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Monday, July 30, 2018

Epic Bicycle Journey of an Indian Lover Covering 8 Countries



This is the story of an Indian boy who treavelled all the way from Delhi, India to Sweden by an old bicycle crossing Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark to meet his love.

The story of Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia shows that true love transcends all travesties, difficulties and troubles. 

Pradyumna Kumar Mahandia  born(1949) in Kandhapada village of Athmallik Sub-division in the district of Angul, Odisha an Indian state in a weavers family which belonged to a lower cast.  They were treated as “untouchables” at that time.

He attended the Mahendra High School, Athmallik and then joined Visva-Bharati to study art.  Despite his selection at the art School, it became impossible to pay the fee and he had to return home.  He later joined Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Odisha to study art.  To satisfy his quest for art he joined College of Art, Delhi to study Fine Arts in 1971.

During this time he shot to fame in portraiture by drawing the portrait of then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. 

It is the year 1975, when Charlotte Von Sledvin, a 19-year-old student of Swedish royal family travels to India to get a portrait made by a gifted artist.  Despite the incredibly difficult circumstance the artist named Pradyuman Kumar Mahanandia had gained an outstanding reputation for being a gifted painter.  His reputation led Charlotte Von Sledvin to travel all the way to India to get her portrait done.

By the time the portrait was finished, the two had fallen in love. Pradyumna was fascinated with Charlotte’s beauty. Never before had he seen a more beautiful woman from the Western world. He gave his best to capture all her beauty in the portrait, yet never fully succeeded. Nonetheless, the portrait was magnificent and Charlotte fell for his simplicity and his beautiful character. Because of him, she spontaneously decided to stay longer in India. Out of a couple of days became weeks and then even months. The two had fallen so deeply in love that they decided to get married.  Charlotte took the Indian name Charulata and they both married following traditional rituals.


Unfortunately, the time came when Charlotte had to leave again in order to complete her studies in London. She asked her husband to come along, however, PK was still a student and wanted to finish his studies.  Thousands of miles separated the two but their feelings for each other never changed. They stayed in contact through letters, which they exchanged almost weekly with each other. Naturally, the newlyweds terribly struggled with the great distance between each other. Charlotte offered her husband to buy him air tickets, which he refused. He had not only decided to complete his studies first, but he had also set his mind on reuniting with the love of his life on his own terms. He even made her the promise that he would do anything he can to see her again.


After Pradyumna had finished his studies, he took all his possessions and sold them. Unfortunately, the money he earned didn’t even come close to a flight ticket. All he could afford was a cheap and used bicycle. Many would have been greatly disappointed, some would have even given up. But not Pradyumna. Instead of allowing the difficult circumstances to stop him from seeing his beloved wife again, he met the decision to use what he had in order to see her again. Nothing could stop him from reuniting with his wife, even if that meant an exhausting bicycle ride half around the world.

His decision was the beginning of a bicycle journey from India to the Western world. Pradyumna took all his paintings and brushes along with him in order to financially support his endeavor. His voyage led him through eight countries and took more than four months.

He sold all his belongings and bought a second-hand bicycle. Carrying all his paints and brushes along, he did the unthinkable.












He set out on a voyage to the Far West with a hope to reunite with his love. This was back in 1978.

He reached Amritsar from New Delhi before entering Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Denmark.

His cycle broke down many times on the way and he even had to go on without food for days. But nothing could break his will.

After 4 months and 3 weeks of back-breaking journey, he finally reached Gothenburg, Sweden.

Those were the days when not many countries required visa for travelling.

Upon reaching, he was questioned by Swedish immigration officers who were amazed to see a man who had come from India riding a bicycle.

PK told them the reason behind his visit and produced photographs of his marriage with Charlotte.

Authorities were surprised and did not believe that someone of royal blood from Europe would marry a poor Indian.

The sudden revelation made even PK skeptical whether his lady love would accept him or not.


When Charlotte learned about the man from India who cycled all the way for around 5 months, she drove to Gothenburg and received her husband with unbridled happiness.

Her parents accepted Pradyumna as a part of their family by breaking a royal tradition that prohibited non-white people from residing with the nobles.

After 40 years of marriage, Dr PK Mahanandia serves as the Odiya Cultural Ambassador of India to Sweden and lives with his wife Charlotte and 2 children in Sweden.







His village, that once shunned him as an untouchable, now gives a thundering welcome every time he makes a visit.

Pradyumna is well known in Sweden as an artist and is working as an Adviser, Art and Culture, under the Swedish Government. Swedish Government in honour of their love has made films to document this immortal love of the century.










His paintings have been exhibited in major cities of the world and have found places in the prestigious UNICEF greeting cards.




On 4 January 2012, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree (Degree of Honoris Causa) from Utkal University of Culture (UUC) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha state, India. He was also designated as the Oriya Cultural ambassador to Sweden by the Government of Odisha.

