PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE One morning an elementary-school teacher asked her class how many points there are on the compass. She was surprised when one little boy stuck up his hand and said, "Five." She asked him,…
Sermon Illustrations
JUDGING I dreamt death came the other night, And Heaven's gate swung wide; An angel with a halo bright Then ushered me inside; And there to my astonishment Stood folks I'd judged and labeled As…
PASSING IT ON Small boys learn to be large men in the presence of large men who care about small boys. Night Lights by Phyllus Therous, Viking Press
ACTION The person who rows the boat usually doesn't have time to rock it.
ACCOMPLISHMENT If only I could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishement without having to accomplish anything. Ashleigh Brilliant
PATRIOTISM Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, "This is my own, my native land!" Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath…
WASHINGTON -- SPIRITUAL IMPACT Parson Weems relates the story of a Quaker who abandoned his pacifism after hearing Washington pray. In the winter of 1777, with the American Army encamped at Valley Forge, a certain…
DEMOCRACY Democracy is a small hard core of common agreement, surrounded by a rich variety of individual differences. James Conant
JEFFERSON ON FRANKLIN When Thomas Jefferson arrived in Paris as U. S. Minister to France and presented himself to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, the latter said, "You replace Monsieur Franklin?" Jefferson replied, "I…
WASHINGTON -- PASSION UNDER CONTROL Painter Gilbert Stuart said that "Washington's 'features' were indicative of the strongest and most ungovernable passions. Had he been born in the forests, he would have been the fiercest man…
ANDREW JACKSON -- ACQUAINTED WITH PAIN He's called "Old Hickory" because of his personal grit! His mother named him 'Andrew' on March 15, 1767 when she gave birth to this independent-minded rebel. He was not…
ABRAHAM LINCOLN The weary form, that rested not, Save in a martyr's grave; The careworn face that none forgot,/Turned to the kneeling slave. We rest in peace, where his sad eyes Saw perils, strife and…
FIRST A Sunday School teacher asked her class who the first man was. A little boy answered, "George Washington." She then informed him that the first man was Adam. The boy responded "Oh, well, if…
LINCOLN'S BIBLE Abraham Lincoln's well- thumbed Bible in the Lincoln Museum in Washington, among other things, would abundantly prove that he was a Christian. Listen to him, as on his way to be inaugurated, he…
WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE The sun went down o'er Valley Forge In the cheerless wintry air; Day after day the sun went down, And no man seemed to care; For day and night alike were…
MY COUNTRY God grant that not only the love of liberty But a thorough knowledge of the rights of man May pervade all nations of the earth, so that A philosopher may set his foot…
AMERICA'S GREATNESS I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her…
THE SEED OF AN IDEA Judge T. Lyle Dickey of Illinois related that when the excitement over the Kansas- Nebraska bill first broke out, he was with Lincoln and several friends attending court. One evening…
THE PRICE OF LIBERTY By 1776, many of the people in the colonies had grown indignant about the unjust taxes England was levying upon them and the harsh measures she was taking to collect them.…
HANG TOGETHER Though some doubt has been cast on the authenticity of the following story, here's the way it goes: At the signing of the first draft of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock, one…
