Jack’s Winning Words 5/6/19
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it.  The time will pass anyway.”  (Earl Nightingale)  Psychoanalyst Carl Jung says that our dreams can be a wonderful source for ideas and inspiration.  It was after a dream that Paul McCartney composed the song, Yesterday.  The idea for one of Dali’s paintings came to him in a dream.  It was the same for some of Poe’s poetry.  Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”   ;-)  Jack

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I rarely remember a dream, but know talented people who have kept paper and pencil at their bedside,, to jot down dream content!  The Bible is also full of "dreamers" and visions. A. Lincoln dreamed of his death in startling detail shortly before it happened!  "Follow your Dream" is on a lot of graduation and birthday cards...It must work for some. We're the richer for it!===JACK:  I'm one of those who records my dreams...in a journal.  I have many dreams...and some are surreal.  I read some of them to my family.  Their response:  "That's weird!"

FROM BRIT:  I’m a big fan of this one Jack!===JACK:  "Dreaming" is necessary in your job...and for writing Winning Words, too.  It's always fun to come up with an idea..===B:  Well said Jack, and it sure is!.especially one that works.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/3/19
“Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean.”  (Unknown)  The word, mean, is a homonym.  So are pen, tire, ring and spring…words that sound the same, but can have different meanings, For example: “I don’t mean to be mean.”  Who says, “English is borrring?”  Back to the quote.  I’ve never liked mean people…in school, at work, even sometimes in church.  For my taste, there’s too much meanness in politics.  Today, say what you mean, nicely!    ;-)  Jack

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I think mean people are unhappy, and just want others to feel as badly as they do! Their circle of friends must be extremely small! Wallyism: (from a 95 yr. old retired pilot Wally Richardson) "Be kind whenever possible;  P.S. It's always possible!" He volunteers at a school in CA and his sayings are well-known to a host of students and faculty!  He makes every day count, as we TRY to do!===JACK:  Do remember the song, "You're mean to me more than you mean to be?"  We find ourselves in a world where the song could be titled, "You're mean to me just like you mean to be."  I have a hard time loving mean people...even liking them.  Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  How about when they're mean...and seem to enjoy it?

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAIL...AND FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Amen to this one too!

FROM THE SHARK:  I have been working very hard at doing that my friend with little success unfortunately.===JACK:  "Rome wasn't built in a day."

ack’s Winning Words 5/2/19
“There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, and those who do not see.”  (Leonardo da Vinci)  da Vinci, the true Renaissance Man, died 500 yrs ago, today.  Has there ever been one like him?  Artist (Mona Lisa), scientist, inventor, musician, astronomer and an animal lover…a true genius…and yet, on his deathbed, he lamented: “I could have done better.”  Isn’t that the lament of us all?  “God be merciful to me, a sinner!”   ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN: Some of those who do not see are those who CHOOSE not to see. ===JACK:  ...or who choose to look the other way, or hide their eyes.

FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  How true! Did u see the davinci exhibit? I saw it at the rock island Arsenal as a child and then here in Tampa a few years ago! Wonderful!===JACK:  Nope!  Didn't see it, but he and othe geniuses of the past continue to amaze me.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  i really like your historical notes,  Jack.   thanks!===JACK:  "What's past is prologue," wrote Shakespeare.  Joe Biden used that quote when Sarah Palin accused him of focussing too much on the past.  If anything, we don't focus (learn from) enough on the past.

FROM JT IN SJ:  Awesome Great ww and a great great man!!===JACK:  I had to look up the meaning of "Renaissance Man."  Leonardo REALLY was one.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I'd love to see that DaVinci exhibit Tampa Shirl wrote about!  Reading his bio is transfixing! He really was awesome!!  Not many are well-known after 500 years! I'm sure we all assess our lives, and regret not making better use of our time, at least in some areas...but as one wise soul has said, "comparison is the thief of Joy".  Be thankful for the positives of each day! ===JACK:  I like that quote, "Comparison is the thief of joy."  Many young people could stand to read this and take it to heart...in fact, all of us could benefit from the thought.  BTW, the quote is attributed to Teddy Roosevelt.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  I’d like to think I did the best I could===JACK:  My mother-in-law would say to her children, "Do the best you can!"

