Two quotes from recent posts to the Jack’s Winning Words blog seem to go together –
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique, just like everyone else.” (Margaret Mead)
-and-
“Everyone has a story. Every story matters.” (Nicole Wedemeyer Miller)
If everyone is unique and has a story, then it follows that every story is unique. That is one of the values that we all gain from diversity in our society; and, that matters. That we don’t take time to listen to every story or to try to understand the unique perspective from which they come is our loss.
The knee-jerk reaction from #POTUS to the recent terrorist act in New York was to state that he would try to end the Diversity Visa Program that was put in place a few years back by the Obama administration to encourage diversity in migration to the U.S. from
underrepresented countries around the world. What a shame it would be to limit our experience of the different contributions to our society that could come out of that program.
The term diversity is a broad umbrella which embraces differences in ethnicity, life style, sexual preference, gender and many other things that can go into making each individual unique. To wall off any one of those things and prevent people who possess that characteristic from interacting with our society would be a loss. That loss comes out of the denial to experience and react to those differences. It is the same as saying that we will only allow certain kinds of 
music to be played or certain types of art to be displayed. We become the poorer by restrictions limiting or censoring our experiences. In many countries experiencing the truth is limited by government censorship and in some, such as North Korea, reality itself gets distorted.
So, the take-away is that we should embrace diversity in our society and try to learn from the differences that we encounter in the unique people that we meet. We need to substitute wonder and understanding for the fear and loathing that too often drive us away from those who are “different.” We need to approach our interactions with those who are different from us with the goal of learning and understanding, rather than avoiding, judging or condemning.
It may well be that you will find the point of view of someone else to be something that you cannot understand and certainly don’t accept; but, at least, you will then better understand why and how they may act about things. Understanding the other person’s point of view will help you choose the best way to react to them. Perhaps, just by trying to understand them better, you will engage in a dialogue that slightly changes both of you and brings you both closer to some common ground.
It is important when engaging with others who have very different points of view to keep in mind another saying that was posted to Jack’s blog recently –
“I don’t have to be wrong for you to be right.” (Sent by Don Sunshine)
The opposite is also true; that the other person doesn’t have to be wrong, either. It is the tendency to stand on the supposedly high moral ground of saying “I’m right and you’re wrong” that continues to cause many of the problems that we have in our society today. 
Yes, black lives matter; and yes, all lives matter. So where is the real conflict there? Which side is excluding the other? I don’t have to be wrong for you to be right.
So, let us as a nation continue to welcome unique people and their stories. Let us try to learn from them. Let us find ways to integrate the value that they bring with them to our common good. We are the richer as a nation because we have always welcomed the poor of the world. I can’t wait to hear the next story.
Posted by Norm Werner 
Washington, which was itself a protest against what many women felt was a more than just a macho attitude in Washington about women or just boys and men behaving badly. The movement grew out of the decision of one woman to stand up and take action, rather than just sit watching the TV and lamenting the news in Washington D.C. as it unfolded.
hurriedly on by; we see acts driven by racism or homophobia and look away in hopes that now one saw us; we pass by the beggar and avoid eye contact; we make it a point to avoid the person who just ended a relationship because we really don’t want to hear about it; we don’t go to visit the sick person in the hospital because we just don’t have the time to waste; we don’t correct the person making inappropriate remarks or touching us inappropriately because we just want to “get along”.
excuses are all the same. “I don’t want to get involved”.” “It’s not my problem.” “I don’t have time for that.” I would posit that as a fellow human being you are already involved, it is your problem as soon as you recognize it and there is nothing more important that you could spend your time on that helping a fellow human being. In Mark 12:31 Jesus told us that the second Great Commandment is, “Love your neighbor and you love yourself.” You cannot love your neighbor if you ignore him and his problems.
for some promotion or reward because you won’t “play ball” with your boss; however, in the long run right will win out. Being in the right and deciding to stay on that side and take action, not only means never having to say you’re sorry; in many cases, (especially those involving high profile lawyers) being right and standing up and doing something about it is rewarding in more ways than just emotionally.
your life, your emotions, your actions or reactions. Withhold consent. Take charge of your life and decide that you, and only you, will determine how you feel about yourself and about life.
because you like yourself. It brings with it a radiance in your personality that makes women look more beautiful and men look more handsome. If you can get to that state of liking yourself and feeling comfortable with who and what you are, you will notice that what others may think of you, or say about you, takes on much less meaning. What they think or say cannot make you feel inferior because you withhold consent.
makes those people more frustrated than your refusal to rise to the bait that they are using to try to lure you into self-doubt or worse. It is for some a nasty game and for others a way to try to bring others down to their level of misery and self-loathing. Withhold consent.
is with you; then, when you encounter someone who is trying to make you feel inferior, you can quickly bring up this thought from Romans 8:31 – “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Indeed. With God in your corner, it’s relatively easy to withhold consent.
