HENRY DRUMMOND: THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD

2014-43  Henry Drummond: The Greatest Thing in the World

Henry Drummond [1851-1897]

Henry Drummond was a Scottish evangelical writer and lecturer. In the words of D.L. Moody, "I was staying with a party of friends in a country house during my visit to England in 1884. On Sunday evening as we sat around the fire, they asked me to read and expound some portion of Scripture. Being tired after the services of the day, I told them to ask Henry Drummond, who was one of the party. After some urging, Drummond drew a small Testament from his hip pocket, opened it at the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, and began to speak on the subject of Love. 

It seemed to me that I had never heard anything so beautiful, and I determined not to rest until I brought Henry Drummond to Northfield to deliver that address. 

Since then I have requested the principals of my schools to have it read before the students every year."

This lecture published in 1874 as "The Greatest Thing in the World" illuminates the I Corinthians 13. Widely read and quoted during his lifetime, it went on to sell over 12 million copies and it continues to influence countless people today to love God and to love one another.

The Holy Bible NIV I Corinthians 13.4-7

I present here only the central idea, namely, the spectrum of love:

Every one has asked himself the great question: What is the summum bonum—the supreme good? We have been accustomed to be told that the greatest thing in the religious world is Faith. In the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, Paul takes us to CHRISTIANITY AT ITS SOURCE; and there we see, "Now abideth Faith, Hope, Love," "The greatest of these is Love." [I Cor. 13.13]

After contrasting Love with these things, Paul gives us an amazing analysis of what this supreme thing is. Paul passes this thing, Love, through the magnificent prism of his inspired intellect, and it comes out on the other side broken up into its constituent elements.

                                           SPECTRUM OF LOVE

The Spectrum of Love has nine ingredients:

Patience	"Love suffereth long."
Kindness	"And is kind."
Generosity	"Love envieth not."
Humility	"Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."
Courtesy	"Doth not behave itself unseemly."
Unselfishness	"Seeketh not its own."
Good temper	"Is not provoked."
Guilelessness	"Taketh not account of evil."
Sincerity	"Rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth."

Patience; kindness; generosity; humility; courtesy; unselfishness; good temper; guilelessness; sincerity—these make up the supreme gift, the stature of the perfect man.

   Now the business of our lives is to have these things fitted into our character. Is life not full of opportunities for learning Love? Everyone, every day has thousands of them. The world is not a playground; it is a class room. Life is not a holiday, but an education.  And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can practise love.

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For the full text of the "Greatest Things in the World", click here:

The Greatest Thing in the World and Other Addresses: [Click Here]

"To love abundantly is to live abundantly and to love for ever is to live forever." 

-- Henry Drummond

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THOMAS HARDY POEM: THE BLINDED [DIVINE] BIRD

2014-41  Thomas Hardy Poem: The Blinded [Divine] Bird  

Thomas Hardy [1840-1928]

Thomas Hardy, OM [1840-1928] was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth. Charles Dickens was another important influence. 

While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, therefore, he gained fame as the author of novels, which include Far from the Madding Crowd [1874], The Mayor of Casterbridge [1886], Tess of the d'Urbervilles [1891], and Jude the Obscure [1895]. Most of his fictional works were set in Wessex, a semi-fictional region in South England. 

In his Studies in English Literature Series I, Sir Arthur Quiller Couch discusses the Poetry of Thomas Hardy. He says that Hardy’s heart is strangely tender and even Blake's heart was not tenderer than Hardy's. He pauses for proof by one short poem The Blinded Bird, which  I would rather call or rechristen The Divine Bird.  Judge me after studying the poignant poem!

 

THE DIVINE BIRD

So zestfully canst thou sing?
And all this indignity,
With God's consent, on thee!
Blinded ere yet a-wing
By the red-hot needle thou,
I stand and wonder how
So zestfully thou canst sing!

Resenting not such wrong,
Thy grievous pain forgot,
Eternal dark thy lot,
Groping thy whole life long;
After that stab of fire;
Enjailed in pitiless wire;
Resenting not such wrong!

Who hath charity?This bird.
Who suffereth long and is kind,
Is not provoked, though blind
And alive ensepulchred?
Who hopeth, endureth all things?
Who thinketh no evil, but sings?
Who is divine?This bird.

