Thought for the week (week of July 21st)....

George Carlin passed away recently, and I thought this week, I'd share one of his memorable "thoughts"...

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"


Discuss.

My Friend Kyle....

A friend of mine sent me this story and I KNEW I had to share it with everyone here:


One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends
tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.

He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."

He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends
He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends... When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never
be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation.(I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak!)

On graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in his glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

Finally, the time came in the ceremony for Kyle's speech. He walked up to the podium and readied himself. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began:

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Never forget that.

Thought for the week (July 7th)

"If you were on a plane going the speed of sound and walked from the back of the plane to the front, would you be walking faster than the speed of sound?"



Discuss.

Sand and Stone...author unknown

I found this today, and it's something that I'm sure we've all witnessed or been through personally. So many times people let anger or hurt feelings steal moments away from us that otherwise should be cherished.


Two friends were walking through the desert.
During some point of the journey,
they had an arguement, and one friend slapped
the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt,
but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

"Today my best friend slapped me in the face..."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis,
where they decided to take a bath.

The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire
and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowing, he wrote on a stone:

"Today my best friend saved my life"

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,

"After I slapped you, you wrote in the sand, and now,
you write on a stone...

Why is that?"

The friend said, "When someone hurts us,
we should write it down in sand, where the winds
of forgiveness can erase it away.


But when someone does something good for us,
we must engrave it in stone, where no wind can ever erase it."

Learn to write your hurts in the sand, and to carve your benefits
and blessings in stone.

Thought for the week (Week of June 30th...)

Just what was the "Baby on Board" sign for? Did it help us decide which car NOT to hit in case of an accident?


Discuss.

Are you a "failure"?

GOOD! So am I...many times over.

And I'm excited about that, because I learned long ago that you learn more from your failures than from your successes. Reggie Jackson struck out more than ANYONE else who ever played in Major League Baseball. 2597 times. That's a lot of failure. But he also hit 563 home runs and is in the Hall of Fame because he was WILLING to fail that much.

So you need to ask yourself TWO very important questions:

1) Are you willing to fail? (If "yes" continue to question #2)

2) How much?

Wow. Some people never think of it like that, but its true: the biggest successes in life aren't the people who never failed...the biggest successes are the people that fail over and over but refuse to give up.

But some people want to play it "safe". They are happy punching the clock everyday at the same time, going to luch at the same time, and going home at the same time.

(Rinse and repeat daily for 40 years.)

But that wasn't me. I knew...from the time I was about eight years old, that what I really wanted to do was to help people. And now finally, (I turn 42 this month) I do it every day.

So what about you?

Do you KNOW...I mean really, really KNOW that YOU are BETTER than the life you currently live? Even though others may step on your dreams, do you still keep pushing forward? Are you always telling yourself "I know that I was meant for something, I just haven't found it yet..."

If so, I'd like to hear from you. Tell me how you failed, how you were knocked down in life, but got right back up. I'd like to share some things with you that may help you succeed more often.

I'm here. Its what I do.

(Below, I've posted a video of famous "failures". Of course THEY knew that they weren't failures, and kept moving forward until...SUCCESS!)

Thought for the week (Week of June 16th)....

Why do bullies always ask "what’s your problem" when they're obviously not going to solve them?


Discuss.

When Life Hands You Lemons...

Yes, it happens to all of us...even us bloggers:-) What would you have done in my shoes?

Mobile post sent by jeffbunnell using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

The Starfish Story....

This story is very famous; sometimes the old man is the boys grandfather, other times the main characters are mother and daughter. What matters most is that the message remains the same...


"Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"


Every day we all come in contact with people that we may never meet again. Did you make a difference in their life? You may have, with just a simple wink, a smile, or holding the door open for the mother with groceries in her arms. Big or small, we all have the power to make a difference.

Great Poem that I want to share...

I found this earlier today and really wanted to share it with everyone...

I Asked God...

I asked God to take away my pride.
God said "No. It is not for me to take away,
but for you to give it up."

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.
God said. "No. Her spirit is whole,
her body is only temporary."

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said "No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
it isn't granted, it is earned."

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said "No. I give you blessings,
happiness is up to you."

I asked God to spare my pain.
God said "No. Sufferings draw you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me."

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said "No. You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful."

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
God said, "No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things."

I asked God to help me LOVE others,
as much as God loves me. God said....

" Ahhhhh............ Finally you have the idea!"