Friday, July 27, 2018

A Heartwarming Farewell Gift


When Gene was diagnosed with melanoma, he had only been given six weeks left to live. It was a shocking diagnosis but Gene decided to use the time he had left to make all the necessary arrangements for his wife Carol, with whom he had been married for 30 years. He cashed out his pension and used the money to pay off the house they were living in. 
 
 
The second step was to arrange a trip for his wife Carol and the rest of the family to Italy. When they visited a specific church in Venice, a priest was already waiting for the couple. It was in this church that Gene’s parents had married more than 50 years ago. At that day, Gene and Carol renewed their wedding vows and had the most beautiful day.
 

After Gene had died, his wife Carol discovered that he hid hundreds of Post-it notes around the entire house, shortly before he died. Throughout the course of many months, she found one note after another. The notes are beautiful and very personal statements meant to encourage Carol in this difficult time. But Gene also reminded his wife in these statements to fully enjoy every aspect of life, to sell his car and to move on with her life. It was the most heartwarming farewell gift one could ever imagine.

Accident With a Happy Ending

When Frank’s wife had a car accident, she was so injured that she fell into a coma. Years passed but Frank did not stop visiting his wife at the hospital. Even though almost everyone – including the doctors – had given up hope, he remained faithful that she would one day recover. 
 
Every time he visited her, he began talking to her, recounting all those beautiful moments they spend with each other. One day, when he showed her the video of their wedding day, she slowly began to move her hand. 
 
She whispered his name and began gaining consciousness. Several weeks after she had woken up, she had fully recovered and was finally allowed to leave the hospital for good. When the couple left, she told Frank that she heard his voice while she was in a coma and that it was his voice that was the greatest aid in helping her to return to consciousness.

No Arms, No Legs but Love




In 2012, bomb disposal expert Taylor Morris was severely injured after the explosion of an improvised bomb in Afghanistan. The explosion took all his limbs and changed the life of the 23-year-old US military soldier forever. While recovering from the injuries in hospital, Taylor was confronted with the painful realization that his limbs had gone. He also had to face the fact that he would be dependent on assistance for the rest of his life. It was an incredibly difficult situation not only for him but also his family and especially his long-term girlfriend Danielle. But instead of ever giving him up, Danielle became Taylor’s pillar in life. She helped him recover and took care of him during this incredibly challenging time.

Danielle played an important role in Taylor’s quick recovery. She never went away from his side and assisted him greatly when he learned to walk again with his new prosthetic limbs. After Taylor had recovered, he proposed to his beloved girlfriend and they got married. It’s a beautiful ending of an incredibly inspiring love story that shows that nothing can ever stand in-between two people who really love each other.





This is the story of Taylor Morris, a 23 year-old Navy EOD tech:

Taylor Morris learned at an early age he was hooked on the outdoors, adventurous, the middle of 4 children and always the last one inside for dinner at his home in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His mother Juli recalled, "Our family took a camping trip from Niagra Falls down the East Coast one summer. Taylor set up the tents every night, started the fires, cooked the meals. Taylor was only 8 years old." As Taylor grew older and took to extreme water sports and rock climbing, Taylor discovered he was also very calm under extreme pressure. This quality would later make him the perfect candidate for the Navy's EOD, Explosive Ordinance Disposal.

Explosive ordinance disposal specialists were made famous in Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker. They are the preeminent tactical and technical explosives experts. Nicknamed 'The Shield', OED specialists always lead, the first to put themselves in harm's way to tackle unexploded ordinance and IED's.

Less than one month ago near the Kandahar province in Afghanistan, Taylor was doing his job, right out in front.

Leading a team of Army Special forces to a classified location, Taylor stepped on an IED. It exploded underneath him and blew off all four of his limbs. Taylor recalled the moment to me over the phone,

"As soon as I stepped on it, I knew. There was a moment, then I heard the blast. I felt the heat. I knew I had lost my legs. As I somersaulted through the air, I watched my legs fly off."

Taylor landed back in the blast crater. This is where the story of Taylor's bravery goes next-level.

After the explosion, Taylor didn't lose consciousness, he didn't go into shock. His thoughts immediately crystallized. Even though Taylor was bleeding to death, he called to the oncoming medics NOT to come get him, putting their safety in front of his own life.

"I recounted the moment of the explosion. There was no visual on the mine and no sound ID on my mine detector. That told me the mine was old. If there were other mines out there, the medics wouldn't see them or detect them unless it was cleared properly. I knew I had arterial bleeding from all 4 limbs and I was bleeding out fast. I told my buddies to stop, it would only have hurt me more if somebody stepped on another one."

