Inside 537

Pin Drop Redux

This has gone around the internet for years now, but it bears repeating again and again.  If you haven't gotten it from someone in your email, keep sending it around.  I have verified the first story  on Snopes and it is completely true.  I can't vouch for the factual occurrences of the others, but the Truth they contain can be vetted in your heart.  The morons do protest, but cannot deny.

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What  does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply 
emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does  France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking
French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied  'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans 
arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in  Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.

'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !'

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.'

You could have heard a pin drop. 

Who Do You Envy?

Richard Cory

WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,     
  We people on the pavement looked at him:     
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,     
  Clean favored, and imperially slim.     

And he was always quietly arrayed,            
  And he was always human when he talked;     
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,     
  "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.     

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,     
  And admirably schooled in every grace:     
In fine, we thought that he was everything     
  To make us wish that we were in his place.     

So on we worked, and waited for the light,     
  And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;     
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,     
  Went home and put a bullet through his head.

--Edwin Arlington Robinson

It made me think, what is my standard for success?  By what measure do I judge others to be "doing well?"  How often have I, even though I know better, thought, "How great it would be to be in his place?" 

I think I'm even more thankful today than I was yesterday.

Thank You

If you are dropping by today, God bless you and I pray that you are having a Thanks-filled Thanksgiving Day.  I am.  I'm looking around my house and my life and praising God for His incredible grace and mercy that He has poured out in my life.  I'm looking at my wife and feeling abundantly wealthy and overflowing with gratitude.  Outside the sun is shining brightly and the rain is coming down at the same time, soaking the horses as they leap around, sparring with each other and celebrating life.

In a world of pain and grief, joy persists.  It will not be vanquished, and it will not be ignored.

May God bless you as richly.

How to Overcome Racism

What if the Jesse Jacksons, Al Sharptons, and assorted exacerbaters of racism (No, "exacerbater" is NOT a word.  Relax.)  would try this method?  This is why Obama will never be another Martin Luther King Jr. in this area.  His solution to racism is to legislate the heart.  Thus we have one of the liberals' most invasive and mis-named "fixes," Hate Crimes.  Suppose we tried the Biblical method of "overcoming evil with good?"

Think that would have an impact?  Here's one hero who does.

Everything's Amazing. EVERYTHING.

Foreshadowing?

Doug Eaton, a good friend of mine, and much better man than I, posted this on his blog.  I was so moved I had to post it here; a quote from Gordon Clark, American philosopher and theologian:

“As love of liberty grows dim under socialistic suffocation, as coercion increases, the more brutal it will become. The basic methods of procedure were stated by Karl Marx, and they have been accepted, in varying degrees, by many who are not conscious of their origin. Marx was deeply interested in progress. For this reason, a clever social planner will provoke violence and bloody conflicts. Happy men are weak, but if they can be made wretched, they can be stirred to action. Class must be played against class, and hatred must be stimulated. The economy of nations must be ruined by huge governmental expenditures that lead to bankruptcy. Demagogues, willing to be looked on as God, will deceive the people with impossible promises of freedom from want and freedom from fear. Then a dictator can liquidate the remaining opposition and take control."

Gordon Clark, A Christian View of Men and Things P. 56 (1952)

"Class must be played against class, and hatred must be stimulated..."  sounds like the serious mission of a "community organizer," and "Demagogues, willing to be looked on as God..."  rings an eerie familiarity to a candidate who offers "hope" but delivers only empty canards.

A powerful and sobering revelation of the direction America has taken in the past few decades.  Our politicians promise CHANGE, and may indeed bring it, as they lead us at blinding speed into the gaping maw of global irrelevance.  We had an opportunity to make a difference for good in the world, and instead we called that good "evil" and are becoming one with an insatiable and darkening void.

Do elections matter?

Uh, Yeah...

True Compassion Found

Thanks to Kathleen Davis, who sent this video to me.

A son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?"

The father, despite having a heart condition, said, “Yes”.  They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying “Yes” to his son's request of going through the race together.  One day, the son asked his father, “Dad, let's join the ‘Ironman’ together.”  To which, his father said, “Yes”.

The “Ironman” is a race that encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and ending with a  26.2 mile marathon.

Father and son went on to complete the race together.

100 Years

My good friend, Danny sent me this.  In case you haven't gotten it yet, it made me a little dizzy.  Is it how far we've come?  Or how far we've fallen.  Perspective, I guess.

THE YEAR 1908

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles

Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which

Were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard. "

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used

Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from

Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea

Hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." ( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least

One full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A. !

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

The Things I Carry

 The old train lumbered up the track amid a hoofbeat clatter,
its cloudy windows streaked by rain that fell in gentle patter.
With duffle heavy on my back I trudged along the aisle
Until I saw an empty seat next to a welcome smile.

A stifled groan curled in my chest beneath the weight I bore;
I shrugged the duffle off my back, it thudded on the floor.
"That pack looks awfully heavy friend" he said with narrowed stare,
"You got a load of cinderblocks or something tucked in there?"

My gaze fell to the weathered bag, its corners taped and patched,
the olive drab a faded grey, one canvas strap mismatched.
I forced a smile that in my heart was anything but merry
and through my gritted teeth replied "Its just the things I carry."

Perhaps it was the lonely night, the thunder and the rain,
a sense of kindred friendship that I couldn't quite explain,
but with a snap of rusted clip the duffle opened wide
and reaching in I showed him all the things I had inside.

A heavy armored vest was first, its kevlar torn and frayed
the gaping hole stained dark with blood was caused by a grenade.
"My best friend's life" I whispered, fearing that my voice would crack;
"He gave it up to save me in the desert of Iraq."

