Thoughts

Thoughts!!!

In a university commencement address several years ago, Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, spoke of the relation of work to one's other commitments:

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. 

You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you're

keeping all of these in the air. 

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. 

If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. 

If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. 

You must understand that and strive for balance in your life."

How?

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. 

It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. 

Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. 

Cling to them as they would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. 

By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. 

Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. 

It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. 

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. 

The quickest way to receive love is to give it; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don't be afraid to learn. 

Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. 

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift: 

that's why we call it The Present.

My wish

To my friends and family before my passing,

Send me flowers while I can see them.

Tell me you love me while I can hear it.

Kiss me while I am here to feel it.

Sing a song with me and not over me while I can sing it.

Stand with me and not at my grave while I am here to enjoy it.

Then when I am gone, do what you will with my body.

It is nothing but an empty shell.

If you want to find me, look to the heavens

For there my soul shall dwell

=Unknown=

Precious Memories

Precious Memories

You can't buy precious memories

With silver or with gold,

They come to us without a price
As the years of life unfold.

I've longed for many things in life,

some with hidden thorns of pain.

Knowing what was best for me,
God sent both sunshine and rain

.

Hard times teach us to appreciate

Good times when they come along,

If all of life was fun and pleasure,
How could we ever grow strong?

God in His infinite wisdom

has given me many good years,

taught me to suffer with others,
to feel their sorrows and tears.

So if you want precious memories 

As the years of life unfold,

Learn how to love one another,
It's worth more than silver or gold.

THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints;
we spend more, but have less;
we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time;
we have more degrees, but less sense;
more knowledge, but less judgment;
more experts, but more problems;
more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much,
smoke too much,
spend too recklessly,
laugh too little,
drive too fast,

get too angry too quickly,
stay up too late,
get up too tired,

read too seldom,
watch TV too much,
and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom and lie too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;
We've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;

We've done larger things, but not better things;
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice;
We write more, but learn less;
We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait;
We have higher incomes; but lower morals;
We have more food but less appeasement;
We build more computers to hold more information,
to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication;
We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion;
tall men, and short character;
steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;
more leisure and less fun;
more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce;
of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips,
disposable diapers,
throwaway morality,
one-night stands,
overweight bodies,
and pills that do everything from cheer,
to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom;
a time when technology can bring this letter to YOU,
and a time when you can CHOOSE either to make a difference,
or to just hit delete... choose delete, and you forfeit your right
to complain.
by Norris Peters

People in your life

People Come Into Your Life For A Reason, A Season Or A Lifetime

When you figure out which one it is, 
you will know what to do for each person. 
When someone is in your life for a REASON. . . 
It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. 
They have come to assist you through a difficulty, 
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are!
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part,
or at an inconvenient time, this person will say
or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away. 
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. 
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled, their work is done. 
The prayer you sent up has been answered. 
And now it is time to move on.

Then people come into your life for a SEASON....
Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons
: things you must build upon in order to have 
a solid emotional foundation. 
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all 
other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

My Son's Friend

 MY SON'S FRIEND

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that , an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing of the Pacific coast, " he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept in the ocean as the boat capsized." 

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.

The aged minister continued with his story, "grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. "As the father yelled out, "I love you son!" he threw out the lifeline to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of the night. His body was never recovered."  

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth.

"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us. Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line He is throwing out to you in this service."

 

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silenced filled the room. 

The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal.

With in minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian,"

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn bible.  A big smile broadened his narrow face, he once again looked up at the boys and said,  "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I am standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You see ...... I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."