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WITandWISDOM(tm) - February 28, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same. - Carlos Castaneda Submitted by B. B. ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, the sport of canoe racing was added to the list of international competitions. The favorite team in the four-man canoe race was the United States team. One member of that team was a young man by the name of Bill Havens. As the time for the Olympics neared, it became clear that Bill's wife would give birth to their first child about the time that the US team would be competing in the Paris games. And so Bill found himself in a dilemma. Should he go to Paris and risk not being at his wife's side when their baby was born? Or should he withdraw from the team and remain with his family? Bill's wife insisted that he go to Paris. After all, competing in the Olympics was the culmination of a life-long dream. But Bill felt conflicted and, after much soul-searching, decided to withdraw from the competition and remain home where he could support his wife when the child arrived. As it turned out, the United States four-man canoe team won the gold medal in Paris. And Bill's wife was late in giving birth to their child. The birth was so late, in fact, that Bill could have competed in the event and returned home in time to be with her when she delivered. People said, "What a shame." But Bill said he had no regrets. For the rest of his life, he believed he had made the better decision. Bill Havens knew what was most important to him. There is an interesting sequel to the story. The child eventually born to Bill and his wife was a boy, whom they named Frank. Twenty-eight years later, in 1952, Bill received a cablegram from Frank. It was sent from Helsinki, Finland, where the 1952 Olympics were being held. The cablegram read: "Dad, I won. I'm bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born." Frank Havens had just won the gold medal for the United States in the canoe-racing event, a medal his father had dreamed of winning but never did. Like I said - no regrets. By Steve Goodier is the editor of The Life Support System, a motivational e-newsletter delivered daily to 85,000 subscribers in over 100 nations. His inspirational newsletter and books are available through his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com Source: Life Support System, mailto:LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: I grew up in a big family, six kids. Seven, if you count my dad. Man, he got all the attention, being the youngest. I will never understand why they cook on TV. I can't smell it, can't eat it, can't taste it. The end of the show they hold it up to the camera: "Well, here it is. You can't have any. Goodbye." Why do they have the back pain medicine on the bottom shelf at the pharmacy? I'm the intelligent, independent-type woman. In other words, a girl who can't get a man. I was in the bathroom and my son yelled through the door; "Dad, are you going to the bathroom?" I said, "Nope. I'm quilting the Charmin." ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A little boy never said a word for six years. One day his parents served him cocoa. From out of left field, the kid says, "This cocoa's no good." His parents began to celebrate. They said to him, "Why did you wait so long to talk?" He said, "Up till now, everything's been okay." Preaching Now, http://www.preaching.com/newsletter/subscribe.html ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: And the survey says . . . In the Jan. 20 edition of his Pastors Weekly Briefing newsletter, H.B. London wrote, "On Wednesday, I boarded United flight #1217 headed for San Jose, California. . . As I was sitting down and getting ready for the take-off, they announced that United Airlines would be conducting a passenger survey. To those who participated there was a chance you could be credited with as many as 60,000 air miles. I never win anything, but I decided I would go ahead and offer my opinion. "I'm telling you, they asked you everything! How did I like the seats? Was the aircraft clean? Did the flight attendants treat us nicely? Was the food up to par? What was it like when you checked in? Were the gate agents polite? Was the ticket fairly priced? Did the United employees look neatly dressed? And the questions that really caught my attention: Would you fly on United again? Would you recommend United to someone else? "Now I am sure you can see where I am going with this. What if, at least once a month, you put a survey into the hands of your church attendees and asked them to express their honest opinion about your church, the services and maybe even the content of your sermons? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I am not that secure. "Let's consider a few simple questions: Were you greeted and made to feel welcome when you arrived? Did the music point you to the preached Word or was it simply one song after another? Did the message have relevance? Did it apply? Were your children well cared for? Was the Lord's house honored with neatness and order? Did you feel the church service was performance-oriented or Christ-centered? And the big questions: Will you return? Would you invite someone else to attend with you? "I know churches are not airplanes, but sometimes it is good to know how your people are feeling. Don't you agree? 'Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed' (Proverbs. 15:22)." To subscribe to Pastors Weekly Briefing go to http://www.family.org/pastor/pwbeform.cfm Source: Preaching Now, http://www.preaching.com/newsletter/subscribe.html