WHAT WAS GOD THINKING?

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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At the moment you were born, what was God thinking?

             I think He was thinking, as he always has, how important you are.  “A little lower than the angels” is the way the Bible puts it. 

            I love the way 139^th Psalm describes our day of earthly entry.  That God, "knit me together in my mother's womb."  What a moment of wonderment.  Life! 

Birth.  You.  God.  Creation. 

Do you ever consider what you are worth?  And worth to whom, and why, and when?  We get hung up on the word worth and get in all kind of trouble because of it.

A man buys a Cadillac and thinks it gives him more worth.

Another man adds up one college degree after another and thinks they give him more worth.

A job title.  A star in sports.  Popularity.

But as a sub text…many people eventually get around to believing and accepting full blast, “My greatest worth is that I was made by God.” 

I have always been intrigued by a question God put to Adam, “Where are you?”  Why did He ask that?  What is the meaning behind this?  It wasn’t a geographical question, for certainly God knew the answer to that one. 

It was a spiritual question to which God also had the answer.  Then why ask it?  For Adam’s sake, and all the Adams and Eves yet to come.  For you and me in these 21^st century days.

“Where are we?  And where do we want to go?  What do we want to be?  And how much, or how little?”  And we must never stop trying to answer God’s question as we try to get off a treadmill and aim toward a proper direction.

It’s called purpose, and ultimately this is what this life is all about.  How and why we take up space on this planet.  How much a sense of responsibility we covet.

Long before there were cell phones and direct dialing telephones, there were real live operators to

handle our calls.  Therefore, in those times, one day, a traveling salesman called his wife from a distant city. 

After talking with her for a short bit, because long distance calls were quite expensive back he hung up.  But before he could walk away, the phone rang. He picked up the receiver again, expecting the operator to tell him there were extra charges.

 Instead, as he put the telephone back to his ear he heard her say, “I just thought you’d like to know that just after you hung up, your wife said ‘I love you.’ ”

Why are you on this earth.  To be loved by God.  Hang up on God too soon and you may miss His words, but He is still there saying, “I love you.”

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http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

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            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

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            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

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          Miami, Florida 33143

THE BIGNESS OF SMALL or WHAT TRUE BIGNESS IS

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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yes the below is for mon dec 26  2011   2011

THE BIGNESS OF SMALL

        The bigness of small happens when you chase after the majestic rather than the mundane.  When you make "your thank you's" so filled with vitality they makes the angels sing.  When you began to understand what true bigness is.

        How big was Bethlehem? 

          How big was the manger where Christ was born? 

          No convention of thousands of shepherds came knocking on the door to that stable.  No great multitude of Wisemen followed a star. 

For thirty years He labored at nothing more than being a carpenter.  He never won a Pulitzer prize nor held an elected or ordained office. 

He was never voted Clerk of a Session or Moderator of a General Assembly. 

Your Jesus and mine never set an itinerary that would carry Him to the major capitals of the world. 

          He actually never traveled more than a few hundred miles from the place He was born. 

Nor did He own a large wardrobe carried by a retinue of camels.  Only a seamless garment.

How big were the nails driven into the hands of Christ at the crucifixion?  Not very.

How long did it take to drive in the nails?  Not long.

How much time was consumed in His drying on that cross?  Not much.

BUT – how great was the affect of all of this on the whole of eternity? A great deal.  The destiny of little things.

When Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden, the time of her temptation was short, but we are still feeling the affects today. 

The destiny of little things.

          Someone once put it this way:

                                        Little drops of water,

                                        Little grains of sand,

  Make a mighty ocean,

  And the pleasant land.

  Thus the little minutes

  Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages of eternity.

          Fulfilling our destiny to its fullest is not moaning that if only we had more time, oh what we would do. 

          It is rather shouting, “I am not able to do everything, but I can do something.  Therefore, what I can do, by the Grace of God, I will do.”

          You may never speak to thousands, but every day you speak to friends and family and strangers. 

          And what do you say?  Little words said in anger or disgust can do so much damage.