The area around Taylor was finally cleared by the second EOD and the medic finally administered combat casualty care. Taylor remained conscious through the ordeal.

Three days later on May 6th Taylor landed back in the States and was transported to Walter Reed hospital in Washington D.C. to begin the long and painful rehab process. Upon his arrival, Taylor became only the 5th person at Walter Reed to ever survive a four limb amputation. His physical progression in the last three weeks has defied everybody's expectations, "My body is responding well. I'm already sitting up. I'm very fortunate." Just yesterday, the stitches in his arms were removed and he was fitted for prosthetics.

I asked Taylor if he's been given a time frame to return home to Iowa.

"Nobody really wants to give me a time frame, I understand that. The doctors here are amazing but I don't know when I'll go home. I've got goals though, personal goals, and I intend on achieving them."

As our conversation drew to an end I asked Taylor if he needed anything medically, "No, I'm fully covered by the Navy for my medical needs." I asked, "Ok, Taylor, if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

Taylor paused and finally spoke,

"I've always dreamed of having a log cabin in the woods on a lake. A traditional wood cabin on the outside with a modern interior. And good lighting. Good lighting is important. My girlfriend Danielle and I, we live simple lives but we've always loved being active, spending time outside with our families."

I asked Taylor's girlfriend Danielle about this dream cabin. She said, "Taylor and I are both savers, and we had been working our butts off to ensure we'd have a cabin, close to water to do water sports, and places we can hike. After what happened, we will not abandon that dream if it takes years of saving."

After I thanked Taylor for the zillionth time for his service, I hung up the phone and sat in silence recalling our conversation. I was so nervous when we first started chatting but somehow Taylor sets you at ease. He made it ok to ask hard questions about the explosion that nearly killed him and his painful rehab. I recalled something his mother had told me over the phone, "Taylor has a certain humility about his pain, it comforts you."

I knew I had just spoken to a hero, not the movie kind either, a real one. And I think he deserves a hero's homecoming. Taylor hesitated to tell me his own timeline to return home, that hope belongs to him alone, but I believe when he does return home at the end of this long journey, HOME should be to a place he's always dreamed about.




 

A Weightlifters Promise

When Susann saw Matthias Steiner, an Austrian weightlifter, during a contest on TV, she immediately became interested in him. She was so determined to meet the athlete that she kept asking the TV commentators for his contact details for so long until they finally gave in. Once she had his email address, she contacted him and they both agreed to meet each other. It was love at first sight and the two married not long after meeting for the first time.

The young weightlifter moved for his wife to Germany and applied for the German citizenship. He was so in love with her that he also promised her that he would one day bring her an Olympic medal. Matthias Steiner was determined to live up to his promise, but things came differently. In 2007, his beautiful wife Susann died in a car accident. It was an unimaginable tragedy for the young man. But he remembered what he had promised his wife. It was the promise that kept him going through this difficult time. He became so determined that he was finally selected to become part of the German Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

During the contest, Matthias Steiner was faced with incredibly challenging competitors. He had three weightlifting attempts but failed in two. Seeing his chances of ever reaching the podium diminishing, he put everything he had left into the third and final attempt. And as luck would have it, he managed to lift the incredibly heavy weight, which won him the Olympic gold medal. The scene when he was awarded the medal was broadcasted to millions of viewers all around the world and Steiner simply couldn’t help himself but broke out into tears while holding a picture of his wife into the cameras.

The Man Who Moved a Mountain



There are people who say love can move mountains. This might not be physically possible, but Dashrath Manjhi, also known as the ‘Mountain Man’, came quite close. In one day of his life, his wife fell while crossing a nearby hill and hurt herself seriously. She needed quick medical assistance, but that wasn’t possible due to the hill that isolated their small village from the next town. Tragically enough, his wife died from the serious injuries before Dashrath could do anything about it. It was the night when Dashrath Manjhi decided to carve a small path through the mountain in order to give his village easier access to medical assistance.

It was an ambitious plan and he was heavily ridiculed for it. But after working for 22 years with the greatest determination and willpower, a path was carved into the hill. Even though he was initially mocked and ridiculed for his mission to give his hometown easier access to the nearby town, he finally succeeded. His life’s work helped to reduce the distance between the two towns from 55 km to only 15 km, so that never again such a thing would happen.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The Shark - Short Story By Leo Tolstoy




Once, a ship was anchored off the coast of Africa. The weather was pleasant in the morning, but a hot breeze from the Sahara desert made it extremely hot and humid towards evening.

Just before sunset, the captain came on deck and called out, "Time for a swim."

Immediately sailors jumped into the water, lowered a canvas mat and made it into a swimming pool. They had been waiting for this moment the whole day.

There were two young boys on the ship. They both jumped in, but swam out into the open sea since it was too crowded inside the ‘pool’. They played and chased each other in the open sea. Their fathers cheered them on, often egging one of the boys to prove his mettle over the other.

