A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, January 28, 2016.

Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. Proverbs 28:26

Friends

On more than one occasion I have heard people say that they only trust themselves. It is quite the statement. It wreaks of bravado, confidence and that cool lone ranger quality of being self made and self assured. When people say it, they are proudly, defiantly claiming that nobody can hurt them because there is nobody that they trust enough to let them get close enough to hurt them or to betray them. While that seems admirable and also safe it does lead to one glaring liability.

While only trusting yourself and not allowing people close enough to hurt you seems safe, actually it is quite dangerous. You see, not letting people close enough to hurt you also does not let people close enough to help you either. People who trust only themselves don’t realize that it is wise to have someone who can help them, and help only comes through trust. To really allow someone to help you you have to let them in. They have to know your strengths, and your weakness. This means they will have the ability to hurt you, but also the greater ability to help you.

None of us want to put ourselves in the position to be harmed. We want to make sure that there is as little possibility of harm as possible as we go through our lives. That does not mean trusting nobody, that means finding the right people to trust. In the process of finding the right people you will stumble upon some of the wrong ones, you will get some cuts and bruises on the way, but in the end you will be stronger, wiser and have the wisdom of you and a few people called friends, so you wont have to walk alone again.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, January 22, 2016.

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 22:3

Let It Snow

So on Wednesday an awesome snow storm hit the greater Washington, D.C. area. It crippled the city. There were accidents everywhere. Twenty minute commutes took three hours. People were stuck in their offices over night. Tempers flared. People were frustrated. Insurance companies lost millions in the claims they were going to have to pay out. How much snow caused this catastrophe you ask, 1.5 inches. Yes, an inch and a half of snow crippled the nations’s capitol. We kind of.

You see what crippled the area was not the snow, it was the lack of planning and preparation. An inch and a half of snow over a few hours is not really that much. The problem is, when the temperature is well below freezing, snow hitting the ground immediately turns into ice. A pure sheet of ice. The municipalities of the area were so focused on a coming large storm days later that they forgot to pretreat the roads for the small dusting that was hitting at the time. This lack of preparation for the now, led to millions in damages, and a lot of very angry citizens. If the leaders had prepared for the now, none of this would have ever happened.

In life, as in snow storms, success comes to those who prepare. It is not enough to prepare for the big things down the road, you also have to prepare for the small things right in front of you. Laying the ground work for what is coming now, will keep you safe on the road ahead. They say a large snow storm is about to hit the east coast. Heres to hoping that we are better prepared for two feet than an inch and a half.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, January 20, 2016.

Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. Proverbs 20:4

Start Now

One of the blessings of my life is that I got to meet some very successful people when I was very young. I was amazed at what they had accomplished, but I was also amazed at how similar they all were. They were of different genders, ages, races, and cultures but they had a lot in common. They were all very focused. They were all dedicated to what they did. They all had a passion for being getting better at what they did every day. Last but not least, they all took a long time to be successful. That was the fascinating part to me. It took all of them a long time to get to where they were.

Some of these  people were called over night successes, and they all hated it. Each and every one of them will tell you it took years to be successful. They started small, failed often but kept working, growing and learning. They had days when they did not feel like doing what they had to, and days when they felt like quitting but they all kept going; for years. Yes, for years of being anonymous, underpaid, feeling like they might not make it, and wanting to give up they kept going and made it. They hated being called overnight successes because they knew that while it seemed like they got recognized overnight, there were years of hard work and preparation that got them to that overnight success.

If you are truly going to do something big, you have to start now. There is a road to success but you have to build it. Now is the season to work hard, make great sacrifices, pray often and keep pushing. Now is the time that sets the stage for the glories of later. The difference between the successful and the people who just talk about it is what they do now, not what they wear to the party later.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs. Proverbs 19:11

Your Best Self

It is not easy to overlook an offense. We all want to be the bigger person. We all want to take the high road. We even want to say that we will certainly turn the other cheek if we are wronged. The problem is, we typically say things like this when we have not been hurt, scathed or wronged. We say these things while we are comfortable, level headed and not all up in our feeling. Yes the calm, rational, unbothered us will certainly true the other cheek and be the bigger person, but that is not who we are when we are hurt.

When we have been slighted, scathed, or injured or otherwise wronged, we are not our best selves. When we are hurt, we are typically our worse selves. Our worst selves want revenge. Our worse selves, want to blame someone. Our worse selves are willing to fight, argue, fly off the handle and occasionally cuss a little. It is our worse selves that come out when pain hits, and that is typically when we can least afford our worse selves. It is when we are in pain, wronged and unhappy that we have to work to be our best selves. It is when the heat is on (shout our to Glen Frey, RIP) that we have to keep our composure, hold our peace and control our tempers.

