If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.~Benjamin Franklin
If I have been able to see farther, it was only because I stood on the shoulders of giants.~Sir Issac Newton
This is courage … to bear unflinchingly what heaven sends.~Euripides
Friday, March 02, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Unbreakable
When you say the word "unbreakable" the first thing that comes to my mind.... my first black plastic comb I got when I was a kid.
It was cheap and you could do anything with it. As a kid seeing that word molded into the comb meant one thing: I had to try to break it! I would twist it, bend it, fold it and contort it every way I could to see if I could somehow break the unbreakable. But... just as it was labeled, it never broke!
One thing I didn't expect was with all that contorting to my comb it didn't go back to perfect shape. It didn't break but it sure wasn't the same. Never could get all the kinks out.. the teeth were bent beyond repair. But it still worked. It wasn't broken just beat up a little. If I had never put my comb through all that torture it would have remained the same indefinitely.
We can learn something from my little black unbreakable comb. People most of the time don't break. We're pretty resilient but not perfect, we may be bent up in a few places and show a lot of wear..but we're not broken.
In our relationships with our spouse, our family, friends and colleagues we need to be cognizant of how we interact with each other. A little more tenderness will go a long way. Our words can bend and bruise each other. Even when we don't mean it and we try to put things back in place...sometimes it just isn't the same.
Take a look around you. We're all bent up and bruised a little...but unbreakable.
It was cheap and you could do anything with it. As a kid seeing that word molded into the comb meant one thing: I had to try to break it! I would twist it, bend it, fold it and contort it every way I could to see if I could somehow break the unbreakable. But... just as it was labeled, it never broke!
One thing I didn't expect was with all that contorting to my comb it didn't go back to perfect shape. It didn't break but it sure wasn't the same. Never could get all the kinks out.. the teeth were bent beyond repair. But it still worked. It wasn't broken just beat up a little. If I had never put my comb through all that torture it would have remained the same indefinitely.
We can learn something from my little black unbreakable comb. People most of the time don't break. We're pretty resilient but not perfect, we may be bent up in a few places and show a lot of wear..but we're not broken.
In our relationships with our spouse, our family, friends and colleagues we need to be cognizant of how we interact with each other. A little more tenderness will go a long way. Our words can bend and bruise each other. Even when we don't mean it and we try to put things back in place...sometimes it just isn't the same.
Take a look around you. We're all bent up and bruised a little...but unbreakable.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
2007 - Year of Open Doors
2006 was a brutal year for me. A 23 year marriage ended and a lot of introspection obviously followed. Hurt feelings over things said and done led to the realization of how fragile life's friendships and relationships really are. It was a hard lesson to learn.
A new year always brings hope for change and resolutions abound in our personal lives and career goals. Me? I'm happy to be here...everyday. A counselor told me once "You can't hurt a dead man." While that may seem morbid, depressing and self-loathing the reality is we can't carry all of life's hurts around. When I finally realized I couldn't change people's opinion of me even if they were right or wrong... I became free to be who I am. Warts and all!
I have made many mistakes the past several years and I'm sure more will come. But I do know this one thing: God is faithful. When I don't deserve the mercy He gives it. When I really shouldn't receive grace He bestows it.
So here's to 2007... a new year full of change and promise. Hope to see you around.....
A new year always brings hope for change and resolutions abound in our personal lives and career goals. Me? I'm happy to be here...everyday. A counselor told me once "You can't hurt a dead man." While that may seem morbid, depressing and self-loathing the reality is we can't carry all of life's hurts around. When I finally realized I couldn't change people's opinion of me even if they were right or wrong... I became free to be who I am. Warts and all!
I have made many mistakes the past several years and I'm sure more will come. But I do know this one thing: God is faithful. When I don't deserve the mercy He gives it. When I really shouldn't receive grace He bestows it.
So here's to 2007... a new year full of change and promise. Hope to see you around.....
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