When trade grew slack, and notes fell due, The merchant's face grew long and blue; His dreams were troubled through the night With sheriff bailiffs all in sight. At this his wife unto him said 'Rise up at once, get out of bed, And get your paper, ink, and pen, And advertise to all good men.' He did as his good wife advised, And in the papers advertised. Crowds came and bought of all he had; His notes were paid, his dreams were glad; And he will tell you to this day, How well did printer's ink repay.
Just to be tender, just to be true, Just to be glad, the whole day through, Just to be merciful, just to be mild, Just to be gentle, and kind, and sweet, Just to be helpful with willing feet, Just to be cheerful when things go wrong, Just to drive sadness away with a song, Whether the hour is dark or bright; Just to be loyal to God and right, Just to believe that God knows best, Just in his promises ever to rest Just to let love be our daily key, That is Gods will for you and me.
To give the white-haired father or mother not only respect, but confidence, to tell the joke and the secret to them first, to accord them cordially the central place in the merrymaking, may seem trivial matters, yet they are not trivial to those who, in the twilight of life, begin to think they are useless or forgotten, and to question whether they shall be missed when they shall go out into the nearing night. Courtesy is but a little thing and costs nothing, and if it is due to any one, it is surely due to the aged among us, especially when these are our parents.
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, 'This will make it better.' Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for 10 minutes.
When the Lord gave out brains, I thought He said trains, and I missed mine. When He gave out looks, I thought He said books, and I didn't want any. When He gave out noses, I thought He said roses, and I asked for a red one. When He gave out legs, I thought He said kegs, and I ordered two fat ones. When He gave out chins, I thought He said gins, and I ordered a double one. When He gave out heads, I thought He said beds, and I asked for a soft one. Oh Gee, am I a mess!
As Joseph Was A-Walking As Joseph was a-walking He heard Angels sing, 'This night shall be born Our Heavenly King. 'He neither shall be born In house nor in hall, Nor in the place of paradise, But in an ox-stall. 'He shall not be clothed In purple nor pall; But all in fair linen, As wear babies all. 'He shall not be rocked In silver nor gold, But in a wooden cradle That rocks on the mould. 'He neither shall be christened In milk nor in wine, But in pure spring-well water Fresh spring from Bethine.' Mary took her baby, She dressed Him so sweet, She laid Him in a manger, All there for to sleep. As she stood over Him She heard Angels sing, 'Oh, bless our dear Saviour Our Heavenly King!'
Little George was very piously trained; but he had a strong will and disliked very much to yield. When he was disobedient his mother was accustomed to make him stand in a corner of the room for a while. One night, after he had been more than stubborn, he knelt to say his evening prayer, and made this petition: 'Oh, Lord, bless Georgey and make him a good boy, and don't let him be naughty again, never no never, 'cause you know, Lord, when he is naughty, he sticks to it!'
I watched them tearing a building down A gang of men in a busy town. With a Ho-Heave-Ho, a lusty yell They swung a beamand a side wall fell. I asked the foreman, 'Are these men skilled And the men you'd hire if you had to build?' 'For the most part,' he said, 'No indeed. Just common labor is all I need. 'I can easily wreck in a day or two What builders have taken a year to do.' And I thought to myself, as I went away, Which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder, who works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square? Am I shaping my deeds to a well made plan? Patiently doing the things I can? Or, am I a wrecker, who walks the town Content with the labor of tearing down?
You dont have to tell how you live each day, You dont have to say if you work or you play, A tried, true barometer serves in the place, However you live, it will show in your face. The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart Will not stay inside where it first got a start; For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face. If your life is unselfish, if for others you live, For not what you get, but how much you can give; If you live close to God in his infinite grace You dont have to tell it, it shows in your face.
Let us pray that strength and courage abundant be given to all who work for a world of reason and understanding, that the good that lies in every mans heart may day by day be magnified, that men will come to see more clearly not that which divides them, but that which unites them, that each hour may bring us closer to a final victory, not of nation over nation, but of man over his own evils and weaknesses, that the true spirit of this Christmas season its joy, its beauty, its hope, and above all its abiding faith may live among us, that the blessings of peace be ours the peace to build and grow, to live in harmony and sympathy with others, and to plan for the future with confidence.
Always remember, no one can debase you but yourself. Slander, satire, falsehood, injusticethese can never rob you of your manhood. Men may lie about you, they may denounce you, they may cherish suspicions manifold, they may make your failings the target of their wit or cruelty. Never be alarmed; never swerve an inch from the line your judgment and conscience have marked out for you. They cannot, by all their efforts, take away your knowledge of yourself, the purity of your character, and the generosity of your nature. While these are left, you are unharmed.
A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me.... They must be Gods! A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me.... I must be a God!
According to the ancient Greeks, when Hercules was a boy, just reaching the period of life when there was a question in his mind which path he should pursue, he went forth by himself and sat down and meditated. There came to him someone in the form of a beautiful young woman. 'Hercules, I know what you want,' she said 'the path that I will point out to you will bring pleasure, will bring you constant place in society, will bring you the choice things of life, to eat and to drink and clothing to wear. You shall be popular in the society in which you shall move, and your whole life will be one constant round of pleasure.' 'What is your name?' Hercules asked. 'My enemies call me Vice, but my friends call me Pleasure,' she replied. Then there appeared to him another beautiful woman and she said: 'Hercules, I shall not deceive you; the path I shall point out to you will be a path of labor, a path of toil, a path of self-sacrifice, a path in which you must devote a great deal of your effort and energy; you will have to forget yourself; you will have to serve your friends; you will have to serve the people of Greece; but if you will take this path and pursue it, although it may bring to you much toil and privation and many sacrifices, you shall become immortal.' Hercules asked: 'What is your name?' She replied: 'My name is Duty.'
