The Thread of a Dream

When I was researching the history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge as a major illustration for the ideas of success and motivation, I became engrossed with the story of how the first bridge was built over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls. You see, to build a bridge over a giant gorge, first you have to get a line over the canyon, from one side to the other. Easier said than done at Niagara Falls.

The engineers couldn’t cross the river in a boat to take the line from one side to the other because the boat would go over the falls. And the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. The distance was also way beyond the bow-and-arrow range, which had been a common method at the time of getting the first line across to build a bridge.

The designing engineer, Charles Ellet, pondered the question until he came up with a revolutionary idea. He decided that, while solving the problem, he would also have some fun and generate some publicity for the project. Ellet sponsored a kite flying contest and offered five dollars to the first person who could fly a kite across the gorge and let it go low enough to the ground for someone to be able to grab the string. In 1849, five dollars was a prize similar to a small lottery today. The boy who won the prize relished his accomplishment until his death, nearly 80 years later.

It all began with an idea and one thin kite string. The kite string was used to pull a cord across, then a line, then a rope. Next came an iron-wire cable and then steel cables, until a structure strong enough to build a suspension bridge was in place.

I’m struck by how that string is like a single thought. The more vivid and clear the thought, and the more you come back to it, the stronger it becomes—like the string to the rope to a cable. Each time you rethink it, dwell on it, or layer it with other thoughts, you are strengthening the structure on which to build your idea, like building a bridge over Niagara Falls. But unlike a kite, there is no string attached to how high and how far your goals may take you. They are limited only by the power of your imagination and the strength of your desire.

Denis Waitley

I Am Blind, Please Help!

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."


Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling... And even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it!

Why This Coca Cola Salesman Fails In Israel

A disappointed salesman of Coca-Cola returned from his assignment to Israel. 

A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Israelis?" 

The salesman explained, "When I got posted, I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch. But I had a problem. I didn't know how to speak Hebrew. So I planned to convey the message through three posters.


First poster : A man lying in the hot desert sand totally exhausted and fainting. 

Second poster : The man is drinking Coca-Cola.

Third poster : Our man is now totally refreshed.

And then these posters were pasted all over the place.
"Terrific! That should have worked!" said the friend. 

"The heck it should have!" said the salesman. 

"No one told me they read from right to left!"

Contributed by Sam and Betty Wong

The Disturbing Woodpecker

Grace and Walter Lantz rented a rustic wooden cabin in the forest for their honeymoon. At the first dawn there, a woodpecker started its pounding on the roof. 

The newlyweds couldn't sleep for the noise. With humor, they heard it day after day. By the time they returned from their honeymoon, they were inspired to create a cartoon character, "Woody Woodpecker." Walter drew the pictures. Gracie became Woody's voice. 

Years later, at their 50th wedding anniversary, Grace remembered the problem of the noisy woodpecker and said, "It was the best thing that ever happened to us."

Dick Innes

Fifty Feet of Water

Many mythical years ago, word went out that within sixty days, the southern tip of Florida was about to fall away and be covered by fifty feet of water. What to do?

The scientists and the engineers and the politicians were completely baffled. The mayor of one small community decided to call together all the religious leader in the threatened area. "You must tell us how to respond to this impending 'Act of God,'" he challenged them.

One leader said piously: "The solution is prayer.  We must pray." Another suggested that a study committee be appointed.

Still another thought that evacuation was the only answer. The most learned philosopher in the group merely said, "What will be, will be."

Finally, one of the persons serving coffee spoke up, "Find out how to live under fifty feet of water!"

Silly Excuses

Philadelphia Highway Patrol officers hear all kinds of creative excuses that drivers give for speeding. Here are some of the officers' favorites. By the way, none of them worked.

A man told the officer he was rushing to the hospital because he had been stung by a bee, and was allergic. "There's the bee right there," he said, pointing to his dashboard. The officer looked. The bee was not only dead, but in an advanced state of decomposition.

An officer stopped a man doing 80 mph. When he asked the driver whether he had seen the speed-limit signs, the man responded, "I went by them so fast I probably missed them."

A man going south on I-95 was stopped near Washington Avenue doing 79 mph. "My engine misses, and I'm trying to clean out the carburetor," he told the officer. For good measure, he added, "If I don't go this fast, my car won't go at all." 

 

"I'm due in traffic court," one speeder said. "If I'm late, they're going to enforce the bench warrant."

When an officer told a speeder that the speed limit on the Schuylkill Expressway was 50 mph, the driver responded, "Officer, where have you been? It's 65 now."

One speeder said simply, "I'm trying to beat my wife home. Don't ask."

An elderly person was stopped after doing 73 mph. When told he was getting a ticket, he asked the officer, "Is there a senior citizen's discount?"

(from Cybersalt)

The man who was chased by cops and called 911 to try to fool them

A Sarasota man about to be pulled over by police tried to lure officers away by making a fake 911 call. Officers were following a 28-year-old man's car to make a traffic stop when they got a 911 call for an armed robbery happening several blocks away.

The man's plan seemed to work at first when the officers cut off their chase to answer the call. But then other officers in the area followed him into a parking lot and saw a gun in his car. Officer's determined that the man was a felon and not allowed to possess a firearm. After the man was arrested, officers said they discovered that the bogus 911 call came from his cell phone.

Can You Read This?

Can You Raed this? 

Olny 55 Plepoe Out Of 100 Can!

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! 

How you can use this in your sermon?
Copy and paste it onto your PowerPoint slides and get the congregation to read it. It will be great fun as an ice breaker. It can also demonstrate how God has created the mind to have the ability to decipher the jumbled words. 

Elevator Attendant For Christ

Elevator Lady in Winter Uniform

Madam Cho, who lived alone, had recently given her life to Jesus Christ. Madam Cho was in her seventies and had a strong desire to serve the Lord but did not know how.  She wanted to do her part in obeying the Great Commission. She had heard her pastor talking about winning souls by opening home cells.

After Madam Cho had prayed, she decided to open her home for a cell meeting. However, she felt that since she was new to this apartment block, she had to get to know the neighbors. The problem was that majority of her neighbors were working folks and they hardly had time for any socializing.

Madam Cho came out with a great idea. She decided to meet her neighbors by offering her free service as a elevator attendant. She purchased a cap and a white uniform-like dress so that she would look like an authentic elevator attendant. She also purchased a little plastic stool so that she could sit in elevator if she became tired. 

Every morning and evening, Madam Cho positioned herself in the elevator and greeted every passenger. In the beginning, the neighbors were very aloof and quiet. Some of them expressed surprise that the management of their apartment had hired an elevator attendant. 

Madam Cho always smiled and had a cheerful greeting for every neighbor. Soon, one by one, these neighbors began to smile and greet her in return. The ice of strangeness slowly melted and soon they even greeted one another in the elevator. Everybody smiled more and they started chatting with their 'elevator attendant'. 

Before too long, Madam Cho started to invite these neighbors to weekend dinners. How thrilled they were when they learned that she was not an official elevator attendant. They were even more surprised by her willingness to do such a chore just to share the Gospel. Those neighbors who were Christians began helping Madam Cho to invite their non-Christian friends to her many weekend dinners. Soon, people were getting saved through her dinner-ministry.

Yes, Madam Cho did have a home cell at her apartment now. The fact was that she had been promoted to become a Zonal Cell Supervisor because the members of her home cell had gone out and opened many more new home cells in that area.

Today, Madam Cho is in her eighties and she no longer attends to the elevator anymore. There are now a few hundred similar "Madam Cho Elevator Attendants" in different parts of Seoul, ministering to thousands and getting them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

By Albert Kang