I quote below four lines from The Holy Bible KJV [I Corinthians Chapter 13 lines 4-8] so that you may be able to appreciate the above poem better on second reading:

4 Charity* suffereth long, and is kind; 

      charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
⁵ Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
      is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
⁶ Rejoiceth not in iniquity,
      but rejoiceth in the truth;
⁷ Beareth all things, believeth all things,
       hopeth all things, endureth all things.
⁸ Charity never faileth…

*Charity = Love

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YouTube Video Birds' Songs [Click Here]

To know about Thomas Hardy Society: [Click Here]

http://www.hardysociety.org/resources/commentaries-on-poems-for-students

For a comprehensive commentary on "The Blinded Bird": [Click Here]
www.hardysociety.org/files/download/240

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WILLIAM COWPER POEM: THE NIGHTINGALE AND GLOW-WORM

42014-42  William Cowper Poem: The Nightingale and Glow-worm

William Cowper [1731-1800]

William Cowper [1731-1800] was an English poet and hymn-writer. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth was all praise for his poem Yardley-Oak. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave the English language the idiom "God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform."

The Nightingale And Glow-worm

Nightingale

A nightingale, that all day long

Had cheer'd the village with his song,
Nor yet at eve his note suspended,
Nor yet when eventide was ended,
Began to feel, as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite;
When, looking eagerly around,
He spied far off, upon the ground,
A something shining in the dark,
And knew the glowworm by his spark;
So stooping down from hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.

The worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent --
Did you admire my lamp, quoth he,
As much as I your minstrelsy,
You would abhor to do me wrong
As much as I to spoil your song;
For 'twas the selfsame Power Divine
Taught you to sing, and me to shine;
That you with music, I with light,
Might beautify and cheer the night.
The songster heard his short oration,

And warbling out his approbation,
Released him, as my story tells,
And found a supper somewhere else.

Glow-worm

Hence jarring sectaries may learn
Their real interest to discern;
That brother should not war with brother,.
And worry and devour each other;
But sing and shine by sweet consent,
Till life's poor transient night is spent,
Respecting in each other's case
The gifts of nature and of grace.
Those Christians best deserve the name
Who studiously make peace their aim;
Peace both the duty and the prize 
Of him that creeps and him that flies.


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YouTube Video/Audio of The Nightingale and Glow-worm: [Click Here]




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 Amazing Video on Waitomo Glow-worm Caves, NZ: [Click Here] 2 min                   

William Cowper - Light and Glory of the World: [Click Here]

JAYE LEWIS : A TEACHER WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE - TRUE STORY

2014-40 Jaye Lewis: A Teacher who can Make a Difference - True Story

Jaye Lewis of Encouraging Words, Purely Healthy

About the author, Jaye Lewis, in her own words: "Life is not always what we think it should be. We often have illness take command of our lives. We sometimes give up. However something or someone would not let me give in. I believe that Someone is God, and that something is His Grace. While Faith can move mountains, Grace can change lives.

The title of my new blog is: 
http://jayelewispurelyhealthy.blogspot.com/ Please come and join me as I talk about ways to pure health, in spite of illness, age, disability or ability. We can all look for new ways to feel good about ourselves. None of us need give up on life or ourselves. We can find ways to be happy with ourselves, just the way we are." 

"A Teacher who can Make a Difference" - Abridged 

Steve, a twelve-year-old boy with alcoholic parents, was about to be lost forever, by the U.S. education system. Remarkably, he could read, yet, in spite of his reading skills, Steve was failing. He had been failing since first grade, as he was passed on from grade to grade. Steve was a big boy, looking more like a teenager than a twelve year old, yet, Steve went unnoticed... until Miss White.

In the middle of the first semester of school, the entire seventh grade was tested for basic skills. Steve hurried through his tests, and continued to dream of other things. His heart was not in school, but in the woods, where he often escaped alone, trying to shut out the sights, sounds and smells of his alcoholic home. No one checked on him to see if he was safe, no one was sober enough to care. 

Miss White began to go over the test results for the seventh grade. "You all did pretty well," Miss White told the class, "except for one boy, and it breaks my heart to tell you this, but...the smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class!" She just stared at Steve, as the class spun around for a good look. Steve dropped his eyes and carefully examined his fingertips.

After that, it was war!! Steve still wouldn't do his homework. Even as the punishments became more severe, he remained stubborn. "Just try it! ONE WEEK!" He was unmoved. "You're smart enough! You'll see a change!" Nothing fazed him. "Give yourself a chance! Don't give up on your life!" Nothing. "Steve! Please! I care about you!" Wow! Suddenly, Steve got it!! Someone CARED ABOUT HIM??!!"

Steve went home from school, thoughtful, that afternoon. Walking into the house, he took one look around. Both parents were passed out, in various stages of undress, and the stench was overpowering! He, quickly, gathered up his camping gear, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and this time...his schoolbooks. Grim faced and determined, he headed for the woods.

The following Monday he arrived at school on time, and he waited for Miss White. She walked in, all sparkle and smiles! She gave a quiz on the weekend homework. Steve hurried through the test, and was the first to hand in his paper. With a look of surprise, Miss White took his paper. She began to look it over. Steve walked back to his desk, his heart pounding within his chest. 

Miss White's face was in total shock! She glanced up at Steve, then down, then up. Suddenly, her face broke into a radiant smile. The smartest boy in the seventh grade had just passed his first test! From that moment nothing was the same for Steve. Life at home remained the same, but life still changed. Steve began to excel! And he continued this course throughout his school life.

After high-school Steve enlisted in the Navy, and he had a successful military career. During that time, he met the love of his life, he raised a family, and he graduated from college Magna Cum Laude. During his Naval career, he inspired many young people, who without him, might not have believed in themselves. Steve began a second career after the Navy, and he continues to inspire others, as an adjunct professor in a nearby college.

Miss White left a great legacy. She saved one boy who has changed many lives. I know, because I am the love of his life. You see, it's simple, really. A change took place within the heart of one boy, all because of one teacher, who cared.

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Read the original "The Difference a Teacher Can Make" by Jaye Lewis 
[Click Here]

Know about Jaye Lewis, her Entertaining Angels & Encouraging Words 
[Click Here]

ELIZABETH SILANCE BALLARD: TEDDY AND HIS BEST TEACHER

2014-39 Elizabeth Silance Ballard: Teddy and his Best Teacher

Here is the best movie [8 min] that I have seen in my life, defining a true teacher, 

worth seeing again, and again, and again!

Make a Difference Movie [2014] - Courtesy Heart Productions & Publishing

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Text of the Story of Teddy and his Best Teacher

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher.  Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stallard.

  

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath.  And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where  Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last.  However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh.  He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote,  "Teddy is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him.  He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote,  "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's.  His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.  Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.  But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stallard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left she cried for at least an hour.  On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic.  Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.  As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive.  The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded.  By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.  He then wrote that he had finished high school, second in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came.  This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further.  The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had.  But now his name was a little longer.  The letter was signed, "Theodore F. Stallard, M.D."

The story doesn't end there.  You see, there was yet another letter that spring.  Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married.  He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.  Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what?  She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing.  And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

  

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stallard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back.  She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong.  You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference.  I didn't know how to teach until I met you." 

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Elizabeth Silance Ballard

This touching tale is one of pure invention and was penned by Elizabeth Silance Ballard. It appeared as an article captioned "The Teacher" in the March 1976 issue of Home Life magazine.  Many of the details, including the homemade wrapping paper and Teddy's wedding date, were taken from her own life.  The broken bracelet and perfume were a tidbit from a teacher friend who had gotten such a gift from a child in the class where she was a long-term substitute. The surname (Stanley) of the grandmother who urged young Elizabeth to bring Christmas present of hand-picked pecans to her teacher was combined with the author's then surname (Ballard) to form the surname "Stallard" for Teddy.  

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For another popular version of this story - "Three Letters from Teddy"  [Click Here]

DR EDWARD BACH: HEAL THYSELF

2014-38  Dr Edward Bach:  Heal Thyself

Dr Edward Bach [1886-1936]

Having qualified as a doctor in 1912, Dr Edward Bach worked for several years in hospitals and was well aware of their negative effect on the human spirit. After leaving orthodox medicines and hospitals in 1930, he started his work with the flower remedies. By 1935, when he had discovered 38 remedies in all, Dr Bach declared the system complete. He had founded a radically new approach to healing that concentrated exclusively on the emotional states of individuals rather than their physical symptoms.

Dr Bach consistently spoke of the Flower Remedies, not as a personal achievement but as a gift from nature, and from God. This is Dr Bach's central message: we are all healers. Everyone can use the remedies. Everyone can heal and in the process understand who they are and take charge of their own destinies.  

