Resolute: adj. having or showing a fixed, firm purpose; determined; resolved; unwavering.
Synonyms ---- strong-minded, determined, resolved, unwavering, steady, steadfast, firm, true, set, decided, unshaken, persevering, unflagging, unfaltering, persistent, persisting, constant, set upon, intent upon, stubborn, faithful, uncompromising, unyielding, strong-willed, dogged, self-reliant, enduring, indefatigable, purposeful, adamant, independent, immovable, unshakable, die-hard, hellbent, gritty, noble, unmoved, untiring.
I've been watching a PBS special this week entitled "The War". If you ever get a chance to view this documentary, do so. Not only does it chronicle World War II, but it interviews the men and women that fought that war.
I've always been fascinated by the courage of the soldiers. I've also respected the honorable and respectful lives most people lived during that era.
All week long I've thought about my life. I thought about all the times I've whined and cried over my little problems. Over the last few months I've cried a room full of tears. But watching the sacrifices of those people leaves me in awe of their "resolute" lives. Their dedication to principles and goals were astounding. Several times the narrator would announce how impossible an interaction should have been, but the bravery and determination of the men overcame the overwhelming odds they faced.
I wish I knew his name, but I don't. There is a gentleman who has no arms, but he learned to play classical music on the guitar. How? With his toes. What? Yep! with his toes. Astounding. Can you imagine the pain for the first few weeks? The awkward inability to do anything but sound awful. How many times was he frustrated? How many times did he ask himself why he was doing this and would he ever be successful?
I've mentioned the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" before. It's a difficult movie to watch - but you must see it. The first 3/4th of the movie deals with one setback after another. Like a good soldier this man with a "resolute" life continues to push. Just one more time. Cry. Endure one more indignity. Just one more time get up, push forward, march on.
Did you know that Walt Disney went bankrupt 7 times? Why didn't he quit after two times? Did he ask himself after the 5th time - "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I don't really know what I'm doing." What if he had quit after the 7th time. "That's it. I'm done. I'm not going to go through this again." Can you imagine America without Micky Mouse?
My Dad tells a story about a miner in California. He moved his family out during the gold rush. For 20 years he worked away eking out just enough to keep himself alive. He lost his wife, his home, his children. Ping, ping he labored on digging his pick into the black cave. His ears echoed with the scrap of the wheelbarrow as he pushed excess dirt out of the mine. His mind felt emptied of every thought as he continues with the drone of the work he had chosen.
Then one day he snapped. He couldn't take the loneliness, the poverty and the growl of his stomach any longer. With all his might he drove his pick into the end of the cave and walked out.
No one would blame him. He had lost it all. It was too hard. It had been too long. He had struggled to long. He was tired. No one would blame him. Quitting was the right thing to do.
Several years later someone bought the property. In their first evaluation of the cave they pulled the pick out of the wall. It took several tugs. When it released there was a sparkle. Could it be? Another ping of the pick revealed gold. When it was assessed, it was the deepest, richest and largest gold mine in all of California.
Life is hard. But it is even harder for those who live life looking for comfort. It's the Resolute life that is filled with gold. Maybe not the gold you think you want, but gold none the less.
I don't have everything I want. I haven't accomplished everything I would like. I still pray for relationships within my family. How can I find gold?
I find gold in the love of my family. I find gold in the "pursuit" rather than the "happyness". I find gold in my salvation. And most of all, I find gold in a grateful heart.
I am grateful that I have a home in a world where 1/4 of the world is homeless. I am grateful that I have plenty to eat in a world where most go to bed hungry. I am grateful that I have a job when many people sit with nothing to do. I am grateful that I am not in a concentration camp. I am grateful that I am not hiding in the basement while the German Army invades my town. I am grateful that I do not have to face a gas chamber. I am grateful that I am free to pray. I am grateful that wonderful, talented men and women have given their precious lives so that I can be free.
When it comes down to it, all of us have something to be grateful for. In the documentary, "The War", one young imprisoned teen writes from a camp in Manila..."For Thanksgiving we have 1/2 can of spam, (there were 4 in her family) one extra cup of rice, three leaves of lettuce from our sparse garden and watered down coffee. We are so blessed. We are not as sick as some in the camp and we are grateful that we are together."
Is your life worse than that? Probably not. You are reading this on a computer. You are probably free.
Resolve to make your life better. Resolve to fight on, to do all you can until the day you die to make your life even a little better. Resolve that while death or problems may come your way...Resolve that you will follow the advice of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light,
Do not go gentle into that good night."
Resolve to be your best.
God loves you,
Debbie
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Saturdays are for fun !!!
"Come ye apart and rest a while ---or you will come apart!"
On that verse of adapted scripture, let's enjoy the following....
**********
The Preacher at the wedding was an ardent fisherman and forgetful. He asked the groom, "Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish this woman?"
"I do," said the groom meekly.
"Okay," said the minister, turning to the bride, "reel him in!"
***********
Seen on a church sign:
IF evolution is true, why do mothers still have only two hands?"
The Lawyer's Hymn: "Just as I am, Without One Plea."
Why is it that "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?
***********
Politically Correct Lord's Prayer
Our universal chairperson in outer space, your identity enjoys the highest rating on a prioritized selectivity scale. May your sphere of influence take on reality parameters; may your mindset be implemented on this planet as in outer space.
