| Prior Date | Back to Archive Index | Next Date |
|
WITandWISDOM(tm) - August 28, 2001 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is the willingness of people to give of themselves over and above the demands of the job that distinguishes the great from the merely adequate organization. - Peter Drucker ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: INSPIRATION OR PERSPIRATION By Joy Dustow On an island south of the Australian mainland I took a position in a school that was to begin four days of celebration to mark its 100 years of service to the community. It was interesting to witness and to take part in the parades, church service, open day, and drama presentations. Because the headmaster was not well, I was given his class, which was required to sit for a state examination at the close of the school year. It was a joy to work with the class, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Over the years I have forgotten the names and physical features of most of the students. There is one who will never be erased from my memory, however. Nick was a slim freckle faced boy of average ability, who did not stand out from his peers. But after a few months Nick began to make his presence felt. Every few minutes up would go his hand. "How do you spell that?" Then there would be a rustle of pages as he looked up the meaning of the word in question. No matter what subject we were discussing, Nick was always asking question after question. At times the other students and I felt frustrated with his interruptions, but we all benefitted from his search to gain a thorough knowledge of all subjects. The end of the year came too quickly, and the state exam was over. The students were excited at the prospect of going to secondary school the following year. I too was excited, as I was going on to the mission field. Not long after that the headmaster asked, "Remember Nick?" How could I ever forget Nick! "Well, he has recorded the highest score ever in the state exam in the history of the school's 100 years." Nick had searched his subjects well and was rewarded for it. I was reminded of the common saying "Success is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." The experience with Nick keeps fresh in my mind another thought: Do I search the Scriptures with such fervor? The reward for getting to know my Jesus as a personal friend would be a high pass indeed. From: Fabric of Faith, by Ardis Dick Stenbakken, Editor, published by Review and Herald Publishing Association http://www.rhpa.org To purchase http://www.adventistbookcenter.com Submitted by Rod Keen ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: DEAR DIARY - A YOUNG WOMAN TURNS 50 For my fiftieth birthday this year, my husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since playing on my highschool softball team, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer I'll call Bruce, who identified himself as a 26 year old aerobics instructor. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started. The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress. MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Bruce waiting for me. He has blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Bruce gave me a tour and showed me the machines. He took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. He was alarmed that my pulse was so fast. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring. Bruce was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!! TUESDAY: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Bruce made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air - then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Bruce's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me. WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying on the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a Geo Metro in the club parking lot. Bruce was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning. VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Bruce put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Bruce told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. THURSDAY: Bruce was waiting for me. I couldn't help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Bruce took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the men's room. He sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment, put me on the rowing machine - which I sank. FRIDAY: Bruce wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director? SATURDAY: Bruce left a message on my answering machine wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel. SUNDAY: I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun - like a root canal or a hysterectomy. - Author Unknown Submitted by John L. Hoh, Jr., http://www.geocities.com/brandedhand/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: When you have a lot of things to do, get your nap out of the way first. Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the- funnies ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: HOW BIG IS THE UNIVERSE? By Kim Allan Johnson, 102555.1145@compuserve.com Part 2 of 3 [Aug 27, 28, 29] Actually the universe is so huge that the only reasonable way to measure distances is by figuring how long it would take light to get there. Light screams along at an incredible 186,000 miles per second. That translates to an astonishing 670 million miles per hour! To get some idea of how fast that really is, imagine an unusual gun that shoots bullets that travel at the speed of light. If I go out in my backyard and point that gun straight out in front of me and fire it, the bullet would travel around the earth and go through me seven times before I could jump out of the way! Or, to use another analogy, light could go across the United States and back thirty-one times in one second, or the snap of a finger. Even at that incomprehensible speed, light from outer space takes a very long time to reach the earth. The light that we see right now from our neighboring star, Betelgeuse, left that star about a decade before Columbus set sail for America.(2) Light from Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to ours, takes more than two million years to get here.(3) It takes billions of years for the light from the farthest known galaxies to reach an astronomer's bloodshot eyeball. . . . continued tomorrow. (2) Roy A. Gallant, Our Universe (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1986), 222. (3) Terence Dickinson, The Universe and Beyond (Camden East, Ontario: The Camden House, 1992), 15. Source: The Gift, by Kim Allan Johnson, Copyright (c) 2000, Pacific Press Publishing Association, ISBN 0816317682, http://isbn.nu/0816317682/price or http://www.adventistbookcenter.com Submitted by Al Stober |