Suddenly, somebody from the deck called out, "Shark! Shark!"

Confusion and panic ensued, and everyone scrambled to safety. Everyone, except the two boys. They had not heard the shouts.

The shark was moving towards the boys.

The gunner shouted, "Come back my boys! There is a shark out there!" One of the boys was his son. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to do. He could not think clearly.

The people on the deck screamed hysterically. But the boys could not hear them. They continued to play and to swim, oblivious to the monstrous danger approaching them fast.

The gunner's face became as white as a sheet. He could feel the ground under his feet slipping away. He appeared to go into a trance.

The sailors lowered a boat, jumped into it and rowed towards the boys. Just then, one of the boys looked back and saw the large animal he knew too well. He screamed with fright. The other boy heard the screams and saw the shark. Panic seized them, and they began to swim in different directions.

Their screams brought the gunner back to his senses, and he rushed towards the cannon. He turned the barrel of the cannon, aimed it and lit the wick. He had to get it right. If he made a slight mistake in direction, all would be lost.

A shot rang out. The gunner dropped down beside the cannon and covered his face with his hands.

There was complete silence. No one could see what had happened to the shark and the boys, as the smoke was too thick. When it faded, people roared with joy. The gunner got up and looked out at the sea. The dead shark was floating on the waves with its yellow belly up.

Then the boat reached the boys and brought them back to the ship.

The gunner allowed himself a smile.

The Little Girl And Mushrooms


The Little Girl And Mushrooms
Short Story By Leo Tolstoy

Innocence and love are characteristic features of little children. Leo Tolstoy’s story about two sisters meeting with a near disaster brings out the extent of innocence, heart wrenching emotions and love that are the hall marks of kids all over the world. Read on to familiarize yourself with this story.

It was a fine summer morning, perfect to be outdoors. Two sisters had been out mushroom picking, and were on their home with heavy baskets full of mushrooms. They sang songs on the way, and played with each other.


Soon they reached a point where they had to cross a railway track. They did not think twice about crossing it since there was no train coming, and they could not hear any whistle. They slowly climbed the embankment to cross the track, taking care not to drop the baskets. They were very near the track and the little sister was about the cross it, when they heard the distinct horn of a train.


The older sister got frightened and ran back. She thought that the young one was following her. She turned back and was shocked to see her little sister still crossing the track. “Come back here, run back fast,” she screamed.


It seemed that the little girl could not hear her sister. She was still concentrating on stepping over the track with her little feet, and holding on to the basket. Then she tripped and fell on the track, scattering her mushrooms around. She sat down and began picking them up and putting in her basket.


In the meanwhile the elder sister had become hysteric. She cried and screamed, calling her little sister to leave the mushrooms and run back, but it seemed as though the little one could not hear her.


The engine driver panicked on seeing the girl and blew his whistle with all his might, but she appeared not to hear the whistle. Her sister was now crying loudly, overcome by panic, as the little sister crawled between the tracks on her hands and knees, to pick the rest of the mushrooms.

The engine driver was helpless as it was not possible for him to stop the engine suddenly. He blew the whistle as hard as he could, but the engine rolled over the little girl. The older sister clasped her face with her trembling hands and cried bitterly. The passengers too panicked at the thought of the sight they would have to witness. The guard ran down to the end of the train to see what happened to the little girl. When the train passed, everybody saw her lying very still between the tracks with her face down.


Then she raised her head, sprang to her knees and began gathering the remaining mushrooms.


The big sister ran towards her, tears streaming down her face. They hugged and kissed each other, crying out of happiness, tears of joy flowing down their little cheeks. Never were two souls so happily united as at that moment. She promised her little sister that thereafter she would hold her hand tightly while crossing the railway line.


The two sisters then picked all the remaining mushrooms, and hand in hand, solemnly walked back home. They were indeed two souls who had become wiser than their years, in the span of a few minutes.


Saturday, July 21, 2018

Beautiful Garden



The story is told of a nobleman who had a lovely floral garden. The gardener who tended it took great pains to make the estate a veritable paradise. One morning he went into the garden to inspect his favorite flowers. To his dismay he discovered that one of his choice beauties had been cut from its stem. Soon he saw that the most magnificent flowers from each bed were missing. Filled with anxiety and anger, he hurried to his fellow employees and demanded, "Who stole my treasures?"

One of his helpers replied, "The nobleman came into his garden this morning, picked those flowers himself, and took them into his house. I guess he wanted to enjoy their beauty." The gardener then realized that he had no reason to be concerned because it was perfectly right for his master to pick some of his own prize blossoms.

Asking Not, Expecting Not



Our Daily Bread, June 4, 1997

Imagine what a heavy schedule of appointments President Abraham Lincoln had to keep day after day. Yet when an elderly woman with no official business in mind asked to see him, he graciously consented.

