Sometimes I think we feel we can do everything 'all by ourselves'. We start that when we are small children, don't we? Mom or Dad show us how to do something and we immediately want to do it 'all by ourself'! We want to put that toy together. We want to use the fork all by ourself. We believe we can do anything and everything. All by ourself. We don't need anyone to help us.
But can you make a difference on your own?
If you think that you can make a difference on your own, then you need to read the words of the poet who wrote “The Indispensable Man”;
Sometime when you’re feeling important;
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom;
Sometime when you take for granted,
You’re the best qualified in the room.
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole;
Just follow this simple instruction,
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist;
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining,
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore;
But stop and you’ll find in a minute,
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example
Is to do just the best that you can;
Be proud of yourself, but remember
There’s no indispensable man!
I read that poem this morning and the (horrible) thought occurred to me, that no matter how much effort I put into my job, how perfect the minutes are, how many things I do 'right' - if I didn't show up for work tomorrow, there might be a few bumps in the road to find where I filed things, what folder did I put that document in, but I expect they will easily fill the gap and it will be barely a ripple of my leaving.
One thing I do want to share..... when you have God with you (and you always do), you are never alone. You are never doing things 'on your own'. He may not intervene in certain circumstances (even though I really, really, really pray He would!!), but He walks me through the circumstance.
If I left - there would hopefully be a small ripple. If God deserted us, the hole He would leave would be so deep, so empty, so void, life would cease to exist.
I can think of no greater horror than being in this world without God. He has walked me through some mighty journeys. When I've done the 'stupid things' - it was all me, but He never left me to wallow in my own stink. When I called out to Him, He always answers, and always walks me through.
He can - and will - do that for you as well. Ask Jesus into your heart and ask Him to walk this journey of life with you. You will find life isn't so hard at times when you have His partnership. Trust Him; hold out your hand and grab hold of His. There is no better partner, no better place to be, than next to Him.
Blessings!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Ugh - I forgot....
Hubby asked me this morning if I had any meetings scheduled today. Gratefully I told him no, none today. When I got to work I remembered I had a 9AM meeting scheduled. At least on Friday I had pulled everything together and had copied everything for the 20 folders. Whew. I'm beat before I get started. I told my boss when she came in that I am NEVER going to schedule meetings on Monday - I need that day to recover from the weekend!
Today's story I used for the reports was about Benjamin Franklin. Did you know that he really promoted 'partnerships'? Since it is nearly 8AM and I don't have time to think of anything to write about - here's some of what I shared....
You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do.
Together we can do great things.
~~Mother Theresa
Some people just naturally approach life with a partnership mind-set. And as a result, they reap unusual success. Benjamin Franklin was one such person.
Franklin is remembered as a printer, statesman, inventor, writer, and Founding Father of the United States. He was born in Boston, the fifteenth of seventeen children, the son of a candle maker. His formal schooling lasted less than two years. At age twelve, he apprenticed to his brother to learn the trade of printing. At seventeen, with no resources other than his talent and hard work, he moved to Philadelphia to seek his fortune, starting out as a printer and journalist. By 1730, at age twenty-four, he owned his own business. In 1748, he was wealthy enough to retire.
The reason Franklin wanted to retire was to devote himself to scientific research. His experiments with electricity made him world famous. Beginning in the 1750s, he became heavily involved in community affairs and politics. Once again, his accomplishments were incredible. He was one of a handful of influencers who shaped the American Revolution and the creation of the new country. A cowriter of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he was the only person to have signed the four documents that helped to create the United States: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance, Amity, and Commerce with France (1778), the Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the United States (1782), and the Constitution (1787).
A quick review of Franklin’s accomplishments might tempt one to believe that Franklin was the kind of person inclined to work alone. Nothing could be further from the truth. Franklin embraced the Partnership Principle from early in his career. Despite his meager education, Franklin was a lifelong learner. But he knew his greatest progress would not come working alone. So in 1727, at the age of twenty-one, he founded a group called the Junto. Franklin described it as “a club of mutual improvement” composed of “most of my ingenious acquaintance.” The original group included printers, surveyors, craftsmen, a clerk, and a merchant. “We met on Fridays,” Franklin said. “The rules that I drew up required that every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the company; and once in three months produce and read an essay of his own writing, on any subject he pleased.” Franklin’s Junto eventually evolved into the American Philosophical Society, which still exists today.
An important part of Franklin’s continuing self-education was reading books. Often short of funds when he was young, Franklin came up with a partnership approach to acquiring books. He convinced a group of people to pool their money and buy a library of books to be shared. By 1731, the idea evolved into the nation’s first lending library.
Franklin used a similar partnership approach again and again. Because of the threat of fire in Philadelphia, he convinced a group of colonists to come together to form the city’s first volunteer firefighting club in 1736. In the event of a fire threatening the property of any club member, all of the other members would come to his aid. In 1751, he helped to found the first public hospital in the country. In 1752, he encouraged a group of colonists to share financial risks by partnering in the Philadelphia Contributorship, America’s first fire insurance company. He got people to work together to hire street sweepers and to employ local policemen. Time after time, Franklin teamed up with others so that all could achieve success.
No matter how successful Franklin became, he never abandoned his partnership approach to achievement. He employed it on national and international scales. When the United States was seeking its independence, its founders knew that the country would not survive without the help and partnership of other nations. Franklin was dispatched to Europe as the national’s first minister to France. He was successful in persuading the French to partner with America against the British. Scholar Leo Leman called Franklin “the most essential and successful American diplomat of all time.”
And after the young nation had secured its independence and was attempting to write its constitution in 1787, when delegates could not agree on the structure of the legislature, Franklin proposed the “great compromise” that created our current two-house congressional structure. Few men have had a greater impact on the United States. And few people have understood the power of partnership the way Franklin did.
Maybe I will share more tomorrow.... but for now... this is it. Wow – what a great “history” lesson - and on learning about working with others! Who do you see as your partners in your area of work? Aren’t you grateful you don’t have to do all this alone? Show your gratitude today to someone who partners with you so that you both can do your job better.
It’s Monday again………. Have an awesome day!
Blessings!
Today's story I used for the reports was about Benjamin Franklin. Did you know that he really promoted 'partnerships'? Since it is nearly 8AM and I don't have time to think of anything to write about - here's some of what I shared....
You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do.
Together we can do great things.
~~Mother Theresa
Some people just naturally approach life with a partnership mind-set. And as a result, they reap unusual success. Benjamin Franklin was one such person.
Franklin is remembered as a printer, statesman, inventor, writer, and Founding Father of the United States. He was born in Boston, the fifteenth of seventeen children, the son of a candle maker. His formal schooling lasted less than two years. At age twelve, he apprenticed to his brother to learn the trade of printing. At seventeen, with no resources other than his talent and hard work, he moved to Philadelphia to seek his fortune, starting out as a printer and journalist. By 1730, at age twenty-four, he owned his own business. In 1748, he was wealthy enough to retire.
The reason Franklin wanted to retire was to devote himself to scientific research. His experiments with electricity made him world famous. Beginning in the 1750s, he became heavily involved in community affairs and politics. Once again, his accomplishments were incredible. He was one of a handful of influencers who shaped the American Revolution and the creation of the new country. A cowriter of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he was the only person to have signed the four documents that helped to create the United States: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance, Amity, and Commerce with France (1778), the Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the United States (1782), and the Constitution (1787).
A quick review of Franklin’s accomplishments might tempt one to believe that Franklin was the kind of person inclined to work alone. Nothing could be further from the truth. Franklin embraced the Partnership Principle from early in his career. Despite his meager education, Franklin was a lifelong learner. But he knew his greatest progress would not come working alone. So in 1727, at the age of twenty-one, he founded a group called the Junto. Franklin described it as “a club of mutual improvement” composed of “most of my ingenious acquaintance.” The original group included printers, surveyors, craftsmen, a clerk, and a merchant. “We met on Fridays,” Franklin said. “The rules that I drew up required that every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the company; and once in three months produce and read an essay of his own writing, on any subject he pleased.” Franklin’s Junto eventually evolved into the American Philosophical Society, which still exists today.
An important part of Franklin’s continuing self-education was reading books. Often short of funds when he was young, Franklin came up with a partnership approach to acquiring books. He convinced a group of people to pool their money and buy a library of books to be shared. By 1731, the idea evolved into the nation’s first lending library.
Franklin used a similar partnership approach again and again. Because of the threat of fire in Philadelphia, he convinced a group of colonists to come together to form the city’s first volunteer firefighting club in 1736. In the event of a fire threatening the property of any club member, all of the other members would come to his aid. In 1751, he helped to found the first public hospital in the country. In 1752, he encouraged a group of colonists to share financial risks by partnering in the Philadelphia Contributorship, America’s first fire insurance company. He got people to work together to hire street sweepers and to employ local policemen. Time after time, Franklin teamed up with others so that all could achieve success.
No matter how successful Franklin became, he never abandoned his partnership approach to achievement. He employed it on national and international scales. When the United States was seeking its independence, its founders knew that the country would not survive without the help and partnership of other nations. Franklin was dispatched to Europe as the national’s first minister to France. He was successful in persuading the French to partner with America against the British. Scholar Leo Leman called Franklin “the most essential and successful American diplomat of all time.”
And after the young nation had secured its independence and was attempting to write its constitution in 1787, when delegates could not agree on the structure of the legislature, Franklin proposed the “great compromise” that created our current two-house congressional structure. Few men have had a greater impact on the United States. And few people have understood the power of partnership the way Franklin did.
