Presenting Winnie Sam...
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Thanksgiving & Stuff
11 years ago
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Black and White Wednesday
A little late in the day to post but what the heck...
Presenting Winnie Sam...
Join in the fun at The Long Road to China
Presenting Winnie Sam...
Join in the fun at The Long Road to China
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
More Children's Stories For Adults...
So in my last post I indicated that I had two favourite stories that greatly define not only my personal philosophies, but my moment by moment living. I related the tale Heaven and Hell, which emphasizes the point that Paul made in Philippians 4: 11-13 that our contentment and joy is not dependent on our circumstances, but rather what we do with them. As Paul has learned to rejoice in suffering (2 Corinthians 12: 9,10) and in good times, we are also able to seize God's promise to experience joy regardless of our situation. Not happiness mind you, which is fleeting, but true joy that lights the spirit and eases our burdens.
But I also referenced another tale, The Journey. This one is just as important to me and is probably as strong an influence on how I choose to relate to others... family, friends, the acne-laden kid serving me at the McD's drive-thru window... whatever. And so, I share the tale with you in hopes that my "dominos" might fall in your direction...
THE JOURNEY (revised in honour of Mother's Day)
There was once a boy who lived in a small village in the very middle of a large island. Now this boy loved his mother very much and when it came time to celebrate her special day, he pondered deeply the best gift he could give her to show how much he loved her. After thinking and praying for inspiration, a wonderful idea lit up within him and he made his decision. Searching the village he found a small wooden cup and then packing some supplies, he set off on a two day journey to the coast of the island. Arriving there he carefully filled the wooden cup with sand from the beach and then he travelled the two day journey back to the village. Upon arriving he ran to his mother and presented the cup of sand and let her know what he had done. Now his mother, though very appreciative of anything her child would give her, was nevertheless puzzled and asked the boy why he would travel so far to fill the cup with sand when there was plenty of sand right in their own village. The boy, with a smile on his face and love clearly displayed in his eyes explained to his mom the secret of what he had done. He told her this...
"But mother, the sand and the cup aren't the gift. My gift to you was the journey!"
Man! I love that story. And the more I consider it, the more value and validity I believe it has for our modern world. In case you missed it the moral for my little tale.... The attitude AND effort you offer others, whether in gift or just in a daily chore, is FAR more important than simply the fact that you did it. If I make my wonderful wife even a simple cup of tea, but while handing it over I make a big show of it or indicate by my attitude or words that it was really a pain and inconvenience to make it, I guarantee that tea will taste bitter. But I'm not sure my Katie, who offers me way too much credit in making the "perfect" cup of tea, after 14 years of marriage, has truly learned the secret ingredient... my attitude. I consciously make sure that every cup of tea I make includes what I call a "no problem" attitude. An indication that OF COURSE I will make a cup of tea... it's the very least I can do for the woman I call my best friend. To this very day, if we have an argument or fall in the enemy's trap of speaking harshly to each other, I try as soon as possible to make a cup of tea. Kate believes it's my way of making peace, or some might say of "kissing up". But the truth that until now I've never told anyone is that it has very little to do with that and a lot more to do with knowing the enemies methods. You see, every argument is designed by the "principalities and power" (Ephesians 6:12) to chip away at our self esteem and our worth... to lose sight of God's view. That tea is my way of sticking it to the devil, showing I'm not going to be a puppet or a slave to my sinful responses, AND it's a way of letting my wife know that even at my worst emotional moments, her worth is in no way diminished. She is WORTH the journey... of setting aside my hurt or anger to do a simple thing that still speaks volumes. You would be amazed how much better something tastes, or looks, or feels, when it's completely free of the sensation that you were a bother to someone else. I try to apply the same reasoning to accidents... kids drop something on the floor, Katie breaks a glass while being amazing enough to do the family's dishes, what's the value in getting mad? This is an OPPORTUNITY to show your loved ones that their worth is far more important than the 30 seconds it takes to wipe up some milk. Doesn't mean I always succeed in masking my frustration... I am human. But it DOES mean that I always try. It's amazing what we can do when we seize God's promise that we can have victory over our impulses, our emotions, and our responses. (! Corinthians 13)
Imagine what our days would be like if everyone got that and looked for the opportunities to show even the most annoying stranger, friend, or fellow blogger their worth as God sees them, instead of feeling like it's our duty to tear them down because of our own philosophies and feelings. Hey you know what it would be like? Just like we were feeding each other across Heaven's table... and on that note, if you don't know what I'm talking about, be sure to read my previous post.
