DON'T ORDER A FUN HOUSE MIRROR?

DON’T ORDER A FUN HOUSE MIRROR!
These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Life reflects back according to the mirror we have ordered, cleaned and hung straight before our eyes.

“Vision without a task is a dream; task without a vision is drudgery; vision with a task is the hope of the world.”

What is your vision? Your faith or lack thereof is a part of it, shapes it because, yes, through eyes of faith or faithlessness you see the world. For you see –

If you are a preacher you see life as a sermon.
If you are a miser you see life as money.
If you are a loafer you see life as one life-long resting place.
If you are a soldier you see life as battle.
If you are a teacher you see life as a school where you both learn and teach.
Ah, life is a great thing for the thinker, but it’s a folly to the fool.
Life is just one long vacation to the man who loves his work,
But it’s a constant dodging of duty to the ever lasting shirk.
To the faithful, earnest person, life’s a story ever new.
Life is what we try to make it…so what is life to you? (Anonymous and some rewrite)

There is an old saying, Where we love, we live.

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

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A GRAND SENSE OF OTHERNESS

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I have long been impressed by what some survivors of concentration camps must have had that others didn’t. And then I read a book by a concentration camp survivor named Victor Frankyl and he explained how it happened, at least from his experience and point of view. He tells how those who survived were not necessarily stronger, fact of the matter many of them were physically weaker.

Then how did they survive?

By concerning themselves with the survival of others. These messengers of compassion would wander from hut to hut giving out encouragement and portions of their own small food supply.

They were starving to death and they would break off a piece of bread and give it to someone who looked much worse off. Their sense of otherness helped others but it helped them even more.

Oh, they were slaves. Their names were on the concentration camp books to prove it. But inside where it counted they were still free.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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DIVINE OTHERNESS

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On December 23, 1983, Pope John Paul II entered a jail cell to talk to and show forgiveness toward the man who had tried to assassinate him. And by so doing, he threw water on any burning coals of resentment that even a Pope might feel.

Love thy neighbor as thyself. It’s difficult, unusual, unexpected. But when it happens to you or from you, it’s like something almost too good to be true - divine otherness.

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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HOW MANY BAD THINGS WEREN'T?

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When only three, Louis Braille was cutting leather in his father’s harness shop. The knife slipped and his world went black.

Such blindness in one so young seemed a senseless tragedy. However, because of his blindness, Braille perfected a way for the blind to read with their fingers rather than with their eyes. A serendipity, the gift of finding valuable things not sought for.

A Chinese proverb puts it this way, “A diamond cannot be polished without friction nor man perfected without trials.” The Apostle Paul wrote, “Trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope.” (Moffatt Translation).

Think about it this way. Sometimes the smallest deed will open the biggest door, or shut out the biggest opportunity.

A prayer you pray, a curse you utter, a church service you fail to attend, a sacrifice you make, a selfishness you practice…nothing stops just where you leave it…all kinds of things are added or subtracted in life by what you do or leave undone. All kind of things.

There is an old saying which reads, “You must search to find, but not necessarily to find what you are searching for.” You see, there is always that dichotomy between our wishes and God’s will - what we think is best and what happens when we have prayed “Thy will be done.”

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. (Rom 8:28)

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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NO HAT IN HAND HERE

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A man walked into church on Sunday morning and as he sat down placed a hat upon his head. In not that long a time the Head usher leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Sir, we would appreciate it if you would remove your hat.” The man smiled and thanked him for his suggestion, but made no move to comply.

Soon the Clerk of the Session came in from the other side of the pew, quietly slid over to sit momentarily by the man and said, “Sir, we really prefer if it if you would take off your hat.” The man again smiled and did absolutely nothing.

Next came the Chairman of the Deacons, then the President of the Women’s Group and the President of the Men of the church. All politely but firmly suggested he remove his hat. Then several members made the same suggestion.

The man continued to smile at each and every one, but did not take off his hat.

The service ended and the preacher as usual walked to the back of the church to shake hands with the departing congregation. But as the man shook the his hand, the minister could not refrain from asking, “Sir, I hope you will not think me rude but my curiosity is killing me, I have to ask why it is you refused to remove your hat when asked by so many to do so?”

The man delayed his reply a bit and then softly said, “I have been coming to this church for three years and no one has ever spoken to me.”

Today the Head Usher, the Clerk of the Session, the Chairman of the Deacons, the President of the Women’s Group and the President of the Men of the Church and a goodly number of members all greeted me. Not bad for one day, wouldn’t you say?”

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
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GETTING SOMEWHERE AND FINDING OUT YOU DON'T WANT TO STAY

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.
C.S. Lewis in his book THE GREAT DIVORCE describes a bus trip made by certain residents in Hell to the hallowed halls of heaven.

When they disembark from the bus they cannot believe what they see. There is such brightness all around, and smiles and kindness and forgiveness though no one any longer has anything to forgive. They feel uneasy.

These inhabitants of hell are so used to living with their grudges and their jealousies and pettiness, their ill-conceived negative attitudes that it is too much for them. They do not know how to handle it.

So, as sad as when they arrived, they trudge back on to the bus and return to hell. It is the only place where they can be happy. Or what passes for happiness in that drab and dreary, loveless place.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “1 John 1:9”
Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
NOV 25…ARE YOU A SPIRITUAL ANOREXIC? ARE YOU READY WITH READINESS?
Nov 11 LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER,
Nov 4…AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS
Nov…ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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THE CALL OF GET OR GIVE

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
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the best you’ve got anyway.

