I am a little amused. Although I must admit it isn't funny, and yet, it made me smile. I read my son's blog just now before heading over to my blog. I understand, ironically, what he went through last night because I, at times, will lay there awake with the same thoughts. Beating myself up, sometimes.
But yet, I smile. Why? Because his last comments, directed at me, stated "RM, I don't need a speech".... and I won't give him one. And because of what I got in my devotions this morning.
I started reading Job this morning. Not that I selected it specificially, but in my daily readings, that is what came up for today. Job, chapter 1, verse 1: 'There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.' As the story goes, Satan came to visit God one day and God brought to Satan's attention Job. vs 8: Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
And, as you know, Satan brought adversity upon Job, killed his children, had his livestock stolen, and other things. Then God gave permission for Satan to inflict Job - and painful boils came upon his body. Job's wife told him to curse God, but Job refused. Job would respond, 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away'. And as we all know, Job prevailed in his faith and God held him accountable.
There is a limit to adversity. It will come to an end. My mother would always say, "Well, this too shall pass....." (or would tell me, "Honey, pray for them, they need prayer".)
One woman said her favorite Bible phrase is "and it came to pass." She said, "Just think - it came to pass. It didn't come to stay!"
Remember that today's troubles are just that; today's troubles. A season of trouble is just that; a season of trouble. Crisis pass. Circumstances change. Situations evolve. God works in and through adversity to bring it to an end, according to His timetable.
Job 2:10 - "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" If God is sovereign, and if He loves us, then we must believe that nothing reaches us without first passing through His omnipotent hands.
Sometimes we all go through tough times. Sleepless nights. Sickness. Disease. Death. Job loss. Financial difficulties. Children difficulties. The list goes on. We just pray that we escape the tough parts of life - but sometimes we get them anyway.
But we can believe that if God has allowed it (definitely without OUR permission), He will walk with us through the valley. The thoughts that torment us through the darkness of night, don't seem quite as acute in the light of the day. The Lord is with you even when things look like they are against you, because God is looking at where He is taking you, not where you are. Trust Him. But the thoughts have come for a reason.
Write that letter, make that phone call. Don't live with regrets. For though you think YOU are going through tough times, you have no idea what the other person is going through. Your pain does not equal their pain. Your opinion of situations does not equal their opinion of situations.
Forgive. Make amends. Renew friendships. Don't keep living in the past (after all, 'this too shall pass'...)or what might have been. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What are you going to do with it?
Blessings!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
What a Weekend!
It was a busy, crazy weekend. Not anything real special - or rather, unusual, except for one thing. My Saturday was spent working on a Christmas gift (yes, I have to get started or I won't get them done!) and then on to church Saturday evening and time with my daughter and family. Sunday up and at church again, a meeting after church, lunch, and back home.
I had noticed Friday night my back was starting to tighten up. It doesn't happen often, but about every three months or so that the tightness in my back gets overwhelming. I worked through it Friday night, Saturday, but by Sunday afternoon it was really getting bad. I knew that if I didn't get pro-active about it, I would be in very severe pain this morning. So I did it. I made the phone call. I called a massage place.
I told them what I needed - deep tissue massage. They didn't have any openings for that - so I started to say thank you and call another place, when they said they could possibly get me in at 9PM. I was surprised they were open that late (but grateful). I took it.
The very tiny person who worked on my back certainly packs a powerful punch! She worked on me for an hour. I have a high pain tolerance, but there were a few times I nearly hollered. She dug deep. When finished, she recommended another person to continue the work on my back in another week. She said that the knots were so bad, and so many, she couldn't get deep enough to get them all. (These knots are formed over years) So, I go back in a week to another person to have them work on my back. I am determined to get all the knots out and this time, get a massage a month just to keep the knots away. One never knows the intensity of the pain when there are nerve and muscle knots until they have had them. It is just not visible. But that is how I spent my Sunday, late evening. And it was well worth it. Today, though, I expected my back to be black and blue - but it isn't. However, it feels like it is on fire it is so sore. And this will fade over time. I can't wait to go back and get more of the knots worked out.
This is the way God works in our lives sometimes, don't you think? We do our own thing for so long we just get ourselves deeper and deeper in activities, in things, and just busy stuff - putting God off on a shelf (or maybe even going to church, but that's it) and not relaxing in His favor.
He allows us to get our 'panties in a wad' - as it is sometimes said. He allows us to get 'knotted' up with life.
