Story Corner

[letric]

Scripture: Luke 17:4

If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven
times comes back to you and says: I repent forgive him. (NIV)

The story goes that two friends were walking through
the desert and became lost. Together they prayed
for direction and continued walking. During some
point in the journey they had an argument, and out of
frustration one friend slapped the other in the face to
get his undivided attention.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without
saying anything, wrote in the sand:

Today my best friend slapped me in the face

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where
they decided to rest and take a refreshing swim. The
one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and
started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he
recovered from near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

Today my best friend saved my life

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend
asked him, After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and
now you write on a stone: Why?

The writer replied:

When someone hurts me I write
it down in sand where daily winds of forgiveness can
erase it away. But when someone does something
good for me, I engrave it in stone where no wind
can erase it.

Christian Cyber Ministries.

[letric]

Hope also brings with it surprises. Surprises that we never,
ever dreamed pr thought possible. For life is like a coin - it
has two sides. Turn it over and the tale of our past becomes
the head of our future. Whilst the coin of life lies in the
mud, we fail to see the other side until we pluck it out of the
mire. For we will never see the other side until we do - we
have a choice.

[letric]

Positive and bold- thinking actions can make things happen.
Weak and defeatist attitudes will create hope-less life. The
glass that is seen half-empty is a life that is only half fulfilled.
Those who live their lives with hope in the driver's seat
will cover many miles and encounter fewer breakdowns.
They will achieve much and regrets will become a distant
memory trailing in their wake. And the cost? Well, as
Mother Teresa so aptly put it A single sunbeam is enough
to drive away many shadows. We all need hope in our
lives although some find it elusive. Like a butterfly, just as
we are about to catch it, the butterfly spots us and flies
away to a higher place. Forever we chase - and only some-
times catch.

[letric]

We live in a society today asking ourselves questions.
However, the first question every young person must
ask is what is the right thing to do? The first question
a husband and wife whose relationship is on the brink
of failure must ask themselves is what is the right thing
to do? No matter who we are, and what circumstances
we may find ourselves in, there is a voice that continually
cries out. Are we doing what is good and right in the
sight of God. It is not easy to stay on the right path,
do so requires navigating our lives upstream, against
the current of a wicked society that will take us over the
falls if we let it. If this is resonating in your heart, then
you have not cross the point of no return

[letric]

The Niagara Park web site contains a historical record documenting how the waters ceased to
flow in 1848. Anyone who has ever seen Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side would think it
impossible for there to exist any force strong enough to stop the gigantic rush of water.
For thirty long hours, the river ceased to flow. The falls dried up, and those who were brave
enough walked over the rock floor. Late that evening, with a roar that shook the
foundations of the earth, a solid wall of water, cresting to to a great height, curled down
the channel and crashed over the brink of the precipice. Niagara was back in business.
The explanation finally came. High winds set the ice fields of Lake Erie in motion and millions
of tons of ice became lodged at the source of the rifer, blocking the channel completely until
finally a shift in the forces of nature released it and the pent up weight of water broke
through..
Justice and righteousness may be held back for a time, but eventually just like the mighty
Niagara River, the forces of a realm that we only dimly see will shift, and the pent-up
weight of justice will run down like water and righteousness like a might stream!

[brag]

Being a Light
In one corner of the world squatted a sullen, sulking, friendless darkness. Suddenly a tiny light appeared. It was very small but it was a light. Someone had put it there. It just stood there and sent out its rays. A passerby remarked to the light: "Don't you think you would be of more use somewhere else and not in this God-forsaken corner?" "Not really," said the little light. "I shine because I am a light. And because I shine, I am a light. I don't shine in order to be seen, but so that others could see in the dark." When the gloomy darkness heard this, it gritted its teeth and full of furry, tried to put out the light. But the gigantic darkness was powerless against this tiny light that wanted to shine.
An old saying goes: "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."

Taken from somewhere. I can't remember.

[letric]

I watched the film The Last King of Scotland and was struck
by how pleasant and urbane Idi Amin appeared. In many cases,
kindness is only skin deep. That being said, I bemoan the decline
of courtesy. One of my hates is opening the door for someone
and standing there like a doorstop while people walk through
ignoring me; or stepping out of the way in the grocery to let
some one's trolley through while they walk straight past me with-
out a glance, followed by a queue of other blinkered shoppers.
Common courtesy is not the fullness of kindness, but it's a start.
Not that it is important to express gratitude (Jesus himself com-
mended the leper who returned to say thank you and note the
nine who did not) but we should not demand it. Kindness is given
freely with no expectation of anything being given in return.
Kindness is outward looking, naturally considering others before
yourself. Selfishness is inward looking, considering yourself and
your comfort first - sometimes at the cost of other's needs.

