Jack’s Winning Words 10/10/18
“Courage is about doing what you’re afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”  (Eddie Rickenbacker)  E.R. was a hero in my growing up years…a WW 1 Flying Ace, and an Indy 500 race car driver.  Scared?  In his life he nearly died many times.  Once was in 1942, when his plane had to ditch in a remote area of the Pacific, and he was adrift for 24 days.  I never thought of him as being afraid of anything, but I guess that’s part of being a hero.   ;-)  Jack

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  i have wondered whether people like mad dog mattis, donald trump get scared... i suppose they do. but they plow ahead anyway, and make it look easy.===JACK:  I like the nickname, "Mad Dog."  It sounds scary.  "The Donald," sounds rather tame.  Did you ever have a nickname.  I was sometimes called, "Freak."===LIZ:  no, my parents had endearing nicknames for me, tho.===JACK:  Yes, Snookums is an endearing nickname.

FROM RBJR:  Always fear God without Anxiety, but in prayer and supplication (Phil. 4:4) - yielding Courage in Christ (Phil 4:13)===JACK:  Thanks for the biblical "courage" reminder.  When I think of Bible stories of courage, I think of Daniel and...Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. or as we referred to them in seminary as Your Shack, My Shack and A Bungalow.

FROM WALMART REV:  I'm afraid you're right! 0;-)===JACK:  What does "Fear God!" mean to you?===REV:  Words like respect, respond to and rely on for my eternal life decisions and salvation-- sounds like a sermon outline, I know... 0;-)===JACK:  There are sermon outlines around us every day.  Next Sunday I could be preaching on Hurricane Michael and tying it in to Jesus stilling the storm.  The hymn might be.... Master, the tempest is raging!  The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness.  No shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish?  How canst thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threat’ning  A grave in the angry deep?

FROM LBP:  At cub scouts on Monday we talked about the difference between being brave and being a daredevil. Sounds like ER May have been a bit of both ===JACK:  I've never thought about it before...Is that why Indigenous People (I still think Indians) are called, "braves?"===LBP:  And I never thought about that :)===JACK:  Peter Gorman says: "The word "brave" (as an adjective) first appeared in English in the late 15th century from the Middle French brave (splendid, valiant), which itself came from the Italian bravo (bold) or Spanish bravo (courageous, untamed, savage).

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Remember Eddie Ricketyback in Lil Abner?===JACK:  Although I was an Abner fan, I can't remember Eddie,  Maybe it's because I was concentrating on Moonbeam McSwine  ===JOHN:  Moonbeam was a piece of work.===JACK:  ..and for us preachers, there was Marryin' Sam.

FROM GOOD DEBT JON:  I wonder if a milder form of courage exists, where, without fear we choose to do the small right (correct) things daily.  Cumulatively being courteous, kind, just, and setting aside provisions for your family and self over many years are habits we can cultivate.  These over 20 or 40 years may rate far more "courageous" than a simple show of courage began in fear or not.===JACK:  Yes, there are different kinds of courage.  Perhaps one is being confident enough to say and do things naturally...like the little boy who said, "The emperor has no clothes."  Too often, we weigh the consequences, before taking the action.  I like the song..."Doin' What Comes Naturally."
Folks are dumb where I come from  They ain't had any learnin'  Still they're happy as can be   Doin' what comes naturally.

FROM DB IN WB:  That guy was fabulous! A man’s man. You can be sure, he was afraid. But its about pushing past it and doing the right thing, something our better generation did so well and the current generation ………………..===JACK:  Sometimes it takes time to make a proper judgment.  I haven't yet given up on our young people.  Eddie was once a young man.  His exploits, as he grew older, weren't as daring as in his youth.  That happens to a lot of people...even me.

FROM INDY GENIE:  Ain’t it the truth! I’m envisioning the Lion in the Wizard of Oz saying “courage!”....with his knees knocking:)===JACK:  I think that, of the 3 characters, I liked the lion best.  But, in fact, I liked the whole movie...even Miss Gulch.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  If you’re scared you make errors.  He probably wasn’t scared like you or me but he did have to have a lot of faith whether in himself or God or hopefully both!===JACK:
Maybe the military chooses young pilots, because, at that age, they're fearless, or pretend to be.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  I just checked his life on Google! Fantastic ! I started my job at Eastern in January 1978! It was great and we all saw the world! 🌎🌎🌎===JACK:  It really is a "perk" when airline employees can fly for free...even if it's standby.

FROM SANDY BEE:  Thank you for your “Winning Words.” Today’s reminded me of the story I read about Eddie Rickenbacker: He was sustained after his plane ditched in the Pacific by catching a seagull and eating it when he was near starvation. Later as an elderly man, Rickenbacker went out to the beach near his home daily to feed the seagulls in gratitude for the one that had sacrificed its life for him.===JACK:  Your last line causes me to ponder...What do I do in gratitude for the one that has sacrificed his life for me?