I keep a collection of quotes, most of which I get from the Jack’s Winning Words blog, as a source of inspiration for writing my own posts here. Sometimes a few quotes on the same topic build up in that collection, as was the case when I decided to write about time. Here are three good quotes from Jack’s blog –
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” (Jim Rohn)
“Time only seems to matter when it is running out.” (Peter Strup)
“One thing you can learn from the clock is that it passes time by keeping its hands busy.” (Unknown)
I agree with the first two quotes, but it is the third quote that I want to focus upon here. I
think that the most important things that we can do with our time is to use it to be doing something. I find that when I’m busy time passes relatively fast and I’m not concerned about that, because, well, I’m busy.
I visit a number of retirement homes in the area in my role selling newspaper ads for the Spinal Column. During those visits I have observed that the residents who are busy doing something – volunteering within the facility or participating in one of the groups or clubs that the facility runs – seem to be much happier than those who just sit around watching others. Certainly, one’s health dictates the limits of what one can do, but I think it is also a matter that those who want to be active find a way to keep doing something.
With two jobs – selling real estate and selling ads for the paper – I have things to occupy 
my time. Add to that the volunteer work that I do for the Chamber of Commerce, my church and the Milford Historical Society, and I really have little time left to be bored. Like the clock, I pass my time by keeping my hands busy. So, rather than worry about how much time I have left; I focus on using that time to get things done. My time is too valuable to waste. You cannot get more time, but you can get more done in the time that you have.
There are lots of churches and non-profit organizations in every community across this land that need volunteers to get work done. They are usually doing good things to help others; so, you get the side benefit of feeling good about what it is that you are busy doing. Even if you aren’t physically able to do a lot of things, there are jobs at those
organizations in which you can help by doing what you are able to do. You may end up making phone calls to shut-ins to see if they need anything or perhaps you can read to someone who can no longer see well enough to read. Maybe you can schedule other workers who are more able or perhaps enter data into a computer. Maybe just being there to greet and talk with visitors is what they need. So, look around your neighborhood or area and find those volunteer jobs that need to be done. Whatever it ends up being; you are doing and not just being. You are busy.
How are you passing your time? Maybe it’s time to get busy.
Posted by Norm Werner 
population. They tactics used by those agents aimed at increasing racial tensions and heightening fears about the impact of immigration. They were successful to the extent that Facebook and other sites have had to take specific actions to limit their access to accounts and monitor their attempts to plant fake news or to slant the coverage of real news.
evolved in modern times. We have become an audience accustomed to sound-bites, tweets and YouTube posts. There seems to be no time to stop and evaluate the content, so we just accept it and sometimes act upon it. We re-tweet or re-post or take to the streets with signs because we read about a threat on social media. Never mind that the national news outlets or the big newspapers may be debunked the false reports or posts. Anyway, We are told that they are purveyors of “Fake News”; so, let’s believe a Facebook post from someone that we don’t know, instead.
bad actors thrive upon exploiting. There is still a strong sense of right and wrong within the hearts of most Americans and a desire to do what is right, rather than acquiesce to what we know is wrong. We may be frustrated that we cannot seem to resolve some of the big issues that are facing us as a society, but that does not mean that we will drift off to the edges of reason and join the bigots or zealots that define the extremes in today’s political and social environment.
Just listen closely for the voices of reason and compassion and concern amongst all of the shouting and accusing and finger-pointing of modern politics. Centrists exist in both political parties and they deserve your attention and support.
agents are trying to use to manipulate us. We are a better people than that. We can make up our own minds – thank you very much. Let’s get ready to vote in 2020.
As I thought about Chesterton’s quote, going to church on Sundays came to mind and the saying morphed into – “The self-righteous sees the church service. The faithful sees the face of Jesus.”
understand what was going on was a big part of the mystery and drama that the clergy wanted to maintain. It was considered to be part of the show that the congregation has come to see. What do you see?
– “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” The faithful came not to be entertained, but to see Jesus. What do you see?
see. They not only notice, but also take it in and savor it. It is often much the same with church. One can just get through the service, mindlessly mouthing the words of the songs and blankly staring ahead during the sermon; or one can be in the moment, savoring the time that they have to be with Jesus in worship. For those who open their hearts to God, church is a time to see what you came to see – the face of Jesus in your midst. What do you see?
measure of ego, is also what keeps man from knowing God. Man has always tried to figure out how he got here and wondered about some supreme force or being that was somehow in control of things. It is that use of the human ego, leading to the need to put God in our own human context, which limits our ability to know and love Him. Our reasoning keeps us from opening ourselves to a passion for God, to having faith.
understanding and using The Force. The understanding part really boiled down to accepting and believing, which Yoda tried to teach Luke in the initial installment. It is interesting that there was no attempt in Star Wars to put a face on The Force or to characterize it as being something that looked like any of the characters in the series – there were no drawings or painting of The Force. In order to suspend disbelief and accept The Force in the Star Wars movies, one had to have faith in something that is never seen, but is always there to be called upon by the faithful – the Jedi.
from the need to figure God out, maybe we can move on to the passion of accepting and knowing Him in our lives. In that moment of passion, all of your cares, concerns, pains, fears and troubles will fade into the background. You will have found faith, free from reason.
which is a form of imagining to “see” the play or shot that they are about to try, in order to practice and perfect it in their minds. Note that imagination starts with the same root as image – the visualization of something.
Many of us likely spend some time imagining what we might do with the money as we buy our Lottery tickets. It is amazing how generous we can be in our minds with imaginary money. I wonder how many would carry through on that imagined generosity if they actually won. I wonder what I would do?
what He will look like.