Allot to us at this point in time and on a per diem basis, a sufficient and balanced dietary food intake, and rationalize a disclaimer against our negative feedback as we rationalize the negative feedback of others.
And deprogram our negative potentialities, but desensitize the impact of the counterproductive force. For yours is the dominant sphere of influence, the ultimate capability and the highest qualitative analysis rating, at this point in time and extending beyond a limited time-frame. End of message.
-------
OH Brother! Thank goodness there is more to God than that!
Have a wonderful Week-end.
God loves you,
Debbie
On that verse of adapted scripture, let's enjoy the following....
**********
The Preacher at the wedding was an ardent fisherman and forgetful. He asked the groom, "Do you promise to love, honor, and cherish this woman?"
"I do," said the groom meekly.
"Okay," said the minister, turning to the bride, "reel him in!"
***********
Seen on a church sign:
IF evolution is true, why do mothers still have only two hands?"
The Lawyer's Hymn: "Just as I am, Without One Plea."
Why is it that "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?
***********
Politically Correct Lord's Prayer
Our universal chairperson in outer space, your identity enjoys the highest rating on a prioritized selectivity scale. May your sphere of influence take on reality parameters; may your mindset be implemented on this planet as in outer space.
Allot to us at this point in time and on a per diem basis, a sufficient and balanced dietary food intake, and rationalize a disclaimer against our negative feedback as we rationalize the negative feedback of others.
And deprogram our negative potentialities, but desensitize the impact of the counterproductive force. For yours is the dominant sphere of influence, the ultimate capability and the highest qualitative analysis rating, at this point in time and extending beyond a limited time-frame. End of message.
-------
OH Brother! Thank goodness there is more to God than that!
Have a wonderful Week-end.
God loves you,
Debbie
Friday, September 28, 2007
How do you like it???
We are working hard trying to make this website more interactive. Send me an e-mail and let me know how you like it. Some of the new pages will be defined later.
Many thanks go out to Ken Jansen! Without his expertise these changes would not be possible.
If you need a website, he's the man.
Do check out his website. By the way....he is my wonderful son!
www.kenjansenmusic.com
Be excited! There will be many opportunities for you to be interactive as well as being able to download booklets, classes and other fun stuff!
Stay tuned!
God loves you,
Debbie
Many thanks go out to Ken Jansen! Without his expertise these changes would not be possible.
If you need a website, he's the man.
Do check out his website. By the way....he is my wonderful son!
www.kenjansenmusic.com
Be excited! There will be many opportunities for you to be interactive as well as being able to download booklets, classes and other fun stuff!
Stay tuned!
God loves you,
Debbie
Thursday, September 27, 2007
CANCER - A deeper meaning
I disappeared for a while didn't I?
Last week I had a biopsy for cancer. I went to the hospital with Ron and Ken. I was prayed up and positive that this would be nothing and totally within my ability to handle.
Not only was the biopsy painful....but it left my throat swollen and sore for almost 36 hours. I decided to take time off and just "veg" and let it heal. One day stretched into two as I realized there was more to this cancer scare than I thought.
I found out I haven't been a very good friend. I've prayed with a lot of people who faced the possibility of a major disease. I've prayed with a lot of people who found out they had a major disease. But once the prayer was over and once the hugs were through, I walked away as if the situation were crossed off my list as well as theirs. "They heard me. We were positive together. Worry is gone. They believe. We both agreed God is in control."
But it doesn't end there.
Webster's defines "believe" as "to take as true, real..to have confidence in a statement or promise...to suppose....to have religious faith."
Sounds good. Unfortunately many Christians have the mistaken idea that to "believe" actually means to "conclude" which is a synonym of believe.
Our faith in God may be "concluding", but our faith in his will for us is simple "belief".
Let me illustrate. It's been hard for me to write this week. I prayed before and after the biopsy. I am not afraid of dying. However, I don't want to leave this world with so many of my goals unrealized - therefore, I would prefer not to die now. I am totally and completely convinced that God is real. I have "Concluded" that problem in my mind.
But knowing that his will for us is based on information that I don't have access to, I have to say - "Not my will but thine" - and that may mean that he will not deliver me from cancer but instead will choose to bring me through it.
Just because he helps me to survive cancer does not mean it is any less a miracle. Surviving can be more of a miracle than deliverance.
Now because I understand all that....there was a small thought that hung in the back of my mind like one of those police flashlights.
I wouldn't notice it while I was preparing supper. But as I washed up the dishes and looked out the window at the sunset, the flashlight would go on and spotlight how precious the beauty of this world is. I would think, "I hope I get to see many more sunsets - they are so beautiful."
I drove Jamie to his wedding and helped him while he rolled around in a wheelchair and photographed a wedding. Listening to him talk in the car, I smiled at his enthusiasm. "I hope I'm around when you get married. What fun we will have." That spotlight seemed to be more focused at that point.
Ken and I had lunch together and I was amazed as his wisdom and strength. "I hope I get to see what God is going to do with your life." That spotlight seemed to beam my desire all the way to heaven.
It wasn't that I didn't believe in God or his power. It wasn't that I was hysterical with grief. I just didn't know for sure and that "not" knowing gnawed at the back of my mind.
I have been extra tired this week and although I accomplished all the urgent needs that came my way - Something was definitely wrong. When Ron questioned me I would always smile and say "I'm fine". Only then would I notice the spotlight and wonder how he might take the news.
