The Wisdom of George Washington Carver

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.

Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater.

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in to Him.

I wanted to know the name of every stone and flower and insect and bird and beast. I wanted to know where it got its color, where it got its life--but there was no one to tell me so I set out on a lifetime adventure in learning.

Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.

No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving something behind.

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.

There is no short cut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation--veneer isn't worth anything.

Learn to do common things uncommonly well; we must always keep in mind that anything that helps fill the dinner pail is valuable.

When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.

Where there is no vision, there is no hope.

On the Nightstand

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful." --C.S. Lewis

In the Truth of His Salvation

"In the multitude of Your mercy, hear me. In the truth of Your salvation, deliver me out of the mire." Psalm 69:13-14

"What a blessed phrase! Let me build my confidence upon it, that with a full reliance on the truth and mercy of God, my prayer may be acceptable." --Thomas Chalmers

If My People...

The Scriptures are clear that civil government is an institution and process that God the Creator has given to mankind. The Constitution provides "We the People" with a representative body of government, a legislative branch called the Congress. Dissatisfaction with the Congress is at an all-time high. The responsibilities facing this Congress are even higher. Citizen protests and outcry can be heard in every city and town but where is the Church? Where are the people called to intercede on behalf of their neighbors, especially those in authority?

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1)

The good people at American Policy Roundtable have launched a 40-day season of prayer for Congress--providing all of us with the information, structure, and resources to pray effectively and in a coordinated fashion.

Each day Christians all across America are praying for the Congress as a body and for a handful of specific members by name. We will cover every name in prayer over the course of the 40 days. Every day a short list of members names will appear on the Roundtable website. We will simply pray through the list of names each day. At the end of 40 days we will have lifted every seat of the Congress before the Lord in prayer.

As we pray we will also wait quietly before our sovereign God asking His Spirit to open our minds to His perspective. As we pray for Congress we are laying the nation and our own lives open to God as well. Our prayer remains, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Please join with pastors, congregations and citizens coast-to-coast in this mission for America at APRoundtable.org. And be be sure to listen for frequent updates on The Public Square radio broadcast.

On the Road Again

According to the Latin proverb, “Travelers may change their climate but never their souls.” While it may be admitted that such a truism is essentially true, there also can be little doubt that travelers may at least change their thinking. By virtue of seeing the world—the different sights, sounds, textures, hues, and passions of cultures different than their own—affords them with a unique perspective that militates against prejudice, parochialism, and pettiness. As Mark Twain said, travel somehow “broadens the mind and softens the heart.” More often than not, travel serves to sunder our uninformed native preconceptions and to establish more mature perspectives.

For that reason, travel has always been a component part of a well rounded education. The banal prejudice and narrow presumption that inevitably accompany an unexposed, inexperienced, and undiscerning existence can often be ameliorated only by the disclosure of the habits, lifestyles, rituals, celebrations, and aspirations of the peoples beyond the confines of our limited parochialism. The great Dutch patriot Groen van Prinsterer aptly commented to his students, “See the world and you’ll see it altogether differently.”

As a result, in times past, travel was seen as far more significant than just fun and games. It was for more than mere rest and relaxation. It was intended to be more than simply a vacation or a getaway. Instead, it was a vital aspect of the refined instruction in art, music, literature, architecture, politics, business, science, and divinity. It was, according to Benjamin Franklin, “the laboratory where theory meets practice, where notion encounters application.”

Travel has thus enlightened lives and perspectives throughout history. Some of the most famous books, some of the most influential perspectives, and some of the most remarkable social transformations have had their genesis in some great quest or expedition or journey or voyage—from Agamemnon in Troy and Caesar in Gaul to Marco Polo in China and Richard the Lionhearted in Outremer, from Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean and Cotton Mather in Massachusetts Bay to Charles Lindbergh in the Spirit of St. Louis and John Glenn in the Shuttle Enterprise. Just visiting has left an indelible mark upon the human experience.

As the great American poet Robert Frost put it, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

This Earth, This Realm, This England

As I head back across the pond for my annual pilgrimage, I have (as always) this Shakespearean soliloquy playing as a mental soundtrack to my feverish preparations. Just for the record, I hear it with the lilt of Sir Lawrence Olivier's classic stage delivery--not with the kitsch of the old United Airlines commercial:

"This royal throne of kings,
This sceptered isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, this demi-paradise,
This fortress built by nature herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world.
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm,
This England.
Renowned for deeds as far from home
For Christian service and true chivalry
As unto the Holy Sepulchre itself, this land
Of such dear souls, this dear, dear land:
This England."

