Winning Words 11/16/12
“I’m lucky, Lord, I’m lucky.”  (Carroll O’Connor)  O’Connor’s tombstone doesn’t mention “Archie Bunker,” but the Archie character made him a star.  Talk about “Thank your lucky stars!”  Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney both declined the role.  BTW, is there such a thing as luck?  Are the events of life, accident or chance?  Philosophically, I don’t believe in luck, but realistically, I’m not so sure.  Cross my fingers!    ;-)  Jack

 FROM RB IN MICHIGAN:  I like the way you start with Lord in phrase and end with Cross capitalized
Have a blessed day focused on the Cross! ////FROM JACK:  Unintentional, but I wonder...Does the finger of God sometimes move to the computer?

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:   At this point in my life, when prayer seems such a natural conversation, I don't think luck exists. For myself, "luck" is the watered-down version of Grace. Much like "higher power" soothes the contempt or fear of the atheist or agnostic, "luck" provides a nice coating on that "wide path" that so many, as it is written, will take. I think I'll take the narrow one by the Grace of God which has led and continues to lead me. It is a rough road indeed -- with quite glorious resting spots along the way! ////FROM JACK:  Someone once said, "If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all."  Rhetorically, I ask, "Is there grace in the life of Joe Btfsplk?"

 FROM WALMART REV:  As Gleason would say, "And away we go!" Enjoy your day, Jack...the best is yet to come!////FROM JACK:  Reuben Youngdahl, a Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis, once had a popular radio program.  He'd begin each broadcast with the words, "Up and away, for this is God's day!  Are you going God's way?"

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Don't exactly know why but Archie Bunker was a redneck I could have sympathy for. Maybe because his character was drawn sort of whole-heartedly so the audience could see that he had a heart at the same time he was a bigot. Carroll O'Connor, in my opinion, played it beautifully and wasn't accident nor chance that he was given the gift to serve in that way but maybe accident or chance that the opportunity came to him at all--good timing and in the right place.////FROM JACK:  Do you suppose that there are angels in heaven with red necks?

 FROM HY YO SILVER:  Me too.////FROM JACK:  Is being at the right time (or being in the wrong place at the wrong time) an accident?

 FROM SUNNYSIDE LOU:  Thomas Jefferson said, "I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."////FROM JACK:  History confirms that he was a hard worker.

 FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  In our time in this life we find that we really don't know at the moment whether we had good luck or bad but we have learned that life goes on.  It reminds me of the old saying " If I didn't have any bad luck I would have any luck at all".////FROM JACK:  Do you find yourself encouraging good luck...like knocking on wood, or saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes?

 FROM JAMES IN MICHIGAN:  I believe "luck" is simply a label we use for God's blessings, especially those we don't anticipate, understand or think we had anything to do with.////FROM JACK:  Is "bad luck" a blessing in disguise?

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Good luck is serendipitous. Bad luck is not.////FROM JACK:  I like this definition of serendipity..."a happy accident."

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL: It good be luck or fate or whatever.  But, definitely, things happen unexpectedly, and they don't just happen one at a time.////FROM JACK:  This week's  Newsweek has an interesting series of recap articles on the recent election.  Several of them talk about "luck," good and bad.  One author believes that good luck and good preparation compliment one another.  I guess it works that way in school and business, too.

 FROM STARRY KNIGHT:  Not sure I believe in luck either. I think its more than that. God is totally involved**////FROM JACK:  Do you remember the song, "Jesus loves me, this I know"?...Someone has changed the words to read..."Jesus knows me, this I love."

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Love the twist on "Jesus knows me, this I love: (sending blessings from above??~!)  All In the Family and Archie Bunker probably preached more "sermons" than the rest of us combined. :-)  And the 'saint" Edith...Wonderfully entertaining show, and it spawned 'The Jeffersons' , which was equally wonderful.  Humor can be used to teach some important life lessons!  Roger Dangerfield says his luck is so bad, that if he bought a cemetery, people would stop dying! That's bad luck...Some people do seem "luckier" than others:circumstances of birth, physical attractiveness, mental ability, personality make-up, etc. but I think we do make our own luck, too...Cross your fingers, indeed! :-)FROM JACK:  I remember bringing a TV to church so that the Youth Group could watch a certain episode of "All In the Family," that had a particular moral lesson....probably on "bigotry."