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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 16, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: They always talk who never think. - Matthew Prior Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: One day, I decided to quit. I wanted to quit my job, to quit my relationships, to quit my spirituality; I even wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said, "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me. "Look around", He said, "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied. "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." "In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." "In the third year there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit." "In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. Still, I would not quit." "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge they could not handle," He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you! Don't compare yourself to others. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come," God said to me. "You will rise high." "How high should I rise?" I asked. "How high will the bamboo rise?", He asked in return. "As high as it can?", I questioned. "Yes", He said, "Give Me glory by rising as high as you can. And remember... I will never leave you, nor forsake you. I will never give up on you. I will never, ever quit on you." Submitted by Sharon Hamel ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Random Acts of Thinking Technology is invading everything these days. My alphabet soup has a spell-checker. Don't panic, but there has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know nothing about. My doctor told me there are now more than seventy million people who are overweight. These are, of course, round figures. Over the last two years, I've quadrupled my net worth. Sadly, four times nothing is still nothing. Success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Failure is where they meet and can't stand each other. Fish swim in schools. I wonder what subjects they study? I bet some of them take debate. Did I tell you about the time Wisconsin held a contest to come up with a new state slogan? One angry woman who was sick and tired of all the tourists suggested, "Smell Our Dairy Air!" Source: Molly's Quotes of the Day, mailto:molly.rhea@gmail.com?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Bike For Sale Suzuki 1000. This bike is perfect! It has 1000 miles and has had its 500 mile dealer service. (Expensive) It's been adult ridden and all wheels have always been on the ground. I used it as a cruiser/commuter. I'm selling it because it was purchased without proper consent of my loving wife. Apparently, "Do whatever you want!" doesn't mean what I thought. Ask for Steve. Source: Chapnotes, mailto:xanmansa@chapnotes.org?Subject=Subscribe ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Daniel Webster was a good judge of preachers and of preaching. He once said, “Many ministers take their texts from Paul and preach from the newspapers. When they do, I prefer to enjoy my own thoughts rather than to listen. If they would preach more to individuals and less to the crowds, there would not be so much complaint of the decline of true religion.” Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) January 27, 1881, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com