Konti puna sa paligid..

wow astig.. galing nian aa..

panu ba maging binge?

try ku nga minsan yan. aheheheh

takpan mu ng bulak tenga mu..
parang ung kei eugene dati

lol..negro ka! negro! o sige nga takpan mu tenga mu..

lol.. payatot!! hahaha..

nice story ... kaso i hate frogs! tapos bingi pa!... hahahah

waaaaa scandalous ung sig ni mari ampf... hahahaha ang laki eee

daga nmn..
paclick ng spoiler..

Spoiler:

wow!!! galing po master ton!! what a story.. ganda ng moral

These stories came from a book by Wayne Rice.
The book consist of compilation of different Inspirational stories.
Actually ung mga stories na ung could mean different meanings.
I'll try to post it everyday and you guys make some opinion or comments, understanding or reaction for the story.
On my next post of another story I'll include the reflection regading the previous story based on the author's book.

I'll start with:

Alexander the great

Alexander the Great, one of the military generals who ever lived,conqured almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during ta campaign, he couldn't sleep and left his tent to walk around the campgrounds.
As he was walking he came across a soldier asleed on guard duty - a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard was, in some cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene in the sleeping soldier and lit it.
The soldier began to wake up as Alexaner the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life.
"Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?" Alexander the Great asked the soldier.
"Yes, sir," the soldier responded in a quivering voce.
"Soldier, what's your name?" demanded by Alexander the Great.
"Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great repeated the question: "What is your name?"
"My name is Alexander, sir;" the soldier repeated.
A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, "What is your name?"
A third time the solider meekly said, "My name is Alexander, sir."
Alexander the Great then looked the young soldeir straight in the eye. "Soldier," he said with intensity, "Either change your name or change your conduct."

Ah ganito kasi ata... He repeteadly asked the soldier's name, sagot nmn ng soldier "My name is Alexander, sir".
He just want the soldier to realize that they both have the same name.
Kapareho nya ng name ang isang dakilng tao, n naging tapat at msigasig s kanyang tunkulin. Dahil hindi nging pabaya c Alexander s kanyang tungkulin hanggang s nakilala sya.
Sabi nya "Either change your name or change your conduct."
Dahil alam nyang alang patutunguhan ang isang tao na ttamad tamad at di tapat s tungkulin... (Vote nyo ko s Senado! ahahahaha)
Un lng... ahihih un ang pagkakaintindi ko weh... tnx ton... ayos to ton... hintyin ko mga kasunod...

Previous story application based from the book:
We who carry the name of christ and call ourselves Christian must live ip to the name. (See II Timothy 2:19;James 2:7 I Peter 4:16.)

To Answer to a Prayer

A group of California high school students had spent three months preparing and planning to go to Mexico duting the Easter break to help the poor. They had prayed that God would use them in a mighty way. Anticipating an exciting week of ministry, they journeyed to a small church near Mexicali.
Upon arriving at the small rural village on a Sunday morning, the students saw that the church were they where going to serve had been badly burned. The roof had caves in, and only the four wall ramained. They cautionsly made their way into what was left of the building, while a hymn was being sung in Spanish. They were greeted by the puzzled stares of a weary, discouraged Mexican pastor and nine parishioners who were midway through their Sunday morning service. It was apparent that the congregation had never received the group's letters explaining their plans to serve and had no idea that the group was coming to spend the week with them.
At the end of the hymn, the pastor stopped the service ,walked back to the group of high school students and said " Que' pasa?" (which the group interpreted to mean, "What int he world are you rich white kids doing in our church?").
After a long silence, one of the students spoke: " we are Christians, and we are here to serve."
On hearing this the pastor's eyes brimmed with tears. "Some peaople in the village burned down our church six months ago, " he explained, "We've been praying that God would send help, but we had given up hope that help was ever coming. Praise be to God!"
The thirty-five high school students were stunned silent. They had heard many times that God wanted to use them; now they were experiencing it for the first time. Amazed, one of the students turned to another and said, "I can't believe it. We're an answer to prayer!"

Lagi ko tanong yan,
When kaya masasagot lhat ng prayers ko...
Alam ko n ala nkakaalam, kaya tlgang naghihintay ako... Tiyaga lng cguro, time will come, n isa isa rin matutupad, hopefully someday...
Wla lng nsbi ko lng, kasi sumagi n rin s isip ko ung cnbi nung pari at di lng once ako nwalan ng hope...
But 1 of my prayers ang natupad, n tlagang mlki ang naitulong sa kin... I've prayed for a elder brother...
Thanks kay God, di lng brother binigay nya, kundi isang matalik n kaibigan...
Kwento ko lng, sobrang thankful ako kay God nung makilala ko sya...

Alam nyo minsan kasi s dami ng problema s bahay di ko n alam gagawin ko, ala ko iba mpuntahan, ala ko matakbuhan. Nagkakasabay sabay problems s bhay pati n mga personal ko problema...

Buti n lng at nkilala ko sya... Sya yung taong nkikinig s mga problema ko, nagbibigay ng payo, handang tumulong sakin, sya ung nagpapaalala lagi sakin n meron akong pde malapitan at hingan ng tulong, ung hindi busy, lagi ready mkinig... Sya lagi nagpapaalala sakin andyan c God handang mkinig s lhat ng problema ko... Kaya salamat, paulit ulit ko n to nsabi,
Salamat KUYA!!!... Salamat talaga...

At eto pa, bukod s kanya, nadagdagan ang pamilya ko (koweefayvforr)... kaya ngayon di ako nwawalan ng pag Asa n lhat ng prayers ko eventually matutupad.
Thank God nakilala ko kayo lahat...

Yun lng... Salamat...

Previous story application based from the book:
God does want to use us, and He will - if we only obey Him and follow Christ's example to be a servant. (See Philippians 2:3-11.) We can be the answer to someone's prayer by moving out of our comfort zones to use the gifts God has given us to make a difference in the world.

Awesome Obedience

A few centuries before Christ, Alexander the Great conquered almost all of the known world with his military strength, cleverness, and diplomacy. One day Alexander and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly defended, walled city. Alexander, standing outside the walls, raised his voice, demanding to see the king. The king, approaching the battlements above the invading army, agreed to hear Alexander's demands.
"Surrender to me immediately." commanded Alexander.
The king laughed. "Why should I surrender to you? he called down. "We have you far outnumbered. You are no threat to us!"
Alexander was ready to answer the challenge. "Allow me to demonstrate why you should surrender," he replied. Alexander ordered his men to line up single file ans start marching. He marched them straight toward a sheer cliff that dropped hundreds of feet to rocks below.
The king and his soldiers watched in shocked disbelief as, one by one, Alexander's soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff t their deaths. After ten soldiers had dies, Alexander ordered the rest of his men to stop and return to his side.
The king and his soldiers surrendered on the spot to Alexander the Great.

Application:
The king and his soldiers realized that nothing would stop the eventual victory of men actually willing to give their lives for their leader.
Are you dedicated to obeying the Christ's commands as Alexander's soldiers were to obeying Alexander? Are you willing to be that committed t Christ? Think how much influence Christians could have in the world if they tool seriously the commands of Jesus. "Be careful to obey..., so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and tight in the eyes of the Lord our God" (Deu. 12:28).

