Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/30/19
“Sweep first your own doorstep before you sweep the one of your neighbors.”  (Swedish Proverb)  Some people who recently visited Holland, Michigan, commented on how clean the city was...not even a scrap of paper blowing around.  Amsterdam, Holland, has a project to make theirs a more livable city.  Residents, and even the mail carriers, report any places that need cleaning/fixing up, and workers are sent to take care of it…even sweeping the streets.    ;-) Jack

FROM LH IN FH:  There is a similar quotation from Goethe:  “If man would but sweep his own doorstep, the entire world would be clean.”  I’ve always felt that has such a vast meaning, as an inspiration for things like volunteer efforts in ones own community and moral values training as one takes on the responsibility of raising children.  The same with your Swedish saying. ===JACK:  For me, it means "Don't tell other people how to run their lives until your life is in order,"

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  when we were in Norway and Sweden and Finland last May,  there was hardly a bit of trash anywhere!!   we Americans should be ashamed of our roads and streets.  some are just disgracefully trashy!===JACK:  I may be wrong, but I think that the proverb might be referring to a different kind of trash.===SP:  perhaps but your added comments did refer to street trash,  did they not?:):):)===JACK:  OOPS.  I should watch my words!


Jack’s Winning Words 4/29/19
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it very hard to plan the day.”  (E.B. White)  Are you a morning person or a nighthawk?  I’ve always been an early riser, but morning or night person, this world is here for us to enjoy…and to protect.  Put aside the debate about Climate Change.  Begin to talk about ways we can make this this world a better place, a more enjoyable place.   ;-)  Jack

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  we can do both!===JACK:  It's for multi-taskers like you.

FROM GO BLUE LYNN:  We would try to do both, right? Thanks===JACK:  That sounds like a winner!

FROM TRIHARDER:  Jsck, I think you do both -- with the same activities.===JACK:  I first want to have my cup of coffee...then go to thinking.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  I think it is bad advice to set aside the debate about climate change.   We have to win it.    At the same time we have to do so many other things.   Again “both/and.” ===JACK:  Is both/and from Plato?

FRO ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  i much prefer to talk not about Climate Change or Global Warming but Climate Extremes.  Whether man made or not,  we do seem to be seeing some real Extremes as of late.  blessings on your day.===JACK:  Unlike some "talkers", you usually have the facts to back up your statements.










 Jack’s Winning Words 4/26/19
“Vocatus atque non vocatus Deus adent…Bidden, or not bidden, God is present.”  (Erasmus)  Carl Jung, the psychiatrist, had today’s quote printed on a sign which hung over his front door.  What a great reminder!  Roll that thought around in your mind.  A line in a James Freeman poem reads, “Wherever I am, God is!”…watching…protecting…all is well.  We have many blessings, and one of the great ones is a God who knows, sees and cares about us.   ;-)  Jack

FROM KK:  Thanks  Today's words were on the mark for me

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  glad it wasn't Biden or not Biden (Joe):):):)===JACK:  Some smartphones will let you see who's at your door, even when you're not at home.  A friend of mine saw that the bell ringers were two Jehovah's Witnesses.

FROM NK:  ❤️Love this message❤️===JACK:  Itg's a favorite of mine, too.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  Love that.  May have to make a sign for myself!===JACK:  It is a sobering thought, isn't it?

Jack’s Winning Words 4/25/19
“You don’t have to set yourself on fire to keep everyone else warm.” (Penny Reid)  Someone sent that quote to me.  I like it!  Penny Reid is a part-time romance writer, but her real job is as a biotech researcher.  I once had a church member who wrote romance novels (Bunco Babes), and she was somewhat apprehensive about having me read her work.  Back to Penny…Some people spend so much time pleasing others that they neglect themselves.  Right?   ;-)  Jack

FROM COPPER COUNTRY BOB:  God has made us wonderfully romantic. Something like wonderful coffee.  But the difficulty is that we men are made of "instant" coffee and usually in hot water.  You gals are more like "drip Kind" because it  takes you a longer time to perk but you are unbeatable because you are re-heatable."===JACK:  You always have had a way of telling it like it is.


