The Mayonnaise Jar

A colleague of mine used this in our departmental devotional today... I am not sure who to attribute it to, but enjoy anyway. Thanks for sharing Nancy!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, without a word, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty spaces between the grains of sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided.  “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.”

“The golf balls are the important things – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions.  Things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

“The pebbles are the things that matter – like your job, house and car.”

“The sand is everything else – the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.”

“If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“So . . .

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness:

    * Play with your children.
    * Take time to get medical checkups.
    * Take your partner out to dinner.
    * There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping faucet.”

“Take care of the golf balls first – the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.  “I’m glad you asked.  It just goes to show you that, no matter now full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Travels With A Duck

So what started off as documenting my own travels through the medium of a rubber duck, has now spawned an independently traveling duck with his own blog. Follow his story at http://duckie.blogspot.com/


This time he is visiting the beautiful islands of Hawaii!


Lucky Duck!

La Tierra del Olvido

This month's song from Playing For Change translates to "Land of the Forgotten".

The video features over 80 musicians across the country of Colombia. Music is the greatest tool for healing broken countries, cultures and hearts. This video is meant to unite and inspire the people of Colombia so they can move forward from years of conflict and create a positive future. Listen to the music, see the smiling faces, and remember that we are going to make it as a human race!!

If you cannot see the video below, click HERE!

October Newsletter

My October newsletter is now online for your reading pleasure!

Click HERE to read a copy!

Mayer Hawthorne

Okay, I love this song and Mayer Hawthorne is fast becoming my new favorite artist!

Mayer Hawthorne (born Andrew Mayer Cohen)is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. The stage name "Mayer Hawthorne" is a combination of Cohen's real middle name (Mayer) and the name of the street he grew up on in Michigan (Hawthorne Rd). "Mayer Hawthorne and The County" is a name Cohen often uses when performing or recording as Mayer Hawthorne with other artists. In Cohen's words, "The County" is basically anyone who plays an instrument or sings on his album. It’s also his band when he performs live. Cohen also performs and records hip hop under the stage name Haircut, sometimes as part of the groups Now On & Athletic Mic League.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hawthorne moved to Los Angeles and was eventually signed to Stones Throw Records by label head Peanut Butter Wolf. Originally the Mayer Hawthorne tracks were meant to be just side projects for pleasure, but upon hearing them Peanut Butter Wolf insisted they be made into an album. Hawthorne has had no previous vocal training.

Mayer Hawthorne draws influence from the music of Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, Barry White, Smokey Robinson and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). Taking umbrage at the notion that his is a purely "throwback" soul sound, however, Hawthorne also cites more contemporary artists, such as J-Dilla, as significant influences.

Here he is singing the old Tony Bennett classic 'I left my heart is San Francisco', if you cannot see the video, go HERE!



Source: Wikipedia and Youtube.

Sally Kargbo

“Sometimes, I would just sit down and cry,” said Sally with great emotion. For seventeen years, people laughed at her and mocked her because of her legs – horribly misshapen and knock-kneed. The constant verbal abuse made her feel ashamed. Walking was difficult and tiring, so she didn’t go to school. She just stayed at home in her misery.

The problem was caused by an automobile accident when she was only ten years old. A witch doctor blanketed her legs with a native concoction of boiled leaves. Splints of wooden sticks were tied to her legs for three months. But nothing changed; she returned home with bent legs. Without money for surgery, she had to learn to live with her disability.

Three years ago, Sally’s parents died. Since she had no siblings, she went to live with a friend. Her friend found a mentor to teach Sally to sew, and she eventually went to work at a dressmaker’s shop. In fact, she hopes to own her own shop some day.

A new friend at work told her that a Mercy Ship, offering orthopedic surgeries at no charge, would soon be in Sierra Leone. She encouraged Sally to go to the screening. The volunteer surgeons on the Africa Mercy surgically repaired her legs and put them in casts.

A jubilant Sally walks on her own straight legs. When she awoke in the ward, she was delighted to see that her legs were both straight in the casts. But when her casts were changed, she was ecstatic. “I could SEE my legs were straight!” said Sally with a brilliant smile. “It’s like a dream, and I’m an angel that can walk on straight legs!”

While Sally was recuperating from surgery, she received some very special guests – the wives of the President and Vice President of Sierra Leone! The moment was captured by a photographer and printed in the local paper. This was a highlight for all the patients in the ward, who dubbed her “Queen Sally.” She had never received such recognition before and thoroughly enjoyed the reflected glory of the event. It was a great start in helping Sally think of herself in a new and more positive light.

Another bonus of the surgery is that her straightened legs add height to her physical stature. When she walked on her bandaged legs for the first time, she exclaimed, “I’m so amazed! I used to be a short somebody. Now, I’m tall!”

A free surgery revolutionized the life of this young woman with the bubbly personality. Sally already knows what she will do first upon being released from the hospital ship. “I want to give my testimony at church of what Mercy Ships did for me,” she states firmly. “If it were not for Mercy Ships, I was going to die with legs like that, because I had no money. I was mocked every place I went. I’m thanking God for what He has done for me, and I’m asking Him to bless you people.”

Story by Elaine Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell