Good Thoughts to Live By #4 and Guiding Growth

They that trust in the Lord . . . abideth for ever.  Psalms 125:1 

This is the main road out of Ogden Cemetery where my mom is resting under a pine tree.  One of the little pine cones I used to decorate around her graver marker has planted itself.  I will have to rescue the little tree in the spring as the mowers keep chopping its top off as it tries to grow!  It hasn't given up yet, and it will probably spread out and damage the stone if I don't take it elsewhere to grow.  Hum, interesting thought, isn't it?  If we hurt someone or something, or stunt his/her/its growth (so to speak), will it grow in a way to harm things or others more than if it was left to grow on its own?  Or, does the wise gardener (parent/teacher/mentor)  notice its (his/her) path of destruction and gently guide it in a different path for more positive outcomes?  Isn't in marvelous to know that God watches over the growth of all living things and decides what is best in each individual circumstance?   Yes, trust Him to know what is best for us.

The "Family Life" http://uofacesfamilylife.wordpress.com blog site asked today what beauty we experienced today.  I replied:  The sun making the snow sparkle and my husband going grocery shopping.  Some of you won't understand how the second half of that statement can be a thing of beauty and, if you don't know, I cannot explain it to you.

Among those whom I admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
  -W. H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand


There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything.  Both ways save us from thinking.
  -Alfred Korzybski, Manhood of Humanity


The family is the essential presence–the thing that never leaves you, even if you find you have to leave it.
  -Bill Buford in The New Yorker


Humor can be an incredible, lacerating and effective weapon.
  -Carl Hiaasen


It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
  -Warren Buffett


We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.
  -Winston Churchill


If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.
  -Raymond Inman


You may as well keep your mouth shut.  If you talk about yourself, you’re a bore.  If you talk about others, you’re a gossip.
  -Beulah Collins


I believe in the sun–even when it does not shine;
I believe in love–even when it is not shown;
I believe in God–even when he does not speak.
  -“The Hour of Power”


The great doing of little things makes the great life.
  -Eugenia Price