FROM DAZ IN COLORADO:  That's good and so very true.===JACK:  There's none so blind as  those who choose not to see.

Jack’s Winning Words 5/1/19
“The question should never be who is right, but what is right.”  (Unknown)  Stephen Decatur is famous for saying, “My country, right or wrong.”  Jingoists cheered!  Patriotism is fine; blind patriotism, not so fine.  There’s no person, including you…and me, who couldn’t stand some improvement.  You’ve heard, “Nobody’s perfect.”  I’m not being unpatriotic if I say that the same applies our country…any country.  I’ll start with…being more civil.  Others?   ;-)  Jack

FROM LBPl  Hey, I see that the "out of order until May" warning has gone away now that the calendar turned the page.  I hope that you are well and enjoying the crazy weather that comes with spring!===JACK:  Yes, I'm back from  5 weeks in Minnesota and am at my home computer.  Lots of catching up to do, but one step at a time...and the longest journey is ended.

FROM BB IN CHGO:  Yes, civility is lacking these days.===JACK:  Civility?  What's that?  Values?  What are those?

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  WELCOME HOME!!  It does seem that civility in politics, and
elsewhere, has taken a big hit in the present day! It's easy to get bogged down with all  that is wrong with our country right now, and the world, for that matter, but if you look around, there is still news that brings HOPE that all is not lost !    I just attended a play, "Five Presidents" at the A.Lincoln Library & Museum, depicting Bill Clinton, Geo. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerry Ford & Ronald Reagan gathered at the Nixon Pres.Lilbrary to attend Nixon's funeral. Their dialogue enumerated each troubled time that particular Pres. dealt with...excellent insight into the times and challenges of the Presidency of the U.S.!  Done with humor and some non-civility!! :-)  We have to hang on to the thought of an unchanging God in Christ, and change the things (with love) that we can,in our little corner of the universe! Shalom!===JACK:  It does feel good to be back in the routine...but, it is different, because life is always changing.  "Five Presidents" does sound like a good and informative play.  I'm just trying to picture our current president sitting down for a discussion which would call for civility, a discussion about the challenges of the presidency, some self-effacing humor.  Try to imagine that, if you can?

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Glad to have you back!  Blindly following anything or anyone in any circumstance is just plain wrong.   First of all, God gave is the perfect way to live...loving others as ourselves.  He loves us All...enough to send His Son to die for us!  We could do with a little kindness to each other     Secondly, everyone has issues, sorrows and trials.  Compassion would go a long way to reach out to others     Thirdly, we are called as people to show Godly actions.  Most people have a simple smile.  Just think how a smile could affect someone’s live.  Nobody’s perfect.===JACK: 
Glen Campbell sang:
Let me be a little kinder
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me
Let me praise a little more
Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me.

Jack’s Winning Words 4/30/19
“Sweep first your own doorstep before you sweep the one of your neighbors.”  (Swedish Proverb)  Some people who recently visited Holland, Michigan, commented on how clean the city was...not even a scrap of paper blowing around.  Amsterdam, Holland, has a project to make theirs a more livable city.  Residents, and even the mail carriers, report any places that need cleaning/fixing up, and workers are sent to take care of it…even sweeping the streets.    ;-) Jack

FROM LH IN FH:  There is a similar quotation from Goethe:  “If man would but sweep his own doorstep, the entire world would be clean.”  I’ve always felt that has such a vast meaning, as an inspiration for things like volunteer efforts in ones own community and moral values training as one takes on the responsibility of raising children.  The same with your Swedish saying. ===JACK:  For me, it means "Don't tell other people how to run their lives until your life is in order,"

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  when we were in Norway and Sweden and Finland last May,  there was hardly a bit of trash anywhere!!   we Americans should be ashamed of our roads and streets.  some are just disgracefully trashy!===JACK:  I may be wrong, but I think that the proverb might be referring to a different kind of trash.===SP:  perhaps but your added comments did refer to street trash,  did they not?:):):)===JACK:  OOPS.  I should watch my words!

