Be a magician today…

March 18, 2021

From my favorite source of quotes, Jack’s Winning Words, comes today’s thought provoker – “The magic in new beginnings is truly the most powerful of them all.”  (Josiyah Martin)

So, why are new beginnings so magical? I think it is because they rekindle hope and hope is a powerful elixir indeed.

New beginning usually occur right after something has ended, perhaps something that ended badly or maybe just in disappointment. After those few moments of admission that all hope was lost for the old, new hope springs to life for the new and a new focus upon that hope energizes us to move forward again.

Sometimes it is not that hope was lost or that defeat was admitted; but, rather, that hope was temporarily forgotten or was lost in the loud din of day-to-day life. Out faith and the hope that comes with it can be like that – drowned out and forgotten in our focus upon our daily lives. We become so focused upon monetary success that we let our faith slide into the background. We fixate upon the here and now and forget about the rest of eternity. The old saying “the Devil is in the details” is perhaps talking of us focusing too much on the mundane details of life and not enough on the bigger picture – not enough on God.

We can correct that by treating each day as a new beginning and pausing each morning to thank God for the new chance to do better each day. Certainly, we have to put in the effort to maintain our jobs and provide for our needs and that of our families; however, we can also renew the hope that our faith provides and rededicate ourselves to doing the good which that faith requires. With each new day, each new beginning, we will find renewed hope. Acting upon that hope, we will provide the magic in the lives of others and that is the most powerful thing of all.

So, take some time each morning to stoke the fires of your faith and rekindle your hope, so that you can go out and perform magic all day long. The world is full of people who have lost hope. Give them some of yours and make the world a better place for all.

Make each day a new beginning and fill it with hope.

Be a magician today!

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Posted by Norm Werner

Create some happiness today…

March 17, 2021

This is the last of the quotes from French philosopher Albert Camus that I had saved. I may go find more.

“Against eternal injustice, man must assert justice, and to protest against the universe of grief, he must create happiness.” – Albert Camus

Camus seems to have seen mostly darkness and chaos in the world around him, for many of his quotes focus upon man’s struggle against the forces that Camus saw as being arrayed against him. I don’t buy into the belief that we live in a “universe of grief” or “eternal injustice”; nonetheless, I do see the need to create happiness where none may exist around us.

Rather than grief, I think we live in a universe that has tipped dangerously towards ignorance, cynicism, and hate. Instead of proven knowledge too many embrace conspiracy theories. Far too many have substituted disbelief for beliefs (religious or otherwise). And, for many, prejudices and hate have displaced welcoming friendship and relationships. In this universe there is an obvious need to create happiness.

But, how does one “create happiness?” I would submit that you can create happiness for others by turning what you would hope for and expect for yourself into what you offer to others. Instead of turning your eyes away and rushing by the stranger on the street, greet them with a smile and a friendly “Hello”. Instead of pushing your way through the door first, hold it open for the next person. Instead of ignoring the person in obvious pain or need, stop and ask if you can help. Doing something, instead of ignoring everything and everyone around you, is an important step to creating happiness.

Another way to create happiness is to live your life in such a way as to inspire others. If you are a positive, upbeat person, you will find that people flock to you because they want to associate with someone who appears to be happy. They hope to learn the secret for happiness from you or at least that maybe some of your happiness with “rub off” on to them.

In a world that seems adrift in cynicism, the occasional islands of the happily self-assured people that we meet offer refuge from the negativism and hatefulness that is so prevalent. It has been my observation that most of those happy people that I have encountered are people of faith. They are not evangelists standing on soap boxes in the park quoting scripture and preaching to the crowd; but, rather, they are people whose very lives demonstrate the power and impact of God. They live their faith every day. It makes them happy and it makes them attractive to others.

This morning, as you pause to thank God for giving you another day, ask Him to help you spread happiness in an unhappy world by living in such a way that others find joy in having encountered you.

Create some happiness today.

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Posted by Norm Werner

May The Force be with you…

March 16, 2021

“…No matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” ― Albert Camus

In the Star Wars saga the “something” that was within the Jedi that they used to push back against the evil in the world was called “The Force”. The Jedi trained to be able to channel the Force and draw strength from it. In the real world that we live in, that something that is within us is called faith. Through prayer and belief we call upon the force of our faith to help us get through tough situations  – the world pushing against us.

Just as The Force in Start Wars was not a passive thing (like a force field that wards off the bad), but rather is called upon and used in an active manner by the Jedi warriors, we must also call upon and put our faith into action. In the movie the evil was called “the Dark Side”, in life we often say that it is the Devil at work.

Believing in the Force was necessary in order to use it. Believing in God is necessary to use Him in your life. It must be a lonely feeling indeed to be in a pickle in life and not have a belief in God to turn to for strength.