Nobody has ever gain respect by going off. People don’t respect the expected, they respect the unexpected. The unexpected is when you keep your cool under fire. The unexpected is when you overlook a wrong as opposed to taking offense and revenge.  Being the bigger person is never easy. It requires that you think before you act, realize the long term issues, and remember that there is something after this. So the next time you are insulted, hurt or injured stop before you react. Get yourself together and be the person you say you are when you are not harmed while you are harmed. Be the person that turns the other cheek, lets it go, and overlooks the harm. If you do that, you will not only gain the respect of others, but you won’t have to worry about respecting yourself.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets yon no your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, January 14, 2016.

A peaceful heart  leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like a cancer in the bones. Proverbs 14:30

Comparison Shopping

We live in a world based on comparisons. Is this one better than that one. Does this one taste better than that one. Is this person the greatest of all time, or is that person the greatest of all time. We go round by round comparing things, trying to figure out what is the absolute best. We do it when we are looking at restaurants, cars, clothes, vacations, you name it we will find a way to compare it. It is that natural bent towards comparison that leads us many times not to just compare things we are looking to purchase but to compare lives to other people’s lives. Are we doing as well as they are? Are we as happy as they are? Do we have all the things that they have. When we come out on top we are fine, but when our comparisons leave us wanting they will often lead to one of the most dangerous things in lie, jealousy.

People often think that the root of jealousy is wanting what someone else has, or not thinking they deserve it. That is not true. The root of jealousy is not being happy with what you have. To be jealous, you not only have to want what someone has, you also have to be dissatisfied, with the things that you have. You have to look at the things that you have worked for, strived for, sacrificed for and been blessed with and say that’s not good enough. You have to look at the things you have earned and say, I want what they have. In short, you have to despise yourself, and want to be someone else.

There comes a time when you have to celebrate you. Living by comparison will never make you better, it will only make you feel superior to those with less and inferior to those who have more. True happiness and joy comes with being content and proud of who you are, where you are and what you have. If you want more, patiences, hard work and the hand of God will lead you to them. In the mean time, stop comparison shopping for a new life and have a joyful and grateful heart for what you already have. You’ll feel much better.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, January 13, 2016.

Wealth from get rich quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time. Proverbs 13:11

POWERBALL

There is a drawing, twice a week, every week, but you don’t hear about all of them. There are millions who buy a ticket every week, hoping that a dollar and a dream will be enough. People use favorite numbers, dream interpretations, birthdays, and all sorts of guessing and random chance to get just the right combination so that they can hit the POWERBALL. With the jackpot currently sitting over $1.5 BILLION everywhere you go there is POWERBALL fever. Everyone has a ticket. Everyone has a dream. Everyone has a plan for what they would do if they were to win. They know it would be life changing, and that being rich over night would be the best thing in the world. Maybe, maybe not.

Interestingly enough, many people who have actually won the lottery have said it made their life much worse than it was before. Beyond that, there is a huge number of lottery winners who after winning went broke. Sure, with $1.5 billion it isn’t likely that you would go broke, but it could happen. You see the problem with getting rich over night is you are not used to that kind of money. You don’t know what to do for taxes, or the people that will come out of the woodwork with their hands out, or the fame that will comes with being suddenly rich. Sure we all think it would be great, but it could be the worse thing that ever happened to you.

What most of us really want is not to get rich over night, but to have some long term financial security. We want a little less pressure with paying our bills. We want a little more flexibility and a little more disposable income for the little things we want. To have what you really want you don’t need to hit the lottery, you just need a little hard work. There are stories of janitors, maids, and all kinds of people who never had a lot of money, but they worked hard, stayed the course and over time wound up with more than enough. So if you’re playing the POWERBALL today, good luck, if you don’t win, work hard, spend less than you make, save a little and over time you’ll see you have more than enough.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Tuesday, January 12, 2016.

Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. Proverbs 12:15

Never Gonna Learn

On of my favorite things in movies is the soundtrack. An awesome soundtrack makes can make an average movie great and an great movie world class. A great soundtrack not only moves the film along, but also puts music into our consciousness and brings the movie back to life any time we hear it afterwards. Soundtracks have produced some of the greatest songs that we know. Who will ever forget “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic? Others of us remember, “End of The Road,” by Boys II Men, but we don’t realize that it is from the soundtrack to the movie Boomerang. But a great soundtrack is not just about the hit songs, sometimes it is the underlying music that we don’t even realize is there.

