Tag Archives: thinking

The Worth of Wisdom

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If wisdom is worth thinking about, it is worth having. Wisdom goes beyond being smart, intellectual, and/or knowledgeable. Wisdom is the sum total of all of these and yet is only available to those who recognize this fact. The following was gleaned from Psychology Today online:

Wise people generally share an optimism that life’s problems can be solved and experience a certain amount of calm in facing difficult decisions. Intelligence—if only anyone could figure out exactly what it is—may be necessary for wisdom, but it definitely isn’t sufficient; an ability to see the big picture, a sense of proportion, and considerable introspection also contribute to its development.

The Bible speaks often and well of wisdom:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1;5 NIV

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, Proverbs 3:13

Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; Proverbs 4:5

Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 13:10

For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:11

 

And then there is the age old adage: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Whether or not you place much stock in this verse, it is wise to consider the worth of wisdom.

 

What Some Say

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Some say, “That’s the way I am and I can’t change.” Don’t you think that’s a very limited way of thinking? We can all change if we really want to…but we have to want to…that is the key. We have to recognize that maybe the way we are is detrimental to our own peace of mind and that the way we are can also be detrimental to our relationships.

After recognizing things about myself that I didn’t like, I set about to change them. Do I think more change is needed? It is always a work in progress.

Scripture is a good place to look regarding changing. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” that was my beginning many years ago. I took that scripture and ran with it.

Jeremiah 7:5 says, “If you really change your ways and your actions, and deal with each other justly,”…extremely good for mending relationships.

Matthew 18:3 says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change…” and Ephesians 4:23 “ to be made new in the attitude of your minds;”

Of course, there are those who think scripture is not to be believed but I believe it. I know the difference it makes in my life and in that regard, it doesn’t really matter what some say.

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking Outside the Box

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I love to think, and love to collect great thoughts when they come my way. The following came from the internet a few months ago. It’s about a graduating class in Nova Scotia, Canada and is claimed to be a true story. It proves that old adage, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” It’s title is “The Sneeze”

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they  felt.

Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.

This class would NOT pray during the commencements, not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it “for fear of Offending non-Christians”.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the  guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave  inspirational and challenging speeches, but no  one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked  for blessings on the graduates or their  families.

The speeches were nice,  but they were routine until the final speech  received a standing  ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then it happened.

All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED in unison!

The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said,

‘GOD BLESS  YOU’ and then walked off the  stage…

The audience exploded  into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God’s blessing on their  future, with or without the court’s  approval.

Isn’t this a wonderful story? Please pass it on to all your  friends ……… and
 
GOD BLESS  YOU!!!!

This is a true story; it  happened at Eastern Shore District High School in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia.

I  hope this goes around Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world.
 Whether or not anyone shares this is immaterial, I just thought it was a great example of thinking outside the box.
 
 

Look Inside

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Believe it or not, a Shop-Vac reinforced a valuable life lesson for me a few days ago. I had bought the machine to clean up a carpet full of paint chips scraped from a water damaged ceiling. Thinking the Vac was ready to go, I removed it from the carton, plugged it in and began sucking up the aforementioned debris. I couldn`t help thinking it would be easier to move if it had wheels.

Whoa! Something was definitely wrong when a fine film of dust covered everything in the room. “My Old Man’s a Dustman”, a 1960’s hit by Lonnie Donegan, came to mind.

I quickly checked the carton for a product manual. There was none. Moreover the  top of the carton read, “Never operate vacuum without filters installed. And then I read, “Helpful Shop-Vac attachments and quality filters (sold separately, not included with this vacuum).“ This advice was printed on a side of the carton. Well, the dust damage was already done and I wanted rid of the paint chips, so proceeded to clean the carpet, filter or no.

The next day, I purchased the filters and was given a manual. After reading the instructions, I lifted the top off the vacuum and lo and behold, inside were the filter, manual, and casters…inside! (Needless to say, everything was covered in dust and ground up paint chips).

It reminded me of the time one of my daughters cooked her first Christmas turkey without removing the gizzards from inside the bird. She didn`t think to look inside.

And now, I had made the same mistake. Everything I needed was inside that shop-vac. I didn`t think to look inside…just as everything I need in my life is inside me. Jesus tells us in John 14:20: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.“

Thank you, God, for another lesson in My Precious Life!

Wrong vs Right

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A couple of thoughts on right and wrong:

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

You can’t do wrong by doing right.

If it’s not right it’s wrong.

It’s right to admit when you’re wrong.

Right or wrong, that’s the way I see it.

The Victim (Reblogged)

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I first posted this blog August 1, 2014 and then in again in September of that year and now it needs to be posted again When are we ever going to learn? (I wrote the poem in 1995 and it is still relevant.) 

Do you remember a post where I mentioned that a marriage counselor once told me I think too much? Well, you know, he may have been right after all. It seems to me that more of us should do more thinking. I don’t mean random, willy-nilly, helter-skelter thoughts, but deep down, deliberate thoughts that lead to changes in the way we see ourselves and others; the way we see our world and the way we live in it.

In 1995 I wrote this poem called The Victim. It’s about crimes and war and unsound government, and the entire world possibly becoming victim to all of these things. And then thinking about the poem in a new light, I realized that it’s not only crimes and wars and unsound government that hurt people, but the way we treat each other on a daily basis. The sad part of all of this is the take heed part. If we don’t take heed, nothing changes, and if we do?

THE VICTIM

People dead

before their time,

victims

of some heinous crime.

Callous killers,

world’s worst foes,

victims

of God only knows.

Wars created

through sheer greed,

victims

of abnormal need.

Governments

whose rule a hoax,

victims

of the peoples’ votes.

Our planet Earth,

soon indigent,

victim

of our ignorance.

World, take heed!

The time has come

for remedy

lest you become

the victim.

©1995

When I stop and think about it, I don’t mind being the victim of too much thought. Please join me; let’s help make the world a better place by looking at the way we think, and changing what needs to be changed. Only by recognizing that our part in global destruction may begin in our own thought patterns, the thoughts we hold about ourselves and each other, may we be a part of the solution.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement…Romans 12:3

 

 

 

The Train of Thought

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about thinking lately. There was a time in my life when a marriage counsellor told me, “You think too much.” What the heck was that supposed to mean? I didn’t give it too much thought at the time, but every once in awhile that comment comes to mind and I think to myself, “What was he thinking?”

Thinking takes on many forms: creative thinking, wishful thinking, positive thinking, negative thinking, thinking through it (whatever the “it” may be) thinking out loud, putting the thinking cap on…and so on…you get it, right? Well, now that I think about it, away back in 1994 I was thinking about thinking and came up with the following poem:

THE TRAIN OF THOUGHT

The train of thought

raced through my mind

traveling at top speed

down memory lane,

through rough terrain,

steep mountainous land,

wide gorges spanned,

irregular track,

through tunnels black,

by pastures green,

valleys,

still waters bridged,

meadows,

slowing,

slowing,

slowing,

slowly coming to a stop,

the train of thought.

©1994

The greatest transportation system in our world can be our train of thought. I don’t exactly remember where that thought came from but it seems pretty accurate to me.

And then there’s this from Philippians 4:8 “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”