Maybe I will share more tomorrow.... but for now... this is it. Wow – what a great “history” lesson - and on learning about working with others! Who do you see as your partners in your area of work? Aren’t you grateful you don’t have to do all this alone? Show your gratitude today to someone who partners with you so that you both can do your job better.
It’s Monday again………. Have an awesome day!
Blessings!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Who you think I am may not be who I think I am....
“Many intelligent adults . . . are restrained in thoughts, actions and results. They never move further than the boundaries of their self-imposed limitation.”
~~ John Maxwell
It happens to us the moment we are born. Excited family members press their noses against the nursery window in the hospital and begin playing the game, “Who does he look like?” After much discussion, it is decided that the red-faced, wrinkly, toothless, bald baby looks like “Uncle Harry.” The labeling of the little child increases as his personality develops. That is a normal human reaction. We all do it. It becomes hurtful, however, when we start placing limitations on our child because he is a “C” student, a “fair” runner or a “plain” child. Unless parents exercise care, their children will grow up selling themselves short because of the “box” parents put them in, the expectations parents have placed upon them.
One “boxed in” child was Adam Clarke, who was born in the eighteenth century in Ireland. When Adam was a schoolboy, his father told the teacher that Adam wouldn’t do well.
The teacher said, “He looks bright.”
That statement changed his life – let him out of the box his father had put him in. He lived to be 72, and he became a great scholar, an English Methodist preacher, and an author of commentaries and a book called Christian Theology. When Adam Clarke preached, it was said, people listened.
What are a person’s capabilities? No one knows. Therefore, no one should be consciously instilling life-limiting thoughts into others. Thirty years ago, Johnny Weissmuller, also known as Tarzan to movie viewers, was called the greatest swimmer the world had ever known. Doctors and coaches around the world said, “Nobody will ever break Johnny Weissmuller’s records.” He held more than fifty of them! Do you know who is breaking Tarzan’s records today? Thirteen-year-old girls! The 1936 Olympic records were the qualifying standards for the 1972 Olympics.
For decades, track enthusiasts declared boldly that nobody would break the four-minute mile. For decades their prediction looked secure. Roger Bannister did not listen to such limiting assumptions. Result: He broke the “impossible” four-minute mile. Today, at least 336 men have accomplished this feat. They did not let themselves be limited by others’ expectations.
Remember: Others can stop you temporarily, but you are the only one who can do it permanently.
~~ John Maxwell - Your Attitude
~~~~~
What you speak into your children, and even into yourself, DOES make a difference. I want to tell you a funny story. Now, I may have parts of it messed up in my memory, but here it is....
I have always, from the moment they were born, called my beautiful granddaughters “Princess”. I would tell them how precious they are, how special, how beautiful, and how loved. One day one of the granddaughters disobeyed her mother.
No, they didn’t call grandma.
My beautiful daughter-in-law told her daughter that her behavior was not that of a princess, and therefore, she must not be a princess. OH MY GOODNESS!!
My little Princess, about 5 years old at this time, began to sob as if her heart was going to break, and stomping her foot declared, “I am too a Princess!! My grandma says I am a Princess and I AM a Princess!!”
And of course when grandma heard the story, I confirmed again she was still a Princess….. and she still needed to obey her parents.
My granddaughters know that they can accomplish anything – if for no other reason, but that they are a Princess. They love it when I tell their dates they MUST open her car door because she is a Princess. And I love it when a brother will tell his sister’s date, “my sister is a Princess, and you had better treat her as one, or you will answer to me.”
How did you speak to your child before you left this morning? Did you leave with them thinking they are a delight to you, that you are proud of them? Thinking back with school out, many of you left them in bed. Just a suggestion, next time you leave them in bed as you head out the door to work, instead of leaving notes telling them what you expect to have done that day, tell them how proud you are of them and that you love them beyond measure. Build them up, and you will be amazed at what they can accomplish.
I believe in each of my children and grandchildren; I believe they can accomplish great things. But until they believe it too, and act on it, they will stay in the same place. Life is a choice - you can LIVE in it, or live with it. I choose to LIVE.
Blessings!
~~ John Maxwell
It happens to us the moment we are born. Excited family members press their noses against the nursery window in the hospital and begin playing the game, “Who does he look like?” After much discussion, it is decided that the red-faced, wrinkly, toothless, bald baby looks like “Uncle Harry.” The labeling of the little child increases as his personality develops. That is a normal human reaction. We all do it. It becomes hurtful, however, when we start placing limitations on our child because he is a “C” student, a “fair” runner or a “plain” child. Unless parents exercise care, their children will grow up selling themselves short because of the “box” parents put them in, the expectations parents have placed upon them.
One “boxed in” child was Adam Clarke, who was born in the eighteenth century in Ireland. When Adam was a schoolboy, his father told the teacher that Adam wouldn’t do well.
The teacher said, “He looks bright.”
That statement changed his life – let him out of the box his father had put him in. He lived to be 72, and he became a great scholar, an English Methodist preacher, and an author of commentaries and a book called Christian Theology. When Adam Clarke preached, it was said, people listened.
What are a person’s capabilities? No one knows. Therefore, no one should be consciously instilling life-limiting thoughts into others. Thirty years ago, Johnny Weissmuller, also known as Tarzan to movie viewers, was called the greatest swimmer the world had ever known. Doctors and coaches around the world said, “Nobody will ever break Johnny Weissmuller’s records.” He held more than fifty of them! Do you know who is breaking Tarzan’s records today? Thirteen-year-old girls! The 1936 Olympic records were the qualifying standards for the 1972 Olympics.
For decades, track enthusiasts declared boldly that nobody would break the four-minute mile. For decades their prediction looked secure. Roger Bannister did not listen to such limiting assumptions. Result: He broke the “impossible” four-minute mile. Today, at least 336 men have accomplished this feat. They did not let themselves be limited by others’ expectations.
Remember: Others can stop you temporarily, but you are the only one who can do it permanently.
~~ John Maxwell - Your Attitude
~~~~~
What you speak into your children, and even into yourself, DOES make a difference. I want to tell you a funny story. Now, I may have parts of it messed up in my memory, but here it is....
I have always, from the moment they were born, called my beautiful granddaughters “Princess”. I would tell them how precious they are, how special, how beautiful, and how loved. One day one of the granddaughters disobeyed her mother.
No, they didn’t call grandma.
My beautiful daughter-in-law told her daughter that her behavior was not that of a princess, and therefore, she must not be a princess. OH MY GOODNESS!!
My little Princess, about 5 years old at this time, began to sob as if her heart was going to break, and stomping her foot declared, “I am too a Princess!! My grandma says I am a Princess and I AM a Princess!!”
And of course when grandma heard the story, I confirmed again she was still a Princess….. and she still needed to obey her parents.
My granddaughters know that they can accomplish anything – if for no other reason, but that they are a Princess. They love it when I tell their dates they MUST open her car door because she is a Princess. And I love it when a brother will tell his sister’s date, “my sister is a Princess, and you had better treat her as one, or you will answer to me.”
How did you speak to your child before you left this morning? Did you leave with them thinking they are a delight to you, that you are proud of them? Thinking back with school out, many of you left them in bed. Just a suggestion, next time you leave them in bed as you head out the door to work, instead of leaving notes telling them what you expect to have done that day, tell them how proud you are of them and that you love them beyond measure. Build them up, and you will be amazed at what they can accomplish.
I believe in each of my children and grandchildren; I believe they can accomplish great things. But until they believe it too, and act on it, they will stay in the same place. Life is a choice - you can LIVE in it, or live with it. I choose to LIVE.
Blessings!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
What kind of friend are you?
Getting close to the end of the book I've been sharing for the past several weeks. Today's chapter was on friendships. It's one of those that instantly reveal who your friends are - and which ones are best friends. Our friends - best and otherwise - influence us in many ways. Some good, some bad. However, through thick and thin, friends are always there.
One person who had incredible insight about relationships was King Solomon of ancient Israel. It’s said that he was the wisest person who ever lived. During the course of his lifetime, he wrote many wise things about friendships, and we can learn from them today. Here are a few of those truths about real friends:
Real Friends Are Scarce
Solomon wrote, “Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.” When you develop a deep friendship with someone, value it, because real friends are rare. A true friend ….
Is someone who sees you at your worst but never forgets your best.
Is someone who thinks you are a little bit more wonderful than you really are.
Is someone you can talk with for hours or be with in complete silence.
Is as happy for your success as you are.
Trusts you enough to say what he really means when talking to you.
Doesn’t try to know more, act smarter, or be your constant teacher.
In short, a real friend is a friend all the time. Value the real friends you have. They are precious. More important, try to become a real friend to others. There are few gifts greater than being a friend.
Real Friends Are Refreshing
Solomon observed, “Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” Every situation in life improves when a friend is involved. When you want to share a fun experience, there’s nothing like having a friend with you. When you’re facing a crisis, a friend shares its weight. C. S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at the moment one person says to another, ‘What, you too? I thought I was the only one.’” That kind of connection is refreshing, no matter what’s happening in your life.
How do others respond to you? When people see you coming, do they expect to be refreshed and energized? Or do they have to expend energy to sustain their interaction with you? Everyone should be a breath of fresh air to someone in his life.
Real Friends Make Us Better
In the best kinds of friendships, the people improve one another simply by being together. As Solomon said, “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.”
