Jack’s Winning Words 2/9/15
“It’s good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.”  (Ursala Le Guin)  I recall these words spoken to some high school graduates …“O, the places you’ll go and the people you’ll meet.  You have brains in your head and shoes on your feet.”  Looking back (as most of us can do), we see the importance of the journey, the experiences, the people, the places.  It’s good to have a goal…but, O, the journey!  Think back…    ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Again, how about both/and?     Both the journey and the destination are important.   No need to downgrade either one.====JACK:  All in all, I thought that it was a pretty positive message, encouraging the graduates to look forward to meeting some interesting people and having some exciting experiences...and connecting it up to Dr. Seuss.

FROM IKE AT THE MIC:  On that theme is my "IKEISM":  The challenge in getting anything done is that there is always something you have to do before that.  The "something" you choose & the "timing" determines  your success.====JACK:  Success, at times, is in not doing something...as with a recovering substance abuser.

FROM EEC:  (and shoes on your feet)  Journeys are interesting.  I bought a plaque at the Ann Arbor Art Fair (concerning destination type journeys) that says THE BEST JOURNEY ALWAYS TAKES US HOME (made by a Wisconsin artist!)====JACK:  I copied what I saw…but I agree…your correction makes more sense.  I’ll change it.

FROM TARMART REV:  An exceptional "Winning Words" this morning, Jack!! Thank you!! ====JACK:  Oh, the places you've been, since starting out in Kansas and winding up in Minnesota.  It's been a trip (the memory kind).

FROM DM IN MICHIGAN:  Amen...  My home Congregation celebrated 35 years this past Sunday...  Seems like overnight!  It was a Church Plant, and I was there almost at the start.  For years having rushed toward goals achieved, I will now try to savor the journey more...  Thanks for the reminder!====JACK:  Congregations have lives, just as people do.  A time to be born and a time...  My first pastoral call was to serve three congregations.  What a great experience.  Each had a meaningful ministry, but they are now only memories.  To come to the place where it's said, "Well done, good and faithful servant," is a worthy goal.

FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  As Kierkegaard would point out, we gain insight(s) through reflection. I think this is especially true with regard to today's quote. The value of the journey is often appreciated only after one reaches, or fails to reach, the destination. Absent reflection, one might merely select a new destination...and simply wander through the desert from goal to goal.====JACK:  One of the good things about aging is that you have more and more experiences to reflect on.  You also have mental pictures of more and more people who have come into your life.

FROM ST. PAUL IN MESA:  did you mean "shoes on your feet?"   it rhymes better.  :):)====JACK:  I copied what a saw, but congratulations for having a proof-reader's eye.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  We've lived long enough that we've had several journeys, and several "ends". And most are pleasant  and satisfying to look back on!  Probably more than we expected at the beginning of our first adult journey....Love Dr. Seuss, and he is usually 'spot on" in his hilarious teaching stories, emphasizing some moral or other, or truth to ponder. Great to have so many experiences, people and places to look back and reflect on.====JACK:  As I reflect...my life has been like a book, with various chapters...each different, but all of them connected.  As a Seuss takeoff...O, the places I've been, and people I've met!====OAKS:  Or "Oh the things I've seen and heard, many of which were completely absurd"!

FROM PRJM IN MICHIGAN:  You're quoting Dr. Seuss to one of his fans!  I even had a sermon series based on "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" based on the book of Acts, regarding the church then and now always being on the move in mission despite differences and obstacles.  I just returned this evening from an event at Trinity Seminary on "Spiritual But Not Religious".  It was a good overview of the people who are just that, how to engage them (don't talk about church!), what their stories are like (all different, though there are a handful of "categories") and how the church can fit into a world that is increasingly SBNR.  You would have enjoyed it!  Thanks for your Winning Words.  They're always thoughtful and refreshing!====JACK:  SBNR people are those on a journey, exploring various side roads.  I'm comfortable with that...so long as the "destination" is kept in mind.  I think that there's a book (or there should be) about The Gospel According to Dr. Seuss.