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Volume 25, # 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2009 |
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Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
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On Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge."
Encouragement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleanor H. Porter,
Positive Press"Instead of always harping on a man’s faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of this rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his real self that can dare and do and win out."
Happiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Franklin
"Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom."
Transforming Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rick Warner, "You Were Created to Become Like Christ"
"God’s ultimate goal in your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so He certainly doesn’t want to destroy it. Christ-likeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality."
Fear of Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich, p. 267
"The fear of criticism robs man of his initiative, destroys his power of imagination, limits his individuality, takes away his self-reliance, and does him damage in a hundred other ways."
Spark of Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
"The brightest blaze of intelligence is of less value than the smallest spark of charity."
Stories that sustain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ernest Kurtz, The Spirituality of Imperfection, p. 64
"The stories that sustain a spirituality of imperfection are wisdom-stories. They follow a temporal format, describing ‘what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are now.’ Such stories, however, can also do more: The sequential format makes it possible for other people’s stories to become a part of ‘my’ story. Sometimes, for example, hearing another’s story can occasion profound change."
Foundations of Goodness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denise Barker, LIVING FAITH, Sept. 10
"Daily habits of kindness or coldness, of sharing or greed, play out in those crucial situations where values are quickly…called for and must be acted on immediately. If we fill our lives with goodness, when we are shaken we will overflow with good things. If we fill our lives with harshness, judgment and cruelty, when shaken we will overflow with such ugliness. Daily we prepare for the crises that will test our values. May we build on foundations of goodness."
No Secrets to Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gen. Colin Powell, (Ret.)
"There are no secrets to success: Don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence."
Be the Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Sweetland
"We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own."
Degrees to Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lettie E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, p. 215
"There are degrees to faith. At one stage of Christian experience we cannot believe unless we have some sign or some great manifestation of feeling. We feel our fleece, like Gideon, and if it is wet we are willing to trust God. This may be true faith, but it is imperfect. It always looks for feeling or some token besides the Word of God. It marks quite an advance in faith when we trust God without feelings. It is blessed to believe without having any emotion.
There is a third stage of faith which even transcends that of Gideon and his fleece. The first phase of faith believes when there are favorable emotions, the second believes when there is the absence of feeling, but this third form of faith believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all urge to the contrary.…
May God give us faith to fully trust His Word though everything else witness the other way."
Strive for Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sir Laurence Olivier
"Striving for perfection is the greatest stopper there is. You’ll be afraid you can’t achieve it.…It’s your excuse to yourself for not doing anything. Instead, strive for excellence, doing your best."
Test of Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heraclitus, Insight of the Day
"The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny—it is the light that guides your way."
Inside of You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Frank
"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!"
Quotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients."
The ‘Wait-A-Bit’ Bush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
While traveling, a tourist noticed a curious shrub growing near the roadside. His companion informed him that the local people call it the wait-a-bit bush. Stepping closer to inspect it more closely, his clothes touched it, and he found himself snared by thorns which resembled fish hooks. The more he struggled to free himself, the more he became entangled by its barbs. Finally he had to rely on his companion to release him from the hopeless situation.
There are many wait-a-bit bushes along the road of life. Men and women can easily be hooked by some evil habit, or sinful influences. They can become overly concerned with material goals which can entangle their life and detain them from answering the all-important questions of life.
Ways to Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Link, S.J., Illustrated Sunday Homilies, Year-B, Series I
Suppose you are called up to a table and are blindfolded. Suppose a bucket is placed in front of you and you are asked if it is empty or full of water.
What are three ways you can learn the answer to that question without removing the blindfold?
One way is to reach into the bucket and feel if there is water in it. In other words, you can experience firsthand if the bucket is full or empty. This way of learning is called experiencing. It’s knowledge that we acquire by our senses.
A second way to learn if the bucket contains water or not is to drop an object, like a pebble, into it. If the pebble hits the bottom of the bucket with a loud thud or ringing sound, you know the bucket is empty. On the other hand, if the pebble hits with a splash, you know the bucket contains water. This way of acquiring knowledge is called reasoning.
A third way to learn if the bucket contains water is to ask someone you trust. The person could look into the bucket and tell you if it has water in it. This way of learning is called believing. Its knowledge that we acquire by faith.
Experiencing, reasoning, believing—these are the three ways we acquire knowledge in this life.
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