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Edification
Edification
When geese migrate they can
be seen flying in a V-shaped formation. While to us on the ground it is a thing
of beauty
to the geese it is an essential for survival. If you watch them
you
will observe that at certain intervals
relative to the strength of the
headwind
the lead bird—who was doing the most work by breaking the force of
wind—will drop off and fly at the end of the formation.
The reason for this is that
the V-formation is much more efficient than flying close; up to 60 percent less
work is required! It has been discovered that the flapping wings create an
uplift of air
an effect that is greater at the rear of the formation. So the
geese take turns “uplifting” one another. By cooperating—working together—the
geese can achieve long migrations that would otherwise be exceedingly difficult
for the strongest and deadly for the others.
In a similar manner
when
believers in Christ actively uplift one another through prayer
sharing
material means
and heart-to-heart friendship and caring
they can go further
into godliness than if they attempt their pilgrimage alone. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Education
Soap and education are not
as sudden as a massacre
but they are more deadly in the long run.— Mark Twain
Preparation for Ministry
Shortly after a recent
seminary graduate had assumed his first pastorate
he and his wife went to
visit his family one Saturday. His mother sensed that her daughter-in-law was
unhappy
but-not wishing to be meddlesome-pretended not to notice. As they
departed
she heard her daughter-in-law say
“All right
we can go by the
church and you can practice baptizing me just one more time. But remember
this-when you have your first funeral
you are not going to practice burying
me!” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Edification
The church is not a gallery
where we exhibit the finest of Christians. No
it is a school where we educate
and encourage imperfect Christians. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Preparation for Ministry
If someone had told me I
would be Pope one day
I would have studied harder. – Pope John Paul I
Two pals are sitting in a
pub watching the eleven-o'clock news. A report comes on about a man threatening
to jump from the 20th floor of a downtown building. One friend turns to the
other and says
"I'll bet you ten bucks the guy doesn't jump."
"It's a bet
"
agrees his buddy.
A few minutes later
the
man on the ledge jumps
so the loser hands his pal a $10 bill. "I can't
take your money
" his friend admits. "I saw him jump earlier on the
six-o'clock news."
"Me
too
" say
the other buddy. "But I didn't think he'd do it again!"
Ohio Motorist
quoted in Reader's
Digest
June
1994
p. 72.
On a crisp Minnesota fall
afternoon
my four-year-old son was helping me rake leaves in the front yard of
our farmhouse. I glanced up just in time to see a flock of geese flying over
and pointed out how they flew in a formation shaped like a "V".
He patiently watched them
as they disappeared over the horizon and then turning to me asked
"Do
they know any other letters?"
Contributed by L. Scott
Martens
Reader's Digest.
Learning usually passes
through three states. In the beginning you learn the right answers. In the second
state you learn the right questions. In the third and final stage you learn
which questions are worth asking.
Bits & Pieces
April 2
1992.
Hoagy Carmichael
the
story goes
once decided to take up golf. Lessons were arranged with an
instructor. At the first session Carmichael was patiently shown the basics of
the game: how to hold the club
How to stand
how to swing
etc.
Finally
after a half hour
of this
the instructor felt Carmichael was ready to drive a few toward the
first hole. The ball was teed up. Hoagy stepped up to it
swung
then watched
the ball sail down the fairway
bound onto the green and roll into the cup--a
hole in one!
The instructor was
dumbfounded. Hoagy flipped the club to a caddy with a jaunty motion
then
turned to the still speechless instructor. "OK
" he said casually
"I think I've got the idea now."
Bits & Pieces
January 9
1992
pp. 20-21.
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover
father of the nuclear submarine
was skeptical of business school graduates.
Having interviewed some 14
000 of them over a period of years
he found them
fluent in the jargon of systems analysis
financial manipulation
and
quantitative management (whatever that is). But he claimed that they just don't
know the score. He felt most of them had an unrealistic impression of what is
involved in business and little appreciation of the importance of technical
knowledge
experience
and hard work. "What it takes to do the job will
not be learned from management courses
" said Rickover. "It is principally
a matter of experience
the proper attitude
and common sense--none of which
can be taught in a classroom."
Bits and Pieces
July 1991.
How we learn:
1% through taste
1.5% through touch
3.5% through smell
11% through hearing
83% through sight
Source Unknown.
A Chinese boy who wanted
to learn about jade went to study with a talented old teacher. This gentleman
put a piece of the stone into the youth's hand and told him to hold it tight.
