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WITandWISDOM(tm) - July 18, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Beware of small expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship. - Benjamin Franklin Source: Carol's Thought for Today, http://users.adelphia.net/~mrs.carol ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: A large prosperous downtown church had three mission churches under its care that it had started. On the first Sunday of the New Year all the members of the mission churches came to the city church for a combined Communion service. In those mission churches, which were located in the slums of the city, were some outstanding cases of conversions--thieves, burglars, and so on--but all knelt side by side at the Communion rail. On one such occasion the pastor saw a former burglar kneeling beside a judge of the Supreme Court of England--the judge who had sent him to jail where he had served seven years. After his release this burglar had been converted and become a Christian worker. Yet, as they knelt there, the judge and the former convict, neither one seemed to be aware of the other. After the service, the judge was walking home with the pastor and said to the pastor, "Did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the Communion rail this morning?" The pastor replied, "Yes, but I didn't know that you noticed." The two walked along in silence for a few more moments, and then the judge said, "What a miracle of grace." The pastor nodded in agreement. "Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace." Then the judge said "But to whom do you refer?" And the pastor said, "Why, to the conversion of that convict." The judge said, "But I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself" The pastor, surprised, replied, "You were thinking of yourself? I don't understand." "Yes," the judge replied, "it did not cost that burglar much to get converted when he came out of jail. He had nothing but a history of crime behind him, and when he saw Jesus as his Savior he knew there was salvation and hope and joy for him. And he knew how much he needed that help. But look at me. I was taught from earliest infancy to live as a gentleman; that my word was to be my bond; that I was to say my prayers, go to church, take Communion and so on. I went through Oxford, took my degrees, was called to the bar and eventually became a judge. Pastor, nothing but the grace of God could have caused me to admit that I was a sinner on a level with that burglar. It took much more grace to forgive me for all my pride and self-deception, to get me to admit that I was no better in the eyes of God than that convict that I had sent to prison. By James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 257. http://isbn.nu/0842315691 Source: A Dose of Inspiration, http://www.quietstones.com/mydailydose ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A couple who were born on the same maternity ward within hours are getting married. Laura Keeping and Daniel Harman were born on the same unit 21 years ago reports The Sun. Their mothers Julie and Susan became friends at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth and even joked that their children would end up together. The parents stayed friends but Daniel and Laura did not meet properly until they were 18. They started dating a year later after finding out they were both at the same college. Daniel proposed last year. Daniel said: "When I looked in a book of memories my mum kept from when I was born, one of the first people to write in it was Laura's mum. It's really bizarre. Everyone says it must be destiny." The couple will marry in September. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My four-year-old likes to say the blessing at mealtimes, usually repeating the same short prayer: "Thank you, God, for this gracious food. Amen." One evening, however, he thanked the Lord for the birds, the trees, each of his friends, and asked God to watch over his family and help them to be good. I was thrilled that he was finally praying from the heart. But after the "Amen," he took a spoonful of stew, gasped, then dropped his spoon into the bowl. "I should have said a longer prayer," he said. "My food is still too hot Source: Top Greetings ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Froogle It Go to the Google homepage, click on Froogle and enter the name of a product you wish to find shopping info on. http://froogle.google.com/frghp?hl=en&tab=gf&q= Source: The Pocket Newsletter, Copyright ©1996-2005, All Rights Reserved, http://thepocket.com