Kiwani.. Rotary
Dec 1997 Blackhawk, Noon
IC intro.
WLDS: Vachel with a V.. Bob Crowe and Ken Bradbury Me, call… Vachel… Charlie Menise, not menace. 4:30 news Charlie Menise.. Vachel… Bob Crowe and Ray Bradbury
Talk to you about investment counseling. The wildest week in Wall Street history.
Four teachers in lounge today… their money was in the market. THE SCORE 1 scared, 1 mad, 1 panic .4th was Baptist and therefore refrained from showing any emotion at all. … Their kids’ education. In a bad mood all week.
Many of you may be in similar circumstances. So… I’m here tonight to give you some of the best advice you’ll ever hear on making investments. I want to show you why most investments fail. Let me demonstrate… (pour water into a full glass… spill.. empty it out) This is the Bradbury theory of aquatic economics. You’ve got to empty your cup before it can be filled. As we approach This Thanksgiving… Let me propose to you a new kind of thanks… Thanks for the ability to give.
Still the world’s richest nation. An entire Indian village could live a year on tonight’s meal.
Today’s Chicago Tribune Shaquile O’Neil.. suspended from one game for slapping a player with the Utah Jazz …… before the game started.. One game? $156,000
Avg yearly income of one-third of the world’s poorest countries $232 Also Avg American cat
You may have heard this before… If the world were a village of 100 people, 70 unable to read 1 would have a college education 50 would suffer malnutrition 80 would live in substandard housing 6 would be Americans. Those 6 would have half of the total income of the village. Those 6 would consume one-fifth of the village’s resources.
We are blessed. Alaska cruise.. lady… guilt. “We’ve earned this.” Which? Cleveland? Healthy or White?
Sometimes it’s not us who keeps us from giving more… it’s our fear of what others would say.. My bathroom… The joke of the Bradbury family. dad & brother, the bankers… (Bankers: not usually happy fellows at the mention of the word, “give”.. But Dad… Cecils 15cents, Normas 10 cents. Fire: $1,000. ) Not so with my bathroom. Was a disaster when I bought the house 15 years ago. And I’ve done nothing to remedy the situation. Built during depression and it shows it. Built a prayer room. Asked Dad to help. “Why not bathroom?” “Are you saying that going to the bathroom is more important than prayer?” “It depends on the time of day.” When my family visits, they make sure they go before they come. Years ago, I told the Lord… speaking…Green Pastures. Dad calls… “What’re you doing tonight?” “Speaking somewhere.” “Would make a good bathroom.” “Bye, dad.” Some day in heaven, you’ll all gonna come over to my mansion just to use the bathroom. If you think it’s awful to have a disastrous bathroom, try holding it through eternity.
Sometimes we fear to invest our lives in others because of what others would say. Loretta LaRoche in her JOY OF STRESS...says we all go around with this committee in our head..the infamous “they”...they who are always watching us... in our head. “What would they think?” Put that committee on a bus and take it for a ride tomorrow morning.. Tell them “I’m drivin’ and we’re goin’ for a ride.”
We’ve got to loosen up a little before we can become great investors of our giving. Loosen up not just in the pocketbook but in the mind.
Sometimes it simply involves just being a little silly.
Next time, Hardees. “Have a nice day!” Ask them …Why?
...Attend meeting of Morgan Co commissioners ..put on a Henry Jackson mask.. jump out and say “I’m back!”
...Stand up at a meeting of the J’ville Country Club and say, “Hey! Anybody wanna buy two tickets for the Democrat fund raiser?
...My friend: Myron Strubbe...sings full-voice to the songs playing in Walmart.
...Jeff W: Always backed through the Drive up at McDonnalds.
...Attend any school board meeting and say, “We’ve got lots of kids in District 117 who can’t read. We’ve got to have more money for reading instruction. Let’s cut basketball!”
In other words, ask your self, Who am I trying to please? Some of you may have heard me tell this story before, but it proves my point so well, and I really enjoy telling it. HINEY THE MULE.
Let me tell you a wonderful story about the empty glass. Fidel Cashero
A lady named Helen: MS. I’ll call her with prayer request: “Oh, Praise God!” “Jesus Loves you and I do, too.” Helen’s response to a life of tragedy is “What an opportunity!” She literally bakes cookies for the Farmers Market to get her granddaughters through college. Spare time? Goes to India to build schools. Goes to the Illinois prisons on a regular basis to speak. Helen’s glass is always full because she continues to empty it.
I read this week: “A river touches places of which its source knows nothing.” I’ve marveled at Switzerland.. everywhere you go, a mighty river rushing down a mountainside. Every time you asked of its source.. “Glacier fed.. Glacier fed…” But I never got to see the glaciers. “Where are the stupid glaciers?” Up there somewhere..
This summer….. Alaska …with many J’ville folks… I saw the source. I saw the Glaciers. The most magnificent things I’ve ever seen. Some larger than the state of Rhode Island. Rangers….. Talk of sediment washing up in Japan. That Alaskan Glacier never knew how far its influence has spread.
I don’t know what your source is. Mine is God, but whatever your source, if it’s strong enough, will wear down any obstacles… and you will never know the extent of your influence. The giver is never allowed to see the full results of his or her giving.
Tell you about One of the early Presbyterian ministers who traveled to Alaska as a missionary. Came upon a church near Ketchikan that was nearly broke. The people were nearly broke. They pleaded with him to call down God’s bounty. He suggested that they give everything they had to help the starving native Indians. They rioted and burned down his house. He took their treasury, bought food and took it to the Indians. They rode him out of town. Gold was discovered within the week near Ketchikan. The minister in his journals said, “Last week I taught the residents of Ketchikan how to invest.”
And don’t worry if you’re not thanked….Conway Twitty
Our giving is is MORE THAN NEEDED. It is THEREAPUDIC . It is LIFE GIVING. Dr. Carl Menninger. Dr. Albert Sweitzer… “The only ones among us who will be truly happy in life are those who have sought, and found out, how to serve others.” …how to invest out lives in others.
………Joanna Caldwell has a vision for the children of North Jacksonville. Let’s make it come true. ………Northeast Enterprise Development .. N.E.E.D. is trying to better J’ville in a way which will benefit your children and grandchildren for years to come by putting the Northeast part of town on its own feet. ……..Habitat for Humanity is making a difference in J’ville, one family at a time. They need you to get those houses built. ……..Every civic club in this town needs help… and not just from its own membership. …….. Every resident of the North Greene district needs prayer. Let’s get at it. ……… And if you are completely blind to the needs in your neighborhood, just pray about it tonight and watch what happens tomorrow.
I tell this story to my students every year… Dad, puppy..
I’m no great example. I live in more house than I need. I drive more car than I need. I definitely eat more food than I need. But I’m trying. I’m trying. On this Thanksgiving, please try with me. On this Thanksgiving, please give thanks for the ability to give. On this Thanksgiving, please empty your glass so that it can be filled. On this Thanksgiving, let your investments be real… be genuine… Let your investment be YOU.
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