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  Volume 17, # 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November, 2001

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Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!

November


Holy Curiosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Albert Einstein

    "Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day…Never lose holy curiosity."


On Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael J. Fox

    "The only thing that separates any one of us from excellence is fear, and the opposite of fear is faith. I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for, perfection is God’s business."


Character is Built… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn, www.jimrohn.com

    "Character is not something you were born with and can’t change like your fingerprint. In fact, because you weren’t born with it, it is something that you must take responsibility for creating. I don’t believe that adversity by itself builds character and I certainly don’t think that success erodes it.

    Character is built by how you respond to what happens in your life. Whether it’s winning every game or losing every game. Getting rich or dealing with hard times. You build character out of certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself.…You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them. Just like chiseling away the rock in order to create the sculpture that has previously existed only in your imagination."


A Prayerful Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paula Ripple, Walking With Loneliness

    "Becoming a prayerful person whose life has direction grows out of my attentiveness to my own story, and my efforts to understand it by reflecting on the meaning of the story of Jesus. Prayer leads me to believe in the value of my story through telling it to God, as I understand it, and then listening to God as his story for me unfolds in my life."


Wisdom Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God’s Little Instruction Book, II

    "People will be more impressed by the depth of your conviction than by the height of your logic"

"The right train of thought can take you
to a better station in life."

"Practice courtesy. For all we know it might become fashionable again."


Thanksgiving Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prayer of Christians

"For the haunting rhythm of our universe,
   
     we thank you, Creator and Lord.
For the still-reaching reachers of our world,
   
     we thank you, Creator and Lord.
For giving us a history and a destiny,
   
     we thank you, Redeemer and Lord.
For becoming yourself, a man among men,
   
     we thank you, Redeemer and Lord.
For drawing us into the mystery of life and love,
   
     we thank you, Spirit and Lord.
For touching us with stars and blades of grass,
   
     we thank you, Spirit and Lord."


Master Asking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Canfield & Mark V. Hansen, The Aladdin Factor, p. 50

    "One of the things that distinguishes masters from others is that they constantly ask for anything and everything they need.

    At one time almost all masters…had trouble asking for what they wanted and needed. They had all the same issues of ignorance, fear, pride and unworthiness that the rest of us have struggled with, but they faced them, overcame them and got on with the business of creating the lives and results they wanted."


A Better Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Og Mandino, The Choice

    "Henceforth, I will take every risk and embrace every opportunity that may provide a better life for me and my family…I will despise myself later if I look back on my life and realize that I had the talent and the ability to do great things but could not find the courage to try.

    I know what I can do, and I know how little I have done. It is not too late for me. I can still shape a future of success and happiness. I am capable of great wonders, and now I know that my achievements will never rise higher than my faith in myself. I have new faith, I am made in the image of God. I was not created to fail. Defeat? Possible. Quit? Never again!

I choose a better way to live!"


Spiritual Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabbi Abraham Heschel

    "The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments."


Giving Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabindranath Tagore

    "I have thanked the trees that have made my life fruitful, but have failed to remember the grass that has ever kept it green."


Called to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An American Citizen

praying hands"Now that the President has called us to prayer…
Now that Congress has called us to prayer…
Now that our Governor has called us to prayer…
Now that the city Mayor has called us to prayer…
Now that the liberal media and most other branches of our American society
        have called us to prayer…
And now that our churches are assembling in special prayer…
Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, I have only one question…
Would it be O.K. to pray in our schools?"


Dream Big! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catherine Marshall, Insight, Vol. 3, # 10

    "You have set goals for yourselves.…But I don’t think you have set them high enough. You have talent and intelligence and a chance. I think you should take those goals and expand them. Think of the most you could do with your lives. Make what you do matter. Above all, dream big!"


Today’s Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Harding Allen

    "God grant me the strength to reach out for my dreams and see the world with understanding and love, and believe in the beauty of life and the dignity of humanity."


How to Get Out of a Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous

    Once a frog fell into a deep pothole and couldn’t get out no matter how hard he tried to jump out. Even his friends couldn’t get him to muster enough strength to jump out of the pothole. After a number of futile attempts, they gave him up to his expected fate.

    But the next day they saw their frog-buddy bounding around just fine. Somehow he had made it out of the deep pothole, so they asked him how he did it, adding, "It looked so hopeless. We thought you’d never get out of there."

    The frog replied, "I thought so too, but then along came this big truck…and suddenly I had to."


Blessings Taken for Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.eSermons.com, November, 2000

    One day President Abraham Lincoln summoned to the White House a surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland from the state of Ohio. The major assumed that he was to be commended for some exceptional work. During the conversation Mr. Lincoln asked the major about his widowed mother. "She is doing fine," he responded.

    "How do you know," asked Lincoln. "You haven’t written her. But she has written me," replied President Lincoln. "She thinks that you are dead and she is asking that a special effort be made to return your body."

    At that the Commander and Chief placed a pen in the young doctor’s hand and ordered him to write a letter letting his mother know that he was alive and well.

    Oh, the blessings that we take for granted. Oh, the wretchedness of ingratitude. It was Shakespeare who worded it more appropriately than ever we could. He wrote: "Blow, blow thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind as man’s ingratitude."


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