As she entered Lincoln's office, he rose to greet her and asked how he might be of service. She replied that she had not come to ask a favor. She had heard that the President liked a certain kind of cookie, so she had baked some for him and brought them to his office.

With tears in his eyes, Lincoln responded, "You are the very first person who has ever come into my office asking not, expecting not, but rather bringing me a gift. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Ronald Reagan and Clapping

Ronald Reagan was a favorite of mine. He served as President as, hopefully, most of you know, and also before he was President, he was Governor of California. He was Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Ronald Reagan shares a story about going to Mexico City when he was Governor of California. And he gave a speech, and there was a big crowd. And after he finished with his speech, it just didn't go very well, and it was a very unenthusiastic little kind of clap like that when he was done. And he's like,

"Man..." And he thought did I do that bad' Is it just a rough crowd' What is it' Well, he went to sit down on the platform, and the guy that got up after him, man; he showed him it wasn't a bad crowd because he was slaying the crowd.

They were just clapping and cheering. And he was speaking in Spanish and Ronald Reagan didn't understand anything he said. He felt embarrassed and awkward. And he thought, You know, this is going to be weird. So he said, "Well, I'm just going to start clapping, too, and I'll clap longer and louder and first and then they'll know that, hey, I'm okay with who I am. And just because they didn't clap for me, that's okay. I'm still going to clap. And so he was doing it, clapping first, and clapping longest, and clapping loudest.

Finally, somebody leaned over to him and said, "Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said, "That man's interpreting your speech" (laughter). A little embarrassing!

Friday, July 20, 2018

Remember Dorothy



At an ordination service several years ago, the minister who gave the ordination sermon urged the one who was being ordained to “Remember Dorothy.” No one knew what he was talking about, including the one being ordained.
The minister told a story about a woman who was in nursing school. One day the Professor came in and said those seven words students hate to hear, “We’re going to have a pop quiz.” She made it through the quiz until she got to the last question. It read, “What is the name of the woman who cleans the school?”
 
You’re going to meet a lot of people when you get out in the field of medicine. You may be tempted to treat them as diseases instead of as people. But each one is important and each one has a name. And by the way, her name is Dorothy.” There are a lot of Dorothy’s out there and in here. If we are going to fulfill God’s purposes as God’s servants (which is what a deacon and all Christians are supposed to be), we need to love people which require at least a little bit of knowledge about who our members are and what their needs are. The more we know them, the more we can love them.
I challenge our newly elected and newly ordained deacons to get to know our folks better so that they can be the best they can be. And I challenge the rest of us to do the same.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Poverty and Unbelief

On the corner of Park Row and Beekman Street, New York City, where Horace Greeley’s Statue now stands, stood a man offering $20 gold pieces for $1 each. All day he kept up loudly announcing his wares, but of the thousands that passed him, most paid no attention and others either laughed or scowled at him.

About 15 minutes before six o’clock, when he was about to quit, a woman timidly approached him and, after carefully investigating the gold piece, by biting it and testing its sound, but throwing it on the pavement, she reluctantly paid the dollar and pocketed the golden double eagle. Ten minutes later, just as the man was about to go home, the woman reappeared accompanied by two friends and between them they purchased the rest of the man’s stock, worth $160, for $8 in bills.

The next and for several following mornings, the street was crowded for blocks with the same woman in the lead waiting for the vender of gold coins, but he never appeared again.

This story is known to be true and Horace Greeley is responsible for the incident in demonstration of his theory that most poverty is due to the fact that the general public refuses to believe even in the face of overwhelming evidence and there is the point.

Is that a perfect example of many people in America today? Many who come to church would probably fall into this category. But God does not call us to unbelief He calls us to believe. Faith and unbelief can not live together they do not mix.

Try doing this sometime. Take an empty 2-Liter bottle, and fill it up half way with just plain water, and the other half fill up with vegetable oil. Then try shaking that bottle up and mixing those two things together. What’s going to happen? Well, you can shake that bottle all day, but as soon as you stop shaking it, the oil and the water are going to separate from each other in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Why? Back in 11th Grade Chemistry Class you learned that oil and water are “polar opposites” of each other. These two substances have a totally different chemical make-up from each other, which makes it impossible for them to mix together. Polar opposites just don’t mix.

what we’re going to focus on this morning are the polar opposites in this story. We are going to study the characters and see a number of things that just don’t mix very well inside a person: 1. Faith & Unbelief 2. Humility & Pride.

When you are tempted to doubt God’s promises, remember that 2-Liter bottle with oil and water not mixing. Neither can your doubt mix with faith! Get rid of it, and have a simple, strong trust that God is going to work everything out. Remember that 2-Liter bottle when you are tempted to think of yourself as an important person. Pride sure doesn’t mix very well with humility.

