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Volume 30, # 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 2014 |
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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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On Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jacques Maritain,
"Education at the Crossroads""The prime goal of education is the conquest of internal and spiritual freedom to be achieved by the individual person or, in other words, his liberation through knowledge and wisdom, good will and love."
Great Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Harriet Tubman
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."
Heart of the Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. James Dobson,
Feb. 12"Children need adults who can go for casual walks and talk about fishing and stuff like that…and slow down to look at pretty leaves and caterpillars…and answer questions about God and the nature of the world as it is."
Man’s Tongue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Franklin,
Poor Richard’s Almanack"Man’s tongue is soft, and bone doth lack;
Yet a stroke therewith
may break a man’s back."
On Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kouses & Pozner,
The Leadership Challenge, p. 84"Vision is having an acute sense of the possible. It is seeing what others do not see. And when those with similar vision are drawn together, something extraordinary occurs."
Spiritual Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Scott Peck,
The Road Less Traveled, p. 311
"[T]he journey of spiritual growth requires courage and initiative and independence of thought and action. While the words of the prophets and the assistance of grace are available, the journey must still be traveled alone.…No words can be said, no teaching can be taught that will relieve spiritual travelers from the necessity of picking their own ways, working out with effort and anxiety their own paths through the unique circumstances of their own lives toward the identification of their individual selves with God."
One’s Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warren Buffett
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently."
Before You… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give."
Rule of Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Ignatius of Loyola
"There are two guarantees of a wise rule of conduct: the thought before action, and self command afterward."
Intelligent Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Friedl & Macauley,
Homilies Alive, Creating Homilies that Hit Home, p. 117
"Learning the fundamentals one at a time requires intelligent practice, self-evaluation, and if available, outside advice. Success doesn’t come overnight. The great players are willing to spend the hours needed practicing on the playground, in the gym, during the off-season. He or she doesn’t have the time to master the fundamentals while learning the plays, the offense, the defense, and preparing for games. And so, constant practice is required, but it must be intelligent practice. If the proper fundamentals are not pursued, the athlete will be practicing mistakes."
The Strong Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Lombardi, Jr.,
What It Takes to Be #1, Vince Lombardi on Leadership, p. 39
"Mental toughness is also the perfectly disguised disciplined will. The strength of your group is in your will – in the will of the leader. The difference between a successful man and others is not in the lack of strength, nor in the lack of knowledge, but rather, in the lack of will. The real difference between men is energy. It is in the strong will, the settled purpose, the invincible determination."
from The Speech
Meanings of Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Andrew Greeley,
WOMAN’s DAY, 12-22-81
"It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation, of the enfleshing of God – the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people – kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people – no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush…"
The Little Things That Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR
Recently I heard a sports reporter interview an athlete before an upcoming play-off game. She asked him what did the team need to do to get ready for the big game? The athlete replied that they needed to take care of the little things that matter.
How true that is, it’s the "little things that matter" that make the big difference in winning big games.
Consider then, what are the "little things that matter" that your team has to take care of today? And, what are the "little things that matter" that you have to take care of for the sake of the team?
By the way, it is the "little things that matter" that make all the difference in business, in a successful marriage, and in one’s personal life. Today, "take care of the little things that matter."
Twas The Night Before Jesus Came . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . More Sower’s Seeds, p. 5
Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their bibles were lain on the shelf without care,
in hopes that Jesus would not come there.The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling or bowing a head;And mom in her rocker with baby on her lap,
was watching the late show while I took a nap;When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter;Away to the window I flew like a flash,
threw open the shutters and threw up the sash.The light of His face made me cover my head,
it was Jesus returning, just like He said.And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.In the book of life, which He held in His hand,
was written the name of every saved man.He spoke not a word as He searched for my name,
when He said, "It’s not here!" my head hung in shame.The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to His Father above.With those who were ready He rose without a sound,
while all the rest were left standing around.I fell to my knees, but it was too late:
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight.
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.In the words of this poem the meaning is clear,
the coming of Jesus is drawing near.There’s only one life and when the last name is called,
we’ll find that the bible was true after all.
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Graphics used with permission from ChurchArt Online. They are not to be copied or downloaded.