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THE INNER NEED FOR EXCELLENCE
Years ago during a speaking engagement, I stayed in a hotel in Dallas. It was late at night, and after flipping channels for a while, I landed on ESPN, which is how I learned that tennis legend Martina Navratilova had just won a grueling match in Florida earlier that day. I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I got up early and headed to the hotel’s gym. It was barely five thirty when I stepped onto the indoor track, but I wasn’t the only one there. A woman was coming through the double glass doors. It was Martina Navratilova. She’d been in Florida the day before, she was in Dallas now, and she was up at the crack of dawn, eager to hit balls back and forth in a hotel gym as if she had nothing better to do. Like sleep.
It’s just a guess, but I don’t think anybody told her to do this. I think she crawled out of bed and pulled on workout clothes before the sun was even up because of an insatiable inner need for excellence. She wants to win that badly.
(Hybels, Bill (2008-09-01). Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs (Kindle Locations 3043-3051). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)
h. The day the church treasurer resigned the church asked the local grain elevator manager to take the position. He agreed under two conditions. That no treasurer’s report would be given for the first year. That no questions be asked about finances during that year. The people were surprised but finally agreed since most of them did business with him and he was a trusted man. At the end of the year he gave his report: * The church indebtedness of $228,000 has been paid. * The minister’s salary had been increased by 8%. * The Cooperative Program gifts has been paid 200%. * There were no outstanding bills. * And there was a cash balance of $11,252! Immediately the shocked congregation asked, "How did you do it? Where did the money come from?" He quietly answered: "Most of you bring your grain to my elevator. Throughout the yea...
THE BIRTH FORETOLD
About 500 before Jesus was born - a man named Buddha came along. He established a religion we know of as Buddhism, and many people gathered around him and tried to live by his teachings. But before he was born, nobody ever said:
“Hey somebody is going to come along and he will come from this or that family. These are going to be his credentials. And this is how you’ll know he is who he said he was.”
Mohammed was born about 500 years after Christ. He established a religion we now call Islam and many people gathered around him and tried to live by his teachings. But before he was born, nobody ever said:
“Hey somebody is going to come along and he will come from this or that family. These are going to be his credentials. And this is how you’ll know he is who he said he was.”
BUT, when Jesus came… He didn’t just pop up in history and say “Hey, I have a great idea!” Oh no...
Queen Mary made it her practice to visit Scotland every year. She was so loved by the people there that she often mingled with them freely without a protective escort.
While walking with some children one afternoon, she went farther than she had planned. Dark clouds came up unexpectedly, so she stopped at a nearby house to borrow an umbrella.
“If you will lend me one,” she said to the lady who answered the door, “I will send it back to you tomorrow.”
The woman didn’t recognize the Queen and was reluctant to give this stranger her best umbrella. So she handed her one that she intended to throw away. The fabric was torn in several places and one of the ribs was broken.
The next day another knock was heard at the door. When the woman opened it, she was greeted by a royal guard, who was...
