BEGINNING WITH HIM
November, 2001 Edition
As is the continued tradition, the first E-Mail Ministry (EMM) message
of the month is my chance to talk to all of you about EMM and other
related items.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR TODAY’S MESSAGE:
[GRADUATION SPEECH] [DECISION]
[THE WORLD MAP] [PRESIDENTIAL PRAYER TEAM]
[BIBLE TRIVIA QUIZ] [RED SKELTON LINK]
[IRON ‘CROSS’] [HYMNS]
[PARENTING] [AUTHOR KNOWN]
[SUPPORT E-MAIL MINISTRY] [WHERE ARE YOU FROM?]
[POLL QUESTIONS] [USAGE OF EMM MESSAGES]
[LINKS PAGE]
* * *
GRADUATION SPEECH (Tim Wildmon —retold by Alice Gray)
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-three students filing into the
already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the
traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads
swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and moms freely brushed away tears.
This class would not pray during the commencements–not by choice but
because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. The principal and
several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by
the ruling.
They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned
divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their
families. The speeches were nice, but they were routine. Until the final
speech received a standing ovation.
A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and
silent for just a moment, and then he delivered his speech—–a
resounding sneeze. The rest of the students rose immediately to their
feet, and in unison they said, “God bless you.”
The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a unique
way to invoke God’s blessing on their future—with or without the
court’s approval.
* * *
DECISION
A company was hiring new staff. One question in the written exam was:
You are driving your car in a wild stormy night. You pass by a bus
station, and you see three people waiting for the bus:
* An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
* A doctor who had once saved your life.
* A man/woman you have been dreaming to be with.
You can only take one passenger in your car. Which one will you choose?
Please explain your answer.
Think about it before you continue reading.
This must be some kind of personality test. Every answer has its
reasoning.
You could pick up the old lady. She is going to die, and thus you should
save her first. You could take the doctor, because he once saved your
life. This will be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you
could always pay the doctor back in the future, but you may never be
able to find the perfect partner once you pass this chance.
The candidate who was eventually hired (out of 200 applicants) did not
have to explain his answer. WHAT DID HE SAY?
He simply answered: “Give the car key to the doctor. Let him take the
old lady to the hospital. I will stay and wait for the bus with the
man/woman of my dreams.”
Sometimes, we would gain more if we were able to give up our stubborn
limitations.
* * *
THE WORLD MAP
A father wanted to read the paper, but was being bothered by his little
daughter, Vanessa. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his magazine, on
which was printed the map of the world. Tearing it into small pieces,
he gave it to Vanessa, and said, “Go into the other room and see if you
can put this together.”
After a few minutes, Vanessa returned and handed him the map correctly
fitted together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished
so quickly. “Oh,” she said, “on the other side of the paper was a
picture of Jesus. When I got Jesus in His place, then the world came out
all right.”
* * *
PRESIDENTIAL PRAYER TEAM
Many of you, as I did, may have received the following e-mail titled
“The President of the United States needs you!” The text of the message
stated:
“The Office of the Presidential Prayer Team has asked that I relay this
information to my friends and colleagues so that it will reach its goal
of enlisting 2.8 million people (1% of the population) to pray regularly
for the President–especially in our current crisis. I recommend that
you join this effort. There is no fee or obligation. Just sign up and
you’ll receive a window decal in the mail, plus e-mail updates on the
specific prayer needs of the President and his Cabinet.
To sign up, go to http://www.PresidentialPrayerTeam.org”
I (doug) went to the site and contacted the founder of the Presidential
Prayer Team to obtain additional information. Here is the response I
received:
“Thank you for your interest and support of the Presidential Prayer
Team. This is an independent, nonprofit organization and is supported by
a private foundation. The President supports the effort of prayer,
however specific endorsement has not been sought because this is a long
term effort that will extend beyond this presidency. It holds no
affiliation with any political or religious organizations, nor will it
ever be used for political purposes. The people who are behind this
effort are the same people who started Mission America and the
Lighthouse Movement.”
Here is some information from one of their e-mail updates:
“Membership Confidentiality:
Member names will remain confidential and never shared with or sold to
any other entity or used for any other purpose. In these days of
security consciousness, please be assured that every precaution has been
taken to ensure the security of member names and email addresses.
Not A Governmental Agency:
The Presidential Prayer Team is a not-for-profit organization with a
singular purpose of encouraging daily prayer for the President, his
advisors and our nation. It has no affiliation with, nor is it funded
by any for-profit company, political party, religious organization or
governmental agency.”
