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WITandWISDOM(tm) - March 30, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business. - Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948 Submitted by Malladi Murthy in India ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: A Parable Of A Child There is a difference between education and experience. Education is what you get from reading the small print. Experience is what you get from not reading it! But isn't it true that great learning comes from both education and experience? Let me tell you a parable: A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said, "You will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader. How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence, grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity, be open-minded, yet strong in character? In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of the world's truly GREAT leaders?" The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before -- any ONE of his present or future students could be the person described in his dream. Was he preparing them to rise to ANY POSITION to which they may aspire? He thought, 'How might my teaching change if I KNEW that one of my students were this person?' He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind. This student would need experience as well as instruction. She would need to know how to solve problems of various kinds. She would need to grow in character as well as knowledge. She would need self-assurance as well as the ability to listen well and work with others. She would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future. She would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind. She would need to grow in understanding of others and become a student of the spirit. She would need to set high standards for herself and learn self discipline, yet she would also need love and encouragement, that she might be filled with love and goodness. His teaching changed. Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him, a future world leader. He saw each one, not as they were, but as they could be. He expected the best from his students, yet tempered it with compassion. He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction. After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence. He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream. Only she was not one of his students, but rather his daughter. For of all the various teachers in her life, her father was the best. I've heard it said that "Children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see." But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher. It is a parable about you and me -- whether or not we are parents or even teachers. 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: Choir Tardiness Test In order to measure your level of proficiency as a choir member, the following test has been carefully developed by experts. Read and reflect on each situation and then select the option that will enhance the quality of the performance. 1. You are entering the choir loft on Sunday morning and suddenly trip and fall down. You should: a. Assume a kneeling position and break into fervent prayer. b. Pretend that you've had a heart attack. c. Crawl into the nearest chair. d. Begin speaking in tongues. 2. You are a soprano and count incorrectly. As a result you boom out a high "C" one measure too soon. You should: a. Slide into an inspired "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." b. Look triumphant and hold on to the note. c. Stop abruptly in mid squawk but keep your lips moving. d. Sink to the floor in shame. 3. After all those long hard choir rehearsals, you show up twenty minutes late for the Christmas musical. You should: a. Climb into the back row of the choir from the baptistery. b. Enter pretending to be a soundman checking cables and then suddenly slip yourself into the choir. c. Turn the lights out in the church and slip into the choir during the blackout. d. Read M. Stephen's pamphlet "Techniques for Tardy Appearances." 4. While singing, you discover you have only one page of a two page hymn. You should: a. Hum for your life. b. Sing "watermelon, watermelon, watermelon." c. Try to get another hymnal out of the choir rack with your feet. d. Sing the first page over again. 5. Inevitably that dreaded big sneeze occurs toward the end of the choir special. You should: a. As you sneeze, come down hard on your neighbor's foot to create a diversion. b. Try to make it harmonize. c. Sneeze into the hair of the choir member in front of you to muffle the noise. d. Sink to the floor in shame. Count the number of A's, B's, C's, and D's you checked and find your proficiency rating below: 4 or more A's...there is nothing more you need to know to be a first rate choir member. 4 or more B's...your church choir reflexes are fully developed and you should do well in choir. 4 or more C's...your church choral experience is spotty but your team spirit is on target. You will be an asset to most any choir. 4 or more D's...it is recommended you take soccer or group therapy counseling. From the Church Growth Ideas list. Mailto:churchgrowthideas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Source: A Joke a Day http://www.topica.com/lists/ajokeaday7 ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: One night my husband, a retired Army colonel, was watching a program on TV about paratroopers. As one D-Day jumper began to comment, Lee exclaimed, "That's Jack Norton! I served in both Korea and Vietnam with him." Then, after watching the man speak for a few moments, he quietly remarked... "You know you're getting old when you have more friends on the History Channel than in the news." Submitted by B. B. ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A beauty pageant for pensioners - entitled Miss Retirement Home - has been launched in Switzerland. Organiser Laurent Rerat came up with the idea as a protest against the popular obsession with youth. The only criteria to enter was that the candidate could walk without an aid, had to be aged over 70, and lived alone. It was won by Leontine Vallade, from Geneva, who succeeded against nine other candidates from five nursing homes. Vallade refused to reveal her age when asked by journalists, but had to prove she was over 70 to qualify. She convinced the jury with "her smile and her charm". Vallade won a dinner in a luxury restaurant. Mr Rerat is now planning a Mr Retirement Home. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com