"We grew up just like brothers ever since the age of nine,
fishing up on Grady's Pond or flyin kites on twine,
our first car was a Mustang, man we made that baby slide.
He always calls me 'Slick,' I mean... he did until he died."

A brick of granite followed, dark and grey as stormy sky,
engraved upon its polished face, a date in mid-July.
"I wasn't home the day I lost my dad," I muttered low,
remembering that awful day so many years ago.

"Our unit drew a line that month in deep Afghanistan
protecting little schoolgirls from a bloody Taliban."
My somber gaze fell to the floor and fixed on muddy shoes.
"Dad was gone two weeks before I even got the news."

The silence hung a moment broken only by the rain,
the beating of my heart over the rumble of the train,
before I heard him ask about the thing I left inside,
a mason jar that wads of dirty laundry failed to hide.

"Don't open that," I said too fast, my voice now tinged with fear.
"There's things in there that, trust me, you don't ever wanna hear."
I thought about the demons bottled up inside that jar;
some things are better left alone... left just the way they are.

"I've seen a lot of people die, and let me tell you friend,
the sounds, the smells..." I bowed my head, "sometimes they never end."
I don't know why the lid slips off, it mostly does at night;
and it can take me hours just to get it back on tight."

The man then spoke in earnest tones that tugged my memory,
"It seems a lot of weight to haul, but why I cannot see.
What makes a fellah like yourself lug such a load of pain?"
A furrow crossed my tired brow, I struggled to explain.

I spoke to him of duty, of the things a man just did,
of old regrets that in the darkness of the heart lay hid;
the ghosts of fallen friends you just can't bring yourself to bury,
the bridges crossed and moments lost are just the things I carry.

Instead of being saddened now he seemed a bit amused,
"I admire your resolve bub, but you've got it all confused;
The memories you're s'posed to keep aren't those that weigh a ton,"
and handing me three items said "I'll trade you one for one."

The photo showed two lanky guys in t-shirts and blue jeans,
both leaning on a Mustang like a pair of Steve McQueens.
The memories came flooding back of racing 'round our home
in an overpowered yellow wedge of spoilers and chrome.

The letter was a short one folded carefully in thirds,
my dad had never been a man of very many words;
In careful print it said his greatest pride since life began
was watching me grow up to be a soldier and a man.

Through misty eyes I looked the last upon the ocean shell,
if it had a hidden meaning I'd be damned if I could tell.
"You know the trick," he softly said, "just hold it to your ear,
and listen to the things in life you've earned the right to hear."

I heard the sounds of my home town where screams were shouts of cheer,
as kids ran up and down the field without the need to fear;
the ring of freedom's many voices blended in the air,
the sound of open singing and the sound of open prayer.

I turned to find an empty seat,  just air and little more
than dust that slowly settled down upon the wooden floor.
Yet on that evanescence hung a voice I knew at last
a whisper from my memory, an echo from my past:

"Remember, Slick, the way to honor  those of us now gone;
is searching for the best ahead in each and every dawn.
Hold on to the good times, not the moments dark and scary,
I'm telling you to let 'em go...  they aren't yours to carry."

Michael Marks   ©2007

http://www.anysoldier.com/

Kingdom Building: Forgiveness

I don’t care, I love you ANYWAY.  It’s not that it didn’t hurt, and it’s not that I don’t care about IT, because it did hurt, and I do care.  But I care more about YOU.  Because YOU are more important to me than the THING you did to hurt me.

YOU are more important than a THING.

Forgiving is not something you do.
Forgiving is not something you feel.
Forgiving is something you BECOME.
It’s not a part of human nature.  It has to be created, and only God can create it.  We have to develop it continually under His power and direction.  It’s part of the path of Christianity, of becoming like Him, and you have to CHOOSE it.  You have to make it happen before you feel anything.  On the cross, Jesus was not “feeling it” when He said, “Father, forgive them...”  Yet in the midst of that eternal betrayal, he gave us the example.

It’s part of being transformed in the stages of 2 Corinthians 3:18, from glory to glory.  It’s one of those “glories”.

Why isn’t the Christian church effective in the way He intended?  Because too much remains unforgiven within the Body of Christ. 

Build the kingdom?  We haven’t yet laid the foundation.  We don't yet practice the basics.  God makes it clear that before we come to worship Him we are to make sure that nothing remains unforgiven between us.  God makes it clear that if we do not forgive, we ourselves cannot be forgiven.

That makes forgiveness a pretty important factor.  It’s not an accessory to the Christian life.  It’s an essential.  It’s what we are.  It's where we start.  It will take time for us to get it down to the art that Jesus lived it.  But we need to put considerably more into getting underway.  You can't stand there at the beginning of the path forever and be content.  That's not what a path is for.

So I forgive you.  Not because I feel like it, and not because you deserve it.  I didn’t deserve it either when I was forgiven, so how can I make myself a judge?  Deserving isn’t what it’s about.

I forgive you because YOU are more important than a THING.  People are more important than things.  So I choose that what you did shall no longer be an issue between us.  I choose to forget it.  I will continue to choose to forget it every time the enemy puts it in front of me.

There is a favorite story of mine about Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross.  A friend spoke to her of a great offense that had earlier been committed against her. She acted as if she didn't know what her friend was talking about.  “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” she replied, “In fact, I distinctly remember forgetting it.”  (Luis Palau, “Experiencing God’s Forgiveness,” Multnomah Press, 1985.)

Have I forgiven everyone who has hurt me in the past?
Have I forgiven everyone who is hurting me now?
Have I already forgiven everyone who will hurt me in the future?
That's what God did for me.

I determine right now that I will learn to love God’s way if it kills me.  It sounds weird when you put it that way, but in terms of Kingdom Building it makes sense.  Because love is far more important than life.  And people are far more important than things.