Be well all, and hey, if you enjoyed this post, I'm blessed and I hope you know it was no problem, you're worth it.
But I also referenced another tale, The Journey. This one is just as important to me and is probably as strong an influence on how I choose to relate to others... family, friends, the acne-laden kid serving me at the McD's drive-thru window... whatever. And so, I share the tale with you in hopes that my "dominos" might fall in your direction...
THE JOURNEY (revised in honour of Mother's Day)
There was once a boy who lived in a small village in the very middle of a large island. Now this boy loved his mother very much and when it came time to celebrate her special day, he pondered deeply the best gift he could give her to show how much he loved her. After thinking and praying for inspiration, a wonderful idea lit up within him and he made his decision. Searching the village he found a small wooden cup and then packing some supplies, he set off on a two day journey to the coast of the island. Arriving there he carefully filled the wooden cup with sand from the beach and then he travelled the two day journey back to the village. Upon arriving he ran to his mother and presented the cup of sand and let her know what he had done. Now his mother, though very appreciative of anything her child would give her, was nevertheless puzzled and asked the boy why he would travel so far to fill the cup with sand when there was plenty of sand right in their own village. The boy, with a smile on his face and love clearly displayed in his eyes explained to his mom the secret of what he had done. He told her this...
"But mother, the sand and the cup aren't the gift. My gift to you was the journey!"
Man! I love that story. And the more I consider it, the more value and validity I believe it has for our modern world. In case you missed it the moral for my little tale.... The attitude AND effort you offer others, whether in gift or just in a daily chore, is FAR more important than simply the fact that you did it. If I make my wonderful wife even a simple cup of tea, but while handing it over I make a big show of it or indicate by my attitude or words that it was really a pain and inconvenience to make it, I guarantee that tea will taste bitter. But I'm not sure my Katie, who offers me way too much credit in making the "perfect" cup of tea, after 14 years of marriage, has truly learned the secret ingredient... my attitude. I consciously make sure that every cup of tea I make includes what I call a "no problem" attitude. An indication that OF COURSE I will make a cup of tea... it's the very least I can do for the woman I call my best friend. To this very day, if we have an argument or fall in the enemy's trap of speaking harshly to each other, I try as soon as possible to make a cup of tea. Kate believes it's my way of making peace, or some might say of "kissing up". But the truth that until now I've never told anyone is that it has very little to do with that and a lot more to do with knowing the enemies methods. You see, every argument is designed by the "principalities and power" (Ephesians 6:12) to chip away at our self esteem and our worth... to lose sight of God's view. That tea is my way of sticking it to the devil, showing I'm not going to be a puppet or a slave to my sinful responses, AND it's a way of letting my wife know that even at my worst emotional moments, her worth is in no way diminished. She is WORTH the journey... of setting aside my hurt or anger to do a simple thing that still speaks volumes. You would be amazed how much better something tastes, or looks, or feels, when it's completely free of the sensation that you were a bother to someone else. I try to apply the same reasoning to accidents... kids drop something on the floor, Katie breaks a glass while being amazing enough to do the family's dishes, what's the value in getting mad? This is an OPPORTUNITY to show your loved ones that their worth is far more important than the 30 seconds it takes to wipe up some milk. Doesn't mean I always succeed in masking my frustration... I am human. But it DOES mean that I always try. It's amazing what we can do when we seize God's promise that we can have victory over our impulses, our emotions, and our responses. (! Corinthians 13)
Imagine what our days would be like if everyone got that and looked for the opportunities to show even the most annoying stranger, friend, or fellow blogger their worth as God sees them, instead of feeling like it's our duty to tear them down because of our own philosophies and feelings. Hey you know what it would be like? Just like we were feeding each other across Heaven's table... and on that note, if you don't know what I'm talking about, be sure to read my previous post.
Be well all, and hey, if you enjoyed this post, I'm blessed and I hope you know it was no problem, you're worth it.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Children's Stories for Adults
Anybody that knows me personally knows that between being a children's entertainer for 25 years, a teacher in various forms, and a corporate trainer, I love to use analogies and stories to make a point. When it comes to really great stories that really drive home my personal philophies, there are always two that immediately come to mind..... The Journey and another one called Heaven and Hell. Recently I've used the latter story in many customer service training sessions and it's been greatly appreciated. So for something a little different, I thought I'd include it here to share with my vast audience (both of you can wake up for the story now).