Pollyanna-type who always finds a way to make lemonade out of the lemons that come their way. Which are you? Which would you rather be? The one has decided to be unhappy with life and the other will not let life ruin their happiness. You decide what kind of day you will have.
Sometimes we just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and something bad happens. Sometimes we actually make the bad decision to be at that place. Whichever it is, you are then faced with more decisions about how to react to things that are happening or that just happened. Perhaps another quote sums up your situation best: “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” —Charles Swindoll. Since your day is made up of events that you will react to; you decide what kind of day you will have.
decisions about what to do next, instead of letting some knee-jerk reaction control your future. By being conscious of your situation, you can choose to react in a positive way, rather than a negative way. You can choose to move forward with your life in a positive way, rather than shrinking back or retreating into depression. You can be in control; not of the situation, but of your reaction to it. You decide what kind of day you will have.
while I may not be in control of the things that are happening, I am in control of the decisions that I make in reaction to what is happening. Realizing that causes me to take a little pause and ask myself, “What is the right thing to do?” Just that little pause and that thought will allow you to see what God is telling you to do and you will make better decisions. You decide what kind of day you will have.
took you off in a bad direction. It’s never too late to turn back to God and say “A little help here”. Maybe you need to ask for God to help you recover from a bad decision. God will always be there for you and it’s never too late to ask Him for help. It’s as simple as this little prayer – “Not my will but thy will be done.” You decide what kind of day you will have.
wallets and we are a generous and compassionate people. However, what the Bible and these two quotes really mean at their core it to give of yourself – your time, your attention and your love. Give that to others and it truly will come back to you.
Walking by a beggar on the street and perhaps tossing a few cents or a dollar in their cup is really a form of ignoring them and their plight. You make them go away in your mind, because you tossed that money their way. After all it’s too much of a bother to stop and talk to them, to try to find out how they got there and what would really help them escape the cycle of poverty that they are in. Our government tends to take that approach all too often.
here’s a dollar and wish you could walk away or do you pay attention and offer your support?
true; sometimes with no actual basis in facts. Most prejudices are based on things that we hold to be true with no actual facts to back them up. They are based upon unfounded hate or fear of something or someone. All of our fears, uncertainties and doubts are also baseless in facts and mostly founded in our own imaginations.
but he was not questioning his faith, just the practices of the men who were the religious leaders of the Catholic Church at the time.
questioning long ago and taken for granted.
God, just from the minds of men. At its most elemental level, your faith is your personal relationship with God. All of the rest of the trappings of the various religions are the works of men. So question those trappings if they don’t seem right to you; but, not your relationship with God.
fires in California. There were scenes on the nightly news of people returning to their homes only to find that they no longer existed. More than one was heard saying, “I’ve lost everything.” Many were also heard thanking God that they had been spared their lives.
It is important, as I have expressed here a few times, that you have a strong sense of self and that you love who and what you are; not letting your sense of self-worth be based upon possessions or job. That’s not to say that you should become self-centered; but, rather, that you become self-confident. If your self-examination of who and what you have become leaves something to be desired, then you have something to work upon and not something to be depressed about. Since no one is perfect, you are always on a self-improvement journey to be the best you that you can be (see my post – see my post 
The long awaited and much anticipated Grand Opening of the new Tenacity store in Milford took place this morning. The Tenacity owners, Genise and Eric Horsley, use the motto “Shop With Purpose” for the store and plan to donate a portion of the proceeds from each sale to two charities that they have taken to heart – The Milford chapter of the Northwest Oakland
Abolitionist Hub, which is part of the Michigan Abolitionist Project or MAP; and they will also be supporting Hope Centers of Grace in Pontiac.
coming up on October 19th – The Welcome Home Gala (Hope Against Trafficking), which will raise money to enable the Hope Against Trafficking organization to buy a number of safe houses in the Pontiac area for girls and women who have been rescued from captivity. They will be there and hope that you can attend, too.
trafficking and you just don’t recognize how to spot it. I’ve posted a guideline from the 
their Grand Opening special prices. You’ll be helping with the fight against human trafficking, too. You still have lots of time. They are open today until 8 PM. Say hi to Genise and Eric and thank them for their support of this great cause.
how men can help with this problems of human trafficking. The human trafficking problem is not just a women’s problem and sometimes men get frustrated when they start to understand the nature and the sized of the problem. Maybe this event will help with that frustration and anger.
worrying about something bad that might happen the cause for it not to happen? Do you see how silly that sounds? If you can see that in a third-party example, what do you think is the different if it is you worrying about something.
concern and the expenditure of energy without focus or purpose. Worry is trying to solve the unsolvable problem. Worry is man’s ego being unwilling to accept its own limitations and inability to control things that cannot be controlled.
fame and adoption his tag line – “What, me worry?” Or, you can take the advice of Bobby McFerrin’s song – 
NormsMilfordBlog 