Results

I have heard of a man who lived in a certain town, and while he lived, was greatly misunderstood. It was known that he had a large income, yet he lived a miserly life, and loud were the murmurs at the scanty help he gave to those around him. He stinted himself in many ways, and hoarded his money. But…

John Bunyan beautifully portrays Christiana and Mercy coming up out of the bath of the interpreter’s house. They have had jewels put upon them, and when they are both washed, Mercy says to Christiana, “How comely and beautiful you look!” “No,” Christiana said, “My sister, I see no beauty in myself, but…

Resident of the Dutch village of Jelsum said the idea of using a rumble strips in the highway to sound out the anthem of the Friesland region sounded like a good idea at first, but it quickly became an annoyance. As a novelty, authorities had strips placed in the road, so that when a vehicle drove over…

In The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen writes, "Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive. Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity and receiving the satisfaction I so much desire, the result is always the opposite of what I tried to get. A complainer is hard…

You may have more in common with Priscilla Presley, who married Elvis in 1967 than you think. As she reflected on her marriage to the King, she said “I was hated for marrying him, hated for getting a divorce,” she said. “Having people being critical but not knowing what your life was and not knowing…

Paul only gave a two star TripAdvisor review for his stay at the four-star Beech Hill Hotel, which overlooks Lake Windermere in Cumbria, UK. He wasn’t happy. As it turns out, his room didn’t have the view he thought it should have. Fair enough. Vacationers staying at a nice lakeside hotel want a room…

Los Angeles Clippers Forward Josh Smith will be taking a pay cut this year. “I do have a family, so it’s going to be a little harder on me this year. But I’m going to push through it.” You would find it difficult too, I am sure, if you had to get by on only $6.9 million this year. It doesn’t matter how…

A 4-year-old pre-K student in Oklahoma was forced to use his right hand while making his letters. The teacher sent a note home to the parents advising them of the reason. “There are numerous instances of left-handedness being associated with wickedness,” read the astounded parents. —Jim L. Wilson and…

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say they have cracked the code to being happy. They have been studying this for decades, working with tens of thousands of patients. Now they think they have found it. They key parts of the code are 1) focus on the right things. 2) Learn to compartmentalize your life and…

When a Pennsylvania town was forced to use a backup Christmas tree for the civic lighting ceremony, resident complained, demanding the city replace the tree. The city had planned to use a Christmas tree from a tree farm for the tree in the town center, but when crews went to get it, the owners would…

Peter’s Church in East Blatchington, Sussex has found a way to help their parishioners who struggle with practicing the spiritual discipline of silence. A parishioner of the 900-year-old church suggested they set a microphone in the middle of the sanctuary and sell the recording as a meditation tool.…

Patricia Fortini Brown, in Venice and Antiquity, notes that the ancient Greeks distinguished two kinds of time, "kairos (opportunity or the propitious moment) and chronos (eternal or ongoing time). While the first ... offers hope, the second extends a warning." Kairos is the time of cleverness, chronos…

One little boy defined Father’s Day like this: “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day, only you don’t spend as much on a present.” Come on, isn’t that true? Father’s Day is kind of the “left-over” holiday. It’s the one that we do just so the guys won’t feel bad. In fact Garrison Keillor writes that…

The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured,…

America through the eyes of a Romanian newspaper Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs. Still , the American tragedy turned…

FRIENDSHIP In the animated motion picture Madagascar 2, the friendships of four animals from New York City are put to the test. Alex, the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe, wound up on the distant island of Madagascar in the first film. In the second they attempt to get…

Rumblings "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. . ." (Acts 6:1a NLT) After the church I was pastoring completed a building program in 1985, our attendance began to pick up and we became effective at reaching people in our community. That didn't surprise me. I knew…

Speaking of Senior Moments: WHERE IS MY SUNDAY PAPER? The irate customer calling the newspaper office loudly demanded, wanting to know where her Sunday edition was. Ma'am, said the newspaper employee, today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not delivered until tomorrow, on Sunday. There was quite a long…

COMPLAINING Nancy Singer and her sister, who did not want to be identified, say they have been loyal customers of Filene’s Basement for years but recently received a letter from the chain of stores asking them not to return. They acknowledge they have returned many items and occasionally complained about…

Speaking of Senior Moments: WHERE Is My SUNDAY Paper? the irate customer calling the newspaper office loudly demanded, wanting to know where her Sunday edition was. Ma'am, said the newspaper employee, today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not delivered until tomorrow, on Sunday. There was quite a long…

CRITICISM Rotten Reviews, a book edited by Bill Henderson, contains some negative reviews some works of art including Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Henderson reports that “Children’s Books” called Alice in Wonderland…

Many times it is the small thoughts of kindness that give someone the biggest boost of perseverance. Douglas Maurer, 15, of Creve Coeur, Missouri, had been feeling bad for several days. His temperature was ranging between 103 and 105 degrees, and he was suffering from severe flu-like symptoms. Finally,…

GRASS "Dad, your grass needs mowing, let me do it for you." Dan said. Dan just wanted to make his Dad's life more comfortable in the final days of his life, but he wanted more than that, he wanted his father's affirmation. "No son, I'll hire someone to do it, you never did know how to mow a lawn." Once…

Attitude Adjustment "Here you go, son. Here's the fries you wanted." The father handed his son a super sized container of french fries and a coke. He sat across the table from his son to sip his coffee and read his newspaper. His son was becoming quite the young man. It seems like just yesterday that…

Page 41 Almost from the moment I had ears to hear, I heard those voices, and they have stayed with me ever since. They have come to me through my parents, my friends, my teachers, and my colleagues, but, most of all, they have come and still come through the mass media that surround me. And they say:…