Editor's note: We overlooked adding the much-belated November newsletter and are posting it ahead of the December one. Our sincere apologies for this error. --JRG
Pastor’s Corner
Isaiah 54:10 (NRSV)
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
At the beginning of every year, I ask myself a single question. What is the ONE thing I want my congregation to be sure of at the end of the year. People come and go, and events and ice storms close the church doors on certain Sundays, so I want one thing that I can always teach and turn back to.
This is the verse I chose for 2020. No, I did not know what issues and losses many would face in their personal lives. I did not know of the hurricanes that would hit, the fires that would overtake the Western Unites States, the Pandemic that would devastate the entire world. I did not know what would happen politically, much less the turmoil that would surround the election.
But I knew one thing. No matter what, God’s love will never depart from us. No matter what 2020 would hold, these words would be true.
As I retire, these are the same words that I have for all of you. Both churches will be facing new challenges in the future. They will need to find people to fill the pulpit and make sure that the church keeps on going, and they will be doing it in the face of the continuing pandemic. But God will still be God. And God has a steadfast love for us that will never be removed.
Over the next few months, as they face new challenges, the churches need to define who they are, in terms of who God has called them to be there on the corners where they sit. The leaders in the church can’t do that, because they are only the leaders. As I said in my sermon last Sunday, every single member of the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River. Leaders are important, but every person needs to play the role God called them to be.
Some areas that need extra support include maintaining the Web Site and deciding if there is a way to provide an online service for the people who aren’t yet comfortable returning. The churches need event coordinators, and people who are willing to step up and be leaders in the church. They will need people to visit shut ins once the doors are open to the nursing homes, Your leaders have been faithfully serving for a long time, and they need your support.
As I write this, I do not know what all of you will face. But like I knew at the beginning of 2020, God will be in charge, and his covenant of peace will not be removed.
With love,
Pastor Bobbie
TCSM and its Churches
As you know, Pastor Bobbie is retiring at the end of this year and the churches of TCSM (Longwood and Range Line) are at another cross-roads in our ministry. The TCSM council met Nov. 2 to discuss what the next phase of our ministry might look like. Most likely you are familiar with the saying, “greater than the sum of its parts.” At the end of the evening, we agreed that our best hope of continuing our ministries, would be to remain joined through the TCSM. Who our minister(s) will be, is yet to be determined.
At an earlier meeting when Pastor Bobbie made her announcement on retiring, the Missouri Union Executive Presbyter, Rev. Deborah Boucher-Payne, spoke to us about different options for filling our pulpits. Here are her suggestions:
Sermon On-Line
Worship continues to be available on our Web site under the Communications /Worship Tab
https://tricountyministries.weebly.com/worship-service
Longwood’s Lord’s Acre Sale
We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make our 2020 Lord’s Acre Sale such a success. When we started thinking about how we could have a sale this year, we never dreamed that folks would step up like you did. To all who baked, cooked, advertised our goods, bought our goods, donated time and money, put the boxes together, helped behind the scenes, and otherwise pitched in, we are humbled by your generosity and support. We made many new friends by doing our sale this way and we hope that in the future, you will let us know if we can pray for you, or provide assistance in another way. Thank you!
Sam, sale chairman.
Holiday Events in 2020
In an effort to stay as safe as we can during this pandemic, Longwood has decided not to hold our usual Thanksgiving carry in dinner and the Christmas program with light meal afterwards. Instead, this year we will have the Children’s Christmas program as part of our morning worship time on December 13th. We all miss our traditions around our church, and pray for normalcy to return soon. In the meantime, we pray that you will have blessed holidays with your loved ones.
LPC Presbyterian Women
I love this story from Katharine Hepburn’s childhood; in her own words.
“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.
Finally, there was only one other family between us by the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.
The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.
The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.
The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir. This fell out of your pocket."
The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.
He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
That day I learnt the value to Give.
The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.
The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”
~ Katharine Hepburn
Sharon Greer, PW.
