Death and Dying

Some older fellows were having a conversation about death and dying. The question came up, "What would you want people to say about you at your funeral?"
One replied, "I'd want people to say, 'He was a great and compassionate humanitarian who cared about those in need.'"
A second said, "I'd want people to say, 'He was a good father and husband, whose life was a fine example for others to follow.'"
A third answered, "I'd like them to say, 'Look! He's moving!'"


A letter allegedly sent to a client by the Depart of Social Services in Greenville, South Carolina:

Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.

What You Heard Me Say Is Not What I Thought I Said

A man told that many years after receiving his graduate degree, he returned to the State University of New York at Binghamton as a faculty member. One day in a crosded elevator, someone remarked on its inefficiency. He remarked that the elevator hadn't changed in the 20 years since he began there as a student.
When the door finally opened, he felt a compassionate pat on his back, and turned to see an elderly nun smiling at him. "You'll get that degree, dear," she whispered. "Perseverance is a kind of virtue."

Be Careful Whom You Imitate

In The Song of the Bird, Anthony de Mello told about a man who, while walking through the forest, saw a fox that had lost its legs. He wondered how it lived. Then he saw a tiger come along with game in its mouth. The tiger ate his fill and left the rest of the meat for the fox to eat.
The next day, the man saw that the fox was fed in the same way. He marveled at God's greatness and declared, "I, too, shall just rest in a corner with full rust in the Lord, and He will provide me with all I need." He waited for many days, but nothing happened. He was close to dying of starvation when he heard a voice say, "O you, who are on the path of error, open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox."

Winning the Race

The stadium was nearly empty. More than an hour earlier, the winner of the marathon in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City had crossed the finish line. As the last spectators prepared to leave, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania hobbled into the stadium. His leg was bandaged and bloody. A fall during the race had deeply cut and dislocated his knee. Through obvious pain, he pressed on to become the last of 57 competitors to finish the race, a race that had begun with 74. When asked by a reporter why he hadn't give up, Akhwari paused as if mystified by the question. "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race."
It is wonderful, and the angels sing in heaven, when any person believes on Jesus Christ, and they begin their spiritual journey. But the greatest triumph is to those who not only begin well, but end well. That doesn't mean there may not be some falls along the way that leave us "bruised and bleeding," but Jesus didn't die on the cross for us just to begin well. He died there, so that we might end well, and thereby dwell with him in eternity.

On Travel

Since some of our members are touring with a school group in Greece this week, I offer some thoughts on travelling:

Some tips on packing: When preparing to travel, lay out all of your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.

-- Susan Heller

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.

-- Cesare Pavese

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.

-- St. Augustine

I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.

-- Mark Twain

Life is a journey, not a guided tour.

-- Unknown

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-- Mark Twain

[Nor is that bad advice for Lenten disciples -- as we seek our Master in that same spirit.]

Made for another world

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world."

-- C. S. Lewis

So Much ....

Wow! So much has happened since I was last on here. Sciatica, "flu," kidney stones, blood pressure gyrations, our church secretary's illness, and so many other members facing dire illnesses and the loss of loved ones and friends. These have felt like desert days for many of us -- and I need to remember Jesus and His desert days -- the Temptation, the scorn, the opposition, Gethsemane, and finally the Cross. All were desert days, as He pressed on to do the Father's will. And that's just it ... He pressed on. When we feel the "heat" of our situation, breathless and weak, it's all too easy for us to give up, rather than pressing on. But if we stop to ask WWJD (What would Jesus do?), we'll find we must answer: "Keep praying, keep trusting, keep obeying, keep loving." It's not a matter of not knowing WHAT to do. It's a matter of WILL I do it? Praying, trusting, obeying, loving ... that ought to keep me busy as I wait for Easter.