Articles, tagged with "steve goodier"

THANKFULNESSI understand that the late Dr. Fulton Oursler used to tell of an oldwoman who took care of him when he was a child. Anna was a formerslave who, after emancipation, was hired by the family for many years.He remembered her sitting at the kitchen... Read >
Life Support System

HEALTH INSURANCEHave you noticed how health insurance is like a hospital gown: everytime you turn around, you find something that isn't covered? Buthealth researchers are now discovering what many people have known allalong - that getting healthy is about... Read >
Life Support System

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANTI sat next to the bed of an old man, a friend for over twenty years,and held his hand. Hal was dying. We both knew these next few dayswould be his last.We spent time reminiscing about his long and fruitful career as achurch pastor... Read >
Life Support System

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?Great disappointment can come from unrealistic expectations.I recently noted that the ex-wife of Robert Lucas, the 1995 winner ofthe Nobel Memorial Prize in economics, received half of his $1 millionaward, though they were divorced at t... Read >
Life Support System

A true story points to a universal truth about human beings: we learnbest by imitation.President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown todine with him at the White House. Unsure of their table manners, theguests decided to imitate the pre... Read >
Life Support System

DO SOMETHING GREATAbraham Lincoln often slipped out of the White House on Wednesdayevenings to listen to the sermons of Dr. Phineas Gurley at New YorkAvenue Presbyterian Church. He generally preferred to come and gounnoticed, so when Dr. Gurley knew the p... Read >
Life Support System

THREE MESSAGES OF STRONG FAMILIESOne family subscribed to the notion that money really CAN buyhappiness -- send the kids to summer camp! So they sent their sonJoey away for the season. He was apparently as blissful about thearrangement as his parents, for... Read >
Life Support System

GIVE FOR THE JOY OF IT!You may have learned the importance of saving money. And you may havelearned how to spend it wisely. But, have you learned the value ofgiving some of it away? Sharing is an important part of a whole andhappy life. And it is a practi... Read >
Life Support System

A CLIMATE OF FORGIVENESSIn his tape Living Faith (Random House Audio Books, 1996), PresidentJimmy Carter shares that forgiveness is fundamental to his life. Hesays that without the knowledge that he can be forgiven, it would beimpossible for him to face h... Read >
Life Support System

WHAT WE REALLY WANTWhat do you really want for the holidays?USA Today printed these letters from children written to Santa Clausand directed to the US Post Office:Dear Santa: The only wish I want is to have a nice Christmas for mylittle brothers. We don't... Read >
Life Support System

WHO'S YOUR BEST FRIEND?Former prisoner James Knapp confessed to police that he'd robbedtwo stores in Oklahoma, because he missed his old cell mates.Police said they'd see if James could be reunited with his oldfriends.I think Mr. Knapp may have expressed ... Read >
Life Support System

BE STILLI have noticed that the best way for me to get a few minutes ofsolitude at the end of the day is to start washing the dishes. And afew minutes of solitude is something I need frequently. A time to bealone. A time to reflect.There is a difference b... Read >
Life Support System

SHOT OF ENTHUSIASMEnthusiasm is something I can get excited about!I remember a story told about playwright and U.S. Ambassador to Italy,Claire Booth Luce. She became a Roman Catholic late in life and, likemany others converted to something new, she seemed... Read >
Life Support System

YOUR HEART'S MUSICIt was 1994. Daily, the city of Sarajevo was under siege. Mortars andartillery fire instantly transformed once beautiful buildings intorubble. Sarajevo's citizens were frightened, weary and increasinglydespondent. Then, one February day,... Read >
Life Support System

LAW OF SUCCESSFUL LIVINGI am impressed by an incident that happened during IgnacePaderewski's career. The famous Polish pianist agreed to play aconcert organized by two Stanford University students workingtheir way through school. Paderewski's manager sai... Read >
Life Support System

LISTENING WITH YOUR ANSWER RUNNINGThere is a story out of Edinburgh, Scotland, about a woman who wasresolutely opposed to street-corner evangelism. One Sunday evening shewas waiting for a streetcar at the Mound, a location used by variousorators and, on t... Read >
Life Support

CALL IT HOPETime magazine once reported a story that concerns itself with a womanin rural Florida who was recuperating from a lengthy illness. Sheenjoyed sitting on her front porch in her wheelchair and, on thisday, she was watching her son work under his... Read >
Life Support

WHEN IS QUITTING TIME?Newspapers once reported about a young Taiwanese man who wrote 700love letters to his girlfriend in a two-year period. A letter almostevery day! Seven hundred letters telling of his undying love for herand encouraging her to accept h... Read >
Life Support