[letric]

If you have grandchildren chances are you cannot help but notice
what a different world they are growing up in compared with when
you were their age. If you tell them what life was like when you were
young, they may be astonished at how things were back then. I
know I tell my 10- and 8-year-old grandchildren stories from when I
was their age, they have a hard time grasping the concepts of typing
term term papers on a typewriter, writing out letters by hand, and
not having so many television stations to watch, and having to go
the library for a school project. Amazingly, though, my children, have
also remarked on how much the world has changed since they were
born. It all underscores a vital point. While our world has experienced
change, the rate of change is speeding up.

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There's an ancient legend about a magic pebble, called the touchstone,
which could turn any metal into gold. This pebble was said to lie on the
shores of the Black Sea among tens of thousands of other pebbles, all
looking alike. The only way you could tell the touchstone from other
pebbles was that it was warm to the touch. Normal pebbles would feel
cool. One man discovered a book that told of the touchstone. He sold
everything and travelled to the shores of the Back Sea. He knew if he
started sorting through the pebbles there was no way to know if he was
picking up the same pebbles. So, he picked up a pebble, felt its coolness,
and threw it into the sea. Day after day, week after week, he searched
for the magic touchstone that would change his life. Weeks into months,
months into years. One day he picked up a stone that felt warm. It was
the touchstone, but by habit and without thinking, he threw it into the sea.
Numbed by his daily routine, his search had become meaningless. What he
wanted was within his grasp. But without even realising it he threw it away.
Is spiritual truth and meaning within your grasp, but you don not recognise it?

[letric]

Impostors abound in society, particularly where their true identities
can be hidden. Posing as a doctor of medicine is one of the most
popular kinds of deception, some carrying out the imposture
successfully for years, diagnosing disease or offering cures for luckless
patients. Otherimpostors create for themselves a persona relevant
to their pedigree, such as race, and so on, for acceptance within a
certain society. Few create roles being an academic, female posing as male,
male as female, especially when their admissions cannot be proven.
To understand this personality disorder, certain characteristics may
be active, such as hostility, quarrels, threats of litigation. Actually
some crave notoriety because of rejection attracting sympathy and/or
admiration. After the 9/11 attacks a number of people came forward
claiming to have been victims of the disaster. What they most craved is
notoriety, they want to be famous or appear famous, even though
they have not achieved fame by their own efforts. Then there is the
emotionally unstable personality, the impulsive, and borderline. Impulsive,
intemperate and uncontrolled anger inconsolable grief, and so on.
Borderline personality shows a pattern of instability in personal relationships,
self-image, and mood with marked impulsivity. Indeed, the causes of personality
disorder may lie either in heredity or in environment. However, environmental
causes are usually given for personality disorders and these are particularly
related to early upbringing within the family

[brag]

George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them." Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing. How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this,
I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision. We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.
As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison. The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.

[letric]

Condoleezza Rice, grew up in racially turbulent Birmingham, Atlanta
in 1the 1950s and 60s. Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A memoir
of My Family and Me tells the story of how with her parents un-
wavering support, she won her way to Stanford and ultimately to
the office of the Secretary of State.

[letric]

I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever ceasing to be a Christian.

Raimon Panikkar, the diminutive Roman catholic priest and scholar, son of an Indian Hindu father
and a Catholic mother, did much to prepare his church for the globalisation of Christianity as any
Pope. Educated by Jesuits during a childhood in Spain, he earned the first of three doctorates
(in philosophy) before joining the priesthood. A decade later, took his first journey to India. He
left deeply changed by the spiritual wisdom he found there. Panikkar argued that non-Western
religions could provide insights into Christian beliefs. He spent most of his life drawing connections
between religious traditions. Some Catholics saw that as dangerously radical. But to many admirers
Panikkar was a prophet whose teachings helped Christianity spread like wild fire through the non-
Western world. Died Aug, 26 at the age of 91.
Amy Sullivan

[brag]

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.

He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were
only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped
them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote
some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would
see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to
the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to
see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were
you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"


The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a
different way."

I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign
simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they
were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the
second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be
innovative. Think differently and positively.

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000
reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present
with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith
and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling.
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind
it!!!

[letric]

The turbulent relationship between Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots,
back then marriage was seen as an absolute necessity for a monarch for
without one there could be no dynasty. But Elizabeth was one of the
few queens regnant who made the conscious decision not to marry, thus
never becoming subordinate to a male consort and skilfully using the
possibility of marriage as a tool with which to manipulate the balance of
power in Europe. In contrast, her cousin Mary has been depicted as a
slave to passion, who ill-advised marriages cost her not only her throne,
but ultimately her life; but it was her son, James1, who became king of
both England and Scotland upon Elizabeth's death in 1603. Their stories
remain possibly trhe most interesting of all British monarchs.

[brag]

The Ant and the Contact Lens:

A True Story

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. 'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.'

She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You.'

I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will.'

