FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - International Standard Serial Number ISSN 1449-7425 Issue 58 Vol 6 # 4 April 2005 FreEzine is a free email magazine/newsletter containing articles of interest from a Christian perspective and is published no less than monthly. FreEzine is NOT Spam and is only sent to people who request it. If you ever want to stop (or start) receiving FreEzine you'll find instructions at the end of this newsletter. FreEzine is also available in Spanish - La Revista libre de Ezine, French - La Revue de Ezine libre, German - FreiEzine Zeitschrift, Italian - La Rivista di Ezine libera, and Portuguese - Revista livre de Ezine. A special "hello" to all of our new subscribers. We welcome and appreciate feedback on how we can improve this e-zine for you. IF YOU FIND THIS NEWSLETTER USEFUL... ... PLEASE FORWARD IT TO FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES! IN THIS ISSUE: Editorial: Phosphorescent Guide Prayer Line: From My Case Files: Monthly Pain Letter to the Editor: Lorem Ipsum... Daffy-nitions: Sport What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: For Us Those Arms Outstretched Article: Who You Are Makes A Difference! By Helice Bridges Natural Remedies: Head Lice Havagiggle: Courteous Christians Split Second Wisdom: Come Home The Extensive Exposition: Marked Bible Mini-studies The Funny Bone: Disruptive School Kids Theologically Speaking: A Prayer for our Home Sermon Snippet: From the Perspective of a Child Freebies Online Take a Hint: Soap Holder Cooks Corner: Vegetarian Casserole Mince with Mushrooms Watch This Space Subscription & Other Information And in Closing: Topical Wisdom FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine Editorial: Phosphorescent Guide I am writing this issue of FreEzine from Numinbah in Queensland where my wife and I are staying at the Log Cabin Campsite as volunteers for a couple of weeks while the regular caretakers are on holiday. This weekend we are hosts for a Ministers' Retreat. Late last night we had a problem with the water supply (we use rainwater pumped from a bore, filtered and stored in a tank on the hillside in the overgrown rainforest above the campsite). With the aid of a small torch, I climbed the hill though the dense forest to repair a fault in the waterline. It was easy to trace the meandering path while going uphill as the torch lit up the slope above me. However, I wondered how I would be able to easily find my way down again in the dark with only the weak torchlight to guide me. Once I had repaired the fault, I turned to make my descent in the dark and was surprised to see that as I had earlier climbed uphill, where the torchlight had shone, it had fallen upon rows of tiny mushroom-like fungi that now glowed a phosphorescent path down the slope. All I had to do was follow the row of tiny "lights". As I returned to the campsite, I thanked the creator for His guidance, while remembering the words of the Psalmist, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" Psalm 119:105. --Editor Prayer Line: If you have a prayer request, it can be either confidentially shared via a new Personal Prayer Request website or posted in FreEzine. Check out our website for the links. Request: Please could you pray for a 19 year-old Indian girl (Roshica) in Fiji who has renal failure and is unable at present to access appropriate treatment. From My Case Files: Monthly Pain After three decades of counselling, your editor (a retired sociologist) sometimes ponders some of the things that have come up in counselling that, in retrospect, contain an element of humour. This section will be included from time to time to share some of these snippets. Names have been changed to protect privacy. Maggie lamented to me, 'Egbert's lucky. He doesn't have to put up with PMT, monthly cramps, bloated belly, sore breasts, up and down moods, or the fear of pregnancy.' Then, turning to Egbert, she added, 'You never have to put up with a painful problem every month!' 'Oh yes I do,' responded Egbert, 'every month I have to put up with you!' Letters to the Editor Cantos de poetry, Catchwords, Changes, Clamourings, Clichés, Commendations, Comments, Commercials, Complaints, Compliments, Congratulates, Credits, Cries, Criticisms, Critiques? We'll Take All! Letter: FreEzine, Thank you for answering my question in the last issue in relation to pangrams and holalphabetic sentences. I seem to remember reading a Latin (I think it was) holalphabetic sentence once and wondered if you might know what it is? Regards, RC Reply: RC, the phrase that I think you may be referring to is most likely "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, diam nonnumy eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolo..." as this, although nonsensical Latin, it is the most famous Latin pangram text and it is still used, in a remarkably little-altered form, by typographical designers today. The phrase actually makes little sense, but a little research reveals that it is composed from fragments of a passage in Cicero's De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (45BC): "Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..." (" There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it, and wants to have it, simply because it is pain...") Tradition suggests that almost half a millennium ago a printer scrambled a galley of type to produce the first pangram for a specimen book. The text was in Latin, of course, and so only 23 letters were required (Latin does not use J , V or W; however V is now used to represent the consonantal U, and sometimes J to represent consonantal I). There are many, many versions of the lorem ipsum pangram sentence, and you are unlikely to come across any two that are identical. It has evolved slowly with use, through a combination of typing errors and deliberate - usually subtle - humorous additions. Some versions are no longer than the example given above, whilst others have been extended to several hundred words. Most importantly, especially when the text is used to demonstrate a font, the letters not found in the Latin alphabet have been added in too. You may be beginning to wonder why it is necessary to use Latin, and nonsense Latin at that, in typographical design and font examples. There are a number of reasons why the lorem ipsum pangram text is used. Not only does