I felt as though the entire world was marching along with their life while I stood on the side line, believing with everything in me, yet holding my breath and wondering what my life would become in just one short week.
I took the time to read a couple of books and to contemplate my life. I listened to music and walked around stores. I looked through several scrapbooks. I gave myself time to be pensive and to let my heart and mind deal with the road I "might" have to travel. It was a journey I had to make.
Today I went to the doctor - alone. It was my choice to go alone. I was ready to handle whatever God chose for me. If it was cancer, I would write a book about my experience. And if it wasn't I would tell all my friends to change the way they pray for hurting people.
Praise God....I am cancer free. He has chosen a different path for me and I am grateful!
So how can we help others?
Pray those wonderful prayers for healing.
Say all the encouraging words you can.
Just be sure and give your friends permission to be sad or pensive or melancholy as they contemplate their future.
Above all else, realize that it is possible to believe in God with all your heart and still wonder which path he will choose for you.
Take a lesson from the greatest teacher I know.....if he had a hard time, it's possible we will too.
Matthew 14:33-36
"He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Being a good Christian is not having a lot of miracles in your life.
Being a good Christian is repeating the words of Jesus "Not my will - but thine."
God loves you,
Debbie
Last week I had a biopsy for cancer. I went to the hospital with Ron and Ken. I was prayed up and positive that this would be nothing and totally within my ability to handle.
Not only was the biopsy painful....but it left my throat swollen and sore for almost 36 hours. I decided to take time off and just "veg" and let it heal. One day stretched into two as I realized there was more to this cancer scare than I thought.
I found out I haven't been a very good friend. I've prayed with a lot of people who faced the possibility of a major disease. I've prayed with a lot of people who found out they had a major disease. But once the prayer was over and once the hugs were through, I walked away as if the situation were crossed off my list as well as theirs. "They heard me. We were positive together. Worry is gone. They believe. We both agreed God is in control."
But it doesn't end there.
Webster's defines "believe" as "to take as true, real..to have confidence in a statement or promise...to suppose....to have religious faith."
Sounds good. Unfortunately many Christians have the mistaken idea that to "believe" actually means to "conclude" which is a synonym of believe.
Our faith in God may be "concluding", but our faith in his will for us is simple "belief".
Let me illustrate. It's been hard for me to write this week. I prayed before and after the biopsy. I am not afraid of dying. However, I don't want to leave this world with so many of my goals unrealized - therefore, I would prefer not to die now. I am totally and completely convinced that God is real. I have "Concluded" that problem in my mind.
But knowing that his will for us is based on information that I don't have access to, I have to say - "Not my will but thine" - and that may mean that he will not deliver me from cancer but instead will choose to bring me through it.
Just because he helps me to survive cancer does not mean it is any less a miracle. Surviving can be more of a miracle than deliverance.
Now because I understand all that....there was a small thought that hung in the back of my mind like one of those police flashlights.
I wouldn't notice it while I was preparing supper. But as I washed up the dishes and looked out the window at the sunset, the flashlight would go on and spotlight how precious the beauty of this world is. I would think, "I hope I get to see many more sunsets - they are so beautiful."
I drove Jamie to his wedding and helped him while he rolled around in a wheelchair and photographed a wedding. Listening to him talk in the car, I smiled at his enthusiasm. "I hope I'm around when you get married. What fun we will have." That spotlight seemed to be more focused at that point.
Ken and I had lunch together and I was amazed as his wisdom and strength. "I hope I get to see what God is going to do with your life." That spotlight seemed to beam my desire all the way to heaven.
It wasn't that I didn't believe in God or his power. It wasn't that I was hysterical with grief. I just didn't know for sure and that "not" knowing gnawed at the back of my mind.
I have been extra tired this week and although I accomplished all the urgent needs that came my way - Something was definitely wrong. When Ron questioned me I would always smile and say "I'm fine". Only then would I notice the spotlight and wonder how he might take the news.
I felt as though the entire world was marching along with their life while I stood on the side line, believing with everything in me, yet holding my breath and wondering what my life would become in just one short week.
I took the time to read a couple of books and to contemplate my life. I listened to music and walked around stores. I looked through several scrapbooks. I gave myself time to be pensive and to let my heart and mind deal with the road I "might" have to travel. It was a journey I had to make.
Today I went to the doctor - alone. It was my choice to go alone. I was ready to handle whatever God chose for me. If it was cancer, I would write a book about my experience. And if it wasn't I would tell all my friends to change the way they pray for hurting people.
Praise God....I am cancer free. He has chosen a different path for me and I am grateful!
So how can we help others?
Pray those wonderful prayers for healing.
Say all the encouraging words you can.
Just be sure and give your friends permission to be sad or pensive or melancholy as they contemplate their future.
Above all else, realize that it is possible to believe in God with all your heart and still wonder which path he will choose for you.
Take a lesson from the greatest teacher I know.....if he had a hard time, it's possible we will too.
Matthew 14:33-36
"He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."
Being a good Christian is not having a lot of miracles in your life.
Being a good Christian is repeating the words of Jesus "Not my will - but thine."
God loves you,
Debbie
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Butterfly
I just finished a long e-mail to a dear friend of mine. In responding to a problem he was having I quoted the Butterfly story. Perhaps many of you have heard this, but I hope it will provide some comfort today.