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him... I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13

[letric]

Every family has its unique dynamics, alliances, conflicts, siblings rivalries.
And step-families come with their own baggage.
But re-opening old wounds is no solutions.
You can begin to accept the family you have and, in doing so, free yourself
from old patterns and relate to each other in a new way.

[letric]

Every family has its unique dynamics, alliances, conflicts, siblings rivalries.
And step-families come with their own baggage.
But re-opening old wounds is no solutions.
You can begin to accept the family you have and, in doing so, free yourself
from old patterns and relate to each other in a new way.

The key to harmonious family gatherings lies not in changing the way others
behave, but in taking a more realistic view of them

[letric]

Mwari, the name of God among the the Shona people of
Zimbabwe and one of the names among the Venda of
Transvaal. Amongst the northern Shona he is acknowledged
as creator, but it is not thought of as often intevening
directly in human life except to punish major breaches of
the order he established, eg incest. Normal religious
activity is directed to the midzimu or ancesral spirits, who
indeed may be appropiate intercessors with Mwari when
necessary. Among the the southern Shona, however,
especially the Kalanga and Karanga, Mwari is the centre
of a major cult, and has an oracle when he speaks directly.
His home is in the Matopo Hills, where his caves are, and
his presence is sometimes shown here by fire. The cult
is esoteric, with its own priesthood versed in its secrets,
and the oracle is consulted over a wide area, not only by
Shona and Venda people but by Ndebele and others.
Such as a cult of the supreme being, where he speaks
through a priesthood, is unusual in Africa. Mwari is
often used as the name of the Christian God, but some
groups, anxious to distinguish God from the oracle, reject
this.

[letric]

I see several Africans and one
vertical in the tumultuous even
with its screen and nodules,
a little separated, but within
the century, like a heart in reserve
Aime Cesaire

[letric]

The key to harmonious family gatherings lies not in changing the way others
behave, but in taking a more realistic view of them

All happy families resemble one another, each
unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

[letric]

African Christian prophetess Alice Mulenga Lenshina who belonged to
the Bemba people of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). In 1953,
apparently dying, she had a vision of Christ. Recovering, she began
to compose beautiful hymns in Bemba forms, and to preach personal
repentance and a reformation of family life. By 1955 her movement
had taken shape of a new church, called 'Lumpa' and a campaign
against witchcraft. In the late 1950s male leaders in the movement
increasingly clashed with the colonial authorities with the supporters
of the United National Independence Party, and eventually with the
Zambian government, resulting in bloodshed, emigration and drastic
government action. Lenshina, no longer in charge, was either in
detention, hiding or restriction from 1965 until her death. The move-
ment united traditional Bemba values with a shift from ancestor
veneration to the person of Christ abd an emphasis onwomen's role.

[letric]

Mario Legio (African Independent Church) originating
among the Kenya Luo of southern Nyanza in the
Catholic diocese of Kisii. The leaders, recipients
of visions, were Simeo Ondeto, later called
'Holy Father' and a 20-year old married woman,
Gaudencia Aoko, who had been traumatised by
the death of her children. The movement owed
its shape to Catholic devotional societies and has
continued to use crucifixes and rosaries as well
as adopting a hierarchical system with bishops and
a cardinal. After its public emergence in 1963,
however, it became strongly anti-Roman, adopted
Protestant features in the use of the Bible and
women's ministry, and the common features of
African Independent churches as regards prophecy
and healing. The movement is probably the largest
African secession from the Catholic Church and
one of the few large-scale prophetic movements to
arise after 1960.

[letric]

Helping others is one of the best routes to happiness. However, it is genuinely
hard work being kind in this country. On the underground I make a few false
starts - notably offering my seat to two perfectly fit but undeniably older
people, (on different trips), who are mortally offended and decline, loudly. I
want to shout,

It is a mark of respect for your age, not of pity
for your descripture.

but of course I - kindly - refrain. A second attempt at helping does not go
too well either. 'Can I give you a hand?' I ask a
harassed mother who is trying to drag as many toddlers as she has shopping
bags onto the train. 'Yes'. she snaps ungraciously. 'Catch him'. I grab hold
of an escaping toddler who first sinks his tiny teeth into my hand and then starts
to cry. My luck, rather good fortune, starts to improve and my day of attempting to
discern the advantages of being kind to others begins to bear fruit. People start
to look astonished rather than suspicious when I hold open doors, or help carry luggage
up steps. A few of them smile, say thank you and, occasionally, they even engage in
a spot of conversation. According to evolutionary biologists, this happy high comes
because co-operation is a good survival strategy. Even if our conscious minds do not
know this. As I hold open yet another door for yet another pregnant woman, I reflect
on the possibility that the recession might have its upside. Charities are reporting leaps
in volunteer applications. So this kindness stuff is doubly good, making both parties to
the social transaction feel better.

[brag]

A Good Day" With Brother David Steindl-Rast

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