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WITandWISDOM(tm) – October 15, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "The less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudices." - Clint Eastwood Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2007, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: In Psalm 23, the leader is a highly visible shepherd who performs the servant's work and then some. Sheep need a servant leader to find them food and water, bind their wounds, and even carry them when the going gets tough. Maggie Lena Walker was born during Reconstruction in 1867 when African American women often found themselves working as household servants. As a member of the first generation of African Americans born into freedom, Walker chose the path of the shepherd leader rather than the role of servant. At age thirty-two, the deeply religious Walker took over an ailing insurance company with $40 in the bank and debts of over $400 and transformed it into a highly successful enterprise with a $70,000 cash reserve and over 100,000 members, mostly minorities. Before she died in 1934, Walker founded a bank, a newspaper, and a department store-all catering to the African American community in Richmond, Virginia. Her bank provided financing for homes in the black community and loans for minority-owned businesses. A revolutionary accomplishment in her day, the department store was owned by black entrepreneurs, staffed by black employees, and catered to black consumers. As a shepherd leader, Walker visibly stepped out in front, found a better path, and met the needs of her followers, never being so far out in front that she could not come alongside. Maggie Lena Walker’s decisions and actions improved the quality of her followers' lives forever. Excerpted from Shepherd Leadership by Blaine McCormick and David Davenport, http://isbn.nu/9780787966331 Source: Leader Links, http://www.leaderlinks.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Heart Thoughts . . . When you meet someone with an icy smile, you can expect a few well-frozen words. Never look down on someone unless you're helping them up. Punctuality is a virtue, but only if combined with patience. The person who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears. The person who blows their horn the loudest is probably in the deepest fog. Whether circumstances makes one bitter or better depends entirely upon the I. A true friend laughs at your stories even when they're not so good, and sympathizes with your troubles even when they're not so bad. Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: If you want to stay young, associate with young people; if you want to feel your age, try to match their pace. Submitted by Diana ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A dog in China has adopted a piglet, nursing it as if it were her own puppy. Huihu, from Chongqing city, adopted the piglet after her five pups were stillborn. "She was very depressed for one week, then one night came home with a tiny black piglet following her," says owner, Lao Yi. Lao Yi says that ever since, Huihu has reared the piglet as if it were her own puppy, nursing her and taking her around. The two have become celebrities in the neighbourhood, attracting many visitors, according to the Chongqing Business Papers. Lao Yi says that over the course of one month, the piglet has already put on 2kg in weight, drinking only dog milk. See their picture here: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2497775.html Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com