Once upon a time, in the deepest, darkest, most unsacred part of Hell, the Devil called a committee meeting of his most important servants. As they all sat down around this personification of evil, he began to speak, “I want to destroy the world, and if you have any ideas on how to do it, I want to hear them.”

Immediately Anger jumped to his feet and said, “Let me go and set brother against brother, child against parent, stranger against stranger. This will do the job.”

But then Lust sprang to his feet and said, “Anger may do the job, but I will do it more quickly. Let me defile the minds of men. Let me fill their thoughts with the most destructive of passions. Let me make them lose all self-control. If you want the job done, let me do it.”

In quick succession, Gluttony and Drunkenness, the twins of Hell, presented their case. Then Envy, Jealousy and Hate each had their turn.
Finally the last assistant, who had come in late, rose and refused to apologize for his lateness grumbled, “I will tell you how to destroy the world. Let me go and tell every person, in ways they cannot help but understand, what God would have them do.

Let me persuade them to show love, practice kindness, give forgiveness. Let me speak to them of strong faith and great prayer and dedicated lives. Let me remind them that their Father in heaven would have them to be honest, clean and brave.”

There was great puzzlement in the room as all the other assistants looked at the speaker as if they thought he had lost his mind, and hadn’t tried to find it. One even rose to his feet and suggested that their cohort be assigned to a padded cell.

But the Devil motioned for the assistant to go on, and so he continued. “However, having told them all of this, I would then convince them that there was no hurry. That all these things could be achieved, tomorrow. That they should wait until conditions are more favorable.”

At this point the Devil rose from his seat, walked over and put his hand on his assistant’s shoulder and said, “You, Procrastination, the job is yours. You shall be the one to go to earth to destroy mankind. ”

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

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I HATE THE WORD "THEY"

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
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the best you’ve got anyway.

In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, “Why are we here on earth?” He promptly replies, “To make others happy.” Lucy ponders on this for a moment and then asks another question, “Then why are the others here?”

Have you ever in your whole life, called another human being by some crude, cruel label? All the ethnic slurs and horrors we human beings concoct?

At the beginning of the World War II, a few people called my daddy a “Nazi” for no better reason than Wyrick is a German name. It didn’t seem to matter much to them that his family had been in this country for several generations or that he had served in the United States Army in World War I.

And not too many years before that, on my mother’s side of the family, some of my Irish relations were called “micks.”

It is now the year 2009 and the word is out that ALL Muslims are bad. Will such mean spirited foolishness never stop? Will we never learn?

In short, never get in the habit about talking about “they.” Consider honing the habit of grading each individual as an individual. You will make some wonderful new friends that way and make a more wonderful world to live in.

I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. (John 13: 34)

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…

IS TATTLETALE GREY YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? (NOVEMBER 17)
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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BEEN THROWING ANY DARTS RECENTLY?

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(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)
the best you’ve got anyway.

It was the opening day of a class at Seminary and the good professor passed out darts to all of his students.
On the wall, front and center, hung a dartboard with a blank sheet of paper on it.

Then, as the professor passed out a blank piece of paper and a magic marker to each student, he instructed, “What I want you to do is to draw a picture of someone you dislike or have had an argument with or hate to see walk into a room. Someone you harbor animosity against or prejudice or just plain old hostility. It isn’t necessary that you be an artist; just that you draw a face so that least in your own mind you know who it is.

When it is your turn, I will tack your drawing onto the board on top of the one before it, and then I want you to throw your dart at the picture. This isn’t a test of skill but rather an emotional exercise, so stand as close as you need to to be able to hit your target.”

The first student stepped forward and the professor hung her picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. She had put a great deal of detail into her drawing, right down to the pimples on the face. Then she threw her dart with gusto and, since she was standing very close, hit her target squarely between the eyes.

The second student had drawn a picture of a family member who had hurt him terribly and whom he was unable to forgive.

Some students sketched quickly. Others took a great deal of time. All hurled their darts with great force.

When all had finished, the professor removed the sketches one by one, wadded each into a tight ball and dropped it in a wastebasket at his feet. It had taken almost one whole class period, but this was appropriate for anger and enmity take a lot of time to fulfill.

Finally, when he turned the original blank sheet of paper over there was a great gasp from the class for before them on the dartboard hung a mangled, tattered, almost completely obliterated picture of Jesus.

The professor silently stood there. Just looked at his students without saying a word. Then he slowly began to quote, “…In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” (Matt. 25:40)

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

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Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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THE CALL OF GET OR GIVE

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)
the best you’ve got anyway.

Meaninglessness is a mouthful of a word, but it is much more than. It is a proper tag for an empty soul.

To the rich man Christ said, “Sell all you have.” To Nicodemus He said, “Be born again.” To the disciples He said, “Follow Me.” To each of these He was offering meaning in life.

Jesus, as He neared the end of His life on earth, had one worry that strangled His heart: the fear that when He was gone His disciples would be overwhelmed by a terrible loneliness.

Therefore, in the Upper Room He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 RSV)

It is not how many friends we have, nor how many names we can drop, nor the length of our Christmas EMAIL list, but rather our relationship with the great family of humanity and our relationship with God.

