Today in History—First U.S. commencement ceremony held at Harvard College, 1642; Lewis and Clark expedition completes its exploration of the West, 1806; time capsule buried at New York World’s fair, 1938; Juan Peron returns to power in Argentina, following ouster in a 1955 military coup, 1973; baseball’s Lou Brock steals record 938 ^th base; earlier he scored his 3,000 hit of the season, 1979; Senator Joseph Biden withdraws from Democratic presidential race following stories alleging possible plagiarism in law school, 1987.

Born Today—Educator William McGuffey, 1800; columnist Walter Lippmann, 1889; actor Mickey Rooney, 1920; composer Ray Charles, 1930; writer Mary Kay Place, 1947; singer Bruce Springsteen, 1949.

Today’s Quotation—“ . . . good resolutions are easier made than executed.”—Benjamin Franklin, September 23, 1770

Plan Ahead

It was the French surgeon Nelaton who said that given four minutes in which to conduct surgery to safe a life he would take one minute to plan how to do it. How many times do we get in trouble because we fail to plan (or run) ahead of God’s plan for our lives? We need to be in step with God each and every day through reading his Word and prayer.

A woman had to be confined to a rest home in her later hears. However she always seemed to be happy and to have a radiant testimony for the Lord. Time went by and she lay dying. She told the chaplain her last request: that they sing her favorite hymn at her funeral. Later, the chaplain recalled, “I never will forget that day as a soloist sang, ‘I’m a Child of the King’ over the humble pine box.

By planning ahead and accepting Christ as her Savior she had moved from the lowly poor house to god’s great mansion in the sky. How far have you planned ahead?