FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine - Issue 37 Vol 4 # 7 July 2003 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. 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: The Fable of the Milk-jug Natural Remedies: Chicken pox Prayer Thought: Peace Slips that go Pass in the Type: Unemployment What's On? Seminars & Workshops Repeatable Quotable: Building Castles in the Air Article: Are you a goose? Havagiggle: The Tax Claim Split Second Wisdom: Marriages that Last The Extensive Exposition: Receiving God's Rest in Christ The Funny Bone: Honk, Honk Sermon Snippet: The Correct Scale of Values Theologically Speaking: Let Those Who Know... Freebies: Reading Acceleration Software From My Case Files: Tell Me You Love Me Take a Hint: Children's letters to God Cooks Corner: Caribbean Rice Letters to the Editor Watch This Space Subscription & Other Information And in Closing: Letting Go FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine -FreEzine Editorial: The Fable of the Milk-jug Last night I had a dream. As this is quite unusual for me (I usually do my dreaming in the daytime!), this morning I made a point of writing down the things that I remembered from the dream. In my dream there was a wise old miser living in a mountain cave behind a waterfall. As he neared the end of his life, he sent word into the nearby town that whoever could carry a clean milk-milk-jug under the waterfall without getting water in it would have his milk-jug filled with gold. The next day, many townsfolk lined up at the waterfall with their milk-jugs. Many carried them in bags, but as the miser could not see their milk-jugs as they came through the waterfall, they got no gold. Others covered their jugs with covers, but a covered milk-jug can receive no gold either. Still others carried their milk-jugs upside-down. But an upside-down milk-jug cannot be filled. One smart person had filled his milk-jug with water and frozen it overnight so that no water from the waterfall could get into the jug. But a milk-jug filled with frozen water could hold no gold either. Another filled his milk-jug with axle-grease to prevent the water getting in, but then his milk-jug was no longer clean. However, one person had filled his milk-jug with honey. When he came through the waterfall, no water could enter the milk-jug. When the miser poured in the gold, the clean sweet honey overflowed and was shared with and enjoyed by the gathered townsfolk. I awoke with an interpretation of the dream on my mind: 'When we are filled with sweetness there is no room for anything undesirable and as we share the sweetness it is replaced by a greater treasure'. -- Lionel Hartley, Editor 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: Chicken pox Try an oatmeal bath. In a blender, grind dry rolled oats into a very fine powder. Add two cups to a bath of lukewarm water. Simply pat skin dry. -- Pamela Allardice, Natural therapist Prayer Thought: Peace At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky And flinging the clouds and the towers by, Is a place of central calm; So here in the roar of mortal things, I have a place where my spirit sings, In the hollow of God's palm. -- Edwin Markham (1852-1940), Editor's Archives Slips that go Pass in the Type: Unemployment "Now we are trying to get unemployment to go up and I think we're going to succeed." --Ronald Reagan What's On? Seminars & Workshops: Check out the following web sites: ; ; . Repeatable Quotable: If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. -- Henry David Thoreau Article: Are you a goose? Remember the banana: 'when it left the bunch, it got skinned'! "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25) Few sights evoke as much attention, and awe, as that of a large flock of Canadian geese winging their way in their V-formation to the north or south. They speak of the changing of seasons, and also of the value of teamwork. What many don't know is that when a goose gets sick, or perhaps is wounded by a shot, it never falls from formation by itself. Two other geese also fall out of formation with it and follow the ailing goose down to the ground. One of them is very often the mate of the wounded bird, since geese mate for life and are extremely loyal to their mates. Once on the ground, the healthy birds help protect him and care for him as much as possible, even to the point of throwing themselves between the weakened bird and possible predators (can you feel it?). They stay with him until he is either able to fly, or until he is dead. Then, and only then, do they launch out on their own. In most cases, they wait for another group of geese to fly overhead and they join them, adding to the safety and flying efficiency of their numbers. If only we human would care for one another this well! Stick with your friends, and more importantly, stick by them. --SPDlive, Havagiggle: The Tax Claim Caption below cartoon of response from IRS agent: "I don't care how needy they are, Rev. Casey. You just can't claim your congregation as 'three hundred co-dependents.' " -- Cartoon by Erik Johnson, Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 3. Split Second Wisdom: In Hollywood a marriage is a success if it outlasts milk. -- Rita Rudner 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. 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: Receiving God's Rest in Christ by Dr.V.Streifling Articles may be obtained free by writing to the editor and asking for the article by name. The Funny Bone: Honk, Honk A man's car stalled in the heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the first driver and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to get my car started. If you'll go up there and give it a try, I'll stay here and blow your horn for you. 