Would you make life better for others and for yourself. Then follow and put into practice the thoughts of Mother Theresa. Wise woman that she was…here she gives suggestions on how to feel
closer to each and every member of human kind.

1 - Accept the fact that people are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Forgive them anyways.

2 - If you are kind and loving, some people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind and loving anyway.

3 - The good you do today, people may forget tomorrow. Do good anyway.

4 - Give the world the best you have and though it may never be enough for some, give the world
(Rewrite of some of her comments)

Meaninglessness is a mouthful of a word, but it is much more than. It is a proper tag for an empty soul.

To the rich man Christ said, “Sell all you have.” To Nicodemus He said, “Be born again.” To the disciples He said, “Follow Me.” To each of these He was offering meaning in life.

Jesus, as He neared the end of His life on earth, had one worry that strangled His heart: the fear that when He was gone His disciples would be overwhelmed by a terrible loneliness.

Therefore, in the Upper Room He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12 RSV)

It is not how many friends we have, nor how many names we can drop, nor the length of our EMAIL list, but rather our relationship with the great family of humanity and our relationship with God.


Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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THE WONDERFUL MADNESS OF OUR FAITH

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A young man once went to his minister and told him of his life’s ambitions. He said, “I plan to go to the university and become an architect.”

“What then?” asked his minister.

“Well, I expect to become famous by designing magnificent public buildings.”

“What then?” asked his minister. “I expect to marry and have a family”

“What then?” his minister again asked. “I expect to become wealthy and retire.”

“What then?” “Oh, I see what you mean. I will then make my peace with God.”

“Why not do that in the first place?” was the final question.

Yes, there are some who consider Christianity a madness. And it is! A wonderful, overwhelming, heaven-driven kind of madness that makes eternity golden and gives earthly life a meaning it can have in no other way.

So give it your best. Better still, give it your all. Indeed, to do anything less, yes, that would be madness…that would be madness, indeed.
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 )

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
IS TATTLETALE GREY YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? (Nov 17)
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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WHAT DOES THE LATEST EDITION OF YOU LOOK LIKE?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

An ancient legend describes how God decided on the making of man. In heaven, when there was not yet time nor earthly creation, all the seeds of life came before Almighty God and He let them choose what they might be.

Some chose to be animals so they could roam the earth. Others asked to be fish that they might swim the seas. Still others asked for wings to fly.

When all the multitude of requests had been made, one quiet little seed of life remained. So God looked down and said, “And what of you, what do you wish to be?” “Just make me in Your image,” was the reply. “Just make me in your image and that will be enough.”

You see, because man was created in the image of God he should have no thought but to aspire higher. To die no better than when you were born is an obscenity. Perfect? No chance. An improved edition? Definitely!

I am not so naive as to believe that life is a kind of enlarged copy of a perfect little country village, but neither do I think it was meant to be a preparatory school for hell. God admitted its imperfections when He sent us a Savior, but He underlined its possibility for change in the story about Nicodemus and being born again.

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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IF YOU SPOKE AT GLASGOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
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The students of Glasgow University have long had a tradition of poking holes in pomposity. In particular, when visiting dignitaries come for honorary degrees. In fact, they arm themselves with peashooters and raucous calls.
A long time ago, when the great missionary David Livingston returned to his native land after eighteen years in Africa, he came to Glasgow to be made a Doctor of Laws. The students prepared for his arrival with typical glee.

However, his appearance on the rostrum gained him an unusual attention. “I am going back,” were his first words. Gaunt and wrinkled by twenty-seven fevers, burned black by the sun, one arm dangling useless at his side from the bite of a lion, a quiet intensity seemed to swell from him like a living thing, and it produced an unprecedented silence and show of respect.

“Shall I tell you what sustained me amidst the toil, hardships and loneliness of my exiled life? It was Christ’s promise, Lo! I am with you always even unto the end.”

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
Nov 8… A LEFT OVER GOD
Nov 9… ASPIRE TO PRESPIRE FOR A CAUSE WORTH THE PRESPIRATION
Nov 17… IS TATTLETALE GREY YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

ARE YOU HAVING INSTALLATION PROBLEMS?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

A customer service representative for a well known computer server was having a telephone conversation with a frustrated customer. They were discussing a program installation problem. The computer technician began by asking, “Can you install Love?”

Impatiently there came back the reply, “No, that’s why I’m calling. I’m having a problem installing this new program Love.”

The technician realized he might have some problems with this one, but continued professionally and calmly, “All right. Your first step will be to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?”

“Yes, I have,” answered the customer, “but there are several other programs running right now. Is it all right to install Love while they are running?”

“What programs?” asked the technician.

There was a pause and then the customer began to name them, “Let me see… I have Pasthurts, and Lowesteem, and Grudge and Resentment all running.”

“Well, we may have more problems with some of those programs than with others. When you install Love, it will automatically erase Pasthurts from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs.

Love will also eventually overwrite Lowesteem. It has a program of its own call Highesteem that will begin running as soon as Love is installed. But you will have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?”

With a tone of desperation beginning to filter in, the customer replied, “I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?”

“My pleasure!” and now the technician was smiling. “Go to your Start menu and double click on Forgiveness as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.”

“Ok, I’ve done it! Now Love has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?”