Cares and Concerns
Please keep all of our church families in prayer. Remember, those who are in the nursing homes always enjoy greeting cards:
Concerns from Both LPC & RLPC:
Sympathy
We offer our prayers and sympathies to Jamie Brown and her family for the loss of her grandmother, Barbara Rozeboom, who passed away in mid-October, and her great grandmother later in the same month.
Annual Turnip Roundup
The annual Turnip Roundup and Frost Preparation program was held on the Greer Farm on October 24th, just prior to the jump from “comfortable Fall” to “Oh My Gosh, where did that Snow come from?!?” Local and regional participation was a disappointment—not one politician attended, even with the upcoming General Election (Nov.3—Get out and Vote).
Except for the efforts of the grubs and deer, there was no special Turnip-Carvings displayed, mostly due to the size (golf-ball size) of the harvest.
You’re are probably wondering why we entered this article, and does anyone really care about Turnips. Well, allow us to explain—we are looking for newsletter article writers. If you feel you have information that is more interesting than the Turnip Harvest, please submit your article(s) to: [email protected]. We have the newsletter each month and could always use your help with interesting articles. Less interesting articles will end up in Spam. Otherwise, next month’s feature article will either be about shoveling snow off the front porch, or a detailed discussion about the time change to CST, November 1 (mark your calendars). Remember, there are only 2 more months in the year, 2020, and less than 50 days until Christmas.
Thank you—JR
From the Pettis County Health Center:
October 23, 2020
Dear Faith Community Leaders,
I am writing to ask for your help. The number of cases of COVID 19 and deaths of individuals who have had COVID are continuing to increase quickly. A disturbing trend we are seeing is the number of clusters we are seeing related to faith communities. People are telling us they attended events at their church where they believe they were exposed. Events have included pot luck dinners, Bible study groups and other church related events. When a group of people tell us the same place of exposure, we consider this a cluster. Please note that we have not seen clusters related to worship services. Please review the events that are happening in your faith communities and make sure that appropriate safety measures are in place. This is not to be interpreted as closing a church or limiting services. Rather as this pandemic has continued for many months, everyone is getting tired of all of the limitations and long for a return to normal. We all need to be reminded that the steps that we are taking in wearing masks, washing hands, staying home if you are ill, maintaining a distance of 6 feet from people not in your household and not participating in large gatherings are saving the life of people in our community. Many of the people who have died were living at home before they became ill. The face covering rule for the county is still in effect. There has not been a court ruling on the issue. As members of a faith community, we all believe in the sanctity of human life and want to protect all people regardless of their age. This virus is real – over 1600 residents of our county have had the disease and we currently have approximately 400 active cases in the county. (Editor’s note: as of Nov 10, there were 881 active cases in Pettis County)These numbers do not include all of the people who are in quarantine because of close contact. Our health care facilities are being stressed trying to care for not only those who are ill with COVID-19 but also all of the other issues that need to be addressed. Everyone in our community needs to take care of all their health issues and preventative health services so early problems are not missed. Thank you for your help in sharing this information with your congregations. The staff of the Pettis County Health Center is here to help you address any specific concerns you may have. We all need to work together to bring down the rate of virus transmission so we can return to a more normal life.
JoAnn Martin, MSN, RN Administrator
From the Internet:
Editors’ comment: Thanks to all who have contributed to the following quips and quotes.
Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.—Clergy Coaching Network
In a world torn apart by anger, hatred and conflict, we have the privilege of being living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.—C.C.N.
2020 has been a stressful year. We’ve been placed in situations we didn’t ask for. We’ve experienced hardships we never imagined, and we’ve seen things we never thought we would. But, we’ve learned God will never leave us. We are only here through His mercy and grace and I am a believer that He will bring us through. Share if you believe.—GOD TV
Please remember:
Your job is the dream of the unemployed.
Your house is the dream of the homeless.
Your smile is the dream of the depressed.
Your health is the dream of those who are sick.
Don’t let difficult times make you forget your blessings.
Kindness is always in style.—Toby Mac
Be careful not to dehumanize people you disagree with. In our self-righteousness, we can easily become the very things we dislike in others.—Mark and Angel
God isn’t asking you to figure it out. He’s asking you to trust that He already has. “Can I get an Amen?”
