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Apple Seeds®

  Volume 19, # 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November, 2003

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Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!

November 2003


Academic Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Dan Fredericks

    "What is about to happen to you in college is admittedly a somewhat scary experience. There is a very real chance that you may change. For some people, this is a positive idea. Many of you have come to college with goals to learn new skills, to strengthen yourselves in a variety of ways, to practice the habits of responsible adulthood and citizenship, to prepare for careers, and possibly even to find a spouse with whom you will spend the rest of your life. These people know that change is necessary and are eager to embrace it. Others of you may be less confident that change will be a welcomed thing."


Rabbi Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabbi Menachem Mendl of Kotzk

    "If I am I because I am I and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. However, if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you."


People are Like… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

    "People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within."


Great Minds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington Irving

    "Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them."


Crisis is an Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eugene Hemrick
                                                                                                                             "The ‘Business’ of Catholic Education," T
HE PRIEST, p. 43

    "The true meaning of crisis…reminds us that the concept does not belong in the category of the negative—in fact, a crisis can be a very positive factor in obtaining a college or university education. The word belongs to a larger family of words—e.g. critic, critical, criticism and criterion. Each of these words is ultimately derived from the Greek word krinein, which means "to decide," "to be at a crossroad." When properly understood, a crisis is an opportunity to make new commitments or bolster old ones."


Way to Glory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Socrates

"The nearest way to glory—a shortcut, as it were—is to strive to be what you wish to thought to be."


Whisperings of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frederick William Faber

    "There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God.

    God is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on."


How to Pray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philip Brooks

cornucopia

"Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men!
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for powers equal to your tasks."


For the Rest of my Life… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino, Return of the Ragpicker, p. 136

    "For the rest of my life, this day of days, God please help me…to do unto others as I would have them do unto me, to give more of myself, every hour, than is expected, to set goals and hold fast to my dreams, to search for the good in every adversity that befalls me, to perform all my duties with enthusiasm and love and, above all, to be myself.

    Please help me to accomplish these goals…so that I may become a ragpicker of value, laboring in your name with renewed strength and wisdom to rescue others as you have rescued me. And, above all, please remain close to me, through all of this day."


Winners vs. Losers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Foreman

"Winners are those people who make a habit of doing the things losers are uncomfortable doing."


Thanksgiving Blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Louis Stevenson

"We thank Thee…
     for this place in which we dwell;
     for the love that unites us;
     for the peace accorded us this day;
     for the hope with which we expect the morrow’
     for the health, the work, the food and the bright skies
          that make our lives delightful."

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.


Grow Brave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Paine

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection."


He Loves His Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward

    "He loves his country most who values integrity above influence, conscience above criticism, freedom above favor, morality above money, character above comfort, principle above popularity, loyalty above license, greatness above glory, self-control above self-indulgence, and effort above ease."


Keeping One’s Temper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earl Nightingale, INSIGHT, # 61, p. 11

    "Most of the things that we regret came about because of our inability to remain cool, to hold our temper. More than anything else, perhaps, a loud, quickly triggered temper marks the uneducated person. It can be found at all levels, of course, but as a general rule, it is a sign of an uneducated mind. If not always uneducated—since some pretty well-educated people have been famous for temper tantrums—I think we can say undisciplined, even uncultured. Keeping one’s temper is very difficult to do, but it’s the way to win."


To Stand the Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William James

    "Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. That is, be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points, do every day or two something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test."


Pays Too Much For The Whistle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

Benjamin Franklin    Thomas Fleming, in The Man Who Dared the Lightning, tells how "when Benjamin Franklin was seven years old, a visitor gave him some small change. Later, seeing another boy playing with a whistle, young Ben had to have that whistle and gave the boy all his money for it. Ben played the whistle all over the house, enjoying it until he discovered that he had given four times as much as the whistle was worth. Instantly, the whistle lost its charm."

    As he grew older, Franklin generalized this principle. When he saw a man neglecting his family or business for political popularity, or another giving up a friendship for the sake of accumulating wealth, Franklin would say, "He pays too much for his whistle."

    Interesting how we, too, often pay too great a price for something that looks and sounds so good and promises so much. Don’t be fooled, the world offers you whistles that are not worth the price.


Creative Power of Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

    Soft words sung in a lullaby will put a child to sleep. Inciteful words will stir up a mob to violence. Eloquent words will send armies marching into the face of death. Encouraging words will fan into flame the genius of a Rembrandt or a Lincoln. Powerful words will mold the public mind as a sculptor molds the clay. Words, spoken or written, are a dynamic force.

    Writing of Napoleon and his Italian campaign, Emil Ludwig said, "Half of what he achieves is achieved by the power of words."

    Words are the swords we use in our battle for success and happiness. How others react toward us depends, in a large measure, upon the words we speak to them. Life is a great whispering gallery that sends back echoes of the words we send out! Our words are immortal, too. They go marching through the years in the lives of all those with whom we come in contact. As Wilfred Peterson writes, "When you speak, when you write, remember the creative power of words."

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