Investing in Futures, Inc.
"Coaching and Equipping the Next Generation"
PO Box 6451
Lakeland, Florida 33807
www.investinginfutures.org
Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.
1000 Marbles
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's "dance recital " he continued. "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays." "I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear."
"Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.
A friend sent this to me, so I to you, my friend.
And so, as one smart bear once said..."If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you." - Winnie the Pooh.
One of our missionaries, Chris Wade, missionary to Croatia, will be arriving back in the States on May 29th. He and his family (they have six children) will be in the States for at least one year and need to set up housekeeping. Here is a list of their needs.
If you are local, email me and let me know what you have or can get, and I will mark it off the list and keep you informed. For those of you who live so far away, I am sorry you cannot get involved. This is going to be fun!
King or Queen sized bed & 2 dressers with mirror if possible
2 office desks and office chairs
2 computers
Sheets, pillow cases, pillows, bedspread/comforter
2 desk lamps
Throw rugs
Kelsey - (Age 16)
Full sized bed – Sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
Jeremy – (Age 14)
Full sized bed – Sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
Isaac – (Age 13)
Twin sized bed – sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
Micah - (Age 11)
Twin sized bed – sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
Simon – (age 9)
Twin sized bed – sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
Noah – (age 7)
Twin sized bed – sheets, pillows, comforter
Dresser
Desk
Computer
Desk Lamp
Throw rug
(Simon and Noah could also sleep in bunk bed)
Dining room table that seats 8
Hutch of some sort
Placemats
Coasters
Sofa or two sofas
Love Seat or two love seats
Lamps
Coffee Table
TV and stand
Towels for eight
Shower curtains
Bath rugs or bath sets
Pots and pans
Dishes (setting for 8)
Glasses
Silverware
Microwave
Dinette Suite
Container for The Gambia, Africa
April 23, 2008
12 computer systems
10 computer desks
11 computer chairs
24 large student's school desks
16 small student's school desks
89 boxes of textbooks and children's reading books
10 boxes of school supplies
1 teacher's chair
1 media cart
50 boxes of used clothing
2 boxes of children's games
1 box of towels
1 box of sheets and table cloths
184 boxes of MREs - 2,108 Meals with sufficient protein for an entire day.
1,423 rolls of toilet paper (four pallets)
41 rolls of paper towels
99 large boxes of Kleenex
74 small boxes of Kleenex
200 packets of feminine products
150 pair of ladies shoes
3000 pair of children's socks
300 pair of girl's panties (all size 4)
30 pair of sweat pants
2 children's matsApril 14, 2008
Good Morning Rodney!
The container finally arrived at our school in El Salvador.
We started passing out all the shoes, the T-shirts, and the big soft pillow toys yesterday. I wish you could have been there to see all the excitement. The hard work you and your team did is really appreciated, not only by Henry and Me, but also by 152 kids who went home happy yesterday. The staffers helped put everything in its place plus they tried the shoes on every child and handed them their new things. The staffers were as happy as the kids!
All those MREs, toilet paper, computers, the big copy machine, etc., all are such a big blessing to us, and will save us a bundle of funds that stretches to cover a lot of needs here.
We also want to thank Dr. Johnny Strickland of Network of Promise who put his whole heart into getting this container to us, and to Jack Williams and to Kingdom Community Outreach Network who helped raise the funds for shipping the container. He has always had a burden to help our ministry. He has visited us here in El Salvador and loves these kids.
Sincere thanks again for all your sweat and love for the Lord's work.