milady@mediaone.net) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's mind: "You have been pushing against that rock For a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened him. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough." And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord", he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?" The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? "Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. "I, my friend, will now move the rock." At times when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him. . . By all means, exercise the faith that move mountains, but it is still God who moves the mountains. This story reminds me of what Oswald Chambers said: "God does not call us to be successful, but to be faithful." - Author Unknown (Amy Awtrey) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: FUN WITH TOWN NAMES Lucas Pereira and Kinshuk Govil are Stanford University computer-science doctoral candidates with, apparently, some extra time on their hands. Through some cyber-sleuthing, they found these interesting tidbits about U.S. town names. International flair: FRANCE, ENGLAND, SPAIN, RUSSIA, BRAZIL, CHINA, KOREA, ITALY, LEBANON, SUDAN and EGYPT are all in the United States - sometimes in more than one state. Illinois has MELODY, but no Rhythm. Louisiana has a START, but no Finish. Kentucky seems to have it all: AWE and WONDER; plus BEAUTY and GRACE, still unpretentious enough for ordinary people. But beware, weather watchers: The state also has RAIN, HAIL, SNOW and ICE. Looking for something in life? Try INSPIRATION, Ariz.; OPPORTUNITY, Mont.; SECURITY, Colo.; or PEACE, Ala. KANSAS CITY, Mo., has no monopoly on confusing cities that seem to be in the wrong state. Try this loopy loop: NEW YORK, Ky., to KENTUCKY, Mich., to MICHIGAN, Vt., to VERMONT, Ind., to INDIANA, Pa., to PENNSYLVANIA, Ala., to ALABAMA, N.Y. - From USA Weekend, March 26- 28, 1999 ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: There once was a young Puritan man, who had a great deal of difficulty remembering the various rules of conduct in his community. He tried hard, but was constantly being ridiculed because of some breach of etiquette. In desperation, he asked an older man to teach him proper manners. The task was formidable, and the older man's patience grew thin, as he had to repeatedly chastise the younger man for his awkward ways. Finally, on the way into church one Sunday, the younger man started into the building ahead of the older man. He was firmly collared by his elder, who then allowed a lady to go in ahead of both of them. The young man expressed his regret. The older, losing his temper, screamed, "Canst thou remember nothing? How much easier can it become?" Pointing out the woman who had just entered, he said, . . . "It is I before Thee, except after She!" (Stan Kegel via E- zine: GOOD, CLEAN FUNNIES LIST http://www.gcfl.net/) ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: WHAT IS YOUR PRICE? Amount that CBS is paying Rome's Atlante Star hotel to use its rooftop view of St. Peter's when the Pope dies: $180,000 Amount for which a North Dakota town has agreed to rename itself after a brand of schnapps for four years: $100,000 Amount a Houston company charges for sending a DNA sample into outer space for possible cloning by aliens: $50 - The Oregonian, Nov. 25, 1998 (Barbara Henry) |