Illustrations, humor, poetry and quotations vol 10

ILLUSTRATIO S, HUMOR, POETRY A D
QUOTATIO S VOL 10
COMPILED A D EDITED BY GLE PEASE
A
ACTIO
Action may not always bring happiness;
but there is no happiness without action.
Benjamin Disraeli
(this quotation is also attributed to William James)
I do the very best I know how--the very best I can; and I mean to keep
doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said
against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten
angels swearing I was right would make no difference. Abraham Lincoln
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
John Wesley
Young people say, What is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see
that they must lay one brick at a time; we can be responsible only for
the one action at the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of
love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual
actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus
multiplied the loaves and fishes.
Dorothy Day
The best portion of a good man's life,-- His little nameless,
unremembered acts Of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth
No one can write his real religious life with pen or pencil. It is
written only in actions, and its seal is our character, not our
orthodoxy. Whether we, our neighbor, or God is the judge, absolutely the
only value of our religious life to ourselves or to anyone is what it
fits us for and enables us to do.
Wilfred T. Grenfell

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit
there.
Will Rogers
We must not hope to be mowers,
And to gather the ripe old ears,
Unless we have first been sowers
And watered the furrows with tears.
It is not just as we take it,
This mystical world of ours,
Life's field will yield as we make it
A harvest of thorns or of flowers.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I have never been bored an hour in my life. I get up every morning
wondering what new strange glamorous thing is going to happen and it
happens at fairly regular intervals. Lady Luck has been good to me and I
fancy she has been good to everyone. Only some people are dour, and when
she gives them the come hither with her eyes, they look down or turn
away and lift an eyebrow. But me, I give her the wink and away we go.
William Allen White
The main thing is to be honest with yourself, know and recognize your
limits and attain maximum achievement within them. I would for example
get more satisfaction from climbing Snowdon, which I know I could, than
from attempting Everest, which I couldn't.
Stirling Moss
Every successful business in the world is in existence because its
founder recognized in a problem or need an opportunity to be of service
to others. Every problem or need in your life is in reality an
opportunity to call forth inner resources of wisdom, love, strength, and
ability.
J. Sig Paulson
We are like people on a moving sidewalk which is going the wrong way.
If we stand still, our goal recedes. If we walk at an easy pace we
barely keep from slipping back. Only through extra effort can we win
real gains.
Harry K. Wolfe
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it
seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up
then, for that is just the place and the time that the tide will turn.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Say well is good, but do well is better;
Do well seems the spirit, say well the letter;
Say well is Godly and helps to please,
But do well is Godly and gives the world ease.
Anon.
There is a tendency among many shallow thinkers of our day to teach that
every human act is a reflex, over which we do not exercise human
control. They would rate a generous deed as no more praiseworthy than a
wink, a crime as no more voluntary than a sneeze. . . Such a philosophy
undercuts all human dignity. . . All of us have the power of choice in
action at every moment of our lives.

Fulton J. Sheen
ADVERSITY
1. Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time
seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can
say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this
world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been
through affliction and not through happiness. Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade,
July, 1990
2. C.S. Lewis likened God's use of adversity to walking a dog. If the
dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running
forward, he will only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the
owner are after the same end, forward motion, but the owner must
resist the dog by pulling him opposite the direction he wants to go.
The master, sharing the same intention but understanding better than
the dog where he really wants to go, takes an action precisely
opposite to that of the dog's will. It is in this way that God uses
adversity.
See: reference{Isa 30:20}{Isaiah 30:20}; reference{Rom
5:3-5}{Romans 5:3-5}: reference{1 Pet 1:6-7}{1 Peter 1:6-7}
3.ADVERSITY PARADOX
"Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession
pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it."
- William Hazlitt
"The good things of prosperity are to be wished; but the good things
that belong to adversity are to be admired."
- Seneca
"No man is more unhappy than the one who is never in adversity; the
greatest affliction of life is never to be afflicted."
- Anonymous
"Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."
- Victor Hugo
/mAdversity
/sBetter Than Prosperity
The sun and the wind were arguing who's power was greatest the wind
proposed this test "See the man walking on that road the one who can
take his cloak shall be determined most powerful." Since the wind
devised the test he chose to go first. He blew very hard but for all
his bluster the man only cluched the cloak the tighter. The sun was
now offered his chance. The sun smilled down on the man and soon he
began to grow warm by and by the man removed his cloak and sat down on
a log to enjoy the sun. When the man arose he forgot that he had
left his cloak lying on the log and happily continued on his way.
Moral: Adversity makes one more determined to hold to what protection
he has while prosperity can easily loosen his grip.

Adversity
adversity 2 <adversity2.html>
Never forget that God tests his real friends more severely than the
lukewarm ones.
Kathryn Hulme
It is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has
meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between
success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom;
indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of
problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is through the pain
of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.
M. Scott Peck
Adversity, if for no other reason, is of benefit, since it is sure to
bring a season of sober reflection. Men see clearer at such times.
Storms purify the atmosphere.
Henry Ward Beecher
You can think about your problems or you can worry about them, and there
is a vast difference between the two. Worry is thinking that has turned
toxic. It is jarring music that goes round and round and never comes to
either climax or conclusion. Thinking works its way through problems to
conclusions and decisions; worry leaves you in a state of tensely
suspended animation. When you worry, you go over the same ground
endlessly and come out the same place you started. Thinking makes
progress from one place to another; worry remains static. The problem of
life is to change worry into thinking and anxiety into creative action.
Harold B. Walker
Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp
them by the blade or the handle.
James Russell Lowell
I walked slowly out on the beach. A few yards below high-water mark I
stopped and read the words again:
WRITE YOUR WORRIES ON THE SAND.
I let the paper blow away, reached down and picked up a fragment of
shell. Kneeling there under the vault of the sky, I wrote several words,
one above the other.
Then I walked away, and I did not look back. I had written my troubles
on the sand.
The tide was coming in.
Arthur Gordon
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venemous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt in public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.
I would not change it.
William Shakespeare
Certain circumstances are so overwhelmingly difficult that the best we
can do to promote our eventual healing is simply to mark time, stay
alive, and bear up under the worst of our suffering. . . .
Ann Kaiser Stearns

We do not succeed in changing things according to our desire, but
gradually our desire changes. The situation that we hoped to change
because it was intolerable becomes unimportant. We have not managed to
surmount the obstacle, as we were absolutely determined to do, but life
has taken us round it, led us past it, and then if we turn round to gaze
at the remote past, we can barely catch sight of it, so imperceptible
has it become.
Marcel Proust
Only in winter can you tell which trees are
truly green. Only when the winds of adversity blow can you tell whether
an individual or a country has steadfastness.
John F. Kennedy
A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since
it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his
potentialities. Charles DeGaulle
The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and
tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master
calls a butterfly.
Richard Bach
We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in
the world.
Helen Keller
I am an old man and have known
a great many troubles, but most
of them have never happened.
Mark Twain
Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear.
Marcus Aurelius
Topic: Adversity
Subtopic: Blessings
in Disguise
Title: Successful People and Suffering
In a famous study by Victor and Mildred Goertzel, entitled Cradles of
Eminence, the home backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were
investigated. These 300 subjects had made it to the top. They were men
and women whose names everyone would recognize as brilliant in their
fields, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill,
Albert Schweitzer, Clara Barton, Gandhi, Einstein, and Freud. The
intensive investigation into their early home lives yielded some
surprising findings:
* Three fourths of the children were troubled either by poverty, by a
broken home, or by rejecting, overpossessive, or dominating parents.
* Seventy-four of 85 writers of fiction or drama and 16 of the 20 poets
came from homes where, as children, they saw tense psychological drama
played out by their parents.
* Physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs
characterized over one-fourth of the sample.

How did these people go on, then, to such outstanding accomplishments?
Most likely by compensation. They compensated for their weaknesses in
one area by excelling in another.
See: 2 Cor 12:7-10
Title: The Soap that Floats
There is a well-known brand of soap that has two uncommon qualities.
It's known as "the soap which floats" and is the oldest of the best-
sellers. But it wasn't always that way.
Years ago this soap was just another brand among many. Then a factory
foreman blundered by leaving a batch of new soap unwatched in the
cooking vat during noon hour. His lunch was delayed and the soap
overcooked.
Rather than report the mistake and run the risk of dismissal, the
foreman decided to make the best of it. He shipped out this new batch
anyway. It seemed to clean just as well -- although now much lighter.
The results surprised everyone. Rather than complaints the company was
deluged with orders for this floating soap. The foreman was not fired
but promoted when he cooperated with company chemists to revise and
modify the old formula for "the soap that floats."
Blessings sometimes come from blunders. It's often possible to make
something better out of something bad.
That's the way God works with us. We don't often do right the first
time, but He's always ready to salvage the situation no matter how bad
we make it. (Rom 8:28)
Title: Burdens that are Blessings
An old legend says that at creation the birds felt cheated and hurt
because they received wings. Wings appeared to be burdens which none of
the other animals were asked to carry. All was changed, however, when
the birds learned that wings were not burdens but blessings that borne
them to the sky. Because they were given wings they could rise above the
earth and see sights which no other animal could see. What seemed like
burdens were really blessings.
See: Gen 1:21; Psa 55:6
Title: Hurricanes
I had always thought of hurricanes as something mankind could do
without. But recently I learned that they are necessary to maintain a
balance in nature. These tropical storms, with winds up to 150 miles an
hour and accompanied by torrential rains, glaring lightning, and
rumbling thunder, can be devastating. Yet scientists tell us they are
tremendously valuable. They dissipate a large percentage of the
oppressive heat which builds up at the equator, and they are indirectly
responsible for much of the rainfall in North and South America.
Meteorologists therefore no longer use cloud-seeding techniques to
prevent them from being formed. They are convinced that hurricanes
actually do more good than harm.
The Bible teaches us that the afflictions of God's people are like that.
Though they bring temporary pain and grief, they can produce eternal
dividends. (Psalm 119:75)
See: Eccl 1:6; 2 Cor 4:17