The Battleship and the Lighthouse

In the darkest part of the night, a ship's captain cautiously piloted his warship through the fog-shrouded waters. With straining eyes he scanned the hazy darkness, searching for dangers lurking just out of sight. His worst fears were realized when he saw a bright light straight ahead. It appeared to be a vessel on a collision course with his ship.
To avert disaster he quickly radioed the oncoming vessel. "This is Captain Jeremiah Smith," his voice crackled over the radio. "Please alter your course ten degrees south! Over."
To the captain's amazement, the foggy image did not move. Instead, he heard back on the radio, "Captain Smith. This is Private Thomas Johnson. Please alter your course ten degrees north! Over."
Appealed at the audacity of the message, the captain shouted back over the radio, "Private Johnson, this is Captain Smith, I order you to immediately alter your course ten degrees south! Over!"
A second time the oncoming light did not budge. "With all due respect, Captain Smith," came the private's voice again, "I order you to alter your course immediately ten degrees north! Over."
Angered and frustrated that this impudent sailor would endanger the life of his men and crew, the captain growled over the radio, "Private Johnson. I can have you court-martialed for this! For the last time, I command you on the authority of the United States government to alter your course ten degrees south! I am a battleship!"
The private's final transmission was chilling: "Captain Smith, sir. Once again with all due respect, I command you to alter your course ten degrees north! I am a lighthouse"

Application:
Many of us in today's world have little respect for authority. We operate as if rules can be (or should be) changed to fit our personal needs and desires. Commercials egg us on: "Have it your way." In reality we can't always have it our way. We have to conform our lives to a higher authority-the Word of God.
God's truth is like a lighthouse. It's not going to change to accommodate us. We are the ones who must change to conform our lives to what God wants for us.
Jesus is also like a lighthouse. The bible teaches that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb. 13:. He will always be there for us. He is absolutely dependable.. We Christians must conform our lives to His will for us. If he tells us to alter our courses, we have no choice but to obey. That's what being a disciple is all about.

Th Bear in the Cave

Two adventurous teenage boys who were good friends were out spelunking (exploring caves) when they found what appeared to be huge bear tracks deep inside a long, cavernous tunnel. They bravely decided to keep going but they moved ahead slowly and with extreme caution, keeping their eyes ad ears open in case they actually encounter a bear.
Suddenly, from the darkness behind a rock jumped the biggest, meneast-looking grizzly bear they have ever seen. Standing squarely in front of them, the bear beat on his chest and roared like a lion, sending a terrible sound echoing off the walls of the cave, Scared to death, the two boys decided they had better run for their lives. They immediately turned to make a dash for daylight.
Just then, one of the boys dropped to the floor and started untying his hiking boots. He whipped the boots off, jammed on his running shoes, and began tying the laces.
His exasperated friend yelled at him, "Come on, man! Let's get out of here! Why in the world are you changing shoes? We don't have much of chance of outrunning that bear anyway!"
Lunging to his feet and starting to run, the first boy replied, "I don't have to outrun the bear. All I have to so is outrun you."

Application:
Do you ever feel like your friends treat you like a bear bait? When the going get rough, they bail out on you. They remain friends with you until it costs them something-then they ditch you.
One of the great things about having Christ as your friend is knowing that He will never leave you nor forsake you (See Matt. 28:20 and Heb. 13:5). He is the friend who is not only willing to lay down His life for you, but Hes has done exactly that. "Greater love has no one that this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Beauty and the Beast

Do you rememeber the gripping scene in the animated Disney film Beauty and the Beast. When the Beast was about to confess his love to Belle? Cogsworth looked on with euphoric anticipation, for if Belle pledged her love to the Beast, Presto! The spell that hung over the castle like a dark, dank cloud of doom would finally be broken.
As she clasped hands with the Beast, Belle asked permission t gaze into the magical mirror in order to see her Father. Viewing her father in obvious distress, she dropped the mirror and gasped at his plight. "I've got to go to him," she sobbed.
"o to him, then," the Beast responded. Those four words spoke volumes.
Cogsworh later walked into the room with an air triumphant expectancy as he declared to the Beast, "I must say that things are going swimmingly."
All hope vanished into thin air, however, when the Beast uttered the most significant line of the film. "I let her go, " he confessed to his enchanted little clock,
As the reality of those words sunk in, Cogsworth shook himself and asked, "You did what?"
Can you imagine the impact of the Beast's admission? to let her go was to plunge his kingdom into another season of a cursed existence. To let her go mean that all hope was lost of ever becoming normally human again. To let her go meant the he forfeited his ;last, best chance of ever being loves. But I let her go. Why?
"I had to," he said. "I love her." The beast understood that a lover does not hold the object of his love hostage to his possessive grasp.

TAma!!!!!

previous story application based from the book:
Perhaps similar scene played itself out in heaven when God let go the beautiful angel Lucifer, who rebelled against God, determined to go on his own way. "You did what?" Michael or Gabriel or some angel night have asked, realizing that this action would bring untold misery and suffering upon God's creation.
What about you and me? Though God could force us to love him, He lets us go. "I love them too much, "He says. God loves us and allow us to go our own way, knowing full well that misery and suffering would be the result. Like Beauty, however, we have the option to come back, to change misery and suffering into joy and celebration. Whenever one person comes back too our loving heavenly Father.. the angels rejoice (see Luke 15:10).

The Bee Sting

a Vacationing family drives along in their car, windows rolled down, enjoying the war breeze of the sunny day. All of a sudden, a big black bee darts in the window and starts buzzing around inside the car. A little girl, highly allergic to bee stings, cringes int he backseat. IF she is stung, she could die within an hour.
"Oh. Daddy," she squalls in terror. "It's a bee! It's going to sting me!" The father pulls the car over to stop, and reaches back to try to catch the bee. Buzzing around toward him, the bee bumps against the front windshield where the father traps it in his fist.
Holding it in his closed had, the father waits for the inevitable sting. The bee stings the father's hand in pain, the father lets go of the bee. The bee is loose in the car again. The little girl again panics, "Daddy, it's going to sting me!" The father gently says, "No honey. he's not going to sting you now. Look at my hand."
The bee's sting is in there in his hand.

Once lng magsting ang bee tama???

eto basa ko lng, nid nten to:

How to Smile
Steps
1. Practice good hygiene. If you've got bits of food stuck in your teeth, people may indeed say you have an infectious smile, but they might be talking about actual infections. It should go without saying, but regularly brushing your teeth and making sure your breath is fresh are some prerequisites to a good smile. If your teeth are stained, visit the dentist for a polishing or use a whitening product, and take care of your lips to prevent chapping. When you smile people will inevitably look at your mouth, so following these considerations will help you make a better impression, and, more importantly, a healthy mouth will make you feel more confident about smiling.

