January 2, 2012
FW: Another Reason to Not Jump
Archive for the ‘Motivational’ Category.
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October 9, 2011
FW: A New Pair of Shoes
When I got sober my sponsor told me that I had to be willing to change everything about my life—everything. So, I wore blue jeans and switched to slacks. I wore western shirts and switched to T-shirts. But the one thing I just couldn’t give up was my cowboy boots.
I went to my sponsor and said, “Surely I won’t get drunk over a silly pair of cowboy boots. I’m willing to change a lot of things, and if needed I could even give up those boots, but it seems so silly.”
My sponsor said, “I don’t know how silly it is, or if you’ll get drunk over those cowboy boots, but I can tell that you are not ‘entirely’ willing, though.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll prove it to you. I’ll give up the boots for 30 days just to demonstrate my willingness to God.”
So, I bought a pair of tennis shoes, and after 30 days of not wearing my cowboy boots, wearing tennis shoes instead, the strangest thing happened — my feet stopped hurting.
That’s how it was getting sober and giving up the high life. I never stopped to think that the boots were causing my feet to hurt, or the booze was causing my life to hurt. I got willing to give up the stuff, one day at a time, for 30 days, then 60 days, then 90 days … and my life stopped hurting.
And everyday I do something different, some change in some small way. Maybe I just put my socks on different, or drive to work a new way. Everyday, I try to do Little Things in a Big Way so that when Big Things happen I can handle them in a Little Way.
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August 22, 2011
FW: The Difference of a Good Leader
In September of 1862, the civil war tilted decisively in favor of the south. The morale of the northern army dipped to its lowest point of the war. Large numbers of Union troops were in full retreat in Virginia. Northern leaders began to fear the worst. They saw no way to reverse the situation and turn the beaten, exhausted troops into a useful army again.
There was only one general with the ability to work such a miracle. That was General George McClellan. He had trained the men for combat and they admired him. But neither the war department nor the rest of the cabinet members saw this connection. Only president Abraham Lincoln recognized Gen. McLellan’s leadership skills.
Fortunately, Lincoln ignored the protests of his advisors and reinstated McClellan back in command. He told the general to go down to Virginia and give those soldiers something no other man on earth could give them: enthusiasm, strength and hope. McClellan accepted the command. He mounted his great black horse and cantered down the dusty Virginia roads.
What happened next is hard to describe. Northern leaders couldn’t explain it. Union soldiers couldn’t explain it either. Even McClellan couldn’t quite explain what happened. Gen. McClellan met the retreating Union columns, waved his cap in the air and shouted words of encouragement. When the worn out men saw their beloved teacher and leader, they began to take heart once again. They were moved with an unshakable feeling that now things could be different, that finally things would be all right again.
Bruce Catton, the great civil war historian, describes this excitement that grew when word spread that McClellan was back in command. “Down mile after mile of Virginia roads the stumbling column came alive. Men threw their caps and knapsacks into the air, and yelled until they could yell no more. . . because they saw this dapper little rider outlined against the purple starlight.
“And this, in a way, was the turning point of the war. No one could ever quite explain how it happened. But whatever it was, it gave President Lincoln and the north what was needed. And history was forever changed because of it.”
The story of Gen. McClellan illustrates dramatically the impact a leader can have on the human spirit.
Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R.
Sower’s Seeds
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August 7, 2011
FW: A Difficult Hill
Researchers at the University of Virginia have found that most people perceive a hill to be steeper than it really is, especially if they are tired or carrying a heavy load. When asked to estimate the slope of a hill, test participants consistently misjudged it, thinking a 10-degree slant was about 30 degrees, and rating a 5-degree slope as nearly 20 degrees. Hardly any of them believed they could be that far off.
When we are burdened and exhausted, even a minor problem can seem too big for us to handle. As we encounter a trial in life, we are tempted to sit down at the base of that difficult hill and stay there, convinced that the grade is too steep for us.
That is why we need the encouragement of God’s Word. It draws our attention to our untiring God, who knows our need. Isaiah wrote, “The Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might – He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:28-29).
Because we so easily misjudge life’s difficulties, we need courage to keep going when we are tempted to quit. Take a step of faith today and join those who depend on the Lord, who run and are not weary, who walk and do not faint (v.31). In His strength, you can conquer any difficult hill.