A woman loved to watch nature out her kitchen window while she washed dishes. The sun peeked through the trees in the early morning and gave a soft amber glow in the evening. She watched squirrels play on her porch and and kept her bird feeder clean and full of food. She was thrilled when a cocoon appeared in the upper part of the window sill. Every morning and evening she watched in expectation hoping today would be the day she would witness a miracle.
She was excited one morning to see movement. All day she returned to the window to see if the butterfly was making progress. Movement continued but very little progress was made. The butterfly worked extremely hard but the cocoon seemed to be extra hard to penetrate. The next day she saw two legs and part of the head sticking out of the bottom of the cocoon. She watched the butterfly work and withdraw, work and withdraw trying to get free.
After eight long hours and very little progress she decided to help. She took scissors and carefully cut the strings on the cocoon to make a larger hole so the butterfly could get out. It took her breath away when a beautiful black and gold butterfly emerged. She felt pleased that she could help. The butterfly flopped his wings and dropped on to a nearby chair. He sat there for a few minutes moving his wings and then tried to fly. He hit the ground hard and after a little flopping died.
The woman was horrified. She called the local zoo and asked why? The person on the other end sighed and patiently explained. There is a liquid in the butterfly's head that must be squeezed onto their wings. Without this liquid coating the wings, the butterfly can't sustain flight and he will quickly die. The hard work and tedious strain was all part of the birth process. Each time the head poked out and returned in the liquid was being squeezed and forced into the rest of the body preparing to smooth onto the wings. When she cut the cocoon, she also destroyed the butterfly's ability to fly.
Moral.....sometimes our pain is what gives us the ability to fly.
When we cut that short, we change the direction of our lives. No one should go out and beg for pain -- that will put you in the loony bin. But sometimes I think we need to be more concerned about "what" we are learning from life than how "happy" or comfortable we are.
Perhaps we need to cling to the 23rd Psalm a little more and the comforts of life a little less.
God loves you,
Debbie
A woman loved to watch nature out her kitchen window while she washed dishes. The sun peeked through the trees in the early morning and gave a soft amber glow in the evening. She watched squirrels play on her porch and and kept her bird feeder clean and full of food. She was thrilled when a cocoon appeared in the upper part of the window sill. Every morning and evening she watched in expectation hoping today would be the day she would witness a miracle.
She was excited one morning to see movement. All day she returned to the window to see if the butterfly was making progress. Movement continued but very little progress was made. The butterfly worked extremely hard but the cocoon seemed to be extra hard to penetrate. The next day she saw two legs and part of the head sticking out of the bottom of the cocoon. She watched the butterfly work and withdraw, work and withdraw trying to get free.
After eight long hours and very little progress she decided to help. She took scissors and carefully cut the strings on the cocoon to make a larger hole so the butterfly could get out. It took her breath away when a beautiful black and gold butterfly emerged. She felt pleased that she could help. The butterfly flopped his wings and dropped on to a nearby chair. He sat there for a few minutes moving his wings and then tried to fly. He hit the ground hard and after a little flopping died.
The woman was horrified. She called the local zoo and asked why? The person on the other end sighed and patiently explained. There is a liquid in the butterfly's head that must be squeezed onto their wings. Without this liquid coating the wings, the butterfly can't sustain flight and he will quickly die. The hard work and tedious strain was all part of the birth process. Each time the head poked out and returned in the liquid was being squeezed and forced into the rest of the body preparing to smooth onto the wings. When she cut the cocoon, she also destroyed the butterfly's ability to fly.
Moral.....sometimes our pain is what gives us the ability to fly.
When we cut that short, we change the direction of our lives. No one should go out and beg for pain -- that will put you in the loony bin. But sometimes I think we need to be more concerned about "what" we are learning from life than how "happy" or comfortable we are.
Perhaps we need to cling to the 23rd Psalm a little more and the comforts of life a little less.
God loves you,
Debbie
Friday, September 14, 2007
Friends are wonderful
Friends love you even when you are unlovable.
Friends laugh with you even when you don't feel like laughing.
Friends keep you centered.
Friends share the load and cause you to smile even when they aren't around.
Friends are wonderful.
Next week I will have a biopsy on my thyroid. I have a large nodule and they will be checking to be sure that the little nasty called Cancer isn't staking a claim.
I am trusting God for a good report and I hope you will be praying for the same.
I dropped by to see my dear friend Viki Huff.
I cried and she cried. I called on God and she called on God. I hugged her tight and she smiled and said, "I'll be right here" and then she hugged me tighter.
"Let me read something to you. I was writing this yesterday and you might like it." I love Viki's poems. She is very talented and her words always speak to me. This one is new and still in it's working stage - but it spoke to me.
Sometimes you crawl, sometimes you walk
Sometimes you don't move at all.
Sometimes you rise and sometimes fall
Some times you just stand tall.
It's not the pace or the stance
Just keep going - take a chance
Head up high, shoulders back
Just make sure you stay on track.
It's that way in your walk with God
Keep on moving try not to fall
Eyes on the Savior don't look back
Follow Jesus and stay on track.
Walk or crawl, fall or stand
Just keep holding to his hand
He walks beside you every day
Guiding your footsteps all the way
He holds you up if you start to fall
And wipes your tears when heartache calls
Eternal love and life is yours
Just open your heart, let him in the door
Trust and follow, love and serve
For he gave his life to set us free
When he hung upon that rugged tree
Free from sin, and all that binds
To give us joy and peace of mind.