2. A smile lights up your face
Get comfortable with smiling. Many people are a little nervous about smiling. They don't think their smile looks good, or they think that smiling makes them look unprofessional or vulnerable. It's true that a smile does show a little vulnerability, but that's part of what makes it so powerful. No matter how professional, intelligent, or in control you think a serious face (or worse, a frown) makes you appear, people almost always respond better to a smile.
3. Think happy thoughts. The easiest way to a great smile is to be happy. You can be happy all the time, but not everybody is; when you are not, you can think happy thoughts instead. Think about something or someone that you care about, or think about a joke that you just find hilarious. Remarkably, when you're feeling down, smiling can help cheer you up, even if you have to coax a smile out at first.

4. Smiles are contagious.
Smile with your eyes. When we think of smiling, we think of the mouth, but the eyes may actually be more essential to a warm, genuine smile. Smiling with your eyes is difficult to describe--in general your cheekbones lift slightly and your eyebrows dip a little--but when you see it, you know it: it's that look of your eyes "lighting up" or "twinkling." To get a feel for how to make your eyes smile, get in front of a mirror and practice smiling, but concentrate only on your eyes. You may find it helpful to cover the lower part of your face with a piece of paper. Play around with it a bit, and you'll find that you can make your mouth smile when your eyes aren't smiling, and you can also smile only with your eyes. When your eyes do smile, remember how it feels, which muscles are working and how. With practice, you'll be able to smile with your eyes at will.
5. Develop your smile. Don't particularly care for your smile? It's a common complaint, and while it's true that any smile is better than a frown, it's also true that some smiles look better than others. What's your best smile? One way to find out is to look through pictures of yourself. Many people who consider themselves unphotogenic are plagued by bad smiles in front of the camera, but just about everybody has at least one picture in which they just look great, with a perfectly natural, contagious smile. Find that picture and focus on what your face is doing. Then practice in front of a mirror until you get it just right. Keep practicing, and pay attention to how that great smile feels, so that you'll be able to replicate it without looking in a mirror. Soon it will become second nature, and you'll likely find that you'll look more photogenic in your next batch of pictures.

6. If you want to improve your smile, look at pictures of smiles that you believe are beautiful. Also, think good thoughts and remember that you are beautiful (inside and out). Your smile is bound to look better if you feel good about yourself!

Tips
• You don't need perfect teeth to have a perfect smile. Not everybody has perfect teeth, and that's okay. Beautiful teeth are nice, but a great smile doesn't depend on Abercrombie & Fitch teeth. That said, if you feel uncomfortable about your teeth you may be reluctant to smile, and that's no good. If that's the case, either learn to appreciate your individuality or look into cosmetic dentistry procedures.
• Begin your smile with your eyes. If you find that every time you try to smile with your mouth, you look like you're faking it or, worse, like you're in pain, you may find it useful to look in a mirror and smile only with your eyes. Once your eyes are smiling, they tend to pull your whole face (including your mouth) into a natural, beautiful smile.
• You've probably heard of "contagious" or "infectious" smiles. There's a reason for this. When you smile, it does tend to make others around you smile. Even in the most stressful times, a roomful of smiles can brighten everybody's mood. Either that or make someone seriously angry at you, just because you are smiling when they are talking about someones funeral...
• Ever laugh hysterically about something you've just seen? Now, think of that instance again will help fuel a full blown smile.
• A lot of men feel uncomfortable about smiling at strangers, especially at other males. If that is the case, then just offer a casual "Hi", or "Hey man!", or "What's goin' on?". It works just as well, and feels less awkward for a lot of guys.
• Try a light smile: dont show as much teeth as you would when you would be laughing. It's the best smile for flirting - light and seductive.
• If you have a tooth that pokes out a bit at the side, as many people sometimes do, try to get your lip to go above it so your lip doesn't catch on the tooth when you smile.
Warnings
• A fake smile can make you look phony or even dangerous.
A fake smile can make you look phony, nervous, or even dangerous, so don't just try to put on a smile without first practicing or putting yourself in a happy state of mind. Body language reflects our innermost feelings, and it's often easier to change our attitudes than to try to make our bodies communicate emotions we don't really feel, like if you are very happy it will show through your teeth. If you smile a huge smile when someone looks at you, you will look like a freak. So keep a tiny smile and not a big one.
• Try to make sure you dont have spinach or something stuck in your teeth...because you will probably scare people away. Also make sure your breath is ok!

Merong isang graduating college student, tuwang tuwa sya and excited after the graduation rites dahil gusto nyo mkita kung ano regalo s kanya ng parents nya. He's been expecting something extravagant, something really special, since he graduated as magna cumlaude. His parents gave him a bible. He got so angry that he threw the bible away tpos naglayas sya. Hindi n hinintay explanation ng parents nya.

He didn't show up for several years hanggang s nagkawork sya, nagkron sya ng sariling family. Di n sya nagpakita s kanyang mga magulang. One day n lng nabalitaan n lng nya na pumanaw n ung mga magulng nya. Pag balik nya, s burol nkita nya ung bible n itinapon nya noon. For some reasong nalungkot sya, binuksan nya ung bible, pagbukas nya ng bible may key. Susi ng isang kotse.


Don't take for granted everything a person has done for you. Even the little things, be thankful, appreciate everyone around you because, we may never know when will the angels from the heaven be sent down, to give Our love ones their wings and accompany them in entering the kingdom of Our beloved Father.

Thanks Guys.

God bless s lahat

Bee Sting application based from the book:
Paul exulted in I Corinthians 15:55, "Where, 0 death, us your victory? Where, 0 death, is your sting?" Jesus says to us, "Look at my hands." He has Stan's sting, the sting of death, the sting of sin, the sting deceit, the sting of feeling worthless. Jesus has all of those stingers in His hands. When you see that nail-scarred hand, realize that, on your behalf, Jesus took all the pain that Satan could throw at Him. He reduced Satan to a big black bee that lost its stinger - all Satan can do is buzz. That's the victory that Jesus won for you.

Beware of Curare

In 1799 the famous Prussian explorer and scientist Baron Von Humboldt discovered a potent drug called curare.
On an expedition into the jungle of Venezuela, he watched an Indian hunter bring down a large animal with a single shot from his bow and arrow. The arrow had been poisoned with curare, a potion with two curious properties, derived from the jungle plants.
Curare injected into the bloodstream, as it was when hunting animals, was deadly. It immobilized the body, attacked the vital organs, and caused death almost instantaneously.
Humboldt discovered the second property of curare in a more dramatic fashion. He became sick, and a native witch doctor forces Humboldt to drink some curare that had been diluted with water. Terrified that he was going to die, Humboldt was surprise to find that after drinking the curare, he felt significantly better. Curare, when it was diluted and taken orally, he discovered, could have a costive medical value without causing any damage to vital organs.
The key to curare's impact lies principally in the way it is taken into the human body. Injected into the bloodstream, it's a deadly killer. Ingested orally, it's a soothing muscle relaxant.


Application:
Christianity is a lot like curare. Its impact depends chiefly on how it is received. Many people choose to take it orally, diluted as much as possible, so that it has a few side effects and makes them feel better-but that's not he purpose of true Christianity.
Christianity's purpose is to change us into new creations in Christ. In order for us to become new creations, we must die to our old sleeves and be born again, trading in our old lives for new ones. Those who want a "safe" Christianity that costs them a little have a difficult time accepting death and new a birth. True Christianity is you everything to follow Him. Paul wrote, "I have even crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me: (Gal. 2:20a)
Don't settle for a watered-down version of Christianity. It can't be taken orally. It has to be injected.

