|
|
 ®
Volume 25, # 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 2010 |
|
© |
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds_25-left.jpg)
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds_25-right.jpg)
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
download as PDF
Success in Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. Anthony Ridder
"The bottom line about success in life isn’t whether you are financially successful, but whether you have given of yourself in some way to help others less fortunate than you and to serve your community and your country."
Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bishop Murphy, T
HE PRIEST, 3/84"For some the word crisis is charged with negative undercurrent. Yet, the definition of the word envisions crisis as a ‘turning point, a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined.’
The word crisis can be used more positively where we are challenged to grab hold of the present moment, to recognize the issues involved, and to make the present moment a turning point. From this perspective, crisis becomes a graced moment, a time of decision."
A New Idea is Delicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charley Brower
"A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow."
Man’s Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘is-ness’ of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the ‘ought-ness’ that forever confronts him."
Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Temple
"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of the imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose—and all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy of that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin."
Common Weakness . . . . . . . . . . . . . Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich, p. 283
"Without doubt, the most common weakness of all human beings is the habit of leaving their minds open to the negative influence of other people."
Peace of Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
"Peace of mind is never found on the battlefields of resentment and unforgiveness."
Think Differently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Swindoll, The Quest for Character, p. 171
"What’s behind great accomplishments? Inevitably, great people. But what is in those ‘great people’ that makes them different? It’s certainly not their age or sex or color or heritage or environment. No, it’s got to be something inside their heads. They are people who think differently. People whose ideas are woven into a meaningful pattern on the loom of dreams, threaded with colorful strands of imagination, creativity, even a touch of fantasy. They are among that band of young men…‘who will dream dreams and see visions.’"
Economic Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur H. Vandenberg
"It is less important to redistribute wealth than it is to redistribute opportunity."
The Good Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mortimer J. Adler
"In Aristotelian terms, the good leader must have ethos, pathos, and logos. The ethos is his moral character, the source of his ability to persuade. The pathos is his ability to touch feelings, to move people emotionally. The logos is his ability to give solid reasons for an action, to move people intellectually."
Membership of a Community . . . . . . . Ernest Kurtz, The Spirituality of Imperfection, p. 74
"Stories help us attend. And ‘attending,’ in a setting of storytelling and story-listening, helps us to remember, which means more than just to ‘recall.’ As Wendell Berry reminds us in his novel Remembering, it also means to be re-membered (the opposite of being dismembered); it means entering the ‘membership of a community: Memory is communal.’ Thus, although a spirituality of imperfection insists, ‘Pay attention to yourself,’ such attending is not a self-centered self-seeking, but an awareness of oneself as related to others, as a member of a community."
Get Started Now! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bits & Pieces, Vol. M, # 11
"No matter how intelligent or able you may be, if you don’t have a sense of urgency, now is the time to start developing it. The world is full of very competent people who honestly intend to do things tomorrow, as soon as they can get around to it. Their accomplishments, however, seldom match those of the less talented who are blessed with a sense of the importance of getting started now.
Look Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Thruber
"Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness."
Power of Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
"Never underestimate the power of giving. It shines like a beacon throughout humanity. It cuts through the oceans that divide us and brightens the lives of all it touches. One of life’s greatest laws is that you cannot hold a torch to light another’s path…without brightening your own."
Rest Not! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wolfgang Goethe
"Rest not! Life is sweeping by;
Go and dare before your die.
Something mighty and sublime,
Leave behind to conquer time."
Life for the Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn (RIP, 12/05/09)
"One of the disappointments of life is that friends will abandon those who begin to change their life for the better, and yet those who remain behind will say ‘he has forgotten us now that he lives well.’ It is those who accept their mediocrity who choose to ‘remain behind.’ It is almost always those who have climbed above the crowd who would wish to return to their earlier friends and embrace them in friendship and love, knowing that they dare not for jealousy among those who remain behind will not allow it to be so."
Sense of Humor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Bell Graham
"My parents taught me that a sense of humor is the balance wheel of life. Have you ever met a fanatic with a sense of humor?
The Finishing Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sower’s Seeds That Nurture Family Values, # 81
Phidias very likely was the greatest sculptor among the ancient Greeks. Legend tells us that he was extremely careful when applying the finishing touches to the beautiful statue of Diana which was to adorn the Acropolis in Athens. As he applied his chisel to the back side of Diana’s head, he shaped each strand of hair with great patience, giving his full attention to the tiniest detail.
An observer reminded Phidias that the statue would stand one hundred feet high with its back to a huge marble wall. "Why waste your time on those finishing touches which will never be seen?" he asked. "Who will ever know of such detailed work in the back?"
Phidias solemnly replied, "I will know!"
God of All Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sunday Sermon Masterpiece Collection, Vol I, p. 127
Many years ago, the theologian Howard Thurman described God’s immediate Presence as follows:
"There is in every one of us an inward sea. In that sea there is an island, and on the island there is a temple. In that temple there is an altar, and on that altar burns a flame.
All of us, whether we bow our knee at an altar outside ourselves or not, are committed to the journey that will lead to the exploration of the inward sea, to locate the inward island, to find the temple, and to meet, at the altar in the temple, the God of all life.
Before that altar, all the deepest intent of your spirit stands naked and revealed; before that altar, you hear the voice of God, giving life to your spirit, forgiveness for your sins, renewal of your commitment. As you leave that altar within your temple, on your island, in your inward sea, all the world becomes different, and you know that whatever awaits you, nothing that life can do will crush your spirit."
Apple images are from ClickArt Incredible Image Pak 65,000
Broderbund, Inc.
Graphics used with permission from ChurchArt Online. They are not to be copied or downloaded.