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Celeste Sibley, one-time columnist for the Atlanta (GA) Constitution,
took her three children to a diner for breakfast one morning. It was
crowded and they had to take separate seats at the counter.
Eight-year-old Mary was seated at the far end of the counter and when
her food was served she called down to her mother in a loud voice,
"Mother, don't people say grace in this place?" A hush came over the
entire diner and before Mrs. Sibley could figure out what to say, the
counterman said, "Yes, we do, sister. You say it." All the people at the
counter bowed their heads. Mary bowed her head and in a clear voice
said, "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food."
I caught a glimpse of heaven today. It shone like a bright and winsome morning star against the backdrop of God's love. It was a little Child.
I saw it first in those first sleepy moments of awakening
. when those new blue eyes met the beginning day with a smile. It continued through a breakfast of wheat cakes, cold . milk, and giggles.
It tugged at my heart as I watched this child of mine
walk the free streets of a free land on the way to school So much to
learn. So much to learn. I watched this unmarred vessel of God"s creation, listened to the young voice of hope, felt .. the glow of the treasury of dreams for .
a magic land of brighter tomorrows. . I thought about the heritage of every new young li£e,a back-yard sand pile becomes an Everest; . a front yard mailbox a. guidestone on some African expedition and the shade of the old willow tree a mansion for a potentate and and his queen.
This is a child; a tear followed by a million more, but as quickly followed by a smile. An anger that screams' defiance but manages in the brevity of a moment the deity of forgiveness. This is a child, not yet fallen heir to the dubious gift .of adult despair. By the child is the teacher taught;
Upon this tender package of God's
affection is placed maturity; but first-the child touches with
simplicity ..our cluttered souls, seeks to unwind our troubled hates,
points to God's squadron of daily miracles... against .. the most
troubled skies. .
I caught a glimpse of heaven today. . It shone like a bright and winsome star against the backdrop of God's love. It was a little child.
I will grow older, maybe wiser.
I will look up and pray a thousand times and a thousand more.
I
will move further and further from that day when I, too, was new to
earth, but it is my prayer that both you and I may always see the gleam
of heaven.
...in the wide and worthy wonder of a child.
Yes, God loves you the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
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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
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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