Title: Treasure in the Tragedy
A Christian man lost his home and mill when a flood washed them away. He
was broken-hearted and discouraged as he stood surveying his loss. Just
then he saw a glittering object that had been uncovered by the waters.
It was gold! The disaster he thought had made him a beggar had actually
made him wealthy. So, too, the Lord often works through our troubles to
strip away certain cherished possessions to show us the better treasures
of His love and power. How thankful we should be that in every storm of
affliction we have the assurance that the Lord has a good purpose in
view!
See: Jer 29:11; Rom 8:28; Phil 3:7-8
Title: Norman Vincent Peale's Advice On Problems
...
A problem is a concentrated opportunity. The only people I have ever
known to have no problems are in the cemetery. The more problems you
have, the more alive you are. Every problem contains the seeds of its
own solution. I often say, when the Lord wants to give you the greatest
value in this world, He doesn't wrap it in a sophisticated package and
hand it to you on a silver platter. He is too subtle, too adroit, for
that. He takes this big value and buries it at the heart of a big, tough
problem. How He must watch with delight when you've got what it takes to
break that problem apart and find at its heart what the Bible calls,
"the pearl of great price." Everybody I've ever known who succeeded in a
big way in life has done so by breaking problems apart and finding the
value that was there.
-- Personal Selling Power, 12/92.
See: Phil 1:12-14; Jam 1:2-4
Title: Fanny Crosby
The famous blind songwriter Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 songs.
This fact and other interesting highlights in the life of Miss Crosby
were revealed by Warren Wiersbe in his book Victorious Christian.
Wiersbe explained that when Fanny was only 6 weeks old a minor eye
inflammation developed. The doctor who treated the case was careless,
though, and she became totally and permanently blind.
Fanny Crosby harbored no bitterness against the physician, however. In
fact, she once said of him, "If I could meet him now, I would say thank
you, over and over again for making me blind." She felt that her
blindness was a gift from God to help her write the hymns that flowed
from her pen. According to those who knew her, Miss Crosby probably
would have refused treatment even if it could have assured the
restoration of her sight.
Wiersbe concluded by commenting: "It was said of another blind
hymnwriter, George Matheson, that God made him blind so he could see
clearly in other ways and become a guide to men. This same tribute could
be applied to Fanny Crosby, who triumphed over her handicap and used it
to the glory of God." Yes, this talented woman allowed her tragedy to
make her better instead of bitter.
See: Isa 42:16; John 9:39; Rom 8:28

Title: Accepting humbly
Early in my ministry, I met a man named Worral. He had been stricken
with rheumatoid arthritis at age 15, and when I met him 30 years later,
he was totally paralyzed except for 1 finger, could barely speak and was
totally blind. But he had a string tied to that one mobile finger that
could turn on a recorder. He wrote for national magazines, authored
books and led a happy and influential life from his bed. This was
possible because after initial prayers brought no healing, he accepted
his lot graciously and said, "Well Lord! If this is the size plot in
life you've staked out for me, let's you and me together show the world
what we can grow on it."
Down the path of humble acceptance, Worral achieved a happier and more
useful life within the limitations of very restricted circumstances than
most people ever will manage with excellent physical health.
-- Dr. Floyd Faust
See: John 9:3; 2 Cor 12:9
Title: Death does not stop influence
The "homegoing" of slain Wycliffe linguist Chester Bitterman was not a
setback to the work of translating the Scriptures into the world's
remaining 3,000 unwritten languages. It was, said William Cameron
Townsend, 84, founder-patriarch of Wycliffe and its Summer Institute of
Linguistics, "a tremendous advance. Young people have been awakened in a
new way."
That this is not pious sentiment or wishful thinking became evident at
the Golden Jubilee celebration of Wycliffe in Anaheim, California, last
month, when 7,500 Wycliffe supporters paid tribute to "Uncle Cam" and
Wycliffe's 4,255 members who work in 750 languages in 35 countries.
Since the 28-year-old Bitterman was kidnapped, then murdered 48 days
later in Bogota, Columbia (CT, April 10, p. 70), about 100 students at
Columbia Bible College in North Carolina, where Bitterman was graduated,
have pledged themselves to missionary service. Chet's widow, Brenda, has
vowed to return to Bible literacy work, and his younger brother, Craig,
21, has applied to Wycliffe, hoping to be a Bible translator. And a new
chair of linguistics and Bible translation has been established at Biola
College in La Mirada, California, in Chet's memory.
Said Chet's father, Chester Bitterman, Sr., who, with his wife, Mary,
and Chet's five brothers and sisters were special guests at the Golden
Jubilee: "On a human level, Chet may have lost his life. But we believe
that God is not finished in this. We haven't read the last chapter
yet."
See: Psa 116:15
Title: Castro Sends Out Missionary
Bogota, Columbia -- The keynote speaker at the Advanced Evangelism
Explosion Seminar in Bogota, Columbia, was Rev. Rodolfo Loyola, a pastor
from Madrid, Spain. His testimony was shared with UPDATE by Rev. R.
Craig Strickland of Second Presbyterian Church of Memphis, TN., who
accompanied Woody Lafara to the Seminar as a Clinic teacher.
"Sixteen years ago, Rev. Loyola was a pastor and professor in Cuba. The
Cuban government instructed him to either abandon his faith or quit
teaching school. They gave him 15 days to decide. Rev. Loyola said, "I
don't need 15 days. I don't need 15 minutes. I won't be back to teach
tomorrow."

Several days later, in the middle of the night, he was abducted and
imprisoned in a Cuban concentration camp for over two years. In part
because of his dedication to sharing the gospel with those around him,
he was transferred 13 times to new concentration camps.
Finally, he was told by Castro's government that he had 30 days to find
two thousand dollars to take his family out of Cuba. Over the weekend,
he and his wife prayed for guidance, writing to family and friends in
other countries. Thirty days later, there was two thousand and ten
dollars. So with ten dollars in his pocket, Rev. Loyola and his family
were sent to Spain where he now joyfully exclaims that he is a
missionary to Spain sent by Castro!"
See: Acts 1:8
Title: Analogies
I rejoice in knowing that...
There is no oil without squeezing the olives,
No wine without pressing the grapes,
No fragrance without crushing the flowers, and
No real joy without sorrow.
See: 2 Cor 1:5-7; 2 Cor 7:9; Phil 3:10-11; Col 1:24
Title: What it Means to Be a Christian Leader
Cal Thomas found himself called a "Christian leader" by a leading
Christian magazine and he wondered what that meant ("Dear God, Please
Don't Let Me Be a Christian Leader," Fundamentalist Journal, May). More
speaking engagements? Perhaps an appearance on a Christian talk show?
"It would certainly give me the right to start putting Scripture
references under my signed name in books I have written. I would surely
sign more Bibles, which I find a curious practice since I didn't write
that Book."
Thomas wonders if we have reversed things. God's strength is made
perfect in weakness. "In a church I once attended, there was a man of
tremendous faith. His wife is an alcoholic. His daughter has
psychological problems. He was often poor in health. Yet, week after
week, he never complained. He always smiled and asked me how I was
doing. He faithfully brought to church a young blind man who had no
transportation. He always sat with the blind man, helping him sing the
hymns by saying the words into his ear. That man was a 'Christian
leader' if ever there was one."
See: Luke 22:26; Acts 20:18-21; Phil 2:3-4; Col 3:12-13; 1 Pet 1:22
Title: Why do you need this illness?
Bernie Siegel, M.D., shocks his cancer patients when he asks them, "Why
did you need this illness?" He claims that our bodies break down to give
us a message, and many times it is a message that we have been ignoring.
According to Dr. Siegel, while nobody wants to be ill, many patients say
that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them. They learned
to appreciate life and to express their feelings to their loved ones.
They were able to pick up the paintbrush they previously had been too
busy to hold. Even illness can be a blessing.
-- Caurie Beth Hones, Jesus, CEO (Hyperion, 1995), p. 48-49.
See: Psa 119:67; Isa 30:20-21; 2 Cor 4:16-17; 2 Cor 12:7-10

ADVICE
1. 1. ever have more children than you have car windows.
2. ever loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth.
3. Pick your friends carefully. A "friend" never goes on a diet when you are fat or
tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who remembers Mother's Day--when
his gift is a smoke alarm.
4. Sieze the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the
dessert cart.
5. Know the difference between success and fame. Success is Mother Teresa. Fame is
Madonna.
6. ever be in a hurry to terminate a marriage. Remember, you may need this man-
woman someday to finish a sentence.
7. There are no guarantees in marraige. If that's what you're looking for, go live
with a Sears battery.
8. ever go to a class reunion pregnant. They will think that's all you have been
doing since you graduated. Erma Bombeck
9. Forget each kindness that you do as soon as you have done it. Forget the praise
that falls to you the moment you have won it. Forget the slander that you hear
before you can repeat it. Forget each slight, each spite, each sneer, whenever you
may meet it. Remember every promise made and keep it to the letter. Remember
those who lend you aid and be a grateful debtor. Remember all the happiness that
comes your way in living. Forget each worry and distress; be hopeful and forgiving.
Remember good, remember truth, remember heaven is above you. And you will
find, through age and youth, that many will love you.
10. He who can take Advice, is sometimes superior to him who can give it.
11. "Advice is like snow, the softer it falls, the longer it dwells and
the deeper it sinks into the mind."
- Samuel Coleridge
12. SERIES
A little help at the right time is better than a lot of help at the wrong time.
(Anonymous)
Advice is like castor oil, easy enough to give but dreadful uneasy to take. (Josh
Billings)
Advice is like snow; the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it
sinks into the mind. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
Advice is seldom welcome, and those who need it the most, like it the least. (Lord
Chesterfield)
Advice: the smallest current coin. (Ambrose Bierce)
Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself.
(Anonymous)
He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and
example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example,
builds with one hand and pulls down with the other. (Francis Bacon)
He that won't be counselled can't be helped. (Benjamin Franklin)
His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your

