THE ONE YEAR ILLUSTRATIONS CLUB

As I watched them tear a building down A gang of men in a busy town With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell They swung a beam and the side wall fell I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled, And the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?" He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed, Just common labor is all I need." "I can easily wreck in a day or two, What builders have taken years to do." And I thought to myself, as I went my way Which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder who works with care, Measuring life by rule and square? Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan Patiently doing the best I can? Or am I a wrecker who walks to town Content with the labor of tearing down? "O Lord let my life and my labors be That which will build for eternity!" Author Unknown, The Increase, 35th Anniversary Issue, 1993, p. 9.

➤  William Carey went 7 years before he had his first convert in India ➤  Adoniram Judson worked in  Burma  for almost the same period of time before he had his first convert. ➤  Robert Morrison, first Protestant missionary to  China , who labored for 25 years and had fewer than a dozen converts? ➤  Anskar, the Apostle of the North, who gave his life to preaching the gospel to the Vikings without any long-lasting results? ➤  What about missionaries to East Africa who in the early 1800's shipped their goods to  Africa  in coffins because most of them knew they most likely would be struck down during their first term by disease or unfriendly natives? ➤  Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and five others were martyred on a sandy beach in South America (Ecuador) as they made the first attempts to reach the Auca Indians with the gospel.

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private PRAYER. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

A little boy who had been sent to his room because he had been bad came out a short time later and said to his mother, "I've been thinking about what I did and I said a prayer." "That's fine," the mom said, "if you ask God to make you good, He will help you." "Oh, I didn't ask Him to help me be good," replied the boy. "I asked Him to help you put up with me."

Billie Wilcox WROTE: While my husband Frank and I were living in Pakistan many years ago, our six-month-old baby died. An old Punjabi who heard of our grief came to comfort us. He said, "A tragedy like this is similar to being plunged into boiling water," He went on then to say… "If you are an egg, your affliction will make you hard and unresponsive.” If you are a potato, you will emerge soft and pliable" It may sound funny to God, but there have been times when I have prayed, "O Lord, let me be a potato."

HE kicked off his career at the age of four by fronting his uncle’s band, becoming Oahu's youngest Elvis impersonator in the process. Ten years later, he was impersonating the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, as part of the Legends in Concert show. After graduating high school in 2003, he took his uncle's advice and moved to California to pursue a music career. After months of frustration, he met songwriter Phillip Lawrence, who convinced HIM to try his hand at writing songs for other artists. The two dubbed themselves the Smeezingtons and co-wrote “Long Distance,” which was recorded in 2008 by R&B singer Brandy. More offers arrived after that, and HE and Lawrence scored their first number one hit in 2009, when they co-authored Flo Rida's international smash "Right Round." After working a string of behind-the-scenes jobs -- including writing songs for Brandy, singing backup for the Sugababes, and impersonating Elvis -- HE put his name on top of the charts in ...

This story out of South Carolina… Crossing the center line, running several stop signs and almost crashing twice…all after a Sumter police officer reported watching Susie Thomas run a red light. The high speed and dangerous chase last week came to an abrupt stop with police officers drawing their guns on the eluder. That’s when police found a crying 4 year old girl in the back seat of her grandmother’s car, where she had been for this entire high speed chase, not even buckled in. “Why did you do this”, the police asked the grandma “Because I knew that I had warrants out on me”, answered the grandma. And that she did!!! The child was returned to mom; and grandma was taken in to custody!

Two Christian men sitting in a park watching people walk by and they saw this man walk by, his shirt all open, drinking womanizing this woman, all over. One man just gasped, the other did nothing  "What are you gasping at, didn’t you see what I saw?" "I don’t know, what did you see?", responded the other man  He answered, "I saw a sleezeball that walked by drunk as a skunk, trying to pick up on that young girl and on top of that a ring on his finger, and you know that wasn’t his wife, that’s what I saw, nasty sinner! So, what did you see?"  The other man was quiet for a while, then responded, "I saw myself, if not for the Grace of God……that would have been me!"