For instance every main character in a movie has theme music. It is the music that you hear when they make their big move, or when they finally triumph. For instance we all know Rocky’s theme when we hear it. We all know Superman’s theme when we hear it. When we hear the character’s theme music we know something is about to happen, good or bad, but it identifies them. In real life, there is a group of people who all have the same theme song, “My Way,” by Frank Sinatra. These people are called fools. You see the fool believes that their way is right, always. No matter what, they are right and the thoughts and opinions of others do not matter at all. They are going to do it their way and that it that.

We should all have our opinion, and our positions. We should not be easily swayed from what we believe either. While both of those statements are true, only a fool sticks to their own way and can’t accept any advice from others. You see it is only a fool who is not willing to accept new information, receive new viewpoints, or change their opinion under any circumstances. Ultimately, a wise person does it their way, but they do it with a lot of help. A fool just does it their way.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Monday, January 11, 2016.

It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet. Proverbs 11:12

Silence Is Golden

We all know people who if talking were an olympic sport would be multiple time gold medalist. They are always willing to talk, talk, talk, talk talk. See them in person they are willing to talk. They are willing to call you on your cell or on your landline just to talk. When they are somewhere that they can’t talk, the resort to text and e-mail just to keep the conversation going. These people can be incredibly funny, informative, amusing, friendly and occasionally dangerous. Yes, dangerous.

The danger with people who are constant talkers is they always need something to talk about. They will talk about the weather. They will talk about current events. They will talk about themselves. Seems harmless enough right. The danger is, when they run out of event, weather, and stories about themselves they will often start to talk about people. They will talk about what they know, what they don’t know, what they think and what they heard, just to keep talking. Seems harmless enough, and could be pretty interesting, but you also have to remember that if they will talk to you, when you’re gone they talk about you.

There are times then you have to stop listening, so they will stop talking. Without an audience, the constant talker finally has to stop talking. There is nobody listening so finally they run out of reasons to talk. So the next time you find a constant talker, remind them, silence is golden and walk away.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Friday, January 8, 2016.

My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. Proverbs 8:8

This Might Hurt A Little

If you have ever been to court or seen a court room movie you have seen someone get sworn in to testify. It is always a dramatic event. The witness comes to the stand. They sit in the box and then someone comes over to them. They are asked to stand and raise their hand and give an oath. The oath always has some blend of these words worked in, “Do you swear that what you are about it to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” The witness says yes, and only then can the questioning begin.

It is fascinating that witness have to swear to tell, “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” You would think that telling the truth would be enough, but we all know that it is not. We live in a world where people have a version of the truth, their personal truth, and shades of the truth. In other words, the truth may not be actually the truth, so we need to make sure that you know we are asking for all of the the truth, not a version of the truth.

The problem is, there are times that the truth hurts, but you still need to hear it. The joy of wisdom is that it promises not to give you a version of the truth, but the actual truth. Wisdom promises that there will be nothing tainted, in what it says, nothing devious in what it says, and nothing crooked in what it says. In short, wisdom promises to give it to you straight. What we have to do is be prepared for the fact that the truth may hurt, you may not like it, but the truth will still set you free.

Be Blessed,

Rev

A Proverb a day gets you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, January 7, 2016.

So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. Proverbs 7:21

Flattery Will Get You In Trouble

There is an interesting old saying, “Flattery will get you nowhere.” There is also an equally old saying, “Flattery will get you everywhere.” Whats fascinating is that these equally old saying are both correct, yet they say opposite things. For some people being flattered does not move them. You can compliment them all you want but it is not going to make them budge one inch. No amount of kind words, compliments, or good sayings will make them move from who they are and that they have to do.

By contrast there are some people who’s lives revolve around flattery. A nice word, a wink, a compliment is all they need. That is enough to make them break the rules change their mind, and go out of their way just because you said something nice. Saying something nice to some people will open doors, get you access to places and that ability to do things that you may never have dreamed of. So which is it? Does flattery get you everywhere or nowhere?

At the end of the day, it depends on the person. Some people are so starved for attention that any compliment is enough to get them to move. Some people are so secure that sweet words don’t move them. The question is not does flattery work, the question is what kind of person are you? It is always nice to hear nice things about yourself, and compliments are fun to get, but they can get you in trouble. If you are too dependent on compliments they will lead you int he wrong place and the wrong direction. So be careful how you use flattery, and moreover be really careful how you accept flattery.

Be Blessed,

Rev