“Yes, and you should soon be seeing a message that says it has been installed for the life of your heart.” There was a pause and then the technician continued, “Remember, you must begin connecting to other Hearts to get any future upgrades.”

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 15:12

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
Nov 8… A LEFT OVER GOD
Nov 9… ASPIRE TO PRESPIRE FOR A CAUSE WORTH THE PRESPIRATION
Nov 17… IS TATTLETALE GREY YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

LOVE AS A WAY OF LIVING

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

It was 1941, and the place was Auschwitz, a holding place for lost souls and starved and hurting bodies. It was hell on earth. And on this particular day hundreds of miserable human beings, ill-clothed and ill-fed, stood outside their cold and crowded barracks shivering in a steady falling snow.

They had been standing there for hours and the Commandant assured them they would continue to stand there until an escapee was captured. Each mealtime, their meager, miserable ration of soup was brought to them, and then slowly poured out to splatter upon their feet.

By the second day many had fallen and lay quite still as death. The long sleep, had now released them from this earthly purgatory. Since the escapee had not been captured the Commandant ordered that ten men be pulled out of the line to be executed. “Long live Poland,” cried out one of the chosen men. Another, weeping as he was shoved forward moaned, “My poor wife. My poor children.”

Then suddenly, a man, not chosen, began to walk forward. A soldier raised his rifle to fire. Miraculously he was told not to as the Commandant spat at the man and asked loudly, “Who is this Polish scum?”

The man, a priest by the name of Father Kolbe, no more than a skeleton himself, was a living symbol of human endurance and dignity. He quietly continued a few more steps and simply said, “I would like permission to die for one of these men.”

With a sneer, the Commandant granted his wish, not realizing what he was setting in motion for afterwards the camp was never the same. The power of love and brotherhood swept through the pettiness, the selfishness of humanity that always arises when men and women get together. All these lesser human traits were shocked into nothingness. They simply died on the spot.

Now a spirit of unity arose. The sick shared food with those who were sicker. The despondent tried to raise the spirits of those on the edge of suicide. A psychological truth arose, “Love does not just make the world go around. It gives a greater reason for living.” And so many lived who otherwise would have died. That is except for Father Kolbe. After eight brutal days of torture, they killed him by injecting gasoline into his veins.

It is unlikely you will have to step out of line and ask permission to die for someone else, but will you step out of line to live for someone else?

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:1

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
Nov 8… A LEFT OVER GOD
Nov 9… ASPIRE TO PRESPIRE FOR A CAUSE WORTH THE PRESPIRATION
Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

IS THAT ANGELS I HEAR SINGING?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Once upon a time there was a pig. He was loved so much by his farmer-owner that he was given advantages no pig ever received before. He was cleansed with the finest of soaps, clothed in the most luxurious of clothes, taken into the living room to meet the farmer’s friends and given his own private bedroom. But funny thing, that pig still remained a pig.

Once a pig - always a pig, but once a pig of a man - not always a pig of a man. No matter what you have done, or thought, or continue to do or think… the power of regeneration, of change, is no further way than the power of the Holy Spirit.
And when you realize with all your heart and mind and soul the truth of it…and apply it…then even the Halls of Heaven will ring with angels voices singing and singing and singing some more.

The Following was posted SUNDAY Nov. 15 on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
“GOD GIVES COMMANDMENTS AND WE SOMETIMES TREAT THEM LIKE SUGGESTIONS”

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST WORD IN YOUR VOCABULARY?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Call this another primer for Thanksgiving time.

Rudyard Kipling, author of “The Jungle Book” and many other famous books and poems was at one time so popular he was receiving the equivalent of $10 per word. A group of college students who thought this somewhat extreme sent him a ridiculing letter with ten dollars enclosed. A note folded inside the ten dollars read, “Please send us your best word.” Kipling then proved he truly knew the true worth of words. He simply sent back a note that read, “Thanks.”

A man found himself lost in a hot and barren desert. He sustained himself with the thanksgiving, “Wow, what a beach.”

A spirit of thanksgiving is more than a silver lining for a cloud. Ever looked up and seen a cloud glow from the sun so powerful behind it that the whole cloud was aglow?

That is what a spirit of thanksgiving does to our lives, our dreams, our inner selves. So, get a glow on – don’t growl or grumble. There are enough grouches in the world. Don’t add yourself to the list.

A spirit of thanksgiving is a rose that rises above any thorns you may incur.

Serve the Lord with gladness:
come before His presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord He is God:
It is He that hat made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise;
be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100)

Recent Titles on “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER, (Nov 11)
AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS (Nov 4) ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW? (Nov 1)

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO THAT ONE DAY YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT NOW YOU CAN DO?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Laurens Van der Post, a South African novelist, once wrote a story about two brothers. The elder brother was strong, intelligent, athletic and a natural leader. Sent away to a private boarding school, he quickly made a name for himself.

His brother, six years younger, had no athletic ability, no engaging personality. A large protrusion on his back made him what the world viciously calls a hunchback.

But he had one great gift, a beautiful voice. He could sing like an angel. In time he joined his elder brother at the same private school.

And soon it happened - a group of boys, practicing cruelty as only boys can sometimes do, surrounded the young man, tore off his shirt and ridiculed the massive growth rising from his shoulders.

From an open window the older brother saw it all happen, but did nothing to stop it. He was a leader and could have brought it to a halt immediately, but he refused to practice brotherhood, to cry out, “This is my brother. Cease and desist!”

