Jack’s Winning Words 10/3/19
“In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”  (Leo Tolstoy)  Where are you when you typically read Winning Words?  Perhaps at the kitchen table…At your work desk?..Just walking along?  Tolstoy says, “Stop! And look around you.”  What are you seeing today?  There are many beautiful things…even ordinary things.  Shadows, the shape of a banana…and people.  “All  things bright and beautiful, the Lord God made them all.”  ;-)  Jack

FROM LBP:  At the kitchen table. The light fixture is making glowing circle reflections on the screen of my phone===JACK:  Do you ever clean the screen on your phone?  Or, maybe it's your glasses. ===LBP:  Both. Sometimes I just need to rub my eyes ===JACK:  Did your parents ever tell you about the Sandman who would come and put that sand-like item in each eye at night?

FROM WALMART REV:  Wouldn’t want to mention where I am often when first reading your morning blog, as it is the very first thing I read after pulling myself out of bed and tarring momentarily in the next little room off our bedroom.  My enjoyment daily is interacting with the folk here in west-central Minnesota and our little city of Willmar, MN...fine folks they are, with many stories to share in regard to life’s present journey and remembrances of times past during these almost 30 years while living and pastoring here amongst them.  Good Morning, Jack!! 0;-)===JACK:  You are in the right place at the right time...I mean in Willmar.  God has a wonderful way of leading us down life's pathway.  Perhaps, sometime today you can sing, "He leadeth me!"

FROM TL:  Kitchen Table. Thanks for these words, Jack.  Your WWs continue to be wake-up calls for me.===JACK:  I miss our Bosko talks. 

FROM DAZ IN CO:  When I look around and see the roses in bloom, the other flowers and the trees with a hint of fall, which is just one of the positive, bright and beautiful things in the life God gave me, Its easy to eliminate the negative.===JACK:  I like the change of seasons...and we're entering one, now.  Autumn is one of my favorites.

FROM PROUD MARY:   Tolstoy and I would be good walking partners. I love the sounds and intricate sights that surround me as I walk.  I saw love (the shape of a heart) in the shadows as I was out walking this morning.===JACK:  As the Mary Tyler Moore intro song would sing:  "Love is all around..."

FROM QUILTING CAROL:  Wow!  This is a great one for today.  We have had days and days of rain and now we are starting to see patches of blue sky!!!!!  Look around and enjoy the beauty of the fall colors, experience the crispness in the air!  Another thought…this morning on the Today Show they were interviewing some middle school children (I just caught the tail end of the interview), but the children were talking about being kind to just one person today; say one nice thing to someone today.  Thank you for your Winning Words!  They are my kind thought every weekday morning and my inspiration to be kind to others.  Have a fantastic day!===JACK:  This morning I removed the (damp) pillows from the porch chairs.  Fall is in the air.

FROM PRFM IN RACINE:  I’m looking out a window onto Main Street.  As I just looked out just now - I saw a Police Car – light flashing – and I wondered who or what prompted them to turn on their flashing light.   Then a prayer – that no one was in serious trouble! ===JACK:  My heart always skips a beat when I see the blue flashing light in my rearview mirror.  When I was a young intern in St. Paul, I was on a date, driving the church car with the churches name on the side.  The officer didn't give me a ticket, but he did say, "Reverend  you're supposed to scare the Hell out of people with your preaching, not your driving.  Slow down!"