Quotes, Sayings, & Stories

  • If you want something you have never had, You must do something you have never done.

  • The closer you are to God, the more you’ll have a heart for others.

  • What you will be tomorrow depends on the choices you make today.

  • Tact is the knack of winning a point without making an enemy.

  • We value the light more fully after we’ve come through the darkness.

  • We conquer by continuing.

  • We may not know what the future holds, but we can trust the One who holds the future.

  • Don’t make a cemetery of your life by burying your talents.

  • Believe me, it’s far more rewarding to be on the field than to sit in the stands. —Joe Stowell

  • If God controls you on the inside, you’ll be genuine on the outside.

  • Love people and not things, use things and not people

  • Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together
    is success.

  • The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. —Edmund Burke

  • Love in return for love is natural, but love in return for hate is supernatural.

  • Whenever we fall, it is usually at the point where we think we are strong.

  • Opportunities to be kind are never hard to find.

  • You won't fall for what's wrong if you stand for what's right.

  • "Only in winter can you tell which trees are truly green. Only when the winds of adversity blow can you tell whether an individual or a country has steadfastness." John F. Kennedy

  • What you are is God's gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God (unknown)

  • We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors ...but they all have to learn to live in the same box (unknown)

  • He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city. (Prov. 16:32)

  • Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Heb. 13:1,2)

  • To handle yourself, use your head; To handle others, use your heart.

  • Anger is only one letter short of danger

  • If someone betrays you once, it's his fault. If he betrays you twice, it's your fault.

  • Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.

  • God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

  • He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses more; He who loses faith, loses all.

  • Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself

  • The tongue weighs practically nothing, but so few people can hold it

  • To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
    To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
    To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
    To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the wedding couple at the reception.
    To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
    To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
    To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
    Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one, but it's never to late to tell someone you care! Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...    a gift from God.

A STORY TO LIVE BY

by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times)

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'. "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.

"You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's never going to hurt." "People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don't need to hold hands because they know the other's hand will always be there." -unknown

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

'Pooh!' he whispered.

'Yes, Piglet?'

'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw.

'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"

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