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WITandWISDOM(tm) - June 6, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Without involvement, there is no commitment. Mark it down, asterisk it, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment." - Stephen Covey Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: The Weeping At Birkenau By Linda Gehrs It was hot, humid, and sticky — a terrible day to be out in the blistering sun, let alone at Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi death camp. I had been teaching English in the Czech Republic for two years and took the summer to work at an evangelistic camp there. The team of short-term missionaries and I needed some rest, so we went to Krakow, Poland. One day's agenda included a trip to Auschwitz. I had been there the year before, horrified by the tangible presence of evil. I had no desire to return ever again. But this trip was for our leaders, Americans who needed to see firsthand some of the history deeply ingrained into the mind-set of the people they wanted to reach for Christ. At Auschwitz we went to the massive work camp, Birkenau, just a mile away. My attitude grew bitter. I wondered, What could I possible need to see here again? I wandered listlessly in the heat, coming nearer to the gas chamber, unsure if I really wanted to see it. Only a few yards from the gas chamber, I stopped suddenly as I heard a sound. As I looked up, I saw the old, graying figure of a man. He was an Orthodox Jew, a rabbi, wearing his prayer shawl and yarmulke, and his beard fell down the middle of his chest. He seemed tall, but I could not tell for sure because he was keeling with his face on the ground. What I had heard was his weeping — not weeping, but moaning. His body racked by emotion, he would raise and lower his arms as he cried out in Hebrew. His sobs could be heard by many of us, and small groups of tourists gathered to look at him. I looked away, embarrassed to be so close to his grief, ashamed of my pitiful expression of emotion. Where did I have room to be angry? Before me was a man who had every right to grieve — the blood of his own people, likely his kin, had been shed on this spot. A new sense of loss came over me as I thought about how deep his suffering must be — a pain still fresh after fifty years. Suddenly, I had a picture of God's heart for his Son. For the first time I saw Birkenau not as a memorial to the evil acts of humanity but to the massive, terrible price God paid through the loss of his Son. I needed to hear the grief of Birkenau to remember my Father's cost when he let go of his only child. Source: The Daily Purpose, http://purposedrivenlife.com/devotional.asp Submitted by Dean Peters ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A distraught dog owner called a vet pleading for an immediate appointment. He explained that his dog had a large growth or swelling near the corner of its mouth that had appeared to grow overnight, so I told him to bring the animal over. When the man came in with his dog, the vet examined the animal as the man stood by, anxiously waiting the vet's opinion. At last the doctor turned to him and asked, "Do you have any children?" "Oh, good grief, is it contagious?" the man gasped. "No," the doctor answered. "It's bubble gum." Source: Monday Fodder mailto:dgaufaaa@iohk.com?subject=Subscribe_Monday_Fodder ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: I was teaching my 6-year-old daughter how to unbuckle her seat belt. She asked, "Do I click the square?" I said, "Yes." She asked me, "Single click or double click?" Source: Pulpit Supply, mailto:pulpit-supply-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Buenos Aires, Argentina An Argentinian women's magazine had to publish an apology after issuing advice which led more than 100 microwave ovens to explode. Claudia magazine said women could restore old bottles of nail varnish by putting them in a microwave oven for three minutes. But many of the women who tried it found the chemical reaction caused their microwave ovens to explode. The magazine received more than 100 complaints. Source: White Board News, http://www.joeha.com/whiteboard/ |