judgment. (Seneca)
In those days he was wiser than he is now--he used frequently to take my advice.
(Winston Churchill)
It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener
succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have
taught them so well as failure has done. (Samuel Smiles)
It is easy when we are in prosperity to give advice to the afflicted. (Aeschylus)
It is only too easy to make suggestions and later try to escape the consequences of
what we say. (Jawaharlal ehru)
It takes nearly as much ability to know how to profit by good advice as to know how
to act for one's self. (Francois de La Rochefoucauld)
Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice. (Francois de La Rochefoucauld)
o man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man
so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that
is taught only by himself has a fool for a master. (Ben Jonson)
The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to
oneself. (Oscar Wilde)
There is as much difference between the counsel that a friend giveth, and that a man
giveth himself, as there is between the counsel of a friend and a flatterer. (Francis
Bacon)
We give advice by the bucket, but take it by the grain. (William Rounseville Alger)
Write down the advice of him who loves you, though you like it not at present.
(Proverb)
13. Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning, and nothing worse
will happen to you the rest of the day.
AFFECTIO S
- Blessedness of making God the object of:...... Ps 91:14
- - Carnal affections should be mortified:...... Ro 8:13; 13:14; 1Co 9:27; Col 3:5; 1Th
4:5
- - Carnal affections crucified in saints:...... Ro 6:6; Ga 5:24
- - Christ claims the first place in:..... Mt 10:37; Lu 14:26
- - Enkindled by communion with Christ:..... Lu 24:32
- - False teachers seek to captivate:...... Ga 1:10; 4:17; 2Ti 3:6; 2Pe 2:3,18; Re 2:14,20
- - Of saints, supremely set on God:...... Ps 42:1; 73:25; 119:10
- - Of the wicked, not sincerely set on God:...... Isa 58:1,2; Eze 33:31,32; Lu 8:13
- - Of the wicked, are unnatural and perverted:...... Ro 1:31; 2Ti 3:3; 2Pe 2:10
- - Should not grow cold:...... Ps 106:12,13; Mt 24:12; Ga 4:15; Re 2:4
- - Should be supremely set upon God:..... De 6:3; Mr 12:30
- - Should be set upon the commandments of God:..... Ps 19:8-10; 119:20,97,103,167
- - Should be set upon the house and worship of God:..... 1Ch 29:3; Ps 26:8; 27:4;
84:1,2
- - Should be set upon the people of God:..... Ps 16:3; Ro 12:10; 2Co 7:13-16; 1Th 2:8
- - Should be set upon heavenly things:..... Col 3:1,2
- - Should be zealously engaged for God:..... Ps 69:9; 119:139; Ga 4:18
AFFIRMATIO

1. Recently, I heard a touching story which illustrates the power that words have to
change a life -- a power that lies right in the hands of those reading this article.
Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she
hated it. She was born with a cleft palate and had to bear the jokes and stares of
cruel children who teased her non-stop about her misshaped lip, crooked nose, and
garbled speech.
With all the teasing, Mary grew up hating the fact that she was "different". She was
convinced that no one, outside her family, could ever love her ... until she entered
Mrs. Leonard's class. Mrs. Leonard had a warm smile, a round face, and shiny
brown hair. While everyone in her class liked her, Mary came to love Mrs. Leonard.
In the 1950's, it was common for teachers to give their children an annual hearing
test. However, in Mary's case, in addition to her cleft palate, she was barely able to
hear out of one ear. Determined not to let the other children have another
"difference" to point out, she would cheat on the test each year. The "whisper test"
was given by having a child walk to the classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear
with a finger, and then repeat something which the teacher whispered. Mary turned
her bad ear towards her teacher and pretended to cover her good ear. She knew
that teachers would often say things like, "The sky is blue," or "What color are
your shoes?" But not on that day. Surely, God put seven words in Mrs. Leonard's
mouth that changed Mary's life forever. When the "Whisper test" came, Mary
heard the words: "I wish you were my little girl."
Dads, I wish there was some way that I could communicate to you the incredible
blessing which affirming words impart to children. I wish, too, that you could sit in
my office, when I counsel, and hear the terrible damage that individuals received
from not hearing affirming words -- particularly affirming words from a father.
While words from a godly teacher can melt a heart, words from a father can
powerfully set the course of a life.
If affirming words were something rarely spoken in your home growing up, let me
give you some tips on words and phrases that can brighten your own child's eyes
and life. These words are easy to say to any child who comes into your life. I'm
proud of you, Way to go, Bingo ... you did it, Magnificent, I knew you could do it,
What a good helper, You're very special to me, I trust you, What a treasure, Hurray
for you, Beautiful work, You're a real trooper, Well done, That's so creative, You
make my day, You're a joy, Give me a big hug, You're such a good listener, You
figured it out, I love you, You're so responsible, You remembered, You're the best,
You sure tried hard, I've got to hand it to you, I couldn't be prouder of you, You
light up my day, I'm praying for you, You're wonderful, I'm behind you, You're so
kind to your (brother/sister), You're God's special gift, I'm here for you. --John
Trent, Ph.D., Vice President of Today's Family, Men of Action, Winter 1993, Page 5
2. Andor Foldes is now seventy-two, but he recalls how praise made all the
difference for him early in his career. His first recollection of an affirming word was
at age seven when his father kissed him and thanked him for helping in the garden.
He remembers it over six decades later, as though it were yesterday. But the account
of another kiss that changed his life says a great deal about our inner need for
purpose. At age sixteen, living in Budapest, Foldes was already a skilled pianist. But
he was at his personal all-time low because of a conflict with his piano teacher. In
the midst of that very troubled year, however, one of the most renowned pianists of

the day came to the city to perform. Emil von Sauer was not only famous because of
his abilities at the piano, but he could also claim the notoriety of being the last
surviving pupil of Franz Liszt. Sauer requested that young Foldes play for him.
Foldes obliged the master with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven,
and Schumann. When he finished, Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the
forehead.
"My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me
on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss -- it comes
from Beethoven, who gave it me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to
pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it." Little House on the
Freeway, Tim Kimmel, Page 41-42
3.Charles Schwab, the successful businessman, said, "I have yet to find the
man, however exatled his station, who did not do better work and put forth
greater effort under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism.
A little boy playing darts with his father said, "Let's play darts. I'll throw and
you say, 'Wonderful!'"
AFFORD
We can't afford to win the gain that means another's loss;
We can't afford to miss the crown by stumbling at the cross.
We can't afford the heedless jest that robs us of a friend;
We can't afford the race that comes to tragic bitter end.
We can't afford to play with fire, or tempt a serpent's bite
We can't afford to think that sin brings any true delight.
We can't afford with serious heed to treat the cynic's sneer,
We can't afford to wise men's words to turn a careless ear.
We can't afford for hate to give like hatred in return;
We can't afford to feed a flame and make it fiercer burn.
We can't afford to lose the soul for this world's fleeting breath;
We can't afford to barter life in mad exchange for death.
How blind are we apart from thee, our great all-seeing Lord;
Oh, grant us light that we may know the things we can't afford.
AGO Y
1. Agony is loaning someone your Tim and Beverly LaHaye book on marital sex,
and remembering later you'd underlined it.
AGREEME T
1. Two employees were chatting. "The boss wants a meeting today at 4:30." "Why
does he always have to have them on Friday at 4:30?" "People tend to agree with
him!"
2.He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still. (Samuel Butler)

I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me. (Dudley
Field Malone)
If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many
things which you know already. (Johann Kaspar Lavater)
The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready
to skin you. (Kin Hubbard)
There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees. (Michel
de Montaigne)
We hardly find any persons of good sense save those who agree with us. (Francois de
La Rochefoucauld)
You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue--agree with him. (Ed Howe)
AIDS
1. see Homosexual first line.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.Matthew 19:19 AIDS is a reality of
life we wish would somehow go away.But it's here to stay, just as much
as leukemia or multiple sclerosis.
AIDS is different because in most cases it can be prevented.
Mostpeople pick up HIV through drug use or sex. So, if you obey
theBible's commands against sexual activity outside of marriage, you
willbe far less likely to get the HIV virus.At this point, AIDS is
incurable. Once you get HIV, you've got itforever. And when it becomes
active, you die.
Because AIDS is the kind of disease it is, those who contract it
aremarked with an enormous stigma. But the fact remains that people
withAIDS are our neighbors in the biblical sense as much as anybody
else.The command of Jesus is clear: "Love your neighbor as yourself"
Matthew 19:193(Matthew 19:19).In that light, read this testimony from a
person dying of AIDS: I wasreally depressed because my family kicked me
out. My father gave me $5and told me never to come home again. I thought
that little incidentwould kill me before AIDS did. I figured if my
family cast me out,strangers certainly wouldn't want me.
I got the surprise of my life when people in the clinic, people at
anearby church, people in my apartment building actually became
myfriends. If you had told me that would happen, I never would
havebelieved it. So it was as if I got a whole new family. Being part of
afamily means giving too, and so giving to others got me out of myself.
Perhaps a person in your school or someone in your family has AIDS.That
person is a human being made by God and as much the object of Hislove as
anyone Christ died for--including you and me. He or she justmight be
waiting to hear some positive words from you. --DEREFLECTION * Am I
willing to reach out with the offer of Christ's love to someone who
has AIDS?
(Matthew 19:194 * Do I know the facts about AIDS--how one gets it, how
to preventit? * Are my personal standards about sex the same as those
of the Bible?
3. "I believe that many AIDS victims have been graciously given time.
When they learn of the seriousness of their affliction, they have a
chance to realize the love of God and His grace. The church should be

