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Wisdom and Wit About Words
Published by Bob Kelly
Resident Wordsmith and Quotemeister
WordCrafters, Inc.
www.wordcrafters.info
Providing the Right Word for Speakers, Writers, Ministry Leaders and Business Executives – since 1979!
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Volume 2 – Number 8 August 2004
In This Issue:
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FAVORITE WORDS
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I just learned that, a few months ago, on its website, http://www.m-w.com/info/favorite.htm, Merriam-Webster asked visitors to provide their favorite words. Of the thousands of words submitted, the following ten appeared most frequently:
1. defenestration
2. serendipity
3. onomatopoeia
4. discombobulate
5. plethora
6. callipygian
7. juxtapose
8. persnickety
9. kerfuffle
10. flibbertigibbet
Thats certainly an interesting list of words, but theyre not exactly ones were likely to hear in casual conversation, or in a speech or article. Apparently, they were submitted more for their sounds than for their practicality. Used in a speech, theyd probably cause quite a kerfuffle, discombobulating many in the audience, especially the persnickety ones, who might well demand the defenestration of the speaker (a rather uncomfortable fate, to say the least).
Coincidentally, at a dinner party some weeks ago, Judy Weldon, wife of my friend and fellow word lover Joel Weldon, asked me to name my favorite word. Oddly enough, in a lifetime of wordsmithing, this was the first time anyone had asked me that question, and I was caught completely off guard. I had never thought about it. It wasnt until the next day that it dawned on me. Its my favorite word, not so much because of its sound, but because of the impact its had on my life. So I decided to make that word the focus of our quotations this month.
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THE QUOTE CORNER (Grace)
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Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of Gods grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of Gods grace.
Jerry Bridges
Thank God, he does not measure grace out in teaspoons.
Amy Carmichael
Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected.
Jonathan Edwards
Our Heavenly Father, so far from ever overlooking us, is only waiting to find our hearts open, to pour into them the torrents of His grace.
François de la Fenelon
The doctrines of grace humble a man without degrading him, and exalt a man without inflating him.
Charles Hodge
The word "Grace" is unquestionably the most significant single word in the Bible.
Ilion T. Jones
They travel lightly whom Gods grace carries.
Thomas à Kempis
Grace is sufficient to enable us to be accounted entirely and completely righteous in Gods sight.
Martin Luther
Dont let Satan make you think you are so good that you dont need the grace of God. We are a bad lot, all of us, with nothing to pay.
Dwight L. Moody
Man is born broken. He lives by mending. And, the grace of God is glue.
Eugene ONeill
We have a power implanted in us which would lift us up above all hindrances, carry us over all temptationsthe almighty power of the grace of God.
Edward B. Pusey
There is nothing but Gods grace. We walk upon it; we breathe it; we live and die by it; it makes the nails and axles of the universe.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.
John R.W. Stott
It is by His grace that God imputes merit where none previously existed and declares no debt to be where one has been before.
A.W. Tozer
Grace is God himself, his loving energy at work within his Church and within our souls.
Evelyn Underhill
(Note: These quotations are taken from our collection of nearly 400 published volumes of quotations and 1.5 million entries. If youre looking for some quotes on virtually any subject, send us an email or call us at 480-895-7617. Or, if you have a quote topic youd like us to feature in an upcoming issue, email it to us and well get it on the schedule.)
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TWO GUYS AND A MOUSE
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Until very recently, if anyone had asked me to name the person outside the Disney empire who was probably the biggest fan of The Magic Kingdom and perhaps its leading expert, my vote would have immediately been cast for speaker and author Rich Hamilton. Rich, who has been to Disneyland and/or Walt Disney World at least 200 times, and continues to visit there regularly, is the author of three excellent books about how businessmen and women can apply the values and strategies that helped build a gazillion-dollar empire on the shoulders of a make-believe mouse..
His books, Disney Magic: Business Strategy You Can Use at Work and at Home; Internet Business Magic: Using Disneys Magic Strategy in Your Own Online Business; and Disney Magic Idea Book: Magic Strategy for Your Own Business Success, are available for purchase on his website: www.RichHamilton.com, where he may also be contacted about speaking engagements.
While Rich still has my vote as the leading Disney expert, Im afraid I can no longer vote for him as its biggest fan. As reported in the July 30 edition of The Arizona Republic, a man named George Reiger Jr. has claimed that title. Hes been to Walt Disney World 379 times so far, spends about $50,000 a year at Disney facilities, and owns 19,000 Disney collector pieces. As impressive [???] as those figures are, they pale by comparison to the following: the 50-year-old Reiger has been married six times and has honeymooned six times at Disney World; he has (so far) 1,643 tattoes of Disney characters and cast members on his body; and his will stipulates that he be cremated and his ashes spread at Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
Better hurry, Rich. Youve got a lot of catching up to do!
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LINGUISTIC ABSURDITIES THE NAME GAME REVISITED
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A couple of months ago (June 2004), we reported on some really weird and wacky names that certain parents, perhaps a few bricks shy of a load, had foisted on their children, probably condemning them to lives of ridicule. Well, there seems to be no end to this madness. In its July 5, 2004 issue, Sports Illustrated reported that "at least three sets of parents have named their children ESPN, or Espen, after the network." Perhaps to shield them from charges of alphabetical child abuse, the names of the families were not disclosed.
But wait! It gets better make that worse. Now it turns out that one family named a son Espn and a daughter Espy (after the ESPY awards). How did this come to light? The "proud" father himself bragged about it in a letter to SI, which the magazine published in its August 2, 2004 issue.
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SMILE AWHILE
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Ill bet you get as tired as I do of all the e-mail warnings people keep forwarding to us, but I just received this one and feel its really important! Please be sure to send it to everyone on your e-mail list!
If two well-dressed, nice-looking people come to your front door saying theyre with PETA and are conducting a survey on deer ticks, then ask you to take your clothes off and dance around so they can check you for ticks, do not do it! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see you naked.
I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now.
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BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE
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A number of our readers have expressed interest in seeing previous issues of The KellyGram, which are available on our website: www.wordcrafters.info.
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A FINAL WORD
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Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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