And when we run to Him, our 'Master Massager' - He begins to work in us and through us and removes, knot by knot, those things that we have allowed to build up within us.
It could be anger. It could be jealousy. It could be temper. It could be hatefulness. It could be other people. It could be hardness of heart. It could be any thing. Anything that causes us not to be Christ-like.
And God begins to work on our Knots and works them out, as we allow Him to. We relax. We rest. We feel so much better.
I kind of like that thought. I am actually thinking that as the masseuse is getting the knots out of my back, she is pushing the crap out of my life. Those things that I've allowed to hurt me and build walls. Those things I said it didn't matter, but it really did. Hmmmm.
Time to get to work - but hope this gives you something to think about.
Have a stress-free, knot free, day!
Blessings!
I had noticed Friday night my back was starting to tighten up. It doesn't happen often, but about every three months or so that the tightness in my back gets overwhelming. I worked through it Friday night, Saturday, but by Sunday afternoon it was really getting bad. I knew that if I didn't get pro-active about it, I would be in very severe pain this morning. So I did it. I made the phone call. I called a massage place.
I told them what I needed - deep tissue massage. They didn't have any openings for that - so I started to say thank you and call another place, when they said they could possibly get me in at 9PM. I was surprised they were open that late (but grateful). I took it.
The very tiny person who worked on my back certainly packs a powerful punch! She worked on me for an hour. I have a high pain tolerance, but there were a few times I nearly hollered. She dug deep. When finished, she recommended another person to continue the work on my back in another week. She said that the knots were so bad, and so many, she couldn't get deep enough to get them all. (These knots are formed over years) So, I go back in a week to another person to have them work on my back. I am determined to get all the knots out and this time, get a massage a month just to keep the knots away. One never knows the intensity of the pain when there are nerve and muscle knots until they have had them. It is just not visible. But that is how I spent my Sunday, late evening. And it was well worth it. Today, though, I expected my back to be black and blue - but it isn't. However, it feels like it is on fire it is so sore. And this will fade over time. I can't wait to go back and get more of the knots worked out.
This is the way God works in our lives sometimes, don't you think? We do our own thing for so long we just get ourselves deeper and deeper in activities, in things, and just busy stuff - putting God off on a shelf (or maybe even going to church, but that's it) and not relaxing in His favor.
He allows us to get our 'panties in a wad' - as it is sometimes said. He allows us to get 'knotted' up with life.
And when we run to Him, our 'Master Massager' - He begins to work in us and through us and removes, knot by knot, those things that we have allowed to build up within us.
It could be anger. It could be jealousy. It could be temper. It could be hatefulness. It could be other people. It could be hardness of heart. It could be any thing. Anything that causes us not to be Christ-like.
And God begins to work on our Knots and works them out, as we allow Him to. We relax. We rest. We feel so much better.
I kind of like that thought. I am actually thinking that as the masseuse is getting the knots out of my back, she is pushing the crap out of my life. Those things that I've allowed to hurt me and build walls. Those things I said it didn't matter, but it really did. Hmmmm.
Time to get to work - but hope this gives you something to think about.
Have a stress-free, knot free, day!
Blessings!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
I think it was a success.....
I had my 'lst Annual Lunch Party' at work yesterday. I had done about five of those annual lunch parties where I 'used to work' and maybe ten people would come. It was always disappointing, but I kept hoping it would get better. I fixed my taco soup, a salad, and made banana pudding. That's it. Light and simple. And between 30-40 people came! I don't know exactly as many came in and got food and left because there was no room in the conference room (it seats about 20). Chairs were filled all the time up to about the last 15 minutes of the time allotted.
I had one stipulation for them to come to my lunch party. They could not talk about work. It had to be talking about only what they do, what's going on with them, where they went on vacation, etc. Things that were not work related.
Oh my goodness! Just the conversations I overheard were about dogs.... children.... wedding plans.... and - this one really surprised me from where it came. Speed dating. What in the world is speed dating?! As I listened I discovered (ok, I DO lead a sheltered life from the world) it was something like, if I understood correctly, several people go to a public place, and sit at specific tables, and for example... see if I can explain it better.... The women are sitting down at a table, and a man will come sit down across from here and they exchange names and talk for the time allotted. When that time is up, they can make the decision to hook up another time to continue to pursue that relationship, or, they just say 'nice meeting you' and move to the next table. Very interesting. Especially from the person saying she was doing it - and a few others had said they had! It blew me away. WHO in the world is THAT desperate to find someone? Are you kidding me?