ministering to these people and extending to them the promise of His
forgiveness." Billy Graham.
AGING
1. Peter Chew wrote, Psychiatrist Jack Weinberg often speaks of aging
as "a crisis in slow motion." Shock agrees.
"All of this is more psychological than physiological," explains
Shock. "What's happening here is that you lose your reserve capacity.
This is the essence of aging, I think. We all die a little every day.
Thisdecline in capacity and function over the years correlates directly
with the progressive loss of body tissues. The loss of tissue has been
asscoated with the disappearance of cells from muscles, the nervous
system, the brain, and other vital organs. So you find, say, that you
can't paly as fast a game of handball as you used to, and the time comes
when you must face up to it.
"The big factor in aging is the time required to do something--and
this goes across the board, whether it's reaction time in the
psychological sense, or the speed with which you readjust your blookd
level after you've been given a does of sugar. If you engage in
strenuous exercise, theolde ryou are, the longer it takes you to get you
pulse back to normal condition."
2. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was and still is generally regarded as
one of the most outstanding justices in the history of the U.S.
Supreme Court. He was known as the Great Dissenter because he
disagreed with the other judges so much. Holmes sat on the
Supreme Court until he was 91. Two years later, President
Roosevelt visited him and found him reading Plato. "Why?" FDR
asked. "To improve my mind," Holmes answered. Bits and Pieces,
December 13, 1990
3.Old age is what you're stuck with if you want a long life. Funny that
grandchildren never go around showing snap shots of grandparents. A cheese
spread called ‘middle aged spread’ The metallic age: silver hair, gold teeth and a
lead bottom When it takes longer to rest than to get tired. Three B's: bridge work;
bifocals and baldness The older you get, the greater you were All lights and teeth
out at 9 p.m. My mirror is getting wrinkled Milk of amnesia I need all the
preservatives I can get Our backs go out more than we do So old he counts in
Roman umerals
4. We spend our whole lives becoming ancestors. I've been young a very long time.
"Tragedy of old age is not that one is old but is still young. Oscar Wilde “Takes
courage to be part of a world in which one must return to dust.” Tillich "Being
young is hard work." Will Rogers Cantankerous old men simply reflect what
they've been all their lives. Diminishment's are a part of growth Many go from
infancy to senility without reaching maturity. How old would we be if we did not
know our age? Age brings expectation. Physically, we age but spiritually, no. To
make a success of old age you have to start young....you have to stay young. You are
old when you stop growing. You are as old as your earthly prisons and as young as
your heavenly hopes.
5. A lady was suing the city of ew York because a drunken police officer had

struck and killed her seventy-one-year-old husband with his patrol car. She argued
that the city had deprived her of her husband's future earnings potential. The city
argued that at age 71, he had little earnings potential. They thought they had a
pretty clever defense until they realized that this lady's argument about her
husband's future earning power was being advanced by a vigorous eight-eight-year-
old attorney. The city settled the case for $1.25 million. What if Harry Lipsig had
said, "I'm only a senior citizen?"
ALARM
1. Thanks to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfelow, everyone has heard of the
"midnight ride of Paul Revere." But few have heard of Israel Bissel, a humble post
rider on the Boston- ew York route. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord on
April 19, 1775, Bissel was ordered to raise the alarm in ew Haven, Connecticut. He
reached Worchester, Mass., normally a day's ride, in two hours. There, according to
tradition, his horse promptly dropped dead. Pausing only to get another mount,
Bissel pressed on and by April 22 was in ew Haven--but he didn't stop there! He
rode on to ew York, arriving April 24, and then stayed in the saddle until he
reached Philadelphia the next day. Bissel's 126 hour, 345 mile ride signaled
American militia units throughout the ortheast to mobilize for war. Today in the
Word, October 1, 1991
ALCOHOL
1. Edison: "To put alcohol in the human body is like putting sand in
the bearings of an engine. I am a total abstainer from alcohol liquor.
I always felt I had better use for my head."
William Howard Taft: "He who drinks disqualifies himself for
advancement. Personally, I refuse to take such a risk,"
Luther Burbank: "To us liquor is to the nervous system like putting
sand in a watch; it wears out rapidly, making it a wretched, useless
thing."
Abraham Lincoln: "Liquor might have defenders but no defense. Whether
or not the world would be vastly benefited by a total and final
banishment of all intoxicating drink seems to me not an open question."
2. A few years ago, with the Fourth of July approaching, it was my job
as safety offiecer of my Marine Corps unit to develop a slogan and to
put up posters discouraging drinking over the holiday weekend. We had
no accidents tht year, and I attribute it partly to our slogan: "He who
comes forth with a fifth on the Fourth may not come forth ont the
fifth."
ALCOHOL
1. Edison: "To put alcohol in the human body is like putting sand in the bearings of an
engine. I am a total abstainer from alcohol liquor. I always felt I had better use for my
head."
William Howard Taft: "He who drinks disqualifies himself for advancement. Personally, I

refuse to take such a risk,"
Luther Burbank: "To us liquor is to the nervous system like putting sand in a watch; it
wears out rapidly, making it a wretched, useless thing."
Abraham Lincoln: "Liquor might have defenders but no defense. Whether or not the
world would be vastly benefited by a total and final banishment of all intoxicating drink
seems to me not an open question."
2. A few years ago, with the Fourth of July approaching, it was my job as safety offiecer of
my Marine Corps unit to develop a slogan and to put up posters discouraging drinking
over the holiday weekend. We had no accidents tht year, and I attribute it partly to our
slogan: "He who comes forth with a fifth on the Fourth may not come forth ont the fifth."
ALCOHOLIC
1. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers the
following:
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank "medicinally" and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death. Bits and Pieces, May, 1990, p. 18
2. If there's an alcoholic parent in the family, there's a 50 percent chance one of the
children will become an alcoholic. If there are two alcoholic parents, it's an 85
percent chance. - Message, quoted in Signs of the Times, December, 1993 Page 6
ALERT
During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the
headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying
an urgent message. General George WAshington and his Continental
army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and
were advancing on Trenton, ew Jersey where the Hessians were
encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and
instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the
note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a
poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. When the
guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile
attempt to stop Washington's army, Rall was still playing cards.
Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured. The

battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the
colonists a late present--their first major victory of the war.
Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 21
ALIVE
I recently saw a news report about an Army veteran named John Crabtree
who had been receiving benefits from the government. Evidently he had
been wounded in Vietnam and was now on permanent disability. One day,
out of the blue, he received an official notification from the
government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock!
Mr. Crabtree wrote the government a letter stating that he was indeed
very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The
letter did no good. He then tried calling the government. (Have you ever
tried to call the government? This required the patience of Job and the
persistence of Noah!) The phone calls didn't change the situation
either. Finally, as a last resort, the veteran contacted a local
television station, which ran a human-interest story about his
situation.
During the interview, the reporter asked him, "How do you feel about
this whole ordeal?" The veteran chuckled and said, "Well, I feel a
little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that
you're alive?"
That's a pretty good question for all of us. Could you prove that you
are alive? Really, genuinely, deep-down alive? When was the last time
you had an alive moment? Not the last time you took a breath or had your
heart beat inside your chest, but the last time you felt yourself alive
to your living, alive to your loving, deeply present with the gift of
life itself?"
--R. Scott Colglazier,
Finding a Faith That Makes Sense
(St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1996), 116-117.
ALO E
1.
Can numbers then change nature's stated laws,
Can numbers make the worse the better cause?
Vice must be vice, virtue be virtue still,
Though thousands rail at good and practice ill.
Unawed by numbers, follow ature's plan;
Assert the rights, or quit the name of man.
Consider well, weigh strickly right and wrong;
Resolve not quick, but once resolved, be strong.
Rather stand up, assured with conscious pride,
Alone, then err with millions on thy side. Charles Churchill.

Who was United States Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas?
I suppose you could call him a "Mr. obody." o law bears his
name. ot a single list of Senate "greats" mentions his service.
Yet when Ross entered the Senate in 1866, he was
considered the man to watch. He seemed destined to surpass his
colleagues, but he tossed it all away by one courageous act of
conscience.
Let's set the stage.
Conflict was dividing our government in the wake of the
Civil War. President Andrew Johnson was determined to follow
Lincoln's policy of reconciliation toward the defeated South.
Congress, however, wanted to rule the downtrodden Confederate
states with an iron hand.
Congress decided to strike first. Shortly after Senator
Ross was seated, the Senate introduced impeachment proceedings
against the hated President. The radicals calculated that they
needed thirty-six votes, and smiled as they concluded that the
thirty-sixth was none other than Ross'.
The new senator listened to the vigilante talk. But to
the surprise of many, he declared that the president "deserved as
fair a trial as any accused man has ever had on earth." The word
immediately went out that his vote was "shaky."
Ross received an avalanche of anti-Johnson telegrams from
every section of the country. Radical senators badgered him to
"come to his senses."
The fateful day of the vote arrived. The courtroom
galleries were packed. Tickets for admission were at an enormous
premium.
As a deathlike stillness fell over the Senate chamber,
the vote began. By the time they reached Ross, twenty-four
"guilties" had been announced. Eleven more were certain. Only
Ross' vote was needed to impeach the President.
Unable to conceal his emotion, the Chief Justice asked in
a trembling voice, "Mr. Senator Ross, how vote you? Is the
respondent Andrew Johnson guilty as charged?"
Ross later explained, at that moment, "I looked into my
open grave. Friendships, position, fortune, and everything that
makes life desirable to an ambitions man were about to be swept
away by the breath of my mouth, perhaps forever."
Then, the answer came -- unhesitating, unmistakable:
" ot guilty!" With that, the trial was over. And the response
was as predicted.
A high public official from Kansas wired Ross to say:
"Kansas repudiates you as she does all perjurers and skunks."
The "open grave" vision had become a reality. Ross'
political career was in ruins. Extreme ostracism, and even
physical attack awaited his family upon their return home.