* * *
BIBLE TRIVIA QUIZ
So you think you know your Bible? Take one of the Christians Unite Bible
Quizzes and see if you know your Bible trivia. Compare your score to
others who have taken the quiz before: http://quiz.christiansunite.com/
* * *
RED SKELTON LINK
This is an excellent link with a sound clip of Red Skelton presenting
his Pledge of Allegiance commentary. It takes a while to load, but it’s
worth the wait: http://www.shrineclowns.com/skelton.html
* * *
IRON ‘CROSS’ FOUND IN RUBBLE GIVES WORKERS HOPE
Read the article at: http://www.newsnet5.com/news/1004631/index.html
* * *
HYMNS
The Dentist’s Hymn:…………Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Weatherman’s Hymn:………There Shall Be Showers of Blessings
The Contractor’s Hymn:………The Church’s One Foundation
The Tailor’s Hymn ………….Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer’s Hymn:………….There’s a Green Hill Far Away
The Politician’s Hymn:………Standing on the Promises
The Optometrist’s Hymn:……..Open My Eyes That I Might See
The IRS Agent’s Hymn:……….I Surrender All
The Gossip’s Hymn…………..Pass It On
The Electrician’s Hymn:……..Send The Light
The Shopper’s Hymn………….Sweet By and By
The Realtor’s Hymn:…………I’ve Got a Mansion, Just Over the Hilltop
The Massage Therapists Hymn:…He Touched Me
The Doctor’s Hymn:………….The Great Physician
For those who speed on the highway – a few hymns:
45mph……………………..God Will Take Care of You
55mph……………………..Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
65mph……………………..Nearer My God To Thee
75mph……………………..Nearer Still Nearer
85mph……………………..This World Is Not My Home
95mph……………………..Lord, I’m Coming Home
and over 100mph…………….Precious Memories
* * *
PARENTING
Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the
thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to God’s kids.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam & Eve. And the first
thing that he said was:
“Don’t”
“Don’t what?” Adam replied.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.” God said.
“Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit!”
“Hey Eve…We got forbidden fruit!”
“No way!”
“Yes, WAY!”
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit!” Said God.
“Why?”
“Because I am your Father and I said so!” Said God.
God wondered why he hadn’t just stopped after making the elephants. A
few minutes later God saw the kids having an apple break and was angry.
“Didn’t I tell you not to eat that fruit?” The FIRST Parent asked.
“Uh huh,” Adam replied.
“Then WHY did you?”
“I dunno,” Eve answered.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did Not!”
“Did So!”
“DID NOT!”
Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and
Eve should have their own children.
Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed. But there is
reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried
to give them wisdom and they haven’t taken it, don’t be so hard on
yourself.
If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a
piece of cake for you?
* * *
AUTHOR KNOWN
* The author of “The Best Day of My Life” is Gregory Lousig-Nont
* The message titled “The Choice” is from the book “In the Eye of the
Storm” by Max Lucado
* The author of “Seize the Moment” is Erma Bombeck
* Concerning the message “It’s in the Valley I Grow”, I received
multiple e-mails from subscribers listing several different
authors. So, the author is either Jane Eggleston as shown on the
web site at: http://www.grnco.net/~cbm/thought.htm or
Rev. Dr. P. L. Williams or Joanna D’Arc.
* * *
SUPPORT E-MAIL MINISTRY
I would like to thank all of you who have sent in donations. If you have
been blessed by this ministry, please ask God what He would have you
do. You may make donations by credit card at:
https://www.emailministry.org/ccbill/index.htm Credit card donations can
be made as a one-time donation or as a monthly recurring donation.
You can also make a donation by check. Checks can be sent to:
E-Mail Ministry, Inc.
P.O. Box 944
Garden City, MI 48136-0944
E-Mail Ministry is exclusively supported by its subscribers. I do not
accept any compensation for my efforts with this ministry. Donations
are solely used to offset the growing costs of this ministry. It is my
prayer that, like God’s grace, EMM always remains free.
* * *
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
If you are from a country other than the United States, please let me
know by sending an e-mail to: emailministry@emailministry.org
E-Mail Ministry has a mission to reach “all nations” and needs your help
to accomplish this calling! Currently, EMM is in 70 countries but there
are many more to reach! To see the list of countries and the world map,
go to: https://www.emailministry.org/subscribe/index.htm#SubscriberMap
Countries added this month: Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine.
* * *
POLL QUESTIONS
The results of the June/July poll question can viewed at
https://www.emailministry.org/pollresults.htm. Here is the August poll
question (Go the web site at: https://www.emailministry.org/#Polls
register your vote!! Please do NOT send me an e-mail with your vote!)
Q: What percentage of your Christmas shopping do you plan to do online?
* * *
USAGE OF E-MAIL MINISTRY MESSAGES
As always, feel free to send these messages on to others as the Lord
leads you. I respectfully request that when you forward the messages
on, please leave the ‘header’ and ‘footer’ information in place so that
others may know about this ministry and how to subscribe.
Also, feel free to use these messages in your church bulletins, sermons,
bible studies, etc. If you do use the messages, please put “Message
distributed by E-Mail Ministry (https://www.emailministry.org)” at the
bottom of any material you use. That way more people will become aware
of this ministry.
* * *
LINKS PAGE
Thanks to all of you who submitted a link to be added to the EMM Links
Page. To recommend a Christian site, please use the ‘Add a Link’ form
at: https://www.emailministry.org/links/index.htm#AddALink
You can add a link from your web site to EMM. Simply copy the following
html code into your web page using your html editor:
* * *
I pray this message finds you growing in the understanding of how much
God loves you.
— doug
Founder, Editor, Webmaster & ‘Chief Bottle Washer’ of E-Mail Ministry