Our Pets

our pets:
"beauty without vanity,
strength without insolence,
courage without ferocity,
and the virtues of man without his vices"

~ Lord Byron

"The relationship trumps the issue."

"I got some great advice once: "The relationship trumps the issue." Like a lot of entrepreneurs, and especially social entrepreneurs, I get pretty fired up and attached to my own viewpoints. At times when I have disagreed with someone, when the stakes are high, I can take it personally and it's added distance between me and the person. Remembering that the relationship trumps the issue is key."

~ Premal Shah, Kiva President

Get the right things done

"Most coaches get things done right.
The winners get the right things done."

Coach Frank Broyles

Bitterness

"I will not be poisoned by your bitterness."

~ Ann Shirley
Ann of Green Gables, the Sequel
Lucy Maud Montgomery

Presidential Thanksgiving quotes

President Ronald Reagan, Thanksgiving Day, 1986:

"Perhaps no custom reveals our character as a Nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day. Rooted deeply in our Judeo-Christian heritage, the practice of offering thanksgiving underscores our unshakable belief in God as the foundation of our Nation and our firm reliance upon Him from Whom all blessings flow."

President Harry Truman's proclamation from 1951:

"We are profoundly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us: the preservation of our freedom, so dearly bought and so highly prized; our opportunities for human welfare and happiness, so limitless in their scope; our material prosperity, so far surpassing that of earlier years; and our private spiritual blessings, so deeply cherished by all. For these we offer fervent thanks to God."

Aim for the bull's eye

"We always aim for the bull's eye. We don't always make it."

~ Clint Eastwood

Getting Older

George Clooney is aware that humans are mortal.

"I'm kind of comfortable with getting older because it's better than the other option, which is being dead."

Guidance

"Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps
if you are not willing to move your Feet."

~ author unknown

one dead dog away from a country song

David Hiltbrand: dhiltbrand@phillynews.com
Philadelphia Inquirer
Oct. 4, 2009

-Yee ha. Funniest line of the week went to Gaby on "Desperate Housewives."

After Carlos listed all the trials that his poor niece had endured, Gaby said, "Yeah, yeah. She's one dead dog away from a country song."

Don't Hope ... Decide

Don’t Hope…Decide

Michael Hargrove tells about a scene at an airport that literally changed his life.
He was picking up a friend. He noticed a man coming toward him carrying two light bags. The man stopped right next to Hargrove to greet his family. The man motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They hugged and Hargrove heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!”
“Me, too, Dad!” said the son.
The oldest son (maybe nine or ten) was next.
“You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!”
Then he turned to their little girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half). He kissed her and held her close.
He handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and preceded to give his wife a long, passionate kiss. “I love you so much!” He said to his wife softly.
Hargrove interrupted this idyllic scene to ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?”
“Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those,” the man replied, as he gazed into his wife’s face.
“Well then, how long have you been away?”
The man turned around and said, “Two whole days!” Hargrove was stunned. “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!”
The man stopped smiling and said, “Don’t hope, friend . . . decide!”

And that’s it, isn’t it? For most of us it comes down to a decision. “Till death us do part.” It doesn’t happen in every relationship, but that is still the ideal that Jesus gives us.

~ Michael Hargrove, quoted by King Duncan, Collected Sermons

Being the person you are

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

~ Kurt Cobain

I do and I understand

I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

~ Chinese Proverb

Tough People Last

"Tough times never last, but tough people do."

~ Robert H. Schuller

Tullian Tchividjian: Allow Your Critics to Teach You

Tullian Tchividjian answers a question about surviving an attempt Sunday by dissident church members to remove him as senior pastor of the 2,500-member Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida:

Have you talked with your grandfather about this conflict? What would Billy Graham say about this?

I have talked to him about it on numerous occasions. His encouragement to me is simply, "By God's grace, I've weathered many storms just like this, and if you submit to what God is trying to teach you, he will make you wise and humble and useful."

In other words, don't become proud and self-righteous. Be teachable. And God will make you useful.

Don't become bitter, in other words. Allow even your most vocal critics, who may criticize you unjustifiably, to become tools in God's hands to teach you something. Emerge from this more of a gospel man, more of a God-centered man.

Tullian Tchividjian: Allow Your Critics to Teach You
The new pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church talks about the effort to remove him from the pulpit.
Interview by Bobby Ross Jr.
posted 9/24/2009 08:56AM
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/
septemberweb-only/138-41.0.html?start=1

Shell Shock

Joseph Persico writes about "shell shock," the physiological reaction of soldiers who faced the seemingly endless barrage of artillery fire and shelling from the enemy:

In a curious sociological phenomenon, as the level of responsibility rose, the incidence of shell shock declined. An officer looking after his men, inspecting fortifications, checking on rations, in short, a man whose attentions were directed outward--was less likely to crack than a simple, uneducated solider left alone on sentry duty or crouched in a shell hole for hours, even days, his thoughts fixed obsessively on his fate.

Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918: World War I And Its Violent Climax, Random House: 2005, p. 155.

I am never wrong

"I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong."

~ Samuel Goldwyn

Living Better

"Being organized isn't about getting rid of everything you own or
trying to become a different person; it's about living the way you
want to live, but better."

~ Andrew Mellen, professional organizer and life coach

Peace and Gratitude

"I come in peace, I depart in gratitude."

Garrison Keillor

Removing the fear

"The real trick is putting yourself around people you admire."
"As soon as you can make fun of something, it instantly removes the fear."

Aston Kutcher
Parade, 8/2/2009

Moving Hearts

"Governments move armies, but only individuals can move hearts."

~ Marianne Williamson