No greater love will you find
If you leave your sin behind
Hold to his hand and don't look back
Keep your eyes on Jesus, Stay on track.
Thank you Viki....I will hold his hand and stay on track!
God loves you,
Debbie
Friends laugh with you even when you don't feel like laughing.
Friends keep you centered.
Friends share the load and cause you to smile even when they aren't around.
Friends are wonderful.
Next week I will have a biopsy on my thyroid. I have a large nodule and they will be checking to be sure that the little nasty called Cancer isn't staking a claim.
I am trusting God for a good report and I hope you will be praying for the same.
I dropped by to see my dear friend Viki Huff.
I cried and she cried. I called on God and she called on God. I hugged her tight and she smiled and said, "I'll be right here" and then she hugged me tighter.
"Let me read something to you. I was writing this yesterday and you might like it." I love Viki's poems. She is very talented and her words always speak to me. This one is new and still in it's working stage - but it spoke to me.
Sometimes you crawl, sometimes you walk
Sometimes you don't move at all.
Sometimes you rise and sometimes fall
Some times you just stand tall.
It's not the pace or the stance
Just keep going - take a chance
Head up high, shoulders back
Just make sure you stay on track.
It's that way in your walk with God
Keep on moving try not to fall
Eyes on the Savior don't look back
Follow Jesus and stay on track.
Walk or crawl, fall or stand
Just keep holding to his hand
He walks beside you every day
Guiding your footsteps all the way
He holds you up if you start to fall
And wipes your tears when heartache calls
Eternal love and life is yours
Just open your heart, let him in the door
Trust and follow, love and serve
For he gave his life to set us free
When he hung upon that rugged tree
Free from sin, and all that binds
To give us joy and peace of mind.
No greater love will you find
If you leave your sin behind
Hold to his hand and don't look back
Keep your eyes on Jesus, Stay on track.
Thank you Viki....I will hold his hand and stay on track!
God loves you,
Debbie
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
An important life
It was hard to have coffee this morning and watch reruns of 911. I was stunned...again. I cried...again. I prayed for the victims...again. I prayed for the brave...again. I prayed for the families...again. And once again I remembered the children. Those on the airplanes and those who sit in safety and try to remember a father they never knew.
Each of those lives were important. Each of those lives were and "are" precious.
Why can't we sustain the tiny window that allows us to see why lives are important?
Is it the job that gives a man his worth? Is it the spouse or the money that gives a woman prominence? Is it the test scores that determine the value of a child?
I am afraid that many times we miss the relevance of individual lives. We should have a shrine in every home with pictures and stories. It should be routine on a daily basis to visit that shrine and give thanks for the truly important things in life.
So what is important?
I've always believed that the little things were very important but it's impossible to enjoy the little things without having a few of the big things in place as well.
I'm pretty sure I've been wrong.
For example, I thought that it's "possible" for a man to smile while in jail but not probable. Surely the smile will be overcome by the state he is in. It's possible for a mother to handle the lack of money - but every time she sees the face of her hungry child will she feel love or pain?
I have decided that an important life is not one of wealth or power or even lots of friends. The important life is one that stops.....
stops........
waits........
turns........
assists......
administers compassion and mercy.
That's the truly important life. It's not what we do in our work. It's not raising a family of honor. It's not having all our bills paid. It's not having leisure time to travel or even just to sit quietly on the porch knowing your life is in order.
An important life is one that administers love when others are in pain. An important life is one with eyes tuned in to the suffering of others and a heart ready to lend a helping hand.
Remember the picture of the firefighter carrying the priest from the wreckage of 911?
Remember the many pictures of New Yorkers running covered in dust, unable to breathe yet they are shouldered on either side by a person who cares?
The pain of those who gathered at street corners and parks holding pictures of loved ones was shared by the closeness of others around them. Not once did I see a person in pain without someone reaching out to touch them or to talk to them.
"He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour." Proverbs 21:21
"What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8
God has a plan for every life and that plan may include something important. That plan may include wealth or success or even power.
But a truly important life must begin and be sustained by righteousness, honor and mercy.
That translates into our lives like this:
When you are rushing to work and the light changes as an elderly man is trying to cross the street, don't blow your horn. Patiently wait. Smile. Wave. Remember that you are administering mercy at this moment and that is the most important thing you can do. Besides, if you are late that is your fault not his.
When your child falls on the way to the car and begins to cry, don't get upset and worry about what your boss will say because you are late. Sit on the ground. Take care of your child. Administer love and mercy. 20 years from now your boss may be dead and your job may no longer exist. But your child....that child will always remember when and if he came first. That child will always remember that you never let him down.
When all you want to do is stay home and get some rest, remember that your Dad was there for you when he was tired. Remember the times he played catch after a hard day at work. Maybe he wanted to just sit and read the paper...but he didn't. Show mercy, get up, go get donuts and visit your father. Sit on the porch and tell him how much you love him. Remember those times when you laughed together. And if the good times are few, simply look into his eyes and thank him for being here.
When every time you see an apple pie you remember a friend who was kind during a tragedy, take a moment and call them or write an e-mail to say, "Thank you for being there for me." Even if you have told them how much they are appreciated...do it again. A Thank You never goes out of date.
When you have worked all day, retrieved the children from daycare, stopped by the store and anger builds as you are once more working alone in the kitchen - remember that every meal set before your family not only fills their stomachs but their minds as well. Collectively they will remember times around the table with love and great joy. Listen to how Rick Bragg recalls memories and meals in his book, "All over but the Shoutin'".
