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Volume 32, # 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 2017 |
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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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Prod Our Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wm. Scott Green, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2/3/88, p. A7
"[W]e need to prod our students’ imagination…to provide not just information about alien ways of life and belief, but the capacity to conceive of the possibility of lives we do not lead."
Unexpected Blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric Butterworth
"Life for each of us has its defeats and frustrations. No one ever bats a thousand. No one wins in every encounter. But the really interesting thing is the way in which even bad breaks, or terrible mistakes, can and often do lead to unexpected blessings with the help, of course, of a little resilience and resourcefulness."
Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Lombardi
"Success…The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."
Blocks to Creativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ricard Bandler
"One of the major blocks to creativity is the feeling of knowing you are right. When we think we are absolutely right, we stop seeking new information. To be right is to be certain and to be certain stops us from being curious. Curiosity and wonder are at the heart of all learning."
Lenten Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
"One of the wonderful things about the Lenten season is a sense of being in process.
Lent is our spring-time of new growth and renewed life. Lent is the season to realize that God is continually creating; that God’s grace is continually moving through us; that the man or woman who can be open to this creative power and can feel a sense of movement and expansion within is the one who experiences God’s life-giving Spirit most fully."
I Will Persist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World
Scroll 3: "‘I will persist until I succeed.’
Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.…I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking."
Way of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy Day
"Does God have a set way of prayer, a way that he expects each of us to follow? I doubt it. I believe some people – lots of people – pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they have, the love they offer people and receive from people. Since when are words the only acceptable form of prayer?"
Infinite Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Harvey Robinson
"Each of us is great insofar as we perceive and act on the infinite possibilities which lie undiscovered and unrecognized about us."
Pass on to Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ©Lara Homes
"All that we do and we are, we will pass on to our children – our loves, our hopes, our dreams, our character and our assets. Good thoughts need to be sown in good soil. Therefore, let your thoughts be planted in rich soil and let your actions stand tall in a child’s eyes. Just as fruit does not fall far from the tree, children do not stray far from their heroes."
Fear to Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Abraham A Low, Mental Health Through Will-Training, p. 101
"…[I]f you fear to do something you do not fear the thing but your sensations; your fear of being embarrassed or self-conscious. And the cure is to do what you fear to do and to brave the sensations."
Irish Blessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Greeley, The Irish, p. 27
"May the God of the misty dawn waken you;
May the God of the rising sun stir you up;
May the God of morning sky send you on your way;
May the God of noonday stillness renew your strength;
May the God of afternoon bring you home;
May the God of sunset delight your eye;
May the God of twilight calm your nerves;
And the God of dusk bring you peace;
And may God bless you,
The Rising and the Setting Sun,
The Alpha and the Omega,
The Beginning and the End,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bennis & Nanus, p. 28
"Management of attention through vision is the creating of focus.…[V]isions or intentions are compelling and pull people toward them. Intensity coupled with commitment is magnetic.
Vision grabs. Initially it grabs the leader, and management of attention enables others also to get on the bandwagon."
I Will… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino
"I will welcome happiness, for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness, for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards, for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles, for they are my challenge."
Great Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vincent Van Gogh
"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."
On Forgiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher News Notes, 7/’79
"It is up to me. When I forgive and accept forgiveness I feel whole: healed of conflict and free to love myself and others. All of us have difficulties with forgiveness: difficulties with forgiving someone, with asking for forgiveness and accepting it when it is offered – even with forgiving ourselves."
Drink Deeply of God’s Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anon.
A city dweller moved to a farm and bought a cow. Sometime after the purchase, the cow went dry. When he reported this fact to a neighbor farmer, the neighbor expressed surprise. The city slicker explained, "I don’t understand it either, for if ever a person was considerate of an animal, I was of that cow. If I didn’t need any milk, I didn’t milk her. If I only needed a quart, I only took a quart.
The farmer tried to explain to him that the only way to keep milk flowing is not to take as little as possible from the cow, but to take as much as possible.
Is this not true of the Christian life? Those who only turn to God in time of need miss the real joy that flows from a daily infilling of his Holy Spirit.
Planting Big Potatoes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fresh Packet of Sower’s Seeds, p. 16
Many years ago Irish immigrants subscribed to the theory that they could eat all the big potatoes and keep the small potatoes for seed planting. They did this for quite some time. They ate the big potatoes; they planted the small potatoes. Soon, however, greater understanding of the laws of nature came to them, for while they kept up this practice, nature reduced all their potatoes to the size of marbles. The Irish farmers learned through bitter experience that they could not keep the best things of life for themselves and use the leftovers for seed. The laws of nature decreed that the harvest would reflect the planting season.
Planting small potatoes is still common practice today. We often try to keep the best things of life for ourselves and to plant inferior things. We expect that by some crazy twist of the laws of nature our own selfishness will reward us with unselfishness. Is this not true in terms of time, personal talents, serving others, sharing our faith, living according to the Golden Rule?
We need to remember what the Irish farmers learned: we cannot eat all the big potatoes and still keep on having them through the years. Truly the harvest reflects the planting season.
March 12, 2 a.m.
turn clocks ahead Saturday night
before going to bed
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.