Jack’s Winning Words 4/29/19
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it very hard to plan the day.”  (E.B. White)  Are you a morning person or a nighthawk?  I’ve always been an early riser, but morning or night person, this world is here for us to enjoy…and to protect.  Put aside the debate about Climate Change.  Begin to talk about ways we can make this this world a better place, a more enjoyable place.   ;-)  Jack

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  we can do both!===JACK:  It's for multi-taskers like you.

FROM GO BLUE LYNN:  We would try to do both, right? Thanks===JACK:  That sounds like a winner!

FROM TRIHARDER:  Jsck, I think you do both -- with the same activities.===JACK:  I first want to have my cup of coffee...then go to thinking.

FROM HONEST JOHN:  I think it is bad advice to set aside the debate about climate change.   We have to win it.    At the same time we have to do so many other things.   Again “both/and.” ===JACK:  Is both/and from Plato?

FRO ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  i much prefer to talk not about Climate Change or Global Warming but Climate Extremes.  Whether man made or not,  we do seem to be seeing some real Extremes as of late.  blessings on your day.===JACK:  Unlike some "talkers", you usually have the facts to back up your statements.

 Jack’s Winning Words 4/26/19
“Vocatus atque non vocatus Deus adent…Bidden, or not bidden, God is present.”  (Erasmus)  Carl Jung, the psychiatrist, had today’s quote printed on a sign which hung over his front door.  What a great reminder!  Roll that thought around in your mind.  A line in a James Freeman poem reads, “Wherever I am, God is!”…watching…protecting…all is well.  We have many blessings, and one of the great ones is a God who knows, sees and cares about us.   ;-)  Jack

FROM KK:  Thanks  Today's words were on the mark for me

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  glad it wasn't Biden or not Biden (Joe):):):)===JACK:  Some smartphones will let you see who's at your door, even when you're not at home.  A friend of mine saw that the bell ringers were two Jehovah's Witnesses.

FROM NK:  ❤️Love this message❤️===JACK:  Itg's a favorite of mine, too.

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  Love that.  May have to make a sign for myself!===JACK:  It is a sobering thought, isn't it?

Jack’s Winning Words 4/25/19
“You don’t have to set yourself on fire to keep everyone else warm.” (Penny Reid)  Someone sent that quote to me.  I like it!  Penny Reid is a part-time romance writer, but her real job is as a biotech researcher.  I once had a church member who wrote romance novels (Bunco Babes), and she was somewhat apprehensive about having me read her work.  Back to Penny…Some people spend so much time pleasing others that they neglect themselves.  Right?   ;-)  Jack

FROM COPPER COUNTRY BOB:  God has made us wonderfully romantic. Something like wonderful coffee.  But the difficulty is that we men are made of "instant" coffee and usually in hot water.  You gals are more like "drip Kind" because it  takes you a longer time to perk but you are unbeatable because you are re-heatable."===JACK:  You always have had a way of telling it like it is.

 Jack’s Winning Words 4/24/19
“Everywhere is within walking distance if you have enough time.”  (Steven Wright) A book, The Long Walk, describes how 7 Polish soldiers escaped from a Russian gulag in Siberia and began walking and walking thru the Gobi Desert, Tibet, crossing the Himalayas, into India--11 months, 4000 miles.  4 died along the way.  There’s a spiritual song that  I like…”I Want Jesus to Walk With Me…all along my pilgrim journey, I want Jesus to walk with me.”   ;-)  Jack

FROM TRIHARDER:  During the war, my father was conscripted into the Polish army to fight for Hitler. At his first opportunity, he deserted and surrendered to the Russians and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. Needless to say, Russians had little resources (or desire) to treat its Jewish POWs humanely. After the war, he made his way to Germany to a displacement camp where he met and married my mother. He spoke very little, almost nothing, of his experience. Facts only occasionally leaked out===JACK;  I find it interesting ...how we can understand our friends better when we get to know some of their history.  You are an example of this.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  wOW.  that sounds like a good book to read.  what a story.  the determination of the human soul to want freedom!===JACK:  We each have our road, our walk.  Some seem to be more adventurous than others, but we each must walk our walk. 

