Jon's website

Random wisdom and platitudes - the fuzzy ones

One thing I've noticed with all chain letters, the fuzzy-inspirational kind anyway, is a sneaky, pervading hope that is very annoying. It's hard to explain, but something about the way they're written just rubs me mildly the wrong way. Any thoughts on this? What causes it, or what about the writing style is so annoying? Send them to me.

The New School Prayer

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple or orange or green,
That's no offense, it's the freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise,
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the State.
We're allowed to cuss & dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues & cheeks.
They've outlawed guns; but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the unwed daddy, our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms, & birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires & totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No Word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot,
My soul please take

This one has some good advice in it. The phrasing, or something, still seems too fuzzy for my tastes though. I don't know how many more of these I'm gonna post...

An Interview with God

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

"Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said. God smiled and said: "My time is eternity and is enough to do everything what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered:
"That they get bored of being children,
are in a rush to grow up,
and then long to be children again.

That they lose their health to make money
and then lose their money to restore their health.

That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present,
such that they live neither for the present nor the future.

That they live as if they will never die,
and they die as if they had never lived..."

God's hands took mine and we were silent for while and then I asked...

"As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile:
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them.
What they can do is to let themselves be loved.

To learn that what is most valuable
is not what they have in their lives,
but who they have in their lives.

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.
All will be judged individually on their own merits,
not as a group on a comparison basis!

To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in persons we love,
and that it takes many years to heal them.

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly,
but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.

To learn that two people can look at the same thing
and see it totally different.

To learn that a true friend in someone who knows everything about them...
and likes them anyway.

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others,
but that they have to forgive themselves."

I sat there for awhile enjoying the moment. I thanked Him for his time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer."

People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did, but
people will never forget
how you made them feel.

An interesing one. Certainly a challange. My temptation is to always take the easy way out and claim lameness

A Beautiful Prayer

I asked God to take away my pain.
God said, No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said, No. Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said, No. Patience is a by-product of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said, No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.
God said...Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.

A cool little poem. 'S about it.

Before You

"Before you" he trod
  all the path of woe,
He took the sharp thrusts
  with his head bent low,
He knew deepest sorrow
  and pain and grief,
He knew long endurance
  without relief.

He took all the bitter
  from death's deep cup,
He kept not a blood drop,
  but gave all up.
"Before you,"
  and for you, he won the fight
To bring you to glory
  and realms of light.

Uh, self-explanitory. Good story, but it reminds us of the same thing as all the others I've read. One's ok, but when shoud one move on to other things? When do we get to apply all this love, mercy, and grace stuff?

The price of freedom

There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.

"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me, swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there son?"

"Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked. "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em. I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."

"But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"

"Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds,son?"

"Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing-they ain't even pretty!"

"How much?"

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?" The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.

"Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap used bait, I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'll kill 'em."

"How much do you want for them?"

"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!!"

"How much?"

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood."

Jesus paid the price. The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

This is a collection of observations I've seen attached to the ends of several emails. They have some good points, I suppose... Sounds kinda like me sometimes, only this is less introspective...

Some interesting thoughts

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.
Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.

Or is it scary?

Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).
Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace.

FUNNY, ISN'T IT?

Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

Funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.
Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

Let's continue praying for one another.

A Military Christmas. Cool little poem about something people don't usually give much thought.

A Militairy Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
in a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give,
and to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by mantle, just boots filled with sand,
on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.
With medals and badges, awards of all kinds,
a sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, it was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone,
curled up on the floor in this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder,
not how i pictured a United States soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?
I realized the families that I saw this night,
owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
and grownups would celebrate a bright christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
because of the soldiers, like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more,
my life is my God, my country, my corps."

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent and still and
we both shivered from the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave on that cold, dark, night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure,
whispered, "carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, all is secure."
One look at my watch, and I knew he was right.
"Merry christmas my friend, and to all a good night."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan. The following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed. Happy Holidays!

| < Back to index > |