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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 28, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing better than they have ever done before. - Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962), Novelist and poet Source: DailyInBox Presents, http://dailyinbox.com ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: From early childhood, my mother would agree that I was one of the most timid people you'd ever meet. I was terrified to speak. Outside of family (my comfort zone), I often never spoke. Hiding behind my husband's coat tail for a number of years, (he was good at socializing) I just tagged along. Were it not for him, I'd have never gone in the first place. Having him around took a lot of pressure off me. If I thought of a few lines, fine. But, otherwise, I could enjoy following as he mingled among the people, with maybe an occasional smile or two. Having had the opportunity of first hand observance of some of the most wonderfully gifted encouragers in the world, and the effect they had to lift up people, one day God said, "Now, it's your turn." I couldn't speak! I'd already promised God I'd go where He'd send me, "But, God, you know I can't speak!!!" It isn't that I refused to go. I truly wanted to keep my word to God. But, if I walked up to someone my brain would go dead. Words seemed to vanish. "God, you know that!" God responded, "Well... could you say that you like their tie?" I paused, then responded, "It might kill me, but I 'can' say that." After working up some courage, I walked up to the person God directed me to and said energetically, "I really like that tie!" The guy seemed both startled and surprised, as if no one had ever given him a compliment. He gave a big smile, but 'thank you' seemed to be the only thing he could figure out to say (as if he'd never had opportunity to say it before). Shew! I was glad that was over. God showed me a lady, wearing a red dress. Passing in a church crowd, I made mention of how nice that color looked on her. Her face lit up and her mouth flew open. But, no words followed. It was as if no one had ever noticed before. She was both pleased and speechless. But, moving on through the crowd, it didn't leave time for her to feel pressured to respond. Though just for a brief moment, it felt good to have made a difference. Then God said, "See that lady over there? Go say something nice to her." 'Something nice' means I'd have to figure out what the compliment is. I looked and saw she was wearing a pretty broach. I had the first line, but she filled in all the rest. It's just amazing how people's faces would light up when someone acknowledged their presence. All I had to do was speak first, then we'd find amazing things to discuss. Oh, man. This was so cool! Just say something to the person in need that God shows you and stand back and see what He does with it. (Faithful is He who called you, who also will do it.) Hey! God's Word works!!!! And sometimes, all they need is someone to care that they came. I was getting pretty good at this. Man this was a breeze! Just about that time God upped the ante. "Now, I want you to go say something spiritual." Oh, no! Of all things, this would be harder. "Bubububut, God, you didn't tell me what to say!" "Observe," He said. "Find something nice to say about their ministry." Every time I'd get comfortable, God would say, "Let's learn something else." Again, God sent me with a message to another lady, before church was to start. This one wasn't even a really big deal. It was just something she needed to be informed of. But, she had a crowd gathered as she stood gabbing about the weather. I waited patiently for at least 10 minutes and it was almost time for church to start, still not having gotten her attention. I asked God what I was supposed to do. He said, "Remember the touch? Now it's your turn. Reach up and ever so gently place your hand upon her shoulder, then wait for her response." The lady finished her sentence, turned around and spoke to me in such a spirit I think my knees almost melted. She ministered to me in such a miraculous way, I was in awe. Her speech instantly moved from insignificant to spiritual. It was so wonderful that I turned to see if anyone else had seen it. I almost said out loud, "Did you see what God just did!?!" But, they didn't see. The crowd had vanished. They'd missed a blessed opportunity to witness the Power of a Touch. I never was able to be an encourager in the same way that others were. But, God didn't call me to be someone else. And with each new step, I learned something wonderful about God. God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called. — 1Co. 1:27-31 Listen To God’s Prompting & Take "Baby Steps" By Joyce C. Lock © Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, and columnist. Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other. In addition, she founded and maintains the email ministries "Heavenly Inspirations" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HeavenlyInspirations/ Source: Sir Froggie's Positive News Network, http://www.sfpnn.com/ ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: 'Out Of Office' E-Mail Auto Replies I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless e-mails you send me until I return from vacation on 01/05. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received. Thank you for your e-mail. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks. Hi. I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response. Hi! I'm busy negotiating the salary for my new job. Don't bother to leave me any messages. I've run away to join a different circus. Submitted by Sassy ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The first graders were attending their first music lesson. The teacher was trying to begin at the beginning. She drew a musical staff on the blackboard and asked a little girl to come up and write a note on it. The little girl went to the blackboard, looked thoughtful for a minute and wrote, "Dear Aunt Emma, just a short note to tell you I'm fine." Submitted by B.B. ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A local church asked members to donate money for a new building. The building committee made one stipulation: no plaques or recognition of any kind would be placed in the building to honor the givers. The response was mediocre at best. When the committee withdrew their requirement and allowed for a memorial registry with a listing of donors, the building was easily subscribed. What had changed? At first, the building committee was appealing solely to people's charity and generosity. Later, they offered an appeal to their egos, and the egos won. :o( Michael Duduit, The Abingdon Preaching Annual 1999, Nashville: Abingdon, 1998, 349. Source: Illustrations, http://www.cybersaltlists.org