The basics in life include the sweet fragrances of friendship, family, and fulfillment…
The words I share reflect the gifts of time and wisdom so many people have shared with me…
They inspire me to live bravely with an audacious spirit of adventure…
Life is about all of us and the ways we connect and renew each other’s courage to
celebrate our individual journeys…
I hope you enjoy a beautiful day…
The following touched my life with insight and perspective. Each author uses words eloquently to convey a truth.
“’– the tree that bends with the winds in the storm survives and is not cracked, uprooted, or destroyed… ” -Catherine Marshall
In an interview Katherine Patterson recently said “she wrote books because she saw reading as a rehearsal or bridge to what individual readers experience in life.” Could it be books give readers the opportunity to walk through and understand truths in past experiences as well?
“’Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” -Flavia Weedn
“We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time to adore our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.” -Maya Angelou
From a composition student after completing a difficult writing assignment – “Paper Is The Perfect Listener”
“”Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” -Plato
“The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been struggling in you for utterance.” -Oswald Chambers
teach us such amazing truths
imagine… three pots of boiling water…
One with coffee beans, one with eggs,
and one with carrots
After twenty minutes each pot’s contents
is placed in a bowl
Feel the carrots. They will be soft and mushy
Pull the shell off the egg;
you will observe a hardened egg
Sip the coffee… ahh…
Notice the deep flavor, rich aroma, and
gentle fragrance
Each of these objects faced the same challenge…
Boiling water, in this case…
Each reacted differently – each yielded
different results
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting
After the challenge it became weak
The egg though fragile with a think, outer shell protecting its interior
After the challenge it became hardened
The coffee beans uniquely endured the challenge
and changed the surroundings…
The carrots responded by wilting-losing strength
The egg started with a fluid spirit
but became hardened-stiff
The outer shell looked strong, but hid a fragility
The coffee beans actually changed the hot water
The very circumstances
that brought the challenge
The water became something quite wonderful
When it got hot the beans released
a fragrance and flavor
that stimulated multiple changes
that made a real difference
(Author unknown)
I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I didn’t really know Him.
But later on, when I met Jesus, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that
Jesus was in the back helping me pedal.
I don’t remember just when it was He suggested we change, but life has not been the same since
I took the back-seat to Jesus, my Lord.
He makes life exciting.
When I had control, I thought I knew the way.
It was rather boring, but predictable.
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at break-through speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said, “Pedal!” I was worried and anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer and I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared”,
He’d lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord’s and mine. And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away;
they’re extra baggage,
too much weight.”
So I did, to the people we met, and I found in giving
I received, and still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks,
fly to shorten scary passages.
I am learning to shut up and
pedal in the strangest places.
I’m beginning to enjoy the view and
the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus.
When I’m sure I just can’t do any more,
He just smiles and says… “Pedal.”
(Author unknown)
I learned in Kindergarten
share everything. play fair. don’t hit people.
put things back where you found them.
clean up your own mess.
don’t take things that aren’t yours.
say you are sorry when you hurt somebody else.
wash your hands before you eat. flush.
warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
live a balanced life… learn some and think some and
draw and paint and sing and dance and
play and work every day some.
take a nap every afternoon.
when you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
be aware of wonder.
remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup:
the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die.
so do we. and then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned …
the biggest word of all -look
– Robert Fulghum
cneiswenderwords.com 