Monday, December 26, 2016

Jack’s Winning Words 12/26/16
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  (Steven Covey)  On this day, honoring St. Stephen, a quote from another Steven seems appropriate.  The biblical Stephen gave up his life keeping the main thing “the main thing.”  Dec 26 is a good day to think about what is most important to us.  Whatever that is (and it can be different for each person), how can we show that “it is the main thing?”  Family?  Work?  Health?  Hobby?  …or, God?    ;-)  Jack

FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  We watched an interesting movie last night with our daughter and son- in-law. "Ex Machina" The scientist had built a woman robot, actually a series of women robots, and then he persuaded this programmer to come and develop a relationship with the woman robot. There was dialogue that was intriguing and the programmer seemed to have some decency and empathy and was going to help the woman robot escape. Usual twists and turns and finally woman robot did escape but only after the scientist had been killed, another woman robot had been inactivated and the programmer himself betrayed by the woman robot and left locked up in the house laboratory. But I liked this movie because it showed how the writer/producer of the movie might have been wrestling with how necessary honesty and true feelings for each other are required by humans for any quality of life at all. God comes first, family, work, sex, recreation, down the line of human needs follow because there is this need to be honest and know and be able to testify to truthful things. we need that, we want that and are probably doomed to failure if we try to invent truth ourselves.  Thinking in Houston.====JACK:  That makes the point...finding out what's most important in life, especially in your life.

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  Good Note. This year I completed my service at our church's Stephen Ministers group.====JACK:  St, Stephen's Day should have special meaning for you this year.  Congregations and pastors are fortunate to have trained laypeople who can step in and help care for the spiritual needs of people.  I see that this kind of ministry is becoming more and more of a need in today's world.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  One of the best Winning Words yet.  We shouldn't get sidetracked by trivial things but stick to the main things!  For us they are God, Family and everything else. ====JACK:  Interesting...your response uses railroad terms...main thing--the main line, the tracks where the important trains travel...side-track--the less important railroad cars are taken to a track, along side the main track, so as not to get in the way of the important trains.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We watched an interesting movie last night with our daughter and son- in-law. Ex Machina" The scientist had built a woman robot, actually a series of women robots, and then he persuaded this programmer to come and develop a relationship with the woman robot. There was dialogue that was intriguing and the programmer seemed to have some decency and empathy and was going to help the woman robot escape. Usual twists and turns and finally woman robot did escape but only after the scientist had been killed, another woman robot had been inactivated and the programmer himself betrayed by the woman robot and left locked up in the house laboratory. But I liked this movie because it showed how the writer/producer of the movie might have been wrestling with how necessary honesty and true feelings for each other are required by humans for any quality of life at all. God comes first, family, work, sex, recreation, down the line of human needs follow because there is this need to be honest and know and be able to testify to truthful things. we need that, we want that and are probably doomed to failure if we try to invent truth ourselves.
Thinking in Houston,
SH of MI