Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is the starting point to begin changing your life!
Story:
4/8–When their son left for his freshman year at Duke University, his parents gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began sending them letters asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible–but he still needed money. When he came home for a semester break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. How? They had tucked $10 and $20 bills by the verses they had cited in their letters.
Scripture:
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
4/7–The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology!
Red Auerbach
Story:
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made dinner after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all dad did was reached for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school.
I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”
Scripture:
1 Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Wanting to teach them about the dangers of judging things too rapidly, he decided to send each of them on a journey, one after the other, to a distant pear tree.
Each son when in a different season, the first in winter, the second in spring, and so on.
At the end of the year he brought his children together and asked them what they’d seen.
The son who’d travelled in winter described a gnarled, twisted, and barren tree that stood stark and ugly against the land.
The son who went in spring disagreed. No, he said, the tree seemed full of hope and promise, with green buds along its branches.
The third son, who’d travelled in summer, disagreed once more. The pear tree he’d seen was covered in beautiful blossom that looked and smelled divine.
Finally, the last son, who’d made the journey in fall, disagreed again, describing a tree laden with sweet and delicious pears that tasted better than any he’d eaten before.
When each son had spoken, the father said they were all correct, because they’d only seen but one season of the pear tree’s life.
He explained to his sons that it’s foolish and impossible to judge something in this manner.
The essence of something, whether it’s a tree or their fellow man, can only be measured as a whole, at the end of the year, having seen it in its fullness.
To make your judgment in winter is to miss the promise of spring, the beauty of summer, and the fruit in fall.
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There was once a group of 100 people attending a seminar on personal development.
In the middle of their talk, the speaker stops and decides to run an impromptu group activity. He hands out a balloon to each attendee and tells them to write their name on it.
The balloons are then collected and placed in an adjacent room.
The speaker then instructs the 100 attendees to enter that room and, within 5 short minutes, find the balloon with their name on it.
Pandemonium breaks loose as they charge in, pushing and colliding with each other as they desperately search for their name.
The 5 minutes pass and nobody succeeds.
The speaker then tells each person to pick up any random balloon and give it the person whose name is written on it. Within a few minutes everyone has their balloon back.
He then said, “What just happened with those balloons is exactly what happens in our search for happiness. We frantically look for it all around us, not knowing where it is.”
Yet our happiness lies in the happiness of others. By giving them their happiness, you get yours.”
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Illustration: Can you imagine firemen straightening pictures on the wall of a burning house?
Scripture:
1 Timothy 6:9-10
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Illustration: Can you imagine firemen straightening pictures on the wall of a burning house?
Scripture:
1 Timothy 6:9-10
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
In The Anatomy of an Illness: As Perceived by the Patient, Norman Cousins tells of being hospitalized with a rare, crippling disease. When he was diagnosed as incurable, Cousins checked out of the hospital. Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions can have on the body, Cousins reasoned the reverse was true. So he borrowed a movie projector and prescribed his own treatment, consisting of Marx Brothers films and old “Candid Camera” reruns. It didn’t take long for him to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided two hours of pain free sleep. Amazingly, his debilitating disease was eventually reversed. After the account of his victory appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cousins received more than 3000 letters from appreciative physicians throughout the world.
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