IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND
THIS BLOG TO A FRIEND COPY and paste THE FOLLOWING URL
http://oneadayyourspiritualvitamins.blogspot.com/AND THEN PASTE IN AN EMAIL.
There are over 1100
stories and commentaries on this blog that began Nov 24, 2009. It is added to
daily.
Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com
to read selected Sermons from
over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.
People
who solve problems are happier than those who create them.
I believe we can say that that is a
given.
So, find some
areas where you can apply your particular talents to improve the life of an
individual or group of individuals...and in the process make a lot of people
happier including yourself.
The last time
you met a problem with patience was everyone the better off for it? Spoke softly but carried a big enough stick
to make your point. Did not rave and
rant...was not the memory bank of everyone concerned the better off with such a
deposit?
There’s an old Ozark story about a hound sitting in a country store
and howling as hounds are prone to do.
In comes a
stranger who says to the storekeeper, “What’s the matter with the dog?”
“He’s
sitting on a cocklebur.”
“Why
doesn’t he get off?” “He’d rather holler.”
And that's
some people...they'd rather holler and
complain...not problem solvers...rather problem ravers and ranters...and when
they are around they create a crowd of discontented people.
All problems
can't be solved...admitted...so categorize.
For those problems that can't be solved learn to live with them...for
those that can with some active prayer and follow through production...produce
a solution and get on with it.
By way of a
couple of examples...You know that improving your life and your
education will go hand in hand. Then
improve your life by improving your education.
Problem solving usually entails vigor finding and follow through. It does not include excuse collecting.
You need rehab
for whatever medical reason but find it irritating, time consuming and
basically you don't want to do it.
Well, forget fun and think results.
Whatever needs to be done...do it...do not undo it by doing nothing.
When you
are seeking a solution...start out with a positive attitude...otherwise you
will be your own worst enemy.
The salesman was
a professional pessimist. He faced every
problem as it worst than it was and not getting better at breakneck speed.
Then one night, driving on a dark lonely
country road in a driving rain storm with the closest street light ten miles
away he heard the thump thump thump of a flat and now destroyed tire.
Complaining at the top of his lungs and
soggy to boot he opened the trunk of his car and reached for the lug wrench.
You guessed it. No lug wrench.
But then he looked across a field and in the distance saw a dim
light forcing its way through the darkness.
He began his journey toward the
farmhouse.
"Surely the
farmer will have a lug wrench" he thought to himself. It would be a positive thought that would not
long endure within the confines of his pessimistic spirit.
His thoughts were already assuming their
usual miserable way of being, "Maybe he is asleep
in his warm dry bed and won't answer the door.
Maybe, if he does he'll be angry and shout at me for waking him in the
middle of the night."
As he stumbled forward his shoes were
sucked at by mud and his clothes were hopelessly soaked.
His assumptions about the farmer had
become to him reality "What right does he have to get so angry. The selfish clod. I'm just a poor man in need of help."
When he reached the door, now thoroughly
outraged, he pounded on the door.
In a few minutes a sleepy eyed farmer
opened the door and said, "You look like you
need some help. What can I do for
you?"
"You can
keep your blasted lug wrench. That's
what you can do. I wouldn't borrow it if
it were the last wrench on earth."
There is an art to making the bad worse and some have earned a PHD in
making the art of rearranging problems to be harder to solve than they were in
the first place.
One old philosopher commenting on how
important is how we look at problems, ours or other, suggested it is how we
look at them. What I like is the way he
said it, "If the only tool
you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."
Problem solving,
for yourself, for others, the compassion to care enough about others that their
problems become yours.
It is a gift and some have more of the
gift than others...and all have the gift if prayed enough about it.
You
have a friend who has a problem and the both of you have discussed it...and
come to the conclusion it is not going to go away. What then to do?
Well, let me tell you a story.
Early in
the 18th century, when St. Petersburg, one of the most splendid and harmonious
cities in Europe, was being laid out early in the eighteenth century, many
large boulders formed by a glacier sweeping down from Finland had to be
removed.
One particularly huge rock was in the path of one of the principal avenues that had been planned, and bids were solicited for its removal. But all the bids submitted were very high. This was understandable, because at that time modern equipment did not exist and there were no high-powered explosives.