Wednesday, April 24, 2019

 Jack’s Winning Words 4/24/19
“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have enough time.”  (Steven Wright) A book, The Long Walk, describes how 7 Polish soldiers escaped from a Russian gulag in Siberia and began walking and walking thru the Gobi Desert, Tibet, crossing the Himalayas, into India--11 months, 4000 miles.  4 died along the way.  There’s a spiritual song that  I like…”I Want Jesus to Walk With Me…all along my pilgrim journey, I want Jesus to walk with me.”   ;-)  Jack

FROM TRIHARDER:  During the war, my father was conscripted into the Polish army to fight for Hitler. At his first opportunity, he deserted and surrendered to the Russians and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. Needless to say, Russians had little resources (or desire) to treat its Jewish POWs humanely. After the war, he made his way to Germany to a displacement camp where he met and married my mother. He spoke very little, almost nothing, of his experience. Facts only occasionally leaked out===JACK;  I find it interesting ...how we can understand our friends better when we get to know some of their history.  You are an example of this.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  wOW.  that sounds like a good book to read.  what a story.  the determination of the human soul to want freedom!===JACK:  We each have our road, our walk.  Some seem to be more adventurous than others, but we each must walk our walk. 











Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/23/19
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another.”  (Carl Jung)  In the 1940s you could walk into almost any shoe store and have your feet x-rayed and get a perfect shoe fit.  Kids loved looking at their boney toes.  Eventually the “x-rays” were banned, because it was found that they were leaking radiation all over the place.  The Bible advises, “Be wise as serpents…”  Not just in the shoe store, but in all choices.  Make sure they “fit” the you, you want to be.   ;-)  Jack

FROM JK IN NVL:  X-rays in a shoe store? Wow, I didn’t know that had been done! But along the same lines I certainly remember innocently playing with “quicksilver” (mercury) drops as a kid; no one warned us about any potential side effects from that.  And asbestos was great for fireproofing.  ...
Which present-day “okay” activities and items will be on tomorrow’s “not okay” list?  At least we can be aware and admit there are plenty of things we don’t know. “Now we see through a glass, darkly, then shall we see face to face...” 1 Corinthians 13:12===JACK:  I played with mercury, too, and drove without seatbelts.  But I was among the first to pay extra for seatbelts when they were offered as an option.===JK:  Funny how things change, and usually for the better. When they first installed those buzzer/beepers in cars to remind occupants the seatbelts were not buckled, it was typical in my hometown for folks to figure out how to disconnect the darn buzzer/beeper that many found so annoying.  Today of course I would feel reckless to go anywhere without being strapped in; and our kids were raised in “car seats” from day one.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  i also recall riding my bike right behind the mosquito fogger that came thru our neighborhood every evening all summer long.  we were breathing DDT in large quantities, i am certain.  its a wonder we are all still alive!===JACK:  Imagine the mind that you might have had if it weren't all fogged up.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/22/19
“Kindness is within our power even when fondness is not.”  (Henry James)  A friend wrote recently about how difficult it is to love someone you don’t respect.  If you think that’s hard, reread John 3:16…”God so loved the world…”  When we only love “nice” people, what kind of love is that?  Edwin Markham’s poem says it best.  “He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic,
rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him In!”   ;-)  Jack

Friday, April 19, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/19/19
“Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection.”  (Arthur Schopenhauer)  The largest family reunion was held in France with 4,514 attendees.  Who brought the potato salad?  Our family has a reunion every 5 years…printed T-shirts one year; a family cookbook another; a fridge-magnet, too.  For those who are believers in an afterlife, the sting of death can be eased by imagining the reunion to come.  Will we need name tags?   ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  and will crazy Uncle Louie be there too??:):):)===JACK:  Will you be able to give the invocation?

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/18/19
“To be alone is different.  To be different is to be alone.”  (Suzanne Gordon)  Do you have zoo jeans, clothes with cartoons printed on them?  No?  You’re not in style!  Do you remember penny loafers, greased hair, bell bottoms, t-shirts hanging out under sweaters?  What you recall generally indicates what fad was popular in your day.  We want to fit in, so we go out and buy “the latest!”  Pastors used to wear black shirts.  Now it’s white, orange, pink--even with 3 Adidas stripes.   ;-)  Jack

FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  I have just returned from the Chrism Eucharist service at Norwich Cathedral.  One of my favourite sevices of the year, unlike any other as the congregation is quite small although the cathedral  is full.  It is the service when hundreds of priests renew their vows and receive oils for baptism, annointing the sick and dying and the oil of Chrism.  Girls and mens choirs led the service and the Cathedral was full of wonderful music and hymn singing.  The procession led by the cross, choirs, followed by all the priests then the dean and bishops is truly  a sight to behold.  As the procession moves towards the altar Lift high the cross is being sung with gusto! This evening at church we will have a Holy Communion service followed by stripping the altar and the watch. I wish you all the blessings of this most holy week and a happy Easter.===JACK:  Thanks for filling me in on a Holy Week custom in your partof the world.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/17/19
“If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.  If you don’t wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.”  (Unknown)  A little girl was excited to get her first diary.  She imagined the many things she would write about during the year.  Her first entry was, “Today we went to Amery and had a good time.”  Nice…except that the trip was to happen the next week.  At times it’s hard to wait for our tomorrows.  Has it happened in your life?  I like it when Annie sings, “Tomorrow.”   ;-)  Jack

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/16/19“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”  (John C. Maxwell)  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  Reread what Jesus said--that’s the way to live.  Look at how Jesus lived, how he treated people--he walked the talk.  A book, In His Steps, tells of a group of adults who decided to live their lives by trying to make decisions, by asking first: “What would Jesus do in this situation?”  They soon discovered, “Easier said than done.”   ;-)  Jack


Monday, April 15, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/15/19
“Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is wanting what you get.”  (Dale Carnegie)  In the movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn sings: “We were poor but we had love  That's the one thing that daddy made sure of.”  A “Psychology Today” article says lasting happiness is not found in “things” but in positive relationships.  Loretta looks back and sees that much of her success as a country singer was because of the love that was shown to her as a child.   ;-)  Jack

FROM DR J:  ARTICLE...Ranked: The 10 Happiest Countries In The World In 2018===JACK:  I t used to be that th USA made the list, but no longer.    So sad!

Friday, April 12, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/12/19
“What happens when the future has come and gone?”  (Robert Hack)  These Hack words caused me to do a double-take.  I can understand that the future can arrive and be the present, and even the past.  But, what is there beyond the future?  Perhaps there will be no more “futures” when the sun dies and the mysterious Planet Nine takes over and our solar system is destroyed.  But, that’s 7 billion years from now.  Hey, maybe Heaven is what’s beyond the future?   ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  That is all based on the concept of time.   With God there is only timelessness .     God can never be the future.===JACK:  Since God is timeless, and we cannot comprehend timelessness, is Jesus (God as man/Man as God) then the connector?===JOHN:  That’s our belief.....makes sense to me




Thursday, April 11, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/11/19
“Improvement begins with I.”  (Arnold Glasow)  One man said that he discovered “Arnold Glasow in a doctor’s waiting room as he read Reader’s Digest.  Arnold isn’t as well-known as Will Rogers, but he writes the same kind of homespun philosophy.  His words often appear in the WSJ and Fortune magazine.  His best-belling book is called, Gloombusters.   His quote about improvement is an example of putting a truism into words that bring a smile.   ;-)  Jack

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/10/19
“If there be trouble let it be in my day that my children may have peace.”  (Thomas Paine)  The days after the American Revolution were not necessarily “glory” days.  Conflicting ideas on how to run the country; taxes had to be raised.  Some said that America’s on the road to anarchy.  War of 1812 was on the horizon.   Someone said, “Never have a son 18 yrs before the next war.”  Paine’s quote is on the minds of many new parents.  “Let there be peace on earth..”   ;-)  Jack

Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/9/19
“Live life and forget your age.”  (Jean Paul)  Messages from the ages:  20s--I’m free from the cage; 30s--Decisions, decisions; 40s--Start watching what you eat…and exercise and get a fit-bit; 50s--Oops, the AARP card arrives and a teen calls you, Ma’am;  60s--“When  are you going to retire?”; 70s--Why didn’t I save more?; 80s--Watch the news and pay attention to the medicine ads.  My advice: Thank God for your many blessings, whatever your age might be.   ;-)  Jack

Monday, April 08, 2019

Jack’s Winning Words 4/8/19
“I think, to me, reality is better than being fake.”  (Ice Cube)  Listen closely, eliminate some of the words, and you’ll find a message in Ice Cube’s rap.  For example: “When truth comes around, all the lies have to run and hide.”  What is fake?  What is true?  Jesus says, “Look at a tree!  It’s fruit will tell you what kind it is.”  Examine people in the same way.  I remember a song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love (by how we treat people).”   ;-)  Jack 