Then he began to talk of philosophy
men
women
the sun
and almost everything
under it. After an hour he took back the stone and sent the boy home. The
procedure was repeated for weeks. The boy became frustrated--when would he be
told about jade?--but he was too polite to interrupt his venerable teacher.
Then one day when the old man put a stone into his hands
the boy cried out
instantly
"That's not jade!"
H. Robinson
Biblical
Preaching
p. 102.
Sounds crazy
but at least
one educator is singing the praise of a revolutionary new teaching process.
It's simple: posters on bathroom walls. An instructor at the State University
of New York conducted an educational experiment by hanging cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) posters in "strategic places" in dormitory
bathrooms. His findings? Those who read the posters averaged nearly 25 percent
higher scores on CPR tests than the control group. Also
students in the
bathroom poster group who had never received CPR training scored as well on a
techniques test as those who had received classroom teaching. The instructor next
plans to install Heimlich choking maneuver posters in selected stalls. All of
which lends new meaning to the term "head knowledge."
Campus Life
February
1981
p. 18.
Old Boy's Law: you don't
learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule.
Source Unknown.
Tell me; I'll forget. Show
me; I may remember. But involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese proverb.
I've learned -
that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is
be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I've learned -
that no matter how much I care
some people just don't care back.
I've learned -
that it takes years to build up trust
and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned -
that it's not what you have in your life
but who you have in your life that counts.
I've learned -
that you can get by on charm
for about fifteen minutes.
After that
you'd better know something.
I've learned -
that you shouldn't compare
yourself to the best others can do
but to the best you can do.
I've learned -
that it's not what happens to people
that's important. It's what they do about it.
I've learned -
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned -
that no matter how thin you slice it
there are always two sides.
I've learned -
that it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.
I've learned -
that it's a lot easier
to react than it is to think.
I've learned -
that you should always leave
loved ones withloving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I've learned -
that you can keep going
long after you think you can't.
I've learned -
that we are responsible for what we do
no matter how we feel.
I've learned -
that either you control your attitude
or it controls you.
I've learned -
that regardless of how hot and steamy
a relationship is at first
the passion fades and there had better be
something else to take its place.
I've learned -
that heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done
regardless of the consequences.
I've learned -
that learning to forgive takes practice.
I've learned -
that there are people who love you dearly
but just don't know how to show it.
I've learned -
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned -
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned -
that sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down
will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned -
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry
but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.
I've learned -
that true friendship continues to grow
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I've learned -
that just because someone doesn't love you
the way you want them to doesn't mean
they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned -
that maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned _
that you should never tell a child
their dreams are unlikely or outlandish.
Few things are more humiliating
and
what a tragedy it would be
if they believed it.
I've learned -
that your family won't always
be there for you. It may seem funny
but people you aren't related to
can take care of you and love you
and teach you to trust people again.
Families aren't biological.
I've learned -
that no matter how good a friend is
they're going to hurt you
every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned -
that it isn't always enough
to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn
to forgive yourself.
I've learned -
that no matter how bad
your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I've learned -
that our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are
but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned -
that sometimes when my friends fight
I'm forced to choose sides
even when I don't want to.
I've learned -
that just because two people argue
it doesn't mean they don't love each other
And just because they don't argue
it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned -
that sometimes you have to put
the individual ahead of their actions.
I've learned -
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.
I've learned -
that you shouldn't be so
eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life forever.
I've learned -
that two people can look
at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.
I've learned -
that no matter how you try to protect
your children
they will eventually get hurt
and you will hurt in the process.
I've learned -
that there are many ways of falling
and staying in love.
I've learned -
that no matter the consequences
those who are honest with themselves
get farther in life.
I've learned -
that no matter how many friends you have
if you are their pillar you will feel lonely
and lost at the times you need them most.
I've learned -
that your life can be changed
in a matter of hours
by people who don't even know you.
I've learned -
that even when you think
you have no more to give
when a friend cries out to you
you will find the strength to help.
I've learned -
that writing
as well as talking
can ease emotional pains.
I've learned -
that the paradigm we live in
is not all that is offered to us.
I've learned -
that credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned -
that the people you care most about in life
are taken from you too soon.
I've learned -
that although the word "love"
can have many different meanings
it loses value when overly used.
I've learned -
that it's hard to determine
where to draw the line
between being nice and
not hurting people's feelings
and standing up for what you believe.
Janice T Hill of Kansas City Mo.