ENTROPY: The degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. Order is created and controlled by intelligence. Entropy occurs in the physical world without control by intelligence. Synonyms: Chaos, Confusion, Entropy, Disarray, Disharmony, Disintegration, Disorder, Disorganization, Disruption, Incoherence, Incohesive, Jumble, Noncohesive, Nonintegration, Mess, Morass, Muddle, Slackness, Sloppiness.
Know this, that evry soul is free To choose his life and what hell be; For this eternal truth is givn That God will force no man to heavn. Hell call, persuade, direct aright, And bless with wisdom, love and light, In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind. Freedom and reason make us men; Take these away, what are we then? Mere animals, and just as well The beasts may think of heavn or hell. May we no more our powrs abuse, But ways of truth and goodness choose; Our God is pleased when we improve His grace and seek his perfect love.
A research project in Australia, entitled 'The Congruent Garden: an Investigation into the Role of the Domestic Garden in Satisfying Fundamental Human Needs,' interviewed gardeners on the values of gardening in their everyday lives. The researchers established that gardens have the potential to satisfy nine basic human needs (subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity, freedom) across four existential states (being, having, doing and interacting.)
Grain crops, or cereals, are by far the most important sources of plant food for the human race. On a world wide basis, they provide twothirds of the energy and half the protein of the diet. These crops are: wheat, rice, maize (corn), oats, barley, rye, sorghum, and millet.
The question, 'Which is the happiest season of life?' was asked of an aged man. And he replied: 'When spring comes, and in the soft air the buds are breaking on the trees, and they are covered with blossoms, I think, 'How beautiful is spring'; and when summer comes and covers the trees with its heavy foliage, and singing birds are among the branches, I think, 'How beautiful is summer.' When autumn loads them with golden fruit, and their leaves bear the gorgeous tint of frost, I think, 'How beautiful is autumn.' And when it is severe winter, and there is neither foliage nor fruit, then I look up through the leafless branches as I never could until now, and see the stars shine in God's home.'
'The road is too rough, dear Lord,' I cried, 'There are stones that hurt me so.' 'My child,' He said, 'I understand, I walked it long ago.' 'But there's a cool green path ahead, Let me walk there for a time.' 'No child,' He gently answered me, 'The green road does not climb.' 'My burden,' I cried, 'is far too great. How can I bear this load?' 'Dear One,' said He, 'I remember its weightI carried my cross, you know.' 'But,' I said, 'I wish there were friends with me, that would make their way my own.' 'Oh yes,' He said, 'Gethsemane was hard to bear alone.' And so I climbed the stony path, Content at least to know That where the Master had not gone, I would not have to go. And strangely then I found new friends, My burdens grew less sore, As I remembered long ago He walked that way before.
I am home in Heaven, dear ones; Oh, so happy and so bright! There is perfect joy and beauty In this everlasting light. All the pain and grief is over, Every restless tossing passed; I am now at peace forever, Safely home in Heaven at last. Did you wonder I so calmly Trod the valley of the shade? Oh! but Jesus' love illumined Every dark and fearful glade. And He came Himself to meet me In that way so hard to tread; And with Jesus' arm to lean on, Could I have one doubt or dread? Then you must not grieve so sorely, For I love you dearly still: Try to look beyond earth's shadows, Pray to trust our Father's Will. There is work still waiting for you, So you must not idly stand; Do it now while life remaineth You shall rest in Jesus' land. When that work is all completed, He will gently call you Home; Oh, the rapture of that meeting, Oh, the joy to see you come!
In the cathedral at Lubek, Germany, near the turn of the century was the following inscription: Ye call me master, and obey me not; Ye call me light, and seek me not; Ye call me way, and walk me not; Ye call me wise, and follow me not; Ye call me fair, and love me not; Ye call me rich, and ask me not; Ye call me eternal, and seek me not; Ye call me gracious, and trust me not; Ye call me noble, and serve me not; Ye call me mighty, and honor me not; Ye call me just, and fear me not; If I condemn you, blame me not.
You tell on yourself by the friends you seek, By the very manner in which you speak, By the way you employ your leisure time, By the use you make of dollar and dime. You tell what you are by the things you wear, By the spirit in which you your burdens bear, By the kind of things at which you laugh, By the records you play on your phonograph. You tell what you are by the way you walk, By the things of which you delight to talk, By the manner in which you bear defeat, By so simple a thing as how you eat. By the books you choose from a well-filled shelf In these ways, and more, you tell on yourself. So really there's not a grain of sense In trying to keep up a false pretense.
Life is like a mop ... and sometimes life gets full of dirt and crud and bugs and hair balls and stuff and you, you, you got to clean it out. You got to put it in here and rinse it off and start over again, and sometimes you know, a mop ... a mop is not good enough you, you got to get down there like with a toothbrush, you know, and you get to really scrub to get it clean ... you got to get it off, you got to really try to get it off ... and if that doesn't work, if that doesn't work you can't give up. You got to stand right up, you got to run to a window and say 'Hey these floors are dirty as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!'