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...
Problems The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. (Horace Bushnell, 19th century minister) People generally try to avoid all the problems of life that they can. No one wants to...
Today Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond our reach. (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, 18th & 19th century German writer and statesman) In one sense, time is all we have to deal with. When it’s gone, it’s gone. It...
Songs Give me the songs of a people, and I care not who writes its laws. (Damon of Athens, 5th century B.C. Greek musicologist) We like to say that we are a nation of laws, and, indeed, that’s true. Without law-abiding citizens, no nation can survive long. Yet, it...
Belief In any project the important factor is your belief. Without belief, there can be no successful outcome. (William James, 19th & 20th century philosopher and psychologist) Many will agree with James’ proposition. Certainly, you have to believe in what you’re...
Money Money might make you wealthy, but friends make you rich. (Author unknown) Money often seems to be the measure used to determine the value of a product or a person. How much is he/she/it worth? It doesn’t take much to discover, however, that many of the...
Opportunity Water doesn’t go under the bridge twice. (Author unknown) We don’t know what the originator of this expression meant, but we can learn at least two things from it. 1) Water will flow under the bridge in only one direction. To change its direction would...