Worthy Words

I received a brochure a while back from a company specializing in "resilient furniture": simple, sturdy, water resistant tables and chairs — not fancy in any way, but built to last. They're not cheap either; a plain white folding chair is about $60. They're not as pretty as the chairs at Sam's for about the same price, but those chairs don't have a long life-span. There's something to be said for basic, unadorned resiliency—the ability to get through, get over, and thrive after trauma, trials and tribulations. In this sense, sturdy beats stylish every time. USA Weekend did a cover story a few years ago on the subject of resiliency, asking the question, "Why do some people bounce and others break?" The article noted how some people who experience trauma withdraw into a shell, while others facing the same crisis not only bounce back, but bounce back stronger than ever before. It talked about how resiliency is being studied in universities and taugh...

“Only Use the Left Lane To Pass.”   That’s what the sign said. Strange, I don’t remember seeing that one before. This time, I noticed it—and it was all along every highway that led to the mountains of Colorado. And it looks like the signs have been there for a long while. Apparently, that particular sign has become so familiar to me that it simply blended into the scenery. It had lost its meaning. Yet, this time I noticed. Probably because I spend most of my time in the left lane. It’s there for a good reason. The sign is posted to warn drivers that it is not safe for slow vehicles to be in the left lane and impeding the vehicles behind them. Passing another car on the right would be dangerous. Frankly, I’ve been tempted on more than one occasion to pass another car that is on the left from the right side. Perhaps I’m taking this too seriously, but it bothered me when I realized that I don’t usually notice the sign. What other signs; what other warnings am I ignoring? F...

Lately there are an abundance of things to pray for on my prayer list. I want to be efficient and thorough when I go to the Heavenly Father with my list. I searched for an archived email I received some time back that demonstrated how to use your fingers to pray. Each finger serves as a reminder of different ways to pray for others. If you’re looking for ideas to improve your prayer life, give it a try. It does help. Thumb:   The strongest digit on your hand. Give thanks for all the strong things in your life, like home and family, or relationships that support and sustain you. Index finger:   This is the pointing finger. Pray for those people and things that guide and help you in your life. Friends, teachers, doctors, nurses, emergency services and so on. Middle finger:   The tallest finger. Pray for all the important people who have power in the world, like world leaders and governments, members of congress and local officials, city mayors an...