Instead he turned away from what was happening and let the obscenity continue. He saw it only as an act of self-preservation. It was actually an act of betrayal for he had been as much a part of the attack as if he had done it himself.

No fatality took place. The younger one survived physically, but emotionally he was never again the same. He no longer sang. He isolated himself.

Years passed, the elder brother went off to fight in WWII and was stationed in Palestine. One night, lying outdoors under the stars, the enormity of what he had done those many years before struck to the center of his soul. Hit him hard and he did not sleep well for many nights. He realized that he would never have peace in his heart until he asked for his younger brother's forgiveness.

When he was finally given leave time, he managed to makes the long and dangerous wartime trip back to South Africa. He and his brother stayed up most of the night talking and he confessed his betrayal to his brother. They cried together and embrace. Something else happened that night. As the elder brother was falling asleep, he heard a beautiful, clear, angelic voice caressing the night His brother was singing again. He had heard his brother cry and now he heard him sing.

The Following was posted thursday Nov. 12 on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
“FINDERS KEEPERS”

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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NOTHING TO GIVE? REALLY?

NOTHING TO GIVE? REALLY?
These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Call this a primer for Thanksgiving time.

One evening when Mother Theresa and several other Sisters went out to search the streets for opportunities to serve. Soon, they came upon four people in terrible need. Mother Theresa turned to the other Sisters and said, “You take care of these three and I will take care of this fourth child of God for she seems the most miserable of them all.”

And so it was that she began to overwhelm the woman with love and care. She first fed her and then placed her fragile frame on a bed to rest. The woman had already begun to smile, but now her smile grew radiant. She reached up, took Mother Theresa’s hand in hers and spoke two words…just two words…thank you. And then she died.

It was then Mother Theresa began to ask herself what she would have said had she been in such a condition and someone was taking such care of her. Would I have simply asked for more? More food? Something to ease the pain of dying? Would I have been filled only with concern for myself and what I could get?

The answer to her questions came like a revelation, she said. This woman who had nothing to give, gave with all her heart and mind and soul and strength the gift of gratitude. She said thank you and died with a smile on her face.

The Following was posted Thursday Nov. 12 on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…
“FINDERS KEEPERS”

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FOREVER

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

One time in Calcutta, Mother Teresa was followed around all day by a man interested in her work. When the day was through, he was totally exhausted and she seemed as fresh as when she began. He looked at her and exclaimed, “I wouldn’t do what you do for a million dollars.” Her reply was instant. “Neither would I.”

Mother Teresa lived every day of her life on the other side of forever.
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
The Following was posted TUESDAY Nov. 19th on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”… GENESIS/ EXODUS

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
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Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
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SOIL AND SEED AND WHO NEEDS WEEDS?

These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

When Gordon S. Seagrave, the famous “Burma Surgeon” of many years ago, was convicted on a trumped-up charge after a lifetime of service to the Burmese people, he said, “I bear the Burmese people no malice for this.” Later when he was acquitted and released from prison, he simply went back to where he had been working before his trial and continued to serve.

Be good soil. Put out the welcome mat of your soul that the word of God might grow within you and overwhelm you and make you the kind of person worth remembering.

"The same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

As he scattered the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, that did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:1-23)

The Following was posted TUESDAY Nov. 10th
GENESIS/ EXODUS
on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”…

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

HAVE YOU CAUGHT WHAT YOU'VE BEEN CHASING?

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Almost 80 years ago, nine famous men, whose vanity was as great as their success, met at the Chicago Edgewater Beach Hotel. They were:
the president of the largest steel company,
the president of the largest utility company,
the president of the largest gas company,
the president of the N. Y. Stock Exchange,
the president of the Bank of Int’l Settlements,
the greatest wheat speculator,
the greatest bear on Wall Street,
the head of the world’s greatest monopoly, and a member of President Harding’s cabinet.

If there is a good reason to be vain they
had good reasons enough, but 25 years later what had happened to each of these men?

The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, had died in bankruptcy.

The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, had died penniless.

The president of the largest gas company Howard Hobson, had gone insane.

The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was just
released from prison.

The bank prsident, Leon Fisher, died a suicide victim.

The wheat speculator, Arthur Cutton, had died with not a dime left to his name.

The Wall Street bear, Jesse Livermore, also took his own life.


The head of the world’s great monopoly, Ivan Kruegar, had given up on life and died by his own hand.

The member of President Harding’s cabinet, Albert Fall, had just been given a pardon from prison so that he could die at home.

It wasn’t the wealth or the power that caused these men such shame and pain. It was what they had done it all for - Vanity. Wealth, power, fame fed their conceit. It was all they had lived for and it was not enough.

And do not confuse vanity with confidence. What is the difference? All the difference in the world. For confidence says, “I am God’s child, warts and all.”

Confidence doesn’t need a mirror. It doesn’t need a steady stream of compliments to happily survive. Confidence endures quite easily even when being disagreed with.

If you wear a crown of confidence rather than a tiara of vanity you can still feel secure in second place, third place or even last place. When you are confident you just want to be your best and that’s quite enough to keep you busy without letting foolish vanity get in the way.

