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WITandWISDOM(tm) - March 3, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Making the decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. - Elizabeth Stone Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Mugsy isn't a bad dog. He doesn't mess up my yard, chase my cat, or pick fights with my German shepherd. He doesn't bite, and he stays on his side of the street. However, Mugsy has one failing: he barks. That's not unusual for a dog, but Mugsy barks unnecessarily, incessantly, or so it seemed to me. I had moved to the country to escape the noise of the city. Everything seemed perfect. After dark, hardly a car passed our house, and I often fell asleep to the sound of frogs. It was a bucolic setting with great potential for tranquility - until Mugsy moved in across the street. Even the slightest movement in my yard starts him barking for 20 minutes. I found myself sneaking out the back door to pick up my evening paper. And I fantasized about long-distance surgery on Mugsy's vocal cords - perhaps operating with a radio-controlled laser. One evening I thought I had been successful in retrieving my paper. But as I turned and began stealthily soft-stepping back toward my house, it started - his barking and my anger. Then, however, a new thought hit me: Mugsy is the best burglar alarm in the neighbor-hood! As long as Mugsy lives nearby, no one will ever walk up my driveway or enter my - yard undetected. I'd often ridden my bike past homes in my neighborhood that displayed signs like "Protected by Sentry Security" or "Under Twenty-Four-Hour Surveillance," and I'd wondered whether I should sign up for such a service. Now, I found myself smiling. I didn't need a $10,000 security system; I had something far more efficient. I had Mugsy - the finest security system one could hope for, and it cost me absolutely nothing! Now I saw that Mugsy was actually a friend. In that single moment, in the darkness of my driveway, I forgave Mugsy. And it didn't require a teeth-gritting, gut-wrenching act of will power. I simply saw the situation in a whole new light. Psychologists call this change of perspective "reframing." I hope that forgiveness by reframing will facilitate new beginnings for you. And I hope that once in a while on a dark night when you hear a distant dog barking you'll remember Mugsy. By John Berecz, Berrien Springs, Michigan. Adapted from Dialogue, December 2000. Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) November 2002, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: The Make Like List . . . . . . a baby and head out. . . . a bakery truck and haul buns. . . . a banana and split. . . . a bee and buzz off. . . . a hairstyle and part. . . . a hat and go on ahead. . . . a missile and cruise. . . . a network and disconnect . . . a nose and run. . . . a nut and bolt. . . . a nylon and run. . . . a tomato and ketchup . . . a deodorant and roll on. . . . Donald and duck. . . . the dew and evaporate . . . the Sahara and desert. . . . a tree and leaf. Source: The Flush(tm), http://www.funinmichigan.com/index.htm ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: When I discovered my first gray hair I immediately wrote to my parents: "Dear Dad and Mom, You saw my first steps. You might want to experience this with me too." I taped the offending hair to the paper and mailed it. My father's response was in the form of a poem: It's a trustworthy observation That nothing can compare In the process of aging With finding the first gray hair. He signed off with this observation: "That gray hair you sent is not the first one you gave us!" Source: Pulpit Supply, mailto:PulpitSupply-subscribe@MyInJesus.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: No Matter What Your Age, Blood Pressure Matters Researchers conducted a 25-year study of 10,000 men between ages 18 and 39. Men with blood pressures well above the ideal 120/80 readings were 50 percent more likely to die from heart disease in later life. Young people often believe that they will never develop lifestyle diseases, such as heart disease. But early detection and prevention are important for longer, healthier lives. - Archives of Internal Medicine Source: Vibrant Life, http://www.vibrantlife.com/ Submitted by Nancy Simpson |