You can still love people even if they don’t believe the same things you believe or act the way you act.—Danny Gokey--C.C.N.
Repeat: From C.S. Lewis, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
It is possible to hold on to what you believe without sacrificing kindness.—Rick Atchley, Toby Mac
When you see something beautiful in someone, tell them. It may take a second to say, but for them, it could last a lifetime. C.C.N.
Thank you God for the roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, food on my table, and shoes on my feet. Forgive me if I ever start to complain and forget my great blessings. Amen!
Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there who needs what you have to give. C.C.N.
Jesus thought you were worth leaving heaven for.
Religion is at its best when it makes us ask hard questions of ourselves. It’s at its worst when it deludes us into thinking we have all the answers for everybody else.—Archibald Macleish (C.C.N.)
God, help me never to make false assumptions about people I’ve never met, circumstances I’ve never known, and events I’ve never experienced. C.C.N.
What does “Love” mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year old children:
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca—8
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy—4
Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy—6
Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired. Terri—4
Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny—8
Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen. Bobby—7 (Wow!)
If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka—6 (We need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day. Noelle—7
Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy—6
During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore. Cindy--8
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work—Thomas Edison
Learn to deal with people for who they are, not who you want them to be. Life gets a lot easier when you stop expecting apple juice from oranges.
Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused. C.C. N.
Life is better when you cry a little, laugh a lot, and are thankful for everything you’ve got.
We’re expecting such a cold winter this year, the squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual. So far, three of my relatives have disappeared!
Pastor’s Corner
Isaiah 54:10 (NRSV)
For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
At the beginning of every year, I ask myself a single question. What is the ONE thing I want my congregation to be sure of at the end of the year. People come and go, and events and ice storms close the church doors on certain Sundays, so I want one thing that I can always teach and turn back to.
This is the verse I chose for 2020. No, I did not know what issues and losses many would face in their personal lives. I did not know of the hurricanes that would hit, the fires that would overtake the Western Unites States, the Pandemic that would devastate the entire world. I did not know what would happen politically, much less the turmoil that would surround the election.
But I knew one thing. No matter what, God’s love will never depart from us. No matter what 2020 would hold, these words would be true.
As I retire, these are the same words that I have for all of you. Both churches will be facing new challenges in the future. They will need to find people to fill the pulpit and make sure that the church keeps on going, and they will be doing it in the face of the continuing pandemic. But God will still be God. And God has a steadfast love for us that will never be removed.
Over the next few months, as they face new challenges, the churches need to define who they are, in terms of who God has called them to be there on the corners where they sit. The leaders in the church can’t do that, because they are only the leaders. As I said in my sermon last Sunday, every single member of the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River. Leaders are important, but every person needs to play the role God called them to be.
Some areas that need extra support include maintaining the Web Site and deciding if there is a way to provide an online service for the people who aren’t yet comfortable returning. The churches need event coordinators, and people who are willing to step up and be leaders in the church. They will need people to visit shut ins once the doors are open to the nursing homes, Your leaders have been faithfully serving for a long time, and they need your support.
As I write this, I do not know what all of you will face. But like I knew at the beginning of 2020, God will be in charge, and his covenant of peace will not be removed.
With love,
Pastor Bobbie
TCSM and its Churches
As you know, Pastor Bobbie is retiring at the end of this year and the churches of TCSM (Longwood and Range Line) are at another cross-roads in our ministry. The TCSM council met Nov. 2 to discuss what the next phase of our ministry might look like. Most likely you are familiar with the saying, “greater than the sum of its parts.” At the end of the evening, we agreed that our best hope of continuing our ministries, would be to remain joined through the TCSM. Who our minister(s) will be, is yet to be determined.
At an earlier meeting when Pastor Bobbie made her announcement on retiring, the Missouri Union Executive Presbyter, Rev. Deborah Boucher-Payne, spoke to us about different options for filling our pulpits. Here are her suggestions:
- Fill the pulpits weekly from within, for a while
- Use pulpit supply, from MUP or other sources
- Hire someone (Presbyterian approved) for Sunday worship, and other services as needed (weddings, funerals, etc.)
