Jack’s Winning Words 4/28/21

“All you need is the plan, the roadmap, and the courage to press on to your destination.”  (Earl Niightengale)  There was a time when my favorite Christmas gift was a road atlas.  I’d study it and plan imaginary trips.  At that time I did not have a plan for my life-trip.  A call, offering a college scholarship changed that, and my plan now was to become a pastor.  My focus never changed…even when I learned that it would take 8 years of college and seminary…and that the scholarship was $100.  I’m wondering how your life-plan is working out?  ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  mine has worked out well and partly because it also included a fellow named Jack Freed.   i may seen you the first chapter of a book i am helping to write about how i sensed my "call" to Christian ministry.===JACK:  I'm honored to be part of someone's life story.  Usually it means that that person has been a part of mine. ===SP:   I can’t wait to tell you when it’s completed?! I say that often when asked, How’s your day going?” I’ll tell how it went tomorrow. It’s not over yet today! 0;-)

   FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  it didn’t work out at all..===JACK:  Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over til it's over.".  Hang in there.===LIZ:  you know it... i am an eternal optimist!===JACK:  After reading "The Optimist Creed" let me know if you're still on optimist, eternal or other.===LIZ:  eternal, that’s me... tho i have to work hard to rein in my criticism of others.===JACK:  The Greek teacher/philosopher, Socrates,  advised: "Know thyself!"  Congratulations.

 FROM SF IN FL:  My life plan, thank God, has been very gratifying. Some blips and surprises here and there, but all leading to good. No complaints here. My life got a rocky start with a ‘crazy’ family, but I suppose it made me the resilient person that I am today. Have you heard the expression, “Man plans and God laughs”? It’s really more effective in Yiddish.) God has a plan. ===JACK:  What is the Yiddish saying?  BTW, I had blips, too, but in retrospect they made me what I am today...for better or worse.===SF:  In Yiddish, let me see...Menchen truchs und Got lachs. The ‘ch’ is that sound in the back of your throat!! Lol!

FROM ME IN NEWPORT BEACH:  The draft planned most of my decisions in 20’s and it worked out just fine.  After that it all pretty much just happened and I certainly have no regrets.===JACK:  I was drafted, too, at the end of WW 2, but my previous bout with polio changed that, and I was classified 4F.===ME:  I never thought about there being a draft during WWII.  Also I always presumed that my father volunteered for service, but maybe not?===JACK:  In the beginning there were many volunteers.."It was a cause."===ME:  While I was very young and was born close to the euphoria of WW2’s end, I do not remember hearing much resentment.  I also realize Hitler and the 3rd Reich was a very coalescing flashpoint.  Did you and other younger men feel conflicted about the Draft back then?===JACK:  It was nothing like the Viet Nam draft.  Leaders were trusted, and WW 2 was a war for a cause.  The vdraft was not a problem, as I recall.

  

 FROM CR:  Sprinkle in a hefty dose of flexibility, perseverance, and faith to navigate the detours and curveballs that life inevitably gives us.===JACK:  Written one who knows the subject.  

GROM COOPER COUNTRY PASTOR:  My plan was to become a labor negotiator for the migrant Mexican workers on Dad's sugar beet farm.  Took Spanish in college. Got poor grades because I'm not a literalist.  Prof. advised me not to continue.   Followed Grandma's prayers and enrolled in seminary.  Bob  Now I have 5 years of Greek and two of Hebrew !!!!!!!   God's plan has been a boatload of such surprises and it has been much better than mine.   Alleluia ===JACK:  Grandmas (and profs) usually know best.  I see "the hand of God" in your life choice...and I'll bet you're still in the corner of the migrants.

FROM RS IN TEXAS:  A few detours along the way.....but very happy with and thankful for my current destination.  Still like taking trips, though.   Yellowstone this Summer, then the Reunion and Northern California to see redwoods and sequoias end of September.  Always a sjoy to see as much of God's creation as possible.===JACK:  I'll bet you'll be using GPS instead of a Road Atlas on those trips.===RS: GPS and Google Maps.  I still like "seeing" the roads in relationship to each other and a picture in my head of what direction we are going and where turns are....like the paper map.....just on the screen.  As Gloria says....totally left brained.===JACK  I can generally "sense" with my mind the correct turn to make (but not always).  Joan has OnStar.  That works well if she listens to the "voice."

FROM PM:  Oh my goodness, this made me laugh! That $100 itself didn't get you far but the idea of a scholarship sure did! That's great!!===JACK:   I am where I am today because of "that phone call," more so than the scholarship.  The call got me THINKING.  What can I do with my life?