The two quotes that inspired me today both came from my favorite source for inspirational quotes – the Jack’s Winning Words blog.
“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” (Mother Teresa)
– and –
“How you matter is defined by the things that matter to you.” (John Green)
The first quote by Mother Teresa is the trap that most of us fall into most of the time – being a nobody to the people that we meet in our day-to-day lives. It’s not that we consciously set out to be a nobody; it’s more that we don’t make the effort necessary to be a somebody in the lives of those that we encounter during the day. Perhaps you could understand this better by asking yourself this simple question – “Who do I remember encountering from yesterday and why do I remember them?”
I suspect that you will begin to realize that those who made a lasting impression upon you were those who took the time to interact with you, to greet you and to listen to you when you spoke. That is normally an interaction with more content to it than just a cursory “Hi, how ya doing?” exchange as you passed. The second quote comes into play at the point when you realize that what matters to you is your interaction with others that you meet. If you place your relationships with others above your pursuit of money or things, you will find that you matter to them, too.
At the core of Green’s quote is the concept of your moral priorities – the things that matter to you. Basing those priorities on anything other than a strong belief in God as the bedrock for your life is like building your house on sand. It will be a life of shifting values that will eventually collapse. If you start out with your number one priority being your relationship with God, through your acceptance of Jesus as your savior; you will not find the accumulation of material possessions anywhere on your priority list of things 
that matter. You are more likely to have a list of things that you want to do for others and priorities based upon loving, sharing and helping.
Once those things become what matters to you and you starting acting on those priorities, you will find that you matter a whole lot more to those whom you meet and they will matter a whole lot more to you. You will no longer be a nobody to anybody that you encounter. Being somebody isn’t about what you have in life; it’s about what you do in life that impacts others. There ae tons of bible verses about caring for others and sharing with others; but, I don’t think there are any about making as much money as you can and buying as many things as you can. Those things didn’t matter to Jesus and God; why should they matter to you? It’s better to be somebody who matters to somebody else.
Have a great weekend and go out and be somebody.
Posted by Norm Werner 
more modern terms it would be WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get.
ective of that statement. Ask yourself in whose eyes are you judging your worthiness? Then take the time to recall that you are so worthy in God’s eye that He gave his only son to atone for your sins and to save you. That should make you feel worthy in any situation and free you to live a WYSIWYG life. If you can do that, the next step of accepting others as they are is easy.
living in the most natural state of human rights. Anywhere else, where people are given, or have free access to, things above the subsistence level by the society they live in, is an example of privileges being extended by that society and not examples of people having rights to those things.
One can get in the right frame of mind about life by starting each day with a little “thank you” prayer to God for allowing you to awaken to another day. You weren’t even entitled to that day, so right away you have been given a gift to enjoy. Everything beyond that is just something that you should enjoy and be thankful for having. So, take the advice from today’s quote and make the best of everything that you have; rather than spend your time and energy worrying about things that you don’t have. God has just given you the most precious thing that money can’t buy and which isn’t a right – time. Use your time today wisely; be thankful and happy and make the best of what you have.
chasing, some other shiny thing catches our attention and off we go again. Most people will probably admit that getting the thing of our desires was not as satisfactory as they thought that it might be. In fact, quite often, they will say that the pursuit was the real satisfying part. But, is the pursuit of material things that we don’t really care about once that are obtained really a good use of our time?
feel better? We have a little saying in the ELCA church that is used in many churches – “God’s work, our hands.” The real significance of that saying is that, by doing those things that need to be done in your community to help others, you bring yourself closer to God by becoming the hands through which He achieves his miraculous work. This world that we live in is the job site and God is the site manager, doling out the jobs that need to be done and helping direct their accomplishment. You can’t find a better boss to work for and the benefits are great, both now and later.
go every day and then too busy to go 3 times a week and now I really have to make a special effort to go twice a week.
the practice of it in our daily lives can become victims of life’s changes and distractions, if we don’t make a special effort to recognize God as the central constant in our lives. For most that means taking time out once a week to attend church.
baseball or other sports (hockey in the winter) that are now played or practiced on Sunday mornings. One could hope that somehow the families involved took time later in the day to home school their children on the importance of God and religion in their lives, but I suspect that is more of a dream than a real hope.
or try that new sport because we don’t know enough about them and fear the consequences of those unknowns.
encounter in life; however, our imaginations at too often limited by our understanding of the physical world around us and the knowledge that we might have accumulated in life. We tend to frame things, including our ability to imagine life after death in very restrictive human terms. Some religions have very elaborate descriptions of life after death that imagine things almost completely in normal human terms. Other religions define the afterlife in terms that not even they understand. Even Christian religion uses descriptions of the afterlife in heaven that the common man might relate to – a “house with many rooms”; however, it is also alluded to a “peace that passes all understanding”.
of a tunnel. We do all that we can to imagine it as something warm and bright and comfortable, because we are trying to overcome our fear of the unknown. If any and all of that makes you feel better about it, imagine away; however, know that it is your faith that there is a life after death, that you will be with Jesus in His Father’s House and that your earthly fears and concerns and pains will all drop away.
main difference is that “placing hope in God” is actually placing your faith in God. After all, who are you asking when you wish for something without a belief in God? Who will grant your wish? To whom do you turn when you have a dream of a better life? Hope based upon faith provides clear instructions on where to take your wishes and dreams and how to ask for what you need and want.
category of our passions – the things of this world that we sometimes think are so important. We might pray to win the Lotto or we might pray for a new car or for other material things, rather than praying that God help us do the right things in life and trust that He will provide all that we really need. The key is having faith first and allowing that faith to guide what you ask God for in your prayers. Base your hopes on faith and they will be fulfilled –
watchers come out to see it. The parade, which used to attract up to 100 entries every year is down to less than half of that number and continuing to shrink.
success in a career that one loses sight of why they are working in the first place – they lose touch with the family that they point to as the reason for their hard work They become so busy that their life and that of those they love becomes barren.
being happy? Is your busy life really fulfilling or has being busy all the time left it barren?
There is only one solution to this problem and that is to just say no to the next busy thing that is demanding your time and instead take the time to go to church or to march in or watch the parade or to do the other things that aren’t on a To-Do list. Slow down, catch your breath, take time to think about and appreciate the things and people that are around you. You need not be busy 24/7. Life is not about being busy all the time. While most of you may not even know who he was, this quote by Eddie Cantor seems an appropriate way to end this post – “Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” 
NormsMilfordBlog 