- Request an Interim minister, and finally,
- Form a search committee to seek a full time pastor for the two churches (like our current arrangement).
Sermon On-Line
Worship continues to be available on our Web site under the Communications /Worship Tab
https://tricountyministries.weebly.com/worship-service
Longwood’s Lord’s Acre Sale
We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make our 2020 Lord’s Acre Sale such a success. When we started thinking about how we could have a sale this year, we never dreamed that folks would step up like you did. To all who baked, cooked, advertised our goods, bought our goods, donated time and money, put the boxes together, helped behind the scenes, and otherwise pitched in, we are humbled by your generosity and support. We made many new friends by doing our sale this way and we hope that in the future, you will let us know if we can pray for you, or provide assistance in another way. Thank you!
Sam, sale chairman.
Holiday Events in 2020
In an effort to stay as safe as we can during this pandemic, Longwood has decided not to hold our usual Thanksgiving carry in dinner and the Christmas program with light meal afterwards. Instead, this year we will have the Children’s Christmas program as part of our morning worship time on December 13th. We all miss our traditions around our church, and pray for normalcy to return soon. In the meantime, we pray that you will have blessed holidays with your loved ones.
LPC Presbyterian Women
I love this story from Katharine Hepburn’s childhood; in her own words.
“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.
Finally, there was only one other family between us by the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me.
There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean.
The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You're my knight in shining armor." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.
The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.
The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price.
The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir. This fell out of your pocket."
The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation.
He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with.
Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.
That day I learnt the value to Give.
The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.
The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”
~ Katharine Hepburn
Sharon Greer, PW.
Cares and Concerns
Please keep all of our church families in prayer. Remember, those who are in the nursing homes always enjoy greeting cards:
Concerns from Both LPC & RLPC:
- The Nurses & Teachers in our churches during this time of Covid
- Esther Brown, at Pilot Grove on comfort care
- Bill & Margaret Schlomer at Golden Oaks
- Helen Coffelt, at Sylvia Thompson
- Georgia Reid, at Cedarhurst, Sedalia
- Elijah Johnson (Delbert & Amy’s son)
- Calvin (and Mary) Kirchhoff at Golden Oaks
- Patricia Brouillette, in therapy & suffering with back problems
- Renee Moore
- Scott Moore
- Lee Ann (Paxson), chemo & possible radiation
- Kenny Reid
Sympathy
We offer our prayers and sympathies to Jamie Brown and her family for the loss of her grandmother, Barbara Rozeboom, who passed away in mid-October, and her great grandmother later in the same month.
Annual Turnip Roundup
The annual Turnip Roundup and Frost Preparation program was held on the Greer Farm on October 24th, just prior to the jump from “comfortable Fall” to “Oh My Gosh, where did that Snow come from?!?” Local and regional participation was a disappointment—not one politician attended, even with the upcoming General Election (Nov.3—Get out and Vote).
Except for the efforts of the grubs and deer, there was no special Turnip-Carvings displayed, mostly due to the size (golf-ball size) of the harvest.
You’re are probably wondering why we entered this article, and does anyone really care about Turnips. Well, allow us to explain—we are looking for newsletter article writers. If you feel you have information that is more interesting than the Turnip Harvest, please submit your article(s) to: [email protected]. We have the newsletter each month and could always use your help with interesting articles. Less interesting articles will end up in Spam. Otherwise, next month’s feature article will either be about shoveling snow off the front porch, or a detailed discussion about the time change to CST, November 1 (mark your calendars). Remember, there are only 2 more months in the year, 2020, and less than 50 days until Christmas.