So, pray not that nothing bad will ever happen to you (that’s just not realistic); but, rather, pray that God be with you and help you make good decisions and strengthen you in the actions that you must take. Don’t just stand there and let life push you around, use the force of God to find the strength and courage to push back. Just as darkness vanishes in the light of the sun, evil shrinks away in the light of the Son – Jesus.

In the Star Wars movies the phrase “May the Force be with you” was used quite often. In real life phrases like “God Speed” or “Peace be with you” are often used in reference to our faith. We do not have light sabers in real life, but it has been said that the word is mightier than the sword and we do have the Words in our Bibles.

So let that something in you out and use it to help you push back against the challenges that life may throw your way. May the Force of God be with you and the light of the Son illuminate your way.

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Posted by Norm Werner

The wisdom of children’s books

March 13, 2021

I was recently in a local gift shop with my wife and saw two children’s books by Kobi Yamada –

What do you do with an idea?

And

What do you do with a chance?

Yamada is an award winning author with several children’s books to his name. He also wrote What do you do with a problem?

As with most children’s books, Yamada took a lesson that we all can learn from and reduced it to the simple language and pictures that a child can understand.

I have written here several times about dealing with problems, so I won’t repeat myself on that (see this post ) ; however, the topics of dealing with ideas and chances (opportunities) is one that deserves some thought.

I did not read Yamada’s books while standing in the gift shop. I just opened to the first pages to see how they started. Both books started out the same way, with the child trying to get away from the idea or the chance – but it followed the child around and would not go away, just like the problems that Yamada also wrote about, I suspect.

Trying to avoid dealing with problems is easier to understand than trying to get away from ideas or chances; but all three reactions are based upon the same thing – fears. The fears that cause us to avoid the three situations are only slightly different across all three and have their base in our fear of failure. With problems we often cannot see any good solutions or we  imagine all sorts of bad outcomes. New ideas that pop into our heads also bring that same fear of failure because, well, they’re new – they represent the unknown and our imaginations tend towards bad outcomes when facing the unknown.

Chances (or opportunities), when we are given them always come with imagined outcomes that have both good and bad endings. Which do you think our imaginations often choose to focus upon? Perhaps that is something that separates successful people – they tend to focus upon the good outcome and work towards it. Successful athletes often use a visualization technique that helps them “see” the success that they desire.

Underlying the actions of successful people is the positive attitude of “I think I can”. They see the positive outcome, rather than being frozen by fears of the unknown (and unknowable). Keep in mind that every failure that you may have just means that you ran into one of those unknowns and now you know. You can do better next time because you know to avoid whatever it was that tripped you up – you will forge a different path to success. Persistence and perseverance are as important as perspiration in achieving success.

The key to success with all of these ‘What do you do with” questions is taking action and not to run away from them but to deal with them. What do you do with a problem? You solve it! What do you do with an idea? You implement it! What do you do with a chance? You take it!

So, maybe the Nike people have the most childlike and valid answer to all of the “What do I do with” questions in life – Just Do It!

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Posted by Norm Werner

Don’t wait…Do it now…

March 12, 2021

In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Freed shared this bit of advice – “You’re only here for a short visit.  Don’t worry; don’t hurry.  And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”  (Walter Hagen) [ED. – Walter Hagen was the Jack Nicolas or Tiger Woods of golf in the early part of the Twentieth Century.]

It is really a shame that so many do not realize and heed the advice that Hagen was giving in that quote until they are in their senior years (me included). When we are younger we tend to get all wrapped up in our ideas that a “successful” life entails being focused upon success in our jobs and earning more and more money, so that we can buy more and more things. Eventually we realize that things are not really that important and that our relationships are what really matters. Unfortunately, many men tend to realize that after it is too late to enjoy some of life’s best moments – moments and memories of our children growing up that we miss because, “daddy had to work and couldn’t be here”.

It is hard to smell the flowers along the way when your attention is totally focused upon getting that next deal or promotion. The phrase “it’s lonely at the top” was probably coined as much for the belated realization of all that was sacrificed on the way there as anything. It’s lonely because they ignored those important relationships and let time with spouses, children and friends slip away.  

It is critically important to constantly evaluate why you are working, more so than to focus upon how hard you are working. You may think that you are working to give your family more and more things, when all they really want is more and more of your time and attention. There may be little that you can do to reduce the amount of time that you must focus upon your job; however, you can prioritize how you spend your time away from the job and that should be focused upon your family and friends.

So, take Hagen’s advice – slow down and stop to smell the flowers along the way. Accumulate good memories of time spent with family and friends with the same fervor as you try to accumulate money and possessions. “I’ll get to that tomorrow” is not a valid strategy. Tomorrow may never come and how sad it would be that you missed today, too.

