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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
To Visit neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings click on the following (Here you will find selected sermons that he has preached during
the last 58 years.) Just click on the URL below
A
construction crew was building a new road through a rural area, knocking down
trees as it progressed.
A superintendent noticed that on a branch
of one tree rested nest of young birds who could not yet fly. So he marked the
tree so that it would not be cut down.
Several weeks later the same superintendent
returned. He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up
so that he could peer into the nest.
The fledglings were gone. They had
obviously learned to fly. The superintendent ordered the tree cut down.
As the tree
crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and some of the material that the
birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about.
Part of it was a scrap torn from a Sunday
school pamphlet. On the scrap of paper were these words: He careth for you.
God works in
mysterious and caring ways.
A
little boy was eagerly looking forward to the birthday party of a friend who
lived only a few blocks away.
When the day finally arrived, a blizzard made the sidewalks
and roads nearly impassable. The lad’s father, sensing the danger, hesitated to
let his son go.
The youngster reacted tearfully. "But Dad," he
pleaded, "all the other kids will be there. Their parents are letting them
go."
The father thought for a moment, then replied softly,
"All right, you may go."
Surprised but overjoyed, the boy bundled up and plunged into
the raging storm.
The driving snow made visibility almost impossible, and it
took him more than half an hour to trudge the short distance to the party.
As he rang the doorbell, he turned briefly to look out into
the storm.
His eye caught the shadow of a retreating figure. It was his
father. He had followed his son’s every step to make sure he arrived safely.
And yes...God is aware of our steps and the storms they take
us into and oh how often have I been protected and felt His protection.
Phil. 4:6-7 Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let
your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When
real troubles come to call and problems proliferate this is what I do...I shout
out thanksgivings with so much inner volume any inner complaints are
overwhelmed by remembering all the times in my life the sun has shined and
shined brightly indeed.
God did indeed give
us memories so we can have roses in December...that is unless we are determined
to continue piercing ourselves with the thorns.
And then I
sometimes sing a hymn or remind myself of a joke or bring up a sunrise thought
of some kind...rainbows are not always around but we can become makers of
rainbows...we really can...and yes...they do come after or during rain...now
don't they.
God is
aware...knows our every thought whether we form some of them into prayers or
not...knows how they can shrivel our souls or bolster our spirits...in a
moment...
What does God
promise those who wait on Him in Isaiah 40:29-31? He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall
faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait
upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as
eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
God's gifts put man's
best dreams to shame.
- Elizabeth Barrett
Browning
Is your place a small
place? Tend it with care; He set you there. Is your place a large place? Guard
it with care! He set you there. Whate'er your place, it is Not yours alone, but
his Who set you there.
-John Oxenham
To fall in love with
God is the greatest of all romances; To seek him, the greatest adventure; To
find him, the greatest human achievement.
- Raphael Simon
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We welcome you to put some
of these thoughts in your personal newsletter or on your churches newsletter or
your blog...and we thank those of you who have put it on your Facebook page
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Wyrick's
Writings" are selected sermons from those Neil has preached during the
last 55 years
Click
on the URL below to take you to them
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog
Wyrick's Writings...posted Thursday May 10
SERMON TITLE...HOW TO
LESSEN ANXIETY
Anxiety out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to
put his best foot forward.
Below is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's
Writings...posted Thursday May 3
SERMON TITLE...HOW TO
LESSEN ANXIETY
It's an old joke, I went to the doctor and I
said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.” And the doctor said, “Then don't do
that.”
How many things have you been anxious
about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably
going to create some problems for you?
And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your
God, all of them would have said, “Don’t to that.”
Below
is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted TUESDAY MAY 1
To buy into the community of accountability we have to realize that
like bikers we are divided into two categories. Those who have fallen and those who will
fall for None of us are perfect.
Think on it this way, some philosopher of
old wrote it and it endures because there is so much truth in it… every right implies a responsibility; every
opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty
Below
is a quote from Neil's other blog Wyrick's Writings...posted Sunday April
29th....
One writer put it this way: “If we could see
ourselves as God sees us, we would rise up and never be the same again.”
TO GO
TO "WYRICK'S WRITINGS" TO
READ SELECTED SERMONS FROM OVER 50 YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY
CLICK ON THE URL
BELOW
Some
of the sermon titles posted recently
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Before you decide
to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man
Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script
for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book
itself)
Available on
Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at
many other sites
TO VIEW THE LINCOLN
One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles
Wesley
click on the
following URL
http://www.speakerneil.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++
BELOW
ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS
++++++++++++++++++
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON SUNDAY APRIL 15. ENTITILED
Two stores faced each other across a very
busy street. Their owners were in constant competition
with each other. One day, the owner of
one store put out a sign that read – If
you want it, we have it!
Almost immediately the other owner put out a
sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t
need it!
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON THURSDAY APRIL 13TH. ENTITILED
WHO ARE
YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
Who are you? Whose are
you?
You influence and are influenced
according to the answer you give.
Are you are the flavor of the month because
you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what? If so, consider being more independent in our
thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.
It may be easier being someone's shadow but
wouldn't you really rather be a sun.
QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS THURSDAY APRIL 5 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED "Who
Are You? Whose Are You?"
This is an old quote, and a romantic one
as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are,
but because of who I am when I am with you.”
QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED
ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS TUESDAY APRIL 3 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED
" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY
TO BECOMING A MESS
James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it,
to him it is sin.
Someone once said: “A
belief is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”
So what holds you,
constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?
Quotes
POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING THURSDAY MARCH 29th THOUGHTS ENTITLED WHO
ARE YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
In a Peanuts
cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.
“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day
of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.
And it’s your fault!”
Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How
could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
To which she declares, “You’re my
friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more
complicated.
Would you like to read the entire thought
piece? Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S
SITE
click on
the following
Yes, God loves you the way you
are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN
HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN,
CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER
To
Order and Read
Neil's 9th book THE
SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GO TO amazon.com
QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book
STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
"Positive,
powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation
of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."
Lt.
Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is
an extremely well written book that investigates what might be
termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very
readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and
with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and
Wild Thorn
"Wyrick has authored a wonderful
examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly
religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of
information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian
minister
"When
it comes to invoking religion in support of any of their decisions, politicians
need to sit at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him
'America's greatest theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably
distinguished between human works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore the mantle of humility easily: because he
was more impressed with what God was doing in the world than with what he,
president of the United States in the midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That
is why in his last major speech he distinguished between both human causes in
the Civil War and the Almighty's 'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that
it is better to leave God-talk out of politics than to decorate human proposals
with divinity. This is a book for our American time. Through his careful study
of Lincoln's career, Wyrick compels us to remember that piety belongs in
politics only when piety transcends politics."
Dr.
Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham
Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history.
Should have a wide readership."
James
H. Smylie Professor
of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil
Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably
the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United
States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often
expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a
Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this
faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that
Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through
the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is
very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick
makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed
them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author
of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The
Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
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