There is an 80-foot tall maple tree in Milford, Connecticut that hasn ™t changed much over the years. There are new leaves every spring, of course, and the leaves fall off every autumn. And there is the spot where a limb came off when Hurricane Gloria blew through in 1985. Other than that missing branch the tree on Hawley Avenue has looked the same for as long as anyone can remember. The spot where the limb was blown off caused quite a stir in the neighborhood sometime back. One of the residents, Claudia ...
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 ...
The large family had gathered at the old farm house for a reunion. Long after supper, the celebration moved indoors. Only the father of the clan ventured out to wander the vast acres in the dark. On his walk the old man fell into a ditch and found himself sitting waist-deep in slimy mud--very uncomfortable, but in no immediate danger. Without moving, he shouted, “Fire! Fire!” Since fire is one of the most dreaded rural disasters, the celebrating family poured out into the night, frantic with fear. On ...
Mighty King David acted on his impulses when he saw Bathsheba bathing in the afternoon sun. David committed a sin. David had not given any thought to the consequences of his sin. He thought he could get away with anything. After all, he was the king. David knew right from wrong ” that was why he went to such lengths to cover up his sin. As you will recall, David had Bathsheba's husband Uriah killed in battle. After a period of mourning David took Bathsheba as his wife. David hoped that he could put the ...
A little girl whose father was a disc jockey, a radio announcer, was invited to a friend's house for dinner. When she arrived, the mother asked the little girl if she would honor them by saying the blessing. It delighted the little girl. She cleared her throat, looked at her wristwatch, and said, "This food, friends, is coming to you through the courtesy of almighty God." Well, she was right, all food that we eat comes through the courtesy of almighty God. (1) Thanksgiving is a special time of year. Can't ...
In the fifth century B.C., the Jewish people were captives in Persia. With the enthronement of a new Persian ruler, those who chose to return to Judah were allowed to do so. Many started life anew in the area of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a Jew who had held a high position at the Persian court. He received permission to return to his native land, where he was authorized to take charge of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a dynamic leader with a gift for organizing and directing the cooperative ...
Since we are talking about getting the proper nourishment, today, I thought I would share with you eight dieting tips that I picked up recently. Tip 1: If no one sees you eat it, it has no calories. Tip 2: If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, they will cancel each other out. Tip 3: Calories don't count if you eat with someone and you both eat the same amount. Tip 4: Food taken for medicinal purposes does not count. This includes toast, hot chocolate, and Sara Lee chocolate cake. Tip 5: If you fatten ...
The speaker at a woman's club was lecturing on marriage and asked the audience how many of them wanted to "mother" their husbands. One member in the back row raised her hand. "You mean you really want to mother your husband?" the speaker asked. "Mother?" the woman said. "I thought you said smother." A Protestant young man was marrying a Catholic girl. They met with her priest to sign some prewedding ceremony papers. While filling out the form, the young man read aloud a few questions. When he got to the ...
A mother took her three-year-old daughter to church for the first time. The church was having a special candlelight service. The church lights were lowered; then the choir came down the aisle, carrying lighted candles. All was quiet until this three-year-old started to sing in a loud voice, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you . . ." (1) It was only a candlelight service, but it seemed like a birthday party to her. And today [tonight], she would be right! This is a celebration of Jesus' birthday. ...
Do you remember where you were on July 21, 1969? I know that many of you weren't even born! Weren't even a twinkle in your parent's eyes! But for those of you who were around, do you remember where you were in July 21, 1969? Let me give you a hint--maybe the title of the message this morning will trigger a memory. How did the songwriter put it? Young girl in Calcutta Barely 8 years old; The flies that swarm the marketplace Will see she don't grow old. But don't you know she heard it On that July afternoon ...
Imagine a computer programming class. A young man and a young woman are facing each other working at computers. The computers, of course, sit back to back. A few minutes into the class, the young woman leaves the room; whereupon the young man reaches between their computers and switches the inputs for the keyboards. The young woman comes back and starts typing. Immediately gets a distressed look on her face. She calls the teacher over and explains that no matter what she types, nothing happens. The teacher ...
Our Jewish friends are wonderful story tellers and they do not mind making fun of themselves. Here are two samples: During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregregants stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up. The rabbi, educated as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested ...
A commercial airline pilot on one occasion made a particularly bad landing. The wheels of the big jet hit the runway with a jarring thud. Afterward, the airline had a policy, which required that the pilot stand at the door while the passengers exited. He was to give each of them a smile and say, "Thanks for flying with us today." In light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment, but no one seemed annoyed. Finally everyone ...
