Rev. M. L. Lindvall received a letter in a Christmas card. It was a personal letter ”not one of those which relates every event of the past year. The letter writer told how his church had held a Christmas pageant for 47 years with the same director. Perfection was her goal ”nothing less. For years the church’s pageant ran like clockwork. Perfect lines, perfect pacing, perfect everything. Then one year, something even better happened. You see, the director’s commitment to perfection was greater than her ...
When one little fellow was told about his new baby sister, he was not impressed. At school the following day, his teacher remarked, "I hear you have a new member of your family." "Oh, yeah," he replied. "What's the matter?" his teacher asked. "Aren't you happy to have a new sister?" He answered, "Yes, I guess. But there were a lot of things we needed more." I am certain that when people hear the Christmas story for the first time, their initial reaction is that what the world needs most is not another baby ...
I read recently about a woman who had waited till the last minute to send Christmas cards. She rushed into a store and bought a package of 50 cards without really looking at them. Still in a big hurry she addressed 49 of the 50 and signed them without reading the message inside. On Christmas Day, when things had quieted down somewhat she chanced to run upon the leftover card and finally read the message she had sent to 49 of her friends. Much to her dismay, it read like this: "This card is just to say A ...
A Sunday school teacher challenged her children to take some time on Sunday afternoon to write a letter to God. They were to bring back their letter the following Sunday. One little boy wrote, "Dear God, We had a good time at church today. Wish You could have been there. I think it was that same little fellow who turned to a classmate and asked, "Who was Round John Virgin?" She answered, "I think he was one of the 12 opossums." The Christmas story is such a magnificent one ”so full of tenderness and love ” ...
Someone has said that the three phrases that best sum up the Christmas season are: "Peace on Earth," "Good will to men," and "Batteries not included." Some of you who are parents of small children know the meaning of this statement. I trust that you had a most joyous and meaningful Christmas at your house. Soon the lights and holiday greenery will be coming down and this Christmas will be simply a warm memory. Before it slips away from us, however, we need to spend a few moments savoring the deeper meaning ...
It was the week of Christmas, 1968. Three men—Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders—left earth for a breathtaking voyage around the moon and back. Remember, this was 51 years ago. Within months other U.S astronauts would actually set foot on the moon, but this was the pioneering effort. The take-off was flawless. That is remarkable in itself considering the problems in our space program over the years. It is hard to realize how quickly back then we came to take the concept of space travel for ...
Yankee magazine ran a fascinating article recently entitled "Sensitive Specialists." It described men who make their living making extraordinary use of their natural senses. They cited the practiced eye of a diamond inspector, the sense of feel of a wool inspector, the developed ear of a cymbal tester, the sense of smell of a fresh fish inspector, and the sense of taste of a milktaster. All the men acknowledged that they had no special gift in the area of their senses. They had simply trained themselves to ...
You may not know it, but years ago Nikita Kruschev, John F. Kennedy and Golda Meir had a summit meeting with God. Each of them was allowed to ask one question. "God," asked Nikita Kruschev, "do you think the U.S. and Russia will ever have peace?" "Yes," answered God, "but not in your lifetime." Then Kennedy spoke. "God, do you think there will be peace between blacks and whites in our land and around the world?" "Yes," replied God, "but not in your lifetime." Then it was the Israeli leader's turn. "God," ...
In the little book, LAUGHTER IN APPALACHIA, Fred Park of Berea, Kentucky tells a story about a man named Quill. Quill lived way back in the woods where he hunted and fished all the time. Quill didn't pay any attention to the hunting seasons or laws or anything, and he knew the woods better than the game warden. The game warden had been trying to catch Quill for a long time. Today was the day. He knew Quill would be up early to go fishing. So the game warden sneaked down there in the middle of the night and ...
David McKechnie tells a great story about a rather unlikely speaker who came to Bob Jones University sometime back. Bob Jones is a stronghold of fundamentalism. According to the story the speaker told the young people, "You are naive. You cannot continue to take the Bible and apply literalism to it. For example," he said, "take the Old Testament. The Hebrew for `red' and `reed' is the same word. When it talks about Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea with the Egyptian army in pursuit, ...
A lady wrote to Reader's Digest recently. She wanted to tell about an experience she had taking a young girl from India to church with her. It was the 11-year-old girl's first exposure to Christian worship. The young lady's parents were traveling on business and left her with their American friends. The little Hindu girl decided on her own to go with the family to church one Sunday. When they returned home, her host's husband asked her what she thought of the service. "I don't understand why the West Coast ...
This morning we want to talk about food. That's a relevant subject for most of us. The two biggest sellers in any bookstore, according to Andy Rooney, are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it. Orson Welles once said, "My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me." Champion archer Rick McKinney confesses that he ...
The new music teacher at the Junior High school had just organized a band. The principal decided that the band should give its first concert, but the music teacher was not certain that the band was ready. Just before the concert, the music teacher whispered to her nervous musicians, "If you’re not sure of your part, just pretend to play." When the big moment arrived, she brought her baton down with a sweeping flourish and lo, nothing happened. The band gave forth with a resounding silence. Sometimes the ...
