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Volume 34, #8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 2019 |
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![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-1c.jpg)
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-2c.jpg)
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
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All-Embracing Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
"Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."
Make a Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"If I do not make a commitment to what I am doing I can not succeed at it. Commitment does not erase problems though somehow it helps in working them out."
Good Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"To be a good teacher:
- raise students’ self image,
- get them to believe in what they can do,
- encourage them,
- praise them,
- get them to believe in themselves."
Living Creatively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christophers #233
"By taking a fresh look and seeing things differently, we can make all kinds of discoveries. We can replace old perceptions with new ones. We can combine old ideas in new ways and bring into being something which did not exist before.
When we allow ourselves to be puzzled, to ask, ‘Why?’ we can start to make things happen rather than let them happen to us.
Living creatively is being ready for almost anything."
The Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino
"Choice! The key is choice. You have options…So how do we explain that vast multitude of humanity that continues to exist in hopeless mediocrity, unfulfilled, frustrated, envious, drained of confidence and self-esteem, unable to meet even their daily obligations, and sad – so sad – that each new day produces no fresh seedling of hope, only more weeds of despair from showers of tears?
The answer is simple and obvious. Those who live in unhappy failure have never exercised their options for the better things of life because they have never been aware that they had any choices!…
Look closely. Consider the choices still available to you, choices that you can elect immediately, no matter what your present condition may be, so that you can live the remainder of your life as your Creator intended for you to live – in glory, not in shame.
I choose a better way to live!"
Key to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christophers, 11/’84
"Be patient with God. His love for you is constant. The gifts you need will come in His good time. Try to remember that the key to prayer is in knowing that the Lord wants to work in and through you just as you are."
Jolted into Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Kennedy,
"Qualities of an Effective Confessor," The Priest, 4/’85"Our human journey is beset with various roadblocks and even an occasional dead end. Ironically, it is at these times of dead ends or crises (when we may feel abandoned by God) that He seems to speak most clearly to us to live a better way. We are jolted into an awareness that pulls us off the road."
Little Things in Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Humphrey Davy
"Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but in little things, in which smiles, and kindness and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort."
To Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louis L’Amour
"The best of all things is to learn. Money can be lost or stolen, health and strength may fail, but what you have committed to your mind is yours forever."
Spring Miracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"Summer, fall and winter may be seasons, but spring is a miracle."
Joy of Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Denis Waitley
"The motto of those who know the joy of working – who bring joy to their work, their lives and the lives of others, who use their time and talents to the fullest – is T.G.I.T., or ‘Thank God It’s Today." They know that happiness takes place in the present; it can’t be reserved for another – a better time."
Mind Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Top Performance, Vol. 1, # 3
"Professionals know if they are going to change their status in life, they must improve their performance and to do that, they need to change their thinking. To change their thinking they must change the input into their minds, so they selectively choose the ‘good stuff’ as ‘mind food.’"
True Happiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Mason Brown
"Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose."
Make a Difference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eugene C. Dorsey
"Live and work to make a difference, to make things better, even the smallest things. Give full consideration to the rights and interests of others. No business is successful even if it flourished in a society that does not care for or about its people."
Live More Abundantly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
Shrimp wear their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, and discard their shells numerous times during a lifetime. They shed their shells to accommodate their growing bodies.
Perhaps we human beings can take a lesson from the shrimp. Do we have some shells that need discarding? It may be a good idea to examine our lives and shed a few shells occasionally. The growing person is constantly shedding his or her shells.
The pessimist is limited by doubts, confined by fears, and restricted by uncertainties. The optimist is freed by faith, stimulated by hope, and encouraged by confidence.
Perhaps it’s time to shed our shells of envy, pride, anger, indifference.…Perhaps it’s time to shed our shells of selfishness and of narrow, confining self-interest.
The generous person is the joyous person. The giving spirit is the beautiful spirit. Follow the example of the Master Teacher and give generously, willingly, unhesitatingly, and completely.
More Than Holy Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous, Sower’s Seeds Aplenty, p. 29
There was a young monk who sat outside the monastery, his hands clasped in prayer. He looked very pious and chanted holy words all day. Day after day he intoned these words, believing that he was acquiring grace.
One day the head priest of the monastery sat next to him and began rubbing a piece of brick against a stone. Day after day he rubbed one against the other. This went on week after week, until the young monk could no longer contain his curiosity. He finally blurted out, "Father, what are you doing?"
"I’m trying to make a mirror, said the priest.
"But that’s impossible!" said the monk. "You can’t make a mirror from brick."
"True," replied the priest. "And it is just as impossible for you to acquire grace by doing nothing except chanting all day long."
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