We hear so much filth these days, and I think to myself, what a waste of this God-given-ability to communicate. 

We hear so much complaining and I muse, Ah, God, even Kings and Queens of old did not have luxuries we today take for granted.  

The power of communication can be so easily abused.  My father often said, “A little tongue, only three inches long, can kill a man six feet tall.”

          The destiny of little things.

You may never have millions, most likely you really won’t.  But what do you do with the dollars you do have? 

Do you waste them? Or hold on to them greedily? 

Or, God forbid, worship them? 

Every cent you spend or save is more than just a financial history.  It is a record of what you think important. 

It spells how, in the world of money, you fulfill your destiny of little things.

Your name may never become a household word on the continents of this world, but what does it stand for in this community in which you live?

Jesus Christ was the Son of God. 

He could have rent the earth in two, cured all the ills of mankind, caused miracles of such magnitude that the whole world would have fallen at His feet from fear. 

He could have ruled the world.  But, Jesus was not a blatant exhibitionist. 

He knew that if He rent the earth in two, someone would cry out, “Hey that was a pretty good trick.  Now let’s see you put it back together again.”

Jesus was not about to get into a contest to try to outdo Himself.  Oh, the devil goaded Him, too, at the beginning of His ministry.  “Prove yourself, Jesus.  Do big things.  Turn the stones into bread.”

“Man does not live by bread alone.”

“Fly like a bird from the top of the temple?”

“It is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Would you fulfill your destiny? 

Then offer the gift of the best you to all around. 

Stop thinking about whether what you do is big or small, rather consider whether it is good or bad. 

Be a moral giant, even if you are only five foot two.  Don’t just sit and squirm when a thought for good hits you  - do something about it.

          When you reach out to help, it doesn’t have to be the kindest act that ever was.

          When you are simply honest, your act of honesty doesn’t have to be so great it is then plastered in a headline on the front page of your local newspaper..

          When you pray a little prayer, unashamed, that is greatness.

          When you give a gift without requiring thanks, that is greatness.

          When you can be happy not trying to outdo everyone around you, you finally understand the real greatness of the destiny of little things

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VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

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            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143

AN INDEPENDENT CHRISTMAS?

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

His name was Silas Tucker and he used to live over at Columbia Falls. 

Well, he put out a little newspaper and was so much in love with money it made him unhappy when he had to give people change.  

He never was much for thinking about other people.  Kinda took selfishness to a new level and stayed there.

Silas didn’t have much use for Christmas, either. 

He thought of it as a day and a season that got in the way of work, and people running around singing silly carols. 

Well, one year like always he was fussing and fuming over the whole Christmas business.  He didn’t care about it, but since no one would shut up he knew it was going to be Thursday.

Thursday morning he was so disgruntled he couldn’t sleep, so he got up before the rest of the family and went walking down the street. 

Lo and behold here comes Tom Harriman and seeing as how Tom was a heavy advertiser in his paper, Silas did something he had never done before. 

He called out, “Merry Christmas.”  Next thing he knew Tom doubled up so hard with laughter he couldn’t stand straight.

Silas kept on walking, kind of tickled with himself for being so smart, and when he saw Sam Fletcher coming toward him he again yelled out, “Merry Christmas.”  

Well, Sam just stopped in his tracks, looked at him kind of funny, slapped him on the back and broke out in a grin that never stopped till it had extended well beyond both his ears.

By the time he got back home, he had called out, “Merry Christmas,” at least a couple of dozen times and people kept calling back how clever he was. 

Next thing he knew, it was like everyone in the small town had gone Christmas crazy - everyone running up and down the streets yelling out, “Merry Christmas” and laughing and then laughing some more.

It all made him feel so good, better than he had ever felt in his whole life, that he got back home, instead of fussing about Christmas like he always did, he hugged his wife, gave her a big kiss and said, “Merry Christmas.”

“What’s wrong with you, Silas?” she responded.  “It isn’t Christmas.  Christmas isn’t till next Thursday.”