Jack’s Winning Words 4/23/19
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another.”  (Carl Jung)  In the 1940s you could walk into almost any shoe store and have your feet x-rayed and get a perfect shoe fit.  Kids loved looking at their boney toes.  Eventually the “x-rays” were banned, because it was found that they were leaking radiation all over the place.  The Bible advises, “Be wise as serpents…”  Not just in the shoe store, but in all choices.  Make sure they “fit” the you, you want to be.   ;-)  Jack

FROM JK IN NVL:  X-rays in a shoe store? Wow, I didn’t know that had been done! But along the same lines I certainly remember innocently playing with “quicksilver” (mercury) drops as a kid; no one warned us about any potential side effects from that.  And asbestos was great for fireproofing.  ...
Which present-day “okay” activities and items will be on tomorrow’s “not okay” list?  At least we can be aware and admit there are plenty of things we don’t know. “Now we see through a glass, darkly, then shall we see face to face...” 1 Corinthians 13:12===JACK:  I played with mercury, too, and drove without seatbelts.  But I was among the first to pay extra for seatbelts when they were offered as an option.===JK:  Funny how things change, and usually for the better. When they first installed those buzzer/beepers in cars to remind occupants the seatbelts were not buckled, it was typical in my hometown for folks to figure out how to disconnect the darn buzzer/beeper that many found so annoying.  Today of course I would feel reckless to go anywhere without being strapped in; and our kids were raised in “car seats” from day one.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  i also recall riding my bike right behind the mosquito fogger that came thru our neighborhood every evening all summer long.  we were breathing DDT in large quantities, i am certain.  its a wonder we are all still alive!===JACK:  Imagine the mind that you might have had if it weren't all fogged up.

Jack’s Winning Words 4/22/19
“Kindness is within our power even when fondness is not.”  (Henry James)  A friend wrote recently about how difficult it is to love someone you don’t respect.  If you think that’s hard, reread John 3:16…”God so loved the world…”  When we only love “nice” people, what kind of love is that?  Edwin Markham’s poem says it best.  “He drew a circle that shut me out--Heretic,
rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him In!”   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/19/19
“Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection.”  (Arthur Schopenhauer)  The largest family reunion was held in France with 4,514 attendees.  Who brought the potato salad?  Our family has a reunion every 5 years…printed T-shirts one year; a family cookbook another; a fridge-magnet, too.  For those who are believers in an afterlife, the sting of death can be eased by imagining the reunion to come.  Will we need name tags?   ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  and will crazy Uncle Louie be there too??:):):)===JACK:  Will you be able to give the invocation?

Jack’s Winning Words 4/18/19
“To be alone is different.  To be different is to be alone.”  (Suzanne Gordon)  Do you have zoo jeans, clothes with cartoons printed on them?  No?  You’re not in style!  Do you remember penny loafers, greased hair, bell bottoms, t-shirts hanging out under sweaters?  What you recall generally indicates what fad was popular in your day.  We want to fit in, so we go out and buy “the latest!”  Pastors used to wear black shirts.  Now it’s white, orange, pink--even with 3 Adidas stripes.   ;-)  Jack

FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  I have just returned from the Chrism Eucharist service at Norwich Cathedral.  One of my favourite sevices of the year, unlike any other as the congregation is quite small although the cathedral  is full.  It is the service when hundreds of priests renew their vows and receive oils for baptism, annointing the sick and dying and the oil of Chrism.  Girls and mens choirs led the service and the Cathedral was full of wonderful music and hymn singing.  The procession led by the cross, choirs, followed by all the priests then the dean and bishops is truly  a sight to behold.  As the procession moves towards the altar Lift high the cross is being sung with gusto! This evening at church we will have a Holy Communion service followed by stripping the altar and the watch. I wish you all the blessings of this most holy week and a happy Easter.===JACK:  Thanks for filling me in on a Holy Week custom in your partof the world.

