Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) - February 10, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.- Suzanne Necker Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about - the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me. Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family. First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled and replied softly, "Me, too, Dad!" Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug. While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, at the sight of her returning father. He gently took the child from her mother, quickly kissed her and held her close to his chest. Next, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and preceded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. "I love you so much!" I realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me, and suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred. "Wow! How long have you two been married?" "Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those." he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" I asked the man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. "Two whole days!" Two days? I was stunned. "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!" The man suddenly stopped smiling. He told me, "Don't hope, friend... decide!" Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!" My friend came up to me and asked, "What'cha looking at?" Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future! © Copyright 1997 by Michael D. Hargrove Source: Chapnotes, mailto:ChapnotesMail@aol.com?Subject=Subscribe ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Still More Bulletin Bloopers Everyone is asked to bring a jar of peanut butter which will be forwarded to Potter’s House for distribution as part of the Food Baskets for greedy families during the month of June. The new parking area looks great. Thanks to the men who turned out Saturday to help with the groveling. A special thank you is extended to the members of the congregation who supported the dinner at the Community Outreach Center on Friday, May 11. Thank you for the generous amounts of food and to the shavers who came. We “raised the roof” both in monetary donations and excitement to help get started on our construction effort. Thank you to the over 100 people who filled the Community Center to help us with our destruction fund for the new fellowship hall. Remember our time, talents and our financial resources are all gifts from God. Stewardship of these gifts is important. Praise God from whom all blastings flow! Are you ready for this? Invite some neighbors and come along for the Vacation Bible School picnic! Please register so we will have enough food on the clipboard in the fellowship hall. Don’t forget the Promise Peepers planning meeting after the Wednesday evening service. From a newspaper ad Church Section.... In the bottom left corner of the page was an ad for the local Lutheran congregation that said “Sunday’s Sermon: Where can we find Jesus?” On the other side of the page in the bottom right corner was and ad for the local Presbyterian congregation that said, “Sunday’s Message: Jesus is with us always.” All items contributed by members of the Sermon Fodder List. Copyright 2002 by Keith Todd and the Sermon Fodder List. To get a regular dose of Christian humor and a modern-day parable just send an email to mailto:sermon_fodder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Please leave this attached if you forward to friends or post on the net. Source: Sermon Fodder, http://www.sermonfodder.com Submitted by Steve Stuebe ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My five-year-old son was alarmed when he heard a car horn honking enthusiastically. "People beep their horns after a couple is married," I explained. "Why?" he asked. "Is it a warning?" - Diane Wilson Source: The Reader's Digest, Copyright © October 2002, All rights reserved., http://www.readersdigest.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: BRNO, Czech Republic (UPI) -- Surgeons in the Czech Republic have successfully reattached an 11-year-old boy's nose that had been bitten off and swallowed by a dog. The unidentified boy was attacked by an Alsatian in the town of Lipova, and local doctors were quick to contact the veterinarian who was going to euthanize the animal. The doctors asked him to check the dog's stomach contents, and the nose was found intact, and not chewed, The Telegraph reported Tuesday. Concerned with infection, the medical team at St. Anna Hospital in Brno carefully sterilized it, and chief plastic surgeon, Dr. Jiri Vesely, used micro-surgery to reattach it. Vesely said after the 11-hour operation, the boy's sense of smell is not affected and he can breathe normally. Source: ArcaMax – Water Cooler Stories, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44