IMITATION

"Through imitation, the juveniles [jackdaws] learn basic survival skills, such as how to travel safely through their home range. To his surprise, Lorenz discovered that the birds follow traditional routes that are passed from one generation to the next. Thus, when he set a hatch of hand-raised chicks together with an experienced adult, the young jackdaws quickly adopted the flight ways of their mentor. Indeed, they took the older bird's pathways so exactly that they continued to avoid parts of the garden where the family cat liked to hunt. Yet, the cat had died long before these youngsters hatched."

Candace Savage
Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays
Sierra Club Books  1995
p. 56

If someone were to so "exactly" follow our pathways, where they might end up?

Just Thinking,
Lonnie

LEGENDARY HONESTY

"Sometimes he [Harry S. Truman] lost his temper and didn't think much about what he was saying. But he was never mean or dishonest.

"In fact, his honesty was legendary. When he wrote letters home to his mother and sister, as he did almost every day, he paid for the stamps himself. The franking privelege--which allows senators and presidents to send their mail free--was meant for government business, he said. He never used it for his personal letters.

. . . .

When a Republican who was a political rival left his briefcase at the White House, some of Truman's Democratic aides wanted to go through it and see what it held. President Truman was horrified."

Joy Hakim
All The People 1945-2001
Oxford University Press   2003
p. 14-15

Having barely passed history in highschool, sometime in my adult life I became facinated with men and women of past decades--particularly with their character. They weren't perfect role models, as this anecdote attests to. But they certainly set standards worth reaching toward.

Legendary honesty. Really? That's quite a reputation. I can't help but think of Jesus' words recorded in Luke 16:10 NIV: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much."

We crave this honesty in our government officials--and spend a fair amount of time complaining about its absence. But . . . I, for one, need to check my mirror.

Guilty and Forgiven,
Lonnie

Joy Hakim wrote a series of history books for children. Rather than cover to cover boredom, they were fun and an inspiration to me.

CACKLING IN THE CORNER

"Even though the place of meditation might be secret, some hypocrites handle the matter in such a way that all the world knows. A hen may retreat to a quiet corner to lay her egg but her cackling tells the whole house where she is and what she is doing."

William Gurnall
The Christian in Complete Armour
World Challenge in association with Banner of Truth Trust  1655, 1658, 1662, revised 1864
p. 79

I suppose "humor" might be an odd place to file this notecard, but . . . it's absolutely so true and the image makes me smile. Humor, sometimes, seals a truth to our heart, don't you think?

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

TRUTH SOFTENED WITH HUMOR

"The Bible could be no clearer. God does ask his children of every nation and walk of life to suffer. Only 2 places on this planet are exempt--a few acres in southern California, and a few in Florida, both run by a friendly talking mouse who wears suspenders."

Joni Earekson Tada
When God Weeps
Zondervan   1997
p. 65

STRAIGHT TO THE CEMETARY

"You know, there's 2 places I never want to go. One's jail and the other is in the hospital. So when the ambulance came for me [broken hip] I told the driver, 'Just take me straight to the cemetary. I'd rather go there, yes sir!.'"

Bessie Delany
Book of Everyday Wisdom
Kodansha International  1994
p. 124

Sadie and Bessie Delany lived into their hundreds; and I mean "lived." I read their book, Having Our Say, years a go and plan to read it again. These African American women are so fun! And they give us good lessons in creative perseverence.

Smiling,
Lonnie

PS: Also reminds me of an older woman who my roommate visited on her off-nursing-hours. She was a touch cranky. One time, she spouted at Candi, "Well forgive me for living; but I fell out of the hearse."

Still Smiling,
Lonnie

HOMELESS IN MINNEAPOLIS

"An attitude of hope, I believe, is the forerunner of trust. The expression of this trust is belief.

One radio preacher said, "Hope is closer to wishing and it is not as strong as believing. If you hope God will do it, you give God the option not to. But if you maintain an attitude of hope, and you trust and believe intensely enough, that's a different story.

". . . since I have nothing, I have nothing else to lose, so 'Why not?' I think that's what Jesus was getting at, with the rich man getting through the eye of a needle. He had more baggage and therefore more to lose. Jessie Lair paraphrases, 'Here is a splendid, abundant life for you; all you need to do is let loose of your garbage.'"

Pat McDonough
Without Keys: My 15 Weeks With The Street People  !996
P. 282

Pat, a middle class, professional woman found herself homeless in Minneapolis--in my backyard, if you will. Pardon my emphasis. Sometimes I have to shake myself loose from inaccurate pictures stored in my head.

I've read 2 or 3 books by people who know, first hand, what it's like living on the streets or in their van. I might expect to encounter lessons in perseverence and survival. I'm not sure I'd have looked to the homeless for wisdom and hope. But Pat McDonough certainly has some. 

And that makes sense, I guess. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame (confound KJV) the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame (confound) the things that are mighty . . . "

What is "your" perception of the homeless? Mine is changing . . . some mind pictures are accurate; others, not.

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

TROUBLED

"If your closest associates are grateful people, you're likely to become more thankful for what you have. If your closest friends are negative, critical complainers, you will soon emulate them."

Bob Russell and Rusty Russell
Jesus: Lord of Your Personality
Howard Publishing  2002
p. 16


I'm troubled. Because "I" am someone's closest associate. My workplace, with it's challenges and smorgasbord of personalities, comes to mind. If my half-dozen, or so, coworkers emulate "me;" or if the customers who cross our threshold carry my attitude out with them what will our workplace and community look and sound like?

God, when needed, help me go against the flow.

Better yet, help me set the pace.

Ready To Grow,
Lonnie