Where to look when you… are seeking wisdom

The Day Bart Simpson Prayed

Lee Strobel, What would Jesus Say

Bart wasn't doing well in the fourth grade. When he flunked his book report on Treasure Island because he only knew what was on the cover, that was the last straw. His teacher called a meeting with Bart's parents and the school psychiatrist, whose conclusion was that Bart repeat the fourth grade.

Bart was horrified! "Look at my eyes, he said. "See the sincerity? See the conviction? See the fear? I swear, I'll do better!" After all, nothing's worse to a ten year old than being held back in school.

But Bart hatched a plan. He made a deal with brainy student name Martin. He'd teach Martin how to be cool if Martin will help him pass his next American History exam. That final test was monumentally important because if he passed it, Bart would be allowed to graduate.
Bart did teach Martin the fine points of being cool- how to burp on command, how to spray paint graffiti on garage doors, how to shoot a slingshot at unsuspecting girls. And sure enough, Martin became the most popular kid in school- so popular, in fact, that he didn't have time to help Bart study.

Now picture this: It was the night before the big test. Bart was sitting at the desk of his room, staring at an open book, trying to study, when he came to the chilling realization that it was too late. He couldn't cram enough into his head in one night to be able to pass the test. Finally, his mom peeked into the room and said, "Its past your bedtime, Bart."

Slowly, Bart closed his book. With the exams hours away, it seemed like all of his options had evaporated. That's when he got down on his knees next to his bed and prayed to God.

"This is hopeless!" he said. "Well, Old Timer, I guess this is the end of the road. I know I havent been a good kid, but if I have to go to school tomorrow, I'll fail the test and be held back. I just need one more day to study. Lord, I need your help! A teacher strike, a power failure, a blizzard- anything that will cancel school tomorrow. I know it's asking a lot, but if anyone can do it, you can. Thanking you in advance, your pal, Bart Simpson."

The scene switched to an outside view of Bart's house. The lights in his room went out. It was cold and dark. A few moments passed, and then a single snowflake gently fell to the ground. Then another. And another. Suddenly, there was a virtual avalanche of snow; in fact, it was the biggest blizzard in the city's history! The "Hallelujah Chorus" swelled in the background.

The next day, school was cancelled. Bart fought the temptation to go sledding with his friends, and instead studied hard. Then the following day, when the time finally came for the test, he gave it his best shot, but he came up one point short. It looked like he had failed- until at the last possible moment, he miraculously scored one more point and squeaked by with a D minus.

Bart was s happy that he kissed his teacher as he scampered out the door. Homer was so overwhelmed that he posted Bart's paper on the refrigerator and said, "I'm proud of you, boy."

To which Bart replied, "Thanks, Dad. But part of this D minus belongs to God."

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The Hand
~Unknown

Thanksgiving Day editorial in the newspaper told of a school teacher who asked her first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought of how little these children from poor neighborhoods actually had to be thankful for. But she knew that most of them would draw pictures of turkeys on tables with food. The teacher was taken aback with the picture Douglas handed in.. a simple childishly drawn hand.

But whose hands? This class was captivated by the abstract image. "I think it must be the hand of God that brings us food," said one child. "A farmer," said another, "because he grows the turkeys." Finally when the others were back at work the teacher bent over Douglas' desk and asked whose hand it was. "It's your hand, Teacher," he mumbled.

She recalled that frequently at recess she had taken Douglas, a scrubby forlorn child, by the hand. She often did that with the children. But it meant so much to Douglas. Perhaps this was everyone's Thanksgiving, not for the material things given to us but for the chance, in whatever small way, to give to others.

Benevolence/ Attitude/ Awareness/ Helping Hands/ ThanksGiving

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There are three areas in which the person who would be wise and good must be trained. The first has to do with desires and aversions- that a person may never miss the mark in desires nor fall into what repels them. The second has to do with impulses to act and not to act- and more broadly, with duty- that a person may act deliberately for good reasons and not carelessly. The third has to do with freedom from deception and composure and the whole area of judgment, the assent our mind gives to its perceptions. Of these areas, the chief and most urgent is the first which has to do with passions, for strong emotions arise only when we fail in our desires and aversions.

—Epictetus, Discourses, 3.2.1-3a

www.myINSPIRATIONALquotes.net

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This is life. It is never too late to start again

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Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength ²⁰he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

[Ephesians 1:15-23]

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