When Jesus came to earth, His vanity did not dictate that He be born in a mansion.
When He became an adult and began preaching and teaching, His vanity did not demand large audiences.
When He spoke to individuals, He did not first find out if they were important enough for Him to bother with and if they were acceptable to others. Along with everything else He taught us was humility, and because He taught it, we, with confidence, should seek to practice it.
What have you lost yourself in? And for what reason? It is so easy to get lost in things that feed vanity and thereby let such things give us a free and easy trip to hell.

“Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” (Psalms 119:37)

The Following was posted Sunday November 8th on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”… A LEFT OVER GOD

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

ASPIRE TO PRESPIRE FOR A CAUSE WORTH THE PRESPIRATION

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

The statue of a woman named Frances stands in Washington, D.C. When she was 18 she said, “I will spend my coming years in being somebody.”

Years later, she wrote, “I have been called ambitious, and so I am; if to have had from childhood the sense of being born for a great purpose is an element of ambition. For I never knew what it was not to aspire, not to believe myself capable of heroism.

I have always wanted to react upon the world about me to the utmost ounce of my power, to be widely known, loved and believed in. I did not wish to climb by the over throw of others, and I laid no schemes to undermine them, but I wanted to be my very utmost.

I felt that a woman owed it to all other women to live as bravely and as helpfully and grandly as she could, and to let the world know it.”

She became the leader of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union at a time when women, like children, were expected to be good and be silent. She was never this.

She became the best known woman in the English speaking world during the 19th century. She did not lose herself in herself. She lost herself in a cause.

One cynic wrote, “Neither an egg nor an ego is any good until you break it.” But that isn’t true, you know. And Jesus never believed this nor taught it.

He asks not that we break our ego or kill our pride, but that we control it. How did that scripture go, “Whosoever exalted himself shall be abased, but whosoever humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Truly big people don’t need medals or applause. They work just as hard in the face of criticism as they do with the wealth of praise. They lose themselves in a cause, give themselves to God without a lot of excess baggage, don’t have time to worry about what people are saying.

Francis spent her life not in search of a statue but in search of the kind of statue that stands for beings ones best.

The Following was posted SUNDAY on the “WYRICK’S WRITINGS SITE”… A LEFT OVER GOD

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Several years ago, a small fundamentalist college advertised in its brochure that they were located seven miles from sin. They were sincere, but if taken at face value, they were also wrong because you can no more be seven miles from sin than you can be seven miles from love, or doubt, or faith, or greediness, or benevolence.

Intangibles are not something you are so many miles away from or that you go to. They are something within you. They are the stuff that can make a hell into heaven or a heaven into hell. They do make a difference.

Pure and simple, sin is always no more than a stones throw away from our souls. Good people do bad things. It starts sometimes from the seeds of good intentions or trying to justify wrongs from an unjustifiable position.

How can we slow down our affinity for doing wrong and calling it right? We can brand Paul’s words on our psyches, those words that read, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In short, whenever a de
cision has to be made…filter it through humility and not arrogance, love and not hate, consideration and not contentiousness. Think long and hard on the age old question, “What would Christ have me do?”

I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. (Romans 7:19)

POSTED Thurstday on the WYRICKS WRITINGS SITE… REMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST DIE. REMEMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST LIVE!

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

WHAT HAS YOUR LIFE BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Picture, if you will, a little boy of five, leaning against his mother’s knee, her hand resting gently on his head. It has been a long day filled with so much new excitement. Some things he has learned to do quite well, and others, he wonders if he will ever learn how to do them.

He is growing up and it is not easy. Then her gentle voice begins to repeat the prayer he has heard so many times before, “Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.” He repeats it along with her. He is proud that he has learned it, though he does not understand all that he prays. Perhaps one day he will.

Time passes, as time will, and there is not time enough this morning to tell all that happens to him in the next four years, but now he is very sad for he is standing by a grave. His father’s grave. There has been a coronary… quick, unexpected, final.

Tears course down his cheeks and there, in front of everyone, he falls to his knees and without embarrassment prays: “Our Father which art in heaven…” and now the words have new meaning to them. For the first time he really understand what is that he is saying….”Our Father…my Father…oh, my father…”

More years pass and it has not been easy. They have lost their home and live now in a tiny apartment. His mother leaves early for work and arrives back home late. He is eleven years old, tired and very angry at the world and what it has done to him, and even at his father for dying.

But he falls to his knees as he has been doing all his life, for without prayer he knows he is truly lost. “Hallowed be thy name….” he pauses. How can I be angry with God and pray these words, he thinks. And then he remembers some words that his Sunday School teacher taught him - Christ from the cross saying, “Father forgive them….” And he sees Christ on the cross and it seems He is speaking directly to him…. “Father, forgive this young man and let him feel thy love and forgiveness for his anger. Bless him and make him strong.” And as the lad repeats the prayer, “Hallowed be thy name…” this time, for the first time, these words have real meaning.

Somehow he has survived. Played on the high school football team. Earned his diploma. No money for college, so he has joined the army. And a place called Normandy becomes something more than just a place on the map.

His best friend, this very day, has fallen as they both charged up the beach. Only a gasp, a strange puzzled look on his face and he was dead… and others are falling, too. All around him is the horrendous noise of destruction and death, a cacophony of hell.
In the shelter of a wrecked tank, he falls to his knees and prays,”…. Thy kingdom come…. Oh Father, please… thy kingdom come soon, dear Father, please.” And for the first time these words have real meaning.