Automaker Henry Ford was having lunch with a person and asked him, “Who is your best friend?” As Ford waited for the response, the man hesitated. He wasn’t sure.
“I will tell you who your best friend is,” Ford jumped in. “Your best friend is the one who brings out the best that is within you.”
That’s what real friends do. They bring out each other’s best.
Real Friends Remain Faithful
Have you heard this one? What do you get if you cross Lassie with a pit bull? You get a dog that bites your face off and then goes for help. Real friends aren’t like that. In this world there are plenty of people who don’t care about others. Solomon remarked, “Calloused climbers betray their very own friends; they’d stab their own grandmothers in the back.” But real friends remain faithful no matter what.
Author and pastor Richard Exley said, “A true friend is one who hears and understands when you share your deepest feelings. He supports you when you are struggling; he corrects you, gently and with love, when you err; and he forgives you when you fail. A true friend prods you to personal growth, stretches you to your full potential. And most amazing of all, he celebrates your successes as if they were his own.
You cannot sustain a deep friendship with everyone, nor should you try. But you should cultivate genuine, deep friendships with a few people. And you can be a friendly, kind, supportive person to everyone you meet. You can treat every person as an individual, not simply a business “contact.” If you put others first as people and then worry about business second, you will find you will have lots of friends.
It doesn’t matter if you are the salesman or the customer, a boss or an employee, an executive or a stay-at-home mom. Whatever you do, people will be more inclined to do it with you when you treat them like a friend.
What kind of friend are you? What kind of friend do you want to be?
Blessings!
One person who had incredible insight about relationships was King Solomon of ancient Israel. It’s said that he was the wisest person who ever lived. During the course of his lifetime, he wrote many wise things about friendships, and we can learn from them today. Here are a few of those truths about real friends:
Real Friends Are Scarce
Solomon wrote, “Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.” When you develop a deep friendship with someone, value it, because real friends are rare. A true friend ….
Is someone who sees you at your worst but never forgets your best.
Is someone who thinks you are a little bit more wonderful than you really are.
Is someone you can talk with for hours or be with in complete silence.
Is as happy for your success as you are.
Trusts you enough to say what he really means when talking to you.
Doesn’t try to know more, act smarter, or be your constant teacher.
In short, a real friend is a friend all the time. Value the real friends you have. They are precious. More important, try to become a real friend to others. There are few gifts greater than being a friend.
Real Friends Are Refreshing
Solomon observed, “Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” Every situation in life improves when a friend is involved. When you want to share a fun experience, there’s nothing like having a friend with you. When you’re facing a crisis, a friend shares its weight. C. S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at the moment one person says to another, ‘What, you too? I thought I was the only one.’” That kind of connection is refreshing, no matter what’s happening in your life.
How do others respond to you? When people see you coming, do they expect to be refreshed and energized? Or do they have to expend energy to sustain their interaction with you? Everyone should be a breath of fresh air to someone in his life.
Real Friends Make Us Better
In the best kinds of friendships, the people improve one another simply by being together. As Solomon said, “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.”
Automaker Henry Ford was having lunch with a person and asked him, “Who is your best friend?” As Ford waited for the response, the man hesitated. He wasn’t sure.
“I will tell you who your best friend is,” Ford jumped in. “Your best friend is the one who brings out the best that is within you.”
That’s what real friends do. They bring out each other’s best.
Real Friends Remain Faithful
Have you heard this one? What do you get if you cross Lassie with a pit bull? You get a dog that bites your face off and then goes for help. Real friends aren’t like that. In this world there are plenty of people who don’t care about others. Solomon remarked, “Calloused climbers betray their very own friends; they’d stab their own grandmothers in the back.” But real friends remain faithful no matter what.
Author and pastor Richard Exley said, “A true friend is one who hears and understands when you share your deepest feelings. He supports you when you are struggling; he corrects you, gently and with love, when you err; and he forgives you when you fail. A true friend prods you to personal growth, stretches you to your full potential. And most amazing of all, he celebrates your successes as if they were his own.
You cannot sustain a deep friendship with everyone, nor should you try. But you should cultivate genuine, deep friendships with a few people. And you can be a friendly, kind, supportive person to everyone you meet. You can treat every person as an individual, not simply a business “contact.” If you put others first as people and then worry about business second, you will find you will have lots of friends.
It doesn’t matter if you are the salesman or the customer, a boss or an employee, an executive or a stay-at-home mom. Whatever you do, people will be more inclined to do it with you when you treat them like a friend.
What kind of friend are you? What kind of friend do you want to be?
Blessings!
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
The Joy of....
How would you finish that beginning? The joy of.... children? The joy of.... grandchildren? The joy of.... your job? The joy of...
This morning as I often do, I wrote out of a book a story to send out with the reports. The story was about relationships, of course, and friendship. It talked about a salesman who formed relationships with his customers who, years after door-to-door salesmen became non-existent (thank goodness!!) continued to call him to place orders for his products, although they could find a brand much cheaper at a discount store. Friendship - and relationships.
Sometimes families have both - friendship and relationship. Unfortunately, some families only have relationships.
Sometimes you have people in your life who you can not only call 'friend', but have a relationship with them. There are 'close' friends, and there are 'just' friends.
I know I catch myself sometimes introducing someone as my 'best friend' to a person I would introduce to someone else as my 'best friend'. The first time I did that I caught myself - and wondered what my 'best friend' thought when I introduced the other 'best friend' to her. LOL I've learned to try to say 'one of my best friends' - for I hope I have many.
Relationships. We all have them. Some good, some not so good. I guess first of all you need to identify how that relationship affects you. Do you walk away joyful for having that relationship - or do you feel down and sad after you talk with them? Not that what is discussed makes you sad, but that you don't feel the love and warmth other relationships give you.
And it comes in various levels. I have friends here at work that I call 'work friends' and some I call 'good friends' and some I call 'best friends'. Sometimes I am surprised when a 'good' friend will introduce me to someone as their 'best friend'. I also stop and re-evaluate that relationship to see if I am missing something. And there are those that we just call 'friends'. I have a lot of those - and I'm sure you do as well.
The Joy of Work this morning.......... and I have plenty to do. Big meeting first thing Thursday morning and I have 20 binders with about 26 tabs that I need to complete. Nearly done, but got more information in yesterday to insert. Job security? naw, anyone can print and insert papers. But no one does it as good as me. :-)
Think about what brings you joy today. I like to think that in some small way I bring God joy each day. I awoke this morning with my heart singing a song of praise. I love mornings like that. It seems to make my day start perfectly. It is good.
Bring someone joy today. Be a friend.
Blessings!
This morning as I often do, I wrote out of a book a story to send out with the reports. The story was about relationships, of course, and friendship. It talked about a salesman who formed relationships with his customers who, years after door-to-door salesmen became non-existent (thank goodness!!) continued to call him to place orders for his products, although they could find a brand much cheaper at a discount store. Friendship - and relationships.
Sometimes families have both - friendship and relationship. Unfortunately, some families only have relationships.
Sometimes you have people in your life who you can not only call 'friend', but have a relationship with them. There are 'close' friends, and there are 'just' friends.
I know I catch myself sometimes introducing someone as my 'best friend' to a person I would introduce to someone else as my 'best friend'. The first time I did that I caught myself - and wondered what my 'best friend' thought when I introduced the other 'best friend' to her. LOL I've learned to try to say 'one of my best friends' - for I hope I have many.
Relationships. We all have them. Some good, some not so good. I guess first of all you need to identify how that relationship affects you. Do you walk away joyful for having that relationship - or do you feel down and sad after you talk with them? Not that what is discussed makes you sad, but that you don't feel the love and warmth other relationships give you.
And it comes in various levels. I have friends here at work that I call 'work friends' and some I call 'good friends' and some I call 'best friends'. Sometimes I am surprised when a 'good' friend will introduce me to someone as their 'best friend'. I also stop and re-evaluate that relationship to see if I am missing something. And there are those that we just call 'friends'. I have a lot of those - and I'm sure you do as well.
The Joy of Work this morning.......... and I have plenty to do. Big meeting first thing Thursday morning and I have 20 binders with about 26 tabs that I need to complete. Nearly done, but got more information in yesterday to insert. Job security? naw, anyone can print and insert papers. But no one does it as good as me. :-)
Think about what brings you joy today. I like to think that in some small way I bring God joy each day. I awoke this morning with my heart singing a song of praise. I love mornings like that. It seems to make my day start perfectly. It is good.
Bring someone joy today. Be a friend.
Blessings!
Monday, July 14, 2014
Working from Home....
I'm sure I've mentioned before that I really don't like working from home. Today is no exception. My boss is at a conference for two days (in San Diego, isn't that terrible?) so has added 3 vacation days to her week, her hubby went with her, and they are there for vacation. With my boss being gone, and most of the others I do work for are also on PTO or out of the office, I asked to work from home today. I do have a 7AM meeting in the morning, but I've already printed things off and the packets are ready to go.
I don't like working from home because it is harder to get into my folders. In fact, shortly I need to contact our IT department and get them to open my folders up - or tell me how to do it. I can't get into any of them. A big red 'x' is on the folder. I can get into them on my regular computer, but it is harder to work from cause my link to the office keeps dropping. Sometimes I do have to work from two computers. I wish I had two computer screens here at home like I do at work. It is so nice to be able to drag something off to the other screen so that I can refer to it as I work on the other screen.
Don't know of much to write - and am trying not to get too personal anymore. Need to get to work anyway.