A family had sold everything possible to pay bills and to put food on the table. Nevertheless, a burglar broke in one night when the family was gone. The family returned and found the door knocked off its hinges. "What did the burglar get?" the police officer asked. The head of the house just shook his head. "Practice," he said. It's not easy being poor. What did Jesus mean, "Blessed are the poor?" Jesus was a master at keeping his listeners off-balance. He always said the unexpected. He praised people ...
A 4-year-old boy was asked to return thanks before Thanksgiving dinner. His family bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited ...
Arthur Ashe was a world-class tennis player and a world-class father. He believed in leading by example. “My wife and I talk about this with our six-year-old daughter," Ashe said in an interview just before his death. “Children are much more impressed by what they see you do than by what you say," he said. “Children at that age certainly keep you honest. If you have been preaching one thing all along and all of a sudden you don't do it, they're going to bring it right up in your face. “I tell her it's not ...
A patient, while recovering in the hospital from a heart attack, met this over zealous evangelist. For half an hour, the preacher lectured the man on being thankful for God's mercy and repenting immediately of his sins. "Tell the truth, brother," the pastor remarked. "During your heart attack, didn't all your sins flash before your eyes?" With a mischievous grin, the patient responded, "Don't be ridiculous, the attack only lasted six hours!" (1) None of us likes to hear the word "repent," do we? At best, ...
"I have good news and bad news," the defense lawyer says to his client. "What's the bad news?"asks his client. The lawyer says, "Your blood matches the DNA found at the murder scene." "No!" cries the client. "What's the good news?" "Well," the lawyer says, "your cholesterol is down to 140." (1) Good news, bad news. The world is filled with bad news. Too much bad news everywhere you look. Bad news in the world. Bad news in the nation. Bad news in individual homes and lives. Pastor Doug Sabin tells about a ...
An Upbeat Word for a Downbeat World, #3 (Alternate) Mark Twain was a writer of great charm and wit, Twain could communicate important insights in a way that won him many admirers. He was welcome in the highest social and literary circles both in this country and abroad. On one of his trips abroad the Emperor of Germany sent an invitation for him to come to the palace to dine with the royal family. When Twain's little daughter heard about it, she exclaimed, "Daddy, you know most everybody in the whole world ...
Three middle-aged men--Joe, Fred and Tom--were discussing the possibility of sudden death. "What would you do if you knew you only had 4 weeks of life remaining?" Joe asked. "First of all," Fred said, "I would quit my job and for those 4 weeks I would do nothing but fish." "Not me," Tom said somberly. "For those 4 weeks, I would spend as much time as possible with my children and let them know how much I love them." Joe thought for a few moments and then said, "I'll tell you what I would do. For those 4 ...
It's a phrase we still use today: he has dirty hands. We could be referring to hands that are soiled from doing good honest labor. The mechanic who works on our car may have dirty hands but it is no discredit to him. It comes with the territory. The farmer may have dirt all over his body from working all day in the fields. And we honor him because he or she helps feed our world. There is no disgrace in having dirty hands. Unless, of course, we mean it in a metaphorical sense: his hands are soiled with ...
The following notice appeared sometime back in a newspaper in the northeastern part of the U. S.: "To those of you who bought our book, Skydiving Made Easy, please enter the following correction on page 12, paragraph 3, line 2: The words 'State zip code' should say "Pull rip cord.' We regret any inconvenience this mistake may have caused you." (1) I suspect it might have caused some inconvenience. A husband who was not used to doing housework decided to wash his dirty sweatshirt. After stepping into the ...
Perhaps no people were more prone to give names to their children that "preach" than the Puritans of 17th century New England. The names they gave their kids leave us to wonder if, after all, the Puritans were just kidding. I assure you, they were not. Dead serious was the young Puritan couple who named their new baby boy "Kill Sin." So, Mr. Kill Sin Pimple shows up in a marriage list of official county records. (It would be interesting to know whether his friends called him by his first name, Kill; or by ...
Is there any son or daughter in this world who is not thrilled by this little declaration of praise from a parent, "I'm proud of you?" When baseball great Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth's remarkable record, that is what he said: "I don't' remember the noise, or the two kids that ran on the field. My teammates at home plate, I remember seeing them. I remember my mother out there and she hugging me. that's what I'll remember more than anything about that home run when I think back on ...
"The air was so still that not a single leaf trembled. Dark gray clouds hovered overhead. Animals ducked for doorways as if by some mysterious instinct they knew that this would be a long dreadful night." That was how one man described the longest night of his life--a night when several tornados struck his small community leaving a path of unbelievable destruction. Wartime London must have been something like that. People huddling in fall-out shelters--never knowing when German bombers would strike-- ...