Well, then it was Silas’s turn to laugh. 

He put back his head and laughed so hard tears started running down his cheeks.  He just couldn’t stop laughing.  “Merry Christmas” he exclaimed, over and over again. 

You know what?

 If you go up to Columbia Falls sometime and ask about Silas Tucker they’ll tell you he’s the salt of the earth. 

But they’ll also tell you he’s a mite strange. 

He’s got a funny sense of humor, is the way they’ll explain.  When business is poor or Silas gets to feeling blue, he pulls off what he calls an Independent Christmas. 

He goes out and starts walking up and down the streets shouting out, “Merry Christmas” to everybody he sees, buys folks presents and chuckles about it from morning to night.

And what’s more, the last time I heard, he hadn’t even got the idea patented.

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VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

"""""""""""""""""""""

            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143

WHO IS YOU DOWN THERE ANYWAY, HONEY?

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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Who was this Christ child, so long ago, this namesake for our dreams of peace on earth, good will toward men?  “He was the word made flesh and He dwelt among us.”  And, yes, he rose from the dead and that moment made a mockery of time. 

Who was this Christ child we should celebrate in such a way that every day is Christmas?  He was and is law when it is decent and men are at their best.  He is the kind of love that smothers hate and makes the devil and his children very angry when they lose a soul.  He is God’s gift and man’s choice. 

The novelist Margaret Lee Runbeck tells how Christmas came early one year, a good number of days before the official calendar date.  She writes,

“I knocked at the door…then I heard a dear, dark voice which all of us in this house called love, calling out from her window.  ‘Jes one minute…wait’ll I get on mah wrapper.  Who is you down there anyway, honey?’

“I chucked to myself,” Mrs. Runbeck writes.  “Lillian didn’t know who it was, but she was sure whoever it was, was ‘honey.’

You see, it’s not that hard to do, Christmas come winter, summer, spring or fall.  It can and does come anytime you shout out at the world, “I don’t know who you are, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re honey.  You may be acting like vinegar, raising Cain, causing war, making good people lonely and bitter with all your strife, but God made you to be honey, so I’m going to call you honey whether you are acting like it or not.”

Christmas is a crossroad where the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man meet.  It is you lighting candles of faith in a world of darkness.  It is you when you are more concerned with giving than getting.

Christmas is too good to be restrained within one 24 hour period.  It is a tiny golden curl clipped from a tousled head, put in a jewel box and given with a note that reads, “I made this for you myself.”  Christmas is a little boy giving blood to save his sister and then asking, “Doctor, when will I die?”  Having believed he was not just giving some of his blood but rather all of his blood. 

What was it the angels said?  “Do not fear!”  But there is so much fear in the world today.  Terrorists seem to be everywhere, and so is anxiety.  But the Bethlehem-moment, the Christmas cry is still, “Do not fear!”  Oh, now we need Christmas in August and July and June and May and September and….   every month of the year.   Oh, how we need it.

What was it St. John wrote?  “Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness on the Day of Judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear.”

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.  Then pealed the bells more loud and deep; God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail.  With peace on earth good will to men.”

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VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

"""""""""""""""""""""

            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143

THE FIRST RADIO BROADCAST

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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          For their entire careers, wireless operators onboard US Navy and merchant ships had only heard Morse code coming through their headphones.

          However, a few days before Christmas in 1906, operators from the shore informed the ships' crews to listen at 9 PM on Christmas Eve for something special.
          With curiosity, the ships' operators--affectionately known as "sparks"--tuned in as was suggested. Suddenly, they heard something that made them think they were dreaming.

          They heard singing and a violin solo, then a man speaking. Some called their captain and ship's officers to come and listen along with them.

The genius responsible for this electronic miracle was Reginald Fessenden.

          He had succeeded in transmitting voice and music over the air.          Fessenden played a violin solo of "O Holy Night" as he sang the last verse. He also read about the birth of Jesus from Luke chapter 2. Luke's account of the angels' song "Glory to God in the Highest--and on Earth--Peace to Men of Goodwill"

          . Fessenden concluded his broadcast by wishing all a Merry Christmas.

