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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 22, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. - Albert Camus Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: An old Christian was the elder of a small church in a small village in India. On a particular week, a visiting minister had been invited to speak, but when the time came to begin the service, only six people were present— and the elder was not among them. The pastor apologized to the visiting minister. He explained that the elder was always present, and he was sure that he would come shortly. However, time passed, and the elder did not arrive. The service began, and finally the visiting minister began to speak. Still, the elder had not arrived. Toward the end of the service, the old elder finally walked through the church door. His clothes were worn and a bit tattered, and the minister could tell that he was very poor in this world's goods. After the service was over, the apologetic elder explained the reason for his tardiness. He had planned to be on time, but as he was preparing to leave, he realized that he did not have an offering to bring to church, and he did not want to come to worship God empty-handed. As he was pondering what he might give, he noticed a hen in his yard. He knew she would lay an egg, and he decided to wait and bring that as an offering to God. Unfortunately, the hen did not lay her egg on the elder's schedule. He waited and waited and waited. Finally, the hen left the nest, and in it was an egg. The elder picked it up and hurried to church. With his explanation completed, he held out his hand to the pastor, and in his palm lay his offering— the egg. One day Jesus saw a poor widow cast two small coins into the temple treasury. He told the disciples that she had given more than all the wealthy people because she had given everything she had. By Justus Devadas, President of Spicer Memorial College in India. Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) September 2005, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Gender Benders The Washington Post readers were asked to assign a gender to a noun of their choice and explain their reason: Ziploc bags— male, because they hold everything in, but you can always see right through them. Kidneys—female, because they always go to the bathroom in pairs. Hot-air balloon—male, because to get it to go anywhere you have to light a fire under it. Swiss Army knife—male, because even though it appears useful for a wide variety of work, it spends most of its time just opening bottles. Department store—female, because it has more than three pairs of shoes. Source: The Reader's Digest, Copyright © October 2002, All rights reserved., http://www.readersdigest.com/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "Some people have all the commitment of a kamikaze pilot on his tenth mission." - Lou Holtz Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2004, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.htm ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: They're Dead, But They're Still Rakin' In Dough Elvis Presley tops the annual Forbes list of celebrities who are the top moneymakers after they have died. Singer Elvis Presley, who died in 1977, made an estimated $45 million in the past year. Cartoonist Charles Schulz (2000) is next on the list with $35 million. Musician John Lennon (1980), raked in $22 million. Artist Andy Warhol's (1987) take was $16 million. Cat in the Hat author Dr. Seuss (1991) made $10 million. Actor Marion Brando (2004) with $9 million. Actress Marilyn Monroe (1962) with $8 million. Source: Peninsula Daily News, October 28, 2005, http://peninsuladailynews.com