Watch Your Mouth!

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Yesterday I saw a plaque with an interesting saying on it: "A closed mouth gathers no feet."  At first, I pondered how keeping your mouth shut can indeed keep you out of trouble.  Then I went deeper and thought of all the times I have kept silent when I should've opened my mouth (widely) and shouted (loudly and repeatedly), but I didn't. 

Both remaining silent when you shouldn't and talking when you shouldn't can result in lasting regret.  The key is discerning the "best" response to a situation.  As "The Gambler," the song made popular by Kenny Rogers says, we should ". . . know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run." (Don Schlitz, Jr, songwriter) 

Learning

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Michelangelo is quoted as saying, "I am still learning." (http://www.brainyquote.com/)

I've recently had several students for whom learning comes slowly, after careful thought.  Progress comes after a hard labor and birth process.  As I've gone over material that I've covered before with a student, carefully repackaging it to find an approach that works, I've thought several times how blessed I am that, for the most part, I've always learned skills quickly and easily, tested well, and retained information for later access.  Academic skills, that is.  Sometimes, spiritual lessons have come less easily. 

Any of my regular readers will note that I've often said something along the lines of "I got a reminder . . ."  That's because I've had lessons that I didn't seem to grasp the first, second, or third times I was exposed to them.  God has patiently repeated certain lessons until I finally internalized the message.  My progress in certain spiritual lessons came after a hard labor and birth process.  I'm glad that God has never given up on me.  He knows that I'm still learning, as are we all.

Be Silly

Never give up; you never know until you try.

My therapist gave me a homework assignment to put more silliness into my life, and I've jumped into it wholeheartedly.  Come along with me!  Here are a few tips on how to bring back some of the joy of being child-like, silly, joyous, and a lot more fun:

Sing, no matter how badly you do it.

Make funny faces.

Blow soap bubbles.

Play in rain puddles, or mud.  How about both?

Color or draw a picture.

Run just to be running; don't worry about getting your heart rate up for a certain period of time.  (Use common sense here, based on your health issues.  There's silly, and then there's foolish.  Get medical attention if you need it, and follow the doctor's orders.)

Tell jokes or read  jokes online or in a book.

Here are two, found on jokesaboutspring.com,  for your enjoyment:

Q:  Can February March?
A:  No, but April May!

Q:  What season is it when you are on a trampoline?
A:  Spring-time!

Seriously, folks: give yourself and everyone else a break by allowing yourself to play once in a while. 

Think!!

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I've had several examples recently of how careless words can stir up anger and/or resentment and put up walls between people.  Often, we don't mean any harm, but the damage is done.

Moral:  THINK!!! Think before you speak, and when you blurt something out in a moment of surprise, anger, fatigue, delight, whatever: APOLOGIZE!!!

Chances are, you and the offended party will share a chuckle.

How Big Is God?

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I've heard several sermons recently on the subject of talking about how big God is instead of how big your problems are.  We know that God is bigger than our problems, but when we see things that seem hopeless, it's easy to forget that though we don't know what to do, God does.  He's not surprised by anything--the broken refrigerator, car, marriage.  He knows the next job assignment before we even lose the old one.

Take heart, readers (myself included).  God is big enough to handle everything, and He's big enough to help us to do our part in His plan.