Pkibasa na lang po! Napakinggan ko s radyo to, aaminin ko tinamaan ako...
Realization on the spot... Paalala lng to...
Pkibasa pls... Salamat...
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Liham ng Magulang

sa aking pagtanda unawain mo sana ko at pagpasensyahan
kapag dala ng kalabuan ng mata
ay nakabasag ako ng pinggan
o nkatapon ng sabaw s hapag kainan, wag mo sna kong kagagalitan

mdamdamin ang isang matanda
nagseself pity ako s tuwing cnicgwan mo ko
kapag mhina na ang tenga ko at hindi ko maintindihan ang sinsabi mo
wag mo nmn sana kong sabhan ng bingi
pkiulit n lng ang sinasabi mo o pkisulat n lng
pasensya k n anak, matanda n talaga ko

kapag mahina na ang tuhod ko
pagtiyagaan mo sna akong tulungang tumayo
katulad ng pagaalalay ko sayo noong nagaaral k pa lamang lumakad

pagpasensyahan mo sana ako kung ako man ay nagiging makulit
at paulit ulit n parang sirang plaka
basta pakinggan mo n lng ako
wag mo sna akong pagtatawanan o pagsasawaang pkinggan

ntatandaan mo anak nung bata ka pa?
kapag gusto mo ng lobo paulit ulit mo yung sasabhin
maghapon kng nangungulit hangga't di mo nkukuha ang gusto mo
kaya pagtiyagaan mo sna ang kakulitan ko

pagpasensyahan mo n rin sna ang aking amoy
amoy matanda, amoy lupa
wag mo sna kong piliting maligo
mhina na katwan ko, madaling magksakit kapag nalamigan
wag mo sna kong pandirihan

ntatandaan mo nung bata ka pa?
pinagtiyatyagaan kitang habulin s ilalim ng kama kapag ayaw mong maligo

pagpasensyahan mo sna kung madalas ako'y masungit
dla n marahil ito ng katandaan
pagtanda mo maiintindihan mo rin

kapag may konti ka nmng panahon anak
magkwentuhan nmn tayo khit sandali lng
inip n inip n ko s bahay
maghapon nagiisa, walang kausap

alam kong busy k s trabaho anak
subalit nais kong malaman mo
n sabik n sabik nkong makakwentuhan ka
khit na alam kong hindi ka interesado s mga kwento ko

natatandaan mo b anak noong bata ka pa?
pinagtyatyagaan kong pakinggan at intindihan
ang mga pautal utal mong kwento tungkol s teddy bear mo

at kapag dumating ang sandali n ako'y magkakasakit
at mararatay s banig ng karamdaman
wag mo sna kong pagsawaang alagaan

pagpasensyahan mo sna kung ako man ay maihi o madumi s higaan
pagtyagaan mo sna kong alagaan s mga huling sandali ng aking buhay
tutal nmn hindi nko magtatagal

at kapag dumating ang sandali ng aking pagpanaw
hawakan mo sna ang aking kamay
at bigyan mo ko ng lakas ng loob n harapin ang kamatayan

at wag kang mag-alala anak
kapag kharap ko n ang Diyos n lumikha
ibubulong ko s Kanya
n pagpalain k sna
dahil nging mapagmahal ka s inyong Ama't Ina.
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Big Adventures

Outside magazine often features stories about people who risk their lives in their lives in order to establish a reputation for themselves.
Larry Walters, for instance, took flight in a lawn chair suspended by forty-two large helium-filled balloons. Upon reaching an altitude of 16,000 feet, he began popping the balloons with a pellet gun, descending to the ground safely.
Frenchman Jean Luc Antoni skis down rocks. In 1987 he sets a world record of sixty-one miles per hour riding a mono-ski down a rocky slope in France. Because braking is impossible, the resourceful Antoni erected a cardboard retaining wall at the bottom of the run and smashed into it. He survived.
Reg Mellor, age seventy-two, is the reigning world champion of "ferret legging". Ferret legging is a contest involving " trying of a competitor's trousers at the ankle sand the subsequent insertion into those trousers of a couple of particularly vicious, fur-coated, foot-long carnivores called ferrets. The brave contestant's belt is then pulled tight, and he proceeds to stand in front of the judges as long as he can, while these animals with claws like hypodermic needles and teeth like number sixteen carpet tacks try to get out".
Reg Mellor holds world record at five hours. twenty-six minutes.

Application:

Activities like these seem crazy, but lots of kids today, in their quest for adventure, engage in crazy behaviors-abusing drugs and alcohol, for instance-that male ferret legging seem sane by comparison. Reg Mellor's legs are permanently scarred by years of ferret legging, but his scars are mild compared to the internal scars on kids who user drugs.
If you have ever seed an addict going through drug withdrawal, you have seen the ferrets tearing at his insides. If you have ever seen someone whose brain has been "fried" on drugs, then you have seen someone whose brain has been attacked by ferrets.
Don't get me wrong, though. Risk and adventure compromise an important element of life. In fact, people who follow Jesus Christ undertake the greatest and riskiest adventure of all.

The Big Rock

A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel.
In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With no little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was very large.) When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn't roll it up and over the little wall.
Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then felled back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved-but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy's father watched the boy's father watched from the living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and sandbox. It was the boy's father. Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had available?"
Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!"
"No, son", corrected the father kindly. "You didn't used all the strength you had. You didn't ask me."
With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

Application:
Do you have "rocks" in your life that need to be removed? Are you discovering that you don't have what it takes to lift them? God is always available to us and willing to give us the strength we need to overcome obstacles and to accomplish great things for Him. "God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1)

The Blind date

(A joke for guys to tell-in the first person, as if it happens to you.)
Since I was a little shy when I was in high school, I didn't ask many girls out on dates. So my friend came up to me one day and said, "Hey, I've lined you up with a great date for Saturday night. It's all set."
"Who is it?" I asked. I turned out to be his cousin Doris. I had never met her. In fact, I had never met any girl named Doris. "Oh, no," I said, "I'm not going on a blind date."
"Hey, don't worry about this one," my friend said. "Doris is a terrific girl. And trust me-she's a real looker. But if you don't believe me, I'll tell you how to get out of the date if you don't like the way she looks. This is what I do: I go to a girl's front door to pick her up, and when she opens the door, I check her out. If I like what I see, then great, we're all set. But if she's ugly, I fake an asthma attack. I go 'Aaahhhhggggg!' (Hold your throat like you're having trouble breathing.) The girl asks , 'What's wrong?' And i say, 'It's my asthma.' And so we have to call off the date. Just like that. No problem."
"Well, I don't know...but okay, it sounds easy enough. I'll do it," I said"
So I went to pick up Doris.I knocked on the door, and she came to the front door. I took a look at her, and to my surprise, my friend was right. She was beautiful! I stood there now knowing exactly what to say.
She took one look at me and went, "Aaahhhhggggg!"