Jack’s Winning Words 4/17/19
“If you wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.  If you don’t wait for tomorrow, tomorrow comes.”  (Unknown)  A little girl was excited to get her first diary.  She imagined the many things she would write about during the year.  Her first entry was, “Today we went to Amery and had a good time.”  Nice…except that the trip was to happen the next week.  At times it’s hard to wait for our tomorrows.  Has it happened in your life?  I like it when Annie sings, “Tomorrow.”   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/16/19“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”  (John C. Maxwell)  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  Reread what Jesus said--that’s the way to live.  Look at how Jesus lived, how he treated people--he walked the talk.  A book, In His Steps, tells of a group of adults who decided to live their lives by trying to make decisions, by asking first: “What would Jesus do in this situation?”  They soon discovered, “Easier said than done.”   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/15/19
“Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is wanting what you get.”  (Dale Carnegie)  In the movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn sings: “We were poor but we had love  That's the one thing that daddy made sure of.”  A “Psychology Today” article says lasting happiness is not found in “things” but in positive relationships.  Loretta looks back and sees that much of her success as a country singer was because of the love that was shown to her as a child.   ;-)  Jack

FROM DR J:  ARTICLE...Ranked: The 10 Happiest Countries In The World In 2018===JACK:  I t used to be that th USA made the list, but no longer.    So sad!

Jack’s Winning Words 4/12/19
“What happens when the future has come and gone?”  (Robert Hack)  These Hack words caused me to do a double-take.  I can understand that the future can arrive and be the present, and even the past.  But, what is there beyond the future?  Perhaps there will be no more “futures” when the sun dies and the mysterious Planet Nine takes over and our solar system is destroyed.  But, that’s 7 billion years from now.  Hey, maybe Heaven is what’s beyond the future?   ;-)  Jack

FROM HONEST JOHN:  That is all based on the concept of time.   With God there is only timelessness .     God can never be the future.===JACK:  Since God is timeless, and we cannot comprehend timelessness, is Jesus (God as man/Man as God) then the connector?===JOHN:  That’s our belief.....makes sense to me

Jack’s Winning Words 4/11/19
“Improvement begins with I.”  (Arnold Glasow)  One man said that he discovered “Arnold Glasow in a doctor’s waiting room as he read Reader’s Digest.  Arnold isn’t as well-known as Will Rogers, but he writes the same kind of homespun philosophy.  His words often appear in the WSJ and Fortune magazine.  His best-belling book is called, Gloombusters.   His quote about improvement is an example of putting a truism into words that bring a smile.   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/10/19
“If there be trouble let it be in my day that my children may have peace.”  (Thomas Paine)  The days after the American Revolution were not necessarily “glory” days.  Conflicting ideas on how to run the country; taxes had to be raised.  Some said that America’s on the road to anarchy.  War of 1812 was on the horizon.   Someone said, “Never have a son 18 yrs before the next war.”  Paine’s quote is on the minds of many new parents.  “Let there be peace on earth..”   ;-)  Jack

Jack’s Winning Words 4/9/19
“Live life and forget your age.”  (Jean Paul)  Messages from the ages:  20s--I’m free from the cage; 30s--Decisions, decisions; 40s--Start watching what you eat…and exercise and get a fit-bit; 50s--Oops, the AARP card arrives and a teen calls you, Ma’am;  60s--“When  are you going to retire?”; 70s--Why didn’t I save more?; 80s--Watch the news and pay attention to the medicine ads.  My advice: Thank God for your many blessings, whatever your age might be.   ;-)  Jack