IN THE PRYOR REPORT, A BUSINESS JOURNAL THEY LISTED THE TOP 7 VIRTUES EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR IN THEIR EMPLOYEES  What qualities in employees irritate bosses the most? Burke Marketing Research asked executives in 100 of the nation's 1000 largest companies. At the top of the list was dishonesty. Marc Silbert, whose temporary employee firm commissioned the study, says, "If a company believes that an employee lacks integrity, all positive qualities--ranging from skill and experience to productivity and intelligence--become meaningless

In recent years, politicians and pundits, professors and even Pulitzer Prize-winners have been caught dealing in deceit. One of the nation's most respected historians, Stephen Ambrose, plagiarized portions of other historians' works and—notwithstanding his public apology—seemed hardly disturbed by the resulting controversy. Historian Joseph Ellis, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book,~Founding Brothers, was caught inventing a Vietnam War record for himself. Ex-conservative writer David Brock admitted he'd made up sordid details about Anita Hill. Gloria Steinem's claim about the number of women who die of eating disorders—supposedly 150,000 a year—turned out to be a huge feminist hoax. James Patterson and Peter Kim, authors of~The Day America Told the Truth, estimate that 91 percent of us regularly embroider the truth. "We lie and don't even think about it," Patterson and Kim write.

    Patrick Daniel "Pat" Tillman (November 6, 1976– April 22, 2004) was an American football player who left his professional career and enlisted in the United States Army in June 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. His service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and subsequent death, were the subject of much media attention.      Tillman joined the Army Rangers and served several tours in combat before he died in the mountains of Afghanistan. At first, the Army reported that Tillman had been killed by enemy fire. Controversy ensued when a month later, on May 28, 2004, the Pentagon notified the Tillman family that he had died as a result of a friendly fire incident; the family and other critics allege that the Department of Defense AND TOP BRASS GENERALS, LIED AND COVERED UP for weeks after Tillman's memorial service out of a desire to protect the image of the U.S. armed forces.

Ted Turner, the founder of the Cable News Network, aka CNN, MGM, TNT and other media outlets, claims, in a sense, that prayer was what pushed him away from his faith. Cable television mogul Ted Turner criticized fundamentalist Christianity and said Jesus probably would "be sick at his stomach" over the way his ideas have been "twisted," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Turner made his remarks Friday evening at a banquet in Orlando, Fla., where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of the environment and world peace. Turner said he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one time considered becoming a missionary. "I was saved seven or eight times," the newspaper quoted him as saying. But he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. Turner said the more he strayed from his faith, "the better I felt." Spokesman-Review, May 1, 1990.

Defending Olympic champion Usain Bolt may be the fastest human on two legs, but he would struggle to outpace a raft of animals, including horses, which would leave him nearly 10 seconds behind over 200 metres. Jamaican sprinter Bolt, currently the fastest man in the world, could not match greyhounds, cheetahs, pronghorn antelope, and horses for sheer pace. Professor Craig Sharp, from the Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at Brunel University in Britain, has highlighted a range of animals whose speed and strength easily beats that of our most elite athletes. Humans can run at a maximum speed of 23.4 miles per hour. That kind of speed gives them the egde – but only just – over the Dromedary camel, with a top speed of 22mph (35.3kmh), or 9.8 metres/second. A cheetah is about twice as fast as the world’s top sprinters. A cheetah is around twice as fast as the world’s top sprinters at 64mph, but the pronghorn antelope also puts in a very respectable 55mph. Then, of course, ...

(May 22, 2008)--Steven Curtis Chapman's longtime pastor says the Christian musician and his wife are "grieving and wailing" over the death of their 5-year-old daughter Maria, who was accidentally run over Wednesday in the driveway of their home in Franklin, Tenn. She was flown by helicopter to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, but doctors were unable to save her life. The Rev. Reverend Scotty Smith says he's been praying with the couple and assuring their 17-year-old son, Will, who was driving the vehicle that in Christ there's "no condemnation."

There’s an old story about a man who owned a business, he decided it was time for him to retire and turn it over to his son. So he called his son in and give him a bit of advice. “Son it’s all yours, I’ve made a success of this business because of two principles, Honesty and wisdom! First of all honesty, if you promise someone goods by the 10th of the month, no matter what happens, you must deliver by the 10th of the month, even if it costs you overtime, double time, you always deliver what you promise.” The son thought about it for a moment, said, “okay that’s honesty now how about wisdom?” The dad answered, “wisdom son, wisdom is never making such a stupid promise in the first place!”

