Winning Words 3/23/11
“We may not have all we want, but we have all we need.” (Brian Flaggs) I don’t remember the context, but I heard Brian speak these words a couple of weeks ago. I wrote them down on a scrap of paper, because they were a reminder to me that I have many blessings that I simply take for granted. I tried to find the source for the saying, and discovered that Gandhi once used it. Sounds reasonable! ;-) Jack

FROM HS TO BRIAN: Have you had pastoral training? You often speak as having had such education. FROM BRIAN: Yes I have. I'm an ordained Deacon. FROM JACK: Brian's invocations at the Optimist meetings show some training, too.

FROM BRIAN IN MICHIGAN: Amen! I'm grateful everyday. FROM JACK: "Amen!" See, that shows you've had some training.

FROM JC IN HONG KONG: Here's the chorus from a Rolling Stones' song by Mick Jagger and Keith
Richards.
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need
FROM JACK: Who wouldda thunk it?.....Traced to the Stones.

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT (M. Jagger/K. Richards) - Circa 1965

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was footloose man

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you might find
You get what you need

I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"
I said to him

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: We always have enough even when we want more...we have enough. God is providing what we need when we need it and usually more. It's a good thing we don't get what we want sometimes!!! FROM JACK: God has a way of giving us what we need....and I've learned to be more than satisfied with that.

FROM SH IN MICHIGAN: Had to read that song a couple of times. Probably the sort of song you want to hear when you're down in the dumps and want company of someone else whose been down in the dumps. What a person needs during those times but what really neither of us wants but just to find the right companionship and enjoy good health. Is this your usual optimism? FROM JACK: The spirit of optimism is something you have to work at. Pessimism just seems to happen when you sit around feeling sorry for yourself.

FROM BLAZING OAKS: In America because of the opulence around us, we tend to want more than we need! I go back to one of my favorite sayings, by Elizabeth Elliot, whose husband was killed by the Acua Indians (sp?) so many years ago: "It is always possible to give thanks for what is given, rather than to complain about what is NOT given. One or the other becomes a habit for life." Or as J .L. Kraft the good Baptist (Kraft Foods) said once, "There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." ( He was generous to share especially with struggling seminarians.) Here's to finding "wherever I am, to be content". FROM JACK: One of my favorite "Jesus" stories is the one where a rich young man comes up to Jesus and asks about becoming a disciple. Jesus said, "One thing thou lackest.......Give everything to the poor." And the young man went away with sadness. He had everything---except for commitment.