Net Miles Of Smiles

My high-school English teacher was well known for being
a fair, but hard, grader.

One day I received a B minus on a theme paper. In hopes
of bettering my grade and in the spirit of the valentine season,
I sent her an extravagant heart-shaped box of chocolates with

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Comments (0) Aug 14 2008

Even the most pleasurable experience can become dull and unpleasant if it continues on and on with no end. Even the most magnificent surroundings can feel like a prison if you’re unable to take a break from them.
Life thrives on variety and change. When you keep yourself stuck in a rut, no matter how satisfying that rut may be, it gets old and can be very draining.

When you’re constantly fighting against change, even if you succeed in keeping things the same you render yourself unable to enjoy them. Because you’re always worried that they will not last.

When, on the other hand, you accept that change is part of life, you will enable yourself to enjoy and to fully live every moment you’re in. You’ll also be able to look more confidently and enthusiastically toward the future instead of dreading it.

Yes, with change there is risk, yet there is also enormous opportunity. Change gives life richness and meaning, and makes possible all sorts of achievements that no one has yet even considered.

Embrace and celebrate the dynamic, changing nature of life. And you’ll find each day to be a unique and joyful blessing.

– Ralph Marston

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It is only by risking that we live at all.
~ William James

Comments (0) Aug 14 2008

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

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A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full they agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked o­nce more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions–things that if everything else was lost and o­nly they remained your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else — the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued,” there is no room for the pebbles or

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Comments (0) Aug 14 2008

by Unknown

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, o­ne of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. O­nce again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.

Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words… it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.

Comments (0) Aug 14 2008

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon
(Isaiah 55:6-7).

Comments (0) Aug 14 2008

Feeling Our Words
Words Have Weight

Words carry energy and this gives language its power and its potential to heal or hurt. Most of us can remember a time that someone sent a word our way, and it stuck with us. It may have been the first time we received a truly accurate compliment, or the time a friend or sibling called us a name, but either way it stuck. This experience reminds us that what we say has weight and power and that being conscious means being aware of how we use words.

The more conscious we become, the more we deepen our relationship to the words we use so that we speak from a place of actually feeling what we are saying. We begin to recognize that words are not abstract, disconnected entities used only to convey meaning; they are powerful transmitters of feeling. For the next few days, you might want to practice noticing how the words you say and hear affect your body and your emotional state. Notice how the different communication styles of the people in your life make you feel. Also, watch closely to see how your own words come out and what effect they have on the people around you.

You may notice that when we speak quickly, without thinking, or rush to get our ideas across, our words don’t carry the same power

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Comments (0) Aug 14 2008