Hope you have a good day.
Blessings!
I don't like working from home because it is harder to get into my folders. In fact, shortly I need to contact our IT department and get them to open my folders up - or tell me how to do it. I can't get into any of them. A big red 'x' is on the folder. I can get into them on my regular computer, but it is harder to work from cause my link to the office keeps dropping. Sometimes I do have to work from two computers. I wish I had two computer screens here at home like I do at work. It is so nice to be able to drag something off to the other screen so that I can refer to it as I work on the other screen.
Don't know of much to write - and am trying not to get too personal anymore. Need to get to work anyway.
Hope you have a good day.
Blessings!
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Vanity, Vanity, It's All Vanity.....
Or in the NIV version, "The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? ..."
What in the world do we do that we think is so important? Hmmm. Actually, when I wrote the title I was thinking of 'looking good' vanity. What brought that to mind? I caught myself looking at myself in the glass window reflection of one of the offices when I went to get my boss coffee. Was my top even with my jacket, was the jacket hanging right, etc. I rarely look at my hair - even when I go to the restroom. The hair and the face I can do nothing about. Once I leave the house, I'm done with all I can do. sigh.
However, with my clothes, I can at least try something different. Remove my jacket, use a sweater, go without the jacket or sweater (not in the building - dress codes - no spaghetti straps), wear my flats (that I wear in to the office cause I don't want to walk a block in heels through sidewalk cracks. I found (when I did) catching my heel in the cracks of the sidewalk), or wear my heels. I have my heels on now, along with my jacket. But anyway - my thoughts are wandering away.
Anyway - I wrote the title because I caught myself checking my reflection. How often do you do that through the day? Do you 'check yourself out' whenever you see a reflection of yourself? That is what most of us do - don't deny it!
But, if we take what Solomon says (instead of vanity) that it's all meaningless - then wow, what a thought.
Does that mean everything I do all day is meaningless? I guess it would be if it wasn't of value. With my job, although it is administrative and not hands on, I provide support to several other people so that they can do their jobs well. I do not consider THAT meaningless - it is a lot of work. But, overall, when the job is done, all the papers that I printed, 3-hole punched, and put in nice binders behind 20 different tabs - well, they are all thrown away. It makes me feel like it is 'meaningless'. More like wasteful. If they would let me, we could just put the reports up on the projected screen and save mucho trees.
I think about yesterday and wonder if what I did was meaningless. Could be. Depends on who is looking at it, I guess. Did I happen to touch someone's life throughout the day? If I did, then my day isn't meaningless.
Come to think about it, after I sent out my reports yesterday, I DID get a comment back from one person (I get a average about 3-4 comments a week when I send out reports) how what I wrote really helped her during a specific time. Those are good things, therefore, not meaningless.
I prefer to think that all I do has meaning. It may not to others, but it does to me.
and what you do also has meaning. Whether it is helping someone sell a house, buy a house; deliver parts, pick up parts; help things get done for specific group of people, process paperwork; - all of this is touching someone. It affects someone if you don't do it.
Think of a teacher - the lives they touch. Unfortunately we do have some horrible teachers who demean students and ruin their lives after school - but we have many teachers who build up their students and they become successful.
We have parents the same way. We have friends the same way. We have relatives the same way. Snide remarks aren't always funny. They can hurt. Especially when repeated time and again. Now this is meaningless.
So what are you doing to make a difference? To make your day meaningful? To affirm someone today?
For me, I think I will challenge myself to encourage three people today. Not just say 'you look nice'. Anyone can say that, whether they mean it or not. I want to look for something that means something to them - and comment on that. Postively, of course. Even if it is just an email. But I must also be truthful.
Challenge on! Find three people that you can truthfully compliment today, truthfully encourage and affirm. Do it verbally, phone, or by email. It can be anyone who needs it today. Be the giver of encouragement. Go for it!
Blessings!
What in the world do we do that we think is so important? Hmmm. Actually, when I wrote the title I was thinking of 'looking good' vanity. What brought that to mind? I caught myself looking at myself in the glass window reflection of one of the offices when I went to get my boss coffee. Was my top even with my jacket, was the jacket hanging right, etc. I rarely look at my hair - even when I go to the restroom. The hair and the face I can do nothing about. Once I leave the house, I'm done with all I can do. sigh.
However, with my clothes, I can at least try something different. Remove my jacket, use a sweater, go without the jacket or sweater (not in the building - dress codes - no spaghetti straps), wear my flats (that I wear in to the office cause I don't want to walk a block in heels through sidewalk cracks. I found (when I did) catching my heel in the cracks of the sidewalk), or wear my heels. I have my heels on now, along with my jacket. But anyway - my thoughts are wandering away.
Anyway - I wrote the title because I caught myself checking my reflection. How often do you do that through the day? Do you 'check yourself out' whenever you see a reflection of yourself? That is what most of us do - don't deny it!
But, if we take what Solomon says (instead of vanity) that it's all meaningless - then wow, what a thought.
Does that mean everything I do all day is meaningless? I guess it would be if it wasn't of value. With my job, although it is administrative and not hands on, I provide support to several other people so that they can do their jobs well. I do not consider THAT meaningless - it is a lot of work. But, overall, when the job is done, all the papers that I printed, 3-hole punched, and put in nice binders behind 20 different tabs - well, they are all thrown away. It makes me feel like it is 'meaningless'. More like wasteful. If they would let me, we could just put the reports up on the projected screen and save mucho trees.
I think about yesterday and wonder if what I did was meaningless. Could be. Depends on who is looking at it, I guess. Did I happen to touch someone's life throughout the day? If I did, then my day isn't meaningless.
Come to think about it, after I sent out my reports yesterday, I DID get a comment back from one person (I get a average about 3-4 comments a week when I send out reports) how what I wrote really helped her during a specific time. Those are good things, therefore, not meaningless.
I prefer to think that all I do has meaning. It may not to others, but it does to me.
and what you do also has meaning. Whether it is helping someone sell a house, buy a house; deliver parts, pick up parts; help things get done for specific group of people, process paperwork; - all of this is touching someone. It affects someone if you don't do it.
Think of a teacher - the lives they touch. Unfortunately we do have some horrible teachers who demean students and ruin their lives after school - but we have many teachers who build up their students and they become successful.
We have parents the same way. We have friends the same way. We have relatives the same way. Snide remarks aren't always funny. They can hurt. Especially when repeated time and again. Now this is meaningless.
So what are you doing to make a difference? To make your day meaningful? To affirm someone today?
For me, I think I will challenge myself to encourage three people today. Not just say 'you look nice'. Anyone can say that, whether they mean it or not. I want to look for something that means something to them - and comment on that. Postively, of course. Even if it is just an email. But I must also be truthful.
Challenge on! Find three people that you can truthfully compliment today, truthfully encourage and affirm. Do it verbally, phone, or by email. It can be anyone who needs it today. Be the giver of encouragement. Go for it!
Blessings!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
and lastly..... too good not to share....
James Michener, the author of Tales of the South Pacific, Texas, Centennial, Space, and many other novels, was a prolific writer who gained respect for his literary prowess and sales success. However, he always had one detractor who remained a thorn in his side for years.
Abandoned as an infant, the author never knew his biological parents. Fortunately he was taken in and raised as a foster son by a widow. He became a Michener, adopting the name of his new family. But each time he published a new book, he received nasty notes from one of the Michener clan. The relative chastised him for besmirching the good Michener name, which he said the novelist had no right to use, despite the fact the writer won a Pulitzer Prize.
Despite the berating, Michener did agree with one thing the relative said. The novelist particularly remembered the comment: “Who do you think you are, trying to be better than you are?” Michener said. “I’ve spent my life trying to be better than I was, and I am a brother to all who share the same aspiration.”
People who embrace the high road make excellence their goal. That’s something that can be accomplished if we….
Care more than others think is wise
Risk more than others think is safe
Dream more than others think is practical
Expect more than others think is possible
Work more than others think is necessary
When we conduct ourselves according to our highest standards, we are less likely to be defensive and take the low road when attacked by others. I say that because when you know you’ve done all you can do, you can let criticism roll off your back like rain.
Have you ever heard the fable of the lion and the skunk? A proud, loud, and especially obnoxious skunk challenged a lion to a fight. The lion promptly and emphatically declined the challenge.
“Hah!” sneered the skunk. “You’re afraid to fight me!”
“No,” answered the lion, “but why should I fight you? You would gain fame from fighting me, even though I gave you the worst beating of your life – which I would do. But how about me? I couldn’t possibly gain anything by defeating you. On the other hand, everyone I met for a month would know that I had been in the company of a skunk.”
The high road is the only path that brings out the best in others. Philosopher-poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe advised, “Treat people as though they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
Making it your practice to always treat others the best that you can affects the way you see the world – and yourself. President Abraham Lincoln said, “Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower were I thought a flower would grow.” That is what the High Road Principle does to a person’s heart over the course of time: it plants flowers where thorny weeds once thrived. The way that you treat others is your statement to the world of who you are. Are you making the kind of statement you desire?
If you don’t already practice the High Road Principle, I hope you will embrace it from this day forward. It is probably the best investment you can make in a relationship. If you need a little help moving to the high road, then follow these “directions”:
1. Stay on Kindness Street as long as possible.
2. Turn right on Forgiveness Avenue.
3. Avoid Get Even Alley because it is a dead end.
4. Climb to the top of the hill, for there you will see the high road.
5. Take it and stay on it; and if you lose your way, ask God for help.
The high road is often not the easiest road, but it is the only one that leads to the highest level of living.
