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WITandWISDOM(tm) - April 17, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again." – Abraham Maslow Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2004, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: James Cash Penney Part 2 of 2 [April 16, 17] When the Great Depression struck the country, it came at a time of great financial vulnerability for Penney. While his stores continued to do well, Penney had been adding outside interests, and these were proving to be extremely costly. In order to finance these interests, Penney borrowed heavily. In addition, Penney was becoming a major philanthropist, giving generously to organizations and individuals. The Depression prompted banks to request repayment of his loans sooner than anticipated. Suddenly cash flow was tight, and Penney was finding it difficult to meet payment schedules. Constant and unrelenting worry began to take a toll. "I was so harassed with worries that I couldn't sleep, and developed an extremely painful ailment," he said. Concerned about his deteriorating health, Penney checked himself into the Kellogg sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michigan, the Mayo Clinic of its era. There, Dr. Elmer Eggleston, a staff physician, examined Penney, declaring that he was extremely ill. "A rigid treatment was prescribed, but nothing helped," Penney recalled. He was attacked by the twin demons of hopelessness and despair. His very will to live was rapidly eroding. "I got weaker day by day. I was broken nervously and physically, filled with despair, unable to see even a ray of hope. I had nothing to live for, I felt that I hadn't a friend left in the world, that even my family had turned against me." Alarmed by his rapidly deteriorating condition, Dr. Eggleston gave Penney a sedative. However, the effect quickly wore off, and Penney awakened with the conviction that he was living the last night of his life. "Getting out of bed, I wrote farewell letters to my wife and to my son, saying that I did not expect to live to see the dawn." Penney awakened the next morning, surprised to find himself alive. Making his way down the hallway of the hospital, he could hear singing coming from the little chapel where devotional exercises were held each morning. The words of the hymn he heard being sung spoke deeply to his condition. Going into the chapel, he listened with a weary heart to the singing, the reading of the Scripture lesson, and the prayer. "Suddenly something happened," he recalled. "I can't explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into a warm, brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to Paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before." In a life-transforming instant Penney knew that God, with His love, was there to help. "From that day to this, my life has been free from worry," he declared. "The most dramatic and glorious 20 minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning." The words from the hymn that spoke so eloquently and miraculously to J. C. Penney were "God will take care of you." God Will Take Care of You Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you; Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, Through every day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you. Source: The Daily Encourager, mailto:The_Daily_Encourager-subscribe@MyInJesus.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Chickens appear healthier and happier and lay more eggs when farmers play music to them, the British researcher Bryan Jones told an international poultry farmer's gathering in Atlanta. After surveying more than one hundred poultry farmers at a British pig and poultry fair, Jones said that 45 percent of the farmers routinely played music to their birds. Ninety percent said that birds dosed with music were calmer, 52 percent said they were less aggressive, 20 percent reported the overall health of the flock had improved, and 16 percent claimed increased egg production. "We asked the farmers whether some types of music were better than others. They indicated that heavy metal was the worst, but chickens didn't like opera or jazz either." From "The Houston Chronicle" http://www.chron.com/ Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2004, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale." - Arthur C. Clarke Submitted by Quirk ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Where did the phrase "Jump On The Bandwagon" come from? Literally, a bandwagon is a wagon that carries the band in a parade, circus or other entertainment. The phrase 'jump on the bandwagon' was first used in American Politics in 1848 as a result of Dan Rice, 'President Lincoln's Court Jester. Campaigning for Zachary Taylor, Dan Rice, a professional circus clown, used his bandwagon for Taylor's appearances, gaining attention by way of the music. As Taylor's campaign became more successful, more politicians strove for a seat on the bandwagon, hoping to be associated with the success. Later, during the time of William Jennings Bryan's 1900 presidential campaign, bandwagons had become a standard fixture of campaigns, and 'jump on the bandwagon' was used as a derogatory term, implying that people were associating themselves with the success without considering what they associated themselves with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwagon_effect