Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) – November 19, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything. - Thomas A. Edison Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: “I was doing pretty well running my little shop in the Himalayas. The money was enough to keep my parents fed. But I knew I was missing something. Surely there was more to life than this. Yes, I looked forward to the day when I would marry and have children. But would they fill up the void in my life? “My name is Ram. My father is Nepali. I can read three languages, Hindi, Nepali, and English. And how I love to read! “For several years I studied the mystics, considered philosophies, and tried to understand the cosmos. One day I bought a Hindi book costing four rupees. I knew you couldn’t purchase the binding for that price. As I read, I discovered it to be the most valuable book in my library. “It told me how this world began. It was full of exciting stories. It described a God unlike any I had ever read about. I began to ask if anyone else had read this book. But it seemed that I was one of the few in our high mountain valley who could read. And no one else seemed to have read this book. “When I told my friends it was a Bible, they told me to stop reading it immediately. They said it was a book for foreigners, not Indians. They said that missionaries had sent the book to our town, but that these people could not be trusted because they did not respect our culture and would try to force people to change religions. “I was curious and decided to find out for myself if these things were true. I asked if there were any missionaries in our town and was told there were not. A few months later I saw some strangers walk past my store and asked one if he was a missionary. “’Yes, I am a missionary,’ he replied. That’s when I met pastor Ravi. I told him about my heart’s desire to know the truth about reality. He lived several miles away in another Himalayan valley. But he often came to see me. Over time our friendship developed as he became my teacher. “Soon I was sharing everything I learned with my family and neighbors as soon as my shop was closed each night. But I really wanted to spend every waking hour doing that. “Recently pastor Ravi has provided me with a small stipend so I could close my shop, and learn how to make disciples full time. A few months ago, he appointed me as the shepherd of Dr. Jesus’ disciples in Anu’s village not far away, where we are praying that a house of prayer will soon be built on the former devil priest’s property.” By John McGhee as told by Ram - Names have been changed to protect the Christians Submitted by Leora DeWitt ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A preacher was giving the children's message during church. For this part of the service, he would gather all the children around him and give a brief lesson before dismissing them for children's church. On this particular Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He started out by saying, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly. "This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)..." No hands went up. "And it is gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)..." The children were looking at each other, but still no hands raised. "And it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause)..." Finally one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The preacher breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I know the answer is Jesus, but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!" Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2007, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: While I was visiting my daughter one morning, my son-in-law was at the door, ready to leave for work. "Come on Grammy, line up!" my four-year-old granddaughter said. "It's hug-and-kiss time!" Submitted by Betsy ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Caltech Scientists Create Electronic Nose The Lewis Group a division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech have developed a working electric nose - basically an array of simple, readily fabricated chemically sensitive conducted polymer film. An array of broadly-cross reactive sensors respond to a variety of odors. However, the pattern of differential responses across the array produces a unique pattern for each odorant. The electronic nose can identify, classify and quantify when necessary the vapor or odor that poses a concern or threat. The electronic nose responds much like the mammalian olfactory sense produces diagnostic patterns and then transmits the information to the brain for processing and analysis. The range of uses for the electronic nose in a commercial setting is phenomenal. The electronic nose could provide a remote sensing device for oil and gas exploration, generators, electrical generators and any type of manufacturing setting where an odor or vapor may be the first signal of a malfunction. From: http://www.physorg.com/news112269287.html