Nehemiah is a book of the history of the Jews. Have you ever read it?450 BC – It is the time of Socrates, just a few years before Plato, Aristotle, and Alexander the Great: Nehemiah is a government worker who becomes distressed with the way things are and decides to do something about it. “Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, 'Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.' When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.”Have you ever learned something that made you want to sit down and weep? Emptiness. Violence. Illiteracy. Loneliness. Disease. Poverty. The world is full of sadness.But Nehemiah wasn't like most people. He didn't think it was enough just to be sad. He decided to do something, even though he was very afraid.“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” – Ambrose Redmoon, quoted by my friend Susan Ryan just before she left for AfghanistanSpeaking to King Artaxerxes of Persia, Nehemiah said, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” The king gave his permission. And thus Nehemiah began the long labor for which he would be forever remembered.“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson“When you grow up, you have to give yourself away. Sometimes you give your life all in a moment, but mostly you have to give yourself away laboring one minute at a time.” – Gaborn Val OrdenDo you have a plan for making the world better, or at least your little corner of it? Tell us about it in your application to be selected for Wizard Academy's World Changers curriculum July 10-12, 2006. Perhaps you'll be one of the two-dozen carefully chosen students to receive a full scholarship.No paid seats will be available for this course.Month after month, Wizard Academy equips people who want to make a difference. This is why journalists and scientists and artists and educators and business owners and advertising professionals and ministers are attracted to our little school. But for 3 hot days each July, we train 24 students who want to make a difference, but who don't have the funds for tuition.Six of the World Changers for 2006 will be chosen by Dr. Glenn Cherry. Six will be chosen by Wizard Academy board member Corrine Taylor. Six will be chosen by board member Dr. Richard D. Grant. The final six will be chosen by Pennie Williams, President and co-founder of the Academy.If you believe you should be in this class, please read the list of qualifying criteria and be sure your application for scholarship reaches us prior to midnight, June 10, 2006. Successful applicants will be notified on or before June 17, 2006.Talk is cheap. The world doesn't want to hear what you believe.They're watching to see what you do.Roy H. Williams