Quote of the day:
“Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities.” – William Bridges Think about it: Author Leonard Chang, once told a graduate student that the story he had written wasn’t working on many levels, and that he should shelve it and start something new. Unlike many others who heard such harsh criticism and panicked, this student just nodded thoughtfully, asked a few more questions, and then said, “Okay.” Chang was surprised by his poise, and asked him why he wasn’t more upset. He told Chang that before he came to fiction he was a painter, and one of his favorite teachers used to walk around the studio and ask the students what they thought of the painting they were working on. One day a student said, “This is the best thing I’ve ever done.” The teacher looked at the painting, nodded, then asked how attached he was to the painting. The student said he was very attached. The teacher took out a can of black paint and splattered it all over the canvas, and told the student to start over. “You must never get too attached to your work,” the teacher said. Chang’s student said that incident had taught him the need for detachment, the importance of objectivity for his work. By telling him to shelve the story and start over, Chang had done the equivalent of throwing black paint over his painting, and he had to start with a fresh canvas. He processed this, accepted it, and moved forward. Chang then knew that this student would do well. He did indeed throw out his story and wrote another one, an intense story that would become the seed for a novel. The point of this anecdote is that we should not overly attach ourselves to anything. By throwing out something that isn’t working and starting over, we allow ourselves the opportunity to find something better. Don’t be afraid of black paint
0 Comments
Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you—not because they are nice, but because you are.—Author unknown
Life is short, but there is always time for courtesy.—Ralph Waldo Emerson Getting money is not all a man’s business: to cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.—Samuel Johnson To err on the side of kindness is seldom an error.—Liz Armbruster How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. —William Shakespeare How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it! —George Elliston Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.—Mark Twain By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.— Winston Churchill Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.—Leo Buscaglia By Marie Story
I love playing the tile matching video game Tetris. The reason I like it is that I can plan it all out by looking at the pieces that will come up next, and as they come down, I can fit them all in place evenly and lower the stack. At least, that’s the idea. Even better is correcting the mistakes I make. Sometimes I plunk a piece down in the wrong spot, and then I have to figure out how to work around that mistake to get rid of the problem spot. It doesn’t always work out, though. I do great for the first few levels, but as things speed up and pieces are dropping faster and faster, I can’t control them as well anymore. Pieces end up in the wrong places, and the stack gets closer and closer to the top. Soon enough, “GAME OVER” is blinking on the screen, and my excitement for the game is tinged with frustration. Sometimes life can feel like that. We make one mistake after another, and suddenly it seems like there is nothing we can do to fix things. Sometimes even our best plans end up in a mess, and no matter what we try or how we maneuver things, problems pile up and it feels like the game is over. But the best thing about a game like Tetris is that there’s always a chance to play again. It doesn’t matter how many times you lose; you’ve always got a fresh start when you want it. That’s what Jesus does for us. He knows we’re not perfect. He understands our limitations and weaknesses. He designed us, and He understands that we can’t “win” every time. Jesus has promised to remove our mistakes and sins “as far as the east is from the west.” That means they’re gone; we’ve got a clean slate and we can start over. And this doesn’t just apply to your spiritual life. No matter how well you plan out your life, there will come times when you’ll need to begin again. When that happens, it can be discouraging. All you see is that big “GAME OVER” sign blinking in your mind. But there’s always a chance to play again. A clean slate is an awesome thing. It means the past is done and gone. When you start a new game of Tetris, it won’t refuse you the chance to play again if you’ve lost too many times. When Jesus gives you a clean slate, it’s really a clean slate. He’s not looking back at your past record of mistakes and failings. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Do you feel like your plans have gone up in smoke, and you don’t know how to start rebuilding? Or are you just discouraged because your first attempts have gone nowhere? Remember that you’ve always got a chance to start a new game. Jesus has a plan and a goal for your life, and He’ll use even the mistakes you make to bring you closer to that goal. King Solomon tells us that a righteous man falls seven times and gets back up. There’s no way around the falling. It’s the getting up and starting again that matters. For more information contact Coach Dana at [email protected] Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. —Jane Howard
Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie—not perfect but who’s complaining? —Robert Brault In time of test, family is best. —Burmese Proverb The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family. —–Less Lacocca The family is one of nature’s masterpieces. —George Santayana We cannot destroy kindred (family): our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break. —Marquise de Sévigné Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. —Anthony Brandt I don’t care how poor a man is; if he has family, he’s rich. —Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford The family is a haven in a heartless world. —Attributed to Christopher Lasch When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. —Joyce Brothers In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony. — Eva Burrows The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing. —Author Unknown Quote of the day:
“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.” -- Thomas Carlyle Think about it: Where I live, there are wide, sweeping farmlands, huge mountains jutting their peaks into the sky, and broad rivers lazily moving over rocks. The land is as peaceful as it always has been, but the people who live here, like anywhere in the world, are often stressed. Dr. Hans Selye, a prominent medical research scientist, has observed, “In this hurry-up world we are subjecting ourselves to too many stresses. We hurry constantly and worry incessantly.” Unfortunately, many have yet to learn to develop inner peace. An excellent technique for overcoming stress is the practice of silence. It entails going into a quiet place and doing your best to be still and shift your mind into neutral. William James (1842–1910) said, “It is as important to cultivate your silence power as it is your word power.” I recently read an interview with a rubber manufacturer who pointed out that his industry did not learn to make efficient tires until they were redesigned to absorb road shock rather than merely to resist it. We too would be more successful if we learned to relax and let the pressures and stress of life flow right through us rather than rigidly battling them. (By Sumit Dhamija, adapted from Motivated Magazine.) Facing your fears robs them of their power. —Mark Burnett
Waiting to develop courage is just another form of procrastination. The most successful people take action while they’re afraid! —Unknown Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. —Dale Carnegie Winners are those people who make a habit of doing the things that [others] are uncomfortable doing. —Ed Foreman Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. —Napoleon Hill You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take .—Wayne Gretzky You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop and look fear in the face. … You must do the thing you think you cannot do. —Eleanor Roosevelt Do the thing you fear and keep on doing it … that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear. —Dale Carnegie Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it. —Judy Blume The greatest failure is the failure to try. When I die I want four words written on my tombstone: “At least he tried.” You’ve got to take risks. That’s what brings abundance. That’s what brings success in life. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb, that’s where the fruit is. —Rick Warren [The things we need to do to reach our goals] may all be things that are uncomfortable at first. So what! Do it anyway! One of the ways to get through the discomfort is simply to do the thing you are uncomfortable doing. —Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen Quote of the day:
An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything. --Lynn Johnston Think about it: For years I monitored children during recess and playground activities. Between all the running, jumping, rowdiness, and good natured play, someone would often end up getting run into, tripped, shoved, etc. Often the child who had caused the accidents would immediately raise his or her hands and say, “It’s not my fault” or “I didn’t do it on purpose!” But of course, establishing guilt wasn’t the immediate priority. The most important issue is the welfare of the “injured” one. I saw this scene play out so many times that I finally realized that most of us have to learn empathy. It doesn’t come naturally. The children were confusing “I’m sorry” with an admission of guilt, and since they hadn’t harmed anyone on purpose, they didn’t feel the need to feel sorry for them. But in life, like on the playground, we sometimes inadvertently hurt someone and need to apologize. We may have reasons. Maybe we didn’t realize, we didn’t think things through, we didn’t consider the implications of our actions. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances, misunderstandings, others involved. Every story has at least two sides. The problem is that when we say, “I’m sorry, but let me explain...” we’re usually turning the focus on ourselves instead of the one we’ve hurt. Then we become the victim of a misunderstanding. It’s sometimes helpful to offer clarifications if we can and give our side of the story. But first things first—did someone get hurt? An apology spoken with sincerity contains a healing balm. Back to the playground. Another lesson I learned from 35 years of working with children—if we’re quick to apologize, the other side is usually quick to forgive. That’s the best part. -- By Sally García Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.—Mother Teresa
Correction does much, but encouragement does more. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don’t care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause. —George Matthew Adams There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.—Booker T. Washington There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend. —Katharine Butler Hathaway A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change a life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential. —John C. Maxwell When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you’re making a commitment and difference in that person’s life. Encouragement really does make a difference. —Zig Ziglar In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. —Albert Schweitzer The really great person is the person who makes every person feel great. —G.K. Chesterton Quote of the day:
“I always prefer to believe the best of everybody--it saves so much trouble.”-- Rudyard Kipling Think about it: It’s not possible to literally walk a mile in the shoes of someone who is different from us. We can’t snap our fingers and try out being older, living with physical or mental ailments, being thinner or heavier, changing our looks, speaking a different language, having a different skin, hair or eye color, or living in a different country or social status. But to get as close as we can, we can try the following: —Put ourselves in surroundings that are normally outside of our comfort zones, even for a short time, by traveling abroad, taking on a part-time job, or volunteering. Then observe, listen, and reflect. —Imagine ourselves in the skin of that other person we used to judge, and think about what we’d be like in their situation. We might learn a lot by walking a mile in their shoes. We might find that we have more in common than we expected. All problems become smaller if we don't dodge them but confront them. —William F. Halsey
Out of difficulties, grow miracles. —Jean De La Bruyere A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose, a cause to pursue, a person to love, and a goal to achieve. —John Maxwell Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. —Kurt Vonnegut Remember sadness is always temporary. This, too, shall pass. —Chuck T. Falcon The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. —William James Sometimes it helps to know that I just can't do it all. One step at a time is all that's possible—even when those steps are taken on the run. —Anne W. Schaef Strength means recognizing that it is impossible to be strong all the time. —Sally Franser Love cures people—both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. —Karl Menninger We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. —Norman Macewan The love we give away is the only love we keep. —Elbert Hubbard Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.—Sir James M. Barrie |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|