One gloomy day Ross turned to his faithful wife and said,
"Millions cursing me today will bless me tomorrow...though not
but God can know the struggle it has cost me." It was a
prophetic declaration.
Twenty years later Congress and the Supreme Court
verified the wisdom of his position, by changing the laws related
to impeachment.
Ross was appointed Territorial Governor of ew Mexico.
Then, just prior to his death, he was awarded a special pension
by Congress. The press and country took this opportunity to
honor his courage which, they finally concluded, had saved our
country from crisis and division. Courage - You Can Stand Strong
in the Face of Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, Page
56-58
ALO E
In the operating room of a large hospital, a young nurse was completing her first
full day of responsibilities.
"You've only removed 11 sponges, doctor," she said to the surgeon. "We used 12."
"I removed them all," the doctor declared. "We'll close the incision now."
" o," the nurse objected. "We used 12 sponges."
"I'll take full responsibility," the surgeon said grimly.
"Suture!"
"You can't do that!" blazed the nurse. "Think of the patient."
The surgeon smiled, lifted his foot, and showed the nurse the 12th sponge. "You'll
do," he said.
Today in the Word, April 7, 1992
When I was a small boy, I attended church every Sunday at a big Gothic
Presbyterian bastion in Chicago. The preaching was powerful and the music was
great. But for me, the most awesome moment in the morning service was the
offertory, when twelve solemn, frock-coated ushers marched in lock-step down the
main aisle to receive the brass plates for collecting the offering. These men, so
serious about their business of serving the Lord in this magnificent house of
worship, were the business and professional leaders of Chicago. One of the twelve
ushers was a man named Frank Loesch. He was not a very imposing looking man,
but in Chicago he was a living legend, for he was the man who had stood up to Al
Capone. In the prohibition years, Capone's rule was absolute. The local and state
police and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation were afraid to oppose him. But
singlehandedly, Frank Loesch, as a Christina layman and without any government
support, organized the Chicago Crime Commission, a group of citizens who were
determined to take Mr. Capone to court and put him away. During the months that
the Crime Comission met, Frank Loesch's life was in constant danger. There were
threats on the lives of his family and friends. But he never wavered. Ultimately he
won the case against Capone and was the instrument for removing this blight from
the city of Chicago. Frank Loesch had risked his life to live out his faith. Each

Sunday at this point of the service, my father, a Chicago businessman himself, never
failed to poke me and silently point to Frank Loesch with pride. Sometime I'd catch
a tear in my father's eye. For my dad and for all of us this was and is what authentic
living is all about. Bruce Larson, in Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of
Mediocrity, p.124-5
Who was United States Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas? I suppose you could
call him a "Mr. obody." o law bears his name. ot a single list of Senate
"greats" mentions his service. Yet when Ross entered the Senate in 1866, he was
considered the man to watch. He seemed destined to surpass his colleagues, but he
tossed it all away by one courageous act of conscience.
Let's set the stage.
Conflict was dividing our government in the wake of the Civil War. President
Andrew Johnson was determined to follow Lincoln's policy of reconciliation toward
the defeated South. Congress, however, wanted to rule the downtrodden
Confederate states with an iron hand.
Congress decided to strike first. Shortly after Senator Ross was seated, the Senate
introduced impeachment proceedings against the hated President. The radicals
calculated that they needed thirty-six votes, and smiled as they concluded that the
thirty-sixth was none other than Ross'. The new senator listened to the vigilante
talk. But to the surprise of many, he declared that the president "deserved as fair a
trial as any accused man has ever had on earth." The word immediately went out
that his vote was "shaky." Ross received an avalanche of anti-Johnson telegrams
from every section of the country. Radical senators badgered him to "come to his
senses."
The fateful day of the vote arrived. The courtroom galleries were packed. Tickets
for admission were at an enormous premium.
As a deathlike stillness fell over the Senate chamber, the vote began. By the time
they reached Ross, twenty-four "guilties" had been announced. Eleven more were
certain. Only Ross' vote was needed to impeach the President. Unable to conceal his
emotion, the Chief Justice asked in a trembling voice, "Mr. Senator Ross, how vote
you? Is the respondent Andrew Johnson guilty as charged?" Ross later explained, at
that moment, "I looked into my open grave. Friendships, position, fortune, and
everything that makes life desirable to an ambitions man were about to be swept
away by the breath of my mouth, perhaps forever." Then, the answer came --
unhesitating, unmistakable: " ot guilty!" With that, the trial was over. And the
response was as predicted.
A high public official from Kansas wired Ross to say: "Kansas repudiates you as she
does all perjurers and skunks." The "open grave" vision had become a reality.
Ross' political career was in ruins. Extreme ostracism, and even physical attack
awaited his family upon their return home.
One gloomy day Ross turned to his faithful wife and said, "Millions cursing me
today will bless me tomorrow...though not but God can know the struggle it has cost
me." It was a prophetic declaration. Twenty years later Congress and the Supreme
Court verified the wisdom of his position, by changing the laws related to
impeachment.
Ross was appointed Territorial Governor of ew Mexico. Then, just prior to his

death, he was awarded a special pension by Congress. The press and country took
this opportunity to honor his courage which, they finally concluded, had saved our
country from crisis and division. Courage - You Can Stand Strong in the Face of
Fear, Jon Johnston, 1990, SP Publications, Page 56-58
ALTER ATIVE
Antonio was an Italian boy who loved music, but whenever he tried to sing the
music that was in his heart, it came out so badly that all his friends laughed at him.
ext to singing, the boy loved to hear the violin. He had a pocketknife he always
carried with him and he would whittle all sorts of things with it. One day Antonio
learned that the greatest violin maker in all Italy, the great icolo Amati, lived in his
village! Antonio began to whittle a violin and worked for many hours on it. When
finished, the boy walked to the house of Amati, who just happened to answer the
door. The boy handed the master the small violin he had carved and said, "Sir--I
love music, but cannot sing. I wish with all my heart I could learn to make violins."
The great Amati smiled, looked at the small gift and said, "Beautifully done! You
want to make violins? And so you shall! In time your violins will make the most
beautiful music ever heard!" And so, Antonio Stradivari became the pupil of icolo
Amati and in time made violins that equaled his master's. Bits and Pieces, January,
1990, p. 11
During World War I a Protestant chaplain with the American troops in Italy
became a friend of a local Roman Catholic priest. In time, the chaplain who moved
on with his unit was killed. The priest heard of his death and asked military
authorities if the chaplain could be buried in the cemetery behind his church.
Permission was granted. But the priest ran into a problem with his own Catholic
Church authorities. They were sympathetic, but they said they could not approve
the burial of a non-Catholic in a Catholic cemetery. So the priest buried his friend
just outside the cemetery fence. Years later, a war veteran who knew what had
happened returned to Italy and visited the old priest. The first thing he did was ask
to see the chaplain's grave. To his surprise, he found the grave inside the fence.
"Ah," he said, "I see you got permission to move the body." " o," said the priest.
"They told me where I couldn't bury the body. But nobody ever told me I couldn't
move the fence." Bits and Pieces, ovember, 1989, p. 24
AMATEUR
1. "We think that the great truths and the great discoveries are reserved for the
experts and the professionals. This is not so. Amateur make discoveries, too. Take
radio for instantance. E.F. McDonald Jr., president of the Zenith Radio
Coporation, said one time: Youthful amateurs who did not know there were rules
about how things should be done, tried unoradox stunts and made nearly every
basic discovery in the development that has given America the finest in radio. What
the industry's engineers and labortories have done is to refine discoveries of
amateurs. Marconi was an amateur playing with a toy when he developed the

world's first practical equipment for sending and receiving radio signals. Lee
DeForest was an experimenting amateur when he invented the audion tube which
opened the door to broadcasting. Edwin H. Armstrong was a college student when
he invented the regenerative circuit. His father would not even give his son money
to patent it. Later the youngster sold the invention to Westinghouse for 350
thousand dollars. The nation's pioneer commerical broadcasting station, KDKA,
Pittsburgh, began as an amateur station built by a young amateur, Frank Conrad.
Philo Farnsworth, the father of Television, was a school boy of 16 in Rigby, Idho,
when he diagramed the principles of television on the black board. His explanation
was so accurate and clear that the teacher's testimony years later stood up in court."
2.
AMBASSADOR
Paul considered himself Christ's ambassador. What is an ambassador? He is an
authorized representative of a sovereign. He speaks not in his own name but on
behalf of the ruler whose deputy he is, and his whole duty and responsibility is to
interpret that ruler's mind faithfully to those to whom he is sent.
Paul used this "ambassador" image twice -- both in connection with his evangelistic
work. Pray for me, he wrote from prison, "that utterance may be given me in
opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an
ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak" (Eph. 6:18-
20). He wrote also that God "gave us the ministry of reconciliation...So we are
ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on
behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
Paul called himself an ambassador because he knew that when he proclaimed the
gospel facts and promises and urged sinners to receive the reconciliation effected at
Calvary, he was declaring Christ's message to the world. The figure of
ambassadorship highlights the authority Paul had, as representing his Lord, as long
as he remained faithful to the terms of his commission and said neither less nor
more than he had been given to say.
Your Father Loves You by James Packer Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986 Page July
24
AMBIGUITY
Have you ever been in a position where someone asks you for
a reference to get a job and you find yourself in an awkward
position? You don't want to lie, but you really can't tell the
truth because it will hurt.
Robert Thornton, professor of economics at Lehigh
University, once composed the ideal letter to fit the situation:
I am pleased to say that this candidate is a
former colleague of mine. In my opinion you
will be fortunate to get this person to work
for you. I recommend him with no