GROWING GOOD CORNJames Bender, in his book How to Talk Well (New York: McGraw-Hill BookCo., Inc., 1994), relates the story of a farmer who grew award-winningcorn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won ablue ribbon.One year a newspap... Read >
Steve Goodier

A GAME YOU'RE INVITED TO PLAYThe most miserable people live in their own little worlds ofisolation. They do very little for others and rarely have much fun.I heard of one older gentleman who was considered by the townspeopleto be both rich and thrifty. Hi... Read >
Steve Goodier

You ALL STRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO BLOWAll stressed up and no place to blow. Does that sometimes sound likeyou?It is rarely the big crises of life that cause us destructive worry.Rather, those persistent small concerns do the most long-term damageto our ... Read >
Steve Goodier

WEB OF LOVEListen to how a simple ball of yarn became a web of love for oneclassroom of high school students.Their teacher seated the students in a circle on the carpeted floor.One member of the group was instructed to toss a ball of yarn tosomeone across... Read >
Steve Goodier

BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE EAR-LIDSPatricia Goldman, as vice chairperson of the National TransportationSafety Board, used to tell a story about how poorly airline passengerslisten. She says that one flight attendant, who was frustrated bypassenger inattentiven... Read >
Steve Goodier

THE MOST IMPORTANT TRIP YOU MAY EVER TAKEIt is accurately said that it is easy to be an angel when nobodyruffles your feathers. But it seems that feather rufflers will alwaysbe around.We're told that 19th Century German statesman Prince Otto von Bismarcko... Read >
Steve Goodier

CONNECTED FOR LIFEDo you find yourself pulling away from others, especially if you'veexperienced a crisis or deep disappointment? We need other people andwe'll never thrive as human beings in isolation.A man who lost his wife to cancer found himself wanti... Read >
Steve Goodier

WHAT WOULD YOU DIE FOR?Do you know what you would die for? An ancient story tells of twogreat warriors, Cyrus and Cagular. Cyrus, of course, was the notedemperor of Persia and Cagular was a little-known chieftain whoconsistently repelled Cyrus' attacks.Ca... Read >
Steve Goodier

USING YOUR HOMING INSTINCTDid you know that the Arctic Tern, that lives about seven degreessouth of the North Pole, leaves its home every year and flies all theway to Antarctica and back -- some 23,000 miles in all.I wonder WHY the bird does thatà. Is it ... Read >
Steve Goodier

ARE YOU PLAYING YOUR MUSIC?We visited friends recently and sat outside where we watchedparagliders and hang gliders soaring overhead. They rose up into thesky upon invisible warm currents of air and floated effortlessly by --trusting in their equipment an... Read >
Steve Goodier

Don't worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you arein the midst of a really big one, I know. But the only people I amaware of who don't have troubles are gathered in littleneighbor­hoods. Most communities have at least one. We call themce... Read >
Steve Goodier

UN-THANKED PEOPLEWhen William Stidger taught at Boston University, he once reflectedupon the great num­ber of un-thanked people in his life. Those who hadhelped nurture him, inspire him or who cared enough about him to leavea lasting impression.One was a ... Read >
Steve Goodier

Her husband came back to life! Well, al­most...Herlinda Estrada, fromBaytown, Texas, was called to the hospital to identify the body of herhusband. Jose had gone for a jog that day. But co­incidentally,another jogger along the same trail collapsed and die... Read >
Steve Goodier

SKUNKS I'VE RUN WITHEver run with a skunk?A newspaper story once related that a mother of eight from Darlington,Maryland, had been visiting next door. When she returned home she wentinto the living room where she saw her five youngest children huddledin t... Read >
Steve Goodier

DRIVING AWAY THE SHADOWSWhen Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. onApril 14, 1865, he was carrying two pairs of spectacles and a lenspolisher, a pocketknife, a watch fob, a linen handkerchief, and abrown leather wallet containin... Read >
Bonnie Jo Davis

LET YOURSELF GROW A LITTLEDid you know that the gestation period for an elephant is 22 months?And then, she will give birth to a bundle of joy that weighs 150-250pounds? The fact that we're not elephants reminds me that we alwayshave something to be thank... Read >
dabblingmum

GETTING A BUSY SIGNALTwo natural gas company service personnel, a senior trainingsupervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburbanneighbor­hood. They parked their truck at the end of an alley andworked their way to the other end.At th... Read >
Steve Goodier

A HERO FOR OUR TIMEYou may be acquainted with a real-life hero!An American tourist in Tel Aviv was about to enter the impressiveMann Auditorium to take in a concert by the Israel Philharmonic.He was admiring the unique architecture, the sweeping lines oft... Read >
Steve Goodier

CREATING AN OPPORTUNITYA little boy wanted a taste of molasses from the large barrel by thedoor of an old-fashioned country store. He slid a box beside thebarrel, stepped up on it and leaned over the rim as far as possible,stretching out his finger to­war... Read >
Steve Goodier

