THE ONE YEAR ILLUSTRATIONS CLUB

Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography wrote these words. “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if i could conceive that i had completely overcome it, I should probably become prideful of my humility.” How true that is, once we think we have defeated pride, we will become prideful that we are humble.

My son came running home the other day, rushed through the door, with his muddy boots on, screaming, “ma, ma… i got an a, i got an a on my report card!!!” “What is wrong with this kid?”  I thought, how many times have I told him not to come in with his muddy boots and slam the door. I am such a good mother, why is my son like this, why doesn’t he change?” He ran up the stairs… “mom, mom, you told me to pray and I did, I prayed for God to help me and I got an “A” my teacher was so proud of me, I couldn’t wait to get home and tell you, I was so excited I just ran up the stairs, I knew you would be so proud of me.” the boy exclaimed! “Jonny”, yelled the mother, “what is wrong with you, how many times have I told you not to come in with your boots and slamming the door, when are you going to change?”  The boy tried to defend himself, “but mom, i just wanted….” to no avail, the mom retorted,  “never mind, just go to your room…” As the mother prays to God, “Lord help me with m...

Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book Up From Slavery : "I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased. "Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio , he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia , and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his w...

A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers the following: We drank for happiness and became unhappy. We drank for joy and became miserable. We drank for sociability and became argumentative. We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious. We drank for friendship and made enemies. We drank for sleep and awakened without rest. We drank for strength and felt weak. We drank "medicinally" and acquired health problems. We drank for relaxation and got the shakes. We drank for bravery and became afraid. We drank for confidence and became doubtful. We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech. We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell. We drank to forget and were forever haunted. We drank for freedom and became slaves. We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply. We drank to cope with life and invited death.

Some people will not be denied purpose! In 1857, shortly before his graduation from Princeton theological seminary, Sheldon Jackson applied to the Presbyterian board of foreign missions for assignment to siam or Columbia, only to be turned down because he was "lacking in physique." young Sheldon accepted the challenge of home missions instead, demonstrating over the next half century that, though standing only slightly over five feet, he could become a giant among men. whenever a new frontier opened, Jackson was there, traveling almost a million miles in the course of his missionary work in Minnesota , the rocky mountain states, and Alaska . he went on foot and horseback, by railroad and stagecoach, by sailboat and canoe, and even by ox cart and reindeer sled. he survived severe snowstorms, shipwrecks and Indian uprisings. three times newspapers reported his death prematurely and once they printed his obituary. Jackson established over a hundred churches and missions, i...

John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, said it's a rare and high privilege to help people understand the difference they can make, not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of others, simply by giving of themselves.  Gardner tells of a cheerful old man who asked the same question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with "What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?"  He never asked conventional questions such as "What do you do for a living?" It was always, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?"  It was an unsettling question for people who had built their self-esteem on their wealth or their family name or their exalted job title.  Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator. He was delighted by a woman who answered, "I'm doing a good job raising three children;" and by a cabinetmaker who said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it;...

In 1835 a man visited a doctor in Florence , Italy . He was filled with anxiety and exhausted from lack of sleep. He couldn't eat, and he avoided his friends. The doctor examined him and found that he was in prime physical condition. Concluding that his patient needed to have a good time, the physician told him about a circus in town and its star performer, a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night he had the people rolling in the aisles. "You must go and see him," the doctor advised. "Grimaldi is the world's funniest clown. He'll make you laugh and cure your sadness." "No," replied the despairing man, "he can't help me. you see, I am Grimaldi!"  It would be naive to think, that this man is the only man, with a painted on smile! We function in the realm of superficial relationships, even within the church. Ask anyone, "how they are doing?" And we know the answer is always, "great & fine" with a big smile,...