"My mother and father were born in the most beautiful place on earth, in the foothills of the Appalachians along the Alabama-Georgia line. It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep green mountains, where redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed "Faded Love and Winter Roses" as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches and made biscuits too good for this world. It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right...where the first frost meant hog killin' time and the mouthwatering smell of cracklin's would drift for acres from giant, bubbling pots........
The women worked themselves to death, their mules succumbed to worms and their children were cripple by rickets and perished from fever, but every Sunday morning The Word leaked out of little white-wood sanctuaries where preachers thrust ragged Bibles at the rafters and promised them that while sickness and poverty and Lucifer might take their families, the soul of man never dies.....
It was as if God made them pay for the loveliness of their scenery by demanding everything else. Yet the grimness of it faded for a while, at dinner on the ground at the Protestant churches, where people sat on the springtime grass and ate potato salad and sipped sweet tea from an aluminum tub with a huge block of ice floating in it. The pain eased at family reunions where the men barbecued twenty-four hours straight and the women took turns holding babies and balancing plates on their knees, trying to keep the grease from soaking through on the one good dress they had. The hardness of it softened in the all-night gospel singings that ushered in the dawn with the promise that "I'll have a new body, praise the Lord, I'll have a new life," as babies crawled up into the ample laps of grandmothers to sleep across jiggling knees."
This is not a Christian book per say because some of it contains questionable language. But if you feel you can take a peek into a little rougher side of life, I certainly would encourage you to read it. After explaining the poverty he lived in he recalled breakfast...
"The one great meal of the day was breakfast, because breakfast is cheap. Every morning of my childhood I woke up to the smell of biscuits, and to the overpowering aroma and popping sound of frying fatback, which we called white meat. Momma fried eggs laid by our own chickens, and made gravy and grits. Sometimes there was nothing but biscuits and gravy made from yesterday's bacon grease, which I would take right now in place of just about anything I usually eat. We always had a hog - not hogs, A hog - and at hog killin' time we ate like kings until he had been reduced to snout and toenails. If I was late for the school bus she would shove a piece of fatback or bacon into a biscuit and I would eat it on the run. To this day I dream not of beautiful women and wealth and power as often as I dream of sausage gravy over biscuits with a sliced tomato on the side, and a small lake of real grits - not that bland, pale, watery restaurant stuff I would not serve on death row, but grits cooked with butter and plenty of salt and black pepper."
The reason I have included so much of another writer is because of who he is....Rick Bragg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1996. He is a national correspondent for the New York Times and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. In other words, Rick Bragg has seen the world, made his fortune and has received great accolades. Yet....in his book he remembers the food his mother served him accompanied by a huge dose of love. He doesn't remember the pain of poverty but the succulent goodness of grits and gravy. I mourn for all the 911 victims, but I bet today they are remembering the acts of love and kindness that each family member expressed in their lives.
Pay attention to the little things. That's where your life will be important!
An important life is one that reaches out with love and mercy to those who skirt around our perimeter. Don't ever downplay the value of each act of kindness.
"Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name....shall not lose his reward." Mark 9:41
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40
God loves you,
Debbie
Each of those lives were important. Each of those lives were and "are" precious.
Why can't we sustain the tiny window that allows us to see why lives are important?
Is it the job that gives a man his worth? Is it the spouse or the money that gives a woman prominence? Is it the test scores that determine the value of a child?
I am afraid that many times we miss the relevance of individual lives. We should have a shrine in every home with pictures and stories. It should be routine on a daily basis to visit that shrine and give thanks for the truly important things in life.
So what is important?
I've always believed that the little things were very important but it's impossible to enjoy the little things without having a few of the big things in place as well.
I'm pretty sure I've been wrong.
For example, I thought that it's "possible" for a man to smile while in jail but not probable. Surely the smile will be overcome by the state he is in. It's possible for a mother to handle the lack of money - but every time she sees the face of her hungry child will she feel love or pain?
I have decided that an important life is not one of wealth or power or even lots of friends. The important life is one that stops.....
stops........
waits........
turns........
assists......
administers compassion and mercy.
That's the truly important life. It's not what we do in our work. It's not raising a family of honor. It's not having all our bills paid. It's not having leisure time to travel or even just to sit quietly on the porch knowing your life is in order.
An important life is one that administers love when others are in pain. An important life is one with eyes tuned in to the suffering of others and a heart ready to lend a helping hand.
Remember the picture of the firefighter carrying the priest from the wreckage of 911?
Remember the many pictures of New Yorkers running covered in dust, unable to breathe yet they are shouldered on either side by a person who cares?
The pain of those who gathered at street corners and parks holding pictures of loved ones was shared by the closeness of others around them. Not once did I see a person in pain without someone reaching out to touch them or to talk to them.
"He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour." Proverbs 21:21
"What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8
God has a plan for every life and that plan may include something important. That plan may include wealth or success or even power.
But a truly important life must begin and be sustained by righteousness, honor and mercy.
That translates into our lives like this:
When you are rushing to work and the light changes as an elderly man is trying to cross the street, don't blow your horn. Patiently wait. Smile. Wave. Remember that you are administering mercy at this moment and that is the most important thing you can do. Besides, if you are late that is your fault not his.
When your child falls on the way to the car and begins to cry, don't get upset and worry about what your boss will say because you are late. Sit on the ground. Take care of your child. Administer love and mercy. 20 years from now your boss may be dead and your job may no longer exist. But your child....that child will always remember when and if he came first. That child will always remember that you never let him down.
When all you want to do is stay home and get some rest, remember that your Dad was there for you when he was tired. Remember the times he played catch after a hard day at work. Maybe he wanted to just sit and read the paper...but he didn't. Show mercy, get up, go get donuts and visit your father. Sit on the porch and tell him how much you love him. Remember those times when you laughed together. And if the good times are few, simply look into his eyes and thank him for being here.
When every time you see an apple pie you remember a friend who was kind during a tragedy, take a moment and call them or write an e-mail to say, "Thank you for being there for me." Even if you have told them how much they are appreciated...do it again. A Thank You never goes out of date.
When you have worked all day, retrieved the children from daycare, stopped by the store and anger builds as you are once more working alone in the kitchen - remember that every meal set before your family not only fills their stomachs but their minds as well. Collectively they will remember times around the table with love and great joy. Listen to how Rick Bragg recalls memories and meals in his book, "All over but the Shoutin'".
"My mother and father were born in the most beautiful place on earth, in the foothills of the Appalachians along the Alabama-Georgia line. It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep green mountains, where redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed "Faded Love and Winter Roses" as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches and made biscuits too good for this world. It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right...where the first frost meant hog killin' time and the mouthwatering smell of cracklin's would drift for acres from giant, bubbling pots........
The women worked themselves to death, their mules succumbed to worms and their children were cripple by rickets and perished from fever, but every Sunday morning The Word leaked out of little white-wood sanctuaries where preachers thrust ragged Bibles at the rafters and promised them that while sickness and poverty and Lucifer might take their families, the soul of man never dies.....
It was as if God made them pay for the loveliness of their scenery by demanding everything else. Yet the grimness of it faded for a while, at dinner on the ground at the Protestant churches, where people sat on the springtime grass and ate potato salad and sipped sweet tea from an aluminum tub with a huge block of ice floating in it. The pain eased at family reunions where the men barbecued twenty-four hours straight and the women took turns holding babies and balancing plates on their knees, trying to keep the grease from soaking through on the one good dress they had. The hardness of it softened in the all-night gospel singings that ushered in the dawn with the promise that "I'll have a new body, praise the Lord, I'll have a new life," as babies crawled up into the ample laps of grandmothers to sleep across jiggling knees."
This is not a Christian book per say because some of it contains questionable language. But if you feel you can take a peek into a little rougher side of life, I certainly would encourage you to read it. After explaining the poverty he lived in he recalled breakfast...
"The one great meal of the day was breakfast, because breakfast is cheap. Every morning of my childhood I woke up to the smell of biscuits, and to the overpowering aroma and popping sound of frying fatback, which we called white meat. Momma fried eggs laid by our own chickens, and made gravy and grits. Sometimes there was nothing but biscuits and gravy made from yesterday's bacon grease, which I would take right now in place of just about anything I usually eat. We always had a hog - not hogs, A hog - and at hog killin' time we ate like kings until he had been reduced to snout and toenails. If I was late for the school bus she would shove a piece of fatback or bacon into a biscuit and I would eat it on the run. To this day I dream not of beautiful women and wealth and power as often as I dream of sausage gravy over biscuits with a sliced tomato on the side, and a small lake of real grits - not that bland, pale, watery restaurant stuff I would not serve on death row, but grits cooked with butter and plenty of salt and black pepper."
The reason I have included so much of another writer is because of who he is....Rick Bragg was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1996. He is a national correspondent for the New York Times and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. In other words, Rick Bragg has seen the world, made his fortune and has received great accolades. Yet....in his book he remembers the food his mother served him accompanied by a huge dose of love. He doesn't remember the pain of poverty but the succulent goodness of grits and gravy. I mourn for all the 911 victims, but I bet today they are remembering the acts of love and kindness that each family member expressed in their lives.
Pay attention to the little things. That's where your life will be important!
An important life is one that reaches out with love and mercy to those who skirt around our perimeter. Don't ever downplay the value of each act of kindness.
"Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name....shall not lose his reward." Mark 9:41
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40
God loves you,
Debbie
Friday, September 7, 2007
Excellence
A few quotes on the subject.....
The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right. Edward Simmons
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.
Some men dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable you to attain the success you seek. Mario Andretti
One of the rarest things that a man ever does is to do the best he can. Josh Billings
No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount of excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. Charles Kendall Adams.
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi
It's a funny thing about life; If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you will often get it. W. Somerset Maugham
One of my pet peeves with music, television and other forms of entertainment is the lack of excellence. It seems that the "general" public would rather be subjected to the lowest form of mind numbing trivia than to fight for the purest form of entertainment - that which inspires.
I'll save other forms of entertainment for another day; for today I want to discuss music. Have you thought about the difference between music in the 40's and music today?
I love entertainment from the 40's - 60's. There were efforts during that time that were less than excellent, but the concentration of thought was toward "excellence".
Last night I rented a DVD of Nat King Cole. I'm sure a lot of you wouldn't agree that it was an "exciting" night of viewing, but I enjoyed the simple yet excellent talent. Just a man and a microphone and his ability to take me to tears. Within moments I was not only remembering my first date with Ron but I could remember the smell of the crisp fall air. Talent is a wonderful thing of beauty.