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 free Style Guide 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. Sermon Snippet: The Correct Scale of Values `Seek first His kingdom and his righteousness ... ' (Matthew 6:33) The closer life is studied, the more apparent is the necessity for order. Quality of life depends on a correct scale of values. When Jesus told us to seek God's kingdom first, He was not contemptuous of other interests. He had been a carpenter. He knew that life would simply not work for those who wished to idle by, lost in religious reverie. He who brought the abundant life to us insisted on a proper ordering of affairs. When first things are given first place, life is melodious. If secondary things are primary, life descends into a trough of discord. A student enters University to study humanities. Two ways lie before him. He can study, thinking only of the degree that he will earn when he passes. Else, he can study to soak up the spirit of a literature. He may seek personal enrichment, through contact with the thought and desires of fellow creatures long departed. Or, he might simply think of the prize of academic recognition. If he does the latter, he will be poorer for it! He will have missed the endowment that his course of study potentially offered. His intellectual achievement will lack lustre. Think of the difference between a good doctor and a bad one. A doctor who thinks only of his fee, is believed to be less a physician than one who thinks of his patients. There is nothing wrong with being paid a fee for service. It is right and good that this be so. But if money is the primary motive for a doctor, he loses stature; there is something about him that jars. A large bank penalises small depositors by raising fees. Its advocates defend this move by saying, the bank has a responsibility to its shareholders. Of course this is true, the bank has. But we cannot be content with what the bank has done. The bank's priorities need to be reviewed in light of the interests of the kingdom of God. Those concerns are best read in the acts and teachings of Jesus. While he would have respected the shareholder, he would also have pitied the poorest and littlest toiler. He would have come to his defence. Jesus was right, life works best when God is number one! May the Spirit of Christ bring order and symmetry to your life and mine. -- Ron Allen (GNA 4/98), Theologically Speaking: Let Those Who Know... A monastery in Germany trained Christian brothers for various responsibilities within the Roman Catholic Church. One Christian Brother in training lived in mortal fear of being called upon to preach the sermon in the daily chapel exercises. As this young man thought about his apprehension, he decided to head it off by going to the monitor of the monastery and discussing the problem with him. In the course of the conversation he said, "Sir, I am willing to do any menial job that you assign me. I would be delighted to go out into the fields and plough, fertilise, and irrigate them by hand to increase the productivity. If you would care for me to do so, I would be happy to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the floors here in the monastery. It would be a privilege for me to polish the silverware. Any menial job that you call upon me to do I shall be happy to do. However, please don't ask me to preach a sermon in the chapel." The monitor, looking at the young man and recognising that an assignment to preach was exactly what he needed, replied, "Tomorrow you are to conduct the chapel and preach the sermon." The next day as this young brother stood behind the pulpit and looked out into the eyes of his peers who had assembled in the sanctuary, he was greatly apprehensive. He was so nervous he hardly knew what to do. He started his sermon by asking, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" They all shook their heads in the negative. He continued, "Neither do I. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." Naturally, the monitor was infuriated by this. He said to the young man, "I am going to give you a second chance. Tomorrow you are to conduct the service in the chapel, and this time I want you to preach a message." The next day the scene was the same. And the young man began as he had the day before, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" When they all nodded their heads in the affirmative, he said, "Since you already know, there is no point in my saying it. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." The monitor was livid with anger. Once again he went to the young brother and literally roared at him, "I am tired of your chicanery. Tomorrow I am going to give you a third chance. If you don't come through, I am going to put you in solitary confinement on bread and water." The third day the scene was the same. The brother began as he had the two previous days, "Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?" Some nodded their heads in the affirmative. Some shook their heads in the negative. He then said, "Let those who know tell those who don't. Let's stand for the benediction. Pax vobiscum." --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 179-180. Freebies: Reading Acceleration Software RAM (Reading Acceleration Machine) is a programme that gives you control over reading from the monitor screen. RAM is a tachistoscope (a rapid text viewer) that allows you to set the exact speed and the look of text that is flashed to your screen. RAM is available free for Windows 9x/NT courtesy of Claude Pavur at Saint Louis University. RAM can be downloaded from From My Case Files: Tell Me You Love Me After three decades of counselling, your editor (a retired sociologist) sometimes ponders some of the things which 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 protest privacy. Maggie lamented, "He never tells me that he loves me!" Egbert replies, "I do so! I told you twice before we were married and once on our wedding night. And, if I change my mind, I'll tell you." Take a Hint: Try a letter to God. Here is what some children have written: Dear God, please help me be the person my dog thinks I am. - Unknown Dear God, In Sunday School they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation? - Jane Dear