Be Careful around Books

Books are dangerous.  They sometimes awaken the dead.

Books enlighten, enrapture, educate and

illuminate.

Oh my.  We must be careful around books.

You do see, don’t you, that it is the WORDS inside the books that explode and create change. 

Words have power.  Words change minds and hearts.  They enlighten and educate.  They encourage and inspire.

Yes indeed.  Books can cause all kinds of havoc. 

On the other hand … what has a book ever done in your life?

I could name names.  Perhaps I should.

~The Bible is a torch light in my life

~How to Win Friends and Influence People has given me some solid grounding in my people skills.

~The Ragamuffin Gospel has opened up the world of grace to me.

~Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly has helped me understand and deal with shame.

~Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success have given me solid mind conditioning.

~Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World gave me ten principles for a lifetime of living.

I could go on, and if you are familiar with any of these titles, you already understand the power of the words they contain.

If you read, read wisely and with an open mind.

If you don’t read, find the time and make a commitment to yourself to begin this week.

Books are important.

The words inside of them are more important.

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Never Throw Out Anyone

In case you wanted to know, this is a humanity post, not a religious post.

You see, I believe in the worth of every human being.  The foundation for today’s idea rests on this quote.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, 

renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; 

never throw out anyone.

~Audrey Hepburn

One would expect churches to proclaim this concept.  After all, they should be the first place we look when we talk about redemption. 

Honestly, though, shouldn’t we all be interested in redemption?  Haven’t we all needed redemption from time to time? 

Sometimes we are quick to toss someone overboard because they slipped.  The slip could have been a moral slip, and it just as easily could have been a performance slip.  Maybe someone disappointed you.  Maybe someone tells you one thing yet leans in another direction.

Carolyn teaches piano.  She is as much a counselor, a listening ear, a confidant, and a wise and trusted adult as much as she is a great pianist.  Students have come to trust her.  They trust her confidentiality, they trust her wisdom and they trust her love.  AND … they learn piano too.  How awesome is that!

She has never and will never toss a student out for having a troubled life, or for breaking down in tears because of a bad day or a troubling problem with parents.

Aren’t you glad you haven’t been thrown out.  I am.  I’ve had my bad moments.  I’ve had my times of distress.  I’ve had a few failures, and yet I’m still loved and accepted. 

I’ve needed re-tweaking, I’ve needed better role models, a better manual, a new understanding on the task at hand.  And thankfully I’ve received all of that and more.

It amazes me how companies sometimes will release a trained employee rather than revive them, retrain them, and restore them. 

I’m all about finding ways to redeem individuals.  And I’m seeing it work in a friend or two.  I have a near-homeless friend to whom I occasionally loan money.  I say “loan” because that is exactly what it is.  And he pays me back.  He presently owes me seventy bucks.  Just two days ago he mentioned a repayment schedule that sounds pretty good to me and our past history tells me he will come through. 

People will disappoint.

People will show their ugly side.

People will lie and cheat.

People will fail to deliver at crucial moments.

And they still need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed.

Toss someone overboard?

I say … help them find their sweet spot.  What are they good at doing?

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

But What If You Can

The negative ninnies abound.  They will tell you in a New York minute what you can’t do.  Their mantra’s go like this:

It’s already be done before.

Who do you think you are?

What makes you think you can do this?

Are you crazy? Don’t waste your time.

These are only words.  They are just voices, and sooner or later you have to tune them out and do that thing you desire to do anyway. 

The question is this … What if I can do this

thing that burns in my heart?

What if I really have a unique view, twist, angle, or idea and what if it works?

Of course, I’ve tried and failed at some goals in life.  And now I know what didn’t work.  And look what I learned. 

You too can learn.  Each attempt toward a goal is a strengthening exercise.  It is a step in the right direction.

And if you learn along the way that this is not for you, so what? 

But what if you can do and accomplish your ideal?

That is where the magic lives!

P Michael Biggs

It's All About People Blog Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time