The Carpenter
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer, a building contractor, of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
His employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but it was easy to see that his heart was no longer in his work. He had lost his enthusiasm and had resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and his boss came to inspect the new house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.
So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built for ourselves. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.
The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result. Author Unknown
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ah, sweet temptations!!!
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." Mae West
"Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell." Anon.
"Virtue is insufficient temptation." George Bernard Shaw
"We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine." Eduardo Galeano
Temptation rarely comes in working hours. It is their leisure time that men are made and marred." W. N. Taylor
I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend He referred to the dates on her tombstone From the beginning to the end. He noted that first came her date of birth And spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time That she spent alive on earth, And now only those who loved her Know what that little line is worth. For it matters not, how much we own; The cars, the house, the cash, What matters is how we live and love And how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard, Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left, That can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough To consider what's true and real, And always try to understand The way other people feel. And be less quick to anger, And show appreciation more And love the people in our lives Like we've never loved before. If we treat each other with respect, And more often wear a smile. Remembering that this special dash Might only last a little while. So, when your eulogy's being read With your life's actions to rehash, Would you be proud of the things they say About how you spent your dash?
Linda Ellis, copyright 1996 www.lindaslyrics.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
WEALTH OF WISDOM
I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.
No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
Maybe Fate wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.
Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened.
There's always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.
Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.
Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.
True friends: How many people actually have 8 true friends? Hardly anyone I know! But some of us have all right friends and good friends!!!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Title This is My Wish For You This is my wish for you That the spirit of beauty may continually hover about you and fold you close within the tendernesses of her wing. That each beautiful & gracious thing in life may be unto you as a symbol of good for your soul's delight. The sun-glories and star-glories Leaf- glories and bark-glories Flower-glories and glories that lurk in the grasses of the field Glories of mountains and oceans of little streams of running waters Glories of song of posey of all the arts May be to you as sweet abiding influences that will illumine your life and make you glad. That your soul may be as an alabaster cup, filled to overflowing with the mystical wine of beauty and love. That happiness may put her arms around you, And wisdom make your soul serene. This is my wish for you. Charles Livingstone Snell
I grew up in the 30s/40s with practical parents. A mother who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it...
A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other.
It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... while we have it... it's best we love it... and care for it... and fix it when it's broken...... and heal it when it's sick.
This is true. for marriage..... and old cars...and children with bad report cards.... and dogs with bad hips...and aging parents..... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special..... and so, we keep them close!
I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper', so I've sent it to the people I think of in the same way.. Now it's your turn to send this to those people that are "keepers" in your life Good friends are like stars....
You don't always see them, but you knowthey are always there.Keep them close!
Author unknown.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
There is only one chance to make a good first impression. A smile increases your face value.
"In things of fashion be the water flowing over the rocks. In things of principle BE THE ROCK!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
One man said, "I had a brain scan and was told not worry --there was nothing there!" Which is all right because some of my best ideas over the years have come from others, anyway. And I have discovered that wisdom can be found in most any place and from most any person -- even the youngest of us.
It was a child who passed on this morsel: "If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person." It is wisdom borne of hard experience.
Yet another child teaches us that "the best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma's lap."
Adults, too, have wisdom to share. One parent observed that "the best way to keep kids at home is to make the home a pleasant place to be... and let the air out of their car tires."
Wisdom can also be found among the youngest of us. And the most elderly will share it too, if we listen. I am related by marriage to a woman who is 103 years old. During her 100th year, "Aunt Pearl" was asked to speak to a group of high school students. She offered a century of wisdom in a few short sentences: "Enrich your life by becoming a better person, a better student and an individual worthy of trust and faithful in your commitments. Aspire to help and not hinder in all your good and worthy undertakings. Use these words often: 'thank you,' 'please,' 'I'm sorry.' After living 100 years, I admonish you to think deeply, speak gently, work hard, give freely, pay promptly, pray earnestly and be kind."
Wisdom doesn't come much better than that.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Read Each One Carefully and Think About It a Second or Two
1. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.
2. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
3. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
4. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them, knowing you can't have them.
5. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
6. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
7. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you. 8. Don't cry because it is over; smile because it happened.
9. There's always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.
10. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.
11. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them.
12. Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll still land among the stars.
13. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic!
14. When you were born, everyone around you was smiling and you were crying. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone around you is crying.
REMEMBER: WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
If I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue.
If I could build a mountain
you could call it your very own;
A place to find serenity,
A place to be alone.
If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea,
But all these things I'm finding
Are impossible for me.
I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair,
But let me be what I know best,
A friend who's always there.
Author unknown.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD!
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the "Seven Wonders of the World". Those receiving the most votes were:
Egypt's great pyramids, Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Panama Canal, Empire State Building, St. Peters Basilica, and China's Great Wall. Another student was still working on her answers, so the teacher asked if she was having trouble making her list.
The student replied, "yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there are so many." The teacher said, "let us hear your list and maybe we can help".
The girl hesitated, then she said...... "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are: To See, to Hear, to Touch, to Taste, to Feel, to Laugh, and to Love"
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The young student reminded us that the simple things we often take for granted are truly wondrous. The most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX