My Latest Obsession

For those who know me, it's no news that I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. My mom is always telling me that I need to figure out what my passion is and then do that for a living. That's a nice thought, but I'm not likely to make a decent living holding babies, playing with animals, riding my bike, hunting, fishing, dispensing soup in a food kitchen, or talking about Jesus to homeless people. I mean, I know anything is possible, but that doesn't mean it's probable. The truth is, graduate school is helping me figure out who I am and what I want. And all along I thought you were supposed to already know those things before starting grad school. I thought I did. But leave it to me to do things backwards.

The more I live and learn, the more I realize how messed up things are (things referring to a multitude of issues). I want to change them. I want to make a difference. I want to make this world a better place. I want to ease the burden of suffering carried by so many. After all, if I don't, then why am I here? Surely not for myself. If I die, I want to know that someone's life is better because I lived. And the only way to make this happen is to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Sitting around thinking about doing something is pointless if you don't follow through. You might as well be dead. I mean seriously, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? If your answer is nothing, then you're not living - you're just existing. It sounds harsh, but the truth usually is.

I've always known that I wanted to help people - I just wasn't sure how. This year I've discovered the beautiful world that is the non-profit industry. I feel silly because I'm discovering something that's been under my nose my entire life. All I can say is, the pieces didn't come together for me until recently. I'm still interested in going into ministry, but the way I look at it, I'm in ministry as long as I'm focused on God and sharing Him with others.

A Winner's Blueprint For Achievement

This was on a poster in the LISD main office and it was too good to pass up so I wrote it down. It's nearly as good as Scripture in my book. I'm going to try to read it every morning as a way to prepare myself for the day.

"A Winner's Blueprint For Achievement "

BELIEVE while others are doubting.
PLAN while others are playing.
STUDY while others are sleeping.
DECIDE while others are delaying.
PREPARE while others are daydreaming.
BEGIN while others are procrastinating.
WORK while others are wishing.
SAVE while others are wasting.
LISTEN while others are talking.
SMILE while others are frowning.
COMMEND while others are criticizing.
PERSIST while others are quitting.

-W.A. Ward



More words of wisdom:

"We are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, since nothing is perfect... because in the process we will catch excellence."
-Vince Lombardi

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
-Aristotle

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
-John Quincy Adams

I Cannot Tell A Lie

In light of the infamous "Economic Stimulus Package" that seems to have this country in an uproar, and with good reason, what would Honest Abe say to us today?

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

-Abraham Lincoln

Couldn't have said it better myself. :-)