“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.”

- Benjamin Franklin

Teaching is about broadening knowledge and helping increase the desire and ability to learn, as well as the propensity to grow, help and contribute.

Worry Too Much? Here are some tips:

• Hope for the best
• Prepare for the worst
• Write down your worries
• Recognize that worrying simply isn't worth your time
• Take it one day at a time
• Trust yourself
• Find someone else to help you
• Stay busy ... and happy :)
• Exercise, move, do!
• Find faith ... keep faith ... share faith

One Hundred Years from now ...

it will not matter what your bank account was,
the size of house you lived in,
or the kind of car you drove.
But the world may be different because
you were important in the life of a
C H I L D

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.”

- Tom Krause

My Grace is Sufficient

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed.”

- unknown soldier

http://doableevangelism.com/2009/03/09/my-grace-is-sufficient/

How much is a smile really worth?

Not in monetary value, either. I mean, how much is it worth? Smile ... now. How does that make you feel? If you did it whole-heartedly, it made you feel better than you felt a few seconds ago. Seriously. If you didn't do it whole-heartedly, then fake it. Do it again. Smile for someone else. Make their day. Make them smile ... or stand up a bit taller ... or at least feel a bit better.

For the value, it's the best thing you can do today. Smile!

Smile at kids. Smile at adults. Smile at co-workers. Smile at strangers. Smile at your neighbors. Do it. Genuinely ... do ... it! Make someone else's day. Make your own.

It's your attitude. As they say, "Fake it, until it's for real!"

:)

TAKE A WALK IN MY SHOES

by Susan Drumright

I am a kid with Down syndrome. It is not something I could choose.
I'd like you to know me better. Would you take a walk in my shoes?

Down syndrome affects my body from my muscles to my brain.
But I'm more like you than I'm not. Come with me and I'll explain.

Let's take a walk together and you can see things through my eyes.
Look we both have Nikes on and we even wear the same size!

As we walk listen carefully, I'll be teaching you about me.
Together we can have some fun, but your help will be the key.

Be patient as I am talking. I often get tongue-tied.
If you can wait long enough, you'll see we're the same inside.

In school I'm often frustrated, learning stuff that's new.
Learning isn't as easy for me as it seems to be for you.

So if you see that I'm in trouble and I need a little clue.
Try drawing me a picture or showing me what to do.

Don't worry if I tell you, "No thanks, I don't want a hand."
I like to do things for myself. My motto is: "I CAN!"

But you can always help me by cheering for my success.
Just like I'll cheer for you when you score a goal or ace a test.

Smiles, hugs, pats-on-the-back...they all make me grin.
I'll give back all these things to you, multiplied by ten.

My world is full of fun things, like movies, pizzas, swings.
It's great to have a friend to share in what each day brings.

Thank you for walking in my shoes. I wanted you to see.
I really need a friend like you who likes me just as me.

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

- Benjamin Franklin

“What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”

- Eleanor Powell

A Religious Hunter

A man was out hunting bears. As he trudged through the forest looking for the beasts, he came upon a large and steep hill. Thinking that a bear might possibly be on the other side, he climbed the hill. Just as he was pulling himself up over the last outcropping of rocks, a huge bear met him nose to nose.The bear roared and the man was so scared that he lost his balance and fell down the hill, the bear chasing not far behind him. As he tumbled, the man lost his gun and broke his leg. As he came to rest at the bottom of the hill, he found that escape was impossible.

The man, who had never been particularly religious, prayed, "God, if you will make this bear a Christian, I will be happy with whatever lot you give me for the rest of my life." The bear was no more than three feet away when it stopped dead in its tracks, looked up to the heavens quizzically, and then fell to its knees and prayed in a loud voice, "O Lord, bless this food of which I am about to partake."

http://www.funs.co.uk/fs/18.htm

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”

- Peace Pilgrim

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

- Nancy Willard

"I've never let somebody else set my standards. Don't tell me I'm not good enough. Don't tell me I can't do something."

- Barry Alvarez, Don't Flinch

“One must learn to love, and go through a good deal of suffering to get to it... and the journey is always towards the other soul.”

- D.H. Lawrence

“The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable pre-requisite for success.”

- Brian Tracy

"Know your role and do your job."

- Herman Edwards

“There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

- Mark Twain

Elderly couple ...

"Judy, do you see that elderly couple sitting at the other end of the counter?"
"Yeah, what about them?"
"I was just thinking ... that's probably what you and I will look like in about ten years or so."
"You do realize that's a mirror at the end of the counter, don't you?"

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/story_old_age.htm

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.”

- John Muir

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."

- Malcolm X

"We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”

- unknown author

"The true measure of a coach, or anyone in a leadership role for that matter, is how they help those around them grow."

- Tony Dungy

Stand up. Act with character. Spread good will and help another. Today is a bright new day. Live your dream. Fulfill your promise.

Respect humanity, dignity and His spirit. Live by good thoughts and good deeds ... today, tomorrow, and always.

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

- Benjamin Franklin

You can't go wrong with education.

It pays off in the end!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

- Mark Twain

I can't make you care about that which I am passionate. But I am - passionate! I do care. And it's not all about me - or you. It's about Him, His plans for us, and how we all live our lives - for each other.

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."

- John Muir

"Next time you're reading the sports section and you're about half-sick of DUIs and beaten wives, put it down for a second and remember Joe Delaney, who, in a splinter of a moment, when a hero was needed, didn't stop to ask why."

- Rick Reilly, "No Ordinary Joe" (July 7, 2003)

search: "Joe Delaney, Platte County" sometime to see exactly why

"The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half."

- Fyodor Dostoevsky

How important is it to you?

"Raising your level of performance requires a proper mentality and meaning from within. This gives you the ability and drive to work on the things necessary to go to a higher level. When some people ask me how to raise their level of performance, the first thing I ask is, How important is it to you?" - Dan Gable

When you wake up ... say a prayer.

He is with you!

"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."

- Vince Lombardi

I think you'll be okay.

Smile ... it helps :)

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

- Albert Einstein

Celebrate!

Hope for the best. Expect the worst. And when life falls in between ... celebrate!

Finishers are champions

"You can make the best move on the planet, but if you don't finish the play, it's not really worth watching." - Jay Bilas

We're given today

Tomorrow is not given to us. Only today.