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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 2, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Everything in the world may be endured except continual prosperity. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Not long ago a Christian radio station received an e-mail from a young man in a country in North Africa. AWR began broadcasts to his area in a local dialect of Arabic about a year ago, and Anouar wrote to tell us that he had become a Christian after listening to the radio programs. But it is illegal to be a Christian in his country, and his family was making life difficult. Anouar did not waver. "Please don't think that I'm sad for what happened," he wrote. "On the contrary I'm very happy because the Lord is with me. Every day I feel His hand on me and hear His voice. The message of Jesus Christ is my only nope. I nave sincerely trusted in His word, and I am following Him. I don't care what my family says to me. Please, pray for me." Days later Anouar wrote again. "I love Jesus Christ. I'm ready to die for Him. After my father tore up my Christian books, I read the Bible on my computer, but now I'm not allowed to use it. I'm obliged to borrow some money from my friends to go to the cyber cafe. "Yesterday two police officers came to our house and asked to meet me. One of them said, I think you were playing with this Christian thing, right? If you don't stop this game, we'll bury you alive. We'll consider you a terrorist. I think you know the result. In this case, prison will welcome you forever.' "I'm sure I'll be taken to prison soon, either this week or the next. I'm just writing to let you know. Please do not ask anyone to help me. I know that no one but the Lord can help me. Maybe this e-mail will be the last one." Source: Adventist Review, ISSN 0161-1119, (c) May 12, 2005, http://www.adventistreview.org/ Submitted by Mary Thayne ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Checking out of the grocery store, I noticed that the bag boy was eyeing my two adopted children curiously. They often draw scrutiny, since my son's a blond Russian, while my daughter has shiny black Haitian skin. The boy continued staring as he carried our groceries to the car. Finally, he asked, "Are those your kids?" "Yes, they are!" I answered proudly. "They adopted?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. "I thought so," he concluded. "I figured you're too old to have kids that small." Source: Cybersalt Digest, http://www.cybersalt.org/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My niece, pregnant with her second child, was certain she wanted an epidural for pain management during childbirth. Her doctor asked her at which stage of labor she wanted the epidural administered. Her response: "Just meet me in the parking lot!" Submitted by Michele ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: I have a platform bird feeder in the backyard that has a roof and a front rail. Two dark-eyed juncos were feeding there, when a European starling chased them out. When the juncos tried to eat, the starling pecked at them. Finally, one of the juncos perched on the roof while the other stood on the rail. Whenever the starling stuck its head out to chase the junco off the rail, the one on the roof pecked the larger bird on the head. The starling finally tired of this treatment and flew off, leaving the juncos to feed in peace. By Larry Gillerly, Tipp City, Ohio Source: Birds & Blooms, August / September 2004, http://www.birdsandblooms.com