BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE Once a boy was rowing an oldtimer across a wide river. The oldtimer picked a floating leaf from the water, studied it for a moment and then asked the boy if he…
Sermon Illustrations
YOUTH AND MATURITY T- Shirt imprint: "You are young only once but you can be immature forever." Campbell's Notebook
PRACTICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE Fritz Kreisler, the greatest violinist, had one big problem all his life: he hated to practice. His wife, who was deeply concerned about his career, kept after him all the time:…
PATERNAL WORDS OF ADVICE The following are Polonius' words of advice to his son Laertes in Hamlet, I, iii, 78: This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the…
BREAD THERAPY "Everyone needs to be kneaded." Bumper Sticker in support of Massage Therapy. Campbell's Notebook, Vol. IX, No. 1, January, 1989.
TEMPORARY HEALING "All healing is tentative. The mortality rate is still 100%." David Buttrick, Campbell's Notebook, Vol. IX, No. 1, January, 1989.
HUMAN NATURE It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion. Anatole France
HUMILITY Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington are not troubled by heavy traffic. Sen. Alan Simpson (Republican, Wyoming), National Prayer Breakfast.
CHANGE Just when you think you see the whole picture of life clearly; the channel changes. Arnot L. Sheppard, Jr.
THE POWER OF IMAGINATION Dr. J. Edwin Orr told this to a college chapel service: On a fishing trip, Pat and Pete stayed overnight at a hotel. Pat woke, screaming, "I'm suffocating! Open the window!"…
MEETING ADVERSITY A man wanted a parrot for his grandson, so looked around for one. Finally he came across one at an auction and bid on it. He couldn't see who, but someone was bidding…
FOCUS Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. Bertrand Russell
THE WORLD'S AN INSECURE PLACE We all want security. We cry "peace, peace" but there is no peace. I found a couple of items from the LA Times that remind us there is no peace,…
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SPOUSES I Thou shalt not wrap thy husband's sandwiches in magazine articles about a man's responsibility to love his wife. II Thou shalt not leave Scripture verses about submission taped to they…
LOVE IN MARRIAGE While serving in Vietnam in 1969, Dave Roever nearly died when a phosphorus grenade exploded six inches from his right ear. He survived, but was badly disfigured. He describes his reunion with…
ROOTED TOGETHER While on a tour of California's giant sequoias, the guide pointed out that the sequoia tree has roots just barely below the surface. I exclaimed, "That's impossible! I'm a country boy, and I…
ADVERTISING He who has a thing to sell And goes and whispers in a well, Is not apt to get the dollars As he who climbs a tree and hollers.
REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS When Conrad Adenauer was still chancellor he was approaching the age of ninety and he succumbed to a heavy cold. His personal physician was unable to be of very much help and had…
PRIVACY ABOUT ONE'S AGE Zsa Zsa Gabor was asked which of the Gabors is the oldest, and she replied, "Well, she'd never admit it -- but it's Mama." Adapted from The Little, Brown Book of…
MY DAY This is My Day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it . . . or use it for good. What I do today is very…
