| A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, ‘How heavy is this glass of water?’ Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, ‘The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight; but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.’ He continued, ‘And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, the burden will become increasingly heavy and we won’t be able to carry on.’ ‘As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down; don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.’ So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while. |
Browsing Posts in Inspirational
Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with my mother. In our conversation we discussed a recent book she had read which impressed me. The way she shared the story with enthusiasm and emotion caught my attention so much that today I also shared it at a work meeting.
Although I have yet to read it I felt impressed to share this with you. If you have also read it I would love to read your thoughts and how it impressed you.
Islands of Saints by Andy Andrews
While digging up a withering wax myrtle tree beside his waterfront home on the Gulf coast, author Andy Andrews unearths a rusted metal container filled with Nazi artifacts and begins an intriguing investigation that unlocks an unspoken past that took place in his backyard . . . literally . . .
. . . In the summer of 1942, as the country gears up for a full-scale commitment to WWII, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel for the war. While taking a late-night walk along the coastline, Helen Mason-recently widowed by the realities of war-discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann’s uniform, Helen is prepared to leave the lieutenant to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind.
Set in a period simmering with anger and suspicion, Island of Saints offers the very real chronicle of a small town preparing itself for the worst the world has to offer. As cargo from torpedoed ships begins to wash up on the beach, Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts in order to create a future.
Blending his unique style of historical accuracy with unparalleled storytelling, New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews offers a tale of war, faith, and forgiveness-illuminating the one principle that frees the human spirit.
http://www.amazon.com/Island-Saints-Story-Principle-Spirit/dp/0785261400
My Favorite Book - http://www.andyandrews.com/blog/my-favorite-book/
Book Review – http://preacherspen.org/?p=1352
Dennis Prager Q & A At University of Denver. To see what Dennis means when he says The American Trinity”, go to http://www.prageru.com/ and click on “The American Trinity” for a 5 minute video explanation by Dennis. Also, there is another 37 minute speech by Dennis Prager about America’s exceptionalism and uniqueness at http://www.idezignmedia.com/constitut… near the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward.
This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward.
Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite..
This is only a 1 minute, 44 second video and it is brilliant.
Make sure you read as well as listen… as it first goes forward, and then
backward.
This is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20-year old.
The contest was titled “u @ 50″ by AARP. This video won second place.
When they showed it, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke
into spontaneous applause. So simple and yet so brilliant.
Take a minute and watch it.
This is the BEST Andrea Bocelli song EVER. Listen as he joins the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah for an unforgettable rendition of “The Lord’s Prayer.”
Listen on Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/amazonlordsprayer
David Foster sets the stage for the music in this beautiful PBS performance. A song about Christ’s prayer to His Father in Heaven.
This beats adeste fidelis, angels we have heard on high, God Bless us everyone, caro gesu bambino, cantique de noel, and any of his other hits, anytime…but see for yourself. There’s no Sarah Brightman but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir does it even better!
This truly is his the “besame mucho Andrea Bocelli”
Two years ago, I asked six friends to form a “Council of Dads” to be father figures for my three-year-old identical twin daughters. The men ranged from my oldest friend to my college roommate to my closest confidant, and I asked each of them to teach a different thing to my girls – how to live, how to think, how to travel, how to dream.
I then asked each man for the one life lesson he would convey to my girls. Their answers ranged from how to take a trip – Be a traveler, not a tourist – to how appreciate life – Harvest the everyday miracles around you – to how get up off your feet after a setback – Find a way to get over, around, or through the wall; never give in to the wall.
Their answers were so inspiring to me they compelled to write a book, The Council of Dads, gathering their wisdom in one place.
While assembling my Council, a friend told me he would put a dead person in his Council. “If people my people want to understand me,” he said, “they need to understand Thomas Jefferson.”
That got me thinking.
The greatest “Council of Dads” in history was the Founding Fathers. What advice can we learn from them?
This week, I appeared with Glenn Beck for a special show devoted to the “The Council of Founding Fathers.”
Here are the Five Lessons for Parents Today from the original “Council of Dads.”
1. GEORGE WASHINGTON
Honesty is the best policy
When he stepped down from the presidency in 1797, George Washington never actually delivered his Farewell Address. Instead, he published it as a letter to “The People of the United States.” The speech is remembered for introducing the tradition of two terms for the president, warning against party squabbling, and advising against entangling alliances. But it’s most quoted line refers to personal conduct. “I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.”
2. THOMAS JEFFERSON
Question with boldness
On August 10, 1787, while in Paris, Jefferson wrote a letter to his nephew Peter Carr. He advised in favor of studying Spanish (and against Italian). He advocated reading philosophy to improve conduct. And he wrote this about religion: “Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”
3. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Avoid extremes
When he was 22 years old, Franklin wrote out thirteen virtues that he vowed to observe every day. He even typed up a chart and made a check besides each virtue he followed. The exercise lasted just under a month. Still, the virtues capture the essence of the American character he embodied. 1) TEMPERANCE – Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2) RESOLUTION – Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 3) MODERATION – Avoid extremes.
4. JOHN ADAMS
Dare to read, think, speak, and write
A decade before the Revolution, while a young lawyer in Boston, Adams wrote a series of articles about the beating heart of liberty in America. Later published as a book, the articles summoned Americans to let their minds lead them to freedom. “Let us become attentive to the grounds and principles of government … Let us study the law of nature … Let us tenderly and kindly cherish the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”
5. GEORGE WHITEFIELD
Fight the good fight of faith
In a sermon on Ecclesiastes called “The Folly and Danger of Not Being Righteous Enough,” George Whitefield, the great Revolutionary champion of the Great Awakening, echoed Joshua as he conquered the Promised Land. “Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you. Fight the good fight of faith, and God will give you spiritual mercies.”
by Bruce Feiler
New York Times bestselling author of The Council of Dads and America’s Prophet
To learn more, or watch a video of Bruce talking about the life lessons of his fathers, please visit www.councilofdads.com.
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/199/42022/
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© 2010 Roger Knecht