Changing Your World
A young woman lived in a home where she was very unhappy. She often complained to her friends and told them how difficult it was for her to stay there. She blamed her parents and the other members of her family for her discontent and threatened to move out as soon as she could afford to be on her own.
Why Shoot Our Wounded?
A Detroit newspaper reported that a patient in a local hospital was shot and killed as he lay in his bed recovering from a previous gunshot wound. The victim had been listed in fair condition prior to the shooting and was looking forward to going home. Hospital patients and employees were stunned. A spokesperson said that nothing like this had happened in the 50 years of the hospital's existence.
Marks Of A Veteran
A group of US military veterans has published the names of more than 300 people who falsely claim to have been prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict. For whatever reasons—recognition, respect, or perhaps financial gain—these phony POWs speak of places they've never been and experiences they've never had. But an association of former POWs says to them, "We're on your trail and we'll unmask you at the first opportunity."
Endtime Events
In 1947, scientists created the Doomsday Clock to symbolically show how close they believe the world is to a nuclear holocaust. In 1953, after the US tested a hydrogen bomb, the hands were set at 2 minutes before midnight. Since then they have been pushed back and forth 13 times. The clock's safest setting was in 1991, after the US and Russia signed an arms-reduction treaty. The time was then set at 17 minutes before midnight. But in May 1999, after India and Pakistan set off nuclear blasts, the hands were advanced to 11:51.
Learning From Leandra
Leandra is 3 years old. She has bright brown eyes and a very good mind. One day I was babysitting her, and she was watching her brother Max play games on my computer. Suddenly she announced that she was going to get a snack. "I do it myself!" she said emphatically.
Keep Going!
In his early years, British statesman Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) taught Sunday school. His favorite Bible verse was Genesis 12:5, "They went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came" (KJV).
Better Times Ahead
Paul lived in the Roman Empire under the rule of the cruel and ruthless Nero. Yet he saw the possibility of better times ahead. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have exhorted the first-century Christians to pray for "a quiet and peaceable life" (1 Timothy 2:2).
What Are Our Options?
In a pre-election newspaper column, William Safire posed the question, "What do you do when the candidate you support takes a position you don't like [or when] the candidate you oppose takes a stand that you admire?"
God Still Rules
As the year 1999 came to a close, great leaders of the century were remembered, including Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt. During World War II, they led Great Britain and the United States to defeat Nazism and Fascism.
