brecho cheapchic

If you and I

A musician is not recommended for playing long, but for playing well; it is obeying God willingly, that is accepted: the Lord hates that which is forced, it is rather a tax than an offering. Cain served God grudgingly; he brought his sacrifice, not his heart. To obey God's commandments unwillingly is like the devils who came out of the man possessed, at Christ's command, but with reluctancy and against their will. Good duties must not be pressed and beaten out of us, as the waters came out of the rock when Moses smote it with his rod; but must freely drop from us, as myrrh from the tree, or honey from the comb. If a willing mind be wanting, there wants that flower which should perfume our obedience, and make it a sweet-smelling savor unto God. by T. Watson.

Whoe'er thou art that entereth here,
Forget the struggling world
And every trembling fear.

Take from thy heart each evil thought.
And all that selfishness
Within thy life has wrought.

For once inside this place thou'lt find
No barter, servant's fear,
Nor master's voice unkind.

Here all are kin of God above -
Thou, too, dear heart: and here
The rule of life is love.

"Faith laughs at impossibilities, and says "it shall be done." Abraham's faith was adventurous when he went out, not knowing whither he went. Every promise claimed is a promise possessed. Believe, and thou shalt see. Those who are afraid of the deep will not catch many fishes. Have the courage to "launch out." We need pioneers in the realms of faith as well as in the dark places of earth, and no other field of exploration can ever yield such rewards, for "every place where the sole of your feet shall tread upon shall be yours." S. S. Times.

"Give us the strength to encounter that which is to come that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath and in all changes of fortune and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving one to another."

Of what shall a man be proud if he is not proud of his friends?" Robert Louis Stevenson

"Is not this the carpenter?" As though no words of wisdom or works of power could come from a carpenter! If Jesus had been a rabbi, in a scholar's robe, it would have been another thing. Yes: and what another thing for us, and for all the world's workers! Celsus sneered at the carpenter, and said that word proved he was an impostor. How could God so demean Himself? But the world has left Celsus behind, along with the critics of Nazareth, and blessed God for the gentleness and comfort, the sympathy and hope, which were given to us by the hands of the Carpenter. --Vance.

They day returns and brings us the petty round of irritating concerns and duties. Help us to play the man, help us to perform them with laughter and kind faces; let cheerfulness abound with industry. Give us to go blithely on our business all this day, bring us to our resting beds weary and content and undishonored; and grant us in the end the gift of sleep. Amen.

A night of terror and danger, because of their ignorance, was spent by the crew of a vessel off the coast of New Jersey.

"And if we find but one to whom we can speak out our heart freely, with whom we can walk in love and simplicity without dissimulation, we have no ground of quarrel with the world or God." by Stevenson

The late George T. Angell, in "Our Dumb Animals," gives this incident, showing that fear of unseen authority, is a forcible motive, even with would-be transgressors:

The incident occurred on the rise of land near Park Street Church (Boston). A horse, evidently laboring under the impression that he was overloaded, stopt and refused to go any farther, and a crowd gathered. Just then one voice called out from the crowd:
"Why don't you whip him?"
"Whip him," said the driver--"whip him! How do I know that there ain't an agent of that darned old Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals standin' right here in this crowd?"
We have never considered it good policy to send out any of our agents in uniform, and so any respectable citizen who seems to be interested in the protection of horses is liable to be suspected of being one of our agents

Give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind.

It is related that an eminent scientist, with his wife and brother, were sailing one moonlight evening on Lake Geneva. It become necessary to climb the mast to adjust a rope, when the boat capsized, and in a moment all three were struggling in the water. The lady, who was an extremely cultivated woman, coolly called to her companions, "I will not take hold of you, but come to me and let me put my hands upon your shoulders." Which they did, and she was bouyed up for half and hour until all were saved. It was her mastery of herself that made it possible for them to rescue her.

by James T. White, "Character Lessons."

If I have faltered more or less

These illustrated Christian prayers and quotes make charming additions to scrapbooks, greeting cards and e-newsletters. Read the terms of use located in the right hand index before downloading.

1. Illustrated Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Second Illustrated Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. Quote by Robert Louis Stevenson
4. Prayer for Strength by Stevenson
5. Quote About Pride by Stevenson
6. Morning Prayer by Stevenson
7. The Silver Lining
8. A Happy World
9. Word of Cheer
10. Hour of Distress

A flower that does with opening morn arise,


A boy was pushing a heavily loaded barrow up a steep hill, using every ounce of energy. "Hi boy," called out a benevolent-looking old gentleman, "if you push that zigzag, you'll find it go up more easily." "That's all right, sir," responded the boy, rather crisply, "but if you'd give me less advice and more shoving, I'd like it better."

