|
|
 ®
Volume 25, # 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 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
Review Our Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas A. Kempis
"A life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves: This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!"
Change Begins with You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn
"If you will change everything will change for you. Don’t wait for things to change. Change doesn’t start out there, change starts within.…All change starts with you."
Wisdom Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
"We are as large as our vision…as small as our bigotry;
As great as our kindness…as petty as our prejudice."
Lord, Grant Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Thomas More
"Lord, grant me a holy heart that sees always what is fine and pure and is not frightened at the sight of sin, but creates order wherever it goes. Grant me a heart that knows nothing of boredom, weeping and sighing.
Let me not be too concerned with the bothersome thing I call ‘myself.’
Lord, give me a sense of humor and I will find happiness in life, and profit for others."
Choose Carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernest Kurtz, The Spirituality of Imperfection, p. 79
"Our problem…is that we are inundated by too many thoughts and ideas, an entangled mess of beliefs and opinions that fight it out with each other in the dark, eventually knocking each other out. Choose what you want to think about…and choose it carefully, because that choice determines the way you live your life."
Kindle a Great Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Felix Adler
"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for others to see by. The saint is the one who walks through the dark paths of the world, and is a light."
Enthusiasm–a Virtue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Chalmers
"Enthusiasm is a virtue rarely to be met with in seasons of calm and unruffled prosperity. It flourishes in adversity, kindles in the hours of danger, and awakens to deeds of renown. The terrors of persecution only serve to quicken the energy of its purposes. It swells in proud integrity, and, great in the purity of its cause, it can scatter defiance amidst hosts of enemies."
Vision–Venture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pastor Vance Havner, PositivePress.com
"The vision must be followed by the venture.
It is not enough to stare up the stairs.
We must step up the stairs."
Making Spiritual Progress? . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Hart, "Spiritual Quest," L
IVING FAITH, 1/30/2002
"How can I tell if I am making spiritual progress? Am I becoming more hopeful, more serene? Simpler in my lifestyle? More generous toward others? More accepting of others? Readier to forgive those who wrong me? Am I doing something to relieve human suffering and make life better for others?…When we emphasize the values and virtues we need, we see how difficult the spiritual journey is. It takes a lifetime…[A] genuinely spiritual life keeps calling for a change of heart. And the heart, we find, does not so easily change."
Foundation of Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Tracy,
YourSuccessStore.com"Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character. The first form of courage is your ability to stick to your principles, to stand for what you believe in and to refuse to budge unless you feel right about the alternative. Courage is also the ability to step out in faith, to launch out into the unknown and then to face the inevitable doubt and uncertainty that accompany every new venture."
On Discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment."
Forget Oneself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. John Powell, S.J., A Life-Giving Vision, p. 7
"To forget oneself in loving. Having learned to accept and to be themselves, fully alive people proceed to master the art of forgetting themselves—the art of loving. They learn to go out of themselves in genuine caring and concern for others."
The Information Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur C. Clarke
"Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all."
Forge Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR
"May the fires of desire, dedication and discipline forge your commitment to strive for your dreams."
The Greatest Threat . . . . . . . . Laurence K. Gould, 1000 Tips & Quips for Speakers & Toastmasters, p. 48
"I do not think the greatest threat to our future is from bombs, or guided missiles. I don’t think our civilization will die that way. I think it will die when we no longer care; when the spiritual forces that make us wish to be right and noble die in the hearts of men. Nineteen notable civilizations have died from within, and not been conquered from without. It happened slowly, in the quiet and dark, when no one was aware."
Leaders Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kouses & Posner, The Leadership Challenge, p. 9
"Leaders spend considerable effort gazing across the horizon of time, imagining what it will be like when they have arrived at their final destinations. Some call it vision; others describe it as a purpose, mission, goal, even personal agenda. Regardless of what we call it, there is a desire to make sure something happens, to change the way things are, to create something that no one else has ever created before."
I Say Grace… . . . . . . . . G.K. Chesterton, G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense, p. 16
But I say grace before the concert…
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing,
walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen
in the ink."
Parables for Preachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Reid, Parables for Preachers: Gospel of Mark, p. 6
"In his parables, Jesus always began with the familiar. The images and situations he painted in his stories were from the fabric of daily life of his audience.…In this way he would capture people’s attention and draw them along with him to the end of the story. In the same manner, an effective preacher today transforms the Gospel images and situations into ones that relate to the everyday world of those gathered.…"
Eagles Soar Above Storms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
"An eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks. It will fly to some high spot and wait. When the storm hits, the eagle sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.
The eagle does not escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. The eagle soars on the winds of life’s storms."
Learn to Fail Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
One of the wisest of American businessmen was John Henry Patterson who founded National Cash Register company in Dayton, Ohio. He employed young men, giving them difficult and responsible tasks to see how they would handle themselves. He particularly watched to see how they handled their mistakes, saying that no one was competent who was afraid of making a mistake. Then he watched to see if they had the quality of mind to overcome the mistake and do better next time.
Thus, Mr. Patterson surrounded himself with astonishingly capable businessmen; men not afraid to fail, men who could learn from their failures.
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.