A very proper lady began planning a week's camping vacation for
her and her Baptist Church group. She wrote to a campground for
reservations. She wanted to make sure that the campground was
fully equipped and modern, but couldn't bring herself to write
the word "toilet" in her letter.

So, she decided on the old-fashioned term "Bathroom Commode"
Once written down she still was not comfortable. Finally she
decided on the abbreviation "B.C." and wrote, "does your
campground have its own "B.C.?"

When the campground owner received the letter, he couldn't
figure out what she meant by "B.C."

He showed it to several of the campers, one of whom suggested
the lady was obviously referring to a Baptist Church since there
was a letterhead on the paper which referred to a Baptist
Church.

So he sent this reply:

Dear Madam: The B.C. is located nine miles from the campground
in a beautiful grove of trees.

I admit it is quite a distance if you are in the habit of going
regularly. No doubt you will be pleased to know that it will
seat 350 people at one time, and it is open on Tuesday,
Thursday, and Sunday of each week.

Some folks like to take their lunch and make a day of it.
The acoustics are very good, so everyone can hear even the
quietest passages. It may interest you to know that my daughter
met her husband there. We are also having a fund-raiser to
purchase new seats, as the old ones have holes in them.

Unfortunately my wife is ill and has not been able to attend
regularly. It's been a good six months since she last went.
It pains her very much not to be able to go more often.

As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, especially
in cold weather. Perhaps I could accompany you the first time
you go, sit with you, and introduce you to all the other folks
who will be there.

The best prophet of the future is the past.

~Author Unknown~

Family Troubles
================

Yesterday I taught a group of youth in Sunday school.

The lesson was called "No place like home."

I asked the kids if they could be in any family in the world
which one would it be.

Some appreciated the families God had given them;
others wanted to change.

I asked those who wanted to change what they would change if
they could and whom they would switch with.

Some of them looked at me and figured I had the perfect parents
with the perfect childhood, but their parents were too old and
were too strict for today's times.

I asked them how old their father was, they responded with a
middle age number.

I went on to tell them about my family.

There is no family on the earth that I would have rather been
born into, but it wasn't as it appeared to them.

First of all, I told those who complained about the age of their
parents, "My father was sixty when I was born. By the time I
was your age, my father was seventy-five, now how old did you
say your father was?" I explained that I had no memories of my
father with any non-gray hair at all.

Second, I explained to them that I had to walk to school
everyday and back home. These were not the 1920s I was telling
them about, these were the 1970s and 80s.

Third, I explained that my father was a health enthusiast and I
had to eat raw sprouts and drink fresh carrot juice and cod
liver oil everyday.

I went on to tell them about my delivering newspapers before
school, not being able to watch television in the presence of my
father, working in a factory every single summer, never getting
any allowance at all, and having to clean the house with my
brother every night.

Then I asked the question again, "How many of you still would
want to switch over to my family?"

Not a hand went up.

After that class I saw some of the warmest reunions of children
with their parents that I had ever witnessed after class before.
I knew that I still had grown up in one of the easiest
situations on earth, but compared with what they were
complaining about, it made their situations look pretty good.

I also realize now that everything that seemed tough to me
growing up was actually a blessing. They were the tough things
that developed me.

Be thankful for your family if you have one; we often don't
appreciate what we have until it is gone.

I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

~spoken by God in Isaiah 45:7~

from The Mountain:
Because you don't believe it, understand it or agree with it,
makes it no less true.

Once upon a time, an old man lived on a small farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, the grandson noticed that his grandfather would get up early and sit at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpaw, I have been trying to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"

The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told. All the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time."

The boy went to the river with the basket to try again. This time he ran faster, but again the old wicker basket was empty before he could get home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.

The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do it. You're probably just not trying hard enough" He went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to prove to his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would all leak out before he could get anywhere close to home. The boy scooped the water and ran really hard, but when he got to the porch where his grandfather was waiting, the basket was once again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpaw, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless, do you?" the old man commented, and then said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it was very clean.

"Son, that's exactly what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but as you repeatedly read it, it will change you from the inside out. That is the way God works through His Word, The Bible, in our lives; He changes us from the inside out and slowly transforms us into the image of His Son."

THE MORAL OF THE STORY: By reading even just a portion of God's word each day, you will be surprised at how your life is transformed, and by repeatedly reading, you will eventually be able to learn and retain the lessons that God has been trying to teach you through His Word. So, keep on reading God's Word each day!