Thank you—JR
From the Pettis County Health Center:
October 23, 2020
Dear Faith Community Leaders,
I am writing to ask for your help. The number of cases of COVID 19 and deaths of individuals who have had COVID are continuing to increase quickly. A disturbing trend we are seeing is the number of clusters we are seeing related to faith communities. People are telling us they attended events at their church where they believe they were exposed. Events have included pot luck dinners, Bible study groups and other church related events. When a group of people tell us the same place of exposure, we consider this a cluster. Please note that we have not seen clusters related to worship services. Please review the events that are happening in your faith communities and make sure that appropriate safety measures are in place. This is not to be interpreted as closing a church or limiting services. Rather as this pandemic has continued for many months, everyone is getting tired of all of the limitations and long for a return to normal. We all need to be reminded that the steps that we are taking in wearing masks, washing hands, staying home if you are ill, maintaining a distance of 6 feet from people not in your household and not participating in large gatherings are saving the life of people in our community. Many of the people who have died were living at home before they became ill. The face covering rule for the county is still in effect. There has not been a court ruling on the issue. As members of a faith community, we all believe in the sanctity of human life and want to protect all people regardless of their age. This virus is real – over 1600 residents of our county have had the disease and we currently have approximately 400 active cases in the county. (Editor’s note: as of Nov 10, there were 881 active cases in Pettis County)These numbers do not include all of the people who are in quarantine because of close contact. Our health care facilities are being stressed trying to care for not only those who are ill with COVID-19 but also all of the other issues that need to be addressed. Everyone in our community needs to take care of all their health issues and preventative health services so early problems are not missed. Thank you for your help in sharing this information with your congregations. The staff of the Pettis County Health Center is here to help you address any specific concerns you may have. We all need to work together to bring down the rate of virus transmission so we can return to a more normal life.
JoAnn Martin, MSN, RN Administrator
From the Internet:
Editors’ comment: Thanks to all who have contributed to the following quips and quotes.
Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls our lives.—Clergy Coaching Network
In a world torn apart by anger, hatred and conflict, we have the privilege of being living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds.—C.C.N.
2020 has been a stressful year. We’ve been placed in situations we didn’t ask for. We’ve experienced hardships we never imagined, and we’ve seen things we never thought we would. But, we’ve learned God will never leave us. We are only here through His mercy and grace and I am a believer that He will bring us through. Share if you believe.—GOD TV
Please remember:
Your job is the dream of the unemployed.
Your house is the dream of the homeless.
Your smile is the dream of the depressed.
Your health is the dream of those who are sick.
Don’t let difficult times make you forget your blessings.
Kindness is always in style.—Toby Mac
Be careful not to dehumanize people you disagree with. In our self-righteousness, we can easily become the very things we dislike in others.—Mark and Angel
God isn’t asking you to figure it out. He’s asking you to trust that He already has. “Can I get an Amen?”
You can still love people even if they don’t believe the same things you believe or act the way you act.—Danny Gokey--C.C.N.
Repeat: From C.S. Lewis, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
It is possible to hold on to what you believe without sacrificing kindness.—Rick Atchley, Toby Mac
When you see something beautiful in someone, tell them. It may take a second to say, but for them, it could last a lifetime. C.C.N.
Thank you God for the roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, food on my table, and shoes on my feet. Forgive me if I ever start to complain and forget my great blessings. Amen!
Never think that what you have to offer is insignificant. There will always be someone out there who needs what you have to give. C.C.N.
Jesus thought you were worth leaving heaven for.
Religion is at its best when it makes us ask hard questions of ourselves. It’s at its worst when it deludes us into thinking we have all the answers for everybody else.—Archibald Macleish (C.C.N.)
God, help me never to make false assumptions about people I’ve never met, circumstances I’ve never known, and events I’ve never experienced. C.C.N.
What does “Love” mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year old children:
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca—8
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy—4
Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy—6
Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired. Terri—4
Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny—8
Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen. Bobby—7 (Wow!)
If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka—6 (We need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day. Noelle—7
Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy—6
During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore. Cindy--8
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work—Thomas Edison
Learn to deal with people for who they are, not who you want them to be. Life gets a lot easier when you stop expecting apple juice from oranges.
Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused. C.C. N.
Life is better when you cry a little, laugh a lot, and are thankful for everything you’ve got.
We’re expecting such a cold winter this year, the squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual. So far, three of my relatives have disappeared!