Here is your Sunday STORY on: THE LOVE OF WISDOM: Within a life you’re trying to improve, you need to have events that give you an impulse to do the right thing; you need to create a trigger that reminds you not to go down the wrong path. Wisdom is nothing more than a reminder to do the right thing. If you find a need to justify your actions, then here if we chose to search is an element of incorrect decision making. When you make a decision and you know its right, there is a sense of oneness. No one person will need an explanation of why you did it this way, it will be obvious. If you study wisdom and philosophy then you should be the prime case in point of ‘Leading By Example’. However, we cannot deny that there is a road to travel before we can expect this to happen. It is here, at the beginning of the road that we need to instigate reminders to continue to guide us. Triggers that will make us think we’re not using our knowledge of wisdom to its fullest. Today’s story has one of those triggers set in place. Albeit that the trigger is not correcting a faltering path, but reminding that a witness is approving your benevolence. THE VALUE OF A PENNY This one will make you think... Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband was invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some valuable. A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this? "Look at it." He said. "Read what it says." She read the words "United States of America." "No, not that; read further." "One cent?" "No, keep reading." "In God we Trust?" "Yes!" "And?" "And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him! Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust is in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me, lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!" When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the word, "In God We Trust, " and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message. It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful... And God is patient... (Unknown Author) QUOTE: "You can’t hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can’t catch a fish unless you put your line in the water. You can’t reach your goals if you don’t try.” (Kathy Seligman)