In a life well lived, each succeeding day becomes better than the last. (John Homer Miller, former Marine officer) Miller continues, “Each day, each year, each experience does not stand alone; it cannot be separated by what has happened before or what may happen...
Silence is not wasted time, but useful time spent. (Mr. Rogers, late TV personality) We don’t “hear” much silence today. In modern society, noise is omnipresent whether it’s ringing smart phones, blasting TVs, or frenzied musicians at a concert. Rogers, no doubt, was...
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different? (C. S. Lewis, 19th-20th century British writer) It is strange, isn’t it, that after the mundane day-to-day work has morphed into months and years, things look so much...
Time is your greatest asset…how you choose to spend it determines your legacy. (Dan O’Deens, third-world worker) He continues, “Choose to spend your life on behalf of others who have less than you, then you will have chosen to live real life.” Rather than striving to...
Worse than Failure “Coach, I am not afraid of failing, I am afraid of being successful at something that doesn’t matter.” (An athlete to Coach Morris M. Michalski) Is there something worse than failure? After all, we can learn a lot when we don’t succeed in reaching a...
Easy Work The only people for whom the job is easy are those who've never done it. (Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court associate justice) There are a lot of “sidewalk superintendents” who stand around, watching others working hard to do their job. Such self-appointed...
Reading To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark. (Victor Hugo, 19th century French dramatist) People who read a lot—no matter what the source—have very likely forgotten what it was like not to be able to read. Where would we...
Choices Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this. (Celine Dion, Canadian singer) We don’t get to choose everything that surrounds us or happens to us in life. We have to deal with what...
Struggles Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly. (Anonymous) What do you suppose goes through caterpillars’ minds when they began to sense changes happening in their bodies? If you ever face such a struggle, wondering...
Confrontation Confrontation is not a matter of tact, diplomacy, and smoothness of tongue. It is basically simplicity of speech, empathy in attitude, and honesty in response. (David Augsburger, author) Very few people enjoy confrontation; most of us try to avoid it at...
I Want It! Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. (Dalai Lama) Parents know what it’s like to deal with children who want what they want when they want it—and that’s right now! We also know that our children’s wants are not...
Unconditional Love Love is not unending tolerance of bad behavior. It is true that love covers sin, but it also corrects it. (Randy Smith, teacher) We hear a lot about unconditional love today, meaning you have to continue loving someone almost to the point of...