Application:

Chances are you've been rejected by other kids because you weren't good looking enaough, or athleteic enough, rich enough, or "vool" enough-whatever that is.
God doesn't look at us that way, though. When He takes a look at us, He thinks we're beautiful. He accepts us the way we are. God isn't concerned with how we look at the outside. He's much more concerned about what's inside:"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Sam. 16:7n). God wants us to have a heart like His-one that reached out and loves all people, regardless of their looks.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

In an ancient village, a parable tells, all the people were blind. One day while walking on the road, six men from the village came upon a man riding an elephant. The six men who had heard about elephants but had never been close to one, asked the rider to allow them to touch the great beast. They wanted to go back to their village to tell the other villagers what an elephant looked like.
The rider agreed and led each of the six men to a different part of the elephant. All the blind men touched and stroked the elephant until they were certain they knew what the animal looked like.
In great anticipation they returned to their village to report their experience. The villagers gathered around to hear about the elephant. The first man, who had flt the animal's side, said, "An elephant is like a great thick wall."
"Nonsense," said the second man, who had felt the elephant's tusk. "He is rather short, round, and smooth, but very sharp. I would compare an elephant not with a wall but with a spear!"
The third man, who had touched the ear, took exception. "It is nothing at all like a wall or a spear, " he said. "It is like a gigantic leaf made of thick wool carpet. I moves when you touch it."
"I disagree," said the fourth man, who had handled the trunk. "I can tell you that an elephant is like a giant snake."
The fifth man shouted his disapproval. He had touched one of the elephant's leg and concluded, "An elephant is round and thick, like a tree."
The sixth man had been allowed to ride on the elephant's back, and he protested, "Can none of you accurately describe an elephant? Clearly he is like a gigantic moving mountain!"
To this day, the men continue to argue, and no one in the village has any idea what an elephant looks like.

Application:

The Bible describes God in may different ways-because He is experiences in many different ways. He is the Creator of the universe, but He is also the faithful friend. He is the righteous judge, but He is also the forgiving Father. for us to understand God, or for us to understand the Bible, we must carefully study the Word if God in its entirety. Whenever we perceive only one view of God, or one view of the truth, we are likely to be misled.
One of the reasons that so many people still don't understand the Gospel is because Christians can't agree on what it is. We Christians must strive to find the common ground between us and to present a united front ti the world. Jesus prayed that all of us may be one: "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me "(John 17:23b).

The Blood of an overcomer

Louis Pasteur's coworker in the demonstration of what used to be called the germ theory was Dr. Felix Ruh, a Jewish doctor in Paris. The Physician's granddaughter fied of black diphtheria, and Dr. Ruh, vowing he would find out what had killed his granddaughter, locked himself in his laboratory for days. He emerged with a fierce determination to prover, with his colleague Louis Pasteur that the germ theory was more than theory.
The medical association had disapproved of Pasteur and had succeeded in getting him exiled, but he did not go far from Paris. he hid in the forest and erected a laboratory in which to continue his forbidden research.
Twenty beautiful horses were led out into the forest to the improvised laboratory. Scientist, doctors, and nurses came to watch the experiment. Ruh opened a steel vault and took out a large pail filled with black diphtheria germs, which he had cultured carefully for months. There were enough germs in that pail ti kill everyone in France. The scientist went to each horse and swabbed its nostrils, tongue, throat, and eyes with the deadly germs. Every horse except one develop a terrific fever and died. Most of the doctors and scientist wearied of the experiment and did not remain for what they thought would be the death of the remaining horse.
For several moire days this final horse lingered, lying pathetically on the ground. While Ruh, Pasteur, and the several others were sleeping in cots in the stables, the orderly duty had been instructed to awaken the scientist should there be any change in the animal's temperature during the night.
About two A.M. the temperature showed a half degree decrease, and the orderly awakened Dr. Ruh. By morning the thermometer had dropped tow more degrees. By night the fever was entirely gone, and the horse was able to stand, eat, and drink.
Then Dr. Ruh took a sledgehammer and struck the beautiful horse a deathblow between the eyes. The scientist drew all the blood from the veins of this animal that had developed the black diphtheria but had overcome it. The scientists drove as fast as they could to the municipal hospital in Paris. They forced their way past the superintendent and the guards and went into the ward three hundred babies lay, segregated to die from black diphtheria. With the blood of the horse, they forcibly incolated every one of the babies. All but three lived and recovered completely.
They were saved by the blood of an overcomer.

Application:

We have been saved by the blood of an overcomer. Jesus Christ overcame sins and death on the Cross, and by his blood we are saved. (See Ephesians 1:7.)

The Boat in the Window

A young boy sent many hours building a little sailboat, crafting it down ti the finest detail. He then took it to a nearby river to sail it. When he put it in water however, it moved away from him very quickly. Tough he chased it along the bank, he couldn't keep up with it. The strong wind and current carried the boat away. The heartbroken boy knew how hard he would have to work to build another sailboat.
Farther down the river, a man found the little boat, took it to town, and sold it to a shopkeeper. Later that day, as the bot was walking through town, he noticed the boat in a store window.
Entering the store, he told the owner that the boat belonged to hi4m. It had his own little marks on it, but he couldn't prove to the shopkeeper that the boat was his. The man told him the only way he could get the boat was to buy it. The boy wanted it back so badly that he did exactly that.
As he took the boat from the hand of the shopkeeper, he looked at it and said, "Little boat, you're twice mine. I made you and I bought you."

Application:
In the same way, we are twice God's. Our Father in heaven both created us and paid a great price for us. (See Colossians 1:16 and Romans 5: With the blood of His Son, we have been redeemed and reunited with God.
Jesus Christ gave His life to get us back, yet so often we show such little gratitude for what He has done for us.

Bonny's Bunny

A friend of mine was sitting in the living room one day when his cat dragged in a little "gift" in its mouth-a dead animal of some sort. Taking a closer look, he was dismayed to recognize the dead animal to be a bunny that belonged to a little girl who lived next door. Her name was Bonny. My friend felt terrible, believing his cat had killed Bonny's bunny.
My quick-thinking friend came up with a plan. Removing from the cat's mouth the dead animal, which by now was a dirty mess, he put it in the kitchen sink. with a little warm water and some shampoo, he tried to clean up the dead bunny as beast he could. Then he took a hair dryer (a "hare dryer" actually) and blow-dried the bunny until it looked pretty good. Finally, he took the dead bunny out to the neighbor's rabbit hutch and placed it back in the cage. He kind of fluffed him up so that he looked very natural there in his little box.
The next morning, my friend looked out the window and noticed a crowd of people gathered around the rabbit hutch. Everyone seemed to be talking and pointing. My friend decided to go over and act like any curious neighbor and find out what was going on.
When he got there, Bonny's mother said to my friends, "You won't believe what has happened! It's a miracle! Bonny's bunny passed away a few days ago, and we buried that little bunny right over there..."

Application:

have you ever tried to cover up a sin with another? Covering up only makes matters worse. When we get caught doing somethin gworng, for example, we may attempt to cover it up with a lie. But just like Bonny's bunny, the result is never what we expected. We end up looking foolish. We would have been better off admitting we were wrowng and accepting the consequences.