qualifications whatsoever.
o person would be better for the job. I
urge you to waste no time in making this
candidate an offer of employment. All in
all, and without reservation, I cannot say
enough good things about him, nor can I
recommend him too highly.
Bits & Pieces, April 2, 1992
AMBITIO
1. Take the four greatest rulers, perhaps, that ever sat upon a throne.
Alexander, when he had so completely subdued the nations that he wept
because there were no more to conquer, at last set fire to a city, and
died in a scene of debauch.
Hannibal, who filled three bushels with the gold ring taken from the
slaughtered knights, died at last by poison administered by his own
hand, unwept and unknown, in a foreign land.
Caesar, having conquered eight hundred cities, and dyed his garments
with the blood of one million of his foes, was stabbed by his best
friends in the very place which had been the scene of his greatest
triumph.
Napoleon, after being the scourge of Europe, and the desolator of his
country, died in banishment, conquered and a captive.
-- Bowes
See: 1 Samuel 31:3-4; Proverbs 20:28; Proverbs 29:4
2. Here's a Chinese proverb on maintaining a sensitive conscience: "He
who sacrifices his conscience to ambition, burns a picture to obtain the
ashes."
See: Acts 24:16; 1 Tim 1:18-19
3. A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do! (Anonymous)
A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than
himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration;
the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires. (Henry Ward
Beecher)
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or
credulities of mankind. (Joseph Conrad)
Ambition is a lust that is never quenched, but grows more inflamed and madder by
enjoyment. (Thomas Otway)
Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. (Charlie
McCarthy)
Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds. (Thomas Dunn
English)
Ambition is the last refuge of failure. (Oscar Wilde)
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. (William Shakespeare)
As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way. (Ralph
Waldo Emerson)
Beyond this world strange things are known

Use the key, unlock the door
See what your fate might have in store
Come explore your dreams' creation (Anonymous)
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. (Will
Rogers)
Failures are divided into two classes --those who thought and never did, and those
who did and never thought. (Anonymous)
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
(Henry David Thoreau)
Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply
a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really
pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by
themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you
overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest
and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment. (Tony Robbins)
Great opportunity to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every
day. (Sally Koch)
High expectations are the key to everything. (Sam Walton)
Hitch your wagon to a star. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
If you wish to reach the highest, begin at the lowest. (Publilius Syrus)
It may be that those who do most, dream most. (Stephen Leacock)
It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very
often get it. (W. Somerset Maugham)
Know your limits, but never accept them. (Anonymous)
Lack of will power has caused more failure than lack of intelligence or ability.
(Flower A. ewhouse)
Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish. (Michelangelo)
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before
they were done (Louis D. Brandeis)
Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great
ambitions. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
ever fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby.
(Ruth E. Renkel)
o bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. (William Blake)
othing is too high for the daring of mortals: we storm heaven itself in our folly.
(Horace)
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which
road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his response. I don't
know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter. (Lewis Carroll)
Some wo(men) have thousand of reasons why they cannot do what they want to,
when all they need is one reason why they can. (Willis R. Whitney)
Sometimes you have to put your foot down to get a leg up. (Dave Weinbaum)
Successful people aren't born that way. They become successful by establishing the
habit of doing things unsuccessful people don't like to do. The successful people
don't always like these things themselves; they just get on and do them. (Steve
Ibbotson)
The difference between the ground and the heights you achieve. (Anonymous)

The man who has no imagination has no wings. (Muhammad Ali)
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. (Chinese
Proverb)
The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition
and will power to develop themselves. (Herbert . Casson)
The tallest trees are most in the power of the winds, and ambitious men of the blasts
of fortune. (William Penn)
The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. (William
Shakespeare)
There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word, that raises us
above ourselves. (Arthur P. Stanley)
There are no speed limits on the road to excellence. (David Johnson)
Too low they build who build below the skies. (Edward Young)
We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life. (William
Osler)
We must accept finite disappointment,but never lose infinite hope. (Martin Luther
King Jr.)
What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail (Robert H.
Schuller)
What is my loftiest ambition? I've always wanted to throw an egg at an electric fan.
(Anonymous)
Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows. (Michael
Landon)
When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or
even the third rank. (Cicero)
Where ambition can cover its enterprises, even to the person himself, under the
appearance of principle, it is the most incurable and inflexible of passions. (David
Hume)
Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. (Henry
Ford)
You can sit around and wait for the good things to happen to you, you can go out
and make them happen. (Anonymous)
You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. (Booker T. Washington)
You cannot discover new ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the
shore. (Anonymous)
AMBIVALE CE
While pursuing a story about equivocation in high office, I was told, "He gave an if-
by-whiskey speech." My source, asked about his curious compound adjective, said
he thought it was a Florida political expression possibly borrowed from a Minnesota
Congressman. That triggered a call to Richard B. Stone, now a Washington banker,
but a former U.S. Senator from Florida familiar with that state's political patois. He
immediately recognized the phrase, meaning "calculated ambivalence," and
provided the following anecdote: Fuller Warren, Florida's governor in the '50s, was
running for office in a year that counties were voting their local option on
permitting the sale of liquor. Asked for his position on wet-versus-dry, he would
say: "If by whiskey you mean the water of life that cheers men's souls, that smooths

out the tensions of the day, that gives gentle perspective to one's view of life, then
put my name on the list of the fervent wets. But if by whiskey you mean the devil's
brew that rends families, destroys careers and ruins one's ability to work, then
count me in the ranks of the dries. William Safire in ew York Times Magazine
AMBUSHED
While hunting deer in the Tehema Wildlife Area near Red Bluff in northern
California, Jay Rathman climbed to a ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge. As he
raised his head to look over the ledge above, he sensed movement to the right of his
face. A coiled rattler struck with lightning speed, just missing Rathman's right ear.
The four-foot snake's fangs got snagged in the neck of Rathman's wool turtleneck
sweater, and the force of the strike caused it to land on his left shoulder. It then
coiled around his neck. He grabbed it behind the head with his left hand and could
feel the warm venom running down the skin of his neck, the rattles making a furious
racket. He fell backward and slid headfirst down the steep slope through brush and
lava rocks, his rifle and binoculars bouncing beside him. "As luck would have it,"
he said in describing the incident to a Department of Fish and Game official, "I
ended up wedged between some rocks with my feet caught uphill from hy head. I
could barely move." He got his right hand on his rifle and used it to disengage the
fangs from his sweater, but the snake had enough leverage to strike again. "He
made about eight attempts and managed to hit me with his nose just below my eye
about four times. I kept my face turned so he couldn't get a good angle with his
fangs, but it was very close. This chap and I were eyeball to eyeball and I found out
that snakes don't blink. He had fangs like darning needles...I had to choke him to
death. It was the only way out. I was afraid that with all the blood rushing to my
head I might pass out." When he tried to toss the dead snake aside, he couldn't let
go--"I had to pry my fingers from its neck." Rathman, 45, who works for the
Defense Department in San Jose, estimates his encounter with the snake lasted 20
minutes.
Warden Dave Smith says of meeting Rathman: "He walked toward me holding this
string of rattles and said with a sort of grin on his face, 'I'd like to register a
complaint about your wildlife here.'" Swindoll, Quest For Character, p. 17-18
B

ΒΑΒΒΑΒΒΑΒΒΑΒYYYY
1. When my daughter-in-law was pregnant, my son went with her to doctor
appointments. The day the doctor checked the baby's heartbeat for the
first time, he handed the stethoscope to my son to listen. The doctor
said, "Sounds like a washing machine, doesn't it?" My son agreed.
On the way home my son was very quiet. Then came these words:
"If it's a boy, we can name him Kenmore. If it's a girl, we could call
her Maytag."
2. After our priest performed a baptism at Sunday Mass, one proud
family spent a lot of time taking photographs. A month later the priest
was again performing baptisms when he noticed the same family at the
font. "Didn't I baptize your child a few weeks ago?" he asked the
parents.
"Yes, the mother responded, "but the pictures didn't turn out."
A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. Carl
Sandburg in Remembrance Rock
Babies are always more trouble than you thought--and more
wonderful. Charles Osgood, CBS Morning ews
Baby
Some fellows can get away with anything. There's one in our neighborhood
who does. Morals don't mean a thing to him. He's unmarried and lives
openly with a women he's crazy about, and doesn't care what the
neighbors say or think. He has no regard for truth or law. The duties of
the so-called good citizen are just so much bunk as far as he's
concerned. He doesn't vote at either the primaries or the general
election. He never thinks of paying a bill. He will not work a lick. So
far as is known he has no intellectual or cultural interests at all. He
neglects his appearance terribly. he's so indolent he'd let the house
burn down before he'd turn in an alarm. The telephone could ring off
itself to pieces and he wouldn't bother to answer it. Even on such a
controversial issue as the liquor question, nobody knows just where he
stands; one minute he's dry and the next minute he's wet. But we say
this for him, in spite of all his faults he comes from a darn good
family. He's our new baby.
BABIES
Learn from this, beloved, what should be your true attitude when the
pressure upon your emotional nature forces the deep-drawn sigh from your
lips. We sigh, and look within - Jesus sighed, and looked without. We
sigh, and look down - Jesus sighed, and looked up. We sigh, and look to
earth - Jesus sighed, and looked to heaven. We sigh, and look to man -
Jesus sighed, and looked to GOD! --Octavius Winslow