         

          The Christmas message of love and peace on earth good will to men.

Every time I think of what the Christmas message is all about it makes my soul shiver.

           To love the unlovable and watch the change that love can cause to happen is madness in motion. 

          To take old hurts and take their power away with the power of forgiveness. 

To not be mean. 

To be better than that. 

To not be self-centered and selfish. 

To be better than that. 

Wonderful, overwhelming Christmas spirit madness. 

And if we cannot practice it during this season…then when in heaven’s name will we ever practice it?

May I ask a question? 

This last week, you spoke to how many people?  Don’t be vague.  Think about it.  How many? 

Friends and family and complete strangers. 

When they think of you and the conversations you had, or the honking impatient horn you shared with them, for this too is a type of conversation, or the kindness you showed by letting them break into heavy traffic…or…

how much of the Christmas spirit was in your contacts?

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VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

"""""""""""""""""""""

            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143

LOVE

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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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)

          We all know people that we think the world might be better off without, or at least our own personal world. 

          They are experts in the art of making everyone around them unhappy. 

          That is after they have succeeded in making themselves unhappy.     They hardly qualify as love objects.  Fact of the matter, they’re a pain. 

          And then along comes the Master Teacher from the Hallowed Teaching Halls of heaven and orders, “Love others like you love yourself.” 

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VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

"""""""""""""""""""""

            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143

SOME SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO GIVE

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          There are over 900 stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to daily.

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          Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people andwanted wanted to know what it was like to live a peasants life.

           He wanted to know what kind of burdens lay upon their lives. 

So often he would dress in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and visit in the homes of the poor.

          No one whom he visited knew that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a dark and dismal cellar. He ate the same scant course food the poor man ate.

          He spoke kind and cheerful, words to him.

          Then he left.

          Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!"

          The king was sure the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart!

          To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

        Some special Christmas gifts to give.

        1.  The gift of your forgiving heart.  Does someone carry the burden of knowing you have not forgiven and even worse have vowed you never will?  Lighten their load and in the process you will lighten your own.

(material gifts you give will rust away or fade away or find someplace in a closet or lonely attic place...but the gift of forgiveness has eternity in it.)

        2.  Give the gift on Christmas morn of being a Christian Christmas person...the kind who does not yell at the children for being too loud...or mope because you did not get the present you had wanted...rather, the kind of person who overcomes the room with your smile and tenderness in your voice and maybe with the tone that was the tone of the Wisemen as they looked down at the Christ child and spoke their prayers.

          3.  Give the gift of apology if you have done a wrong.

          4.  In our time of expensive technological toys teach your children and your grandchildren to appreciate the joys of watching green and growing things rise up from the earth.  My father grew up on a farm. I had a victory garden in World War II.  It is a lesson it is never too late to learn and far to important to forget.

          Love of nature is a gift beyond compare.

          There is a rather poignant Christmas story about a little girl who watched her mother & dad getting ready for Christmas.

          To her, it seemed that dad was preoccupied with burdens & bundles, & mom was concerned about parties & presents, & they just had no time for her.
          She felt that she was being shoved aside. In fact, it seemed to her that she was always being told, "Would you please get out of the way?"
          So one night in December she knelt beside her bed & prayed this prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, please forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us."

      

VISIT NEIL'S OTHER BLOG

http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com

"""""""""""""""""""""

            TO WATCH NEIL WYRICK IN HIS ONE MAN DRAMAS (Presented to millions all around the world) (Ben Franiklin, Martin Luther, Charles Wesley and Abraham Lincoln (this Lincoln film takes 11 seconds to download but is worth the wait)

        CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING

http://www.speakerneil.com/

            To order a DVD with all four One Man Dramas (Lincoln, Wesley, Luther, Franklin) send a check of $20 (shipping and handling free) to

            Pageantry Inc., (The church without Walls) 

          7430 SW 59^th Street
          Miami, Florida 33143