Kenneth Davis

       T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S WORDS - STRONG AND RESOLUTE

     Silence and solitude, the soul's best friends. There is no grief like the grief that does not speak. Each day is a branch of the Tree of Life laden heavily with fruit. If we lie down lazily beneath it, we may starve; but if we shake the branches, some of the fruit will fall for us. We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done. Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds. The heart, like the mind, has a memory. And in it are kept the most precious keepsakes. Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad. The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.
     A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books. Weak minds make treaties with the passions they cannot overcome, and try to purchase happiness at the expense of principle; but the resolute will of a strong man scorns such means, and struggles nobly with his foe to achieve great deeds. Man is always more than he can know of himself; consequently, his accomplishments, time and again, will come as a surprise to him. To be seventy one years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be. To be strong is to be happy!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     July 14, 2024: Pay attention and watch for valuable insights that will prepare you and facilitate your spiritual development. You are ready to proceed and take the next step in a series of actions and understanding, necessary to this vital process of spiritual growth. A closer walk with Me will require you to leave behind the hindrances that keep you from intimacy with Me, says the Lord. Proverbs 4:12 When you walk, your steps Will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 
TODAY'S WORD - HINDRANCES

     The willingness to turn to the Savior, the opportunity of going to sacrament service on a Sunday, and really participating in the ordinance of the sacrament... listening to the prayers, partaking of those sacred emblems. Those are opportunities that really help us to come within the ambit of the Savior's Atonement. 
     If I can keep myself worthy here, if I can be true to gospel commandments, if I can keep covenants that I have made, the blessings of exaltation and eternal life that Heavenly Father holds out to all of His children, apply to me. We live in a very self-absorbed age. I guess it's naturally human to think about my own problems as somehow greater than someone else's. I think when any one of us begins to think that way, it might be well to look beyond ourselves. Who am I to say that I am more handicapped, or suffering more, than someone else?
     What we look forward to, and the great promise of the gospel, is that whatever our inclinations are here, whatever our shortcomings are here, whatever the hindrances to our enjoying a fullness of joy here, we have the Lord's assurance for every one of us that those in due course will be removed. We just need to remain faithful.

     Lance Bradley Wickman (born November 11, 1940) is an American lawyer and former religious leader who served as general counsel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from January 1996 until October 2023. During the Vietnam war, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry of the US Army. He was a platoon leader and was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Valorous Unit Award, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. On a second tour of duty he was a military advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO 
MARSHA McMILLIAN
 SHERROD
 

     May today be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be... May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you... May you be content knowing you are a child of God... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. You are greater than you know. Be happy in the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

Mother Teresa

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Curtis Farmer

Happy Birthday, Marsha and Kenneth. Love woke us up this morning and continues to keep us. Enjoy your day. 
Curtis( blue) Farmer

Kenneth Davis

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S WORDS - FUNNY REPORTER

     I've got foundation jokes, the ones that got me where I am, so everything I do just builds on top of that. I like to tell old jokes on stage after about an hour, or an hour and a half. I'll bring those old ones back because the fans love them. For about three years I was performing at one bar in East Los Angeles that was like a mean dive bar. You're in there performing for drunks or bikers, not the most flattering people. I think it helped build my confidence, because you have to get their attention, then make them laugh. I don't wanna just be remembered for the funniest guy in my neighborhood.
     I got on the high school speech team and every day I would get up in front of the class and just start talking. Sometimes [high school speech team] was funny, other times it was just talking, but it gave me the confidence to speak in front of people after doing that for a whole year. By the end of the semester [in the high school] I was the only one up in front of the class everyday. Actually I could have passed the class four times over because every time you got in front of the class you got extra credit. That was the only class I got an A in, and it was the funniest report card because it read Speech - A but everything else was just D, D, D, D.
     I started talking about things that everybody could relate to. And that's not to say I deserted my roots; I just found a way to talk about things in a broad way. By putting myself out there the way I've been doing people see me as a real person. Even though I do character voices and funny noises the stories are still real, and I put them all out there. People understand when I talk about my son not listening, or issues at home or his real dad coming back into the picture, or even stories about family members not seeing eye to eye with what you're doing. I talked about the stuff so openly that people are able to connect and relate. I put everything out there [into the network], and if I'm having a bad time, people know about it. 
     People see a big dude and they hear that high pitched voice or "Eglasias with an 'I'" and love it because they can relate and go "I know that person!". That's one thing about my shows. I tell people, I'm not a comedian, I'm just a really funny reporter. I put my life out there and make it entertaining. By putting it out there, it helps me to deal with it, you know, so I don't snap and so I don't go off the handle when I get home. I'm never home. I miss birthdays. I miss holidays. I miss anniversaries. I miss special moments. I'm not always there for important times, because I'm out on the road trying to make people laugh. I give up my privacy. I give up the ability to walk somewhere and relax.