In "Heal Thyself" [1931], Dr Bach explains the real cause and cure of diseases. What follows is a summary of the book, in Dr Bach's own words.

HEAL THYSELF 

Disease is in essence the result of conflict between Soul and Mind, and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort. Such efforts, if properly made with understanding, can cure and prevent disease by removing those basic factors which are its primary cause.  

No effort directed to the body alone can do more than superficially repair damage, and in this there is no cure, since the cause is still operative and may at any moment again demonstrate its presence in another form. In fact, in many cases apparent recovery is harmful, since it hides from the patient the true cause of his trouble, and in the satisfaction of apparently renewed health the real factor, being unnoticed, may gain in strength. 

Disease may be prevented before its onset or aborted in its earlier stages if the proper corrective spiritual and mental efforts be undertaken. Nor need any case despair, however severe, for the fact that the individual is still granted physical life indicates that the Soul who rules is not without hope.  

***                                              ***                                                ***  

There are two great errors: first, to fail to honour and obey the dictates of our Soul, and second, to act against Unity. Either of these brings conflict, which leads to disease.  

Disease is in itself beneficent, and has for its object the bringing back of the personality to the Divine will of the Soul; and thus we can see that it is both preventable and avoidable, since if we could only realise for ourselves the mistakes we are making and correct these by spiritual and mental means there would be no need for the severe lesson of suffering.  

          ***                                              ***                                                ***   

What we know as disease is the terminal stage of a much deeper disorder, and to ensure complete success in treatment it is obvious that dealing with the final result alone will not be wholly effective unless the basic cause is also removed.  

There is one primary error which man can make, and that is action against Unity; this originates in self-love. So also we may say that there is but one primary affliction - discomfort, or disease.    

The real primary diseases of man are such defects as pride, cruelty, hate, self-love, ignorance, instability and greed; and each of these, if considered, will be found to be adverse to Unity. Such defects as these are the real diseases and it is a continuation and persistence in such defects which precipitates in the body the injurious results which we know as illness.    Such are examples of real disease, the origin and basis of all our suffering and distress. Each of such defects, if persisted in against the voice of the Higher Self, will produce a conflict which must of necessity be reflected in the physical body, producing its own specific type of malady.   

          ***                                              ***                                                *** 

We can now see how any type of illness from which we may suffer will guide us to the discovery of the fault which lies behind our affliction.

For example, Pride, which is arrogance and rigidity of mind, will give rise to those diseases which produce rigidity and stiffness of the body. Pain is the result of cruelty, whereby the patient learns through personal suffering not to inflict it upon others, either from a physical or from a mental standpoint. The penalties of Hate are loneliness, violent uncontrollable temper, mental nerve storms and conditions of hysteria. 

The diseases of neurosis, neurasthenia and similar conditions which rob life of so much enjoyment, are caused by excessive Self-love. Ignorance and lack of wisdom bring their own difficulties in everyday life, and in addition should there be a persistence in refusing to see truth when the opportunity has been given, short-sightedness and impairment of vision and hearing are the natural consequences.

Instability of mind must lead to the same quality in the body with those various disorders which affect movement and co-ordination. The result of greed and domination of others is such diseases as will render the sufferer a slave to his own body, with desires and ambitions curbed by the malady. 

Moreover, the very part of the body affected is no accident, but is in accordance with the law of cause and effect, and again will be a guide to help us. For example, the heart, the fountain of life and hence of love, is attacked when especially the love side of the nature towards humanity is not developed or is wrongly used; a hand affected denotes failure or wrong in action; the brain being the centre of control, if afflicted, indicates lack of control in the personality.    

          ***                                              ***                                                *** 

 Obviously the first way to prevent the spread and increase of disease is for us to cease committing those actions which extend its power; the second, to wipe out from our natures our own defects, which would allow further invasion. The achievement of this is victory indeed; then, having freed ourselves, we are free to help others. And it is not so difficult as it may at first appear; we are but expected to do our best, and we know that this is possible for all of us if we will but listen to the dictates of our own Soul. Life does not demand of us unthinkable sacrifice; it asks us to travel its journey with joy in our heart and to be a blessing to those around, so that if we leave the world just that trifle better for our visit, then have we done our work. 

          ***                                              ***                                                *** 

Want to read the full book HEAL THYSELF by Dr Edward Bach? [Click Here]

Home of Dr Edward Bach, and the Bach Flower Remedies, Mount  Vernon, Oxfordshire, England