"Flying a Sign"

I recently had a long talk with a woman who had spent many years of her life homeless.  She had worked for carnivals for twenty-five years and had developed friendships with other workers.  Many of them had alcohol or drug addictions.  They would travel together, sometimes sleeping in cars or pitching in to get a motel room.
When the economy turned down, they could no longer make it working in the carnivals.  She told me about "flying a sign."  When they needed money, one of them would go out for a few hours and stand on a corner with their signs, asking for help.
I was fascinated to hear about the ways people responded to them.  She told me that they were often given bags with toiletries and toothbrushes (which is funny since she didn't have any teeth).  They received snack bags and lots of protein bars and bottles of water.
She told me that they had people who would regularly give them bags of groceries.  They, also, received lots of gift cards from Chick-fil-A (Way to go Christians!) and other places.  She said that there was one thing they didn't get but could use and that was laundry detergent. 
Did you know people were doing this?  I didn't.  Not too long ago, I saw a young man get out of his car and go over and give someone a loaf of bread.  I thought this was an isolated event.  Little did I know!  I am so inspired by the goodness of people!  Thank all of you who are regularly helping others in this way!

Thought Conditioners

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was the author of The Power of Positive Thinking.  When he was young he memorized 40 little verses, most of them ten words or less.  These have been published in a book called Thought Conditioners , which I am not sure is still in publication.  Here is a link to a pdf of all of them and Dr. Peale's insights:   Dr. Peale's Thought Conditioners.  Thank you Sermon Publications for making them available!

What a great idea!  You may have verses or sayings that just come into your head when something happens.  I know I do, but I don't remember ever making a point of memorizing them.  We may not know where they are found in the Bible or who said them, but they still impact our decisions and thoughts.

What if we made a point of teaching these simplified "Thought Conditioners" to our children?  Summer is a great time for learning together.  We could make cards with the verses on them and review them in the car on a road trip or at other times.

I have made a page titled Bible Verses to Inspire.  You can see the entire verses on the link at the top of this page.  I am using the NIV but you may prefer another version.  Some verses I memorized in the KJV and they just come naturally to my mind.  

I have shortened some verses, but have not changed the original meaning, to make them easier to remember.  I will include where they are found in the Bible.  I am not using all of Dr. Peale's original verses and I have added some of my own.

Here are some powerful Thought Conditioners:

1.  "What is impossible with men is possible with God."  
Luke 18:27

Good Deeds- Bookmarks

by Jeannine Carroll

I recently received a surprise gift from a group I love and teach.  I wanted to thank each of them in a personal way, without spending too much.
I had a collection of used greeting cards so I decided to make bookmarks for them and write a thank you note on the back.  My hope was that they would keep the bookmarks and be reminded of how much I treasure each of them!  

Bookmarks

Father's Day Quotes

I love to celebrate Good Fathers!  If  you have been lucky enough to have one, you have been truly blessed!  I would love to hear your stories about your father!

Here are some of my favorite quotes and sayings:                                                                                                 

"A child looks up at the stars and wonders.

Great fathers put a child on his shoulders and

 helps them to grab a star."

"A good father is one of the most unsung,
unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the
most valuable assets in our society." ~Billy Graham

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a Father's protection." 

 ~Sigmund Freud

"The greatest gift I ever had came from God;

I call him Dad!"

"A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall, but instead,

picks you up, brushes you off

and lets you try again."

"Some people believe in Heroes, but they haven't met my Dad."

"My Father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person,

he believed in me." ~Jim Valvano

"My father didn't tell me how to live...

He lived, and let me watch him do it."

~Clarence Kelland

"Next to eternal life, the most precious gift that our Father in Heaven can bestow upon man,

 is his children." ~David G. MaKay

"Every father should remember that one day his child will follow his example instead of his advice."

"Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown!"

Happy Father's Day!

At Days End by John Hall

John Hall's poem says so much!  At the end of the day, I like to take a quick look over all I did and ask myself, "What if I hadn't done that?  Would it have mattered?

At Days End

Is anybody happier because you passed his way?

Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?

The day is almost over, and its toiling time is through

Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Can you say tonight in parting, with the day that's slipping fast, 

That you helped a single brother, of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?

Does the man whose hopes were fading, now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?

Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say

You have earned one more tomorrow, by the work you did today?

(Thank goodness we don't have to earn Heaven! ~J.C.)

Working Mother

For twenty-five years I ran a child-care business in my home.  I, also, taught classes for parents and child-care workers.  I often read "Working Mother" in my classes.  It touched the hearts of parents who knew the pain of leaving their children in someone else's care and it helped child-care workers to empathize with some parent's emotions.  I never wanted us, in the child care field, to feel we were somehow superior to parents who had to make the decision to work!

Working Mother  

As I sit here chained to my computer and phone, I steal a thousand quick glances at your pretty picture on the corner of my desk.  With each glance I breathe a silent prayer that God will be with you because I cannot.  I dream of baking cookies for after school snacks instead of making assembly-line coffee, each mug programed for the exact amount of sugar, sweetner, coffee and cream.

I dream of chairing PTA meetings instead of typing proposals and specifications.  I want to be there for you.  I want to participate in your life instead of watching from the sidelines and hearing about it secondhand.

I did not conceive you so that others could rear you.  I did not carry you nine months and then anxiously count fingers and toes so that I could get calls from school when you are sick or upset.  These calls send me into a frustrated frenzy because you must pour out your fears to another woman.

For now we do the best we can.  Weekends are OURS.  Cobwebs, laundry and yard work somehow take a backseat because cobwebs, grass and dirty clothes do not lose teeth, skin knees or outgrow blue jeans.  These weekends are crammed full of tiny lessons on self-esteem, values, maturing, quiet understandings and fun.  I pray that a strong bond is being built between us.  Mother to daughter, friend to friend, woman to little woman.

So here's to all the kids who don't feel in the least deprived.  Here's to the child care workers with nerves of steel and unending patience.  Here's to the schoolteachers and school secretaries who play surrogate mother.  Here's to the grandmas who stand in the gap between the three o'clock dismissal and the five o'clock rush hour.  And, here's to the "liberated" career moms who blow secret kisses to photographs while taking other people's messages and typing other people's memos.   by Marilyn Loeffel