 


Gabriel Iglesias

Kenneth Davis

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

 
SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     July 16, 2024: Watch for the temptation to be discouraged and receive unwarranted criticism. Know that you are My own special treasure, and disparaging words are not from Me, says the Lord. The correction that I bring will not result in despair, but will give hope for newness of life and an opportunity to grow spiritually. Galatians 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N
TODAY'S  WORDS - UNWARRANTED CRITICISM

HISTORIC WORDS PREVIOUSLY SPOKEN !!!!!!!!!!

     Too often we... enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office. The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last.

     Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American's freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the citizens of this plight. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission. We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence — on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day

     There is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.

John F. Kennedy

Kenneth Davis

     Extending a gracious "Thank You", to everyone who sent a text message, posted on the website or telephoned Sunday. Birthdays are never the same, but they are special when others think enough of you to extend well wishes on your behalf. Your kindness will forever be appreciated. Stay safe and thank each of you, for reading and supporting our website.....

Kenneth Davis

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S  WORDS - COURAGE TO ENDURE

     Consider the possibility of infinite possibility. Magic happens when you tell the universe what you want it to do for you; miracles happen when you ask how you can be of service to the universe. If you know what changes a heart, you know what changes the world. Ego says, "Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace". Spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place". Inner peace doesn't come from getting what we want, but from remembering who we are. ‎"Nothing binds you except your thoughts; nothing limits you except your fear; and nothing controls you except your beliefs. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love.
     Miracles begin when we consider the possibility that there might be another way. In each of us, there lies a divine connection to a power more powerful than hate or violence. Today is the day to attune to that power and use it on behalf of peace on earth. It is not too late. You are not too old. You are right on time-And you are better than you know. We are not here to fix, change or belittle another person. We are here to support, forgive and heal one another. With every thought we think, we either summon or block a miracle. It is not our circumstances, then, but rather our thoughts about our circumstances, that determine our power to transform them.
     You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think. Think bigger. Forget limits. Embrace the idea of endless possibility.... It will change you. Let's forgive the past and who we were then. Let's embrace the present and who we're capable of becoming. Let's surrender the future and watch miracles unfold. It takes courage...to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.

     Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, speaker, and perennial political candidate. She began her professional career as spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. Williamson has written several self-help books, including A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles in 1992, which became a New York Times Best Seller. 

Kenneth Davis

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

Expert Doctors: A Non-Invasive Urine Test Just “Changed the Game” for Prostate Screening
Dr. Patricia Varacallo, DO
Updated: Apr. 24, 2024

     Most anyone who's experienced a prostate biopsy will understand the power of this advancement from University of Michigan researchers. Affecting nearly 13% of American men, prostate cancer is the most prevalent male cancer aside from skin cancer. The primary screening method for prostate cancer is the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, a blood test that measures a protein produced by both healthy and cancerous prostate cells. Elevated PSA levels suggest the presence of prostate cancer, but these levels can also be elevated due to other conditions, such as prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate) or benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlargement of the prostate).

     Prostate cancer varies widely in its progression: Some forms grow slowly and pose minimal risk, while others are aggressive and require immediate intervention. Historically, the challenge for doctors has been in determining which cases of prostate cancer are likely to spread without resorting to unnecessary biopsies. A prostate biopsy can be a painful experience, and some patients have discovered particular sensitivity when there’s a need for the clinician to collect multiple specimens for pathological examination.
     To address this challenge on both the patient’s side and the doctor’s, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center researchers have developed a new diagnostic tool: The MyProstateScore2.0 (MPS2) test. This new prostate cancer urine test, covered in the April 2024 issue of the peer-reviewed American Medical Association journal JAMA Oncology, is designed to differentiate between aggressive and non-aggressive forms of prostate cancer and, by doing so, has the potential to improve the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer.
Here’s what the researchers discovered
     The prostate cancer urine test assesses 18 genes linked to high-grade prostate cancer—cancers that are more likely to grow and spread. It targets cancers classified as Gleason 3+4=7 or Grade Group 2 (GG2) or higher. The Gleason score is a grading system used to assess the severity of prostate cancer, where higher scores indicate more severe forms of the disease. John T. Wei, MD, co-senior study author, chief of urology, and professor at Michigan Medicine, discussed this evolution of prostate cancer diagnosis in a press release: “Our standard test [PSA test] is lacking in terms of its ability to clearly identify those who have significant cancer. Twenty years ago, we were looking for any kind of cancer. Now we realize that slow-growing cancer doesn’t need to be treated. All of a sudden, the game changed.” Dr. Wei went on to help highlight what this means for patients: “Nobody wants to say, ‘Sign me up for another biopsy.’ We are always looking for alternatives and this is it.”
     This isn’t the first prostate cancer urine test developed by Dr. Wei and his colleagues. A previous version was created nearly a decade ago but failed to distinguish high-grade cancers. To develop the MPS2 test, the team analyzed over 58,000 genes and narrowed them down to 18, reliably indicating the presence of more serious disease. They then tested MPS2 on over 800 urine samples.
     The results were remarkable: The MPS2 test accurately identified GG2 or higher cancers and was nearly 100% effective at ruling out Grade Group 1 (GG1) cancers, which are less likely to progress and cause harm. “If you’re negative on this test, it’s almost certain that you don’t have aggressive prostate cancer,” explains Arul M. Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and professor of urology at Michigan Medicine.
How patient care for prostate cancer is improved
     The researchers found that MPS2 testing can help avoid up to 41% of unnecessary prostate biopsies, compared to just 11% with PSA testing alone. This is especially beneficial for men who have already undergone biopsies and face the prospect of additional procedures due to rising PSA levels. MPS2 testing improves patient care and aligns medical interventions more closely with individual health needs, marking a major step forward in the management of prostate cancer.
     If you’re wondering whether this prostate cancer screening will be available to you, for now the University of Michigan shares: “MPS2 is currently available through LynxDx, which is University of Michigan spin-off company that has an exclusive license from the university to commercialize MPS2. Patients interested in learning more can call the Michigan Medicine Cancer AnswerLine at 800-865-1125.”

     This is for information purpose only and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.

Kenneth Davis

        T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S WORDS - LIGHT OF LIFE

     Man is like a tree, with the mighty trunk of intellect, the spreading branches of imagination, and the roots of the lower instincts that bind him to the earth. The moral life, however, is the fruit he bears; in it his true nature is revealed. Act so as to encourage the best in others, and by so doing you will develop the best in yourself. We cannot adopt the way of living that was satisfactory a hundred years ago. The world in which we live has changed, and we must change with it.
     The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light. As the light of morning strikes now one peak and then another, some being illuminated while others are in the shadow, so the light of the essential moral principle shines now upon one duty and then upon another, while others are in the shadow.
     The unique personality, which is the real life in me, I cannot gain unless I search for the real life, the spiritual quality, in others. I am myself spiritually dead unless I reach out to the fine quality dormant in others. For it is only with the god enthroned in the innermost shrine of the other, that the god hidden in me, will consent to appear. When the light of the sun shines through a prism it is broken into beautiful colors, and when the prism is shattered, still the light remains. So does the life of life shine resplendent in the forms of our friends, and so, when their forms are broken, still their life remains; and in that life we are united with them; for the life of their life is also our life, and we are one with them by ties indissoluble.

     Felix Adler (August 13, 1851 – April 24, 1933) was a German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, influential lecturer on euthanasia, religious leader and social reformer who founded the Ethical Culture movement.

Kenneth Davis

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Just how far can we Throw Back Thursday

OH TO BE YOUNG AGAIN by Shalom Freedman

Oh to be young again

Oh to be free again

To be setting out

To have the whole of the road before one

To know it an adventure

One cannot know the end of -

Oh to be young again and setting out

Into the distance

The hero of one's own story

The adventurer going out farther than anyone has gone before

Into the great unknown-

Young fearless strong

With nothing behind one is afraid of

And nothing ahead too fearful to feared

On to be young again

As I never was

And in my old age

only dream to be now.

Kenneth Davis

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORDS - RISE ABOVE 

     There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
     If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important - and you do that by being genuine and humble. Living isn't just about doing for yourself, but what you do for others as well. We must look within ourselves, become responsible and provide fresh solutions if we ever want to do more than complain, or make excuses.
     May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. Learn to know yourself... to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings. Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do. The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good and leave behind what is bad.

Nelson Mandela

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 

Straight, No Chaser by Frank Morrison

Kenneth Davis

      T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 
TODAY'S WORDS - MOVE FORWARD

     If I can't change the people around me, I change the people around me. Try to find like-minded people. Don't choose your friends based on the outside, choose your friends based on your similar views or something that you can learn from. Reflect each day on all you have to be grateful for and you will receive more to be grateful for. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding don't come out of the microwave. You got to keep moving forward because the evil doesn't sleep. You can't master time, but you have to work your hardest to manage it. My advice to young people is ask older people questions and don't be afraid.
     Being positive is like going up a mountain. Being negative is like sliding down a hill. A lot of times, people want to take the easy way out, because it's basically what they've understood throughout their lives. Find like-minded people and try not to be individualized to the point where you try to fight it all and think about it all on your own. I came from a mother and father who always made me secure in my beliefs, and that's where the love came from. To live a life you love, you must Love the life you live. The real thing is the heart, you know the heart shouldn't be covered with concrete. I want to always move forward with everything I am doing. So, I do the radio show, speak at universities and other social institutions all around the world, appear on TV, and continue to create music all in the hope to keep the struggle alive. Share and enjoy the fruits of this planet.

I spread the message of hope and of unity. That's what gets me up in the morning. I can tell you what is wrong, but I can't tell you how to fix it. I'm a raptivist, not a politician. I deal in hope. 
Chuck D

     Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. 

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     July 21, 2024: In a vision I saw a huge rock that had been chiseled to be perfectly square; it was as high as it was wide and long. And, the Lord said: I am the Rock on which you must live. My word is your foundation. It is strong, immovable, and eternal. It represents your moral and spiritual ethic, and I am establishing that same ethic in those who have strayed from spiritual truth and righteousness. I will bring them back to that solid foundation. 1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

   T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORD - SOLID FOUNDATION

     You might not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control your response to your circumstances. Human beings are not perfect. Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. The sooner you learn that life is not fair, the better off you'll be, because you'll spend less time railing against life's unfairness and feeling aggrieved and entitled, and more time figuring out how to maximize your assets, and your talents and how to deal with things that you're not very good at. You have to have a strong sense of your values and a strong sense of who you are, because there are a lot of events and a lot of people who will pull you in this direction or that direction.
     Your friends and your family, if you're close to them, they won't let you get too far from who you were or from who you are. And so, I love staying close to people who've always known me. That's probably the best leavening that you could possibly have. Most days are not overwhelmingly successful in your life. And what really marks whether you're going to be successful is how well you deal with the bad days, not how well you deal with the good ones. It is a dangerous thing to ask why someone else has been given more. It is humbling - and indeed healthy - to ask why you have been given so much.
      I learned a lot about my parents, who were both teachers. I had known that my parents were very strongly in favor of education. I had known that they had an impact on a lot of people, but people came out of the woodwork who have said, "You know, without your father, I would never have gone to college," very successful people. And so, I learned how widespread their educational evangelism really was. Spirituality and faith are at the core of who I am. I was born to deeply religious parents who were able to give me that rock solid foundation in the church and in my faith which really has served me so well. It's so much a part of me that it's almost hard to describe myself in the absence of it. I know that for me it means asking for guidance, and that in the toughest times there's a personal savior that I can rely on. And I'm very grateful to my parents for giving me that. I'm happy and content in my life, and I chalk that up to wonderful parents and a wonderful God.

Kenneth Davis

  T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  
TODAY'S WORD - RELATIONSHIP

     I'm always happy. I've just got a mean face. If you born in the mud, you gonna be dirty, and people don't understand that. I was given the name by my brother when I was about eleven or twelve years old. He was older than me, and around that age I was starting to get into girls, and when they would call the house for him, and when he was not there, I would try to talk to them. I was trying to be the man and trying to get them to come and see me, not worrying about him. When he found out... he started calling me Ice Cube as a joke because he said I was trying to be too cool. I just liked it and started telling everybody in the hood "my name is Ice Cube."
     Money comes and goes, but your inner feelings, your gut feelings, your manhood, your womanhood, whatever, that stays with you. That don't go anywhere. So, you either proud of who you are and how you handle situations, or you are not. If you handle a situation wrong, you, it will haunt you. Money is the root of all evil. Yeah, money is the root. It's not racism and "this-ism" and "that-ism"; it's our thirst and hunger for money. And that's where all the bodies are buried. If you give anybody the chance, they can always make a decent human being out of themselves. It's the people that don't have a chance, that we look down at like they're monsters or they're animals or that they want something different than the rest of us.
     I'm always open, and will criticize myself, too. And I just think being that honest with everybody puts you in a different space than somebody who's just shooting venom at a certain group or a certain amount of individuals. I identify with the bottom of the pyramid, because, outside of having money, I am at the bottom of the pyramid. I wish the world would become what God wanted it to be in the first place, before we tampered with it. I think people, if you really want to be happy, you have to find God yourself, and you're going to have to have a personal, one-on-one relationship and not look to get through these traditions or these rituals and all this crazy stuff when you could talk to him right here, right now, anytime, anywhere, any place, from any position. And that's the kind of relationship you want, not a standard.

Ice Cube

Kenneth Davis

IT'S TIME FOR 
JUST JOKING MONDAYS

The guy who stole my diary just died. My thoughts are with his family.

My grief counselor died the other day. He was so good at his job, I don’t even care.

Give a man a plane ticket and he flies for the day. Push him out of the plane at 3,000 feet and he’ll fly for the rest of his life.

Do you know the last thing my grandfather said to me before he kicked the bucket? “Grandson, watch how far I can kick this bucket.”

A doctor walks into a room with a dying patient and tells him, “I’m sorry, but you only have ten left.” The patient asks him, “Ten what, Doc? Hours? Days? Weeks?” The doctor calmly looks at him and says, “Nine.”

THE LAST LAUGH

     Everyone is born. Everyone dies. It’s only the stuff that happens in the middle that makes us unique. Most tombstones either skip over that part entirely or offer mere platitudes about the person buried below. With every life reduced to a name and two dates, is it any wonder cemeteries can be so depressing? Occasionally, however, a tombstone offers a clue or two about who someone was and how they impacted the people in their lives.

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     July 23, 2024: You can now deal with issues that have been left unattended, but you will need wisdom. You are not without help. Ask, and I will show you the way. Insights that have seemed to escape you will be readily available, says the Lord. Quiet your trepidation and fear of failure, and put your faith in Me. Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

    T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N   
TODAY'S WORD - TREPIDATION

     Apparently God makes us all different. Some of us are happy to respond to His individual touch on our lives by remaining individuals, and others of us are intimidated or frightened into trying to become like each other so that we have company, so that we don't feel so lonely. Don't ask me for answers, I've only got one. That a man leaves the darkness, when he follows the son. I'm fishing for men with a certain kind of bait, and the bait that I am offering is not a candy; it's a very specific thing that I'm offering, which is a deep gospel and a deep conversion. I want to encourage other people to try to discover who they are, not to try to fit into some superficial prototype of what they think a Christian should be, but to discover who they really are.

     I think we should all be servants. To be really great in God's eyes is to be least among each other and serve each other. We need worship for our spirit, fellowship for our soul and committed subservience for our body. Look deep inside, and when you locate the sadness, give it a vacation, and focus on the simple things. Christians don't seem to be as aware of, or as sensitive to, the dire state of humanity as they are about the pleasant growth of their Christian Walk.

     I feel that Christian music is a subculture directed towards the Christians. It's not really being exposed to non-Christians, and it's not really created for non-Christians, so non-Christians almost never hear any of this music. All music written by a Christian should be as integrated as everything else done by a Christian. Gospel songs to me are about the mansion in the sky, and washed in the blood of Christ's crimson blood, songs that are filled with biblical wording that's no longer understood by a lot of people.

     I don't live my life as a Christian with trepidation, feeling that perhaps I've failed to give the best gospel possible on each occasion, but realising that God's taking care of a lot through his Holy Spirit. Jesus got me through the slums without getting murdered. I just walked with him as though he were really there and not a spirit just floating around. I'm only here on Earth to serve God. I never had a career. I don't care about commercialism. I have a ministry and I'll fight for the ministry.

     Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 albums.

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)