A WONDROUS MYSTERY

Old Malaya Home Guard Uniform - “Most people who work at home find they do not have the benefit of receptionists who serve as personal guards.”

Sometimes fact is more mysterious than fiction! The "Denver Post" printed an article December 23, 1981 about a stranger-than-fact event that occurred in Colorado.

Stan Sieczkowski heard in church about a Denver family facing a rather bleak Christmas holiday. Medical bills robbed them of any extras; they would not even have a tree.

So Stan and his son Jay determined to get them that tree. They headed up into the Colorado Rockies in the family pickup. However, the truck skidded off the icy road and hit a boulder that shattered the windshield. Jay was showered by glass slivers and suffered from shock and crash trauma. Stan was uninjured, though somewhat shaken.

Cars sped past that day -- maybe 200 of them. Only two stopped. A gentle, dark-haired woman took the boy into her car to comfort him while her husband and another man helped Stan move his truck off the road. Then they drove father and son to Stan's home and quietly left without identifying themselves.

Later that month, Stan's pastor asked if he might deliver a food basket to the unfortunate family for which he had earlier tried to cut a tree. Stan found the house, but he could hardly find his speech when the door opened. Standing there before him was the same couple who had helped him on the mountain road!

Call it an amazing coincidence...or call it divine providence. Some mysteries are better left unanalyzed. But it is nice to remember that, when we give our hearts away in a spirit of generosity, we can still brush up against wonder, joy and love.

From Lifesupport.

PASSION MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

Cute piggy soft toy - “Cute is when a person's personality shines through their looks. Like in the way they walk, every time you see them you just want to run up and hug them.”

Are you too young or too old, too incapacitated or too disadvantaged to make a difference?

Let me tell you about Mattie Stepanek, who will be fourteen this year. Mattie has a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy. Three of his siblings have died of the disease. His mother is also afflicted. Mattie breathes through a tube in his neck and needs a wheelchair to get around.

Mattie was asked a few years ago what he might wish for. He named three things. He said he wanted to meet Oprah Winfrey, he wanted to meet President Jimmy Carter, and he wanted to publish a book of his poetry. (Mattie had been writing poetry since he was three.)

His wishes were all granted. He not only met Oprah, but also has appeared on her show. He visited with President Jimmy Carter and spoke with him about one of Mattie's favorite topics - world peace. After talking to Carter, Mattie said that he thought he was on the right track. He also had a book of his poetry published in 2000, when he was only eleven! By January of 2001, it had soared to the top of the New York Times best-seller list!

"Prayer for a Journey" was written when Mattie was just eight.

Thank You, God,
Not just for life,
But for our journey through life.
Life is a miracle,
And a journey through life
Is so full of so many more miracles
If we travel with our Heartsongs.
Thank You, God,
For blessing me with the
Gift of Heartsongs,
So that I can enjoy my miracles.
April 1998

From "Journey Through Heartsongs" (Hyperion Books, 2001)
http://www.mattieonline.com/.

If you were to ask Mattie what his purpose in life is he would answer, "My life mission is to spread peace to the world." But isn't fourteen too young to spread peace to the world? Isn't it too young to make a real difference?

G. W. F. Hegel said, "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." Maybe it's not about age, or physical health or any of the things we usually associate with people who are changing their own worlds and making a difference. If Hegel is right - it's about passion. And passion is something Mattie Stepanek has plenty of!

From Lifesupport.

THE PUSH YOU NEED

Color recycle bins - “One thing you can't recycle is wasted time”

Author and speaker Tony Robbins teaches that we are each motivated both by pain and by pleasure. We can change behaviors and attitudes as we utilize the pain and pleasure principles.

Here is how it works: One of the most successful American football coaches was Vince Lombardi. But he was not an easy coach to play for. One player, Henry Jordan, chuckled about Lombardi, "He treats us all the same -- like dogs." He went on to say, "I play for the love of the game, the love of the money and the fear of Lombardi."

When he plays for the love of the game and the love of the money, he is motivated by pleasure. He thinks of the enjoyment he will get when he is on the field and his financial success as a professional player. He may even think of the personal recognition he receives as a professional player and the feelings of self-respect he experiences as he continues to succeed. The pleasure of these thoughts motivates him to play well.

When he thinks of Lombardi's ire if he does less than his best, he is motivated by pain. Fear is emotional pain -- as real as any physical pain. He may think also of the pain of losing his position to another player or even of the embarrassment of a fumbled ball. All of these "pain thoughts" help him to rise to his best level of performance. We will go to great lengths to avoid pain, in whatever form we find it.

What do you need motivation to do? Is it something related to your job or school? Or something personal, such as a physical or emotional change? Or do you need more encouragement to develop a certain personality trait or to pursue a goal you have neglected far too long?

Utilize the principles of pain and pleasure. Think of the pain you will eventually feel (or even feel now!) as you fail to follow your heart's lead. Be creative. Then think of the pleasure you will experience as you do or become whatever it is you want for yourself. Let these thoughts serve as the impetus to move out into the exciting new directions you have plotted for yourself.

Pain and pleasure are part of our daily lives. Use these feelings and you will find the push you need to give birth to your beautiful dreams!

From Lifesupport.

GETTING THE BEST FROM THOSE YOU LEAD

Lamp post - “Asking a writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp post how it feels about dogs”

A teacher was sitting at her desk grading papers when her first grade class came back from lunch. One of her students informed her, "Robert has to go to the principal's office."

"I wonder why?" the teacher mused.

"Because he's a following person," the child replied.

"A what?" the teacher asked.

"It came over the loudspeaker: 'The following persons are to go to the office.'"

Some people are "leading people" and some are "following people." And actually, we are each followers and leaders at various times. But if you are ever in a leadership position, this advice from college football coaching legend "Bear" Bryant about how to get the best from those you're leading can be useful.

"I'm just a plow hand in Arkansas," Bear said, "but I have learned how to hold a team together. How to lift some men up, how to calm down others, until finally they've got one heartbeat together, a team. There are just three things I'd ever say: 'If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it.' That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you."

I suspect that's all it takes to get people to be effective in any situation. For leaders are only as good as those who follow them, and followers are at their best when leaders are quick to give credit for successes.

British classical scholar Benjamin Jowett put it like this: "The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them." That's especially good to know when you're a "leading person."

From Lifesupport.

WAY TO RESULTS

Waiting in line for lottery tickets - “It's not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.”

Melodie Hartline relates in Reader's Digest (September, 1996) that in her job as an employee of a jewelry store, she often arranged for engaged couples to have their wedding bands engraved with something special. She once asked a bride-to-be what she would like inscribed inside her fiancé's ring.

"We aren't very romantic," she replied. Then she related that they were marrying on her fiancé's birthday so he wouldn't forget the date!

Melodie persisted, "Isn't there something you'll want him to remember as he looks inside his ring?"

"There sure is," she said. And that's how "Put it back on!" came to be inscribed inside her husband's ring.

Perhaps she was trying to "help along" her husband's commitment to the relationship.

Catherine, from Scotland, may have wanted to help along her lover's commitment for several decades. And finally, her 68-year-old boyfriend, George, proposed after 44 years of courtship. Why the wait? "He is a bit shy, you know," Catherine said.

At the heart of any meaningful relationship is commitment. Further, commitment is vital to the success of any endeavor. Happy people are committed people. They commit to other people, they commit to themselves, they commit to God, and they commit to their dreams. They know that nothing is possible without firm resolve.

Author Ken Blanchard has said, "There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses - only results."

What about you? Are you ready for results?

From Lifesupport.