J D Canter E Books

The Lesson of the strangler fig

Today while I was hiking, I approached this beautiful old tree. It was like the tree was reaching out toward the sky. As I looked closer I noticed that it wasn’t one tree but two. My guide Peter explained that the tree was a beautiful oak tree and the roots growing around it was called a strangler fig. He went on to explain that the only way a strangler fig survives is to attach itself to another tree. Over the course of years to fix slowly cuts off the nourishment of the Oak tree and as a result it ultimately kills the oak tree.

I sat and thought about how profound that Oaktree was and thought about how many strangler figs try to penetrate our lives.

People who attach themselves to us while we were growing and appear to be rising up with us, but in truth they are slowly draining the life out of us—people who are not able to make it on their own so they reach out to stronger people so they can live, without concern for others, just themselves.

By the time we realize what is happening, it is too late. We don’t have the strength to fight –

and just slowly die.

It is important for us to take a deep look into our souls and decide for ourselves which role we will allow the strangler fig to play in our lives—and how we must prevent the grasping strangler fig from draining the life out of us so that we may become the mighty oak that reaches for the stars knowing there are no limits’

This is not my original work, don’t know who it belongs to but it is so good!

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So, you’re having a rough day—  Who and what are you comparing it to?  You woke up this morning, millions didn’t.  

Did you sleep in a car last night, millions were homeless.  Did you have more good health than sickness?, so many don’t.  Do you have a bank account, food in a cabinet or refrigerator?

What to do when you are feeling sorry for yourself… Go to the hospital, nursing home, funeral home, junenile detention home (while there be glad your loved ones aren’t there).  Go visit some old folks and just listen, they don’t need you to say anything.  Have you still got your right mind?  I know several folks who don’t.  They were once smart, maybe smarter than you and me.

Pity Parties…Has anyone ever attended any you have had.  If they did I’m sure they didn’t stay long. If you have success with feeling sorry for yourself, go for it…as for me, count me out.  Even Job in the Bible, with all his troubles, was required to stand on his feet like a man.

Try to make someone else happy and  to feel important–There is not any way to make someone else happy and not get some of it for yourself.

The day you learn to get your mind off yourself long enough to think of others, is the day your life will take on a different meaning.  A life of serving others makes a very rich, fulfilling life.

Be Positive—When you get negativity out of your life, take notice how others react to you.

 You’ll see a great difference!  You will never want to go back to the old way.  

Play more offense and less defense…Michael Jordan remarked that too many players at the end of the game were concentrating on not losing, rather than on winning. Some are thinking so heavily on reacting, that they are not nearly proactive as they need to be.   Instead of waiting on someone else to initiate the mood (your mood), try setting the tone to the one you want.  You have a choice, don’t let anyone or anything take that from you.

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Building Take Skill, Tearing Down None https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521429154/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3GDS00NST48AR3V66Y0A

Also Check Out Sermons at http://www.freeholiness.net under Bro Dale Cantrell 

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The “Coronary and Ulcer Club” lists the following rules for members… 

1. Your job comes first. Forget everything else. 

2. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are fine times to be working at the office. There will be nobody else there to bother you. 

3. Always have your briefcase with you when not at your desk. This provides an opportunity to review completely all the troubles and worries of the day. 

4. Never say “no” to a request. Always say “yes.” 

5. Accept all invitations to meetings, banquets, committees, etc. 

6. All forms of recreation are a waste of time. 

7. Never delegate responsibility to others; carry the entire load yourself. 

8. If your work calls for traveling, work all day and travel at night to keep that appointment you made for eight the next morning. 

9. No matter how many jobs you already are doing, remember you always can take on more.  

Bits & Pieces, January 7, 1993, pp. 9-10.

Check Out Books By J D Canter in Amazon And Kindle:

Building Take Skill, Tearing Down None https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521429154/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_SVW02XRC092DE7VBSNE2

Also Check Out Sermons Under Dale Cantrell’s On You Tube And Please Subscribe:

Also Check Out Sermons at http://www.freeholiness.net under Bro Dale Cantrell 

Check out http://www.encourager98.weebly.com

Also Check Out Sermons On Dale Cantrell’s You Tube