From a recent post on the Jack’s Winning Words blog comes this bit of good advice – “If you get caught up in the things you have no control over it will affect adversely the things you do have control over.” (Duffy Daugherty)
Jack went on to write about the article that he read that quote in and how the author used two lists side by side to give examples of those things. That is called a Franklin Chart 
because Ben Franklin made popular the idea of making comparisons of alternatives using lists like their attributes or the good and bad of a decision for either alternative. I often use a Franklin Chart in me real estate business to show sellers the pluses and minuses that I see for their houses, as a method of justifying my assessment of its market value.
In life we are often confronted by situations or events over which we really have no control. Unfortunately, our innate curiosity and ego-driven belief in our ability to find a solution, often drive us to expend enormous amounts of time and energy in pursuit of understanding and controlling things that we really have no control over at all. In times like that, we need to get over to the right side of the lists, to the things that we can control.
On the left side of the list (the things that we can’t control) are some obvious entries – the weather, political elections, the stock market, a loved one’s death, things that have already happened, and someone else’s actions. One the right side of the chart (the things we do control), you should find this entry at or near the top of the list – how you react to things that happen. That is really one thing that you have total control over.
Desperately trying to find answers to why things happen on the left side of the list or
seeking solutions to things on that list that cannot be solved leads only to frustration, anger and depression. Letting go of those fixations about knowing or solving life’s mysteries frees you to get on with your life; it allows you to focus upon the things that you can control – how you deal with things in life. If you get the reaction part right, that will also allow you to spend more time on the pro-active parts of life – doing good with your life, instead of just reacting to bad.
Maybe you have been worrying about a bunch of things, or perhaps you have been 
struggling to understand some bad things that have happened in your life (maybe the breakup of a relationship or marriage or even a death in the family). Perhaps you have been stubbornly beating your head against the frustrating wall of denial or disbelief in search for answers or solutions. Maybe it’s time to right those things down. Put them all on the left hand side of your chart. Now, look over to the right hand side of the chart and focus upon the enties there.
I wrote recently about the best advice for dealing with these situations and that advice should be there, on the right hand side of your chart (probably right at the top), and it should be in bolded font and underlined – Not my will, but thy will be done. See my post – https://normsmilfordblog.com/2016/11/10/take-care-of-yourself/
The bedrock of focusing upon how you react to things that happen to you in your life is to accept God’s role and God’s will in those things. Trying to understand why they happened 
or to change what has happened is fighting a losing battle against God’s will. Accepting that those events were God’s will, that they have happened and that they cannot be changed is a key step towards the right side of the chart. Once there you can ask for God’s help with how you react to them.
Some of the most amazing stories that I’ve ever read or seen were about people who had every reason in the world to be angry, sad, frustrated and mad at the loss of a loved one at the hand of another person. The amazing part came when they forgave that person who took the life of their loved one. I’m sure that most of you have heard of those stories, too. Which side of the chart do you think their forgiveness came from? Did you notice the sense of peace and closure that they exuded as they told of their decision to
forgive that person? Were you even able to relate to their decision?
As you start out a new week, let go of the issues of your past and get on the right side of the chart. Get focused upon the things that you can control and leave the rest in God’s hands.
Posted by Norm Werner 
amount of analytical effort, no matter how “scientific” is it touted to be, will really allow you to predict the future and certainly nothing that you do while sitting and worrying about it will change the future. The only thing that you can do to have an impact on your future is take actions today that will change your personal impact on the world.
priest and the Levite did the man whom the Samaritan helped? You have choices all day long, every day, between doing right or wrong, good or evil, something or nothing, helping or ignoring. All of those choices are much more important than spending time worrying about the future.
God that is occurring all round you. Both of those efforts are foolhardy and egotistical acts of defiance against the will of God. Perhaps, instead of worrying about other things; you should be praying, “God, help me to be all that you want me to be today.” You’ll end up being a happier and better person and the world around you will take care of itself and seem to be a better place, too.
what this will mean to them. Many went to bed not knowing the outcome; some did not go to bed at all. And then the sun came up.
themselves for their common good and the good of the world. We print the foundation of our beliefs as a people on our money – In God we Trust.
or facts, but rather have to do with highly personal and emotional feelings and memories that we keep tucked away in our hearts. Perhaps they are the things that we place in God’s hands, as Luther suggested.
up in our hearts again. Maybe that’s God saying to us, “Do you remember when we did this together?”
