Never give up; you never know until you try.
How do you direct someone’s attention back to you when it has gone somewhere else? I had that question answered tonight at a business seminar. The instructor refocused everyone after a break by saying, “1-2-3, all eyes on me!” Comic, semi-juvenile soul that I am, I broke into a big grin and said, “I love that!” The teacher promptly shared that her child’s teacher had used that little rhyme to refocus her elementary-age students when they became talkative in class. I’m not going to comment as to what it says about me that I found the rhyme so endearing, but it made me think.
I couldn’t help but wonder how many people go through life needing attention yet not getting it. Or getting too little. The person who is struggling with illness or substance abuse. Or poverty. The person who is being abused. Then I concluded that God must surely feel that way with us—most assuredly with me, anyway.
I find it so easy to focus my attention on my problems, on my current projects, on my future plans. It’s too easy to get wrapped up in myself.
Thankfully, God understands the tendency we all have to get wrapped up in ourselves and gently nudges us to be more involved in helping others with their problems. He also nudges us to be more involved with Him. I’m glad when people listen to those nudges, because there have been times when a hug or a kind word from someone made my day. I may not have had all eyes on me, but because someone listened to the Someone who always has His eyes on me, I got the strength to press on.
Thank you to all the dear people who have been there for someone when he or she needed it!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Laughter Does a Body Good
Never give up; you never know until you try.
Most of us have heard or read that laughter improves health. The Bible says it and modern medical research says it. So today, dear readers, I submit the following. You may laugh uproariously, roll your eyes, groan, or think I have the strangest sense of humor you ever encountered. If you find my offerings un-funny, just think of your favorite joke or story and remember that I suggested you do so. PS: These are from cleanjoke.com
Drum Roll Here
Two peanuts were walking down the road, and one was a salted!
Q Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
A Because he felt crummy.
I’d stop eating chocolate, but I’m no quitter!
*************************************************************
Enough about food—it’s time for a light bedtime snack and my date with the sandman. Have a wonderful week, everyone.
Most of us have heard or read that laughter improves health. The Bible says it and modern medical research says it. So today, dear readers, I submit the following. You may laugh uproariously, roll your eyes, groan, or think I have the strangest sense of humor you ever encountered. If you find my offerings un-funny, just think of your favorite joke or story and remember that I suggested you do so. PS: These are from cleanjoke.com
Drum Roll Here
Two peanuts were walking down the road, and one was a salted!
Q Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
A Because he felt crummy.
I’d stop eating chocolate, but I’m no quitter!
*************************************************************
Enough about food—it’s time for a light bedtime snack and my date with the sandman. Have a wonderful week, everyone.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
How Many People?
Never give up; you never know until you try.
A fellow GED instructor said to me yesterday, “they (the students) have no idea how much we want them to succeed.” “They have no clue,” I agreed, my eyes misting as I thought of one young woman in particular.
Coming home from work, I started thinking about that exchange and wondering if that isn’t true of all of us. Do we really know how many people are “rooting” for us, and just how much they care? I doubt it.
Why? Because we’re all guilty of not expressing our concern, telling people how much they mean to us and how much we want the best for them. We’re all “too busy” and/or just don’t think about it. We figure they know, but they don’t always know. Maybe we don’t want to embarrass them. There are countless reasons why we don’t tell people that we’re “in their corner.”
So today I ask you to think about how many people there are who want the best for you, and how many people would love to hear from you that you want the best for them. Then brighten someone's day by telling her how much you care.
A fellow GED instructor said to me yesterday, “they (the students) have no idea how much we want them to succeed.” “They have no clue,” I agreed, my eyes misting as I thought of one young woman in particular.
Coming home from work, I started thinking about that exchange and wondering if that isn’t true of all of us. Do we really know how many people are “rooting” for us, and just how much they care? I doubt it.
Why? Because we’re all guilty of not expressing our concern, telling people how much they mean to us and how much we want the best for them. We’re all “too busy” and/or just don’t think about it. We figure they know, but they don’t always know. Maybe we don’t want to embarrass them. There are countless reasons why we don’t tell people that we’re “in their corner.”
So today I ask you to think about how many people there are who want the best for you, and how many people would love to hear from you that you want the best for them. Then brighten someone's day by telling her how much you care.
Monday, September 5, 2011
One Step at a Time
Never give up; you never know until you try.