Good Friend


Back in the 1980’s Sam Rayburn - Speaker for the House of Representatives - learned that one of his friends had just lost his teenage daughter. 
 
Early the next morning Rayburn knocked on his door and said, “I just came by to see what I could do to help.” 
 
The father replied that there was nothing to do. “Well,” Rayburn said, “have you had your coffee this morning?” 
 
The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast. So Rayburn went to work in the kitchen. While he working on making breakfast, his friend came in, and said, “Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.” “Well, I was, but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble and I couldn’t come.”


This is great example of true friend is all about. He is willing to rearrange his schedule no matter how important it might be to help a friend out that is need.

Judge and the Defence Lawyer


I once read about in one of Richard Wurmbrand’s books.

An elder of a local free Church in Communist Romania was brought before the judge for embezzlement - a crime he had not committed.

His defense lawyer started his defense plea by telling the Court of a well known story about the man that was circulating around the village.

One day, the man had been attacked while he was taking the church collection home to bank the next day and the thieves made off with all the money.

Fearing for the eternal souls of the thieves, the elder called after them,

You haven’t stolen the church collection, which I have at home, you have only taken my money and I give it to you freely.”

The Judge stopped the defense lawyer and said: “You don’t seriously believe that nonsense do you?”

The defense lawyer replied: “No”

Then why are you bringing it up in my court” the judge growled.

The defense lawyer replied: “My Lord, if someone had tried to start a rumor like that about you or me, it would never have got off the ground.

The very fact that this rumor could even get off the ground is a testimony to my client’s character.”

That’s the same sort of character that Jesus wants his followers to have.

God is concerned about what is on the inside of us and not on the externals.

Spreading Love




Norman Vincent Peale wrote this:

"Ralston Young carries bags for a living but his real job is living the spirit of Christ as a porter in one of the world's greatest railway stations.

One day he was asked to take a little old lady to her train.

She was in a wheel chair so he took her down on the elevator.

As he wheeled her into the elevator, he noticed there were tears in her eyes.

Ralston Young stood there as the elevator descended, closed his eyes and asked the Lord how he could help her and the Lord give him an idea.

As he wheeled her off the elevator he said with a smile "Ma'am, if you don't mind me saying so, that is a mighty pretty hat you are wearing."

She looked at him and said "Thank you"

"And may I add" he said "that sure is a pretty dress you have on. I like it so much".

Being a woman this appealed to her, and despite the fact she wasn't feeling well, she brightened up and asked "Why in the world did you say those nice things to me?"

"Well" he said "I saw how unhappy you were. I saw you were crying and I just asked the Lord how I could help you. The Lord said 'Speak to her about the hat'. The mention of the dress he added was my own idea."

"Don't you feel well?" he asked.

"No" she replied "I am constantly in pain". I am never free from it. Sometimes I can't stand it. Do you, by any chance, know what it is like to be in pain all the time?"

Ralston had an answer: "Yes Ma'am, I do for I lost an eye and it hurts like a hot iron day and night."

"But you seem so happy now. How did you accomplish it?"

"Just by prayer ma'am, just by prayer."

She asked "Does prayer, just prayer take the pain away?"

"Well" replied Ralston "perhaps it doesn't always take it away. I can't say it does, but it always helps to overcome it so it doesn't seem like it burns so much. Just keep on praying, ma'am and I'll pray for you too."

Her tears were dried now and she looked up at him with a lovely smile, took him by the hand and said

"You've done me so much good".

A year passed and one night at Grand Central station Ralston Young was paged to come to the Information Booth.

A young woman was there who said: "I bring you a message from the dead. Before she died my mother told me to find you and to tell you how much you helped her last year when she took the train in her wheelchair. She will always remember you, even in eternity. She will remember you for you were so kind and loving and understanding"

Then the young woman burst into tears and sobbed in her grief.

Ralston stood quietly watching her. Then he said "Don't cry missy, don't cry. You shouldn't cry. Give a prayer of thanksgiving".

Surprised the girl said "Why should I give a prayer of thanksgiving?"

"Because" said Ralston "many people have become orphans much younger than you. You had your mother for a long, long time, and besides you still have her. You will see her again......."

Peale concludes by saying:

"Ralston's kindness had the same effect on the daughter as it had on her mother. In this huge station, with thousands of people passing by, the two of them felt the presence of (the) one who inspired this wonderful porter to go around this way, spreading love."

("The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale p.84-86).

A Friend in Good and in Bad Times

Contributed by Rev. Martin Dale

Some years ago, I attended a conference called “Spring Harvest at Work” in Sheffield (in November 1998).

And what was memorable for me was that the conference organizers sprang a surprise interviewee on us – Jim Bakker- an outcast in the Evangelical community.