God, I think about You sometimes even when I'm not praying. - Elliot Dear God, Did You really mean "do unto others as they do unto you?" Because if you did, then I'm going to fix my brother. - Darla Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. - Margret Dear God, I read the Bible. What does "begat" mean? Nobody will tell me. - Love, Allison Dear God, Are you really invisible or is that a trick? - Lucy Dear God, Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? - Anita Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an ccident? - Norma Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't You just keep the ones You have now? - Jane Dear God, Who draws the lines around countries? - Nan Dear God, The bad people laughed at Noah and said, "You made an ark on dry land you fool!" But Noah was smart, he stuck with You. That's what I would do. - Eddie Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that kay? - Neil Dear God, What does it mean You are a Jealous God? I thought You had verything. - Jane Dear God, Thank You for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. - Joyce Dear God, Why is Sunday School on Sunday? I thought it was supposed to be our day of rest. - Tom L. Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. - Bruce Dear God, If we come back as something - please don't let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate her. - Denise Dear God, My brother is a rat. Could You give him a tail? - Danny Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. - Larry Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. - Sam Dear God, You don't have to worry about me. I always look both ways. - Dean Dear God, I bet it is 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. - Nan Dear God, Of all the people who work for You, I like Noah and David the best. - Rob Dear God, My brother told me about being born but it doesn't sound right. They're just kidding, aren't they? - Marsha Dear God, If You watch me in Church on Sunday, I'll show You my new shoes. - Mickey Dear God, I would like to live 900 years like the guy in the Bible. - Love, Chris Dear God, We read Thomas Edison made light. But in school they said You did it. So, I bet he stoled Your idea. Sincerely, Donna Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want You to know but I am not just saying that because You are God already. - Charles --illustrations@onelist.com Cooks Corner: Caribbean Rice Earlier this month my wife and I visited a ginger processing factory in South-east Queensland. The smell of the ginger reminded me of a recipe for Caribbean Rice, which uses ginger as a flavour enhancer. (Not a suitable recipe for people who believe that fruit and vegetables should not be cooked together!) Here is your editor's version of Caribbean Rice: 2 cups hot cooked rice; 2 or 3 peeled, pitted and diced mandarin oranges; 1 cup of drained crushed pineapple; 1/2 cup chopped red capsicum; 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds; 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut, toasted (to toast coconut, spread grated coconut on an un-greased baking sheet and toast at 300 degrees F. for 1 minute); 1/3 cup sliced green onions, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Combine rice, mandarin oranges, pineapple, capsicum, almonds, coconut, green onions, and ginger in large frying-pan or wok over medium-high heat. Stir and cook until ingredients are blended and thoroughly heated. Letters to the Editor CG asks, How do I make a bootable floppy disk to start up my computer in DOS? Dear CG, if you do not have bootable floppy disk, you can make easily by following these steps: FROM MS DOS Prompt - Boot the system in MS-DOS or Command Prompt mode, - Insert a blank floppy and type: FORMAT A: /S and follow the instructions on the screen. FROM WINDOWS 95/98/ME - Boot the system in Windows 95/98/ME. - Open the "Control Panel" and click the "Add/Remove Programs" icon. - Switch to tab "Startup Disk" and click the button "Startup Disk" and follow the instructions (If you just want a bootable disk without the Windows start-up files, Right-mouse-click your [A:] drive icon in 'My Computer' and choose Format, then select System Files.) FROM WINDOWS XP - Boot the system in Windows XP - Insert blank floppy disk, and right-click A: drive in Windows Explorer - Choose "Format", and select the "Create an MS-DOS startup disk" option. Click the "Start" button --Editor 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 () no less than monthly and sent out ONLY to those who request it. As FreEzine 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. To change your email address, please send a blank message to and type ADDRESS CHANGE in the subject line. To unsubscribe, simply send a blank message (we invite your comments also) to and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. It is NOT necessary to access a website and/or go through a complicated ritual to unsubscribe from FreEzine! Privacy: Protecting your privacy is very important to us. 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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. 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 Symantics'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. 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. PS. This could be your next home: Check out And, in closing: Letting Go To let go is not to care for, but to care about. To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive. To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. To let go is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies. To let go is not to deny, but to accept. To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them. To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future. To let go is not to cut myself off. It's the realisation that I can't control another. To let go is not to try to change or blame another. It's to make the most of myself. To let go is to fear less and to love more. -- Author unknown, Christian Reader, Vol. 34.