So, close your eyes and look for God. Perhaps it is in closing our eyes and shutting off the key way that we see and perceive the real world around us that we allow our minds to imagine the God that is not of this world, but of the world to come. Let your imagination take you there. Perhaps along the way your imagination will encounter “the peace that passes all understanding” – Philippians 4:7.
At the root of all of those scenarios may be the same cause – lack of self-confidence. Perhaps the reason that the walls of the rut that you feel you are in are so dauntingly tall is that you lack the confidence in yourself to overcome those obstacles and experience new things. Confidence can be a fleeting thing and it came be influenced by others. Vince Lombardi said – “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” 
was coming from a parent or other adult. Maybe you were bullied and never overcame that fear. It could be that you were not encouraged to try again when you failed at something as a child. Whatever the reason, if you now find yourself stuck in a rut and you really want to find a way out and take a different path in life; maybe it’s time to find your confidence.
building self-confidence. You can’t be confident in yourself if you don’t like yourself. When I was in Corporate life I took a transactional relationships course called “I’m OK, You’re OK” which was based upon the work of Anthony Thomas Harris in his book of the same name. The course taught one how to analyze any social interaction from the perspective on understand where you are coming from and where the other person is coming from. One precept of the course was identifying and accepting yourself and your starting point of view. I would add that you not only need to accept who you are, but also love who you are.
that God loves your and accepts you as you are, nothing else matters. God’s love for you provides the foundation upon which you can base your love for yourself and your confidence in yourself. After all, we read in Romans 8:31 – “If God is with us, who can be against us?” How confidence building is that?
To close the circle on this post; you can get out of the same old, same old ruts that you may find yourself in; but first, you must find your self-confidence. A good place to look for that is in prayer. You may find that like the Lion and the Scarecrow and the Tin Man in the Wizard of OZ, you had it in you all the while; you just needed God’s love to let it out.
fantasize about the future. Both can be pleasurable retreats from the reality of the moment or they can be the source of pain or fears and concerns that can temporarily paralyzing.
Living in the moment is an exercise in focus and self-control. It is the inability to focus on the present that opens the door for the mind to wander into the past or begin exploring the future. There are all sorts of helpful Web sites, on-line articles, videos and other ways to get information about living in the moment. Just Google “Live in the moment” to see a list that is pages long.
eyes on the books of other items in front of them. Since most are too young to have a very rich vocabulary, the issue is exacerbated by their inability to explain the problem that they are having. Her practice involves working with the children to determine the nature of their problems and to provide them with exercises to help them focus their eyes on the objects that they need to see in order to learn.
can be as simple as keeping a calendar and taking a quick look at it every morning to reset your mind on the things that you’ve committed to do today. For many the creation of a daily To-Do list is a morning ritual. For some starting each day with a prayer allows them not only to refocus upon the day, but also to start it off in the right frame of mind and with the confidence that they are not alone in whatever the day has in store.
continue down the path it is on, unless some force is applied that causes it to change direction. That “force” can be some external event or it can be an internal change of attitude, which causes you to react differently and take a new direction. One could sit around and hope that something happens to change things in your life or one can take the first steps of changing your attitude towards life.
life more than accepting God’s role in your life and learning how to see and do what God has in mind for you. You may not understand the “why” of it all and maybe you cannot yet be able see the “how” it will all play out; but, if you accept the will of God in your life, as in “not my will, but Thy will be done”, the outcome in your life will definitely change.
goals. They find that having the items does not bring happiness, only a temporary sense of achievement of that goal; then it is on to the next goal.
answer, their lives are altered and their goals change. They find satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment in service to others as they progress towards that ultimate goal.
for themselves and others around them.
Wondering is often connected with wandering, which, I guess, is natural, since the mind often also wanders when it wonders. That brings to mind that old saying “All who wander are not lost”. Neither are those who wonder. Yet some do not spend much time wondering, because they mistakenly think that they already know. Their minds are made up; which is sometimes called beliefs and sometimes called prejudices. I found a great quote that covers that – “I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief.” (Gerry Spence)
beginning of wisdom.” Eventually the tendency to wonder will always bring you full circle back to wondering about yourself. It may take some time, as Saint Augustine said – “Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.” 
When you do get back to considering the questions of why and how and for what purpose about yourself, it doesn’t take too long before you wander into wondering about God. There’s a web site for that too – 
One can get caught up in wandering in wonder and never get anything done. Craig D. Lounsbrough put it well when he said – “I wonder what life would have been like if I would have taken all that time I spent wondering what life would have been like, and instead used that time to make it what I wanted it to be like.”
the Marshall Plan that resulted in the rebuilding of Europe. “When a thing is done, it’s done. Don’t look back. Look forward to your next objective.” (George C. Marshall)
Perhaps the issue for some is that they don’t have a “next objective” to look forward to and to work towards. I have noticed that when I awaken in the morning on a day that I have nothing planned, I manage to get very little done, and the day just drags along. However, if I have things that I knew ahead that I wanted to get done that day, I awaken with a sense of purpose to accomplish those objectives – I can’t wait to get started. The ends of those two types of days are also very different, too – one with relief that the day is finally over and the other ending with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
into a place of good memories and move on. Perhaps it includes those who cannot put a snub or social slight into its proper place of un-importance; or perhaps those who cannot see beyond preconceived prejudices from their past. For whatever reason these people have fixated on the mirror of the past.
into your thinking. Look for new relationships than might lead to finding a new significant other – not to replace the lost loved one, but to crate new memories in addition to those fond memories from the past that you can glance at in the mirror from time-to-time
Don’t spend your time looking in the mirror; find the new roads of your life and look ahead to your next objective.
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