Born to Fly

One day a prairie chicken found an egg and sat on it until it hatched. Unbeknown to the prairie chicken, the egg was an eagle egg. abandoned for one reason. That's how an eagle came to be born into a family of prairie chickens.
While the eagle is the greatest of all birds, soaring above the heights with grace and ease, the prairie chickens doesn't even know how to fly. In fact, prairie chickens are so lowly that they ear garbage.
Predictably, the little eagle, being raised in a family of prairie chickens, thought he was a prairie chicken. He walked around, ate garbage, and clucked like a prairie chicken.
One day he looked up to see a majestic bald eagle soar through the air, dipping and turning. When he asked his family what it was, they responded, "It's an eagle. But you could never be like that because you are just a prairie chicken." Then they returned to pecking the garbage.
The eagle spent his whole life looking up at eagles, longing to join them among the clouds. It never once occurred to him to lift his wing and try to fly. The eagle died thinking that was just a prairie chicken.

Application:

You were born to fly. But some of you think and act like prairie chickens because the world keeps telling you that's what you are. God created you "a little lower than the angels" (see Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2:7). Do you ever feel like there's something more to life than what you to be all that you were created to be.
The apostle peter writes Peter writes in I Peter 1:14,"As obedient children, do not conform to the veil desires you had when you lived in ignorance." In other words, "Stop living like like eagles who think they are prairie chickens. "You are no longer ignorant. You know who and what you are. You are born again through the living and enduring Word of God. Now live that way. Spread your wings and fly.

The bottle

A small bottle containing urine sat upon the desk of Sir William Osler, the eminent professor of medicine at Oxford University. Sitting before him was a class full of young, wide-eyed medical students, listening to his lecture on the importance of observing details. to emphasize his point, he announced: "This bottle contains a sample for analysis. It's often by tasting it to determine the disease from which the patient suffers.."
He then dipped a finger into the fluid and brought in into his mouth. He continued speaking: "Now I am going to pass the bottle around. Each of you please do exactly as I did. Perhaps we can learn the importance of this technique and diagnose the case."
The bottle made its way from row to row, each student gingerly poking his finger in and bravely sampling the contents with a frown. Dr. Osler then retrieved the bottle and startled his students by saying. "Gentlemen, now you will understand what I mean when I speak about the details. Had you been observant, you would have seen that I put my index finger in the bottle but my middle finger into my mouth!"

Application:
Many people live their lives just like the students in Professor Osler's class. They think they have life all figured out, but they have forgotten one imnportant detail: the need to allow Christ change them into the kind of people that God wants them to be. As a result life is toxic and bitter.
God doesn't hide the way from us, however, or try to deceive us as professor Osler did his students. The bible clearly gives us instructions for living a life with purpose and meaning. All we need to do is open our eyes, to think and to pay attention to what God has to say to us. "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Ps. 34:.

Bought to be Freed
Back in the 1800s. a young English man traveled to California in search of gold. After several months for prospecting, he struck in rich. On his way home, he stopped in New Orleans.
Not long into his visit, he came upon a crowd, he recognized that they had gathered for a slave auction. Slavery had been outlawed in England for years so this young man's curiosity dare him to watch as a person became someone else's property. He heard "Sold!" just as he joined the crows. A middle-aged black man was taken away.
Next a beautiful young black girl was pushed up onto the platform and made to walk around so everyone could see her. The miner heard vile jokes and comments that spoke of evil intentions from those around him. Men were laughing as their eyes remained fixed on this new item for sale.
The bidding began.
Within a minute, the bids surpassed what most slave owners would pay for a black girl. As the bidding continued higher and higher, it was apparent that two men wanted her. In between their bids, they laughed about what they were going to do with her, and how the other one would miss out. The miner stood silent as anger welled up inside of him. Finally, one man bid a price that was beyond the reach of the other. The girl looked down. The auctioneer called out, "Going once! Going twice!"
Just before the final call, the miner yelled out a price that exactly twice the previous bid. An amount exceeded the worth of any man. The crowd laughed, thinking that the miner was only joking, wishing that he could have the girl himself. The auctioneer motioned to the miner to come and show his money. The miner opened up a bag of gold he had brought from the trip. The auctioneer shook his head in disbelief as he waved to girl next to him.
The girl walked down the steps of the platform until she was eye-to-eye with the minder. She spat straight to his face and said through clenched fist "I hate you!" The miner without a word, wiped his face, payed the auctioneer, took the girl by hand, and walked away from the still-laughing crowd.
He seemed to be looking for something in particular as they walked up one street and down another. Finally he stopped in front of some sort of store, though the slave girl did now now what type of store it was. She waited outside as the dirty-faced miner went inside and started talking to an elderly man. She couldn't make out what hey were talking about. At one pint the voice got louder, and sh e overheard the store clerk say, "But it's the law! It's the law!" Peering in, she saw the miner pull out his bag of gold and pour what was left of it in the table.
With what seemed like a look if disgust, the clerk picked up the gold and went in a back room. He came out with a piece of paper, and both he and the miner signed it.
The young girl looked away as the miner came out the door. Stretching out his hand, he said to the girl, "Here are your manumission papers. You are free." The girl did not looked up.
He tried again. "Here. These are the papers that say you're free. Take them."
"I hate you!" the girl said, refusing to look up. "Why do you make fun of me!"
"No, listen," he pleaded. "These are your freedom papers. You are a free person."
The girl looked at the papers, then looked at him, and looked at the papers once again. "You just bought me...and now, you're setting me free?"
"That's why I bought you. I bought you to set you free."
The beautiful young girl fell to his knees in front of the minder, tears streaming down her face. "you bought me to set me free! You bought me to set me free!" she said over and over.
The minder said nothing.
Clutching his muddy boots, the girl looked up at the minder and said. "All I want to do is serve you, because you bought me to set me free!"

Application:
At one time we were all slaves to sin and to death. But Christ came to redeem us-to pay for our freedom. He bought us with His won blood, that we might be free. "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed...but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (I Pet 1:18,19).

The Boy and the Circus

A little boy who lived far out in the country in the late 1800s had reached the age of twelve and had never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement, when one day a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus was coming to the nearby town. He ran home with the glad news and question, "Daddy, can I go?" Although the family was poor, the father sensed how important this was to the lad. "If you do your Saturday chores ahead if time," he said, "I'll see to it that you have the money to go."
Come Saturday morning, the chores were done and the little boy stood by the breakfast table, dressed in his Sunday best. His father reached down into the pocket of his overalls and pulled out a dollar bill-the most money the little boy had possessed at one time in all his life. The father cautioned him to be careful and then sent him on his way to town.
The boy was so excited, his feet hardly seemed to touch the ground all the way. As he neared the outskirts of the village, he noticed people lining the streets, and he worked his way through the crowd until he could see what was happening. Lo and behold, it was the approaching spectacle of a circus parade!
The parade was the grandest thing this lad had ever seen. Caged animals snarled shining horns, midgets performed acrobatics while flags and ribbons swirled overhead. Finally, after everything had passed where he was standing, the traditional circus clown, with floppy shoes, baggy pants, and a brightly painted face, brought up the rear. as the clown passed by, the little boy reached into his pocket and took out that precious bill. Handing the money to the clown, the boy turned around and went home.
What had happened? The boy thought he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade!