Blessings!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Still talking about the high road.... which one are you taking?
The high road truly is the path less traveled. I say that because taking the high road requires thinking and acting in ways that are not natural or common. However, those who practice the High Road become instruments of grace to others and recipients of grace as well. “High roaders” have several things in common:
During the Civil War, Confederate General W.H.C. Whiting was jealous of rival general Robert E. Lee. Consequently Whiting spread many rumors about him. But there came a time when General Lee could have gotten even. When President Jefferson Davis was considering Whiting for a key promotion, he asked General Lee what he thought of Whiting. Without hesitation, Lee endorsed and commended Whiting. The other officers who witnessed the exchange were astonished. Afterward, one of them asked Lee if he had forgotten all the unkind words that Whiting had spread about him.
“I understand that the president wanted to know my opinion of Whiting,” responded Lee, “not Whiting’s opinion of me.”
Newscaster David Brinkley observed, “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” That’s what high road travelers do. They stay true to their core values and treat people according to them, not according to external circumstances.
Nearly anyone can be kind in the face of unkindness every once in a while. It’s more difficult to sustain a high road attitude all the time. Hector LeMarque remarked, “Most people make some good choices every day, but they don’t make enough good choices to create momentum and obtain success.” That’s a good insight on what happens for people who take the high road all the time: they create momentum. They also cultivate relational success. Why? Because responding best today puts them in the best place tomorrow.
I once saw a sign that read, “To err is human, to forgive – is not company policy.” It’s funny, but it also hints at people’s natural inclination not to give individuals a break when they act in a way that shows their human frailty. Let’s face it. We’re all human and make mistakes. People who take the high road recognize their humanness, know that they need to be extended grace, and are accordingly more likely to extend it to others.
One of the most dramatic stories I’ve ever read illustrating this idea came from the life of Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place. She and her family worked with the underground and hid Jews from the Nazis in their home during World War II. When their actions were discovered, they were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the Ravensbruck death camp. Everyone one of her family members died, and only because of a paperwork error did she survive and obtain her release.
A strong woman of faith, Ten Boom lectured often after the war. In 1947, she returned to Ravensbruck to speak about God’s grace and forgiveness to the German people. After she spoke, she found herself face-to-face with the cruelest guard she had encountered at Ravensbruck.
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there – hand held out,” she wrote, “but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I ever had to do.” Finally she extended her hand and forgave him. She took the most difficult of all high roads.
People who take the high road don’t do so because no other roads are open to them. They do it as an act of will according to a desire to serve others. They are like the grandmother at her golden wedding anniversary celebration who told the guests the secret of her happy marriage. “On my wedding day,” she said, “I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults that, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook.” As the guests were leaving, a young wife asked the older woman to name some of the faults that she had overlooked.
“To tell you the truth,” the grand-mother said, “I never did get around to making the list. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, ‘Lucky for him that’s one of the ten!’” Because the high road is uphill, no one travels it by accident.
Make it your practice to always treat others the best that you can affects the way you see the world - and yourself. President Abraham Lincoln said, "Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flowers where I thought a flower would grow." The way you treat others is your statement to the world of who you are. Are you making the kind of statement you desire?
The high road is often not the easiest road, but it is the only one that leads to the highest level of living. Sometimes taking the high road to making amends is the best policy - it frees you from bondage and allows the other person to find release. As long as you remain stubborn and refuse to acknowledge the issues, or refuse to take the first step,you remain in bondage to the person(s) you are upset with. Regardless of how painful the process, the freedom you get from reconciliation is blissful.
Blessings!
During the Civil War, Confederate General W.H.C. Whiting was jealous of rival general Robert E. Lee. Consequently Whiting spread many rumors about him. But there came a time when General Lee could have gotten even. When President Jefferson Davis was considering Whiting for a key promotion, he asked General Lee what he thought of Whiting. Without hesitation, Lee endorsed and commended Whiting. The other officers who witnessed the exchange were astonished. Afterward, one of them asked Lee if he had forgotten all the unkind words that Whiting had spread about him.
“I understand that the president wanted to know my opinion of Whiting,” responded Lee, “not Whiting’s opinion of me.”
Newscaster David Brinkley observed, “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” That’s what high road travelers do. They stay true to their core values and treat people according to them, not according to external circumstances.
Nearly anyone can be kind in the face of unkindness every once in a while. It’s more difficult to sustain a high road attitude all the time. Hector LeMarque remarked, “Most people make some good choices every day, but they don’t make enough good choices to create momentum and obtain success.” That’s a good insight on what happens for people who take the high road all the time: they create momentum. They also cultivate relational success. Why? Because responding best today puts them in the best place tomorrow.
I once saw a sign that read, “To err is human, to forgive – is not company policy.” It’s funny, but it also hints at people’s natural inclination not to give individuals a break when they act in a way that shows their human frailty. Let’s face it. We’re all human and make mistakes. People who take the high road recognize their humanness, know that they need to be extended grace, and are accordingly more likely to extend it to others.
One of the most dramatic stories I’ve ever read illustrating this idea came from the life of Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place. She and her family worked with the underground and hid Jews from the Nazis in their home during World War II. When their actions were discovered, they were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the Ravensbruck death camp. Everyone one of her family members died, and only because of a paperwork error did she survive and obtain her release.
A strong woman of faith, Ten Boom lectured often after the war. In 1947, she returned to Ravensbruck to speak about God’s grace and forgiveness to the German people. After she spoke, she found herself face-to-face with the cruelest guard she had encountered at Ravensbruck.
“It could not have been many seconds that he stood there – hand held out,” she wrote, “but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I ever had to do.” Finally she extended her hand and forgave him. She took the most difficult of all high roads.
People who take the high road don’t do so because no other roads are open to them. They do it as an act of will according to a desire to serve others. They are like the grandmother at her golden wedding anniversary celebration who told the guests the secret of her happy marriage. “On my wedding day,” she said, “I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults that, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook.” As the guests were leaving, a young wife asked the older woman to name some of the faults that she had overlooked.
“To tell you the truth,” the grand-mother said, “I never did get around to making the list. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, ‘Lucky for him that’s one of the ten!’” Because the high road is uphill, no one travels it by accident.
Make it your practice to always treat others the best that you can affects the way you see the world - and yourself. President Abraham Lincoln said, "Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flowers where I thought a flower would grow." The way you treat others is your statement to the world of who you are. Are you making the kind of statement you desire?
The high road is often not the easiest road, but it is the only one that leads to the highest level of living. Sometimes taking the high road to making amends is the best policy - it frees you from bondage and allows the other person to find release. As long as you remain stubborn and refuse to acknowledge the issues, or refuse to take the first step,you remain in bondage to the person(s) you are upset with. Regardless of how painful the process, the freedom you get from reconciliation is blissful.
Blessings!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Taking the High Road.....
I typed up my "usual" from a book for those I have to send reports out to - and it is so good, I thought I would just share it today. It has a good "message".
Keep a fair-sized cemetery in your back yard, in which to bury the faults of your friends.
~~ Henry Ward Beecher
The Question I Must Ask Myself: Do I treat others better than they treat me?
In 1842, thirteen-year-old William Booth’s life changed. His father, Samuel Booth, lost his business. The elder Booth had once been a nail maker, but when his trade became victim of mass production, he started a business as a small-time builder. Unfortunately, recurring recessions took their toll, and finally Booth went out of business. It put him and his family into difficult circumstances. As a result, William, who had grown up in a household with enough money to have him educated, was sent out to learn a trade. He was apprenticed to a pawnbroker in a seedy part of Nottingham, England.
“Make money,” was the advice of Booth’s father, who died bankrupt the next year. Booth did learn about making money while learning his trade. But his apprenticeship also gave him another kind of education. Working in a pawnbroker’s shop, he was in daily contact with the poor and destitute. One biography noted, “He learned as from a primer what poverty did to people.” It’s no coincidence that during his years as an apprentice, he became a person of faith – a Christian.
In 1849, Booth moved to London and took a position in a pawnshop in a poor area south of the Thames River. But after only three years, he gave up this trade and became a minister. He saw faith as the solution to the problems of those who were struggling to survive. And he embarked on a lifelong mission that had two objectives: saving lost souls and righting social injustices.
At first he became a Methodist New Connexion minister, than a traveling evangelist. But in 1865 when some people from the area heard him preach in front of the Blind Beggar Pub in East London, he was recruited to become part of a tent ministry that came to be called the Christian Mission.
From there, Booth ministered to the poorest people in London. The East End contained half of the paupers, homeless, and starving in London. His early converts were some of the most desperate types of people: thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards. He was trying to make a difference, but his efforts were not met with appreciation, even from the very people he was trying to help.
He and his fellow workers were harassed and brutalized. Local tavern keeps worked especially hard to undermine his efforts. Even street children threw stones and fireworks through the windows of their meeting hall. Booth’s wife, Catherine, said that he would “stumble home night after night, haggard with fatigue. Often his clothes were torn and bloody, bandages swathed his head where a stone had struck.” But Booth would not retaliate in kind. And he refused to give up.
Booth worked to feed the poor, house the homeless, and share his faith. His organization continued to grow. By 1867, he had ten full-time workers. By 1874, more than one thousand volunteers and forty-two evangelists worked with him. In 1878 when they reorganized, Booth gave the group a new name. From then on, the organization would be called the Salvation Army.