Charing Cross

"By Charing Cross in London Town
There runs a road of high renown,
Where antique books are ranged on shelves
As dark and dusty as themsleves.
And many book lovers have spent
Their substance there with great content,
And vexed their wives and filled their homes
With faded prints and massive tomes.
--Norman Davey

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." --C.S. Lewis

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." --C.S. Lewis

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both." --John Andrew Holmes

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to." --J.R.R. Tolkien

SOTD: Song of the Day

One of my favorites from Caedman's Call:

Though I am small I've seen things far beyond these city walls
The land is flat and it rolls for miles
I don't know much I know I've many places yet to see
I know I've been here for a while
Wouldn't you know just when I thought I had this figured out
I'm back at my first day at school
Trying not to think too loud I raise my hand to scratch my head
I've no ideas of what to do
'Cause something's changed today
And what it is I just can't say
And if I don't seem okay, well I'm okay

So sue me, sue me, if I just don't want coffee tonight
Back in this coffee house where we just met a week ago
Now we've been friends since we were young
But all our conversations are hitting walls we can't ignore
We can hide but we can't run
And I can't run from you
Or what we've run into
Now regardless what I choose, we both lose

It must be getting late
Where's my head
Where is my head
Where is my head

I still hear you telling me what a big mistake I've made
Funny that's what I've been telling you
I can lead a horse to water
You can even make him drink
But you can't change his point of view
Tonight as I was driving home I passed a coffee shop
You know I wrestled with the truth
And how I'd explain to you what you could never understand
And how I'd keep my mind from you
But that's the price I pay
Your way is not my way
Today's another day and it's okay

So sue me, sue me, if I just don't want coffee tonight
Back in this coffee house where we just met a week ago
Now we've been friends since we were young
But all our conversations are hitting walls we can't ignore
We can hide but we can't run
And I can't run from you
Or what we've run into
Now regardless what I choose, we both lose

I think I need some rest
Rest my head, arrest my head
Rest my head, arrest my head
Rest my head, arrest my head

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Anger is the feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind." --Evan Esar

TableTalk

The latest edition of TableTalk Magazine is out. In addition to a helpful daily devotional through the Scriptures, the theme for the various articles in this issue is The Seven Letters of Revelation--urging readers on toward holiness. Contributors include Mark Bates, Chris Donato, Paul Gardner, Dennis Johnson, John MacArthur, Roger Nicole, Jason Stellman, Cornelis Venema, R. Fowler White, and of course, R.C. Sproul.

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

New Tolkien Book

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien was released today. Written more than seventy years ago, the story retells the epic legends of the Norse hero, Sigurd, the dragon-slayer, the revenge of his wife, Gudrun, and the Fall of the Nibelungs.

Introducing the work is one of Tolkien's renowned lectures on Norse literature. Amazingly, no part of the story or the lecture has ever been reproduced or quoted from since they were first written.

Of course, the Norse legends and sagas were the single greatest influence on Tolkien's writings, and many of the events in Sigurd and Gudrun can be traced through to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarrillion, and The Children of Hurin. No serious reader of Tolkien will want to miss this remarkable new resource.

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Now herein lies the grand peculiarity of the Gospel. It pronounces the utter insignificance of all that man can do for the establishment of his right to the Kingdom of Heaven; and yet, he must somehow or other be provided with such a right ere that he can find admittance there. Ah, grace. Great grace." --Thomas Chalmers

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer." --Will Rogers

Jack Kemp (1935-2009)

"Democracy without morality is impossible."

"Pro football gave me a good perspective. When I entered the political arena, I had already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded, and hung in effigy."

"It has become fashionable to dismiss almost any significant attempt to change things as single-issue-politics. Politicians, apparently, aren’t supposed to emphasize anything, but are supposed to offer a big menu of small snacks."

"There is a kind of victory in good work, no matter how humble."

“Democracy is not a mathematical deduction proved once and for all time. Democracy is a just faith fervently held, commitment to be tested again and again in the fiery furnace of history.”

“There are no limits to our future if we don't put limits on our people.”

“The supply-side claim is not a claim. It is empirically true and historically convincing that with lower rates of taxation on labor and capital, the factors of production, you'll get a bigger economy.”

VOTD: Verse of the Day

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

Stalin Icon

An icon depicting Soviet leader Joseph Stalin has been placed in a church of Leningrad district's city of Strelnya. According to an official spokesman from the Russian Orthodox Church, Evstafy Zhakov, legend has it that Stalin would often discourse with Blessed Matrona of Moscow--the scene depicted in the icon. Though the brutal dictator is believed to be responsible for the genocide of more than 20 million of his own people, Zhakov explained that he sees Stalin as "one of the nation's fathers, no matter how bad he was."

QOTD: Quote of the Day

"Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." C.S. Lewis