There are many terrible battles, and when the war is over there is the battle to just survive. Put food on the table for his new bride and then for the children that come one after the other.

And then one day, after all his loyalty and hard work, he is fired. He walks out of the office for the last time into a cold world. It is snowing. The sky is as gray and dark as his mood. And he hates. Hates like he has never hated before. And he knows it is a cancer that will eat him alive if he does not rid himself of it, so in the snow he falls to his knees to pray. But he can’t.

For a year he is filled with bitterness. He hates another human being, his former employer, with such passion he has lost his fellowship with God.One afternoon, he stands in front of the house where his old boss lives. Sees the mansion, the expensive car, the landscaping…and what he feels in his throat is vile and bitter and uncontrolled.

Again he falls to his knees and he does not care who sees him. He thinks to himself, I will not rise until I can continue with the Lord’s prayer, and mean what I say. Not until I can get beyond the words I have been unable to say, “Forgive us…” and he stammers, “Forgive us…” but the rest of the prayer sticks in his throat. It seems as if he has been on his knees forever, but in reality it has been a very small piece of time in the midst of eternity. “Forgive us…our debts as we forgive our debtors…”

And it is as if a thousand pounds have been lifted off his soul. So many times, over the years, he has prayed these words, but he has never really understood them, till now.

The last fifteen years have gotten better. He has a new position of some stability. His salary is not large, but neither is it small. He remembers times that were infinitely worse. And then it happens. A challenge to his honor, to the respect he holds for himself. A bribe is offered. Subtle, but still obvious. He is high enough up the corporate ladder to make the request come true. No one would know. But he has turned it down.

Turned down what would have been enough money to assure his children’s college education, help with rising costs, buy that dream cottage in the mountains. He could have built himself a monument of excuses and banked a small fortune. But he has not. And strangely, wonderfully, he feels better than he has felt in a long, long time. Again he kneels and prays, “...Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...” And for the first time he really understands.

Where have all the years gone? Grandfather he is now. No, even more – a great grandfather. And they are all gathered round his bed; children, grandchildren – echoes of his own growing up years. Eight decades and more have taken their toll, but he is not afraid. His body is tired, but his spirit is alive and well. His wife is holding his hands and softly crying.

“Don’t weep, my darling,” he says. “It has been a good life and I but go to a good and gracious Lord.” And he begins to pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven…” and he thinks, Father, I’m coming I’m coming. “… hallowed by thy name…” For always now, dear Father, for always. “…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” for these left behind may it truly be Thy kingdom come. “Give us this day our daily bread…” You have provided well, Lord. “…Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…” Father, my sins are behind me.

His breathing is more difficult now and he is having trouble finishing the prayer. Someone finishes the last words for him, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, amen.” And he smiles and his last breath comes and goes easily. He has prayed this prayer for the last time, but with joy in his heart, he finally, fully understands it all.

"Teach us how to pray," the disciples said to Jesus. (Luke 11, 1) He answered by teaching them the prayer we call The Lord's Prayer.


POSTED Thurstday on the WYRICKS WRITINGS SITE… REMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST DIE. REMEMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST LIVE!

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

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And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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THINK ABOUT CHANGE FOR A CHANGE?

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

In 1762, Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote, “One half of all children die by their 8th birthday. This is nature’s law. Do not try to contradict it.” In the 19th century, the head of the U.S. Patent Office wanted to close it down. He believed that all inventions that would create change had already been invented. And there are those who believe that there are some people who can never change.

This may be a contradiction in terms, but the one of the constants in our lives is that change is inevitable. We all change, all the time. From birth to death we never stay the same. We get better or we get worse. We never stay the same.

For some the changes are small – they have decided who they are and whom or what they will follow – but…even THEY do not remain static.

And for those who want to change, and please note I did not say wish to change - a commitment to a belief system must be greater than just a wish - the decision is really not can I change but to what will I change. Who do I chose to emulate and follow.

A man named Gerald Mann wrote the following. Listen and think about what he wrote for there is magnificence in it.
There is no rut so deep you (cannot climb out of it.)
There is no dream so lost you cannot retrieve it.
There is no hurt so bad you (cannot learn from it.)
There is no sin so bad that God cannot cure it.
(some changes made by Neil Wyrick)

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (Luke 18:27.......)

Posted today on Wyrick’s Writings… REMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST DIE. REMEMEMBER, PHILIP, THOU MUST LIVE!

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

AN UNEXPECTED HIGHWAY TO SUCCESS

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is full of success stories - of failures who became successes.

John was self-righteous. He got over it.
Thomas doubted. He got over it.
Martha was a worry wart. She got over it.
Moses had a bad temper and stuttered. He got over it and he led his people toward the Promised Land.

The whole of human history is full of success stories, of failures that became successes. Pray deep, work hard, accept God’s forgiveness and use it as a prod toward betterness and we can become one more success story.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

Posted on Tuesday on Wyrick’s Writings…”ARE YOU AN ANTIQUE WHO NEEDS TO BE RESTORED?”

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

JUST HOP RIGHT IN

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

It was fairly early in the morning and a woman hadn’t been out of bed very long. Her hair was still aiming itself in several different directions. And she had just begun to put cleansing cream on her face when she heard a noise outside. It was the garbage truck. “What is he doing here this early,” she shouted as she made a mad dash to get the garbage out before he pulled away. She looked a mess and the old pair of slippers she flopped to the street in looked as if they might not last long enough to complete the journey. As she rushed forward the final few feet she cried out, “Am I too late for the garbage?”