For Labor Day week, I’m addressing “labor.” For those who don’t already know, I’ll admit right now that I’m a go-getter who likes to make—and see—steady progress toward my goals. I want it all, and I want it yesterday. Because I’ve noticed over the years that there are a lot of people in the same boat, I’ve written about this before, addressing myself as well as my readers. I wrote in “How Far You’ve Come” that I believe we should celebrate how far we’ve come instead of bemoaning how far we’ve still got to go or how long we’ve been striving to get to where we are. In “Journeys, Blessings, and Fatigue,” I wrote that leaping forward into the hoped-for future would mean missing out on blessings that occur along the way. Today, I’d like to remind us all of the often-heard advice to take it one step at a time.
Please, don’t kill the messenger. I agree with you; I hate that advice, too. Yet I’m convinced that it’s the most sensible way to approach a task. Skipping steps can lead to disaster—just ask someone who has had to go back and do something over because she left out an important step. Take intimacy, for example. There is no shortcut. It grows out of time spent together, really learning about another. Leap from “hello” into bed, and you end up in trouble. Leap into a business deal, and you could lose your life savings and your reputation at the same time.
I started working recently as a Basic Skills/GED tutor, and I see students wanting to hurry through the process required to get their high school equivalency credentials. Some express more impatience and frustration than others, trying to skip around in their computerized lesson plans instead of working systematically. Those who skip around, without fail, get confused as to what they should do next. Each lesson builds on the last, so there is some review, and they think they’re repeating lessons and have finished lessons they haven’t. That makes the process take longer and seem even longer. Skipping is definitely counterproductive.
Exercise is another good example I’ve noticed in my life. If I miss an exercise session, I’m sometimes tempted to try to make up for lost time and work out as long and hard as if I hadn’t missed any. What ends up happening is that I’m so sore that I’m sidelined longer as I recover from overworking my muscles. I’m sure everyone has done that at one time or another.
So I close with another old saying: slow and steady wins the race. I think I’ve noted before that I don’t necessarily agree with that piece of wisdom, but I agree that slow and steady is the way to go. Maybe you won’t win, but you have a better chance of finishing. One step at a time.
For Labor Day week, I’m addressing “labor.” For those who don’t already know, I’ll admit right now that I’m a go-getter who likes to make—and see—steady progress toward my goals. I want it all, and I want it yesterday. Because I’ve noticed over the years that there are a lot of people in the same boat, I’ve written about this before, addressing myself as well as my readers. I wrote in “How Far You’ve Come” that I believe we should celebrate how far we’ve come instead of bemoaning how far we’ve still got to go or how long we’ve been striving to get to where we are. In “Journeys, Blessings, and Fatigue,” I wrote that leaping forward into the hoped-for future would mean missing out on blessings that occur along the way. Today, I’d like to remind us all of the often-heard advice to take it one step at a time.
Please, don’t kill the messenger. I agree with you; I hate that advice, too. Yet I’m convinced that it’s the most sensible way to approach a task. Skipping steps can lead to disaster—just ask someone who has had to go back and do something over because she left out an important step. Take intimacy, for example. There is no shortcut. It grows out of time spent together, really learning about another. Leap from “hello” into bed, and you end up in trouble. Leap into a business deal, and you could lose your life savings and your reputation at the same time.
I started working recently as a Basic Skills/GED tutor, and I see students wanting to hurry through the process required to get their high school equivalency credentials. Some express more impatience and frustration than others, trying to skip around in their computerized lesson plans instead of working systematically. Those who skip around, without fail, get confused as to what they should do next. Each lesson builds on the last, so there is some review, and they think they’re repeating lessons and have finished lessons they haven’t. That makes the process take longer and seem even longer. Skipping is definitely counterproductive.
Exercise is another good example I’ve noticed in my life. If I miss an exercise session, I’m sometimes tempted to try to make up for lost time and work out as long and hard as if I hadn’t missed any. What ends up happening is that I’m so sore that I’m sidelined longer as I recover from overworking my muscles. I’m sure everyone has done that at one time or another.
So I close with another old saying: slow and steady wins the race. I think I’ve noted before that I don’t necessarily agree with that piece of wisdom, but I agree that slow and steady is the way to go. Maybe you won’t win, but you have a better chance of finishing. One step at a time.
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