Unfortunately that didn’t stop the group’s opponents. Booth was labeled “anti-Christ” by the reformer Lord Shaftesbury. An opposition group formed to try to stop Booth and his associates. They came to call themselves the Skeleton Army. An article in the Bethnal Green Easter Post in November 1882 described them:
A genuine rabble of “roughs” pure and unadulterated has been infesting the district for several weeks past. These vagabonds style themselves the “Skeleton Army” . . .The object of the skeleton army was to put down the Salvationists by following them about everywhere, by beating a drum and burlesquing their songs, to render the conduct of their processions and services impossible . . . Amongst the skeleton rabble there is a large percentage of . . . loafers and unmitigated blackguards . . . (and) the disreputable class of publicans who hate the London school board, education and temperance, and who, seeing the beginning of the end of their immoral traffic (sic), and prepared for the most desparate (sic) enterprise.
Despite the horrible treatment they received, the officers and volunteers in the Salvation Army persevered, and they helped hundreds of thousands of people. Often they converted the very individuals who had persecuted them.
In 1912, William Booth, then age eighty-three, delivered his last public address. In it he stated his commitment to investing in people:
While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl on the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end.
Three months later, he died. As one observer put it, the “general” who had led the Salvation Army for more than thirty years was “promoted to glory.”
William Booth spent a lifetime practicing the High Road Principle. He continually treated others better than they treated him. And as a result, he lived on the highest level, personally and professionally. If you’re slinging mud, you’re losing ground. There are really only three roads we can travel when it comes to dealing with others. We can take . . .
The low road – where we treat others worse than they treat us
The middle road – where we treat others the same as they treat us
The high road – where we treat others better than they treat us
The low road damages relationships and alienates others from us. The middle road may not drive people away from us, but it won’t attract them to us either; it is reactive rather than proactive and allows others to set the agenda for our lives. The high road helps to create positive relationships and attracts others to us; it sets a positive agenda with others than even negative people find difficult to undermine.
Which road have you been taking?
Blessings!
Keep a fair-sized cemetery in your back yard, in which to bury the faults of your friends.
~~ Henry Ward Beecher
The Question I Must Ask Myself: Do I treat others better than they treat me?
In 1842, thirteen-year-old William Booth’s life changed. His father, Samuel Booth, lost his business. The elder Booth had once been a nail maker, but when his trade became victim of mass production, he started a business as a small-time builder. Unfortunately, recurring recessions took their toll, and finally Booth went out of business. It put him and his family into difficult circumstances. As a result, William, who had grown up in a household with enough money to have him educated, was sent out to learn a trade. He was apprenticed to a pawnbroker in a seedy part of Nottingham, England.
“Make money,” was the advice of Booth’s father, who died bankrupt the next year. Booth did learn about making money while learning his trade. But his apprenticeship also gave him another kind of education. Working in a pawnbroker’s shop, he was in daily contact with the poor and destitute. One biography noted, “He learned as from a primer what poverty did to people.” It’s no coincidence that during his years as an apprentice, he became a person of faith – a Christian.
In 1849, Booth moved to London and took a position in a pawnshop in a poor area south of the Thames River. But after only three years, he gave up this trade and became a minister. He saw faith as the solution to the problems of those who were struggling to survive. And he embarked on a lifelong mission that had two objectives: saving lost souls and righting social injustices.
At first he became a Methodist New Connexion minister, than a traveling evangelist. But in 1865 when some people from the area heard him preach in front of the Blind Beggar Pub in East London, he was recruited to become part of a tent ministry that came to be called the Christian Mission.
From there, Booth ministered to the poorest people in London. The East End contained half of the paupers, homeless, and starving in London. His early converts were some of the most desperate types of people: thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards. He was trying to make a difference, but his efforts were not met with appreciation, even from the very people he was trying to help.
He and his fellow workers were harassed and brutalized. Local tavern keeps worked especially hard to undermine his efforts. Even street children threw stones and fireworks through the windows of their meeting hall. Booth’s wife, Catherine, said that he would “stumble home night after night, haggard with fatigue. Often his clothes were torn and bloody, bandages swathed his head where a stone had struck.” But Booth would not retaliate in kind. And he refused to give up.
Booth worked to feed the poor, house the homeless, and share his faith. His organization continued to grow. By 1867, he had ten full-time workers. By 1874, more than one thousand volunteers and forty-two evangelists worked with him. In 1878 when they reorganized, Booth gave the group a new name. From then on, the organization would be called the Salvation Army.
Unfortunately that didn’t stop the group’s opponents. Booth was labeled “anti-Christ” by the reformer Lord Shaftesbury. An opposition group formed to try to stop Booth and his associates. They came to call themselves the Skeleton Army. An article in the Bethnal Green Easter Post in November 1882 described them:
A genuine rabble of “roughs” pure and unadulterated has been infesting the district for several weeks past. These vagabonds style themselves the “Skeleton Army” . . .The object of the skeleton army was to put down the Salvationists by following them about everywhere, by beating a drum and burlesquing their songs, to render the conduct of their processions and services impossible . . . Amongst the skeleton rabble there is a large percentage of . . . loafers and unmitigated blackguards . . . (and) the disreputable class of publicans who hate the London school board, education and temperance, and who, seeing the beginning of the end of their immoral traffic (sic), and prepared for the most desparate (sic) enterprise.
Despite the horrible treatment they received, the officers and volunteers in the Salvation Army persevered, and they helped hundreds of thousands of people. Often they converted the very individuals who had persecuted them.
In 1912, William Booth, then age eighty-three, delivered his last public address. In it he stated his commitment to investing in people:
While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl on the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end.
Three months later, he died. As one observer put it, the “general” who had led the Salvation Army for more than thirty years was “promoted to glory.”
William Booth spent a lifetime practicing the High Road Principle. He continually treated others better than they treated him. And as a result, he lived on the highest level, personally and professionally. If you’re slinging mud, you’re losing ground. There are really only three roads we can travel when it comes to dealing with others. We can take . . .
The low road – where we treat others worse than they treat us
The middle road – where we treat others the same as they treat us
The high road – where we treat others better than they treat us
The low road damages relationships and alienates others from us. The middle road may not drive people away from us, but it won’t attract them to us either; it is reactive rather than proactive and allows others to set the agenda for our lives. The high road helps to create positive relationships and attracts others to us; it sets a positive agenda with others than even negative people find difficult to undermine.
Which road have you been taking?
Blessings!
Saturday, July 5, 2014
I actually got some things done....
Yesterday was July 4th and normally we are at the daughter's house for a cookout. However, this past week they moved to an apartment so no longer have the space for family gatherings. So we stayed home. And you know what - that was ok. Hubby went to work in his office and I went through a few bags of papers, etc. that I had taken out of the desk given to one of my boys a month or so ago. I had emptied the drawers into bags when he picked it up - meaning to get to it 'sometime'. Well, sometime was yesterday. I was able to get rid of a lot of papers I had no need of, put things away, and I have a bag of shredding that I need to do. In fact, we went to look at paper shredders yesterday after grabbing a quick lunch at Whataburger.
We do have a small paper shredder. In fact it is one hubby bought me several years ago. His died a long time ago so he has that one in his room. Yes, I could use it - but he has a stack of shredding to do as well. The thing that bugs me about that shredder is that it doesn't take long for it to heat up enough to shut down. Then you have to wait about 1/2 hour before you can shred anything else. By then I'm out of the notion. Therefore, I wanted to find another shredder to put in my room so that I could shred these papers and I know there is a lot more I can shred I haven't gotten to yet. But, alas, the only one that looked decent to do what I wanted was $59 and I decided I didn't need one that bad. Yes, there were some that were $29, but they didn't look like they could do much at one time. I don't care about how many sheets can fit through the slot - most times it is only two or three I put through anyway. It's the volume of shredding (sure, I could do a little at a time and eliminate that entire problem) that I want taken care of. I want to shred when I want, and as much as I want. Is there anything wrong with that?
While we were out I FINALLY bought the movie "Frozen". I've been wanting to see it again and finally just decided to buy it. We watched it last night. I enjoyed it; not sure that hubby did. I need to watch it again without the annoying fan going in the front room. A whole nother story for another time. Maybe.
As I was writing about shredding the thought occurred to me how when we bring our past to God and ask Him to forgive us, it's as though He takes the past and shreds it. His Word says that He forgets what we ask Him to forgive as 'far as the east is from the west'. He remembers it no more. That's kind of like shredding, isn't it?
When we shred papers, we don't want them in our lives any longer. We want 'done' with them. Once shredded into tiny pieces, they are thrown away. Out of our lives. That's what God does. He takes what we give Him and shreds the sins we have confessed, the things we don't want in our lives, and gets rid of them for us. He doesn't remember them anymore. Thank you Jesus!
I am so thankful that when God shreds, not only does He not remember our sins against us, His shredder doesn't burn out. It doesn't get too hot and stop and leave our stack of sins sitting there until He has time to shred again. They are ALL removed. ALL taken away. They are no more. Immediately. That doesn't mean we don't deal with consequences of our sins - we do. But we are forgiven. I'm grateful. It seems like most every day I have something to confess. I guess I keep that shredder of His working properly so that the rest of you can get yours in whenever there is a need. I keep it oiled for you. sigh.