I’ve posted here before about dealing with life’s setbacks or roadblocks and one key thing that may not have been said as well as Jack’s post puts it is the ability to erase it (put it behind you) and move on – to be given a new leaf or to give yourself a new leaf and not to dwell on your past failures or disappointments. Use your eraser.
have happened in the past. There is no real way to do what they do on the TV program Timeline and go back in time to make things different, so why waste a lot of time beating yourself up for your past mistakes. They happened and you don’t get a do-over. You do still have the opportunity to do-better in the future. Use your eraser.
Some spend their time looking for scapegoats – someone else to blame those things on. Still others just can’t give themselves a break and make bad decisions worse by beating themselves up over and over again. A few get bogged down in a bad case of the coulda, woudla, shoulda’s and can’t seem to get out. Use your eraser.
and the ability to go on, forgiven and renewed. Perhaps the best explanation for that metaphor is that God is the Great Eraser and prayer is the way you use it. If you honestly pray for forgiveness God will grant that to you and grant you the peace to go on with your life. Use your Eraser.
Groucho’s saying certainly rings true during this silly season of politics. If you believe all of the political ads that are being run on TV there’s not an honest, trustworthy politician running from either party. None of them are running many ads that focus upon what they might do if elected; however, all of them are warning us about the dangers of electing the scum bags that they are running against. If you believe one political attack add, you might as well believe them all.
isn’t soccer practice or a match that morning.
however, how much better and more intimate a setting for that experience is the comfort and quiet of your own house. It is there that you can have those meaningful, one-on-one experiences with God that shape your life and help you solve your problems.
press was the new media of Luther’s day, and he was a savvy user. 500 years ago today Martin nailed 95 theses (sort of long tweets) to a church door stating why he thought the Catholic Church should change. The Catholic/Protestant split was underway. If you want to see what he posted, 
Long before the printing press was invented there were hand-scribed records of things and even books. Before even that time most of history was preserved in verbal stories and songs. The Psalms in the Bible likely existed for some time as songs before being written down. And, though longer than a Tweet, Jesus used short stories or parables to get his points across. These days they might have included #Jesus #Believe.
not just in mankind. They also saw a caring, loving God who provided for them and watched over them and all of the inhabitants of the earth. Their view of the Great Spirit didn’t have the pronoun ze, but it lacked the need to be classified by gender or even by species.
Pharisees of the day in condemning Jesus for befriending and eating with tax collectors.
politics. Both presidential candidates, and indeed most candidates for any office at all levels, tend to resort to mudslinging against their opponents, rather than focus upon what they would do if elected. The game seems to be trying to make the opponent seem like the worse choice because they have sinned differently than you. Our country has a rich history of this type of behavior, going back to the founding fathers. These days the mud being slung is not about getting in bed with slaves, but getting in bed with wealthy donors and selling out votes on issues (although there is still a lot of bedroom or locker room talk). Focus on the right things.
us. Perhaps it is just what color or race or religion or sexual orientation they may have been born to or adopted. Perhaps it is how they choose to dress or to act. Maybe it is how they talk or what they have to say that we find offensive because it is different from our notion of things. Whatever it is we find offensive or sinful, it is likely because it is different from us. We let those differences become the focus of our relationship with them. Focus on the right things.
If you must judge someone, buy a hand mirror and hold it up in front of you. Get the person that you see in that mirror straightened out before you worry about the actions, beliefs or sins of others. I suspect that, if you focus on following the two great commandments, you will find that your concerns about the sins of others will fade away and hopefully your own sins fade, too. Focus on the right things.
could learn from our dogs and focus on the right things.
It’s a new day and a new week. Let’s get started off on both on the right foot. I found some quotes that all point in that same direction:
do that so that you can focus upon what’s coming up or at you today and this week. Hopefully you learned something from what happened last week and stored that knowledge away for future use; however, you needn’t dwell upon it and let it distract you from what is ahead.
So, let us resolve that tomorrow is behind us, along with whatever disappointments or failures or pains that it brought. We have not failed yet today. We have not disappointed yet today. We have not yet experienced any pain today. What happens today or how we react to things today is still within our control. Seize the day! Own it! It is yours to make of it what you will. Perhaps we should start today and every day with this thought from Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
NormsMilfordBlog 