HEAVEN AND HELL
Legend has it that there was once a man that had lived a truly honourable and faithful life. So in his later years before he died, God appeared to him and offered to grant him any one desire. Without hesistation the man revealed that he had always wanted to know the difference between Heaven and Hell.
Immediately God whisked them to Hell, where the man was immediately overwhelmed with a bizarre and disturbing sight. Before him was an incredibly long banquet table, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the table was every possible delicious food and delicacy anyone could ever imagine, fresh and plentiful. But around the table were all the residents of Hell, screaming and wailing, for each one of them displayed one particular abnormality. Every single person had stretched out four foot arms with no elbows. As a result, they could all reach the food, but no one could bring it to their mouth, resulting in agonizing cries of starvation and pain. The man exclaimed "Lord! I cannot take this sight! Please take me away! PLEASE!"
Instantly the sight before the man changed as he found himself in Heaven. But now the man was even more amazed, because although it was obvious he was no longer in Hell, he still saw before him the same bizarre sight. The miles-long banquet table, the food, and again, all the people had four foot arms, still with no elbows. But in this place, everyone was cheering, laughing, celebrating and singing God's praises. Because in this place, every heavenly resident had learned the secret of the table.... Every person simply fed their neighbour across the table.
The moral of the story, which I have found true in countless situations... it's not the circumstances of your situation that determine your own private heaven or hell... it's your response to them.
LOVE that story!
HEAVEN AND HELL
Legend has it that there was once a man that had lived a truly honourable and faithful life. So in his later years before he died, God appeared to him and offered to grant him any one desire. Without hesistation the man revealed that he had always wanted to know the difference between Heaven and Hell.
Immediately God whisked them to Hell, where the man was immediately overwhelmed with a bizarre and disturbing sight. Before him was an incredibly long banquet table, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the table was every possible delicious food and delicacy anyone could ever imagine, fresh and plentiful. But around the table were all the residents of Hell, screaming and wailing, for each one of them displayed one particular abnormality. Every single person had stretched out four foot arms with no elbows. As a result, they could all reach the food, but no one could bring it to their mouth, resulting in agonizing cries of starvation and pain. The man exclaimed "Lord! I cannot take this sight! Please take me away! PLEASE!"
Instantly the sight before the man changed as he found himself in Heaven. But now the man was even more amazed, because although it was obvious he was no longer in Hell, he still saw before him the same bizarre sight. The miles-long banquet table, the food, and again, all the people had four foot arms, still with no elbows. But in this place, everyone was cheering, laughing, celebrating and singing God's praises. Because in this place, every heavenly resident had learned the secret of the table.... Every person simply fed their neighbour across the table.
The moral of the story, which I have found true in countless situations... it's not the circumstances of your situation that determine your own private heaven or hell... it's your response to them.
LOVE that story!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Black and White Wednesday
Love these two shots, if only for the fun I see inside both faces...
Like mother,
Like daughter.
Like mother,
Like daughter.
This one I've liked because I think of Jordan as my little angel and I like how the blanket's position reminds me of wings...
Join in the fun at The Long Road to China!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Black and White Wednesday
It's such a shame when people throw out a perfectly good toddler.
Although, at least she's being recycled.... :-)
Although, at least she's being recycled.... :-)
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Black and White Wednesday
I'm getting better... only 2 pics this week.
Shot in my home studio when Sam was 5... one of my favourite pics of him. EVER.
BTW, Sam (who is now 10 years old) has started a blog of his own. If you've got kids, send them over to http://i-sam-iscool.blogspot.com/ to fill out his questionaire of the day! Heck, if you're young at heart, do it yourself.... I did!
For some reason we have lots of pics of Jordan in fields...
Have a great day!
Shot in my home studio when Sam was 5... one of my favourite pics of him. EVER.
BTW, Sam (who is now 10 years old) has started a blog of his own. If you've got kids, send them over to http://i-sam-iscool.blogspot.com/ to fill out his questionaire of the day! Heck, if you're young at heart, do it yourself.... I did!
For some reason we have lots of pics of Jordan in fields...
Have a great day!
