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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 10, 2002 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "A good marriage is the union of two forgivers." - Ruth Bell Graham Source: Heart Touchers, http://storiesfrommyheart.com/home_page Subjects: Marriage, Forgivness ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Seventeen-year-old Angela Lotspelch meets adversity at nearly every turn, every day. Common actions such as opening a car door or twisting an ice-cube tray are painful, difficult tasks. Angela, who will be a senior at Roseburg, Oregon High School, has severe arthritis. The disease, which was originally diagnosed as a fever of unknown origin, began to develop two years ago. At that time, she had severe pains in her abdomen and went to the doctor thinking maybe she had appendicitis. She was held overnight for observation while doctors ran a series of tests. That night, she ran a fever of 105 degrees, and her whole body broke out in a rash. Her Immune system weakened. Angela, a member of the varsity soccer team, was left unable to walk or move her limbs. The problems continued for months, improving slightly after she took a regimen of medication. Angela went almost a year before having a relapse. This time, though, there was something new: her joints began to hurt. "It scared me a lot,'" she recalls. Finally, after repeated blood tests, doctors diagnosed the arthritis, an affliction that leaves Angela exhausted. Sometimes, when she sits on the floor in the halls at school, she can barely get up without help. Angela says she sometimes feared the disease might lead toward death. But now she's just frustrated because she can't do simple tasks, like washing her hair or brushing her teeth. "I live in pain all day, every day," she says. Because of that, she's had to completely rearrange her life. But she's not bitter. She's still dealing with pain in her joints but is taking medication to ease it. She also does stress-relieving exercises in the pool at the local YMCA every morning with her mother. The water cushions her joints and helps keep them loose. "People are tested in all kinds of little ways," she says. She believes this illness is hers. "So that when big things come," she says, "I'm ready." By Olyvia Carnate Source: The Oregonian, Copyright (c) July 13, 2001, http://www.oregonian.com/ Submitted by Barbara Henry Subjects: Arthritis, Pain ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A farmer died and left his 17 mules to three sons. His will stated that his oldest son would get half of the mules, the middle one would get one-third and the youngest would get one-ninth. They wracked their brains to figure out how to do it, but couldn't. Soon after this their minister came to help them in their grief and heard their predicament. He added his mule to the lot, making 18 mules. The oldest got half, or 9. The middle got one-third, or 6. And the youngest got one-ninth, or 2. Then the minister got on the remaining mule and rode home. Source: My Daily Dose of Inspiration, http://www.quietstones.com/mydailydose Subjects: Mathematics, Mules ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The church was considering the purchase of a new Chandelier. A parishioner who was unable to attend the business meeting where it was initially discussed wrote a note to the head deacon to express her opinion. The note said simply: I am definitely opposed to buying a new chandelier for the church, for three reasons: (1) I can't spell chandelier. (2) If we got one, who's going to play it? (3) If we've got that kind of money in the treasury, why don't we buy a new light fixture to brighten up the church sanctuary? From: Source: Sermon Fodder, http://www.yahoogroups.com/subscribe.cgi/Sermon_Fodder Source: Monday Fodder dgaufaaa@i ohk.com?subject=Subscribe_Monday_Fodder Subjects: Spelling, Language ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: An architect built a cluster of office buildings around a central green. When construction was completed, the landscape crew asked him where he wanted the sidewalks. "Just plant the grass solidly between the buildings," was his reply. By late summer the new lawn was laced with paths of trodden grass between the buildings. These paths turned into easy curves and were sized according to traffic flow. In the fall, the architect simply paved the paths. Not only did the paths have a design beauty, they responded directly to user needs. Source: Bits & Pieces, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., http://www.epinc.com Subjects: Planing, Sidewalks |