Application:

Are you experiencing all that God has for you? The Christian life is a marvelous adventure, and exciting journey. Many people-including Christians-seem to be content to float in a sea of mediocrity, settling for second best. Do you want the abundant life that Jesus promised? Do you wan to live life to its fullest? Then aim higher. Don't set you sights too low. Determine ti become all that God created you ro be. Give yourself to Christ, follow him completely, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you through you. You ain't seen nothing yet!

Brandon's Mess

There was once a dad who had a three-year-old son named Brandon. One day, Brandon see his dad eating chocolate chip cookies in the living room and says to himself, Daddy loves chocolate chip with milk. So I'm going to give Daddy a glass of milk. With that thought Brandon goes into the dining room and drags a chair from the dining room into the kitchen, leaving a trail of scratch marks on the floor.
Brandon climbs up on the chair and hitches himself onto the counter to pull at the cabinet door. Wham! It smashes against the adjacent cabinet door, leaving a gash where the handle hit it. Brandon reaches for a glass, accidentally knocking tow others off the shelf. Crash! Tinkle, tinkle! But Brandon doesn't care. He's thinking, I'm going to get Daddy some milk!
Meanwhile, Brandon's dad is watching all this, wondering if he should step in and save the rest of his kitchen. He decides, for the moment, to watch a little more as Brandon scrambles off the chair, dodging the pieces of broken glass, and heads for the refrigerator.
Pulling violently on the refrigerator door, Brandon flings it wide open and it stays open, of course. Brandon puts the glass on the floor-out of harm;s way, supposedly-and grabs, not the little half gallon of milk, but the big gallon container that is full of milk. He rips open the top, pours it in the vicinity of the glass, and even manages to get some milk in the glass. The rest goes all over th floor. Finally done, Brandon puts the milk carton on the floor and picks up the glass yelling, "Daddy, I got something for you!" He runs into the living room, trips, and spills milk over the place-the floor, the sofa, his dad.
Brandon stand up and looks around. He sees broken glass, milk everywhere, cabinets open, his dad with milk from his eyebrows to his toes, and starts to cry. Through his tears, he looks up at his dad with that painted expression that says, " What are you going to do to me?"
His dad only smiles/ He doesn't see a kid that just destroyed his house. Instead he sees a beautiful boy whom he loves very much. It doesn't matter what he's done. Brandon;s dad stretches his arms out to hold his little boy tight and says, "This is my son!"

Application:
When we talk about God as out Father, the kind of father we're talking about is Brandon's father. Gos id a father who loves us unconditionally, even though we make a real mess of things/ Jesus told a similar story about another son who messed up. We call the story "The Prodigal Son." It also could be called "The Parable of the Loving Father" because, just like Brandon's dad, the father in the story threw his arms around his son and said, "This is my son!" (See Luke 15:11-32)

Caught in a Blizzard

A man hiking out of the Chugach mountains of Alaska hoped ti make it to camp before a deadly blizzard hit. He was too late. The blizzard struck with such a fury that he was unable to see even two feet in front of his face. The windblown snow and ice knocked him of feet as he struggled ti g\find his way. Although he knew that he was only a short distance from camp, he had lot his sense of direction and couldn't determine which way to go. Finally, in the dark of night, he slumped down into a snow bank-cold, wet, and totally exhausted. He could go on no further. He resigned himself to die.
As he lay there in the snow, he thought he heard something-a faint cry, like the whimpering of a puppy. He called out to it and tried to crawl toward the sound. Sure enough, it was a dog that was also lost in the storm. The puppy had somehow been separated from its mother and was freezing ti death. The man quickly began to rubbing the dog's fur, trying to keep the dog;s blood circulating so that the dog would survive. He warmed the dog with his breath, continuing though the night to try to keep the little puppy alive. The next day scouts from the village found both the man and the dog alive. They discovered that the man, by working to keep the little dog alive during the night, had kept himself alive as well.

Application:
When we serve others, we do a lot of good for them. More importantly, perhaps, we ourselves are changed. We benefit. We grow. We become more like Christ. If you are feeling spiritually empty, you may need to stop thinking about yourself and serve others. The way to spiritual health is to give yourself away.

The Chicken and the Pig

A chicken and a pig were walking down the street one day and noticed some poor children who looked as if they hadn't eaten anything for days.
Moved with compassion the chicken said to the pig, "I have an idea! Let's give those children a nice breakfast of ham and eggs."!
The pig contemplated the chicken's suggestion and said, "Well, for you, that would involve a small sacrifice; but form me, it would involve total commitment!

Application:

When Jesus came to save us from sin, He knew that it would cost Him His life. He went to the cross anyway to offer us eternal life. His commitment to us was total Like the pig in the story, our commitment to Christ must be more than a small sacrifice of our time, energy, and money. It must involve our whole life-all that we are. When we come to Christ, we must be willing to live out the same total commitment that Jesus modeled. Jesus said, "If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt. 16:24).

Choosing Mary

The following letter appears in a book by Dan Taylor called Letters to My Children (InterVarsity Press, 1989). Dan is writing to his son Matthew.

Dear Matthew,
When I was in the sixth grade I was an all-American. I was smart, athletic, witty, handsome, and incredibly nice. Things went downhill fast in junior high, but for this one year at least, I had everything/
Unfortunately, I also had Miss Owens for an assistant teacher. She helped Mr. Jenkins, our regular teacher. She knew that even though I was smart and incredibly nice, there was still a thing or two I could work on.
One of the things you were expected to do in grade school was learn to dance. My parents may have had some reservations at first, but since this was square dancing, it was okay.
Every time we went to work on our dancing, we did this terrible thing. the boys would line up at the door of our classroom. then, one at a time, each boy would pick a girl to be his partner. The girls all sat at their desks. As they were chosen, they left their desks and joined the snot-nosed kids who had honored them with their favor.
Believe me, the boys did not like doing the-at least I didn't. But think about being one of those girls. Think about waiting to get picked. Think about seeing who was going to get picked before you. Think about worrying that you'd get picked by someone you couldn't stand. Think about worrying whether you were going to get picked at all!
Think if you were Mary. Mary sat near the front of the classroom on the right side. She wasn't pretty. She wasn't real smart. Shes wasn't witty. She was nice, but that wasn't enough in those days. And Mary certainly wasn't athletic. In fact, she'd polio or something when she was younger; one of her arms was drawn up, and she had a bad leg, and to finish it off, she was kind of fat.
Here's where Miss Owens comes in. Miss Owens took me aside one day and said, "Dan, next time we have square dancing, I want you to choose Mary.:
She may well have told me to fly to Mars. It was an idea that was so new and inconceivable that I could barely hold it in my head. You mean pick someone other than the best, the most pretty, the most popular, when my turn came? That seemed like breaking a law of nature or something.
And then Miss Owens did a really rotten thing. she told me it was what a Christian should do. I knew immediately that I was doomed. I was doomed because I knew she was right. It was exactly the kind of thing Jesus would have done. I was surprised, in fact, that I hadn't seen it on a Sunday school flannel board yet: "Jesus choosing the same girl for the Yeshiva dance." It was bound to be somewhere in the Bible.
I agonized. Choosing Mary would go against all the coolness I had accumulated.
The day came when we were to square dance again. If God really loved me, I thought, He will make me last. then picking Mary will cause me to stir. I will have done the right thing, and it wont' have cost me anything.
You can guess where I was instead. For whatever reason, Mr. Jenkins made me first in line. there I was, my hear pounding-now I knew hos some girls must have felt.
the faces of the girls were turned toward me, some smiling. I looked at Mary and saw that she was half-turned to the back of the room, her face staring down at her desk. Mr. Jenkins said said, "Okay, Dan-chose your partner."
I remember feeling very far away. I heard my voice say, "I choose May."
Never has reluctant virtue been so rewarded. I still see her face undimmed in my memory. She lifted her head, and on her face, reddened with pleasure and surprise and embarrassment all at the same time, was the most genuine look of delight and even pride" that I have ever seen, before or since. It was so pure that I had to look away because I knew I didn't deserve it.
Mary came and took my arm, as we had been instructed, and she walked beside me, bad leg and all, just like a princess.
Mary is my age now. I never saw her after that year. i don't know what he life's been like or what she's doing. But I'd like to think she had fond memory of at least one day in sixth grade. I know I do.
Taken from Letters to My Children by Daniel Taylor. 1989 by Daniel Taylor. Used by permission of InterVarsityPress, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515

