Life on a Tightrope

Jean François Gravelet, "The Great Charles Blondin", was a famous French tightrope walker and acrobat.

Blondin's greatest fame came in 1859 when he attempted to become the first person to cross the rushing and roaring waters of Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

With a balancing pole, Charles Blondin walked across the 335m long tightrope in only five minutes. He went on to walk across the falls several times, each time with a different theatrical flair. Later crossings were made in a sack; on stilts; on a bicycle, in the dark with sparks flaring from his pole tips; with his hands and feet manacled; and sitting down halfway to cook an omelet!

On one such occasion a large crowd gathered as word went out that Blondin was going to attempt yet another incredible feat. A buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another -- blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Upon reaching the other side, the crowd's applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?"

The crowd enthusiastically shouted, "Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!"

"Okay," said Blondin, "Could someone get in the wheelbarrow....."
No one did!

It’s one thing to believe, it's another thing to take a step of faith based on that belief. Belief must be followed by action if it is to take you where you want to go!

Later, on Sept 15, 1860, the world was amazed as Blondin made a crossing carrying his manager, Harry Colcord on his back.

* What will YOU do? Will you be merely another person in the crowd who ultimately goes nowhere?" Or will you, like the brave manager, put belief into action?

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

- Matthew 17:20

Copyright 2005 by Ken Sapp

Paper Airplanes

The Dash

My Angel

I never thought that I would find,
A friend so loving and so kind.

I look up to you in every way,
Coz' your there for me in all my days
Without you I don’t know where I’d be
Probably at the bottom of the sea
You deserve so much more than I can give
Without you I couldn’t live
You’ve given me more than money can give
You’ve given me the will to live
We have our problems now and then
But when once we make up
Our friendship is better times ten
I want you to know I truly care
Even when I say things that aren’t fair
It doesn’t matter what u say
I'll always love u anyways
I know the you deep down inside
In you I know I can always confide
Thank you for being the friend u are
My best friend and angel by far
Everything u do is always great
You’ll be loved by all coz that’s your fate
So never stop being the wonderful you
Coz God shines through in all you do
And when you feel like no one’s there
Read this poem and know I care.

A Sparrow’s Faith

I’m just a little Sparrow
I have no pedigree
I’m rarely ever noticed
But the Lord is watching me

He gave me a coat of feathers
‘Tis very plain I know
Without a speck of color
For it wasn’t made for show

It keeps me warm in winter,
Protects me from the rain
Were it trimmed in gold or silver,
Perhaps would make me vain

I have no barn or storehouse
I neither sow nor reap
God gives my daily portion,
With never a seed to keep

There are many other Sparrows
All over the world they’re found
And my Father always knows
When one falls to the ground

I’m only one little Sparrow
A bird of low degree
I know my Father’s love
Dost thou know His love for thee?

~ Yolanda Cohen ~

God Brews The Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

“Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it’s just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups…and then began eyeing each other’s cups.

“Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.”

God brews the coffee, not the cups . . . enjoy your coffee.

Giving In To The Cold

There are six people gathered around a dying campfire on a dark and bitter night. Each one has a stick which they might place on the fire. But, sadly, one by one they decide not to give what they have to keep the fire going. The lone woman does not give because there is a black man in the circle. The penniless tramp does not give because in that circle there is a member of the idle rich. The rich man does not give because he reasons his contribution would obviously help someone who was lazy and shiftless. Another didn’t give because one of the six didn’t belong to his church. The black man hung tight to his wood, because it was his way of getting even or back at all the whites. Still another would not give because he believed in giving only to those who also gave.. And each one felt if he or she were asked to give with a personal invitation, or if they knew the need was really great, then they would give.

The parable ends with these words: “Six logs held fast in death’s hand was proof of human sin, the sin of pride, ego, and selfishness. They didn’t die from the cold of that night, the cold without, they died from the cold within each heart.