A Glass Of Milk-Paid In Full

I decided that this story that I recently read would be appropriate to share.

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”
As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.
After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:  “Paid in full with one glass of milk”

Every Step

Their first steps are an incredible experience and all of the steps that follow are exciting. It seems like just yesterday that our children were taking those 'first' steps that were anticipated. The freedom that would come by the independence they would gain. Was the independence for them or for me?
I am forty now and I read every day that someone else has passed away and they are my age and younger. It is a gentle reminder that the steps we take today need to count for something. Life is full, literally, and there are many things to do but I want to live today with purpose and meaning.
I am grateful for guidance and direction that I feel in my life. There is a Plan and by following that Plan life is always worth living. The everyday steps mean something and contribute to constant growth.
Do something today that has purpose not only for you but for someone else.
Today is the time to do my best and tomorrow I will pick up where I left off and continue to strive to do my best. It's all that is asked. One foot in front of the other.

You Can Do It

I am fortunate enough to have be blessed with the ability to be comfortable around other people.  There are people that we all know who don't feel that same way.  They are terrified when it comes to interacting with others, in fact, they would rather do about anything else.
I met a man named Moses Oliver from Charleston, South Carolina.  He is a large African-American man who is very shy and keeps to himself.  We were asked to introduce ourselves in front of a class size of 38 people.  Moses was terrified by this.  He and I talked and he told me that he was big and strong and that there were only a few things that really scared him and speaking in front of people was one of those fears.
He did get up and fulfill the assignment given to him.  He did a great job and he expressed himself very well.
The tough things get easier the more that you do them.  I watched Moses begin to overcome his own fear.
If you have a fear take the time to practice to overcome it.

It's A Big Circle

We all take turns with the various opportunities that we are given to help and to serve.  I talked with a person who is spending their time helping out at a homeless shelter here in the Salt Lake Valley.  She is having a great time serving those who are less fortunate.  She told me that with the 'highs' of service come the sorrow at the situations these people are in, all varying of course. 
You've probably had some great experiences with helping others.  You will continue to have those with each passing day.  To be in the service of somebody else is one of life's greatest blessings crowned with a lot of happiness and joy.
I love to help others. 

Team Work

I attended a training opportunity in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a week long course and the training was done in a team-oriented environment. Each day I was teamed with five other people where we would discuss the various topics that were given to us. It was a valuable opportunity where I learned a great deal about myself and about others. I like to think of the grand possibilities that can come when we work as a team. I was a member of a intramural flag football team, back in Junior High School. We played at lunch time. I was very small but I could run pretty fast. I will never forget the team that I was assigned to. Nobody was big and we were not 'stacked' with the most football talent. A coach told us that we ought to find our strengths and then go to work on creating the right combinations so that we would be competitive. I must admit that I was apprehensive about our chances to be anywhere near being competitive. We had a girl on our team who had some vision on our possibilities. We began to work together and form some 'plays' that would bring out the best in the talent that we had. We played our first game and we handled the team quite easily. The second, third, fourth. We beat them all. Within a couple of weeks we saw our team play competitively. It was a fun time and a lesson was taught to me personally. Do your very best with what you have and everything will be okay. I believe that even today.

The Picture

Our family went and visited my grandparents while my mom and dad were in town. My grandparents are elderly people. I am amazed at the flow of genetics that runs so deep in who we are.
My dad took a picture with me next to my grandpa. I got a lot of my physical appearance from his gene pool. As I looked at his old body and his once very large and physically strong hands I realized that they are now feeble looking and the strength has minimized. It is hard to imagine that just a short season ago I wondered if my grandpa and grandma would ever get old. They were both very active. Age has caught up to them and now they are slowed by the many activities in the years that are passed.
I am grateful for the gift of time and the opportunities for learning and growth. There is in each of us a similar gene pool that will be carried from us to one of our family members. Time races by swiftly and the only thing we have control of is today. Make today the very best that it can be. Make a difference! Somebody needs you and what you have to offer them will make all the difference.

What Club Should I Use?

I went golfing with my dad and a cousin. We had a great time and, as usual, I played 'all' of the course. Golf is a humbling game but one that I enjoyed a great deal. I set up for a shot and I had just over 100 yards to the flag. I told my cousin Scott that I figured I would pull out my 10 iron. I have to do that at least one time during the round. I normally hit with that club when I'm no further than 80 yards out. I thought that I could 'muscle' the shot a little. I hit it nicely but in the air I could see that it was going to come up short of the green.
You are wondering what this game of golf has to do with my blog? There are hundreds of different possibilities in the game of golf. From shot to shot there are various angles and a lot of thought that must be considered to come up with what you hope will be the perfect shot. Life is very similiar to golf. There are many right ways to do things and there are some bad ways too. It is up to us to study things out, make a solid decision, and then carry out the decision that we made. With consistency, good decision-making, and proper execution, life seems to play out in a relatively good way. That doesn't mean that a 'bunker' isn't somewhere on the course but even then there are ways to get out of the sand of life. From one shot to the next take a good look at your club selection. The shots that you make will have bearing on how you feel your life is going. I'm grateful for my life and the shots that I face each and every day.