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There are over 900
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
+++++++++++++You are important!
Because there is no one else like you.
Because
you can love or hate, heal or hurt, build or destroy.
And
in your life, you will fortunately and unfortunately probably do some of all of
these things.
Do you feel that lightness in your
step? Is it the good deed you did, the
loving thought you had and followed through on.
Do you feel a weight on your being that weighs a thousand
pounds? Is it that ornery action you did
once again, those hateful words you polluted the air around you with?
Is your life filled more with regret or
satisfaction...and why?
"Out of what life has given
you...make music."
If
not...why not?
"Who are you?"
"God's."
"Where are you?"
"In God's world."
"Why are you?"
"To fulfill a destiny."
Once,
at a hunting lodge in the wild highlands of Scotland, a guest shook a bottle of
soda and when he opened it...its contents spilled forth and stained the wall from floor to
ceiling.
All
hoped that when the wetness dried there would be no stain. But that was not how it was.
The
stained wall was ugly and unsightly and would have to be repainted.
And
it would have been...except for one man who rather than turning away stayed and
stared at the wall...and rubbed his chin while in deep thought.
Then,
in a few minutes, he went to work.
With
quick bold strokes of charcoal and paint he turned the brown stains into brown
highland rocks with a cataract pouring over them.
Where
the stain was deepest he painted a glorious Highland stag leaping the torrent
of water.
When
he had finished, what had been an unsightly wall was now a thing of life and
beauty.
The
name of the man. Sir Edwin Landseer, an
artist famous for his paintings of animals and animal scenes.
By his thoughtfulness he brought
beauty where there had been ugliness.
This is life.
Life is not always a bed of roses.
It does not always offer music and lights and rainbows.
Sometimes the roses seem to have more thorns than petals.
And the music is more of discord than loveliness.
Which is where you and I need to step in. Not saving the whole
world.
None of us is capable of
that. But bringing some beauty to small
pieces of emotional and physical geography...that we are capable of
turning ugly stains of life into something of beauty by a brush stroke of kindness here...a loving brush stroke of love and compassion somewhere else.
turning ugly stains of life into something of beauty by a brush stroke of kindness here...a loving brush stroke of love and compassion somewhere else.
God works in mysterious ways...he does indeed he does. Let me then close with the following
story...and whether all of it or some of it or none of it fits your state of
life...there is still a message in it for you.
Thorton
Wilder wrote a three-minute drama based on the Gospel story of the pool of
Bethesda.
The
chief character is a doctor who is himself sick with a wound he cannot
heal. Along,
with the other sick folk he nervously awaits his turn in the water that he may
be made well.
But
when his turn comes an angel stands there and says, "Draw back, physician;
healing is not for thee. Without
your wound, where would your power be?"
It
is your very sorrow that puts kindness in your face and make your low voice
tremble into the hearts of men. The angels themselves cannot heal the wretched as can one human being broken on the wheel of life.
In love's service, only the wounded can serve."
So
in disappointment, the doctor turns away to live with his wound, never to be
cured.
But
even as he turns, a man comes running to him
"Come home with me, Sir, if for only an hour.
My
son is lost in dark thoughts, no one understand him, and only you have ever
lifted his mood. My daughter, since her child died, sits in the shadows. She will not listen to us. Only you who are wounded, can help her."
Whatever, wherever, however you
have been wounded. Let the events feed
you not with bitterness but with sympathy and empathy and a loving heart.
Sometimes it is enough to simple share a
pain of from one of your yesterdays to help someone today face their future
with more strength.
We have such opportunities to help. We really do...and what a blessing when we do
not pass them by.
“There is no exercise better for the heart than
reaching down and lifting people up.” John Holmes
No act of kindness, no matter how
small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you
want to be happy, practice compassion.”
Dalai Lama
We only have what we give.” Isabel Allende
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
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.)(check below for
sample quotes from these sermons over the last number of weeks) Just click on the URL below
++++++++++++++++++++++
When you come to communion,
there are what might be called four imperatives to give it meaning. You have been given the choice; to accept all
four, or three, or two, or one, or none and just go through the motions.
There is repentance
- which allows you to use a mistake as a stepping stone instead of a stumbling
block. It is renouncing a bad yesterday
for a better tomorrow. How you define it
is your choice. Whether you repent or
not is God’s imperative.
The second of the four imperatives I hope you bring to the
communion table is overwhelming love
for God and your fellowman. Sometimes,
for some people, it is easier to say, “I am sorry I was bad” than it is to love
the neighbor you have been bad to. To
love the unlovely is a challenge, but that is exactly what partaking of
Communion is…a challenge.
Third...
++++++++++++++++
How can we keep our faith from being a weak and
fruitless thing? How can we not be
foolish little men and women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager
egos.
Well, first we must do more than just pray. We must believe in our own prayers.
+++++++++++++++++++
Anxiety
out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot
forward.
++++++++++++++++++
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 do that.”
++++++++++++++++++++
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 anything. 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
++++++++++++++++++++++
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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