The garbage man may then have flunked diplomacy but his reply was priceless, “No ma’am, not at all, just hop right in.”

Sin enough and long enough with no desire to change and you don’t have to hop right in, you’re already there.

Read Luke 6:45 (NIV) and you will find the following more than interesting commentary, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

Posted today on Wyrick’’s Writings ARE YOU AN ANTIQUE WHO NEEDS TO BE RESTORED

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

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GOD LEADS. WE LEAN.

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

The great evangelist, Billy Sunday, used to say when he got up-and-got-going against sin, “I’m against sin. And as long as I have a foot, I’ll kick it. As long as I have a fist, I’ll fight it. As long as I have a head, I’ll butt it. As long as I have a tooth, I’ll bite it. Then one day when I’m old and fistless and toothless, I’ll gum it, till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition.”

In Bill Clinton’s autobiography he comments on what he did with Monica Lewis and then he makes a striking admission, “I did it because I could.” That is what sin is all about. We sin because we can. We sin because God gave us that freedom. God will not force us into repentance and redemption.

“...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.

ARE YOU SNIFF AND SNUFF OR HEM AND HAW?

(These thoughts are added to each day. Scroll down and read previous One A Days.)
(Use in your blog, personal or church newsletters) (365 stories a year)

Once upon a time, in a far away land there lived two pairs of mice; Sniff and Scurry and Hem and Haw. Every day, with the diligence of need, they all journeyed their separate ways while searching for their breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

At the break of day, they put on their jogging shoes, left their little homes and roamed far and wide, within the confines of a giant maze. They were always in search of their favorite and necessary food - cheese.

In some corners they would find delicious tidbits, but as time went on, it became increasingly difficult to find anything. At the end of each day they now returned home hungry, confused, and depressed.

Then one day, Sniff and Scurry found a giant mountain of cheese and joyfully ate and ate and ate. At the end of the day, when Hem and Haw returned from their same old, unsuccessful and wearying trek, they shared this good news,

Naturally Hem and Haw were excited beyond description – they were saved – and immediately demanded to be taken to what was now lovingly referred to as Cheese Mountain. There was more cheese here than they had ever seen – more than they could even imagine. This will last forever, they thought.

Each morning they would run to the mountain and eat their fill. It was a happy, stable time and so life remained the same for weeks and weeks; which is a long, long time in mouse-years.

One day they finally noticed that their mountain of cheese had shrunk to not much larger than a molehill. Perhaps it wouldn’t last forever, after all.

Hem and Haw bemoaned the fact, but gave no more thought, and certainly no action, as to what needed to be done. Sniff and Scurry, however, realized that if they did not change their habits, one day very soon there would be no more food left and they would all starve.

So they began to ration how much they ate at Cheese Mountain and because it then took less time to eat, they would leave even earlier to hunt for another source of cheese.
At first Sniff and Scurry did find some additional corners in which there were small amounts of delicious cheeses they had never eaten before, but they were so small that soon they too were all gone.
Meanwhile, as their mountain of cheese became almost infinitesimal, Hem and Haw were only analyzing what to do. Even as the day drew closer and closer when they would actually run out of cheese altogether, they simply could not bring themselves to go in search of another Cheese Mountain-Promised Land.

They were addicted to the status quo – when in doubt do nothing had always been their motto and they were not about to change. So Hem and Haw hemmed and hawed and ran out of cheese and got hungrier and hungrier.

And on the very day they died, Sniff and Scurry found Cheese Mountain #2. A mountain of cheese to large it could have fed a colony of mice and this new source of food was not that far from the first Cheese Mountain. But for Hem and Haw it had been the equivalent of a million miles away.
(Paraphrased, rewritten and redirected “Who Moved my Cheese” A story by Spencer Johnson)

There is always the temptation, even for we humans, to hold on to the equivalent of Cheese Mountain #1, a way of life that we are comfortable with, rather than search out a new way of living that offers greater contentment for mind, body and soul.

This is why the call for a fully committed life in Christ falls on so many deaf and unwilling ears. It requires change; a searching for an equivalent Cheese Mountain #2; a new goal with a tremendous rewards at the end - a mountain of spiritual food that will never run out.

And in the process, millions of people like Hem and Haw spend their time hemming and hawing and that to the detriment of their lives.

Spend their lives at Cheese Mountain #1 because while they sort of know about, and kind of understand this all out commitment to Christianity (Cheese Mountain #2)…this they fear. For it is more transition than they are willing to attempt.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
Isaiah 26: 3

(Posted today on “Wyrick’s Writings”… “SUPPOSE CHRIST HAD BEEN COVETOUS?”

Have you visited my “Life Is Not What It Is But What You Make It” site. Go to Google and where it says “Google Search” type in “Wyrick’s Writings”
Or type in the URL http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com/

Have you considered sharing this site with family or friends? Just have them go to Google Search and type in “Neil Spiritual Vitamins”.
Or type in the URL http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/

And, yes, maybe they will back track a few weeks to read other of my musings.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG OR FACEBOOK? IF YOU ENJOY THESE WRITINGS COULD YOU CALL ATTENTION TO THIS BLOG? IF YOU DO, THANKS IN ADVANCE.