Driving Nails with your Tongue.

A story:
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one."

-You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.
It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry---the wound is still there.

I just won 86,400 dollars!

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.

Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course?

Each of us has such a bank.
- It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow."

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!

The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.

To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.

To realise the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at 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 with.
-And remember time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift. That's why its called the present.

--sPIRITUAL gRAVITY: part 2. Stairway to Heaven.

I know you have been there before.

It's the day after you were hanging out with some of your friends or acquaintances and you feel great about yourself. Your intentions were more than exceeded and you find yourself on Could 9. 
--You got lifted up to their level...again.

Does this story sound familiar?
Of course it does.
The reason that it does is because the people that you are choosing to spend your time with will either lift you up like a stairway to heaven or drag you down to hell. 

------Spiritual Gravity is back but, with a different perspective.

A couple of days ago I wrote about how Spiritual Gravity is just as real as the gravity that holds you and I down everyday.  Today, I will emphasize the fact that Spiritual Gravity works the other way too.

You see, when we are intentional about surrounding ourselves with people that are interested in building one another up or pursing Godly activity, we are stacking the deck that our spirits will be elevated & new healthy habits will be formed.   The wise author of Proverbs states, "The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. But the way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble."

--------------Just reflect on your own life--------------

Doesn't experience tell you that no matter how hard you try or how much time you pray, after spending several days and night's with a group of people ... sooner or later that group will rub off on you.  If you are honest with yourself, you will admit the truth of what I am presenting here.

My Italian Grandma would quote me a saying in Italian while I was growing up that translates, "You show me who your friends are and I'll show you who you are."  I hope you don't confuse this post or her quote for a ticket to leave society and become a monk.  If you do, I have failed. 

The point is that Spiritual Gravity is alive and is always at work.
It is up to you to decide whether you will lifted up by it
or dragged down because of it.
This means being wise about the people that you surround yourself with on a regular basis. 

"Watch over your heart with all diligence...

For from it

Flow

    The springs of life."

Tweens Too Young For 'Hunger Games'?

Part Two: 

Should you watch The Hunger Games?

Today's video is from a Boston News Channel asking the question, "Is The Hunger Games inappropriate for a young audience?


Tweens Too Young For 'Hunger Games'? - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston

Hunger Games: To watch or not to watch? Part 1

Hunger Games: 

To watch or not to watch?

Hunger Games has been the brunt of much controvery the last week or so. 

The opening box office was record high and people are wondeing everywhere if they should send their kids to see the movie. 

I will share two thoughful responses to the Hunger Games:

  --The first is by Author and Priest, Father Jonathan-Morris.

 http://video.foxnews.com/v/1529235562001/

sPIRITUAL gRAVITY: part 1. Drag Me to Hell.

I know you have been there before.

It's the day after you were hanging out with some of your friends or acquaintances and you feel terrible about yourself.  Your good intentions fell by the wayside and you ended up acting just like everyone else. 
--You got pulled down to their level...again.

This is an all too familiar story.
You want to help others; after all, Jesus was a "friend of sinners" so you are just following in His footsteps...Right?

------Today I want to introduce you to a concept I call, Spiritual Gravity.

I am not a scientist, however, I can speak a little about gravity. 
In essence, it is the thing that pulls you down.  It keeps your feet on the ground, right where they should be.

Spiritual Gravity is the reason you feel awful about yourself after an evening with a group of people that you should not be spending an evening with.  Despite your best intentions, Spiritual Gravity always seems to get you. 
You reason to yourself that you are going to be a light in a dark place.

But at the end of the night, you realize that your spirit has been pulled down to a place that you are not comfortable with. 

Paul says, "Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals."

We both know from experience that there is something to heed in Paul's words. 

We have all left parties, social gatherings, or groups where we walked in one way and left another.  The pivotal lesson is to learn from experience.  I know that for myself, my intentions in the beginning of the night are always filled with altruistic thoughts, but by the time I walk out of the doorway, I find myself being dragged down in some way, shape or form. 

This means that I must make a wise decision on whether to attend a party or hang our with so-and-so long before I walk though the entrance.  It also means that I must take a hard look at reality and judge whether I will be better off spiritually by getting involved with others.  Spiritual Gravity is just as real as the gravity that pulls you and I down every day of our lives.
  

---Gravity is unrelenting. 
-It never gives. It never lets up.  It never rests. 
---It always pulls you down.

Just like

other people's

morals

will

if you
are
not
.
.
.
careful

Geraldo Rivera Blames Trayvon Martin' s Hoodie

Do you agree or disagree?

Why or Why not??

How Bad do you want it?

Time to Engage

You have burning questions;

The kind that you just can't shake.

You have been given easy answers,
Answers that just scratch the surface.

You yearn for more...
Your mind, your heart,
Your soul needs filled.

------Welcome to Engage(d) Bible study.

Engage(d) is more than a monologue

It's a dialogue.

You and me.

Heart to Heart.

You want to grow in your faith?

----------Engage(d) Bible study is your place to do it.

Young men & women (18+), just like you are joining up being part of the conversation.

Two convenient locations!

-Monday Night's (6:30 p.m.):  Northminster Presbyterian Church, New Castle, Pa.

-Thursday Night's (6 p.m.):  YMCA, New Castle, Pa.

Dealing with Difficult Times...

I love the quote by Thomas Carlyle,
                                                 No pressure. No diamonds.

It reminds me that everything that you and I will come to eventually value, will have an element of pain attached to it.  It is no secret that the strongest metal goes through the hottest fire.  Only through the blazing furnace will something come out that will last lifetime. 

-Think about your own life-

I am sure there were times when you felt like throwing in the towel and quitting.

Like your world was crashing down all around you. 

But you kept on keeping on.

There is a particular Psalm that means a lot to me because in it, the person was right in the middle of one of these dilemmas.  He was in the eye of the storm.

And just when he wanted to give up, he had a flash of inspiration, and said these words:

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside You.

My flesh and my heart may fail: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

The Psalmist had a healthy perspective about life because of his faith in God.
I have found that a proper perspective is what many of us lack when dealing with life's difficulties.
It is no secret that you and I will undoubtedly go through rough patches in our lives. 
When you do; keep a proper perspective, hold on to your faith & keeping your head up will be the elements that guide you to the other side.

                                               No Pressure. No Diamonds.

Tom Peters once said, "Celebrate what you want to see more of." 
In the original context, Peters was addressing the business world and how to motivate employees.  Today I would like to expand his advice to another important area;
your relationship with your significant other.

So often couples jab, prong and poke one another hoping to get the other to shape up and quit their annoying behaviours.  Just the other day, I heard of a young couple quarreling over something minor, so today I messaged the girl Tom Peters advice.

I also recommended the following:

In order to get your boyfriend to do more of what you appreciate, catch him doing the things that matter to you, then immediately praise him and let him know how much it means to you. 

Sadly, you and I are conditioned to focus on the negative and react only to what aggravates us.  I believe Tom Peters has a great solution for not only improving your business environment but also your relationships! 

Try It!
-Be on the lookout for the positive in those around you.
-Then, walk right up to the person & tell them how much what they did meant to you.
--Make this a habit and watch how others respond to you!

Remember the old adage...

You can catch more flies with honey

than with vinegar.

Everybody is tired of your excuses.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

Why Forgive?

God cares for you? ... NO.

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God cares for you? ... Yes.