One particularly huge rock was in the path of one of the principal avenues that had been planned, and bids were solicited for its removal. But all the bids submitted were very high. This was understandable, because at that time modern equipment did not exist and there were no high-powered explosives.
As
officials pondered what to do, a peasant presented himself and offered to get
rid of the boulder for a much lower price than those submitted by other
bidders.
Since they
had nothing to lose, officials gave the job to the peasant.
The next morning he showed up with a crowd of other peasants carrying shovels. They began digging a huge hole next to the rock.
The next morning he showed up with a crowd of other peasants carrying shovels. They began digging a huge hole next to the rock.
The rock
was propped up with timbers to prevent it from rolling into the hole. When the
hole was deep enough, the timber props were removed and the rock dropped into
the hole below the street level.
It was then
covered with dirt, and the excess dirt was carted away.
Sometimes that is
the best that can be done with a problem.
Bury it in the past. If it
was a war, personal or otherwise, and it has inflicted great pain...but now
peace has come or will come...give it half a chance... bury the problem...or
the hates that accompanied the problem.
Some things
are meant to be forgotten...they are not meant to be a permanent burden...there
is not wisdom or any hope of help in harboring their memory for the rest of
your life.
Maybe
you'll never the reputation of a problem solver. Maybe you're just not good at thinking things
through.
But at the
very least you can get the reputation of someone who cares...someone who will
listen to a problem with an empathetic ear...and what do you...that solves some
of the problem...it really does.
++++++++
Albert Einstein
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.
SOME CHURCH BOOK CLUBS ARE USING REV. WYRICK'S 9TH BOOK
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln." It is available on amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and many other book
sites.
A new quote (posted Aug 20) below from Rev. Wyrick's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM
LINCOLN) (read the rave reviews below the quote)
Everything
that happened in the war was not of blood and pain and hate. The best in man sometimes rises out of the
worst. More than likely the story of
what happened one cold day during the terrible battle of Fredericksburg reached
Abe’s ears and pleased the heart of this forgiving President. It was a dreadful battle that cried out for
some miraculous act of empathy.
A
Sergeant Richard Kirkland of Company E Carolina Regiment made a request of his
commanding officer that was almost denied.
He had looked too long at the tortured, twisted dead and dying men and
could finally stand it no more. He
sought startling permission to take water and aid to those dressed in both Blue
and Gray.
“You
may get a bullet in the back of your head, son,” he was told. The soldier replied that he wanted to go
anyway.
“May God protect you,” said Major General J.
B. Kershaw. A short time later, men on
both sides of this field of agony and despair, watched in awe as the young man vaulted
over a bloodstained stonewall and walked unarmed and seemingly unafraid among
the dead and dying. They saw him kneel
down and cradle a fallen Union soldier in his arms, offer him a drink of water,
rest his head on his knapsack and cover him with his own overcoat. And then move to another soldier nearby. This time it was a Confederate soldier.
Again
and again throughout that long, pale December afternoon, just eleven days
before Christmas, Sergeant Kirkland returned with water until every living
soldier, from both the North and the South, had felt his compassion and
concern.
General Kershaw later wrote that not one
shot was fired during that time. That
never had he heard such silent respect.
“…no doubt,” his pen etched, “all the trumpets of heaven resounded on
this monumental day.”
RAVE REVIEWS
"Positive, powerful
utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation of Lincoln
while revealing the Divine source of his strength."
Lt.
Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is
an extremely well written book that investigates what might be
termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very
readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and
with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and
Wild Thorn
"Wyrick has authored a wonderful
examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly
religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of
information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian
minister
"When it comes to invoking religion in
support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of
Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest
theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human
works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore
the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was
doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the
midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he
distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's
'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk
out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book
for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick
compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety
transcends politics."
Dr.
Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham
Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history.
Should have a wide readership."
James
H. Smylie Professor
of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil
Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably
the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United
States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often
expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a
Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this
faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that
Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through
the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is
very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick
makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed
them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author
of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The
Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
QUOTE BELOW IS FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGSuOTE BELOW IS FROM WYRICK'S
WRITINGS
There
is no other organization in the world like the church. It is a breed unto itself. It is a congregation of sinners, not a
country club for saints. To become a
member you have to profess your unworthiness.
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE
(These are selected sermons from over 50 years of ministry and as a worldwide evangelist Rev. Wyrick preached them all the United States and all over the
world)
+++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++
CLICK ON www.go60.us
IT WILL TAKE YOU A NEW WEBSITE FOR SENIORS....click on
"Voice" on the home page and then on the list of authors click
on Neil Wyrick
Recent articles Rev. Wyrick has
written for this web site are: REFLECTIONS
·
Here Comes Summer (July 2012)
·
Spring (May 2012)
·
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
(April 2012)
·
Wayward and Windy (April 2012)
Just
remember that “the pain of discipline will cost you pennies, whereas the pain
of regret will cost you millions.”
++++++++++++++++++
How can we keep our faith from being a weak and
fruitless thing? How can we not be
foolish little men and women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager
egos.
Well, first we must do more than just pray. We must believe in our own prayers.
+++++++++++++++++++
Anxiety
out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot
forward.
++++++++++++++++++
It's
an old joke, I went to the doctor and I said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.”
And the doctor said, “Then don't do that.”
++++++++++++++++++
How many things have you been anxious
about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably
going to create some problems for you?
And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your
God, all of them would have said, “Don’t do that.”
++++++++++++++++++++
To buy into the
community of accountability we have to realize that like bikers we are divided
into two categories. Those who have fallen and those who will fall for anything. None of us are perfect.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Think
on it this way, some philosopher of old wrote it and it endures because there
is so much truth in it… every right
implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a
duty
++++++++++++++++++++++
Some
of the sermon titles posted recently
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Before you decide
to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man
Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script
for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book
itself)
Available on
Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at
many other sites
TO VIEW THE LINCOLN
One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles
Wesley
click on the
following URL
http://www.speakerneil.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++
BELOW ARE
MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS
++++++++++++++++++
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON SUNDAY APRIL 15. ENTITILED
Two stores faced each other across a very
busy street. Their owners were in constant competition
with each other. One day, the owner of
one store put out a sign that read – If
you want it, we have it!
Almost immediately the other owner put out a
sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t
need it!
A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY
OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ON THURSDAY APRIL 13TH. ENTITILED
WHO ARE
YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
Who are you? Whose are
you?
You influence and are influenced
according to the answer you give.
Are you are the flavor of the month because
you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what? If so, consider being more independent in our
thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.
It may be easier being someone's shadow but
wouldn't you really rather be a sun.
QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS THURSDAY APRIL 5 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED "Who
Are You? Whose Are You?"
This is an old quote, and a romantic one
as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are,
but because of who I am when I am with you.”
QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED
ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS TUESDAY APRIL 3 FROM THOUGHT ENTITLED
" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY
TO BECOMING A MESS
James 4:17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it,
to him it is sin.
Someone once said: “A
belief is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”
So what holds you,
constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?
Quotes
POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING THURSDAY MARCH 29th THOUGHTS ENTITLED WHO
ARE YOU?
NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?
In a Peanuts
cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.
“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day
of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.
And it’s your fault!”
Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How
could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
To which she declares, “You’re my
friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more
complicated.
Would you like to read the entire thought
piece? Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S
SITE
click on
the following
Yes, God loves you the way you
are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN
HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN,
CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER
To
Order and Read Neil's
9th book THE
SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GO TO amazon.com
QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book
STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
"Positive,
powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation
of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."
Lt.
Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)
"The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is
an extremely well written book that investigates what might be
termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very
readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and
with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'
William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and
Wild Thorn
"Wyrick has authored a wonderful
examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly
religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of
information."
Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian
minister
"When it comes to invoking religion in
support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of
Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest
theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human
works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore
the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was
doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the
midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he
distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's
'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk
out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book
for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick
compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety
transcends politics."
Dr.
Donald W. Shriver
Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
"V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham
Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history.
Should have a wide readership."
James
H. Smylie Professor
of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
"Neil
Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably
the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United
States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often
expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a
Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this
faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that
Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through
the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is
very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick
makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed
them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."
Daniel Allen Butler, author
of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The
Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment