Twenty-Six Little Soldiers All my life, my very favorite human invention has been the alphabet: twenty-six little soldiers ready to do battle at my command. They are all lined up there, neatly in alphabetical order, and when they are called out in squadrons, think of what they can do: they can shout orders, croon lullabies, scream in agony, whisper in ecstasy, dissolve ambiguities, resolve conflict, punctuate pretension, express tenderness, build up, or tear down. They can exaggerate or diminish. They can comfort or control. They can hurt or they can heal. Twenty-six little letters-the alphabet! Now you tell me a better invention. Alone, these individual units are all but meaningless, but when they come together they can change the course of history. And that's often the way we are as people. We need each other. Two are better than one. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3-4).

-- Luci Swindoll

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that thou art: Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Ancient Irish Prayer, Translated by Mary Byrne

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Psalms 143:8

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."

Proverbs 16:31

I guess I'm becoming more righteous. :)

The prophet Elijah was intolerant of Jezebel; the apostle Paul was intolerant of witchcraft books. Thomas Jefferson was intolerant of King George Third, and George Washington was intolerant of British troops. Frederick Douglass was intolerant of slavery, and Susan B. Anthony intolerant of men only voting. Amy Carmichael was intolerant of child prostitution, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer was intolerant of anti-semitism. Winston Churchill was intolerant of Hitler, and Martin Luther King Jr of segregation. Lech Walesa was intolerant of communism, and Mother Theresa of abortion. Intolerance is a beautiful thing.

Randall Terry