Winning Words 10/10/12
“Life is a gift.  Unwrap it slowly and anticipate just what is going to be there when the whole gift is unwrapped.”  (The Merrill Courier)  Someone once told me that she would secretly open her Christmas presents and then rewrap them.  She just couldn’t wait until Christmas.  We can’t do that with the days of our life.  Each day comes as a new gift.  I have a friend who starts off each day by singing a happy song.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  "whenever i feel afraid...i hold my head up high...and whistle a happy tune...so no one ever knows i'm afraid!"  i had dinner with a friend last night who was diagnosed with stage four bone cancer 18 months ago.  she went through aggressive treatment with a prognosis of two years tops.  she was routinely scanned after one year of treatment and the team of doctors pronounced her cancer-free.  she walked through that storm singing many happy tunes!  she also told me that she unwraps each day like a gift...very...slowly... ////FROM JACK:  A translation of Proverbs 27:1 that I remember:  "Fret not thyself about tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."  And this poem: 
 "The clock of life is wound but once  And no one has the power  
To tell just when the hands will stop,  At late or early hour.   
Now is the only time you own;  Live, love, work, and with a will;  
Place no faith in tomorrow, for  The clock may then be still."
 ////PM:  beautiful and thank you.  i remember a message on the united protestant church sign.  it read
'"don't worry about tomorrow.  i'm already there."

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  One of the best aspects of our vacations is the planning and anticipation.  Each planning stage is like a gift: choosing hotels, planning routes, side-trips, things and places to see, even places to eat.  They are gifts to be opened slowly so when we finally begin the trip, it's like getting to dessert!  Right now, anticipation for the next Tiger's game keeps us hopping from one foot to the other like a little child!!////FROM JACK:  My alternative to hopping on one foot while the Tigers are playing on the West Coast is to go to bed before the game is over.  Que sera, sera.

 FROM JT IN MINNESOTA:  I appreciate the philosophy of the winning words.  It is a good way to begin my day.////FROM JACK:  A line from a song I remember, goes:  "What a wonderful way to start a new day."  I think I learned it in grade school.

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  Enjoy each day and every day.////FROM JACK:  Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate once prayed, "O Lord our God, as we seek Thy guidance this day we do not ask to see the distant scene, knowing that we can take only one step at a time.  Make that first step plain to us, that we may see where our duty lies, but give us a push, that we may start in the right direction."  That's a great prayer for any of us to use at the beginning of a new day.

 FROM ILLINOIS LIZ:  "Like."////FROM JACK:  Did you ever peek at your Christmas gifts ahead of time?////LIZ:  Never, not sneaky. I was always an expert wrapper, tho, so I could have. I had/have an uncanny ability 2 guess what's in them 90% of time.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Amen! you galvanized me to action  to write to a former bridge buddy who is stricken with cancer. Have meant to do it for two weeks... I "preach" a message "Seize  The Day" on that same theme. It is always well received. Last time I presented it was on Mother's Day, 2012, and for the first time ever, the congregation gave me a standing ovation!!  How rare is that????!////FROM JACK:  "Come, Before Winter" was a sermon designed to elicit such a response from the congregation, from the preacher, and from you.