Indeed he was such an outcast that they didn’t even dare advertise that he was going to be interviewed until the day itself.

Let me just give you a little of the background to Jim Bakker’s story:

From 1987 to 1990, the ministry of television evangelists (popularly referred to in the press as “televangelists) was brought into disrepute by the revelation of a string of frauds, mismanagement of funds and infidelities.

The first scandal to break and probably the most infamous - was that of Jim and Tammy Bakker followed by the fall of Jimmy Swaggart.

In 1986, the income of Baaker’s ministry was $129 million.

But then Jim Bakker had an affair with the church secretary Jessica Hahn in 1980 and resigned in 1987, when it came to light that he had paid her about $265,000 in blackmail money over the affair.

With his resignation, Bakker asked Jerry Falwell to take over and, when Falwell began examining the accounts, he discovered that the Bakkers had been illegally taking large amounts of money from the ministry fund.

Falwell called the US Inland Revenue Service in and when they investigated the accounts they discovered that the couple had diverted $4.8 million for personal use.

Jim Bakker was indicted for fraud in 1988, was given a 45 year prison sentence and fined $500,000.

When the scandal broke, Bakker's Christian friends quickly deserted him.

He became an outcast in the Christian world.

And when he was sentenced, his wife Tammy Faye left him too and then divorced him.

That evening at “Spring Harvest at Work”, Jim Bakker told us a little known story of his time in prison:

Six months into his sentence, he was surprised one afternoon when the prison governor called him into his office. Bakker had a visitor: Billy Graham.

When Graham came in, Bakker asked him why he had come to visit because he knew that any association with Bakker would tarnish Graham's reputation.

Billy Graham replied that Bakker was his friend in good and in bad times and now when things were bad, he would stand by his side.

And Billy Graham was true to his word.

Bakker's sentence was eventually reduced, on appeal, to ten years and when he came out of prison on parole, he had nowhere to stay.

So the Grahams invited him to stay with them.

On the Sunday following Baaker's release, Ruth Graham took him to church with her.

Disregarding what people would think about her, she stood up in church and introduced Jim Bakker to the congregation as her friend, Jim Bakker.

THE STORY OF THE GIPPER



It was halftime of the 1928 Army vs. Notre Dame Game that legendary head coach Knute Rockne gave his "win one for the Gipper" speech to his beleaguered players.

Notre Dame was having one of its worst seasons on record and Rockne was trying to salvage what he could of the season. He told his players about the tragic death of George Gipp, a great Notre Dame player.

Many historians doubt that Rockne's version of Gipp's last words was true. None the less, Notre Dame did win the game against Army that memorable day.

This speech became ingrained in popular culture after its recreation in the 1940 movie, Knute Rockne--All American, which starred a then known B actor, Ronald Reagan.

The phrase "Win one for the Gipper" became a permanent fixture in American society. Here is the transcript of the dialogue from the movie...

Well, boys ... I haven't a thing to say. Played a great game...all of you. Great game, I guess we just can't expect to win ‘em all. I'm going to tell you something I've kept to myself for years -- None of you ever knew George Gipp. It was long before your time, but you know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame...And the last thing he said to me -- "Rock," he said, "sometime, when the team is up against it -- and the breaks are beating the boys -- tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper...I don't know where I'll be then, Rock", he said - "but I'll know about it - and I'll be happy."

(There was a hushed stillness as Rockne and the crowd of boys look at each other. and the midst of this tense silence, one of the boys loudly shouted!)

Well, what are we waiting for?

And with a single roar, the players throw off their blankets and rush through the doorway, went out and won the game!

That phrase the Gipper from the movie, followed a then, little known actor Ronald Reagan all of his life and went on to inspire a nation.

How parents religious habits affect children


Researchers from Switzerland examined whether parents’ religious habits were transmitted to their offspring.

They studied different variables, but one critical factor towered above the rest:

the practices of the father determine whether children grow up attending church or not.

And the results were somewhat shocking: the habits of the mother had almost no influence over their kids’ future devotion.

Consider these findings:

....When Mom goes to church regularly but Dad goes infrequently,

just 3 percent of their kids go on to become regular churchgoers.

....When Mom is regular but Dad never attends, just 2 percent become regular attendees.

Now, let’s flip the scenario, what if Dad is faithful?

When both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 33 percent of kids grow up to attend regularly.

When Dad is regular but Mom only goes once in a while, the figure jumps to 38 percent.

Here’s the real bombshell: when Dad is faithful but Mom never attends,

44 percent of the kids end up as regular church attendees!

Bottom line: in spiritual matters, kids take their cues from Dad.

If daddy doesn’t go to church, chances are very slim that his children will become regular worshippers.

If the kids see religion as "Mom’s thing" they are more likely to become disenchanted.