Jesus was a master psychologist. He knew that all of us crave recognition. He knew that the desire for status is an innate part of the human condition. Most of us don’t want to simply keep up with the Jones we want to be slightly ahead of the Jones, the Smiths and everyone else on the block. There is a popular joke about a fellow named Pat who always wanted a telephone in his car. Finally he got one. He couldn’t wait to tell his best friend Mike. Mike was green with envy. That very day he ordered a ...
Tony Pena is a catcher for the Boston Red Sox. Tony grew up in the Dominican Republic. Life was not easy. Tony Pena says that the person who had the greatest influence on his life was his mother. It is the dream of most every Dominican boy to play ball in the United States. Throughout the Domincan Republic young boys swing old rake handles or "anything else they can get for a bat, trying to hit a ball a little quicker, a little farther than anyone else" ” hoping to one day play in our major leagues. Tony ...
A family once had a backyard pool. It was an above-ground pool without a shallow end. There were life-jackets for the young children who had not yet learned to swim. Some friends were visiting and the children were bobbing in the middle of the pool having a great time. All except one little fellow who was holding on for dear life to the edge. He was frightened and cold. "Hand over hand he went around the edge only occasionally letting go with both hands for a terrified instant." He was so afraid that he ...
I've got two pieces of good news for you this morning. First of all, did you realize that no one in this room is the same person they were seven years ago? Approximately every seven years, we are entirely new. Every cell, every atom, in our body dies and is replaced with new ones in that period of time. There is not one atom in your body today that was there seven years ago. Someone has called this the "seven-year switch." I don't know about you, but I find that quite refreshing. The process of dying and ...
It was Christmas Eve. A young Norman Vincent Peale was shopping with his father, Dr. Charles Clifford Peale. Clifford Peale was a physician who gave up his medical practice to become a pastor in the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were walking along Fourth Street in Cincinnati when a bum ” what we would call today a street person ” approached them. The man stretched out his filthy hand, placing it like a claw on young Norman's shoulder. Frightened and repulsed, Norman shook himself free and ran down the ...
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, in his autobiography TREASURE IN CLAY, recounts a visit he made to a leper colony in Buluba, Africa. He intended to give a silver crucifix to each of the 500 lepers residing in Buluba. The first person who came forward, however, was a man so disfigured by the ravages of leprosy that Sheen was repulsed by the sight. The man's left arm was eaten off at the elbow by the disease; so he extended his right hand. This hand, too, was unspeakably corrupted by this awful disease. Unable ...
Gert Behanna was fifty-three years old when she discovered God. The shock and wonder of that discovery haven't worn off after twenty years. Gert had another shock the very next Sunday when she went to church. She says, "I'd never been to church in my life and I remember how eagerly I awaited that first Sunday. I'd just had a glimpse of God Almighty - me, an alcoholic, a drug addict, rich, lonely, and miserable - already I was beginning to know what joy really was." Gert was a new Christian. She was eager ...
One cold, rainy morning a teenager awakened on a farm and walked out to the back of the barn where she kept her favorite pet ” her animal friend, the mule. The mule was standing outside in the rain, and as the drops of water rolled off the end of the long nose of that ugly animal, the mule seemed discouraged and depressed. She looked at her favorite friend and said, "You know, Betsy, you would make a wonderful Christian because you look like so many Christians I know! You look like you have lost your last ...
Danne and Jorge Martinez wanted to raise their eleven-year-old daughter Lizbet to do right. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to teach Lizbet to lie. You see, the Martinez family lived in Cuba. They were members of Castro's Communist Party. But inside their home, these devoted parents complained bitterly about the political situation that was destroying their country. And so, when Lizbet was old enough to attend school, her parents sat her down and explained the facts of life to her. She was never to ...
Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was an atheist. A man of great wit and intelligence, Asimov was brought up in the Jewish faith but like many modern Jews, maintained some of the trappings of his faith while rejecting its central focus on God. Once on national television, Asimov was asked point blank by TV interviewer David Frost about his views on God. Asimov was reluctant to admit his atheism to a large television audience, so he stalled by saying, "Whose [God]?" Frost would not be put off. He said, "I ...
Denis Rainey, in his book THE TRIBUTE, has some wonderful stories about family life. One of the best is an Associated Press story datelined Grand Rapids, Michigan. At age 2, Robin Hawkins already is a home wrecker. When she is old enough to ask for an allowance, her father intends to show her a bill for almost $2,300 worth of family belongings she has destroyed in a two-month rampage. It all started when Alice the Cat went down the drain. "I heard her saying, Bye-bye, fluff-fluff, bye-bye,'" her father, ...
Have you ever noticed that communication is difficult business? In the book AMERICA'S DUMBEST CRIMINALS there is a story about a blundering, wannabe robber with speech difficulties in Thibodaux, Louisiana, who just couldn't win for losing. Sam Lincoln entered Bob's Cafe and, speaking in his thick, backwoods Cajun accent, ordered the waitress to "give me all the money." Unfortunately, she couldn't understand a word he said. To her it sounded like he was ordering "a sieve with all the honey." In desperation ...