BACCALAUREATE
1. Oh, My Aching Accalaureate
The month of June appraoches,
And soon across the land
The graduation speakers
Will tell us where we stand.
We stand at Armageddon,
In the vanguard of the press;
We're standing at the crossroads,
At the gateway to success.
We stand upon the threshold
Of careers all brightly lit.
In the midst of all this standing,
We sit and sit and sit. Lawurence Eisenlohr
BACKSLIDI G
During WWI one of my predecesors at Tenth Presbyterian Church,
Donald Grey Barnhouse, led the son of a prominent American family
to the Lord. He was in the service, but he showed the reality of
his conversion by immediately professing Christ before the
soldiers of his military company. The war ended. The day came
when he was to return to his pre-war life in the wealthy suburb
of a large American city. He talked to Barnhouse about life with
his family and expressed fear that he might soon slip back into
his old habits. He was afraid that love for parents, brothers,
sisters, and friends might turn him from following after Jesus
Christ. Barnhouse told him that if he was careful to make public
confession of his faith in Christ, he would not have to worry.
He would not have to give improper friends up. The would give
him up. As a result of this conversation the young man agreed to
tell the first ten people of his old set whom he encountered that
he had become a Christian. The soldier went home. Almost
immediately--in fact, while he was still on the platform of the
suburban station at the end of his return trip--he met a girl
whom he had known socially. She was delighted to see him and
asked how he was doing. He told her, "The greatest thing that
could possibly happen to me has happened." "You're engaged to be
married," she exclaimed. " o," he told her. "It's even better
than that. I've taken the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior." The
girls' expression froze. She mumbled a few polite words and went
on her way. A short time later the new Christian met a young man
whom he had known before going into the service. "It's good to
see you back," he declared. "We'll have some great parties now
that you've returned." "I've just become a Christian," the

soldier said. He was thinking, That's two! Again it was a case
of a frozen smile and a quick change of conversation. After this
the same circumstances were repeated with a young couple and with
two more old friends. By this time word had got around, and soon
some of his friends stopped seeing him. He had become peculair,
religious, and -- who knows! -- they may even have called him
crazy! What had he done? othing but confess Christ. The same
confession that had aligned him with Christ had separated him
from those who did not want Jesus Christ as Savior and who, in
fact, did not even want to hear about Him. Christ's Call To
Discipleship, J.M. Boice, Moody, 1986, p. 122-23
BAD DAY
1. You know it's going to be a bad day when: You wake up face down on the
pavement. You call suicide prevention and they put you on hold. You see a 60
Minutes news team waiting in your office. Your birthday cake collapses from the
weight of the candles. You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes
out of the city. Your twin sister forgets your birthday. You wake up to discover that
your waterbed broke and then realized you don't have a waterbed. Your horn goes
off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell's Angels on the
freeway.
BAD LUCK
Johnson's first law of auto repair: any tool dropped while
repairing an automobile will roll under the car to the vehicle's
exact geographic center.
Medieval theologians argued that since a ladder leaning against a
wall forms a triangle and a triangle is a symbolic reminder of
the Holy Trinity, anyone who carelessly blunders through this
mystical space is risking divine wrath! Even when that argument
lost itself in history's muddle, condemned Englishmen about to be
hanged at Tyburn or some other notable place of execution were
required to walk under the ladder that stood against the gallows
for convenience of the executioner. In those circumstances, you
could say the man was certainly in for a spell of very bad luck.
For centuries educated and literate persons considered it
important to start the day by getting out of bed on the right
side. The meaning of the verbal formula, which is now more
familiar than the ceremony that produced it, is literal. To get
out of bed on the left side was to invite trouble, for the left
side (Latin sinister) provided easy access for evil spirits.
BAD EWS
Doctor to patient: "I have bad news and worse news."
Patient: "So let's have it."
Doctor: "The bad news is that you only have 24 hours to live."

Patient: "I can't imagine what could be worse than that!"
Doctor: "I forgot to tell you yesterday."
BALAAM
Peter warned against "the way of Balaam," Jude against "the error
of Balaam" and John against "the doctrine of Balaam" (II Peter
2:15; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14). God evidently considers these
warnings necessary and appropriate for Christians even today.
Yet Balaam, in his day, was a genuine prophet (note II Peter
2:16), possessed great knowledge concerning God, and even
received direct revelations from God. What, therefore, were his
way, his error, and his doctrine? "The way of Balaam" was a
readiness to prostitute his high spiritual gifts and privileges
for "The wages of unrighteousness" (II Peter 2:14), being willing
to preach something contrary to God's Word for personal gain.
"The error of Balaam" was evidently his willingness to compromise
his own standards of morality and truth in order "greedily" to
accommodate those of his pagan patrons (Jude 11). Finally, "the
doctrine of Balaam," which even in John's day was already
infiltrating the church, was to use his own teaching authority to
persuade God's people that it was all right for them also to
compromise these standards, even "to commit fornication"
(Revelation 2:14) with their idol-worshipping enemies. o wonder
Micah (the faithful prophet) urged God's people to "remember"
Balaam and his tragic end ( umbers 31:8). Henry Morris
BALANCE
1. We sometimes see rather sentimental pictures of Christ welcoming the weary
and heavy laden to him. When he said, "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and
heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
He did not mean for us to be weary and heavy laden for ever. We have to balance
those words with other words of his, such as, "Take up your cross and follow me."
2. A.W. Tozer writes, "Lack of balance in the Christian life is often the direct
consequence of overemphasis on certain favorite texts, with a corresponding
underemphasis on other related ones. For it is not denial only that makes a truth
void; failure to emphasis it will in the long run be equally damaging. And this puts
us in the odd position of holding a truth theoretically while we make it of no effect
by neglecting it in practice. Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle.
Sometimes our dogmatic insistance upon "it is written" and our refusal to hear
"again it is written" makes heretics of us, our heresy being the noncreedal variety
which does not rouse the opposition of the theologians. One example of this is the
teaching that crops up now and again having to do with confession of sin. It goes
like this:
BALANCE

A. W. Tozer in his book That Incredible Christian writes, "Truth is like
a bird; it cannot fly on one wing., Yet we are forever trying to take
off with one wing flapping furiously and the other tucked neatly out of
sight.
I believe it was Dr. G. Campbell Morgan who said that the whole truth
does not lie in "It is written," but in "It is written" and "Again it is
written." the second text must be placed over against the first to
balance it and give it symmetry, just as the right wing must work along
with the left to balance the bird and enable it to fly.
Many of the doctrinal divisions among the churches are the result of a
blind and stubborn insistence that truth has but one wing. Each side
holds tenaciously to one test, refusing grimly to acknowledge the
validity of the other. this error is an evil among churches, but it is a
real tragedy when it gets into the hearts of individual Christians and
begins to affect their devotional lives."
He goes on to tell of the damage of lack of balance where some say
because Jesus died for all of our sins their is no need to confess them
for they are already paid for, and they neglect the truth that it is,
"If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive them." Both
truths need to be acted on and not take one to eliminate the other.
Tozer points out that we cannot live just the positive side of the Christian life, for that would be like
trying to live by only inhaling and never exhailing. Both are necessary for life, and the result is you
have the reality of the negative where their is a cost to the joy we have in Christ. It cost much
suffering and many martyrs to take up the cross and follow Jesus. It is not being honest with the facts
of life to tell people that their is only good to follow if they choose Christ.They may have to suffer
much. Let us not be like the saleman who tells only the good aspects of his product but does not tell of
the defects.
BALA CE, in theology
1. If you have ever rowed a boat, you have a perfect illustration for a
need for balance, for if you row with one oar you go in circles, and if
you switch you just go in circles the other way. The only way to go
forward to your goal is by the use of both oars in unison. Lose the
balance of unified rowing and you cease to move forward. So it is with
the Christian life. It can never keep going in the direction it should
unless faith and works are combined in a unified balance. None are more
oft the track than those who throw away one or the other of these two
basic oars of the Christian life.
Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts.
They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. "What did
he find?" asked the cohort. "A piece of the truth," the Devil
replied. "Doesn't it bother you that he found a piece of the
truth?" asked the cohort. " o," said the Devil, "I will see to
it that he makes a religion out of it." Between Two Truths -
Living with Biblical Tensions, Klyne Snodgrass, 1990, Zondervan
Publishing House, Page 35
P. Brand, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, p. 167
Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious

opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious.
G.K. Chesterton
BALD ESS
One member of the bridge club was wearing a gold locket on a
chain around her neck. "That's lovely," another player said.
"Do you keep a memento in it?" "A lock of my husband's hair,"
replied the first woman. "Oh. But your husband is still alive."
"Yes," said the first, "but his hair is gone." Ohio Motorist
"Don't regard it as losing hair. Think of it as gaining face."
"The good man always comes out on top."
"At least it's neat."
"God only made so many perfect heads, the rest he covered with
hair."
Better a bald head than none at all. Austin O'Malley
2. Prof,: Can you give me an example of wasted energy?"
Fresh.: "Yes, sir-telling a hair-raising story to a bald headed man."
3. They say the baby looks like me,
A circumstance I dreaded,
But the only likeness I can see
Is that we're both bald-headed.
4. He sets a shining example and makes us think of heaven. There is no
parting there.
5. On earth there are some strange beauty contests. For example, in
Tokyo Hiko Saburo
Kawamoto at age 69 won the bald men contest and was declared the most
handsome bald man in Japan. He defeated 15 other hairless finalists.
They were judged partly by the luster of their scalps and the ability of
their heads to reflect light. Kowamoto trained for the contest by
wearing a hat outside to prevent tanning. He also shaved his temple
where he had some hair.
6. Bald is beautiful to some. Aescaylps, the most sublime of the
Greek tragic poets who wrote 90 plays was killed by an eagle who
dropped a tortoise on his bald head thinking it was a rock. This
is how they break the shell.
BALLOU, Sullivan
We have all seen John Wayne movies that made combat look like a romantic romp
in the park. Men who have been through it tell a different story. The most graphic
descriptions of battle I've read came from Bruce Catton's excellent books on the
American Civil War, including The Army of the Potomac. They provide a striking
understanding of the toughness of both Yankee and Rebel soldiers. Their lives were
filled with deprivation and danger that is hardly imaginable today. It was not
unusual for the troops to make a two-week forced march during which commanders
would threaten the stragglers at sword-point.
The men were often thrown into the heat of a terrible battle just moments after
reaching the front. They would engage in exhausting combat for days, interspersed
by sleepless nights on the ground -- sometimes in freezing rain or snow. During the

