In the mid-nineteenth century Charles Deems was a Methodist minister concerned about the unchurched in New York City. He persuaded Commodore Vanderbilt to underwrite the effort. Vanderbilt bought Deem...
Upon entering a little country store, the stranger noticed a sign saying "DANGER! BEWARE OF DOG!" posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor near the cas...
In The Odyssey, there is a scene that takes place near the end of the story. Odysseus returns home after many years of wandering. He is in disguise as an old man. At first nobody recognizes him, not e...
There is an old story about the Greek Marathon. Muscular, conditioned runners paced nervously near the starting line for the long-distance race. The time was near. They "shook out" their muscles, inha...
Two men were walking through a downtown area. One of the men pointed to a passing stranger who was walking down the street and said, “That man is a soldier.” ...
A mangy looking guy goes into a restaurant and orders food. The waiter says, "No way. I don't think you can pay for it." The guy says, "You're right. I don't have any money, but if I show you somethi...
In J. K. Rowling's now famous novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone there is a warning engraved on the doors of the bank: Enter stranger, but take heed - Of what awaits the sin of greed - For t...
Melodie Beattie, a noted self-help author, often stresses the importance of gratitude. ...
Senator and presidential candidate John McCain tells of an experience he had as a POW in North Vietnam. At the infamous prison called the Hanoi Hilton, McCain had been tied up in a way to create maxim...
Who Can Fix Us? In the early days of the automobile a man's Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. He couldn't get it started no matter how hard he cranked nor how much he tried to advance th...
There's a cost associated with hospitality, but nothing compared to what our demands can cost us. ...
David Jeremiah notes that, "On February 26, 1995, Barings Bank, England's oldest, declared bankruptcy after losing nearly a billion dollars..."...
In his new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas observes of the German pastor-theologian: “In his book Ethics...Bonhoeffer wrote about the way people worship success. The topic fascinated hi...
The land of Persia was once ruled by a wise and beloved Shah who cared greatly for his people and desired only what was best for them. One day he disguised himself as a poor man and went to vi...
Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates a great truth. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, pe...