Friends,
In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, Ray Stedman tells of an experience that theologian and preacher, H.A. Ironside, had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don't." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."
The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!"
Ironside said, "Yes, you're just like my dog. That's what he does too!"
Blessings, Don
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Four Moons of Saturn
Friends,
I love this picture of Saturn and four of its moons. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, measuring 3200 miles across (larger than our own moon, 2160 miles across) is quite imposing in the background, while Dione, measuring 700 miles across, is in front of Titan in the foreground. The small moon, Pandora, measuring 50 miles across, is just outside of the last ring. I mention "four" moons, but where is fourth? It is called, Pan, and is in the black space between rings in an area called Encke Gap. It is one of the smallest of Saturn's many moon, measuring only 22 miles across. I marvel at the shots that our telescopes and spacecraft provide.
Blessings, Don
.
I love this picture of Saturn and four of its moons. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, measuring 3200 miles across (larger than our own moon, 2160 miles across) is quite imposing in the background, while Dione, measuring 700 miles across, is in front of Titan in the foreground. The small moon, Pandora, measuring 50 miles across, is just outside of the last ring. I mention "four" moons, but where is fourth? It is called, Pan, and is in the black space between rings in an area called Encke Gap. It is one of the smallest of Saturn's many moon, measuring only 22 miles across. I marvel at the shots that our telescopes and spacecraft provide.
Blessings, Don
.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Leaders Take Risks
Friends,
I saw something on a friend's blog earlier this week that provoked this thought...
Paul Borthwick in "Leading the Way" says -- No one ever stubs his or her toe while standing still. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly. But above all, try something!" Failing to try because of a desire to be secure results in inaction and failure to lead.
John Henry Jowett, a great English preacher, likewise pointed out the temptation of self-preservation and its result in faithless lives: It is possible to evade a multitude of sorrows through the cultivation of an insignificant life. Indeed, if a man's ambition is to avoid the troubles of life, the recipe is simple: shed your ambitions in every direction, cut the wings of every soaring purpose, and seek a life with the fewest contacts and relations. If you want to get through the world with the smallest trouble, you must reduce yourself to the smallest compass. Tiny souls can dodge through life; bigger souls are blocked on every side. As soon as a man begins to enlarge his life, his resistances are multiplied. Let a man remove his petty selfish purposes and enthrone Christ, and his sufferings will be increased on every side.
Blessings, Don
I saw something on a friend's blog earlier this week that provoked this thought...
Paul Borthwick in "Leading the Way" says -- No one ever stubs his or her toe while standing still. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly. But above all, try something!" Failing to try because of a desire to be secure results in inaction and failure to lead.
John Henry Jowett, a great English preacher, likewise pointed out the temptation of self-preservation and its result in faithless lives: It is possible to evade a multitude of sorrows through the cultivation of an insignificant life. Indeed, if a man's ambition is to avoid the troubles of life, the recipe is simple: shed your ambitions in every direction, cut the wings of every soaring purpose, and seek a life with the fewest contacts and relations. If you want to get through the world with the smallest trouble, you must reduce yourself to the smallest compass. Tiny souls can dodge through life; bigger souls are blocked on every side. As soon as a man begins to enlarge his life, his resistances are multiplied. Let a man remove his petty selfish purposes and enthrone Christ, and his sufferings will be increased on every side.
Blessings, Don
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