HEART TO HEARTIn the 1960s, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration teamworking on the Apollo moon mission took some astronauts to Arizona,where the terrain of the Navajo Reservation looks very much like thelunar surface. With all the trucks and l... Read >
Steve Goodier

You have permission to publish this article electronically or inprint, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Acourtesy copy of your publication is appreciated.__________WHEN YOU JUDGE YOURSELFCharles Allen, in his book Victories in the Vall... Read >
Steve Goodier

You have permission to publish this article electronically or inprint, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. Acourtesy copy of your publication is appreciated.__________A FORMULA FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIFEI have a friend who is a CPA. He lamente... Read >
Steve Goodier

PERPETUAL LEARNINGI recently read of a study of ninety top lead­ers in a variety offields. Interviewers were trying to determine just what it is thatsets leaders apart. They discovered that those who rise to the top oftheir professions have the never-endi... Read >
Steve Goodier

>SAVED BY CRITICISMOne of my favorite stories comes from pilots Peter Gaylor andStephanie Pound of Navajo Aviation. A funny thing occurred once whenthey flew their tiny airplane over the bay on an ash-scatteringmission. With them were the two sons, in the... Read >
Steve Goodier

ONE LIGHTImagine an artist painting a winter scene. She depicts awhite, frozen ground and evergreens draped in snow. Her hand bringsthe day to a close as she paints night falling on the canvas. In thedeep shadows of dusk, she has painted a grim, log cabin... Read >
Steve Goodier

MAD DASHThis is the ageOf the half-read page.And the quick hashAnd the mad dash.The bright nightWith the nerves tight.The plane hopWith the brief stop.The lamp tanIn a short span.The Big ShotIn a good spot.And the brain strainThe heart pain.And the cat na... Read >
Steve Goodier

ONE OF YOUR GREATEST ASSETSOne of your greatest assets is...your imagination!In his book THE WINNER'S EDGE, writer Denis Waitley tells of highschool basketball players who were divided into three groups.Group One was told not to practice shooting free thr... Read >
Steve Goodier

LIVING FULLYDo you feel your life is all it can be? Do you yearn for life to befuller? A friend once re­cited this poem to me:There once was a cautious gal,who never romped or played;She never drank, she never smoked,from the path she never strayed.So whe... Read >
Steve Goodier

YOU ARE ONE OF USSalt Lake City, Utah, is a worldwide center for genealogical research.Even the big department stores sell genealogy supplies.One newcomer to Salt Lake City, and a non-researcher, got a job as aclerk at one of those big department stores. ... Read >
Steve Goodier

I met a great teacher. She lived in a small Costa Rican village wheremy family vacationed. She was no formal educator, philosopher orperson of any renown. Actually, she made chocolate to sell totourists.She took us into her small home. It consisted of a s... Read >
Steve Goodier

WAY TO RESULTSMelodie Hartline relates in Reader's Digest (September, 1996) that inher job as an employee of a jewelry store, she often arranged forengaged couples to have their wedding bands engraved with somethingspecial. She once asked a bride-to-be wh... Read >
Steve Goodier

WILL YOU BE READY? Abraham Lincoln once said, "I will prepare, and some day my chance will come." When his chance came, he was ready. During his seminary years, one priest-in-training sported a T-shirt that never failed to bring chuckles. Across the... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

WHEN OTHERS GRIEVE People should never have to suffer loss alone. Yet, how do you comfort those who mourn? It is no doubt one of the most important things we can do for one another. And sometimes one of the most difficult. Experts tell us, among oth... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

SETTING YOUR OUTLOOK A man who fell off a skyscraper was heard to say as he passed the 12th floor, "So far, so good!" One might say he was an optimist. I believe in optimism. I believe that there is great power in an optimistic attitude, especially ... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

A WONDERFUL TIME I have a collection of humorous and poignant epitaphs and tombstone verses. Not because I am morbid, but because what is said about someone who has recently died is so important. Granted, not all tombstone sayings are telling. Like the... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

WHEN WORDS STING A funny story tells of a hostess making final arrangements for an elaborate reception. "Nora," she said to her veteran servant, "for the first half-hour I want you to stand at the drawing room door and call the guests' names as ... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

EVERYTHING COUNTS African-American poet Countee Cullen spent the summer of his eighth year in Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly after he arrived he noticed a little white boy staring at him. Countee smiled, but the little boy did not smile back. Inst... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier

HOW THIRSTY ARE YOU? A man had an operation, and the doctor, by mistake, left a sponge in him. A friend asked him if he had any pain because of it. "No," said the man, "but I sure do get thirsty." It's true that the people who get thirsty - no... Read >
Author: Steve Goodier