Don’t wait. Do it now.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Find your way back to normal…

March 11, 2021

It is quite common to hear someone using the phrase “the new normal” these days and that brings the question of what “normal” is to mind, whether new or old.

According to the dictionary normal is –

nor·mal

/ˈnôrməl/

adjective –

conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

“it’s quite normal for puppies to bolt their food”

noun –

the usual, average, or typical state or condition.

“her temperature was above normal”

In both uses the word “expected” seems to apply as a useful definition. That also brings to mind another saying that the only thing consistent in life is change. The movie Ground Hog Day aside, I suspect that we all wake up each day expecting it to be different from yesterday. Maybe, for some, hoping it will be different is a better description.

One would have been hard pressed to imagine a little over a year ago that it would be as “normal” to reach for a face mask as it is to reach for one’s phone, yet that has become the expected for most of us. For the outliers who refuse to mask up, their contrarian attitude is consistent – it is normal for them.

So, our new normal is the state in which we have reached some degree of accommodation with whatever disruptive force impacted our routines and expectations. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus  will take it’s place in our lives, just as the regular flu virus and other earlier diseases have. We will likely find getting an annual COVID booster shot to be a part of the new normal. For the generations alive during this pandemic some recognition of “the way things were” before the pandemic will become an indelible memory and part of the stories that will be passed down to future generations (for a while anyway).

Things will never again be the way they were, but then they will also never be the same tomorrow as they are today. We have been forced to confront change in our lives as never before. Out of that we have hopefully learned to better deal with change, to expect it rather than being surprised or annoyed by it. We certainly can’t stop change from happening, but we can learn to deal with it better. Thankfully, many have come to grips with change by embracing their faith in God. Those who can earnestly pray, “Not my will but thy will be done” are much better prepared to face of day full of change, putting their faith in God to be in control.

We probably will have many instances in our lives where we might still have to say, “I didn’t see that coming”. However, rather than railing against change; those who put their trust in God, can roll with the punches confident that God has a plan and that it will all work out for the best. As we desperately search for something that is unchanging to cling to, God becomes the only consistent answer. For believers, their faith is both the old and new normal.

Find your way back to normal by finding your way back to God. God never changes.

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Posted by Norm Werner

You get what you reach for…

March 10, 2021

In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, pastor Freed used this quote – “My life is part roses, part thorns.”  (Bret Michaels)

That’s a pretty simple thought and one that everyone can probably say about their own life. We all encounter adversities (thorns) in life and most of us can probably also point to beautiful moments (the roses) in our lives. A good number of us probably spent much of our lives focused upon doing things to avoid the thorns – to reduce the risks that we may encounter. A few spend their lives so focused upon the good things in life that they may become classified as Pollyannas.

Things that happen in our lives are often the result of actions that we consciously took – what we reached for in life – and not just happenstance. It might seem like a decision that turned our bad was made without thought, but that is seldom really the case. That decision may have been made out of a lack of concern for the consequences or perhaps was made based upon pre-conceived notions or prejudices; but there was some thought put into it, albeit not good thoughts.

You can take control of your life if you start by understanding that you will encounter thorns. These are usually things that you cannot control. All that you can control is how you react to them. If you reach out and grab the thorns they will hurt you. If you are cautious and careful you may be able to get through the situation without pain and maybe even be able to find the rose at the end of that thorny stem.

That is why it is so much better to stop and think about what you are about to do than to stop later and ask why you just did that. There are no take-backs in life, no do-overs; but there can be, “Wait, What, Why”, moments that can save you embarrassment or worse later.

Stopping to think about something before you react does not mean becoming paralyzed by indecision. Self-control is just a part of good decision making. Recognizing the risks and possible outcomes is another part. The final part is applying the moral compass that otherwise guides your life to the situation at hand. Hopefully that involves doing the right thing and not just the convenient or self-serving thing. That is where your faith comes into play. That is the WWJD input into your decisions.

All of this can take place in a split second. There are few real “no-brainer” moments in life; however there are many “I didn’t think” moments that we can all look back upon.

We get what we reach for. Think about it.

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Posted by Norm Werner

With God all things are possible…

March 9, 2021

Pastor Freed used this Muhammad Ali quote this morning – “Impossible is potential.  Impossible is temporary.  Impossible is nothing.” 

It immediately sprang to mind that in an earlier post to his blog – Jack’s Winning Words – Freed had written a post that pointed out that by strategically using a space and adding an apostrophe, the word impossible becomes “I’m possible”. Perhaps it is within that space that God entered into the picture and added the apostrophe, making it possible.

In the Bible, Jesus often used stories and parables to teach his disciples –

Matthew 19:23-26

23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Men tend to classify things as being impossible due to their limited imaginations and lack of faith. Make a little space in your life for God and see if He can add His apostrophe and change the impossibilities in your life into possibilities. Ask God, in your morning prayers, to turn your impossible challenges into possibilities.

