More Wisdom from Good Old Chuck

Okay, the rain and thunder have temporarily stopped, so I am feeling inspired to finish the blog I started last time. Chuck Swindoll, I find him to be one of the most inspiring preacher/authors I have ever read, him and well, of course, Max...maybe I will one day talk about my adoration for Max, as well as the adoration of Chuck, but that might take a little time, because I have not yet read all the books that these two men have published, so for now, you will have to just except me at my word, and enjoy the little tidbits of Chuck that I throw your way. One of the things that Charles Swindoll talks about the most, is something that most people in my life struggle with, as well as myself...that is the communication breakdowns. And how sometimes, the things that are most important to us, that we really feel need to be told to others, are the things that end up "lost in translation" They are the things that no matter how many times you work them through your brain, the moment they arrive at your mouth, it is jumbled and you end up looking like a fool. It is almost like Murphey's Law. The more important the statement, the worse you screw it up. In Chuck's book of illustrations, he devotes over 4 pages to the importance of communcating clearly with others...I want to share with you a few of his examples.

Communication pg.99-105 (Swindoll's Ultimate Book)

Punctuation in communication is important. Think about the importance of a comma in this little note: A naval wife asked the church to pray, "John Anderson, having gone to sea, his wife desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety." When read aloud without the first two commas: "John Anderson having gone to see his wife, desires the prayers of the congregation for his safety."

A woman who travelled abroad without her husband got to Paris abd found this fabulous bracelet she'd been looking for. ANd so she sent a wire back home saying, "I have found this beautiful bracelet, one I've been looking for all my life. It only costs $7,500. Do you think I can buy it?" Her husband wired her back immediately with a short but firm reply, "No, price too high!" And signed his name. But in the transmission the comma was left out and the message read, "No price too high" Oh, she was thrilled! Omitting that comma almost put that guy in a coma.

Okay, and this last one is an oldie but a goodie, one of my personal favourites from his book that I have read a thousand times at least "Come before Winter"

The following is a series of actual quotes taken from insurance and accident forms. They are actual words of people who tried to summarize their encounters with trouble, but albeit, as important as their claims were, their mouths refused to word it properly.
"Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have."
"The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions."
"I thought my wondow was down, but I found it was up when I put my hand through
it."
"I collided with a stationary truck that was coming the other way."
"A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face."
"A pedestrian hit me and went under my car."
"The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit
him."
"In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole."
"I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an
accident."
"An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and then vanished."
"The pedestrian had no idea what way to go, so I ran him over."
"I was sure that the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the
street when I struck him."
"I saw the slow-moving, sad faced gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car."
"I was trhown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by
some stray cows."

There, I hope this gives some insight as to how messages can get out of control. So, my advice is to slow down, think carefully and be prepared to handle the fall out if in fact, the message gets messed up.

When the rain has stopped

I have been sitting in my window for about an hour before I wrote this, and I was watching the rain fall on the earth. It is simple things like the rain, that stops me dead in my tracks and makes me think about the creation of the world. It makes me shout "PRAISE GOD!" How does it effect you?

The Wisdom of Chuck Swindoll

I was lucky enough to go to Assemby this past week...for those who do not know, Assemby is the big annual meeting type thing of the Baptist Chruches of Ontario and Quebec...I was not lucky enough to be a delegate this year because apparently I was "too young to understand the issues around same sex marriages" but I went as a visitor anyways. But this blog is really about a great book me and my father discovered when checking out the book store there, it is called "Swindoll's Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes" Now me being a huge fan of good old Chuck, I wanted to buy it for myself...but as my father wisely put it "why buy for yourself when pastors have a book allowance" Yay daddy! But I shall share with you a few of my favourite tidbits.

After a While

After a while, you learn the subtle difference between
holding hands and chaining a soul,
and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't mean security
After a while, you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes open
with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child
After a while, you learn to build your roads of today because
tomorrow's grounds are too uncertain for plans
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much. So plant your own garden
and decorate your own soil instead of waiting
for someone to bring you flowers
And you learn that you rerally can endure
...that you really are strong
...and you really do have worth

Okay, the rest will have to wait, I need to get home before it pours

Tide, tide, whate'er betide, There's aye the Haigs of Bemersyde

Well, these last two weeks have been hectic. I have started to look into researching my family history and thanks to my grandma degear, I discovered my scottish heritage...which is really cool. My family comes from the Haig Clan, which are currently living in the town of Melrose in Southern Scotland. Here is the history of the Haig House, called Bermersyde. here