Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

This letter was written by the former President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, to the Headmaster of the school in which his son was studying.

To,
The Headmaster

He will have to learn, I know,
That all men are not just,
All men are not true,
But teach him also,
That for every scoundrel there is a hero,
For every selfish politician,
There is a dedicated leader!

Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend,
It will take time I know but teach him if you can,
That a dollar earned is of far more value than five found!

Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning
Steer him away from envy, if you can
And teach him the secret of quiet laughter
Let him learn early, that the bullies are the easiest to lick!

Teach him if you can the wonder of books
But also give him time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
Bees in the sun and flowers on the green hillside
In school teach him it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat!

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas,
Even if everyone tells him they are wrong
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people
And tough with the tough!

Try to give my son the strength, not to follow the crowd
When everyone is getting into the bandwagon!

Teach him to listen to all men,
But teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth,
And take away the good that comes through!

Teach him if you can how to laugh when he is sad
Teach him there is no shame in tears!

Teach him to scoff at cynics,
And to beware of too much sweetness!

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest of bidders,
But never to put a price tag on his heart and soul!

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob
And to stand and fight if he thinks he is right!

Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him,
Because only the test of fire makes fine steel!

Let him have the courage to be impatient,
Let him have the patience to be brave!

Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
Because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind
This is big order but see what you can do
He is such a fine little fellow, my son!

Yours sincerely,
Abraham Lincoln

"If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast."

- Psalm 139:9-10

A old post that fits today.......

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.
Chase the Lion

Wisdom from a child

I asked my five year old niece, "What is a bridge"? She thought for a long time and then she said, "A bridge is when the ground falls out under you, and you build something to connect the cracks"

Leo F Buscaglia.

Your Dream

"There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.

"The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain. They didn't know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn't know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain.

"Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home.

"The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only a couple of hundred feet. Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.

"As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn't figured out how to climb.

"And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be?

"One man greeted her and said, 'We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn't do it?'

"She shrugged her shoulders and said, 'It wasn't your baby.'"

In the eyes of others, you dream may appear to be an impossible one, but it is not their dream. Protect your dream just as the lowlands mother protected her child and you will be successful.

This Sunday officially starts the season of Advent. It is one of my most favorite traditions. It is not something that I grew up celebrating, but one that since being introduced to, I love.

Advent is about slowing down, preparing the way, remembering what this season is all about. As a man who will soon celebrate the last birthday of his forties, I am learning a little more about taking in as much as you can, while you can

I love the lines from the movie City Slickers as quoted in the book The Body by Charles W. Colson

"Value this time in your life, kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices. It goes by fast.

When you’re a teenager, you think you can do anything (and you do.) Your twenties are a blur. In your thirties you raise your family, you make a little money, and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?"

In your forties, you grow a little pot belly, and you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud, and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. In your fifties, you have a minor surgery – you’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery. In your sixties, you’ll have a major surgery, the music is still loud, but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway.

In your seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale. You start eating dinner at 2:00 in the afternoon, you have lunch around 10:00, breakfast the night before, spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate frozen yogurt and muttering, "How come the kids don’t call? How come the kids don’t call?" In your eighties, you’ll have a major stroke, and you end up babbling with some Jamaican nurse who your wife can’t stand, but whom you call mama. Any questions?”

Ok, so hopefully I don’t end up like that, but I am not taking any chances ;-)
May you have a blessed Advent Season

Poem Leo Buscaglia - Only you can Make the difference

Leo Buscaglia is an author that I have followed for a long time. One of his quotes is:

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

-Leo Buscaglia

I have always loved his writing, but even more his speaking. he is a bit eccentric, with one central message LOVE. I found this old piece that is a great snap shop of his work. During these holidays may we take his message to heart.

Don't be afraid to go where you've never gone and do what you've never done, because both are necessary to have what you've never had and be who you've never been.

"I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside." Wayne Dyer