Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: ability, accomplishment, accomplishments, action, actions, age, aid, angel, angels, assistance, beauty, caring, challenge, challenges, change, church, contribution, day, donation, dream, duty, earth, effort, future, gift, global, globe, greatness, history, home, humanity, ingredient, ingredients, inspiration, job, labor, life, love, man, message, minister, organization, others, pastor, potential, preacher, present, president, priest, qualities, quotes, relationship, reverend, sermon, sharing, success, surprise, task, team, time, today, token, universe, volunteer, woman, work, world
When was the last time you were challenged to do something really…
well… great?
.
President Abraham Lincoln helped me to understand that there is a
bit of greatness within all of us. It is said that he often slipped
out of the White House on Wednesday evenings to listen to the
sermons of Dr. Phineas Gurley at New York Avenue Presbyterian
Church.
.
He generally preferred to come and go unnoticed, so when Dr.
Gurley knew the president was coming, he left his study door open.
On one of those occasions, the president quietly entered through a
side door of the church, took his seat in the minister’s study,
located just off the sanctuary, and propped the door open just wide
enough to hear the preacher.
.
During the walk home one Wednesday evening, an aide asked Mr.
Lincoln his appraisal of the sermon. The president thoughtfully
replied, “The content was excellent… he delivered with
eloquence… he had put work into the message..”
.
“Then you thought it was an excellent sermon?” questioned the aide.
.
Posted: under Inspirational Poetry, LOVE Poetry.
Tags: achievement, art, belief, care, character, child, choices, colors, confidence, encouragement, freedom, greatness, healing, heart, hero, image, imagination, inspiration, joy, kindness, knowledge, learning, life, love, pride, respect, responsibility, security, shapes, smiles, soul, spirit, strength, teacher, value, vision
.
An excerpt from
The Heart of a Teacher
by Paula Fox
.
The child arrives like a mystery box…
with puzzle pieces inside
some of the pieces are broken or missing…
and others just seem to hide
~*~
But the HEART of a teacher can sort them out…
and help the child to see
the potential for greatness he has within…
a picture of what he can be
~*~
Her goal isn’t just to teach knowledge…
by filling the box with more parts
it’s putting the pieces together…
and creating a work of art
~*~
The process is painfully slow at times…
some need more help than others
each child is a work in progress…
with assorted shapes and colors
~*~
First she creates a classroom…
where the child can feel safe in school
where he never feels threatened or afraid to try…
and kindness is always the rule
~*~
She knows that a child
can achieve much more
when he feels secure inside
when he’s valued and loved…
and believes in himself
…and he has a sense of pride
~*~
She models and teaches good character…
and respect for one another
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: appreciation, attention, author, children, direction, earth, family, game, globe, goal, golf, greatness, history, humanity, inspiration, land, life, love, man, music, peace, plane, practice, principles, quotes, school, sport, student, teacher, test, today, tools, universe, woman, world
Johann Sebastian Bach
.
A school music teacher received this essay from an eight-year-old
student concerning Johann Sebastian Bach: “He was a GREAT composer. He
had 20 children and had an old spinster in the attic to practice on.”
.
Actually, I don’t know the exact number of children he had, but it
seems to be quite a few. And I don’t know what he kept in the
attic … or what he practiced on. But the student was absolutely
right
about one thing: Bach was a GREAT composer.
.
Not all of us can be great at what we do. I try to do some things the
very best I can. But that means I cannot give much attention to some
of the less important tasks.
.
But what about just being good at WHO WE ARE? Good human beings? Even
being GREAT at who we are?
.
Author James Michener learned something about greatness on a stormy
night in the South Pacific. His plane was trying desperately to land
on the Tontouta airstrip but could not do so. After several attempts
in the dark of night, his knuckles were white with fear. When they
finally landed safely, Michener went out and walked the length of the
airstrip, looking at the dim outlines of the mountains they had so
narrowly missed. He wrote this:
.
“And as I stood there in the darkness I caught a glimpse of the
remaining years of my life and I swore an oath when peace came, if I
survived, I would live the rest of my years as if I were a great man.
I did not presume to think that I would be a great man. I have never
thought in those terms, but I could conduct myself as if I were. I
would adhere to my basic principles. I would bear public testimony to
what I believed. I would be a better man. I would help others. I would
truly believe and act as if all men were my brothers. And I would
strive to make whatever world in which I found myself a better place.
In the darkness a magnificent peace settled over me, for I saw that I
Comments (0)
Oct 02 2009