battle itself, they ate a dry, hard biscuit called hardtack, and very little else. In less
combative times, they could add a little salt pork and coffee to their diet. That was
it! As might be expected, their intestinal tracks were regularly shredded by
diarrhea, dysentery and related diseases that decimated their ranks. The Union
Army reported upwards of 200,000 casualties from disease, often disabling up to 50
percent of the soldiers. The Confederates suffered a similar fate.
Combat experience itself was unbelievably violent in those days. Thousands of men
stood toe to toe and slaughtered one another like flies. After one particularly bloody
battle in 1862, 5,000 men lay dead in an area of two square miles. Twenty thousand
more were wounded. One witness said it was possible to walk on dead bodies for 100
yards without once stepping on the ground. Many of the wounded remained where
they fell among dead men and horses for 12 or 14 hours, with their groans and cries
echoing through the countryside.
While their willingness to endure these physical deprivations is almost
incomprehensible, one has to admire the emotional toughness of the troops. They
believed in their cause, whether Union or Confederate, and they committed their
lives to it. Most believed that they would not survive the war, but that was of little
consequence.
Please understand that I do not see unmitigated virtue in the heroic visions of that
day. Indeed, men were all too willing to put their lives on the line for a war they
poorly understood. But their dedication and personal sacrifice remain today as
memorials to their time.
There is, perhaps, no better illustration of this commitment to principle and honor
than is seen in a letter written by major Sullivan Ballou of the Union Army. He
penned it to his wife, Sarah, a week before the battle of Bull Run, July 14, 1861.
They had been married only six years. These powerful words still tough my soul:
My Very Dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days -- perhaps
tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few
lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more ...
I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged,
and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American civilization
now leans on the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those
who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am
willing, perfectly willing, to lay down all my joys in this life to help maintain this
Government and to pay that debt...
Sarah, my love for you is deathless: it seems to bind me with mighty cables that
nothing but Omnipotence could break, and yet my love for country comes over me
like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on, with all these chains to the battle-
field.
The memories of all the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over
me, and I feel most deeply grateful to God, and you, that I have enjoyed them so
long. And how hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of
future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and
seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood around us.
If I do not (return), my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my
last breath escapes me on the battle-field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my

many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless, how foolish I
have often-times been...
O Sarah, if the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they
loved, I shall always be near you in the gladdest day and in the darkest night, amidst
your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours -- always, always: and if there be a soft
breeze upon your cheek, it shall by my breath, or the cool air cools your throbbing
temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.
Sarah, do not mourn me dead: think I am gone, and wait for me, for we shall meet
again...
Sullivan
Major Ballou was killed one week later in the first battle of Bull Run. I wonder,
don't you, if he did indeed utter Sarah's name as he lay dying on the battlefield. She
undoubtedly suffered the greater pain in the aftermath of that terrible war.
Focus on the Family ewsletter
March, 1994
BA QUET
In 1971, the Persian Empire celebrated its 2500th birthday as
Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran gave a four-day celebration costing
$100 million. The focal point of the event was a huge banquet,
the banquet hall being a gigantic silk tent lighted with $840,000
worth of colored lights! The guest list matched the occasion:
the Shah invited more than 600 dignitaries from 69 nations.
Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 31
ΒΕΕΤΗΟΒΕΕΤΗΟΒΕΕΤΗΟΒΕΕΤΗΟVΕΝΕΝΕΝΕΝ
•••• By the age of 5, Beethoven was playing the violin under the
•••• tutelage of his father--also an accomplished musician. By the
•••• time he was 13, Beethoven was a concert organist. In his 20s he
•••• was already studying under the very watchful eyes of Haydn and
•••• Mozart. In fact, Mozart spoke prophetic words when he declared
•••• that Beethoven would give the world something worth listening to
•••• by the time his life ended. As Beethoven began to develop his
•••• skills, he became a prolific composer. During his lifetime, he
•••• wrote nine majestic symphonies and five concertos for piano, not
•••• to mention numerous pieces of chamber music. Ludwig van
•••• Beethoven also wrote sonatas and pieces for violin and piano. He
•••• has thrilled us with the masterful works of unique harmony that
•••• broke with the traditions of his times. The man was a genius.
•••• Beethoven was not, however, a stranger to difficulties. During
•••• his twenties, he began to lose his hearing. His fingers "became
•••• thick," he said on one occasion. He couldn't feel the music as
•••• he once had. His hearing problem haunted him in the middle years
•••• of his life, but he kept it a well-guarded secret. When he
•••• reached his fifties, Beethoven was stone deaf. Three years later

•••• he made a tragic attempt to conduct an orchestra and failed
•••• miserably. Approximately five years later, he died during a
•••• fierce thunder storm. He was deaf, yet a magnificient musician.
•••• On one occasion, Beethoven was overheard shouting at the top of
•••• his voice as he slammed both fists on the keyboard, "I will take
•••• life by the throat!" quoted in Swindoll, "Hand me another brick"
•••• p. 190-191
••••
BEGI again
•••• Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes
•••• studied under a respected tutor. After several years the
•••• teacher's efforts seemed to have paid off when Timanthes painted
•••• an exquisite work of art. Unfortunately, he became so enraptured
•••• with the painting that he spent days gazing at it. One morning
•••• when he arrived to admire his work, he was shocked to find it
•••• blotted out with paint. Angry, Timanthes ran to his teacher, who
•••• admitted he had destroyed the painting. "I did it for your own
•••• good. That painting was retarding your progress. Start again
•••• and see if you can do better."
•••• Timanthes took his teacher's advice and produced
•••• Sacrifice of Iphigenia, which is regarded as one of the finest
•••• paintings of antiquity.
•••• Today in the Word, September 2, 1992
BEGI I G
•••• The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that
•••• we wait so long to begin it.
•••• --Richard L. Evans, Bits & Pieces, March 4, 1993, Page 2
•••• Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel, Word, 1987, p.69
•••• Kim Linehan holds the world record in the Women's 1500-meter
•••• freestyle. According to her coach, Paul Bergen, the 18-year-old
•••• is the leading amateur woman distance swimmer in the world. Kim
•••• does endless exercises and swims 7 to 12 miles a day. The
•••• hardest part of her regimen? "Getting in the water," she says.
•••• from Texas Monthly, quoted in R.D., June 1981
•••• The first electric light was so dim that a candle was needed to
•••• see its socket. One of the first steamboats took 32 hours to
•••• chug its way from ew York to Albany, a distance of 150 miles.
•••• Wilbur and Orville Wright's first airplane flight lasted only 12
•••• seconds. And the first automobiles traveled 2 to 4 miles per
•••• hour and broke down often. Carriages would pass them with their
•••• passengers shouting, "Get a horse!"
•••• On a plaque marking Abraham Lincoln's birthplace near
•••• Hodgenville, Kentucky, is recorded this scrap of conversation:

•••• "Any news down 't the village, Ezry?" "Well, Squire McLain's
•••• gone t' Washington t' see Madison swore in, and ol' Spellman
•••• tells me this Bonaparte fella has captured most o' Spain. What's
•••• new out here, neighbor?" " uthin' nuthin' a'tall, 'cept fer a
•••• new baby born t' Tom Lincoln's. othin' ever happens out here."
•••• Some events, whether birthdays in Hodgenville (or Bethlehem) or
•••• spiritual rebirth in a person's life, may not create much earthly
•••• splash, but those of lasting importance will eventually get the
•••• notice they deserve.
BEHAVIOR
•••• There's little difference in ethical behavior between the
•••• churched and the unchurched. There's as much pilferage and
•••• dishonesty among the churched as the unchurched. And I'm afraid
•••• that applies pretty much across the board: religion, per se, is
•••• not really life changing. People cite it as important, for
•••• instance, in overcoming depression--but it doesn't have primacy
•••• in determining behavior. George H. Gallup, "Vital Signs,"
•••• Leadership, Fall 1987, p. 17
•••• In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church's
•••• integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ
•••• to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief
•••• without a change in behavior." He goes on to say, "It is revival
•••• without reformation, without repentance." quoted in John The
•••• Baptizer, Bible Study Guide by C. Swindoll, p. 16
BELIEF
1. You first believe someone, then something
Saving faith may thus be defined as a voluntary turning from all hope and grounds
based on selfmerit, and assuming an attitude of expectancy toward God, trusting
Him to do a perfect saving work based only on the merit of Christ. L.S. Chafer,
True Evangelism, p. 55-6
It should be observed that, apart from the power of God, superficial decisions may
easily be secured, and apparently great results accomplished; for some minds are so
dependent upon the opinions of others that the earnest and dominating appeal of
the evangelist, with the obvious value of a religious life, is sufficient to move them to
follow almost any plan that is made to appear to be expedient. They may be urged to
act on the vision of the way of life which the preacher possesses, when they have
received no sufficient vision for themselves. The experience of thousands of
churches has proved that such decisions have not met the conditions of grace in
"believing with the heart"; for the multitude of advertised converts have often
failed, and these churches have had to face the problem of dealing with a class of
disinterested people who possess no new dynamic, nor any of the blessings of the
truly regenerate life.

Illustrations, humor, poetry and quotations vol 10

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Illustrations, humor, poetry and quotations vol 10