Sunday Songs - Everybody Dance

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Just Write!

I'm a writer. I write.

It's taken me long enough, but I've finally figured out who I am and what I'm supposed to do.

Do you know what you're supposed to do?

Famous Names

Have you ever heard of any of these famous names?

Woolworth
Wrigley
Edison
Lincoln
Carnegie
Rockefeller
Ford
Gillette
Eastman
Hearst
Fleishmann
Wright
Pullman

These famous people were listed in a book written in 1928 by Napoleon Hill called "The Law of Success". And now, some 85 years later, these names are still famous. 

Why?

That's My Story, and I'm Sticking to It

But it's not just my story, it's yours too.

You see, you, my friend are a story writer.

Whaaa? I don't write, you say.

Be that as it may, you still write stories.

See, for any given situation in life, there's what happened and there's the story we have about it.

What Do I Mean by the Story?

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Words Have Power, Part 2

I don't know about you, but I like to hear "good morning" first thing in the morning. Not "honey we need to..." or "something's wrong with..." or any other such thing. Just "good morning." In fact, I've been known on occasion, when I have not heard those words as the first communication of the day, to mutter a sarcastic "good morning to you too."

Point being that, for better or for worse, words affect my mood. I know I shouldn't let them. But even when I transcend my gut reaction, the fact remains that I had to transcend something. I never have to transcend a pleasant "good morning."

And when I do transcend my grumpy tendencies, I do that with words too. I talk myself out of it.

Words Affect You, Too

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What I Learned From Cousin Jimmy

I learned recently that my cousin Jimmy passed away. He was actually my cousin's son, but we were nearly the same age and I always referred to him as my cousin. I learned a lot from him. And the weird thing is, I hadn't seen him in probably 30 years.

I think the things we've learned as children tend to stick with us, so those are the things that come to mind now when I think about Jimmy.

Click here to find out what I learned...

The Power of Words

Words Have Power

Today I'm going to give you some examples of the power of words. Proverbs 18:21 says "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." That's not an airy fairy platitude. That's real.

Consider that I found that verse through Google. How? By typing words. Consider that the entire Google empire is built on something as simple as words.

So I'm going to share with you some of my favorite stories and videos that help demonstrate the power of words...

Same Message, Different Words

(if preview doesn't load, click title to view)

I realize this video is fictional, but it does demonstrate how altering just a few words can alter not only our perspective but the perspective of others.

An Inspiring Story About the Lasting Impact of Words by Sister Helen Mrosla (Topeka Capitol-Journal, 1998)

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Joy in CVS?

Incredible.

I stopped by CVS this afternoon and I was just checking out when I heard a voice behind me...

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This is a continuation of a previous post. If you haven't read Part 1, read it here.

So how do we upgrade our lives? We install the Spirit of God into our system - our hardware. We have a spirit as human beings, but with that spirit comes a maximum capacity for processing things like love, forgiveness, self - control. You may have noticed, also, that those virtues can take a measure of effort on our part, sometimes a greater measure that we are willing to spend.

When we install the Spirit of God into our lives, we have access to GOD'S capacity for love, forgiveness, peace, power - which of course is infinite. Having access to that infinite reserve gives us the opportunity to be different, to act differently, even to feel differently.

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Upgrades, Part 1

I have a particular way of looking at myself and at life that not everyone has, and I wanted to share how I came to that way of thinking. Let me share a metaphor first, then I'll fill in the details.

I used to work in computer support, and when I would diagnose a computer problem, the solution often came down to one of two options. One solution is to upgrade the operating system or other software such as virus protection. Sometimes people just can't accomplish what they want to do using the operating system that they have. 

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Time to Refi?

Last night we completed the final steps in refinancing our house. When we got into our loan, the rates weren't terrible, but they're better now, and by re-financing we'll be able to save a bit of money monthly and even more over the long haul.

Then I got to thinking - where else do we need to "refi" our lives? In this case, we can consider it short for "refining", because it's not just in the financial sense that I'm thinking.

I'll give you an example. Tonight I'm preparing to facilitate possibly the first online small group meeting for our church. This would not have been possible without a life refi.

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For Grownups

This issue is for grownups, or adults who want to be, and it includes a possible spoiler for the movie There's Something About Mary, which is rated R. So I'll give you a minute to decide if you want to continue reading.

Ready? OK...

I'm sitting here, expecting to hear the mild chug, chug, chug of my printer. I sent a document, and the next logical thing to happen is to hear that sound, and a moment later, to pick up the document I printed.

But I'm not hearing the chug, chug. Something is wrong.

I'm not troubleshooting it - not yet. I'll do that in a few minutes.

Right now, I'm just pondering it.

How frustrating is it when you take the actions you think you're supposed to take, but you don't get the results you're expecting? Sometimes it's so frustrating, we don't even bother with troubleshooting. We just give up.

The problem with that is that some of the results we want are not dependent only on the effort we put in. They are dependent on what we're giving out.

Just as water naturally flows downhill, prosperity, success, and love naturally flow outward. If you want more of them, you actually first have to have an outlet to express them.

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Count Your Blessings

I did not author this, and as far as I can tell, the original author is anonymous. I found this particular version here: http://www.robinsweb.com/inspiration/countyourblessings.html. I'm inviting you to read this in a particular way, even if you've read it before. After each section, pause and spend some time just being grateful.

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You're Probably Wrong

Here's a little something I learned personally from the highest authority in personal and professional development. No surprise that it's been reiterated in many forms by many other authorities in personal and professional development. Short version: you just might be wrong. To be more blunt, you're probably wrong.

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Winning At Life

Here are some of my tips for winning the game of life.

You may not agree with everything I say here, or how I say it, but in the words a great motivational speaker, "let the one who has ears to hear, hear." I'm a pretty straight shooter, and not everyone can handle that. Doesn't bother me.

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Go Get It!

This is me, going out on a limb.

I've had lots of great ideas, and not a lot of great results. So far. Just today I was searching through products that have been invented by others, but I'm fairly certain I thought of them first. What made today different than any other day is that today I did something about it.

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