it include every available letter, but it is represents a typical English sentence in terms of word length too, thus obtaining the same balance as real text. A further advantage is that, since this text conveys no meaning, a reader who is supposed to be scrutinising a page layout or font face (looking for formatting errors, etc.) does not get distracted by the subject of the text. Here is a longer version: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ulliam corper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem veleum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel willum lunombro dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. --Editor (Resourced for RC from the editor's archives) Daffy-nitions: Sport: "Half this game is ninety percent mental." -- Philadelphia Phillies manager Danny Ozark What's On? Seminars & Workshops: For information on free lifestyle seminars, see . Information on the 2005 GNU Seminars is available from . Also a number of free lectures are advertised on . Repeatable Quotable: For Us Those Arms Outstretched It was for us those hands became nail pierced! That brow so noble, blood stained from its crown of thorns, those arms outstretched with love embraced humanity, that by His grace again we may be born! -- Helen M. Weston Cited in Louise C. Kleuser, The Bible Instructor in Personal and Public Evangelism, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington D.C., 1949 Article: Who You Are Makes A Difference! A teacher in New York decided to honour each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters that read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference." Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three I more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honoured whom and report back to the class in about a week. One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honoured him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honour, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened." Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favour? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honouring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people." That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says 'Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honour. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honour with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honour you. Did you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!" The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to." -- Helice Bridges (Also submitted to Chicken Soup for the Soul Volume 1) (Editor's Archives) Natural Remedies: Exploring some of nature's hygiene helpers and ways to fix basic ills, chills, aches and pains. Common sense is paramount - some of these hints are health related, and if you have a medical condition such high blood pressure, are taking prescription medication or are in any way unsure whether you should follow the self-help suggestion/s provided, consult a doctor or natural therapist. This month: Head lice Add 10 drops of thyme essential oil to one teaspoon of shampoo. Mix well and apply the mixture to the scalp and hair. Leave the shampoo in the hair for five minutes before rinsing thoroughly with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water. (Note: Because it is so powerful, is must be used with caution, and should never be applied undiluted to the skin or scalp.) -- Pamela Allardice, Natural therapist Havagiggle: Courteous Christians Why are there no courteous Christians in Heaven yet? Because they are all still at the gates, saying to each other: "After you", "No, I insist, after you..." Split Second Wisdom: "Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home." -- Bill Cosby The Extensive Exposition. Each issue we will make available a longer article available by email free to those who request it. This is to keep the FreEzine a readable length yet make available more in-depth material for those who are interested. It is important to note that articles provided under this section do not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. In some issues more than one article will be available under this section and articles will need to be asked for by name to save confusion. We have no separate mailing list for the automatic despatch of articles in The Extensive Exposition so a separate request will need to be made for each article. This month's article is the full text of the Marked Bible Mini-studies This is in Adobe Acrobat format, resourced from the editor's archives and made available free by writing to the editor and asking for the article by name. (Please check the available space in your email box before requesting articles (10k req.) The Funny Bone: Disruptive School Kids What did the cross-eyed schoolteacher say to his (her) disruptive children? - "I can't control my pupils." Aside: Are you a writer, a poet or an illustrator? If you have something you have written or illustrated that you would like to consider having published, a free 60 page Style Guide is available online at , or from the Editor of this FreEzine. There is no charge for publishing and YOU receive payment on publication (see the publisher's Style Sheet for details). Publishing formats include Books, Pamphlets, Leaflets, Magazines & Ezines, Online video & audio, CD-ROM & floppy-disk electronic books & multimedia, Video & Audio tapes and Talking Books & audio CDs. Theologically Speaking: A Prayer for our Home God grant our home may always be A place of quiet prayer -- A peaceful spot, because Thou art The loving Master there! And may an air of happiness Fill every room and hall, And cheer the hearts of those who dwell And friendly guests who call! May respect and faith and courage, A strong foundation be -- A monument down here below Of our deep love for Thee. -- Jon Gilbert (Courtesy of a reader) Sermon Snippet: From the Perspective of a Child 1. Dear God, Please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now. Amanda 2. Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. Joyce 3. Dear Mr. God, I wish you would not make it so easy for people to come apart. I had to have 3 stitches and a shot. Janet 4. Dear God, I read the bible. What does beget mean? Nobody will tell me. Love, Alison 5. Dear God, How did you know you were God? Who told you? Charlene 6. Dear God, Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house? Anita 7. Dear God, I bet it's very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nancy 8. Dear God, I like the story about Noah the best of all of them. You really made up some good ones. I like walking on water, too. Glenn 9. Dear God, My Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Love, Dennis 10. Dear God, Do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does? Nathan 11. Dear God, Did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident? Norma 12. Dear God, In bible times, did they really talk that fancy? Jennifer 13. Dear God, How come you did all those miracles in the old days and don't do any now? Billy 14. Dear God, Please send Pat Freeman to a different summer camp this year. Paula 15. Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they each had their own rooms. It works out OK with me and my brother. Larry 16. Dear God, I keep waiting for spring, but it never did come yet. What's up? Don't forget. Mark 17. Dear God, My brother told me about how you are born but it just doesn't sound right. What do you say? Marsha 18. Dear God, If you watch in Church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes. Barbara 19. Dear God, Is Reverend Coe a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business? Donny 20. Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that. I am not just saying that because you are already God. Charles 21. Dear God, It is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can't you do that with the moon? Jeff 22. Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Really. Frank 23. Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool. Thomas --Submitted by a reader. Freebies Online Check out www.geocities.com/gratisgift. Freebies available while stocks last. Take a Hint: Soap Holders Place a sponge in your soap holders and leave cakes of soap on the sponge. You then have pre-soaped sponges for use in the bath or shower, and you won't have soapy slime left on your bathroom surfaces. Cooks Corner: Vegetarian Casserole Mince with Mushrooms 1 tin Vegetarian Casserole Mince , 1 small tin mushrooms (or use fresh mushrooms), 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup carrot strips, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 capsicum, chopped, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1 tablespoon gravy thickener. Sauté celery, onion, carrot and capsicum in water, add soy sauce and cook a couple of minutes. Add peas, casserole mince, mushrooms, salt and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes. Thicken with gravy thickener. Serve with brown rice, noodles or mashed potato. Watch This Space: Future issues will include other sections not listed here. Why not write to us suggesting what you would like to see included. Subscription Information: FreEzine is a free email magazine/newsletter, published by Lionel Hartley, PhD () no less than monthly and sent out ONLY to those who request it. As FreEzine only uses an opt-in email list, we never buy or otherwise obtain email addresses. Although we encourage our readers to forward a copy of FreEzine to their friends and invite them to subscribe, we have a strictly No Spam Policy. To subscribe, please send an email telling us where you heard about FreEzine, to and type SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. 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A note on the format: Your editor has considered many possible formats, including a colourfully illustrated E-book, hypertext WebPages, Portable Document Format (.pdf), etc. Reluctantly, plain text was chosen to make this ezine available to the greatest number of users - DOS, Windows(R), Macintosh, etc. Address all correspondence to the editor Please do not use "Reply To Sender" email option as a commercial or other unrelated distributor may occasionally send out this magazine. Free offers in FreEzine of CD-ROMs, software, posters, additional articles, screensavers, etc. have a time limit which is normally until the issue of the next edition of FreEzine. Special exceptions are sometimes made and also freebies are listed online where they can be accessed long after the issue date (while stocks last), Back issues of FreEzine are available at and In order to cater for a variety of tastes and beliefs, the content of FreEzine does not always reflect totally the beliefs of the editor. E&OE. Although all care has been taken to check details in this newsletter but no responsibility can be taken if information is inaccurate. The Editor would appreciate being informed of erroneous information so that it may be corrected. Contents of FreEzine are COPYRIGHT and we make every endeavour to acknowledge sources. (Our extensive search for copyright sometimes causes some articles to appear in FreEzine some considerable time after they were written). You may freely quote from FreEzine PROVIDED is cited as a reference source. Occasional contributions from Good News Australia are used with permission. YOUR contributions and comments most welcome. Although all out-going emails are scanned using Symantic's Norton AntiVirus with the most recent virus definitions, FreEzine cannot warrant or represent that this communication (including any enclosed files) is totally free from any electronic viruses, faults or defects. And, in Closing: Topical Wisdom Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. Don't believe all that you hear, spend all that you have or sleep all that you want. When you say, "I love you", mean it. Believe in love at first sight. Be engaged at least six months before you get married. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. -- People who don't have dreams don't have much. Love deeply and passionately -- you might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. In disagreements, fight fairly. Please No name-calling. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye. Don't judge people by their relatives. Talk slowly but think quickly. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?" Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. Say, "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. When you lose, don't lose the lesson Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice. Spend some time alone. -- Contributed by a reader