Why not go to places you want to meet someone to be with? No, not bars - you can pick anyone up there, and they don't usually care what you look like or what you do. In fact, they don't usually care about you once you leave the bar, unless you are leaving with them. But... hmmmm what just happened?
I was typing away when my entire screen changed. I have no idea what happened. Interesting.
Anyway... where was I....
You could meet someone at a church, of course. That doesn't mean they are perfect for you. But at least it is a start as to finding someone you could do things with. You have a base to start from that is usually healthy.
I would imagine you could also meet someone at a store while shopping. Getting coffee at Starbucks. and many other places. I guess really I don't know where they go nowadays for I haven't looked in over 30 years.
Yep - hubby and I will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary this month. The first year was the toughest, I think. Almost didn't make it. But we started going to church and in spite of our many difficulties and differences, choose to put God first and continue on.
But - back to the speed dating - that really surprised me. I was amused more than anything else. I was also able to have REAL conversations with others that came in to the conference room for lunch and stayed. I was able to talk to one of our senior managers, who I work with in other meetings, but found out - not surprisingly - he is a Christian. Southern Baptist no less. We had a great conversation talking about church and God, and WE WEREN'T OFFENDED!! AT WORK we talked about God. It was a good conversation, though short. I got pulled away a few times during the conversations.
What was really cool was one of the notes I received after the lunch party was from a woman whom I have known several years, but am not a close friend of. No reason, we just work in different departments and rarely connect. She sent me an email and thanked me for the lunch party. She said that she was able to laugh, which she hadn't done in awhile, and it was good for her heart. Wow. That was worth all the time and expense I put into the lunch party. It made me smile.
When was the last time you planned something that would make someone smile - or yourself smile?
Blessings!
I had one stipulation for them to come to my lunch party. They could not talk about work. It had to be talking about only what they do, what's going on with them, where they went on vacation, etc. Things that were not work related.
Oh my goodness! Just the conversations I overheard were about dogs.... children.... wedding plans.... and - this one really surprised me from where it came. Speed dating. What in the world is speed dating?! As I listened I discovered (ok, I DO lead a sheltered life from the world) it was something like, if I understood correctly, several people go to a public place, and sit at specific tables, and for example... see if I can explain it better.... The women are sitting down at a table, and a man will come sit down across from here and they exchange names and talk for the time allotted. When that time is up, they can make the decision to hook up another time to continue to pursue that relationship, or, they just say 'nice meeting you' and move to the next table. Very interesting. Especially from the person saying she was doing it - and a few others had said they had! It blew me away. WHO in the world is THAT desperate to find someone? Are you kidding me?
Why not go to places you want to meet someone to be with? No, not bars - you can pick anyone up there, and they don't usually care what you look like or what you do. In fact, they don't usually care about you once you leave the bar, unless you are leaving with them. But... hmmmm what just happened?
I was typing away when my entire screen changed. I have no idea what happened. Interesting.
Anyway... where was I....
You could meet someone at a church, of course. That doesn't mean they are perfect for you. But at least it is a start as to finding someone you could do things with. You have a base to start from that is usually healthy.
I would imagine you could also meet someone at a store while shopping. Getting coffee at Starbucks. and many other places. I guess really I don't know where they go nowadays for I haven't looked in over 30 years.
Yep - hubby and I will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary this month. The first year was the toughest, I think. Almost didn't make it. But we started going to church and in spite of our many difficulties and differences, choose to put God first and continue on.
But - back to the speed dating - that really surprised me. I was amused more than anything else. I was also able to have REAL conversations with others that came in to the conference room for lunch and stayed. I was able to talk to one of our senior managers, who I work with in other meetings, but found out - not surprisingly - he is a Christian. Southern Baptist no less. We had a great conversation talking about church and God, and WE WEREN'T OFFENDED!! AT WORK we talked about God. It was a good conversation, though short. I got pulled away a few times during the conversations.
What was really cool was one of the notes I received after the lunch party was from a woman whom I have known several years, but am not a close friend of. No reason, we just work in different departments and rarely connect. She sent me an email and thanked me for the lunch party. She said that she was able to laugh, which she hadn't done in awhile, and it was good for her heart. Wow. That was worth all the time and expense I put into the lunch party. It made me smile.
When was the last time you planned something that would make someone smile - or yourself smile?
Blessings!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
I can't do it all by myself!
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!
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)