But if Dad leads by example, children are twenty-two times more likely to become lifelong churchgoers

Are there exceptions, everyone knows there are always exceptions to every rule.

I stand here today as an exception, one of the 2 Percent group. I also credit a praying mother, who stood on and received the promise of her household, from God! It didn't happen in her lifetime, but never the less happened, and God kept His Word!

It's no wonder why churches all over the globe are closing their doors, and are dropping in attendance.

Dads aren't going, so why should the children. Fathers are supposed to be the spiritual leaders of their households. If we're ever going to see revival in our church's, it's going to have to first start in our homes!

God has a plan for each one of our lives and He constantly gives us, every opportunity to walk in the plans that He has for us!

Pull Buddy Pull


Pull, Buddy, pull By Guy Glass

A guy drives into a ditch, but luckily, a farmer is there to help. He hitches his horse, Buddy, up to the car and yells, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy doesn’t move.

"Pull, Buster, pull!" Buddy doesn’t budge.

"Pull, Coco, pull!" Nothing.

Then the farmer says, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And the horse drags the car out of the ditch.

Curious, the motorist asks the farmer why he kept calling his horse by the wrong name. "Buddy’s blind," said the farmer. "And if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try."

I can remember my dad, pulling me out of a few ditches in my life. Some of them were literal ditches, and some of them had different names.

I can remember, my dad would call and the first thing he would say would be, "Dad here" at the time I would think of course you're there, and I'm here. But over the years, I came to realize that, when he said those words...it gave me comfort, knowing I could call anytime and he would come running to help me, no matter what the need was!

I could sense his presence was there, even though physically he wasn't.

So many fathers nowadays, aren't that way.

The Government Already Has!


The Government already has! By Scott Chambers

The Lord spoke to Noah and said, “Noah in six months I am going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water and all the evil things are destroyed. But, I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. So I want you to build an ark.”

Well, six months passed, the sky began to cloud up, and the rain began to fall in torrents. The Lord looked down and saw Noah sitting in his yard, weeping, and there was no ark.

"Noah!” shouted the Lord, “Where is My ark?” “Lord please forgive me!” begged Noah. “I did my best but there were some problems --- big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the ark’s construction, but Your plans did not meet their building code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, only to get into a long argument with him about whether to include a fire-sprinkler system.”

Then "My neighbors started complaining and objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, because it was killing the dandelions and going to block their view --- so I had to get a variance from the city planning board.

Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the Fish and Game Commission that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn’t let me catch them, so NO OWLS.”

Next I started gathering up the animals but got sued by an animal rights group that objected to my taking along only two of each kind; they wanted me to save them all. Then the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plain. So I sent them a globe! The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got notice from the state that I owe some kind of usage tax. Really, I don’t think I can finish the ark in less than five years.”

With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. “You mean You are not going to destroy the world?” he asked hopefully. “No,” said the Lord, “I am too late, the government already has.”

In God We Trust...

God's Laws will not Change


When Astronaut, Allen Shepherd was preparing to make his first space flight, He was in a news conference and a reporter asked him

It was a legitimate question – the reporter asked,

Mr. Shepherd, what are you depending on in this flight?”

Now, I’m sure that the reporter didn’t mean the question the way Allen Shepherd answered it –

but it was asked never-the-less in a way that prompted Allen Shepherd to say, (and it’s a classic) he said,

I’m depending on the fact that God’s laws will not change.”

When you’re getting ready to go into space…

and when your survival and your return to earth…

depends upon all of these laws that God put into place… and staying in place while you’re up there…

It’s pretty important to trust in the fact,

To depend upon the fact – with your life – that God’s laws will not change

Lasting Ffruitfulness


Donald Grey Barnhouse cites an amazing example of lasting fruitfulness. In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine under glass; it is about 1,000 years old and has but one root which is at least two feet thick.

Some of the branches are 200 feet long. Because of skillful cutting and pruning, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Even though some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they bear much fruit because they are joined to the vine and allow the life of the vine to flow through them.

Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. And when we need pruning, the goal is always more fruit

Abraham Lincoln's prayer

A visitor to the White House when Lincoln was president was with Lincoln for three weeks as his guest. One night, soon after the Battle of Bull Run, this visitor could not sleep.

Suddenly he heard a low voice proceeding from the room where the president slept. He got up and walked toward the door, which was partly open. Then he saw the president kneeling before an open Bible.

The light was turned low, and the president's back was to the door; he did not know that he was being overheard. In piteous and solemn tones the president was praying: "Thou God that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cried for wisdom, hear me!

I cannot lead this people. I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without Thy help. I am poor and weak...O God, Thou didst hear Solomon when he cried for wisdom--hear me and save this nation." - Choice Illustrations, W.W. Clay pg 57-58