Juggling the Balls of Life

In a commencement address at Georgia Tech in 1996, Brian Dyson, former vice chairman and COO of Coca Cola, said this:

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air.  You name them--work , family, health, friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air.  You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls--family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.  They will never be the same.  You must understand that and strive for balance in your life."

Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life

Once upon a time the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world.  So they organized a school.  

They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming, and flying.  To make it easier to administer, all the animals took all subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming.  In fact, he was better than his instructor was!  However, he made only passing grades in flying, and was very poor in running.  Since he was so slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running.  This caused his webbed feet to badly worn so he became only average in swimming.  But "average" was quite acceptable, therefore nobody worried about it--except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because he had so much makeup work to do in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down.  He developed "charley horses" from overexertion, so he only got a "C" in climbing and a "D" in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined for being a non-conformist.  In climbing classes, he beat all the others to the top, but insisted on using his own way of getting there!

By Charles Swindoll

PS.  There is a morale to all fables.  And so, you must be wondering what is the morale here.  We are talented in our given rights, and we will be happier when we try not to compete with others that are naturally more gifted in athletics, music, speech, or whatever it is.   Follow this simple rule: “Find a vacuum and expand in it.”  We all have a special mission in life.  The trick is finding out what it is.  

If

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty second's worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

By Rudyard Kipling

Note from John C. Maxwell: Not only will you be a man--or woman--of integrity and wisdom, you will also benefit your people because you will be a better leader.

How to Catch a Monkey

From a couple of sources:

Do you know how to catch a monkey?

In India, they take a gourd, cut a small hole in it, and put some peanuts inside.  Then they tie the gourd down securely and wait for the monkey.

Monkeys are greedy and selfish.  I guess you could say anybody who is greedy and selfish is a monkey.  Anyway, monkeys are so greedy and selfish that the monkey sticks his paw into the gourd to get the peanut.  He grabs a handful-but then he can't get his hand out of the gourd.  His fist won't go through the small hole.

And he's so greedy and selfish that he won't let go of the handful of peanuts.  He just waits there with his greedy fist wrapped around the peanuts until the men come and take him.

It's too bad the poor monkey could save its own life if it would only let go of the peanuts. It rarely occurs to a monkey, however, that it can't have both the peanuts and its freedom. That delicious peanut becomes a deadly trap. 

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Jesus also said "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" 

Beach Clean up Day

A quick video of the Chaotic Group Picture:

We had a recent beach cleanup project for the youth.  It was quite an experience.  There were over 300 people cleaning up the beach.  You know, the boys complained a lot.  I thought it was quite humorous to think that these boys would take much coaxing to go and clean up their room, yet they involuntarily volunteered to come out on a Saturday and comb the sand for debris and garbage.  When you throw in a trip to Wild Rivers, a water theme park, they would at least reluctantly perform the task.   I personally enjoy laying on the beach afterwards and relax.  

Great Stories with Great Lessons.

I have two stories to share with you.  While you read this story, enjoy this music clip.  (Just in case you're confused, click on the underlined orange words)

A rabbi once asked a prominent member of his congregation, "Whenever I see you, you're always in a hurry. Tell me, where are you running all the time?" The man answered, "I'm running after success, I'm running after fulfillment, I'm running after the reward for all my hard work." The rabbi responded, "That's a good answer if you assume that all those blessings are somewhere ahead of you, trying to elude you and if you run fast enough, you may catch up with them. But isn't it possible that those blessings are behind you, that they're looking for you, and the more you run, the harder you make it for them to find you? Isn't it possible indeed that God has all sorts of wonderful presents for us--good food and beautiful sunsets and flowers budding in the spring and leaves turning in the fall and quiet moments of sharing--but we in our pursuits of happiness are so constantly on the go that He can't find us at home to deliver them?"

Here is the other story.

Harold Kushner, the rabbi with such a profound outlook on life, shares a lesson he learned one day at the beach. He was watching two children, a boy and a girl, build an elaborate sandcastle with everything a good castle needs--moats and turrets and passages. Just when it looked as if the castle might be finished, a big wave came unexpectedly and knocked it down. Kushner says he fully expected tears from the children. He was surprised when they laughed, grabbed hands, and moved off to more stable ground to build another castle. Here is the lesson he learned: "All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh."

The Making of Heaven On Earth.

This is something I put together in 2005.  I believe it has some intrinsic value to it.  Like all books or any literature even the scriptures, it will only benefit those that truly apply the principles they learned into their lives.  You may see for yourself and download the file "The Making of Heaven on Earth".  Nothing in life comes free because someone has paid the price to offer you a free product.  If only we know the true value of what we have received, then we may greatly appreciate what we have in our hands, but sometimes we neglect to even open the free gift until it is too late.  May this document benefit your lives as well as it has benefited mine. God bless.  

Click on this link: 

The Making of Heaven On Earth