A client went to a lawyer and said I’m going into a business with a man I do not trust, I want you to frame an air tight contract, which he cannot break, and which will protect me from any mischief he might come up with. The attorney replied, “Listen my friend, there is no group of words in the English language that will take the place of plain honesty between men or which will fully protect either of you, if you plan to deceive each other.”

Ernest Shackleton, in his exploration of the North Pole, did not promise that there would not be hardship, but he did promise that he would come back for his men when he had to leave them on Elephant Island in the North Pole. Shackleton traveled 800 miles across the Arctic Ocean in a life boat to get help. On a trip that took him 105 days and tried to return to his men on 3 failed attempts, finally 105 days later, he returned back to his men. And what’s more important, is his men had not given up hope. They kept themselves alive because Ernest Shackleton had given his word that he would return. For over 3 months, they waited, based on this man’s word.

Survey found that 46 percent of people have lied to their partner about money, confessing to a wide range of money secrets, including lying about purchases, hiding them in the back of the closet and clandestinely withdrawing money from joint accounts. The extensive poll of 23,000 online users also found that more than 60 percent of both men and women think cheating is cheating, whether it’s financial or sexual. Two-thirds told us that honesty about money is as important as remaining monogamous. Statistics show a surprising or perhaps not so surprising tie, between Financial Infidelity and Sexual Infidelity. Oddly enough, those often caught in Financial Infidelity are often caught, down the road, in sexually. Could the two be tied together? Research shows yes, compromise, cheating, lieing and covering up in one area often leads to compromise, cheating, lieing in other areas too.

let go of the old.... In the Late 1960s a revival swept through the  United States  called the "Jesus People Movement." Many nominal churches rejected the hippies who were getting saved but Pastor Mitchell accepted them into his church and saw dramatic church growth. Being inspired by Chuck Smith, David Wilkerson and other ministers, Pastor Mitchell overlooked what the people looked like and smelt like, and saw the potential in each person to be strong Christians. Much of the leadership in the church today is made up of people who got saved in this movement.

Near Cisterna, Italy, in the battle at Anzio beachhead, Sylvester Antolak charged 200 yards over flat terrain with absolutely no cover to destroy a German  machine gun  bunker during the second day of the offensive. He ran 30 yards in advance of his squad, to take on fire and free them to move forward unharmed. He ran into withering enemy machine gun fire. Three times he was struck by  bullets  and knocked to the ground, but each time, he struggled to his feet to continue his relentless advance. With one shoulder deeply gashed and his right arm shattered, he continued to rush directly into the enemy fire concentration with his  submachine gun  wedged under his uninjured arm until within 15 yards of the enemy strong point, where he opened fire at deadly close range, killing 2 Germans and forcing the remaining 10 to  surrender . In the book “to hell and back” Audie Murphy describes the scene as such: On the flat, coverless terrain, his body is a pe...

Alexander III of Macedon ,commonly known as Alexander the Great…was a king of the Greek kingdom of Macedon. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II, to the throne at the age of twenty. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into present-day Pakistan. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders. I wonder what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he penned, "all men are created equal" Clearly all men are not created equal. King Solomon the wisest man who ever lived penned these words, "it is the duty of man to accept his lot in life, to be happy in his toilsome labor under the sun, for this is a gift from God."      Every man must accept that "we are not created equal" and that we must accep...

“In the nick of time Dobson Jr. believes his dad made a critical move, “my mom and dad made it up to me after years of my father traveling with my mom, he bought ~us a house and let my mother have me for the next eleven years and he traveled alone, which was very hard for him. The adulation that Dobson Jr. Gives to his father’s memory today is rooted, in part, in the sacrificial decisions made by his dad those many years ago. Yet by the time young Dobson was sixteen, he again began to demonstrate some of the same sorts of rebellious behavior In a foreshadowing of the decision that Dobson Jr. Later would make when his own ministry was keeping him away from home too much His father shut down a thriving career as the Nazarenes’ top evangelist, sold their house in Bethany and moved his family south to San Benito, Texas, a small town near the Mexican border. My mother had simply said, “I need you” Dobson says, “my dad had a four year slate of revival meetings lined up, but he came...

Actor Jack Klugman recalls being devastated at age 12 when his father died. Struggling for decades with depression over that loss, Klugman finally sought counseling. “It was then that I remembered that my father was the only one in my family who ever hugged me. The rest of my family stayed away from touching or hugging—especially my mother. Only my father was unashamed to show affection. My father taught me that showing your affection was not a sign of weakness but instead a sign of love.” Klugman says he passed his father's legacy on to his own two sons as well as his granddaughters. “Whenever I see them, we kiss and hug and show how fond we are of each other. I love it!”

