WITandWISDOM(tm) - May 17, 2007
ISSN 1538-8794
~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS:
Every action you take is a seed you sow, and every seed you sow is a harvest you'll reap.
Submitted by Malladi Murthy in India
~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS:
An old Marine Corps buddy of mine, to my pleasant surprise, came to know Christ after he was discharged. I say surprise because he cursed loudly, fought hard, chased women, drank heavily, loved war and weapons, and hated chapel services.
A number of months ago, I ran into this fellow, and after we’d talked awhile, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You know, Chuck, the only thing I still miss is that old fellowship I used to have with all the guys down at the tavern. I remember how we used to sit around and let our hair down. I can’t find anything like that for Christians. I no longer have a place to admit my faults and talk about my battles--where somebody won’t preach at me and frown and quote me a verse."
It wasn’t one month later that in my reading I came across this profound paragraph:
"The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit that there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give his church.
It’s an imitation, dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality--but it is a permissive, accepting, and inclusive fellowship.
It is unshockable.
You can tell people secrets, and they usually don’t tell others or even want to.
The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved, and so many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.
With all my heart," this writer concludes, "I believe that Christ wants his church to be unshockable, a fellowship where people can come in and say, ’I’m sunk, I’m beat, I’ve had it.’ Alcoholics Anonymous has this quality--our churches too often miss it."
From: Lessons from a Tavern, Charles Swindoll, Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 1.]
Source: SermonCentral Weekly Newsletter,
http://www.sermoncentral.com/newsletter_subscribe.asp
~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT:
We had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.
Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.
Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.
We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.
And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.
Author Unknown
Submitted by Gina Weiland
~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING:
The young boy went into the barber with his mother. When the barber asked him what kind of a haircut he wanted he replied, "I want one just like dad with a little hole in the top where my head sticks out..."
~~~~~~~ TRIVIA:
PORT ANGELES, WASHINGTON (05-16-07) - The Crestwood Convalescent Center's Relay for Life team was looking for a way to support the cause.
The team settled on a goal of hooking thousands of bras together to stretch around the track at the Clallam County Fairgrounds on June 1 during this year's Relay For Life.
The team is requesting a $1 donation with each bra, which can be dropped by the center, 1117 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.
"We thought it would be an unusual thing to do," said Carrie Bunch, team chair.
The Bras and Bucks fundraiser will benefit cancer research.
The Relay for Life is a nationwide fundraiser which donates money to the American Cancer Society.
The 24-hour event, involves a variety of teams walking around tracks to raise money.
The Relay for Life of Clallam County will begin at 6 p.m.
A special bra drop and car wash is set from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at McDonald's, 1706 E. Front St., Port Angeles.
"If someone is too embarrassed to bring them up to us at the center, they can take them there, get their car washed and drop them off there," Bunch said.
So far, about 200 bras have been collected, in every size, material and color.
Team members are also adding pizzazz to some of the bras and making purses.
Folded in half, the cups make pouches of various sizes and colors.
For each purse, the team is asking a donation of at least $10.
"You can't buy a bra for that," Bunch said.
The bra idea came from LeeAnn Sterling, referral manager at Crestwood.
"We were coming up with some unique and creative ideas and wanted to throw them out there, no matter how 'brassier' they were," Sterling said.
The idea induces giggles and smiles from potential donors.
And that is the idea.
"When you're dealing with something like cancer that is so catastrophic, you have to have something like humor to deal with it," Sterling said.
Peninsula Daily News
http://tinyurl.com/2rde8s
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