Life changes all our thoughts of heaven;


All who have seen the ancient maps of North Carolina will remember Win-gin-da-coa as its name. This was the first thing said by a savage to Raleigh's men. In reply to the question, "What is the name of this country?' he answered, "Win-gin-da-coa." It was afterward learned that the North Carolina aborigine said in this phrase, "Those are very fine clothes you have on." And so North Carolina carried a fashion-plate label to unsuspecting readers. --Edward Eggleston.

The day is ended. Ere I sink to sleep


Matthew Arnold had a brother-in-law, Mr. Cropper, who lived in Liverpool, and attended Sefton Park Church, where Dr. John Watson ("Ian Maclaren") ministered. Visiting Mr. Cropper, Mr. Arnold accompanied him to church on Sunday morning, which proved to be Arnold's last Sunday on earth. Dr. Watson preached on "The Shadow of the Cross"; and the congregation afterward sang the familiar hymn, "When I survey the wonderous cross." At lunch that day Mr. Arnold referred to an illustration which the preacher had drawn from the Riviera earthquake. "In one village,"said Dr. Watson, "the huge crucifix above the altar, with a part of the chancel, remained unshaken amid the ruins, and round the cross the people sheltered." "Yes," remarked Arnold in speaking of this, "the cross remains, and in speaking of this, "the cross remains, and in the straits of the soul makes its ancient appeal."

Death in a sense is the gate of life eternal, but it is in life, this life, that graces be wrought and fashioned that shall prepare the soul for the enjoyment of eternal life. Paul preaches, with all his heart and soul, the infinate preciousness of life. The Christian has the consciousness that in this life is the very work and presence of Christ. By leaving our work here before the time, we leave His work undone. By turning our backs in impatience on this mortal scene, we turn them on Him who is in these very struggles and sufferings. Every step forward in the cause of good is a step nearer to the life of Christ. Life is the state in which Christ makes Himself known to us and through which we must make ourselves known to Him. He santified and glorified every stage of it. And at every place and in every company He was the same Divine Master and Friend. Think then how much we have to do for Christ, and like Christ in whatever is left to us of life, to rise above ourselves, to lose ourselves in the thought of this great work that God has placed before us. For the sake of doing this, the apostle would consent to live, would prefer life with all its sorrows to death with all its gain. Death to us may be perfectly desirable, but life to us should be perfectly beautiful.-- by Dean Stanley.

An experiment in treating neurotic patients was tried in te Massillon State Hospital, Ohio, when a picture entitled, "Christ Knocking at the Door, " a copy of Hofmann's masterpiece, was unveiled during the religious services. The painting was life-size, on cathedral glass, and illuminated by electric lights. The hope was that by flashing the lights suddenly on the picture a beneficial theraputic effect would be produced on the minds of the inmates of the hospital.

My dear Redeemer, and my God,
I read my duty in Thy word;
But in Thy life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.

Such was Thy truth, and such Thy zeal,
Such deference to Thy Father's will,
Such love, and meekness so divine,
I would transcribe, and make them mine.

Cold mountains, and the midnight air,
Witnessed the fervor of Thy prayer;
The dessert Thy temptations knew--
Thy conflict, and Thy victory too.

Be thou my pattern; make me bear
More of Thy gracious image here;
Then God, the Judge, shall own my name
Amongst the followers of the Lamb.

by Isaac Watts

Dr. John Clifford puts into the following verse the vanity and failure of all assaults on the Bible:

Last eve I paused beside a blacksmith's
door,
And heard the anvil sing the vesper
chime;
Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of
time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all those hammers
so?"
"Just one," he said; then, with a twinkling
eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you
know."

And so, I thought, the anvil of God's word
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, tho the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed--the hammers gone.

Oh, sometimes glimpses on my sight,
Through present wrong, the eternal light;
And step by step since time began,
I see the steady gain of man.

That all of good the past hath had
Remains to make our own time glad,
Our common daily life divine,
And every land a Palestine.

For still the new transcends the old
In signs and tokens manifold;
Slaves rise up men, the olive waves
With roots deep set in battle-graves.

Through the harsh noises of our day,
A low, sweet prelude finds its way;
Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear
A light is breaking, calm and clear.

by J. G. Whittier.