Howard Schultz became chairman and CEO of Starbucks and expanded the company from its original three stores to more than 3000. Schultz was raised in a working-class family in Brooklyn. His father was a high-school dropout who held a series of low-income jobs as factory worker, trucker, and cab driver. “We actually lived in federally subsidized housing,” he states. To make ends meet, his father often worked long hours. In spite of having little discretionary time, the elder Schultz carved out space for his son. “There were many days when my dad came home from 14-hour days of very physical labor, and the first thing he did was look for me. We would put our gloves on, go outside, and have a catch. Those moments between a father and son are so special and I will never forget.

     Lisa was presiding over yet another funeral and she would be lying if she didn't admit some were easier and more pleasant to preside over, than others. Lisa approached Tom, who was doing the eulogy, she said, "let me see watcha ya got? “That's it?” she said, “two sentences, you're gonna have at least 50 people here John, looking up at you, listening to you, hoping to hear something praiseworthy come out of your mouth and you have two sentences, that’s not gonna work, you'd better work it Tom, I don't care if you have to make it up", Lisa said.      It made her think of the funeral she attended two months prior, have presided over many funerals herself as a funeral conductor, this was definitely special. It was for her great grandpa and how different that funeral was, not just because it was for someone dear to her but because of the praise that many had for this great man.      In this case it was the opposite, the eulogy was too long,...

The Taliban released a video Wednesday it says shows their handover of former prisoner Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to  U.S.  forces.  The 17-minute video shows Bergdahl dressed in white robes being led from a pickup truck as what appears to be a Black Hawk helicopter lands.  Taliban fighters waving a white flag are seen shaking hands with men dressed in Western civilian clothes as Bergdahl is handed over and then taken aboard the helicopter. Several armed Taliban members are seen on the surrounding hillside as the handover takes place. "Don't come back to  Afghanistan ," one man tells Bergdahl, according to a translation by the Associated Press. "You won't make it out alive next time!" Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban when he deserted his post. He is wanted by the military for dereliction of duty a crime punishable under the UCMJ. (Uniform Code of Military Justice).       I find it interesting, the Bergdahl, fleeing form his Comrades falls...

Was reading this article by this journalist, Jessica Booth The heading was; “You’ll lose friends when you get a new boyfriend” A recent study has delivered some news that may bum you out: According to researchers, when women enter a new relationship, they’ll lose two friends on average. So basically, you gain a boyfriend… but you lose friends in the process.  Unfortunately, I can’t say I find this study very surprising. Ever since high school started, I have watched many friends come and go – and the biggest reason I’ve grown apart from girls I was once was close with is because of relationships.  Whether it’s my new relationship or theirs, one thing is for sure: a boyfriend guarantees that I’ll be missing a bestie in the near future.  When we’re single, we all swear up and down that we’ll never be like those girls who ditch their friends for their BF. Then we meet someone we really like, and we find that it’s incredibly hard to find the time f...

There was a street woman that many of you may know, or know of her, she went by the name of Wauneva. She wandered the streets of San Angelo She would often sit on our bench outside the church and wander around in the downtown area. She was found dead this past Friday on the streets. This letter was posted on line about her. Her name was Wauneva Irene Benson, her birth date Oct 24 1944.    Mother of 3 sons and a daughter, 8 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren.    Many of you know Wauneva suffered debilitating mental issues. Sometimes even to the point of being agitated. During one of our last visits, almost 20 years ago, she was playing with 4 of her grandchildren and enjoying my family. After returning home, she removed me as her health contact and then she told me that she didn’t’ want to do this to my family. She then vanished from my life. Mental disorders are like that. Similar to a mirror dropping on cement. Shards of glass are what remai...

One woman wrote: I agree that two are better than one Because I always look thinner when I stand beside him Two are better than one Because when its cold he gets up to to light the fire Two are better than one Because when there's a spider in the house I don't have to kill it, he does Two are better than one Because when the principal calls They're his kids not mine Two are better than one Because when I lose my temper Its his fault, not mine Two are better than one Because I can't scratch my own back And last Two are better than one Because I have the gift of spending And he has the gift of earning