QUALITY TIME

" . . . at age 24 (1754) Benjamin Banneker built a clock of wood. It kept the time of day and struck the hour.

"Banneker's clock is believed to be the first clock made in the United States. He was a good craftsman, that it kept perfect time his whole life.

"The day of his funeral, his cabin burned to the ground, as did his clock."

Jim Haskins
Outward Dreams: Black Inventors and Their Inventions   2003

Benjamin Banneker's story is one worth reading. He was homeschooled and caught the attention of a Quaker neighbor. George Ellicot noticed Benjamin's facination with how things were put together, and loaned him books to encourage him to continue learning.

Later in life, Benjamin's neighbors thought him lazy because he slept all day. However, he did so because he was calculating the movement of the stars. He determined (and succeeded) to publish the most accurate almanac yet printed.

His talent didn't stop there. Following the Revolutionary War, George Washington set up a commission to design a capital city for the new United States. Three men, including Banneker, worked on that project. However, one man left America and took the plans with him. The officials paniced. How would the city be completed without plans?

But

Benjamin Banneker came to the rescue. He drew the plans from memory!

Children's books often get to the exciting parts of someone's life--and stay there. I've indulged in a few. This story captures me on several levels: homeschooled, unfair judgment, encouragement by a neighbor, determination, and talent. I love inventor stories anyway. They exhibit ingenuity and a level of stubbornness I'd do well to emulate--not giving up just because the road isn't smooth.

Well, I've gone on and on today. Passion is hard to shut up, I guess.

Growing and Wordy,
Lonnie

YOU GOTTA LOVE A GOOD FAILURE

"Most people know that Babe Ruth broke the home run record in 1939, but do you know about the other record he broke? In the same year as this outstanding streak of home runs, he was also the player with the most strikeouts at bat.

"Several years ago I [Debbie Macomber] attended a writers' banquet and sat through the awards ceremony. They announced the name of the writer who sold the most magazine articles and, to polite applause, the woman came and accepted her plaque. The next award was for the person who had received the most rejections that year. To everyone's surprise and amazement, the same woman came up to accept that award as well."

Debbie Macomber
Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern For Your Life
Faith Words  2007
p.51

I love this! In "writer language," it definitely has "take-away." It feels like every time I read this, I'll discover a new lesson.

The more times you try-- the more times you'll succeed.

Jealousy? Envy? If we only knew!
 (Just for the record and confession, I've often been one offering polite, not to be misaken for genuine, applause.)

I would love to hear what you take away from this story. Feel free to add personal experience to it.

Gonna Keep Growing No Matter How Long It Takes,
8-)
Lonnie

MORE THAN YOU IMAGINED

"And you'll find that sin will not only take you further than you wanted to go, it will keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and it will cost you more than you ever thought you'd pay."

Kay Arthur
Lord Is It Warfare?
Waterbrook Press  2000
p. 229

FOR SMILES' SAKE

"I am told by my friends and family that I am to 'have a little faith.' That may mean patience. That may mean optimism despite the perceived odds. That may mean flipping Murphy's Law like a pancake and believing that my life will not land jam-side down."

Julie Cameron
Prayers From A Nonbeliever: A Story of Faith
Tarcher/Putnam  2003
p. 42

You did catch yourself smiling, yes? And nodding your head? Isn't it great when someone understands? Even if it's someone you've never met?

What made you smile, today?

EverGrowing--Sometimes Smiling,
Lonnie

FEELING AT HOME . . . WHEN YOU'RE NOT

" Down deep you know you are not home yet.

"So be careful not to act like you are. Don't lower the duffel bag too soon. Would you hang pictures on the wall of a Greyhound bus? Do you set up a bedroom at the roadside rest stop? Do you load your king-size bed on a commercial flight?

"Would you treat this world like home? It isn't. The greatest calamity is not to feel far from home when you are, but to feel right at home when you are not. Don't quench, but rather, stir this longing for heaven."

Max Lucado
Traveling Light
W Publishing  2001
p. 153

My head knows. I wish my heart would catch up.

This earthly place, that I too often complain about, is "not" home. Max Lucado creates great mental pictures to serve as reminders. And . . . he seems to write from a place of knowing.  Not like someone who has watched others pass through the struggles; but like someone who has been there!

Who serves as the greater comforter or encourager? One who is sure he knows the reason and solution to your struggles? Or one who's been there and knows there's a way through--but knows, too, that the way through isn't the same for everyone? 

Growing Toward Home,
Lonnie

LIES! NOTHING BUT LIES!

"Before salvation, Satan tells us we're fine. We don't need a savior. But after we're saved, the accuser points his bony finger at us and tells us we're no good. We don't deserve a savior."

Joanna Weaver
Having a Mary Heart In A Martha World
Waterbrook Press  1999
p. 69

"Na Na-- Na--Na--Na -- I can't hear you Satan, nor do I choose to. Lying is your language and no one speaks it more fluently."

God's Word--a different story. Always true. Never changing. Always applicable.

Do those lies sound familiar to you? What other lies seem to plague your head and heart? What truth/ Bible verses do you replace them with?

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

WOOLWORTH: WORST MORNING OF HIS LIFE

"Without the benefit of advertising, Woolworth opened the door for the first day of business and waited for the shoppers who did not show up. He later said it was the worst morning of his life.

"What he didn't know was that the circus was coming to town that morning, and everyone in town was watching the traditional circus parade. However, when the parade was over hundreds of people found their way to the Woolworths 5 cent store and in no time bought up one third of his stock. In a matter of hours, 2,553 nickel purchases had been made . . .

Woolworth died in 1919 at age 65 and had "amassed a personal fortune estimated at $65,000.000. There were over 1,000 stores around the country . . . including the Woolworth building in Manhattan, then the tallest building in the world, for which he paid $13.5 million in cash!"

Frank H. Olsen
Inventors Who Left Their Brands on America
Bantam Books  1991
p. 57-60

I went through a season of reading about inventors. As I reread this note card, I know why. Inventors were kings and queens of perseverence. Little if anything stopped them. This story of Woolworth reminds me that if I/we can hang on just a little bit longer, we might come face to face with Pleasant Surprise.

Did any of you buy anything from Woolworth's? If so, what? I remember buying a set of 3 porcelain pans for my first apartment.

EverGrowing--Not Always Liking the "Process,"
Lonnie