Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) – December 14, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain Submitted by Tony Whittaker ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: From Daily Encounter by Dick Innes "Samuel saw Eliab and thought 'surely the Lord's anointed [for king] stands here before the Lord.' But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" - Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV) Today's society places tremendous emphasis on physical appearance, not only for women, but also (even if to a lesser degree) for men. If, for example, two men of equal qualifications apply for the same job, the tallest man is most likely to be given the position. Because of his amazing courage in the Battle of Lodi in 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte became know as "The Little Corporal." He was only five-feet-two-inches tall! William Wilberforce was another small man who apparently never enjoyed good health. For twenty years he was under a doctor's care. More than any other person' he was responsible for stopping the British slave trade. He was known for his eloquence, and in 1780, he entered the British Parliament at age 21. Six years later he joined Thomas Clarkson, the anti-slave campaigner, and began his fight against slavery even though the bill to end the slave trade didn't become law until 1807--twenty-one years later. On one occasion James Boswell, the great Scottish author went to hear Wilberforce speak. Afterward he said, "I saw what seemed to be a mere shrimp ... but as I listened, he grew and grew till the shrimp became a whale." Often in life, many of the greatest achievements have been accomplished by persons who have had a serious setback, a major limitation or handicap, or a significant failure of one kind or another, but have overcome their defect and risen above their circumstances. If you feel you have a shortcoming, be encouraged, the people God uses are ordinary people who make themselves available. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you use ordinary people to accomplish your work on earth. I am available. Please use me to be a part of what you are doing in the world today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." - Start Your Day -- Monday to Friday... With an Inspirational and Uplifting E-mail Message by Subscribing to "Daily Encounter" By Dick Innes ... (Without Charge) *"Daily Encounter," a week-day inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 102,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional. You can see more samples and subscribe from: http://www.actsweb.org/daily_encounter.php ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: The Christmas Gifts Not Wanted The Duncan Yo -- Goes down, never comes back. Teaches children about warranties. 5,200 Pick Up -- a jumbo deck of cards that lets kids play a larger version of their favorite game. Supersoaker 9000: For use on those hard to reach targets; NFL referees, low flying planes, and many more. At close range it can strip paint, clean rusty grills, and dig utility trenches. The Laff-O-Minit Spellin' Tootor. Doggie Dentist -- Kids learn about dentistry on the family pooch. Cuisin-Art -- Turns mommy's food processor into a spinning paint tool. Pulpit Pieces Weekly, http://www.net153.com/best.htm ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Junk - stuff we throw away. Stuff - junk we keep. Submitted by Rani Andrew ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A man has been crowned the fastest human calculator after beating the world's toughest mental arithmetic record. Alexis Lemaire, a PhD student at Reims University, France worked out the 13th root of a random 200-digit number in his head in just 70.21 seconds. His answer of 2407899893032210 was the only accurate solution out of 393 trillion possible combinations. Alexis performed the calculations at London's Science Museum. He beat his own previous record of 72.4sec. According to The Sun Alexis said: "I'm very proud of my brain. There's nothing more exciting than being able to function like, or better than, a computer. I live to improve myself." Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com