As we live for Christ and follow Him,
The way may seem quite steep;
But if we trust His grace and strength,
Our steps He will guide and keep.
God always gives enough strength for the next step.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29
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July 1, 2011
FW: Finding Hope
In such a turbulent world it is nice to see a project like this!
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May 8, 2011
FW: Happy Mother’s Day 2011
A truly inspirational video about mother’s and women in general!
One more video for Mom! Really cute!!!
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May 1, 2011
FW: The Sunday Dollar
One day, a one dollar bill and a hundred dollar bill got folded together and began talking about their life experiences.
The hundred dollar bill began to brag:
“I’ve had a great life,” he said. “I’ve been to all the big hotels, Donald Trump himself used me at his casino, I’ve been in the wallets of Fortune 500 board members, I’ve flown from one end of the country to the other! I’ve even been in the wallet of two Presidents of the United States, and once when Princess Diana visited the US, she used me to buy a packet of gum.”
In awe, the dollar humbly responded, “Gee, nothing like that has ever happened to me, …but I have been to church a lot!”
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April 6, 2011
FW: Xvxry Pxrson Is Important
One manager let his employees know how valuable they are with the following memo:
“You Arx A Kxy Pxrson”
Xvxn though my typxwritxr is an old modxl, it works vxry wxll — xxcxpt for onx kxy. You would think that with all thx othxr kxys functioning propxrly, onx kxy not working would hardly bx noticxd; but just onx kxy out of whack sxxms to ruin thx wholx xffort.
You may say to yoursxlf — Wxll, I’m only onx pxrson. No onx will noticx if I don’t do my bxst. But it doxs makx a diffxrxncx, bxcausx an xffxctivx organization nxxds activx participation by xvxry onx to thx bxst of his or hxr ability.
So, thx nxxt timx you think you arx not important, rxmxmbxr my old typxwritxr. You arx a kxy pxrson.
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March 21, 2011
FW: A Point in Your Life
A couple thoughts to meditate on!
Concentrate on this Sentence:
“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.” When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence:
“The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”
There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won’t anymore,
And who always will.
So, don’t worry about people from your past,
there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.
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February 10, 2011
FW: Inmate Football
In the fall of 2008, there was an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine, Texas. The game was between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School. Faith Academy is a Christian school and Gainesville State School is located within a maximum security correction facility.
Gainesville State School has 14 players. They play every game on the road. Their record was 0-8. They have scored only twice. Their 14 players are teenagers who have been convicted of crimes ranging from drugs to assault to robbery. Most had families who had disowned them. They wore outdated, used shoulder pads and helmets. Faith Academy was 7-2. They had 70 players, 11 coaches, and the latest equipment.
Chris Hogan, the head coach at Faith Academy, knew the Gainesville team would have no fans, and it would be no contest. He thought, “What if half of our fans and half of our cheerleaders, for one night only, cheered for the other team?” He sent out an email to the faithful asking them to do just that. “Here’s the message I want you to send,” Hogan wrote. “You’re just as valuable as any other person on the planet.”
Some folks were confused and thought he was nuts. One player said, “Coach, why are we doing this?” Hogan said, “Imagine you don’t have a home life, no one to love you, no one pulling for you. Imagine that everyone pretty much had given up on you. Now, imagine what it would feel like and mean to you for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you..”
The idea took root. On the night of the game, imagine the surprise of those 14 players when they took the field and there was a banner the cheerleaders had made for them to crash through. The visitors’ stands were full. The cheerleaders were leading cheers for them. The fans were calling them by their names Isaiah, the quarterback-middle linebacker said, “I never in my life thought I would hear parents cheering to tackle and hit their kid. Most of the time, when we come out, people are afraid of us. You can see it in their eyes, but these people are yelling for us. They knew our names.”
Faith won the game, but after the game, both teams gathered at the 50-yard line to pray. That’s when Isaiah, the teenage convict-quarterback surprised everybody and asked if he could pray. He prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what just happened so I don’t know how or who to say thank you to, but I never knew there were so many people in the world that cared about us.” On the way back to the bus, under guard, each one of the players was handed a burger, fries, a coke, candy, a Bible, and an encouraging letter from the players from Faith Academy.
Watch the video of this story below.
