Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale - Making Decisions   W illiam McKinley, the 25 th U.S. president, once had to choose between two equally qualified men for a key job. He puzzled over the choice until he remembered a long-ago incident.       On a rainy night, McKinley had boarded a crowded streetcar. One of the men he was now considering had also been aboard, though he did not see McKinley. Then an old woman carrying a big basket of laundry struggled into the car, looking in vain for a seat. The job candidate pretended not to see her and kept his seat. McKinley gave up his seat to help her.       Remembering this episode, which he called “this little omission of kindness,” McKinley decided against the man on the streetcar. Our decisions – even the small, fleeting ones – tell a lot about our true character . ~ Adapted from Presidential Anecdotes by Paul F. Boller, Jr . "H is master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in ch

  T here are two ways of exerting one's strength: One is pushing down, and the other is pulling up. ~ Booker T. Washington   T wo are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

  T he truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self. ~ Whitney Young BUT as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the Word with a good and noble heart, and hold onto it tightly, and bear fruit with patience. ~ Luke 8:15 (Amplified)

  P ersonality can open doors, BUT only character can keep them open. ~ Elmer G. Leterman   O L ord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness, and speaks and holds truth in his heart. ~ Psalm 15:2 (Amplified)

  T here are spaces between our fingers so that another person's fingers can fill them in. ~ Unknown   N evertheless I am continually with You;  You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory. ~ Psalm 73:23-24

  Friday Tale - Stepping Stones   T he Lord came to me like a dream one day and asked, "why do you sorrow?" I answered, "Lord my life is so full of pain, I can't face one more tomorrow."   The Lord sat down beside me, and gently took my hand. He said, "Let me explain to you and then you'll understand.   Each sorrow is a stepping stone you must surmount each day, And every stepping stone you climb is a sorrow that's passed away.   The road of life is a mountainside, with crevices in which to be caught, But as you struggle on your way, your Rock, will lend you support.   Every stepping stone you climb, makes spirit and heart grow strong. Exercising character and faith this road seems painful and long.   The way is paved with stepping stones, to

  A t least three times every day take a moment and ask yourself what is really important. Have the wisdom and the courage to build your life around your answer. ~ Lee Jampolsky   A s for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. ~ Psalm 55:16-17

  Y ou will never change your life until you change something you do daily. ~ Mike Murdock   B e renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. ~ Ephesians 4:12

  W isdom is the reward you get for a life time of listening when you'd have preferred to talk. ~ Doug Larson   H ow much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver. ~ Proverbs 16:16

  P eople often say that motivation does not last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend motivation daily. ~ Zig Ziglar   N ow these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ~ Acts 17:11

  Friday Tale - True Leadership   F rom 1 949 to 1958 Pee Wee Reese was captain of baseball's Dodgers. Named not for his size, but for playing marbles as a kid with a pee-wee shooter. He was a great shortstop, a daring base runner, and a superb clutch hitter.     He was an eight-time All Star and sparked the Dodgers to seven National League pennants. He fielded the final ground ball in Brooklyn's first World Series championship in 1955. He never earned more than $35,000 playing the game he loved.     During his total of sixteen years on the field for the Dodgers, Reese was respected as a person as well as a ballplayer. His fellow Dodgers called him simply "The Captain" and deferred to his judgment on many matters. He wasn't good at speeches. His leadership came from inner confidence, integrity, and consistency. His manner had the unpretentious effect of causing people to trust and follow him.     Just back from a three-year stint in the Navy during World W

  P repare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable. ~ George S. Patton   F or whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction,    so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures   we might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4

  A ll the darkness of the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle, yet one candle can illuminate all the darkness. ~ Jewish Hanukah Prayer   F or you, LORD, make my lamp shine;   my God enlightens my darkness. ~ Psalm 18:28 (ISV)

  T he very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance BUT live right in it, under its roof. ~ Barbara Kingsolver   T his I recall to my mind, therefore I have HOPE. The LORD's loving-kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  "The LORD is my portion," says my life, "Therefore I have hope in Him." ~ Lamentations 3:21-24

  W e must love our neighbor as ourselves. We must be loving to all men, for love is the greatest of graces, greater than even faith or hope. ~ Sir Isaac Newton   F or the whole Law is fulfilled in the statement, "You shall love your    neighbor as yourself." ~ Galatians 5:14

  Friday Tale - Find the Good Humor   K atie was a young woman with a great, big problem. She was a teenager dying of leukemia. Katie's mother wrote to me and told me how her daughter approached her disease. She told about a time, shortly after a bone marrow transplant, when Katie's head was “slickly bald,” as she put it. One day Katie heard the doctor coming on rounds and ducked into the bathroom. Her mother heard her giggling and asked, "Katie, what is so funny?"     She put her finger to her lips, pulled a Nike ski cap onto her head and crawled into bed.     When the doctor came in, she said, "Well, Miss Katie! How are you feeling today?"     Katie frowned and said, "I am OK, I guess... but I just have this splitting headache." She pulled off her ski cap and there on her bald head was a huge red crack, which she had drawn with a marker. As the doctor recovered from her initial shock, the room exploded in laughter.     Katie did not sur

  T here is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, BUT of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of over-whelming grief and unspeakable love. ~ Washington Irving   T ruly I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice, you will grieve, BUT your grief will be turned into joy. Therefore you two have grief now, BUT I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice and no one will take your joy away from you. ~ John 16:20, 22

T he reward is not so great without the struggle..... The triumph cannot be had without the struggle. ~ Wilma Rudolph   E veryone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. Therefore I run in such a way, not without aim, BUT I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that,  after I have preached,   I myself will not be disqualified. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:25-27

  T here's always failure. And there is always disappointment.  And there's always loss. BUT the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of these holes are vacuums. ~ Michael J. Fox   G ive instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning; The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ~ Proverbs 9:9

  A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. ~ Amelia Earhart D o not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ~ Proverbs 3:3