Going to lunch with my middle child today. He asked me a couple weeks ago for some "momma time" - and said for two hours. I had to ask him if I was in trouble, for to set a time frame made me nervous. What have I done now? This past year has been a rough one and I didn't know but that I had done something I was going to be talked to about. I still don't know, but I'm going to go with an attitude that it is going to be a fun time with my son. I don't know that I've done anything that I haven't already confessed and said I was sorry about. Of course nothing directed at him, but still. Do I have some guilt I don't remember? Yipes! Still, I'm looking forward to some time with him.
I've often asked my children for such a gift. When they ask what do I want for .... a lot of times I just respond, "time alone with you". Their lives are so busy - as is mine. I don't want to lose the closeness we have had. I don't want to lose the memories we could make. There is nothing I need. LOL I understand now why my mother always said that - 'there is nothing I need'. That is a true statement. And when we get older, time becomes more precious.
Take some time today to 'make time' with some one you haven't spent time with for awhile. Maybe it is your child. Maybe it is a grandchild (: - maybe it is a friend you have been too busy to connect with. Take some time to catch up on life. You will be glad you did.
Blessings!
We do have a small paper shredder. In fact it is one hubby bought me several years ago. His died a long time ago so he has that one in his room. Yes, I could use it - but he has a stack of shredding to do as well. The thing that bugs me about that shredder is that it doesn't take long for it to heat up enough to shut down. Then you have to wait about 1/2 hour before you can shred anything else. By then I'm out of the notion. Therefore, I wanted to find another shredder to put in my room so that I could shred these papers and I know there is a lot more I can shred I haven't gotten to yet. But, alas, the only one that looked decent to do what I wanted was $59 and I decided I didn't need one that bad. Yes, there were some that were $29, but they didn't look like they could do much at one time. I don't care about how many sheets can fit through the slot - most times it is only two or three I put through anyway. It's the volume of shredding (sure, I could do a little at a time and eliminate that entire problem) that I want taken care of. I want to shred when I want, and as much as I want. Is there anything wrong with that?
While we were out I FINALLY bought the movie "Frozen". I've been wanting to see it again and finally just decided to buy it. We watched it last night. I enjoyed it; not sure that hubby did. I need to watch it again without the annoying fan going in the front room. A whole nother story for another time. Maybe.
As I was writing about shredding the thought occurred to me how when we bring our past to God and ask Him to forgive us, it's as though He takes the past and shreds it. His Word says that He forgets what we ask Him to forgive as 'far as the east is from the west'. He remembers it no more. That's kind of like shredding, isn't it?
When we shred papers, we don't want them in our lives any longer. We want 'done' with them. Once shredded into tiny pieces, they are thrown away. Out of our lives. That's what God does. He takes what we give Him and shreds the sins we have confessed, the things we don't want in our lives, and gets rid of them for us. He doesn't remember them anymore. Thank you Jesus!
I am so thankful that when God shreds, not only does He not remember our sins against us, His shredder doesn't burn out. It doesn't get too hot and stop and leave our stack of sins sitting there until He has time to shred again. They are ALL removed. ALL taken away. They are no more. Immediately. That doesn't mean we don't deal with consequences of our sins - we do. But we are forgiven. I'm grateful. It seems like most every day I have something to confess. I guess I keep that shredder of His working properly so that the rest of you can get yours in whenever there is a need. I keep it oiled for you. sigh.
Going to lunch with my middle child today. He asked me a couple weeks ago for some "momma time" - and said for two hours. I had to ask him if I was in trouble, for to set a time frame made me nervous. What have I done now? This past year has been a rough one and I didn't know but that I had done something I was going to be talked to about. I still don't know, but I'm going to go with an attitude that it is going to be a fun time with my son. I don't know that I've done anything that I haven't already confessed and said I was sorry about. Of course nothing directed at him, but still. Do I have some guilt I don't remember? Yipes! Still, I'm looking forward to some time with him.
I've often asked my children for such a gift. When they ask what do I want for .... a lot of times I just respond, "time alone with you". Their lives are so busy - as is mine. I don't want to lose the closeness we have had. I don't want to lose the memories we could make. There is nothing I need. LOL I understand now why my mother always said that - 'there is nothing I need'. That is a true statement. And when we get older, time becomes more precious.
Take some time today to 'make time' with some one you haven't spent time with for awhile. Maybe it is your child. Maybe it is a grandchild (: - maybe it is a friend you have been too busy to connect with. Take some time to catch up on life. You will be glad you did.
Blessings!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Well, I just decided to do it....
I did. I actually got off work 1/2 hour early last night - and after taking dinner (leftovers from our lunch) home for hubby (for some 'unknown' reason, I just wasn't hungry), sitting with him while he ate, I made the call to the nail place and went to get my pedicure! It was nice and quiet, and very relaxing, to have my feet soaking in warm (not as hot as I like) water, then scrubbed and lotioned, and massaged. Especially my feet. I have pretty bright pink polish on today. Didn't get any design - most of my shoes would hide it anyway. Hmmm, no I guess it wouldn't - most of my heels are sandal type. Oh well. Maybe next time.
I am thinking of doing a little more pampering in the near future... maybe this afternoon since I get off around 3-ish. I'm just really tired and need some pampering in a salon.
I should have been born rich instead of just beautiful. sigh.
I discovered yesterday that I am either overworked, or overwhelmed, or really tired. I went to start working on a set of minutes I had that I still needed to do.... and not only were the minutes completed, but I already had them signed. I didn't remember typing them at the time of discovery, but in thinking about it overnight, I vaguely remember finishing it up at the end of the day and didn't scratch it off my list. Yeah I have to keep a list of all I need to type or I will forget one of them!
Today I need to go through all my meetings and double check the minutes are completed for the next meeting - just in case I scratched off the wrong one. Oh well, busy work for a little while. I still have minutes to type, but the day before a three day weekend, and I plan to get off early today, my mind may just not be working totally focused. Right now I see I only have one set of minutes to type yet - and only one meeting next week so it can be a long week without meetings and minutes to do. Of course the following week I have 3 meetings on the 15th and one on the 17th, two the following week (one is the biggest I do) and then one the last week. Then it starts all over. But, that's my job. And I do it the best I can.
My boss just came in - getting mentally prepared for her 8am meeting with THE boss. I had to show her my pretty toes. Darn! She mentioned she was needing to go - and we found a place about a mile from the office. I thought she had recently gone or I would have suggested we go on our lunch hour. Oh well, I was desperate for pampering last night and needed it. I'll check with her next month - I'm sure I'll be ready for toes again.
Time to get to work! Hope you have a safe and happy July 4th!
Blessings!
I am thinking of doing a little more pampering in the near future... maybe this afternoon since I get off around 3-ish. I'm just really tired and need some pampering in a salon.
I should have been born rich instead of just beautiful. sigh.
I discovered yesterday that I am either overworked, or overwhelmed, or really tired. I went to start working on a set of minutes I had that I still needed to do.... and not only were the minutes completed, but I already had them signed. I didn't remember typing them at the time of discovery, but in thinking about it overnight, I vaguely remember finishing it up at the end of the day and didn't scratch it off my list. Yeah I have to keep a list of all I need to type or I will forget one of them!
Today I need to go through all my meetings and double check the minutes are completed for the next meeting - just in case I scratched off the wrong one. Oh well, busy work for a little while. I still have minutes to type, but the day before a three day weekend, and I plan to get off early today, my mind may just not be working totally focused. Right now I see I only have one set of minutes to type yet - and only one meeting next week so it can be a long week without meetings and minutes to do. Of course the following week I have 3 meetings on the 15th and one on the 17th, two the following week (one is the biggest I do) and then one the last week. Then it starts all over. But, that's my job. And I do it the best I can.
My boss just came in - getting mentally prepared for her 8am meeting with THE boss. I had to show her my pretty toes. Darn! She mentioned she was needing to go - and we found a place about a mile from the office. I thought she had recently gone or I would have suggested we go on our lunch hour. Oh well, I was desperate for pampering last night and needed it. I'll check with her next month - I'm sure I'll be ready for toes again.
Time to get to work! Hope you have a safe and happy July 4th!
Blessings!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
I just can't do it!
I just can't stop writing what I'm wanting to share about things. I like to talk. This is my venue for doing that. True, when I first set it up I was thinking about just putting "deep" and "thought-producing" thoughts on here. And I still may from time to time. I do admit, though, that I did get way off track by sharing too much personal feelings. That I am going to have to watch. But I have decided that I want this outlet to share my accomplishments, my joy, my celebrations, my life. Sometimes it may contain some bad stuff, but hopefully it will always be good.
How else will my children know what is going on with me? Right?
A lot of moving has been going on these past couple weeks. My middle child moved his daughter far, far away. Ok, not that far, but at least 4 hours, I think. One way. She and I have already started discussing when Grandpa and I can make a trip this fall. Grandpa doesn't like to drive where it is still hot. I can only get him north to Prescott and Flagstaff during the summer. But at least we can start planning and thinking about going for a short visit. I will probably see her much less than I did before - which wasn't real often with her living in Tucson - but now! Thank God for telephones and text messages! I'm already thinking about a "love package" to fix up and send her sometime. She sent me a photo this morning of the front view from her apartment. Absolutely beautiful - and it has a cross off to the right of it. I'm assuming that it is a church in that corner somewhere.
Also within the past couple weeks my youngest son has moved into a house with his family. It's been crazy for sure. He leaves soon for three months officers training. It will be interesting while he is gone, to say the least. We were invited over for dinner the other night and to see his house. It's a nice house and once he gets things put away and gets more furniture, it will be liveable. Things are sparse at the moment. I had to laugh - the pantry was about 1/2 full but it was all organized!
