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WITandWISDOM(tm) - February 27, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "It really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on." - Author Unknown Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2004, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Many of us have heard the story about Abraham Lincoln. He was defeated seven times for elective office before winning the Presidency of the United States. He certainly defied the odds. And he did not give up. Then there was Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh earned all of $85 from his paintings during his lifetime. One hundred years after his death, just one painting alone, Dr. Bachet, sold for the incredible sum of $82.5 million. Then there was this itinerant, Middle Eastern preacher who lived some 2,000 years ago -- his ideas were definitely rejected by the people of his hometown, as well as the religious leaders of his time and country. Yet he continued his ministry as he understood it to be -- Devine Defiance? The point is clear. If Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, or Jesus of Nazareth had let rejection rule their lives, and let it keep them from doing and saying what they felt sure to be right -- our world would be incredibly impoverished today. By Rev. Dianne O'Connell, East Anchorage United Methodist Church http://www.acsalaska.net/~dao/Chaplaincy/Sermons/Defiance.html ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: I heard an alarm going off in this building, and since no one seemed to be around I decided to investigate it. I found the alarm and tried to shut it off but it wouldn't turn off with the on/off switch. So then I unplugged it, but the alarm kept sounding. Then I noticed a compartment for backup batter power and removed the batteries, but the darned alarm kept sounding. This is crazy, I thought to myself. Then I found a secret panel with an emergency on/off switch and turned that off, but the alarm still kept sounding. I was mad now, so I smashed the thing with a hammer. The alarm still kept sounding! When I finally woke up to the sound of my own alarm clock I'd overslept by more than an hour. That's kind of like the guy that dreamt he ate a five pound marshmallow only to find his pillow half devoured when he woke up. Source: Internet Tutor, http://www.gophercentral.com/sub/sub-tutor.html ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A bee flew into the bus and began buzzing menacingly against the window next to me and the man seated ahead of me. For several unnerving minutes I debated what I should do until my fellow passenger decided to dispatch the insect with the paperback book he'd been reading. After several unsuccessful swats, one blow hit its mark. "I'm glad you got it," I told the man. He smiled sheepishly as he showed me the title of the book he had used: 'Random Acts of Kindness'. Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: What Did President Hoover Do With His Salary? During his entire 47 years in government, Herbert Hoover turned over each of his Federal salary checks to charity. He had become independently wealthy before entering politics. Source: ArcaMax - Trivia, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44