Saturday, April 06, 2019

 Jack’s Winning Words 4/5/19
“Everyone prays in his own language.”  (Duke Ellington)  I Googled.  A woman in Russia had 69 children.  Do you suppose she had a favorite?  There are 7,106 languages…and which is the one God favors?  And religions?  There are about 4,200.  I’m not going to speculate which one God likes best.  My Bible says, “Who has known the mind of God?”  In Sunday School I learned to sing, “Jesus loves the little children, ALL the children of the world, etc.”   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/4/19
“If only God would give me some sign, Boris says, If he would just speak to me once.  Anything.  One sentence.  Two words.  If he would just cough.”  (From the 1975 movie, Love and Death)  Even some Biblical people thought that God had a hearing problem.  The Israelites   following Moses in the wilderness; Job during his suffering; even the followers of Jesus; maybe you when prayers aren’t answered as you had hoped.  Pay attention!  It may just be a cough.   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/3/19
“MSU study shows nice guys don’t finish last.”  (Detroit Free Press)  Dating services usually  focus on matching people with similarities.  A university study shows that daters might have more success by seeking someone who treats people with kindness, is responsible and doesn’t make rash decisions.  “Niceness” can work in the business world, too.  It can even improve home-life.  Try showing some of that kindness to your spouse, children. parents.   ;-)  Jack
Jack’s Winning Words 4/2/19
“One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.”  (Golda Mier)  Golda was referring to a situation which affected Israel, but her words can apply to recent attempts in America to erase from school text books, historical events that don’t fit current political and social views.  Samuel Butler wrote: “God cannot alter the past, but historians can.”  The past is what it is!  Who among us wouldn’t want to do some editing of our past?   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/1/19
“Even the gods love jokes.”  (Plato)  It’s said that even God would enjoy reading the Sunday comic, The Family Circus.  (example)  “Daddy, do you know what God’s first name is?  It’s Andy!  Andy walks with me; Andy talks with me; Andy tells me that I am his own.”  Here’s another funny saying: “Man plans, and God laughs.”  Psychology Today had an article on that joke, saying that the future’s unpredictability interferes with “the best laid plans.”   ;-)   Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 3/29/19
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn.”  (Dwight Eisenhower)  It’s not easy to be POTUSA, but it becomes easier when you understand issues that cross your desk.  Eisenhower grew up in Kansas, the son of a poor farm family.  He understood farming, because he lived it.  He pushed Civil Rights legislation, because he understood “equality” as a General in WW2.  When you understand, you can lead.   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 3/28/19
“Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.”  (Denis Waitley)  Are you facing a problem?  Waitley is a “Hall of Fame” motivator who has “changed the lives of millions of people,” including athletes, astronauts and executives.  His advice in a problem situation…First, size it up, looking at all angles.  Re-read today’s quote.  Take a 2nd  look at the situation, not accepting failure without looking for a successful outcome.   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 3/27/19
“When you have a number of disagreeable duties to perform, choose the most disagreeable one first.”  (Josiah Quincy)  Are you a list maker?  When things pile up for me, I’ll make a To Do List, usually putting the easy ones first, getting them out of the way so I can concentrate on what really needs  to be done.  When it comes to doing “the disagreeable task,” it’s whatever works.  As the Nike slogan reads…“Just do it!”  Don’t let “Not Now” become “Never.”  ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 3/26/10
“Opportunity is not always at an opportune time.”  (Diane Hendricks)  Do you remember Hide and Seek?  “Ready or not, here I come.”  It works that way with opportunity, too.  Even when least expected (during a misfortune, a life failure)…opportunity can come in disguise, and we have to be ready.  Some aren’t necessarily luckier than others…Denzel Washington has said: “Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re ready for it.”  Ready or not…  ;-)  Jack
Jack’s Winning Words 3/25/19
“The fewer the words, the better the prayer.”  (Martin Luther)  Luther was following the advice of Jesus: “When you pray, don’t keep babbling like pagans who think that they’ll be heard because of their many words.”  Don’t be deterred from “talking with God” because you don’t know the right words.  Think of it as a conversation with a friend.  FDR’s advice for giving a speech applies to praying, too.  “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”  Let us pray!   ;-)  Jack