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Volume 35, #6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2020 |
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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!
How to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prof. Jacob Neusner
"Much that you learn today won’t be true five years from now; many things you haven’t heard today will be important five or ten years ahead. If I teach you something supposedly ‘relevant,’ I’m guaranteeing irrelevance. If I teach you how to work, to have good attitudes, to take responsibility for your own ideas, to communicate and to think a problem through, no matter what subject matter I use in order to get those basic skills of mind and intellect across, then I’m giving you something you can use for a very long time. Those skills will never change."
Help Us God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Goethe
"Help us God, and give us light so that we don’t stand in our own way, let us do from morning till night what should be done, and give us clear ideas of the consequences of our actions."
To Have a Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert K. Greenleaf
"Nothing much happens without a dream. And for something great to happen, there must be a great dream.
Behind every great achievement is a dreamer of great dreams. Much more than a dreamer is required to bring it into reality; but the dream must be there first."
Opposite of Courage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rollo May
"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, but in conformity."
On Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Stone,
SPHR, Dear Mentor"To be a leader of excellence in major events, you must also be a leader of excellence in minor ones. True excellence is a continuous condition, not an on or off event. If you have the value of excellence in your core, it is not necessary to strive for excellence in a certain situation for excellence will surely exude in all that you do as part of your natural behavior pattern.
Learning Point: Excellence is a natural behavior of those who have excellence as an inherent core value.
A New Opportunity to Choose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"Choose to love — rather than hate.
Choose to smile — rather than frown.
Choose to build — rather than destroy.
Choose to persevere — rather then quit.
Choose to praise — rather than gossip.
Choose to heal — rather than wound.
Choose to give — rather than grasp.
Choose to act — rather than delay.
Choose to pray — rather than despair.
Choose to forgive — rather than curse."
Prayer for the Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pres. George Washington
"Almighty God: We make our earnest prayer that Thou will keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou will incline the heads of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of sub-ordination and obedience to government, and entertain a brother-affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large.
And finally that Thou will most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion and with a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can ever hope to be a happy nation.
Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Character Constructed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
"Character is not constructed on cozy cushions of comfort and contentment. It is forged on solid anvils of adversity and perseverance."
America: a Mosaic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bits & Pieces, Vol. 21, #7
"The idea that America was and is a melting pot was always somewhat of a myth, says former Senator Fred Harris. What we need, the Senator adds, is to accept people who are different; not attempt to make everyone the same. As Bishop Fulton Sheen once said, ‘America is not a melting pot; it is a mosaic.’"
On Reconciliation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Paul VI
"A love of reconciliation is not weakness or cowardice. It demands courage, nobility, generosity, sometimes heroism and overcoming of oneself rather than of one’s adversary. At times, it may even seem like dishonor, but it never offends against true justice or denies the sighs of the poor. In reality, it is the patient, wise art of peace, of living with one’s fellows, after the example of Christ with a strength of heart and mind modeled on his."
A Leader’s Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Bergen
"A leader’s role is to raise people’s aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there."
On Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carroll Stuhmueller, C.P.
"Proverbs and quotable quotes can certainly be misused; a clever turn of the language can silence the other party and so get the speaker off the hook. Proverbs, however, still possess enormous value; they are so universally true that they speak a message for everyone. Yet, for the general statement to become a personal word…, it has to be reflected upon for a long time. A proverb, therefore, is not intended to end discussion and silence the other party, but as Ecclesiastes wrote:
The sayings of the wise are like goads;
like fixed spikes are the topics given by one collector (Eccles. 12:11).They are goads to drive us on to harder thinking and practical application. They are spikes on which to hang our own ideas."
Only Day We Have . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Starr Jordan
"Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole we may not understand, but we are here to play it, and now is our time. This we know: it is a part of action, not of whining. It is a part of love, not cynicism. It is for us to express love in terms of human helpfulness."
Wisdom of St. John XXIII
O
MNIA VIDERE — See All
QUAEDAM DISSIMULARE — Ignore Most
PAUCA CORRIGERE — Correct Few
Safeguard Our Rowboat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg
An old tale tells of two men who were out on the water in a rowboat. Suddenly, one of them started to saw under his seat. He maintained that it was his right to do whatever he wished with the place which belonged to him.
The other man answered that they were in the rowboat together — the hole he was making would sink both of them.
We have a responsibility to life, to defend it everywhere, not only against our own sins, but also against those of others. We are now all passengers together, in this same fragile and glorious world. Let us safeguard our rowboat — and let us row together."
An Enduring Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sunday Sermon Masterpiece Collection, Vol. III, p. 1204On his thirtieth wedding anniversary, the film actor, Robert Mitchum was asked why his marriage had endured so long when those of so many of his show-business colleagues had failed. Mitchum answered thoughtfully, "The secret is mutual forbearance. We have continued to believe that the other will do better tomorrow."
We know there is a God…We have experienced the power of God’s love to bring out the best in us. We know that by the forbearance and forgiveness of God, we can do better today than we did yesterday. We know that God is always working in our lives to bring out the best that is in us.
February 14th
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