Have a great day turning your impossibilities into opportunities. God is with you.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Be a hero today…

March 8, 2021

In today’s post to his blog, Jack’s Winning Words, Pastor Freed used this quote – “There’s no excuse for young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are. (Nina Simons)

Every era has people that are popularly identified as heroes to us all, usually someone who has done something extraordinary or achieved something that is remarkable. We hold them up to be heroes – people that are worthy of emulation. We want to be like them.

But the concept of someone being a hero in anyone’s life is a very personal thing. Many successful people when interviewed will point back to a teacher or perhaps to their parents or a sibling as a key influence in their life – someone who was a hero to them.

What makes these people heroes is usually that they set an example of how to live, how to be brave and how to persevere in the face of adversity that others could see and use as a role model. Under that definition of hero, it is easy to see what Jesus is held up as a hero for so many. To Christians everywhere, Jesus is the role model for their lives. No one can really be like Jesus, but we can certainly learn from His example and pattern our lives after the words He spoke and His actions.

The other thing that we can do is be more conscience of our role as heroes to others, especially our young. We need to stop and think every morning about that role and the things that we can do during the day to provide good examples for the youth around us. The young learn by watching us. If they see us skirting the law or becoming irate and cursing out someone else, perhaps for an incident while driving them to school, they see that as something that they too can do later in life. They also learn many of their first curse words from listening to their parents.

In many modern movies and TV shows about heroes, the hero or heroine changes in appearance when in hero mode – they may don an outfit, like Ironman or The Black Panther, or just magically become different (think about Hulk suddenly changing from Dr. Banner). We don’t get to do a costume change before becoming a hero to our children, but they see us in a different light when they think we are doing something worth emulating – something heroic. We become Super Dad or Mom or Brother/Sister.

It is important to stop and think about your role in the lives of others and the impact that your actions may have during the day. Perhaps taking the time each morning to ask God for help will keep that in the forefront of your mind. Ask God to help you live during the day in such a way that you will be proud of your decisions and actions and happy that someone else might have found them worthy of emulation. That is certainly better than having to ask for forgiveness and being embarrassed by how you looked to others during the day.

Maybe you could use one of those little wrist bands with WWJD on it to help you do the things during the day that will make you a hero. It’s certainly a better feeling at the end of the day than embarrassment and contrition. We are all being watched by others, especially by our young. Be aware of that and be a hero today!

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Posted by Norm Werner

The secret to a good life…

March 6, 2021

I always get a kick out of seeing a headline like that; as if there is really some great unknown secret that will immediately make life better, if only it were revealed to us. While there is no secret to a good life, there are bits of advice that we can pick up from others and implement in our own lives to make them better. One such piece of advice I got from a post to my usual source – the Jack’s Winning Words blog – “Laugh when you can; apologize when you should; and let go of what you can’t change.”  (Posted by Carrie Goldring)

The other piece of advice comes from French philosopher Albert Camus – “To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.”

Our ability to laugh, especially at ourselves, is a great release from the stresses of everyday life and a necessary pause in the intensity that we sometimes put on ourselves in life. The ability to admit mistakes, own them, and apologize for them or make them right is also a necessity. Only through that process can we forgive ourselves get them off our backs. Finally, the ability to recognize those things in life that one cannot change and let go of them is critical. Our faith helps with that by allowing us to give those things to God in the simple prayer, “Not my will, but thy will be done.”

And then there is the advice of Camus. I don’t think he was saying not to be empathetic to the needs of others so much as not to be hung up on what others think about you or what you do. Many people spend an inordinate amount of time being concerned about the answer to the question, “What will others think?” before and after they do something. Even getting dressed in the morning usually involves that question for those people. Camus is saying that happiness does not come from others, but rather from within ourselves.

There are phrases that ae used within or vocabularies that point to the answer of living a good life – phrases like, “I laughed so hard that I cried” or “Those are tears of happiness”. Those phrases are describing examples of those moments in life that we let go of all else and live in the moment. We enjoy life. I have also heard the phrase, “I never felt more alive than at that moment” to describe some wonderful event in someone’s life.

Perhaps that is the secret to the good life. Again, I point to another quote from Albert Camus that sums this up very nicely – “Live to the point of tears.”

So the secret to the good life is to stop worrying about it and start living it – living it to the point of tears. A good start at living that way it to recall the words of the Psalmist – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24

If we wake up each morning and acknowledge and give thanks to God for giving us another day it is bound to be a better day – a day in which we can live life to the point of tears.

Now you know the secret. Say your prayer to thank God for this day and then go out and live your life to the point of tears. It’s going to be a great day!

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Posted by Norm Werner

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