I heard Luciano Pavorotti passed away. I was reading about him on line. "Domingo, a friend, paid tribute to Pavarotti by hailing the "God-given glory of his voice."
Contrast that to most of the music of today. They have to mask it with seductive costumes, outlandish dancing and pyrotechnics. The accompanying instruments have to reach the highest decibel in order to drown out the singers. Most of the singers play by ear and wouldn't dare do the Andy Williams thing and sit on a stool center stage and sing without accompaniment to the audience.
Real talent in any area of our life doesn't need to be supported. Real talent simply bursts forth with joy. Real talent can stand on it's own.
Please check this out.....
http://www.glumbert.com/media/connie
I Never watch American Idol. Let me repeat that ... I Never watch American Idol. I watched one show and hated it. In part because I can't imagine that some people have no one who cares enough to say, "Hey man, don't do this. You don't want to look stupid on TV. Sorry man, we love you but we all know you can't sing." Friends not only need to keep friends from driving drunk. Real friends need to keep friends from being publicly stupid.
The second reason I don't watch American Idol is because of Simon. No one should be allowed to be as mean as he is. Sure no talent people have the guts to stand before him, but that doesn't give him the right to treat them so mean.
I don't like stupidity but I hate cruelty even more.
However.....if by some stretch of the imagination we can hope that Simon is truly trying to make a statement about "talent", then perhaps a little mean is what this world needs. I think I could be nicer in the way I express my assessment, but I don't think we should reward no talent people who are only wanting to grab the spotlight and don't want to work to be excellent in their craft.
Strive to be excellent.....that's a tough goal but one that will never let you down. Excellence will always receive a reward!
Be an excellent spouse.
Be excellent for your employer.
Be an excellent parent.
Be an excellent citizen.
And above all....be an excellent Christian.
Frankly, there's just too many lazy fakes around. So go out there and show the world that you can be excellent in your life.
God loves you,
Debbie
The difference between failure and success is doing a thing nearly right and doing a thing exactly right. Edward Simmons
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.
Some men dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.
Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable you to attain the success you seek. Mario Andretti
One of the rarest things that a man ever does is to do the best he can. Josh Billings
No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount of excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. Charles Kendall Adams.
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi
It's a funny thing about life; If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you will often get it. W. Somerset Maugham
One of my pet peeves with music, television and other forms of entertainment is the lack of excellence. It seems that the "general" public would rather be subjected to the lowest form of mind numbing trivia than to fight for the purest form of entertainment - that which inspires.
I'll save other forms of entertainment for another day; for today I want to discuss music. Have you thought about the difference between music in the 40's and music today?
I love entertainment from the 40's - 60's. There were efforts during that time that were less than excellent, but the concentration of thought was toward "excellence".
Last night I rented a DVD of Nat King Cole. I'm sure a lot of you wouldn't agree that it was an "exciting" night of viewing, but I enjoyed the simple yet excellent talent. Just a man and a microphone and his ability to take me to tears. Within moments I was not only remembering my first date with Ron but I could remember the smell of the crisp fall air. Talent is a wonderful thing of beauty.
I heard Luciano Pavorotti passed away. I was reading about him on line. "Domingo, a friend, paid tribute to Pavarotti by hailing the "God-given glory of his voice."
Contrast that to most of the music of today. They have to mask it with seductive costumes, outlandish dancing and pyrotechnics. The accompanying instruments have to reach the highest decibel in order to drown out the singers. Most of the singers play by ear and wouldn't dare do the Andy Williams thing and sit on a stool center stage and sing without accompaniment to the audience.
Real talent in any area of our life doesn't need to be supported. Real talent simply bursts forth with joy. Real talent can stand on it's own.
Please check this out.....
http://www.glumbert.com/media/connie
I Never watch American Idol. Let me repeat that ... I Never watch American Idol. I watched one show and hated it. In part because I can't imagine that some people have no one who cares enough to say, "Hey man, don't do this. You don't want to look stupid on TV. Sorry man, we love you but we all know you can't sing." Friends not only need to keep friends from driving drunk. Real friends need to keep friends from being publicly stupid.
The second reason I don't watch American Idol is because of Simon. No one should be allowed to be as mean as he is. Sure no talent people have the guts to stand before him, but that doesn't give him the right to treat them so mean.
I don't like stupidity but I hate cruelty even more.
However.....if by some stretch of the imagination we can hope that Simon is truly trying to make a statement about "talent", then perhaps a little mean is what this world needs. I think I could be nicer in the way I express my assessment, but I don't think we should reward no talent people who are only wanting to grab the spotlight and don't want to work to be excellent in their craft.
Strive to be excellent.....that's a tough goal but one that will never let you down. Excellence will always receive a reward!
Be an excellent spouse.
Be excellent for your employer.
Be an excellent parent.
Be an excellent citizen.
And above all....be an excellent Christian.
Frankly, there's just too many lazy fakes around. So go out there and show the world that you can be excellent in your life.
God loves you,
Debbie
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Perfect example of great parenting
This is the sweetest and most adorable video I've seen in a long time.
If more children were taught to love God, to share their love and to be a sweet as this child -- the world would be a better place.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14
God loves you,
Debbie
This video will not only give you hope but will leave you smiling all through the day.
There's really not a lot for me to say except --enjoy!
If more children were taught to love God, to share their love and to be a sweet as this child -- the world would be a better place.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14
God loves you,
Debbie