Application:
The good news of the Gospel is that we have been chosen by God. You are someone special in the eyes of God. God looked out over all the world and for some crazy reason saw you and me and said, "I choose Jennifer; I choose Nathan; I choose _______ "The greatest day of your life was the day when God chose you. Yes, you have the opportunity to choose to accept Christ as Savior, but you have that privilege because He has chosen you first. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last" (John 15:15).

The Circus Clown

The philosopher Soren Kierkegard once told a story about a circus that caught a fire. The flames from the circus fire spread to the fields surrounding the circus grounds and began to burn toward the village below.
The circus master, convinced that the village would be destroyed and people killed unless they were warned, asked if there was anybody who could go to the village and warn the people. the clown, dressed in full costume, jumped on a bicycle and sped down the hill to the village below.
" Run for your lives! Run for your lives! A fire is coming and the village is going to burn!" he shouted as he rode up and down the streets of the village. "The village is going to burn! Run for you lives!"
Curious villagers came for out from their houses and shops and stood along the sidewalks. they shouted back to the clown, laughing and applauding for his performance. The more desperately the clown shouted, the more the villagers cheered.
The village and the loss of life was great because no one took the clown seriously. After all, he was just a clown.

Application:
Like the clown in the story pastor and priests play a role in the church that negates their messages when they go out into the world. We cannot expect the clergy, therefore, to tell the story of the Gospel to the world; the world doesn't take them seriously.
Instead, it's up to us-ordinary people-to take Jesus seriously and to go and preach the Gospel to the world. (See Mark 16:`5) We can't expect the world to take the Gospel seriously if we are unwilling to tell others about Christ and to be a witness to His power and love.

The Cliff

A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for mote that a thousand feet. He couldn't hand onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff.
So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something. "HELP! HELP! I anyone up there? HELP!" He yelled for hours, but no one heard him. H was about to give up when he heard a voice.
"Jack Jack. Can you hear me?" "Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!" "I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?" "Yes, but... who are you, and where are you?"
"I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere." "The Lord? You mean GOD?" "that's Me."
"God, please help me! I promise-if You'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be really good person/ I'll serve You fir the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's just get you down from there then we can talk/ Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go"
There was a long silence. Finally jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE???"

Application:
Have you ever flet like Jack? We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can't handle it. It sound too scary, too difficult. We decide to look elsewhere.
A good part of discipleship is simply trusting God-trusting that He knows what's best for us/ Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"(Matt. 11:29,30). This simply means that God isn't trying to make life difficult or impossible for us. He will always be there for us. When He says, "Let go of the things that stand between you and Me, and trust Me with your life, "it sounds pretty scary. But when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His hands.

The Coffin

One episode if the old "Alfred Hitchcock Presents' TV show was about a pretty woman serving a life sentence i prison. Angry and resentful about her situation, she had decided that she would rather die that to live another year in prison.
Over the years she had become good friends with one of the prison caretakers. His job, among the others was to bury those prisoners who died in a graveyard just outside the prison walls. When a prisoner died, the caretaker rang a bell, which was heard by everyone. The caretaker then got the body and put it in a casket. Next, he entered his office to fill out the death certificate before returning to the casket t nail tje lid shut. Finally, he put the casket on a wagon ti take it to the graveyard and bury it.
Knowing this routine, the woman devised an escape plan and shared it with the caretaker,. The net time the bell rang, the woman would leave her cell and sneak into the dark room where the coffin were kept. She would slip into the coffin with the dead body while the caretaker was filing out the death certificate. When the caretaker returned he would nail the lid shut and take the coffin outside the prison with the woman in to coffin along with the dead body. He would then bury the coffin. The woman knew that there would be enough air for here to breath until later in the evening where the caretaker would return to graveyard under the cover of the darkness, dig up the coffin, open it, and set her free.
The caretaker was reluctant to go along with this plan, but since he and the woman had become good friends over the years, he agreed to do it.
The woman waited several weeks before someone in the prison died. She was asleep in her cell when she heard a death bell ring. She gt up, picked the lock of her cell, and slowly walked down the hallway. She was nearly caught in a couple of times. Her heart was beating fast. She opened the door to the darkened room where the coffins were kept. Quietly in the dark, she found the coffin that contained the dead body, carefully climbed into the coffin, and pulled the lid shut to wait for the caretaker to come and nail the lid shut.
Soon she heard footsteps and the pounding of the hammer and nails. Even though she was very uncomfortable in the coffin with the dead body she knew that with each nail she was one step closer to freedom. The coffin was lifted onto the wagon and taken outside to the graveyard. She could feel the coffin being lowered into the ground. She didn't make a sound as the coffin hit the bottom of the grave with a thud. Finally she heard the dirt dropping onto the top of the wooden coffin, and she knew that it was only a matter of time until she would be free at last.
After several minutes of absolute silence, she began to laugh. She was free! She was free!
Feeling curious, she decided to light a match to find out the identity of the dead prisoner beside her. To her horror, she discovered that she was lying next to the dead caretaker.
The final scene faded to black as you heard the woman screaming.

Application:
Typical of Hitchcock's horror stories, this one has an unexpected ending-an unhappy one.
Many people believe they have life all figured out. They plan to sin, ti live their lives by their own rules, and by so doing gain freedom and happiness. In the end, however, they discover the firstly truth-sin only leads ti death and destruction.
through Christ we may escape from the penalty if sin. We can have freedom and happiness though Him:"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). Don't let sin take you to grave. There is no escape once the dirt is tossed on the top of the coffin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23).