Who Were They?  by Rev. Ronald Lee Johnson

They came as they were. They wanted no more oppression or opposition. They had no cars,
boats, home, TV's, computers, or cell phones. They crossed the ocean waters hoping for a new
life, a new era of time. They began from scratch. The only real, true possession they came with
was their faith and that deep desire and undaunted determination to be free and discover a new
home, a new land and way of living. And they did. But at what price?

Who were Franklin and Hancock? Who were John Adams and James Smith? Just common
names. Who were Jefferson and Harrison; Charles Carroll of Carrollton? Why a Patrick
Henry crying, "Give me liberty or give me death?"

Imagine or try to imagine what little they had and yet what expectations they felt. Imagine what
fears they must have known from the oppression they experienced frmo the King of England
and all of his armies.

But who were they? Who were these gallant countrymen of different professions who turned into
brave soldiers and revolutionary thinkers? They signed their names to a Declaration of
Independence. They knew the consequences if they failed. They knew what they would lose:
their lives, their families and all of their assets that they had mustered up in a Land that they had
come to know as America.

But by the guiding hand of the Almighty, by the strong will of the people to be free; by their own
personal commitment to a new world and by their rightful rapacious passion for life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness they began forging a sacred document that has changed the course of all
human history. Who were they? Who were these men and women wanting a land filled with
sheer beauty of freedom's choice and the rights of all mankind to be equal?

And in those closing lines, whoever they were, they designed a framework of words that give us
a hint that they were indeed the bravest of human beings; and the most desirous of souls to find
complete liberty and joy absent from the tyranny of an unruly King and burdensome government
with senseless restraints. So they wrote with tears and fears their most honest hearts before man
and God:

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

(re-post of an email I sent out to friends on 05-04-2007) 

Hey Small Group, Fitness Challenge Participants, & Friends:

Yes, read that subject line again. It's true. No offense to all the other
participants but I'm already a winner!    So why is that statement important
to you?? Well, you could be a winner too. You just don't know it.

Let me explain.

Today I went in for an annual healthy checkup (it was free through my health plan) where they take your blood pressure,
blood, urine sample, measurements, calculate your body fat, etc. The last time I went in for one of these screenings was in
February of 2006, so essentially a year ago. Anyways, while there is still room for improvement and certain areas I need
to be watchful about, the positive changes I have seen in the results have been really encouraging:

During these last 90 days, I've learned a lot about diet, exercise and the effects of food/hormones
on weight loss. When I'm at the grocery store, I'm studying the nutritional information to make sure
I'm not putting "junk" into my body. In the process, I've also learned a lot about myself in terms of
being disciplined in this one area and the importance of setting goals and having accountability.
When we announced this challenge and you signed up, you provided much of the support and
accountability to get me started. And once I starting seeing results, I found out that I could
keep myself motivated. Of course, I did have some "professional" help as well. Dave Pat
provided a lot of guidance and knowledge about effective workouts. My chiropractor
(Dr. Short) provided weekly nutritional counseling which was just as valuable. And finally, Tony Horton
provided a detailed 90-day fitness program to maximize the results. Granted, there's no magic
formula or secret except putting in the time and sacrifice.  So it's something that all of us can do if
we choose to do it.

I don't mean to share this to brag or puff myself up but to encourage you guys and gals to take
steps (even if it's small ones) to live and be healthier. I'm not exactly sure what that means to you.
Maybe it means losing some weight or getting stronger functionally. Maybe your goal is being able to
do one pull-up if you've never done one in your life. Or maybe it's training for a triathlon or running
in a 5K or half-marathon. Only you can know what your goal for health is. Even though we're
competing on Sunday, this whole 90-day fitness challenge isn't really about who are the winners or
losers. It's about being healthy and reaching those goals together. And if we take those steps together,
we all can be winners.

Reflecting on these lessons as a Christian, there are many parallels. I know I need to evaluate my "spiritual"
health and ask myself what am I doing (or not doing) to be become spiritually fit. I guess that's the
next area of my life that I need to be more disciplined about. And once again, the body of Christ can be
influential in that helping with that transformation.

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have
preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for allowing me to share this with you. I'm looking forward to
our "friendly" competition this Sunday and our victory celebration/dinner at Souplantation afterwards.
I hope to see many of you there to participate or cheer us on.

Please go ahead and forward this to someone you know and care about that can benefit from it.

In Christ,

-Chris

This guy is walking through Chinatown and sees a building with a sign "Lars Olafsen's Laundry."

"Lars Olafsen?", he thinks. "How in the world does that fit in here?"

So, he walks into the shop and sees an old Chinese gentleman sitting in the corner. The visitor asks,
"How in the world did this place get a name like Lars Olafsen's Laundry?"

The old man answers "Is name of owner."

The visitor asks, "Well, who is the owner?"

"I am he," answers the old man.

"You? How did you ever get a name like Lars Olafsen?"

The old man replies:

"Many years ago when I come to this country, I was standing in line at Documentation Center.
Man in front of me was big blond Norwegian. Lady look at him and go, 'What your name?'
He say, 'Lars Olafsen.' She look at me and say, 'What your name?' I say, 'Sam Ting.'