And, my daughter and her family has also moved - and is moving into a three-bedroom today from a two-bedroom. At least with downsizing to the two-bedroom they got rid of a lot of furniture and things. Now they can settle down in the three bedroom and focus on other things.
We aren't moving, but I keep thinking we need to remove a lot of clutter. Yeah, I've been doing that thinking again. I DID go through some things last Saturday and threw away some things. Packed away other things. Don't know if I will plan on doing any of that this weekend or not - will have to wait and see. My mother trained me well to be a pack-rat. I'm trying to break that curse. You should have seen the things I threw away just from my bathroom the other week! Old make-up (well, there was still a little bit left so I had to hang on to it!) that I don't use, 3/4 empty bottles of lotions, etc. Things I wasn't using, wasn't going to use, so why hang on to it. I'm sure there is more just in the bathroom I can get rid of but for now, I did make a huge dent.
We are coming upon the July 4th holiday. Today we are having a BBQ here at work - and we were to bring in red/white/blue desserts for a contest. I made something - but it didn't turn out as well as it did Monday when grandchildren helped make them.
I saw it on facebook - and they are ooohhhhh so good! Slice a banana. Take two of the slices and put peanut butter between them. Put in freezer for about ten minutes. Dip in melted chocolate. Put back into freezer until solid. Eat. Oh yummy! I've decided chocolate is the ultimate covering for the bananas! I stopped to get more bananas and the chocolate last night - but by the second store and I couldn't find white chocolate (I wanted to color it red, white, blue), I settled on "candy dips". I melted it - and, well, it's just not the same. It did put a shell around the bananas, but it certainly doesn't taste as good as the chocolate covered banana and peanut butter did. But, I made a bunch and brought in for the contest. Who knows - I may win - we do have first second and third prizes! I think I win one of the prizes every time - not always first prize, and that's ok. A $5 gift card spends just as well as a $25 one.
Short week this week - I took Monday off and baked all day - and we are off on Friday for the July 4th holiday. And I get to leave early on Thursday. I think I'm due for a mani-pedi and some other pampering. Now whether or not I will follow through on that I don't know, but I'm due. Thursday afternoon might be a good opportunity to do it - before the weekend rush and still during the day. Will have to process that.
My boss is in and it's nearly time for me to get started on the day. Minutes to type and things to get done. Boss says she is getting a new car today - on her lunch hour! - and asked that I be sure and get her a plate of the BBQ - which of course I will. I really enjoy working with her.
Need to get to work - hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings - will try to be more productive in the future. Have a great day!
Blessings!
How else will my children know what is going on with me? Right?
A lot of moving has been going on these past couple weeks. My middle child moved his daughter far, far away. Ok, not that far, but at least 4 hours, I think. One way. She and I have already started discussing when Grandpa and I can make a trip this fall. Grandpa doesn't like to drive where it is still hot. I can only get him north to Prescott and Flagstaff during the summer. But at least we can start planning and thinking about going for a short visit. I will probably see her much less than I did before - which wasn't real often with her living in Tucson - but now! Thank God for telephones and text messages! I'm already thinking about a "love package" to fix up and send her sometime. She sent me a photo this morning of the front view from her apartment. Absolutely beautiful - and it has a cross off to the right of it. I'm assuming that it is a church in that corner somewhere.
Also within the past couple weeks my youngest son has moved into a house with his family. It's been crazy for sure. He leaves soon for three months officers training. It will be interesting while he is gone, to say the least. We were invited over for dinner the other night and to see his house. It's a nice house and once he gets things put away and gets more furniture, it will be liveable. Things are sparse at the moment. I had to laugh - the pantry was about 1/2 full but it was all organized!
And, my daughter and her family has also moved - and is moving into a three-bedroom today from a two-bedroom. At least with downsizing to the two-bedroom they got rid of a lot of furniture and things. Now they can settle down in the three bedroom and focus on other things.
We aren't moving, but I keep thinking we need to remove a lot of clutter. Yeah, I've been doing that thinking again. I DID go through some things last Saturday and threw away some things. Packed away other things. Don't know if I will plan on doing any of that this weekend or not - will have to wait and see. My mother trained me well to be a pack-rat. I'm trying to break that curse. You should have seen the things I threw away just from my bathroom the other week! Old make-up (well, there was still a little bit left so I had to hang on to it!) that I don't use, 3/4 empty bottles of lotions, etc. Things I wasn't using, wasn't going to use, so why hang on to it. I'm sure there is more just in the bathroom I can get rid of but for now, I did make a huge dent.
We are coming upon the July 4th holiday. Today we are having a BBQ here at work - and we were to bring in red/white/blue desserts for a contest. I made something - but it didn't turn out as well as it did Monday when grandchildren helped make them.
I saw it on facebook - and they are ooohhhhh so good! Slice a banana. Take two of the slices and put peanut butter between them. Put in freezer for about ten minutes. Dip in melted chocolate. Put back into freezer until solid. Eat. Oh yummy! I've decided chocolate is the ultimate covering for the bananas! I stopped to get more bananas and the chocolate last night - but by the second store and I couldn't find white chocolate (I wanted to color it red, white, blue), I settled on "candy dips". I melted it - and, well, it's just not the same. It did put a shell around the bananas, but it certainly doesn't taste as good as the chocolate covered banana and peanut butter did. But, I made a bunch and brought in for the contest. Who knows - I may win - we do have first second and third prizes! I think I win one of the prizes every time - not always first prize, and that's ok. A $5 gift card spends just as well as a $25 one.
Short week this week - I took Monday off and baked all day - and we are off on Friday for the July 4th holiday. And I get to leave early on Thursday. I think I'm due for a mani-pedi and some other pampering. Now whether or not I will follow through on that I don't know, but I'm due. Thursday afternoon might be a good opportunity to do it - before the weekend rush and still during the day. Will have to process that.
My boss is in and it's nearly time for me to get started on the day. Minutes to type and things to get done. Boss says she is getting a new car today - on her lunch hour! - and asked that I be sure and get her a plate of the BBQ - which of course I will. I really enjoy working with her.
Need to get to work - hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings - will try to be more productive in the future. Have a great day!
Blessings!
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Who Makes a Difference?
At your first job, did someone bring you under their wing and teach you how to do things?
Back in 1974 I was hired in customer service at a small fabric upholstery company that had just opened in Indianapolis. Within a couple months I was called into the President’s office. He offered me the job of bookkeeper (the one they had unexpectedly left). I told him I knew very little about bookkeeping – only what I learned in school (Yes, when I went to high school, bookkeeping was an actual subject). He didn’t care. He would teach me, and the CPA would teach me, what I needed to do. Fearfully, I accepted the position.
Mr. Knowles and the CPA worked patiently with me and taught me how to do payroll, monthly reports, sales reports, credit reports – and I even branched into computers (after working for years using an old Burroughs manual posting machine!). Mr. Knowles believed in me, and trusted me to give him and the company excellence.
I quickly learned how fast I could be on the calculator. Steve, our CPA, and I would often “race” through the numerical columns to see if we reached the same total. I sometimes even beat him! Steve also helped me learn a lot, but it was Mr. Knowles who believed in me to ask me to take on the job.
Mr. Knowles and I still keep in touch. He left that company and started his own business in Florida, which he has since sold (He just turned 86!) I left the company after 7 years and ended up in Phoenix. But I have never forgotten Mr. Knowles who gave me confidence in myself and in abilities. I often tell him how much what he did for me has meant all these years. And he always tells me how much that makes his day to hear he made a difference in my life.
What about you? Who has made a difference in your life? Have you told them lately ‘thank you’?
Better yet, who’s life are YOU making a difference in?
Who are you encouraging, mentoring? If you don’t have someone in your life you are mentoring, look for someone you can come alongside and offer words of encouragement to. It may change their lives.
Blessings!
Back in 1974 I was hired in customer service at a small fabric upholstery company that had just opened in Indianapolis. Within a couple months I was called into the President’s office. He offered me the job of bookkeeper (the one they had unexpectedly left). I told him I knew very little about bookkeeping – only what I learned in school (Yes, when I went to high school, bookkeeping was an actual subject). He didn’t care. He would teach me, and the CPA would teach me, what I needed to do. Fearfully, I accepted the position.
Mr. Knowles and the CPA worked patiently with me and taught me how to do payroll, monthly reports, sales reports, credit reports – and I even branched into computers (after working for years using an old Burroughs manual posting machine!). Mr. Knowles believed in me, and trusted me to give him and the company excellence.
I quickly learned how fast I could be on the calculator. Steve, our CPA, and I would often “race” through the numerical columns to see if we reached the same total. I sometimes even beat him! Steve also helped me learn a lot, but it was Mr. Knowles who believed in me to ask me to take on the job.
Mr. Knowles and I still keep in touch. He left that company and started his own business in Florida, which he has since sold (He just turned 86!) I left the company after 7 years and ended up in Phoenix. But I have never forgotten Mr. Knowles who gave me confidence in myself and in abilities. I often tell him how much what he did for me has meant all these years. And he always tells me how much that makes his day to hear he made a difference in my life.
What about you? Who has made a difference in your life? Have you told them lately ‘thank you’?
Better yet, who’s life are YOU making a difference in?
Who are you encouraging, mentoring? If you don’t have someone in your life you are mentoring, look for someone you can come alongside and offer words of encouragement to. It may change their lives.
Blessings!
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